Selina smiled to herself as she pulled another batch of croissants out of the over. "Perfect," she said, inhaling their wonderful scent. "Just perfect." She looked at the three trays and nodded with satisfaction. "That should be enough for now when you consider that one more batch still needs to finish. Let's see what we have in terms of jams and butters and things." She was so busy rifling around in the cupboards, she didn't hear Remiel shuffle into the kitchen, and started badly when the angel told her good morning.
"Oh, good morning, sweetie," she said when she could get a breath. "How did you sleep?"
"Well enough," Remiel said. "I'm awfully sorry I frightened you."
"It's all right," Selina said. "I'll recover."
"All right," Remiel nodded, hand on her belly. But she was still horribly embarrassed and blushing like mad as she took a seat at the kitchen Island, curling her toes under a few times to stretch them out. "So...where's the Supreme Being?"
"You know, you're a sweet girl to call him that, but if you keep doing it, his head will get so big he won't be able to fit through the door!" Selina teased.
"He's a good man, and he loves you very much," Remiel pointed out. "Do you notice?"
"Yes," Selina blushed. "Of course I notice. When I'm with...I feel the most secure and loved I've ever felt in my whole life."
Remiel leaned forward. "I...I know this is none of my business, but...are things good between you as a couple now? Do you love each other again?"
"Yeah," Selina grinned and rubbed her stomach. "I think we are."
"Are you okay?" Remiel asked worriedly. "Are you sick?"
"No, no, sweetie," Selina shook her head. "I'm all right. I'm pregnant, actually. You're the second person I've told."
Remiel grinned. "And I bet I know the other person. The Supreme Being must be so happy!"
"What?" Selina asked. "Oh, yes. Elijah is very happy about it," she confirmed with heavy emphasis on his name.
"Yes, Elijah is," Remiel repeated, embarrassed. "And...are you in love with that other man? Do you still have feelings for him?"
"Dorian?" Selina clarified. "He's one of the best friends I've ever had, Remiel. And he'll always have a special place in my heart. But I've never loved him like I loved Elijah. Elijah Mikaelson is where my heart has always been and always will be."
"That's good," Remiel smiled. "I understand now."
"Good," Selina returned the smile. "I've made lots of fresh croissants. Would you like one?"
Remiel felt her mouth begin to water. "Of course. I would never turn that down!"
As Selina began making up servings, Remiel realized she needed to ask her a favor. "Selina?"
Busy, she answered Remiel without actually hearing her. "Yes?"
"I know you're busy and will probably want to rest after doing all this wonderful baking, but...would you drive me to Ricky's tattoo shop today?" Remiel asked. "Please?"
"What?" Selina turned as she pulled some more warm, fresh croissants out of the oven. "What did you say?" She shook her head. "Oh, sure I'll take you but...why? Ricky's out of town today. He won't be there!"
"I know!" Remiel grinned, very proud of herself. "That's why it'll be the perfect day to do it!"
"Do what?" Selina asked, eyebrow raised.
"It's a surprise," Remiel whispered with a wink. "I'm going to get a tattoo with Ricky's and my initials, along with our son's."
Selina put a hand on her heart. "Oh, that's so sweet!" She said. "If Elijah got a tattoo for me..." A dreamy look came over her and then she quickly shook her head. "He wouldn't. It's not his thing. But if it was..." Then she paused. "But wait, isn't it a bit premature? You don't know if you're having a boy or a girl!"
"It's...it's a boy," Remiel said firmly. "I just know it. And if it's a boy, Ricky and I decided his name would be Lucas!"
Selina grinned widely. "That...that's perfect!"
Remiel put a finger to her lips. "But I want it to be a surprise until after Lucas is born. So can you keep a secret?"
"Yes," Selina hopped on the balls of her feet. Truth be told, she wasn't the best at keeping secrets, but she would try for Remiel. "I sure can!"
Then, her phone rang. "Yes?" She listened as Adrian informed her that he and Eloise were at the hospital and in the process of delivering the triplets; that one would be delivered by Eloise, but that the other two would have to be delievered by C-section.
