Description: Klaus is released into Bonnie's custody and taken to their workstation.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to The Vampire Diaries. I only claim the plot and concept.

Fresh air was something Niklaus didn't realize he'd taken for granted. Fresh air and grass. He hadn't seen grass in six years. It was so green—he'd forgotten. He'd also forgotten how big the world was, how large the sky was. For years, his only view was blocked by four gray walls. Four massive walls.

Bonnie watched as he absorbed his surroundings. Things she took for granted every day seemed to fascinate him and she felt a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. As much as he bluffed, being locked away for four more years would have eaten at him. Especially with the knowledge that he could have possibly had his freedom.

The drive from the prison was a quiet one. The two hadn't seen one another since Bonnie visited him initially. Klaus made it obvious that he didn't have much to say to her, which was fine. Bonnie didn't mind the silence. Klaus, however, did. From the way he fidgeted, she could surmise that he was itching to know where they were headed. He kept his resolve nicely until she made a turn towards the freeway. The 'Now Leaving Petersburg' sign was glaring but Niklaus refused to ask any questions.

"Let me know when you're hungry," was all Bonnie offered. And he was hungry, he just didn't have an appetite for anything.

"Whatever is fine," he answered. There was a brief pause before he took the bait. "How long do we have?" Bonnie glanced at the timepiece on the dashboard and guesstimated.

"Three hours, roughly. We should be there by twelve." Niklaus looked down at the bag of belongings they confiscated from him at the time of his incarceration. The broken Rolex had stopped on Monday the 28th, six years ago; the day he was arrested. He was thrown to the grown when he was apprehended and in consequence, broken his timepiece. It was a gift from Rebekah, ironically.

"And where is there," he pressed. Their eyes met briefly before she focused on the road ahead.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia," she informed. There was a silent pause as she allowed him time to process the information before continuing. "I requested this case because coincidentally, we're both from there." At this revelation, Niklaus's ears perked up. He studied her side profile once more before it dawned on him how he recognized her during their first meeting.

"Sheila Bennett," he muttered. At the mention of her Grams, Bonnie's head swiftly turned towards him. "I know her. Lovely woman, how is she?" Sheila was known for her eccentrics and her warm sweet potato pies.

"She passed several years ago," Bonnie answered curtly. She hadn't expected him to piece her lineage together so quickly. However, they were just about the only black family in town so there really wasn't much room for error.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said gently. She could tell he meant it. As Niklaus tried to figure out Bonnie's relation to the woman, she attempted to keep to the original topic.

"As I was saying, we're both from there. No one knows what I do for a living which leads me to my next point. Our cover is that we're newly engaged and moved back to our hometown to settle down. It's a front to mask our real reason for returning. It's a small town and they love gossip so they'll eat anything up as long as we make it believable." Bonnie pointed to the glove compartment and Niklaus obliged.

"Inside, you'll find our 'engagement' rings. Everyone knows where you were all of these years, so our story is that I'm a lawyer and we met when I took your case to get you exonerated. We moved here to get a fresh start."

"Sounds good in theory, Love, but this requires a ton of acting on your part and no offense but you seem really stiff. Are you sure you can keep up this act?" Part of being a con artist was acting, which he was good at, it was hard to imagine a 'suit' convincing a town full of nosey people that she was in love with a convict.

"I originally went to school for acting. I think I'll be all right," she quipped, obviously offended by his assessment.

"Very well then," he responded. His eyes roamed over her attire and before he could say what was on his mind, Bonnie beat him to the punch.

"Don't worry, I'll change."

.xXx.

They stopped at the greasiest diner in America where Niklaus had no qualms ordering the item with the most calories. Prison food was god-awful and the portion sizes were laughable. Toddlers would have a hard time sustaining energy on the minimal amount of food they provided. As they ate, they discussed the details of the case and their cover story. He noticed that, though she was in charge, she didn't mind taking suggestions from him which surprised him to be quite honest. Most of the Suits he encountered were arrogant know-it-alls but with Bonnie, that wasn't the case.

