Kai waited until his companions were otherwise occupied before leaving.
Who would have thought that the promise (and fulfillment) of a little nudity and dirty dancing would be all it would take to successfully distract his followers from his mission at hand?
Okay, he did. He absolutely did. Which was why he suggested it in the first place.
Stepping out into the cool night air, he took a deep breath to calm down. He was nervous, but not for the reasons anyone close to him would guess. He was minutes away from potentially fucking up the coven that he'd spent the last five years building.
Although if everything went the way he wanted it to, he had no doubt that most of the disgruntled members would be willing to overlook his brazen break in coven protocol.
"Heading back so soon, sir?" Kai hoped he hid his surprise at the voice that came drifting from the dark side of the building. The shadows parted and the face of his personal advisor came into view.
"Yeah, I'm not really in the mood to be covered in body glitter tonight." Kai shrugged exaggeratedly, "What can I say? I'm a little old fashioned."
"I see," the older man made his way to stand beside Kai, "well, in that case, I know of a spot where the atmosphere is a little more your scene. Quiet, upscale, and no body glitter in sight."
Kai slapped his companion on his back good naturedly, "Josiah, you old dog, I am shocked, shocked I say, to hear that come from you! What other secrets are you hiding?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to kill you if I answer that, sir." Came the dry retort.
Kai snorted, "I have no doubt that's true."
It wasn't a lie. Josiah Newman was one of the longest serving council members. He'd been on the Gemini council for as long as Kai could remember, and even as a child, he had the look of someone older than his purported years. The man had seen and been through a lot of shit, and Kai had no doubt that if they ever did happen to come to blows, it would be a very close battle.
Luckily for him, Josiah had no issues about continuing to serve on the council after Kai had become the leader of the coven. Even going so far as to volunteer his services as Kai's advisor until he found someone else that he liked.
Five years later, both men were still quite content with their arrangement. Although Josiah did point out random members at times that he felt would be a good fit, while Kai pretended to take his suggestions seriously.
"I'm actually feeling a bit beat," Kai made to move towards his car, "So I'm going to head back to the house."
"What a wonderful idea, I'll join you." The older man stayed in lock step with Kai.
Kai hesitated, "Not necessary, why don't you go back inside and hang out? My treat."
Josiah scowled, "There are girls in there young enough to be my granddaughter,"
Just granddaughter? Kai narrowed his eyes in thought, he was sure Josiah was old enough to maybe throw a great in there.
As if he could read his mind, Josiah threw Kai a scathing look. Making the universal 'what?' gesture, Kai slid inside his vehicle, hiding his groan as the passenger side opened as well.
They kept their talk light as Kai drove. There was snickering about how much the other coven members would drop at the strip club tonight, and Josiah musing if everyone would make it on time tomorrow. Kai thoughtlessly joked that there could be two ceremonies tomorrow if people weren't careful.
Josiah hmm'd to himself, "Let's just get through the one, shall we?"
Although he said nothing in response, Kai's hand clenched on the wheel. It seemed the closer he got to tomorrow, the more people thought he would screw it up somehow. Hell, his father was practically taking bets on Kai fucking up.
It's been five years since Kai merged with Luke and in that time, he'd done nothing but live and breathe for his coven. Taking over with the single minded notion to make everyone who ever doubted him regret it, he forged new alliances not only with other covens who had fallen away over the years, but also other supernatural species that his coven had broken with over time as well. He'd built his coven into a more formidable force, and for the most part, managed to drag it into the 21st century.
It hadn't been easy, considering the circumstances of how he'd obtained his leadership, his father and his own circle of cronies, and the general distrust of pretty much everyone in the coven, but Kai was nothing if not stubborn and willful.
And patient. 18 years alone in his own world was a testament to that. He could wait out the naysayers.
Thankfully it was all starting to pay off now. He could walk into a room and the greetings that he would get were actually sincere. People actually talked to him and not at him, they listened when he spoke, and even if they disagreed, it was voiced in a respectful manner.
All in all things were looking up; he was free of his prison world, he was finally the leader of the Gemini, and in less than 24 hours, he was set to further cement his role as head when he would get married.
No one was more surprised than Kai when Josiah brought up the idea. In fact, Kai had all but laughed him out of the office when his advisor brought it up the first time. But Josiah wasn't new to the game, and kept prodding in his own subtle way. He hammered home that a union that bore children would put even more minds at ease, until finally Kai gave in. He'd sworn that he would give himself over completely as leader, getting married and having kids was an integral part of that.
Kai pulled up to the house he was renting for the time being and cut the engine. "Why do you make it sound like a chore?" he asked, staring ahead through the windshield.
"I'm sorry?"
"You said, we need to get through it, like it was some kind of chore that you're bribing me to do." Kai explained. "Aren't weddings supposed to be fun?" He shot the other man a half smile.
"Of course they are." Josiah opened his door, "When both parties are invested." He got out and disappeared into the house.