"Thanks for telling me," Selina said. "I'm on my way, hurrying as fast as I can!"
"Is something wrong?" Remiel asked, worry in her voice as Selina ended the call and snatched up her purse, running for the door.
"No, everything is wonderful, Remiel," Selina smiled. "Eloise is in a labor with the triplets and they could be born any time now. I have to get to the hospital right away. Would you spread the word, please?"
"Of course," Remiel nodded, smiling as Selina paused to give her a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Thank you!"
As she ran for the door, Elijah entered, looking on in surprise as she quickly brushed past him, muttering a greeting that he barely understood before she threw herself into his arms and kissed him. "Thanks for feeding the horses," she said. "Eloise is in labor and I need to get to the hospital. Can you drive Remiel to Ricky's tattoo shop, please? She wants to surprise Ricky with a tattoo of her initials, his, and thier son's."
"Sure," Elijah nodded. "I'll do that after I eat, and once that's done, I'll stop by the hospital too." He gave her a slap on the bottom. "Now go! You don't want to be late."
"Love you," she said with a smile and ran off to her car.
Elijah watched until her car was gone, then grabbed a croissant for himself and one for Remiel and put them on a plate, along with coffee for himself and milk for her.
"Thank you, Supreme Being," Remiel told him, taking a croissant and the jam jar.
"You're welcome," Elijah replied. "Would you mind if I came into the tattoo shop with you? I was thinking..."
"You mean drive me there?" Remiel nodded. "I'd like that very much; I'd be very grateful."
"No, I don't mean just dropping you off. I mean, coming into the shop with you and getting a tattoo myself," he shrugged and winked.
"With Selina's name?" Remiel exclaimed. "That's wonderful! You should do it!"
"Maybe," Elijah winked. "When I'm being spontaneous, who knows what I'll do?"
"AH! Damn it! Adrian, it hurts!" Eloise yelled. "Why did you let them allow me to deliver one this way? Why couldn't they just cut me open and yank out all three at once?"
"Because..." Adrian shut his eyes. "Because I don't want to see you be cut open before you have to be," he said and wiped her forehead. "Sweetie, I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay," she panted as, at last, the pain seemed to ease, glad to take some ice chips from him. "It's sweet, I guess. It's just that this whole thing is scary for me, and I...I..."
Adrian took her hand and kissed it. "I know," he said. "But you got this! You're a total badass and I have full confidence in your ability to deliver this baby!"
"Well, thank you," Eloise winced. "Would you rub my back? It's...it's killing me..." She paused. "Do you think we're doing the right thing? What if we're endagering two babies just to get one out easier?"
"Oh, I don't think that's true," Adrian tried to reassure her as he rubbed her back. "Junior went over the plan with more than one doctor and since they're all professionals, I'm sure they wouldn't suggest something if it wouldn't work."
Just then, his phone rang. "What?" Adrian snapped.
"Don't be short with me, boy," snapped the voice of Mikael Mikaelson. "We have to talk. I need to find out how to get rid of a demon woman."
"What makes you think I can tell you?" Adrian asked. "I married one. Are you in love with a demon girl, Mikael?"
"That's not the way I would put it," Mikael drawled. "She's just...invaded my mind and won't go away. That's not being in love. It's...it''s...unsettling."
"What's that noise?" Mikael yelled into Adrian's ear over the sound of Eloise's screaming. Adrian wanted to say that he was louder.
"Marry her!" Eloise cried and then yelled in pain again. "Tell him to marry her if she's gotten under his skin that much!"
"Is she crazy?" Mikael snapped. "I'm not marrying anyone! What's all that screaming?"
"She's not crazy, she's in labor for crying out!" Adrian rolled his eyes and put his phone on his shoulder, hissing at Eloise. "But with you suggesting things like Mikael marrying anyone, I'm beginning to think you might be."
Eloise gave him a look.
"Well, pardon me for interrupting," Mikael snapped.
"Mikael, I suppose we're on good enough terms that it's okay, but your love life is not my priority." Adrian then looked up and saw both his parents staring at him.
"Mikael?" Klaus asked.
"Did you say Mikael?" Selina added.