Just outside of Mystic Falls, Bonnie pulled into a rest area. After shutting off the engine, she turned to face him. The look on her face was dramatically serious. "I think it goes without saying that if you try to run I will put a bullet in your ass, so I suggest that you don't. As you've probably already noticed, I've yet to put an ankle monitor on you and I don't intend to, however, do not bring me to that point."

"Yes ma'am," he answered with a small grin. Although she was serious, her threats were rather, cute. "Though, I think it'll be quite hard to explain why you shot the man you love," he countered.

"Lesser women do it every day, Sweet Pea," she said with a fake smile, then smirked. "They'll say it's a lover's quarrel." Niklaus chuckled before exiting the car, taking another brief moment to enjoy the sight of the tree line. He'd forgotten how big trees were. With each moment he was free, he realized just how much he'd been deprived of.

After visiting the restroom, Niklaus took a moment to stroll the area in an effort to stretch his legs. All the cash he had on him at the time of his arrest was confiscated and in its place was a check for five thousand dollars. In truth, he was surprised that they hadn't seized it along with his other assets. What they did seize, however, was his cigarette case, zip lighter, and shoelaces—that, he never understood.

Upon exiting the car, Bonnie had taken with her a large duffle bag and Niklaus assumed that was what she had in mind when she mentioned her plans to change earlier. He briefly wondered what she looked like in civilian clothes. Even in her government-issued suit, he could tell that she probably had a nice body and naturally wondered what she looked like naked.

He was leaning against the side of the car when she reappeared and it wasn't until he saw her that the full weight of how long he'd been locked away hit him. As discreetly as he could, he ogled her sinewy legs, admiring how the rays of the sun illuminated her skin. Her calves were defined like a runner's would be and her biceps were as well. The halter dress lifted her cleavage nicely and Niklaus found himself wondering where her underwear hid beneath it. The thought nearly brought about guilt as she innocently passed him to open the trunk. He closed his eyes when her light fragrance wafted beneath his nose. It was woodsy and earthy with a hint of something floral. Rose perhaps.

The thud of the trunk closing snapped him out of his trance and Niklaus turned towards the door to enter the car when he caught Bonnie staring at him with a pensive look. A joke was at the tip of his tongue about how she barely cleared the roof of the car, but he bit it back for now. He'd have to ease her into his shrewd sense of humor.

"Maybe we should get you a fresh set of clothing," she suggested as if she'd just considered his attire. It was freezing when he was arrested. The peacoat he wore was neatly folded in the backseat along with a few other items. He wore a long-sleeved henley and dark-wash denim pants and a pair of all-black timberlands with no shoelaces.

"Don't I look presentable enough for you, Sweetheart," he teased. Bonnie rolled her eyes and shrugged as she slid behind the steering wheel. Klaus followed suit, rolling his eyes when she gestured for him to put on his seatbelt.

"I tried to choose something that says 'Hi Honey, happy to see you,' whereas your attire is… well, you look like the hell you've been through." It was true. There'd been a struggle when they threw him to the ground, the bottom of his shirt was slightly torn, his peacoat had seen better days and his jeans still had melted, dried, snow and dirt all over them—not to mention his shoes flopped each time he walked. "Plus, it's hot as shit and any self-respecting fiancee would bring a fresh pair of clothing for her Sugar Bear," she teased.

"You've really thought this through," he mused. "Also, I will not be referred to as 'Sugar Bear' by you or anyone alive." There were still remnants of a smile on her lips even as she nodded and he had the feeling that the pet names would only get worse from here.

A quick stop at a local outlet mall and one wardrobe later, they were entering the town of Mystic Falls. If he listened closely, he could almost hear the roar of the distant waterfall through the trees of Mystic Forest. Niklaus watched silently as they passed familiar landmarks. The town remained largely unchanged but there were a few new developments; a local version of Starbucks called City Lights Cafe, an antique shop titled, 'Same As It Never Was', and an interesting-looking building with a strange symbol on the front. While the place brought back a sense of nostalgia, there was no rush to see any of the townspeople, whom he was sure had a lot to say.