Kai followed at a slower pace, lost in his own was invested, he couldn't be more invested if he tried, he had spent way more time than what he thought was necessary with the caterers trying to ensure that there was something for everyone. He had even sat down and helped with the seating chart, for saint's sake!
We all know what your real reason for helping with the seating chart, though. The voice that wavered in his mind sounded briefly like Luke.
"Shut up." Kai muttered to himself. Over the years Luke's voice had faded to practically nothing. Yet it still seemed to pop up at the most inopportune times.
Especially these last few weeks.
Right now it was humming along softly as Kai ascended the stairs to his room. He kept up a cheery façade as he smiled and deftly sidestepped all the last minute prepping going on for the ceremony tomorrow.
His room was on the far end of the massive house, Kai chose it deliberately to give himself a modicum of privacy, which he was immensely grateful for right now. There was no one around to see him reach into the hidden pocket of his suit for the envelope that had arrived only that morning. There was no one around to witness him placing a privacy and boundary spell on his room, stand in the middle of the room, and recite the spell that he had been warned to only use in dire circumstances.
Kai would count this as pretty fucking dire.
There was definitely no one around to witness his sudden appearance on a sandy beach roughly 1000 miles away.
He took a moment to breathe in the salty night air, and enjoy the slight breeze that danced through the ends of his hair. He'd always liked the beach, and had taken many trips to beaches all over the world in his 18 years of isolation. Figures this is where the spell would take him, maybe he'll just hang out here until it's time to go back….
"Kai?" The surprised voice cut into his musings. Kai turned to see the silhouette of a petite woman leaning against the deck railing.
"Hey Bonster."
Any other time, the look of shock on her face would have had him busting out in laughter. He's not sure if Bonnie realizes just how expressive actually is. She cycled through surprise, confusion, apprehension, and it may be just his imagination, a little bit of hope at seeing him standing in the sand before she tucks it all away behind a scowl. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Felt like a walk on the beach?" He tries.
The look she threw at him was equal parts exasperated and resignation as she turns to go back into the house, leaving the sliding door open a sliver, so he had no qualms about following her inside the cozy little beach house that Liv had told him so much about.
He sniffs the air appreciatively while taking a seat on a stool, "Whatcha making, Bon?"
"Um, roast chicken?" She flailed a hand at a book open on the counter. "It's an old recipe passed down from my grams." She hesitated before adding, "I found it mixed in with my mom's old grimoires and took it by mistake. She told me to keep it, that maybe I'd have more luck with it." It had the look of a grimoire, clearly old and well cared for over the years.
"Can I..?" he wouldn't deny that he was curious about what he would find inside, but he'd learned the hard way about touching things that belonged to the Bennett's without receiving permission.
"I'll let them decide." Bonnie slid the book over with a smirk. At his touch, the pages glowed and the words began to jumble together preventing him from being able to read what was there previously. "Aw c'mon Sheila." Kai pouted.
He felt a tiny jolt from the book itself before the pages went completely blank. He was about to push it away completely when a few words emerged:
Hello Malachai
"There you are!" He crowed, "I knew you had a soft spot for me." He glanced up at Bonnie who was standing with her back to him, fiddling with something on the stove. "What do you think my chances are that I can convince your granddaughter to let me stay and taste test your recipe?"
Bonnie tensed up, but didn't turn around, "Shouldn't you be asking me directly?"
"Figured if I had back up, you wouldn't say no."
"And you think that just because my grams says yes, I'll give in?" she was looking at him directly now, brow arched but failed to hide the barest hint of a smile peeking through.
"Couldn't hurt." He's pleased to see the wink he sends her way flusters her.
Luckily for him, Sheila agreed, and together they managed to sway Bonnie to their side.
Dinner was a surprisingly relaxed affair. Their conversation flowed easily between the latest happenings in the supernatural world, including Bonnie's recent success in brokering a treaty with a group of fae that had initially resisted having a witch live on their land.
She also filled him in on the happenings of the Mystic Falls gang and somehow, Kai managed feign interest at their continued carelessness.
They talked about everything except the most obvious thing.
Kai was standing shoulder to shoulder with Bonnie, helping her with the dishes when his phone rang. Excusing himself, he stepped away to answer Josiah's call. Kai didn't doubt the old man knew exactly where he was at the moment, and his phone call asking about some trivial matter was just a warning for him to keep his wits about him.
He sighed as he hung up the phone, there was a lot riding on him getting married tomorrow. Every move he'd made since merging with his brother had been leading up to this moment. He should just go home, get a good night's sleep and wake bright eyed and ready to seal the deal.
So why was he so reluctant to leave?
Even as the question floated into his mind, he knew the answer. The answer was currently reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a bottle of, Kai squinted, was that tequila? Bonnie turned to him as she held up the bottle in question.
Kai took a deep breath, this night was about to get a lot more interesting.
Half the bottle is gone before Bonnie brings up the elephant in the room, "Are you excited about tomorrow?" She was sitting on the ground with her back against the couch, picking at the label on the bottle, while he was splayed out on the couch above her.