"Fuck," Adrian muttered under his breath and tried not to look guilty as his parents stared at him in shock. "Gotta go! Bye!"
"Who were you talking to?" Selina asked.
"Yeah, you said 'Mikael'!" Klaus added. "It better not be the Mikael we think it is. He made me miserable!"
"He made both of us miserable!" Selina corrected. "He tried to murder me for ages!"
"Yes, but at least you made a deal with Satan to humiliate him," Klaus reminded her, as if she needed to be reminded. "That never happened for me!"
"Did it sound like I said 'Mikael'?" Adrian gave an awkward laugh. "I don't know if that's true. You might be hearing things. You tell them, Eloise."
"I would love to, but..." Eloise winced and gritted her teeth before letting out a cry. She had been offered painkillers but had been too nervous about their effect on the babies to take the doctors up on them. Now she wished she had. "But I'm busy suffering here!"
"Of course you are, sweetie," Selina nodded, looking at the young woman with pity, knowing all too well how she was feeling. "I know we can't deliver the children ourselves but...is there anything we can do to make the pain go away?"
"I don't have anything specific in mind," Eloise replied. "Sing a song, tell a joke, do a dance...anything!"
"Oh, all right," Selina replied, standing at the foot of the bed and trying to remember an old dance routine from her Lonely Heart Days. "How am I doing? Is it helping?"
Eloise cracked a grin. "I don't mean to laugh, but...yeah, it's helping a little."
Finally, after what seemed like a million years, the first baby was finally delivered.
"She's so cute," Selina said. "And so small!" She knew that multiple pregnancies meant smaller babies but it was still a bit of a surprise. "I'm just glad she's okay."
"Yeah," Adrian nodded and ruffled what little hair the baby had. "Miss Celine is a real trooper!"
"And if you don't mind, now we have to go and deal with the other two," Junior told Selina and Klaus. "You two wouldn't mind staying behind, would you? I don't want it to be too packed."
"Sure," Selina nodded. "It'll be okay. We'll be in the waiting room."
"Is it...is it gonna be okay?" Eloise asked Adrian as she was wheeled to the operating room.
"Of course it is," Adrian replied, telling both himself and her. "Everything is gonna be great. If you're nervous, just shut your eyes and you won't feel a thing."
Eloise looked at Junior, eyes wide. "Is he telling the truth? He better be telling the truth!"
"Yes," Junior agreed. "He's telling the truth. You won't feel any pain."
They got into the room and Junior set up a chair next to the operating table as Eloise was moved onto it.
"What's that for?" Adrian asked.
"It's for you," Junior said. "You seem like one of those dads who might pass out and we try to avoid that if we can."
"Oh, okay," Adrian sat down heavily in the chair. "That's probably a good idea." He sat down, took Eloise's hand, and started to mutter prayers, both to Steve and his great-grandmother.
Eloise, meanwhile, thought she would be brave and keep her eyes open, then let out a squeak when she saw the surgical instruments and shut them tight.
"Okay," she breathed as she felt anesthetic be smeared all over her belly and then felt nothing. "I'm ready."
Eventually, both parents heard the cries of babies and opened their eyes. "Look!" Adrian cried. "Babies!" Then he made the mistake of looking at her guts. "Oh, damn!"
The doctors all groaned as he turned his head and threw up beside the chair. "Sorry," he apologized.
"It's all right," Junior sighed. "At least you're not unconscious or bleeding from a cracked skull."
He didn't look at Eloise again until he was sure she was all sown up. Then he took her hand and kissed it. "You did it, honey!" He said hoarsely. Tears were in his eyes, and hers. "You did it!"
"Yeah," Eloise nodded and looked over at the babies the doctors held. "I guess I did." She looked at Junior. "Are they okay?"
"Yes, they seem all right," he assured her with a smile. "You made it through beautifully, but even so, we're going to keep you here a couple of days more, just to make sure nothing happened to you because of the surgery. And we're gonna get the babies' weights up a little bit before we send them home permanently."
"But that...there's nothing wrong with them." Eloise clarified as they wheeled her out of the operating room and toward recovery with the babies following behind in the nurses' arms.