The car slowed to a stop in front of a modest-looking house. The hole where the 'For Sale' sign once stood was still fresh. The house was very picturesque if you were looking for a place to start a family, which he supposed was the image they were going for. He tried not to feel any way about it. The house was a bit large, four or five bedrooms if he had to guess which was plenty of space to coexist peacefully without bumping into one another. There was a nice, sizable porch that extended from one end to the next with a stairwell off the side leading to the backyard. When they pulled in, he could see a shed and instantly dubbed it as his future man cave.

Inside was cozy but spacious. The stairs greeted them in the foyer and led to the upstairs area where the bedrooms were. The living room was just down the hall. The house had already been decorated it seemed and looked stage. There were empty picture frames all around where he surmised they'd have to fill with photos of themselves, friends, and family. Given the fact that the latter two had abandoned him after the third year of incarceration, it would be on Bonnie to achieve this task.

Once settled, Bonnie laid down the ground rules. "We'll have to establish ourselves within the community in order to gain information about Marcel. They live here now which is why we're here."

"I figured as much," he deadpanned. His sister was always obsessed with their hometown and the small-town way of life.

"We'll have to host a few functions here at the house such as a house warming, engagement party and eventually wedding-related events, as well as—"

"Wait a damn minute," Niklaus interrupted. He was quite sick of her springing things on him. "What wedding-related events? What the hell, Bonnie?"

"We have to make this believable, Niklaus," she stressed. "None of it will be real but we'll have to go through the motions. We can't say we're engaged and not at least pretend to plan a wedding. The chain of events will be real-time so, we'll have to pick a date that'll give us enough time to wrap up this case."

"And if we don't wrap it up by then, then what? I walk with you down the aisle and we just be married for funsies?"

"IF it gets to that point, we won't actually have to turn in any formal documentation. As I said, we just need to put on a good enough front to get people to believe it. Marcel is smart. The closer we get to him, he'll exploit any weakness and expose us if he even suspects anything." When Niklaus didn't respond, she continued. "Which leads me to my next point," she began.

"What? We'll have to pretend to make babies together too?" Bonnie paused. The suggestion made her blush slightly but Niklaus caught it. A smirk played at his lips.

"As if," she huffed.

"Don't tempt me, Love. I'm a man deprived. I have needs," he countered, earning another blush, which he intended.

"As. I. Was. Saying!" Niklaus chuckled as she struggled to recover. "We'll have to make it seem as if we're sleeping, in the same bed, together," she said, choosing her words carefully so that he doesn't walk her into a trap. "That way, should we have company, if they get nosey, they'll find exactly what they're looking for," she explained.

"And what is that, exactly?"

"A newly engaged couple, Niklaus."

"Klaus," he corrected. At her raised brow, he further explained. "Everyone calls me Klaus, my family called me Nik," he informed her. She didn't comment on his choice to refer to his family in the past tense. "You can use one, or alternate between both. You know, if you want to make it believable."

"If you keep up with your antics, I'll call you Niklaus forever."

"Yes, mumsy," he says with a grin. With a roll of her eyes, Bonnie continued laying out the details of their plan.

"Your brother-in-law is running a front business in town that I need you to learn more about. From what I can tell, it's currency exchange but I believe this is also where he's printing the counterfeits."

"We didn't exactly end on good terms, Love."

"I know, which is why this operation is going to take a while. Your relationship with him must be authentic and develop organically for this to work." Niklaus sighed, wondering how, after six years, he'd be able to approach his family when he vowed to never speak to them again. His pride and ego were too great to allow him to grovel. He'd simply have to do what he was good at, which was creating discourse.

"I'll do what I can but don't question my tactics," he warned. Bonnie stared blankly while wondering what he meant.

"I won't ask," she finally stated. And for that, he was thankful.

A/N: Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!