He paused with the shot glass halfway to his mouth, was he excited? He was apprehensive about the ceremony, wanting to get the incantations correct and not fuck it up. He was proud about the prospect of growing the coven through decisions and actions that he set into motion. He was worried that he would be so busy mingling that he wouldn't get to truly sit down and enjoy the meal that he had spent many many hours putting together.
There were a lot of things Kai was feeling, but as he hunted deep down inside himself to peel apart the bundle of emotions that, even now sometimes felt foreign to him, he found with an odd sense of detachment that excitement was not one of them.
His prolonged pause caused Bonnie to abandon the bottle and turn to meet his gaze. Green met and connected with blue, even as Kai tipped the shot glass into his mouth. Bonnie's eyes briefly dropped to his lips as he licked off a stray drop. "I'll be excited when it's all over." He finally answered her question. "And when everybody goes home, and I have peace and quiet again. Relatively speaking."
Bonnie smirked, "How many people are going to be there, again?"
Not the one I want the most.
Kai played with his thumb ring, "Almost 300,and that's after months of cutting it down from the original number."
"Wow." Bonnie's eyes were wide, "that is a lot of people."
"Not your thing?" Kai asked, even though he was sure he knew the answer.
"Hell no." Bonnie reached for her shot glass, "That is way too many people." She poured herself a generous amount, "I'd be so scared that I'd make a fool out of myself."
"I thought all girls wanted a huge wedding." Kai took the bottle and poured himself a shot.
"Ha, you thought." Bonnie threw back her shot, "Both Caroline and Elena did, or in Caroline's case, still do. She's got this marriage book that she's had forever, with all kinds of ideas and Pinterest boards." She shook her head fondly, "That girl has been planning her wedding ever since she got over her 'boys are icky' phase."
"Let me guess, you were the hold out." His shot went down smooth.
Bonnie sighed and leaned back against the couch, her head almost coming to rest against his leg. "I've never gotten all the fuss, to me that day should be more about the bride and groom." She crossed her legs in front of her, "My ideal wedding would be something like having a simple ceremony surrounded by my family and friends in the woods and just having fun after." She bit her lip, "I know it sounds a bit hippie-"
"No, that sounds perfect, Bon." Kai cut her off softly. He would have loved to have something low-key like what she had just mentioned. But knowing that as coven leader, that never would have flown with the rest of the council. A marriage for a regular member of the Gemini was an event, never mind the leader.
The picture came into his mind unbidden, a clearing in the middle of the forest, decorations here and there, but not obtrusive enough to overshadow the beauty of nature. The sun slowly setting as Bonnie appeared holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Neither really paying attention to the officiant, too lost in their own world and their love for each other. And later, lanterns and fireflies illuminating the night as they laughed and danced together.
Kai hastily downed another shot, hoping the burn from the alcohol could mask the sudden pain in his chest. He wanted that. He wanted that more than he thinks he's ever wanted anything in his life.
He looked down to where Bonnie was still resting against the couch and shifted as the urge to touch her reared its ugly head once more. It was always there, lying just below his skin. Like some pest that had burrowed itself inside and made a nice, cozy home there. Even when they were still trapped in the prison world, the urge to reach out and see if her skin was as soft as it looked, was never far from his mind.
His fingers flexed as he recalled wrapping a hand around her throat. Her flesh, soft, supple, and oh so fragile that one snap would ensure that neither of them would ever be getting out of there. But thankfully he'd wanted freedom more than to indulge that particular whim.
He reached down to wrap one lock of dark hair around his fingers, knowing very well that Bonnie would be able to feel what he was doing. "I think this is the longest I've ever seen your hair." He desperately wanted to change the subject to something more mundane.
But Bonnie wasn't buying it, "Does she know?" Kai froze, her hair still entwined within his fingers. There was no need to specify the "she" Bonnie was referring to.
"No."
"Are you going to tell her?"
Kai closed his eyes, "I don't see why it matters." Which apparently was the wrong answer.
Bonnie pulled away, and Kai briefly mourned the loss of any connection to her. She turned to face him, the alcohol doing a nice job of lowering her defenses enough to display her shock and disbelief. "You don't see why it could matter to your future wife Bonnie stressed the last two words, "that through some fucked up magic on behalf of your coven, you're linked with another woman?"
"Why does that concern you?" He didn't mean to, but he knows his voice has gone icy. Hearing anyone criticize his coven, especially after all the work he's put into changing it, never ceased to put him on edge.
"Because I've been there!" She grabs the bottle with the last dregs of tequila and downs it, "I've been the one thinking my relationship was something it evidently wasn't." She studied the now empty bottle, "I've been the one who was the oblivious idiot."
That was brand new information that Kai hadn't been partial to before now. "Bon-"
"Why are you here, Kai?" Her voice lost all it's fight, and now sounded dejected. "And don't give me any 'I was in the neighborhood bullshit'." Bonnie added when the silence stretched on.
Kai fiddled with one of his rings, deciding to ask the question that they both knew he wanted to ask, "why won't you come to my wedding, Bon?"