"No!" Junior had to yell. "Listen to them. Strong lungs and all. They just need to be a bit bigger. If there was something seriously wrong, I would tell you."
"All right," Eloise said, finally deciding to believe him as she was settled into a bed. "Can I...can we hold them?"
"Yes," Junior nodded, handing one little girl to her father and the other to her mother. "But just for a little bit. Then we have to get them to the nursery."
"This is Michelle," Adrian decided, looking into the eyes of the baby he held.
"Good, because this one seems like a Laurelle to me," Eloise replied, smiling at Adrian.
They introduced themselves to their babies and held them until it was time to take them back to the nursery (with little bits of tape on the blankets so the doctors knew which baby was which and could label the bracelets properly.)
"You're amazing," Adrian told Eloise and kissed her hair. "I love you."
"I love you too," Eloise kissed him back. "Thanks for getting me through this."
"I don't know how much I helped," Adrian replied darkly, trying not to think about the puddle of puke being cleaned up in the operating room. "But you're welcome."
"They're all adorable, aren't they?" Klaus asked as he and Selina stared at their newest grandchildren from the nursery window. The three babies each wore a little crochet pink hat (And had hats of different colors knitted by their grandmother for when they returned home as a way to help their parents tell them apart.)
"Yeah," Selina nodded, her lip trembling. "But so small!"
"But remember that Junior said for triplets they're good sized," Klaus reminded her as he put his arms around her. He sighed, resting his chin on the top of Selina's head as she rested her own head on his shoulders. "Honestly, based on how we raised him, how dysfunctional it was, I'm surprised Adrian got to this point. A wonderful wife...a family of his own now that he's all ready for it. I'm happy for him."
Selina scoffed. "All of our kids turned out normal in spite of us. Roxie helps run a business, Lucy...I mean, you saw how her gallery was in one of those artsy magazines, right?"
"Well, yeah," Klaus nodded. "Of course I did!"
They both looked at the babies again. "Three little ones," Selina smiled. "I'm so glad we didn't traumatize Adrian for life with all the sex he walked in on."
"You know, I don't feel bad about that," Klaus shook his head. "We told Adrian to knock before he came in and he didn't listen."
"Well, all the same, we could have locked the door," Selina countered.
"They didn't grow up entirely in spite of us," Klaus reminded her. "You were the one who insisted they all get jobs of some kind and contribute meaningfully to society."
"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I guess I did do that." One hand still in his, she turned back to the nursery window. "And I'll make sure of the same for these three as well. I know Adrian and Eloise will love these girls to death, but three kids at once is a lot and they're gonna need help!"
Klaus hugged her again. "So like you to take that on when you also have a ranch and a bakery to run."
Selina then thought about the baby of her own that was coming and smiled. "I'll be able to find the time, I'm sure. It won't be difficult!"
"So how are they?" Came Elijah's voice as he and Remiel joined them. "Everything go all right?"
Selina started and began working on entangling herself from Klaus, but Elijah put a hand up. "It's all right," he said. "You two just added more grandchildren to your family. Adrian has hit a big milestone in his life. It's natural you want to celebrate it. I'm all right."
"Are you sure?" Selina asked.
"Yes," Elijah said firmly. "This is part of the new leaf I'm turning over. I know better now than to be jealous of my brother over nothing. I swear."
"All right," Selina said and took a deep breath before grinning at Remiel. "So is it done?"
"Yes," Remiel grinned, giving Elijah a wink, which he returned. "The Supreme Being even stayed with me for moral support!"
Selina just shook her head, dumbfounded. "I'm surprised he went into a tattoo shop at all. Very courageous! Can't think of any reason why he'd go. I mean, I can think of reasons I would like him to go, but...that's not gonna happen."
"Oh, it wasn't that bad, really," Elijah said with a grin and a twinkle in his eye. "I made it through somehow."
Knowing they might inadvertently give the surprise away if they talked about it anymore, Remiel turned back to the nursery window. "Are the three girls right up front there Adrian and Eloise's?"
"Yes," Selina nodded. "Celine, Michelle, and Laurelle. And they're all middle named after me!"
Remiel smiled. "I'm not surprised Adrian honored you that way. You and he seem very close."
"We are," Selina nodded. "I've...I've always worried more about my boys than my girls. Maybe it's because Joshua, my first boy, was taken away from me." She shrugged. "I don't know."
Sensing sadness in her, Remiel took her hand. "What do you say we go back to looking at the babies? They're very beautiful."
"Yes," Selina smiled, grateful for Remiel's tactful change of subject. "Yes, they are."
Kai gave Eloise one last kiss goodbye as the clock showed the end of visiting hours. "I hope you'll come back," she said. "The doctors tell me I'll be here at least a couple of days to make sure everything went all right."
Kai smiled. "Don't worry about a thing; I just know it'll go fast!"
He turned to go and Adrian followed him to the door. "Thanks for coming; I know this might still be kind of awkward; Eloise is glad you're here, though...and so am I."
Kai gave one last nod, promised to come back the next day, and then walked back toward the nursery, his hands in his pockets as he whistled softly. He had a feeling that by the time he returned there, there would be someone else there Eloise would want to see. Someone he'd seen lately, positive she wasn't a figment of his imagination. And when he saw the back of a blonde bob staring through the nursery window, he was sure of it.
"I knew I wasn't imaging things," he said, coming up behind her and taking her hand.
Gabrielle gripped his fingers tightly, bringing her other hand up to her lips. Tears were in her eyes. "They're such beautiful girls, aren't they?" She asked.
"Yeah," Kai nodded. "They really are."
The lovely demon swallowed and turned to face him. "We made this possible, you know; our one night stand started all this and look what happened."
Kai chuckled. "'One night stand' has such negative connotations," he said, putting a hand on either side of her face. "And it was so much better than that." He gave her a hug. "I don't think we did bad at all," he told her with a smile."
"I agree," she said, jumping in his arms and hugging him for a while. But when she let him go, she wasn't smiling anymore.
"What's the matter?" Kai asked. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," Gabrielle nodded. "I'm fine, thank you, and you're a cheri for asking, but...I don't want to cause any trouble for you. I came here just to...to see my daughter, and my new granddaughters. I don't mean to make you think you have any further obligations toward me." She shook her head and backed away from him.
"I'm glad you're going to stay for Eloise," Kai told her. "Do you realize how happy she'll be to know her mother is alive?"
Gabrielle sucked in her breath. "What if she thinks I abandoned her? What if she hates me?"
"Not a chance in hell," Kai promised with a wink. "I know for a fact that my friend who raised her told her that you died to save her, so of course she doesn't think you abandoned her and she most definitely doesn't hate you."
"Good," Gabrielle let out a breath. "And you do understand that I don't need anything more from you? I've heard that you have enough women around without me too. I know your wife came back...and there's the woman you're in love with now..."
"Kayla," Kai nodded."Yeah, I...I love her very much."
"I'm so sorry all this is happening to you now."
Kai put a hand on her face. "You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault." He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. "I'm very glad that we met." He gestured at the triplets again. "And like I have to remind you again of all that's happened because we were together. I have a lovely daughter and three new wonderful granddaughters...but be honest." He gave her a playful wink. "I still look young, even though I'm a grandpa now, right? Not old?"
"No," Gabrielle smiled. "Tu n'as pas change. You look as handsome as ever."
Mikael growled in frustration, pounding on the couch cushions because he knew it would be needlessly expensive to punch holes in the wall. His morning was going from bad to worse. His conversations with Adrian had proved fruitless and he had no idea why the boy was insisting on letting his wife bring more demon creatures into the world. That and why in the world Adrian found a demon woman attractive enough to father children with in the first place. It was bad enough that Elijah had decided to have children with Selina Warren (even if, in all honesty, she wasn't so bad anymore,). Now Adrian was bringing demons into his circle!
He growled and punched a pillow again. The only positive side was that the boy wasn't actually related to him so his bloodline wasn't technically being tainted with demon, but still...close enough!
Sighing, he grabbed the weekly newspaper that the Council sent out, hoping there would be a report about some unruly punk vampire who was not in league with the devil that he could take down and destroy. It'd been a while since he'd fought a rogue vampire and in the mood he was in, he thought it would certainly be a good fight. But he didn't even have a chance to open the paper. On the front page was a picture of all the dead souls that had returned to Earth and one of them in particular caught his eye. She had a bright smile and her blonde hair was pulled up in a loose bun with some strands falling down her back.
He growled in frustration as he took in her beautiful milky skin, the low neckline of her blouse that gave a teasing hint of what seemed to be a very ample bosom...and what he wouldn't give to pull her hair out of its bun so that the rest of it spilled down her shoulders like a stream of liquid gold...
He felt desire as he hadn't felt it in a while...until he got a good look at her eyes. That gave it away to someone as well-versed in the supernatural world as he was. It filled him with dismay as he shook his head, realizing what she was.
"Damn demon woman," he whispered, throwing the paper aside and swallowing. He then stood up and made his way to the coffee machine. A cup of the stuff would bring him back to his senses. He looked through all the cupboards and then swore under his breath as he remembered there wasn't any left. He'd meant to go get some, but he'd been distracted by the sight of...her. He sighed. Could he go without? No. Might as well go grab some while he was thinking about it. It wasn't like it was a witch. It wouldn't just appear on its own.
"And here we are," Sybil said to herself, sliding gracefully into a parking spot at the grocery store. It was early, so the lot wasn't very full. She would be able to grab her basket, do her shopping, and then leave without too much trouble. Then she'd try and go back to bed. She hadn't slept much the night before, which was why she was wearing the glasses: to hide the dark under-eye circles. Every time she'd closed her eyes, she'd seen a pair of beautiful blue ones on a man she knew repulsed her. Damn that Mikael Mikaelson for bumping into her and looking at her! Damn him!
Eventually, the tossing and turning became too much and she decided to shower and dress, eat some toast, drink some coffee, and get her grocery shopping over with before the store got too packed and it took her ages.
Since she was just going to the store, she'd hadn't dressed too fancy: beige sweat pants, white sneakers, and a white off the shoulder sweater, with her hair put on top of her head in a messy bun. She definitely wasn't trying to be sexy, but with the off the shoulder sweater, she sort of was, she guessed.
Moving her glasses to cover her eyes, she went into the store, grabbed a basket, and head to the cereal aisle to grab the first thing on her list. She knew exactly where it was, but groaned in dismay when she saw that the kind she liked had been put on a shelf too high for her to reach.
"Damn it," she groaned. "Only a giant could reach that high! Oh, well. Luckily, I'm very determined!" She put her basket down and began try and scale the shelves of cereal, muttering to herself.
"I'll get you, cereal! If it's the last thing I do! Whose dumb idea was it to put it up this high? It's a cereal for little children!" As she stepped on the first shelf and reached her hand up, she shook her head. "Seriously, who thought of this? It must've been a man!"
Unsuccessful and full of even more frustration, she tried to step up one more shelf, but couldn't get her foot up high enough, got stuck, and lost her balance. She let out a cry as she felt herself fall. Then she felt confusion and relief as a pair of strong arms caught her before she hit the floor, one hand supporting her back, the other under her knees.
"Thank you!" She cried, reaching up to put her arms around the Good Samaritan's neck to keep herself stable as she got to her feet. "Thank you! I was getting my cereal and I lost my balance, and I..." She trailed off as she faced her helper, her eyes meeting an unfortunately familiar pair of blue ones that couldn't belong to anyone else but Mikael Mikaelson. "You!" She hissed, eyes narrowed.
He scoffed. "Believe me, the feeling is mutual. If I'd have known it was you, Sybil, I would have just let you fall." He paused. "Aren't you going to thank me for all I've done for you?"
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Sybil spoke again. "I will not!" She snapped. "I would rather have landed on my butt than be rescued by you!" She got right in his face and coughed. "That sour morning breath of yours really isn't anything to be proud of, you know."
Mikael smirked. "Please continue to insult me. It's very entertaining to listen to, considering how loudly your heart is beating in your flat chest." He took her chin in his hand. "Don't feel bad though. That's the effect I have on women."
"Oh, my god, you're disgusting!" Sybil cried, trying to get away from him. "And your ego is as big as the universe, which is nothing to be proud of! And just so you know, repulsion can make a heart beat fast just as much as lust can. Just something to think about." She picked up her basket to walk down another aisle. Mikael watched her bottom in its tight sweat pants appreciatively for a few seconds before calling out with laughter in his voice: "Your box of cereal? Don't want to have to catch you again."
Sybil turned to glare at Mikael and stomped back, snatching the box out of his hands.
"Super Chocolate Sugar Bombs," Mikael smirked. "Doesn't surprise me you like a child's cereal. Makes sense when you're too short to grab it."
Blushing, she threw the box in her basket and growled at him.
"Oh, you seem agitated," he said, his voice full of mock concern "Is something the matter?"
"Yes," Sybil hissed. "I don't think this grocery store allows animals inside! I'm going to complain to management and then you'll be thrown out!"
"Now, now," He told her. "I just want to know what demons like yourself eat these days. The flesh of innocent children? Or-" He smirked as he followed her to the vegetable section and she grabbed a cucumber.
"Interesting," he said, coming to stand close behind her. "Are you trying to communicate something by picking that particular vegetable?" He was close behind her now, his hands on her shoulders and his lips by her ear. Then she felt a slight bulge that made her whip around and nearly slap him. "It's for a salad," she said. "That's what I'm communicating!" She then grabbed some tiny gherkin pickles and threw them at him. "If you want to know what I mean with those, I'll be glad to tell you."
Then she looked up to see other customers staring at her. She picked up what she could, quickly finished her shopping, paid for her things, and strode out of the grocery store, trying not to look anyone in the eye, especially not Mikael Mikaelson, who she just knew was behind her. She even heard his stupid deep voice behind her as she cleared the automatic door and went into the parking lot.
"Oh, come on, my dear. Where is your sense of humor? You were the one pelting me with produce and yet, who is the angry one here compared to who has the right to be?"
"You don't think I have the right to be angry at you?" She asked, whipping around to see his stupid smirking face and his muscular arms crossed over his chest.
"Let me make something clear to you," Sybil said, poking that chest with her nails. "I despise you! No, I hate you to the moon and back! I hate you so much I want to barf when I look at you, or eat a plate of liver rather than look at your stupid face! And that's saying something since I hate liver!"
He nodded. "Mhmmm, mhmmm." Then he grabbed her grocery bag, took it from her, and set it on the ground, making his way toward her.
Eyes wide, she backed away until she hit a brick wall. "What are you doing?"
"What I should have done yesterday to get you out of my system," Mikael murmured. "Don't worry, I promise I'm doing you a favor even though you say you hate me. I know you really don't."
Sybil was breathing heavily now, as his hands slid over her hips and down the small of her back, letting out a brief whimper as he pulled her against his rock hard chest while his hands slid under her sweatpants and panties to grab her bottom and squeeze it. She whimpered again and threw her arms around him, gently biting his earlobe and hating herself for doing so.
"How about you admit it?" He suggested as he continued to caress her bottom.
"Admit what?"
"Well, this is just a taste," he said. "Why don't you admit how much you want more?"
"You're delusional!" She growled, trying to push him but not being able to move him at all.
"Am I really?" He asked. "Want to test that theory?" He slipped his hand under her sweater to caress her belly after she'd nodded defiantly before sliding the other hand under her sweat pants to rub her gently for barely a second before she changed her mind and snatched his hand, stopping him.
"No," She snapped with a shake of her head that freed more hair from her bun.
"So I'm right?" Mikael grinned.
"No, that's not what I said," Sybil protested. "I just mean I don't want this. You can't prove it this way."
"Let me verify that I have no effect on you and I'll leave you alone for eternity. I promise it won't take very long. I'll even make it enjoyable for you."
"Mikael, please!" She paused as he grinned at her. "Fine," she scoffed. "Whatever. But I bet I won't like it. I bet it will be terrible!"
He chuckled but leaned back a little as Sybil reveled in the cool air on her body. "There's something absolutely alluring in you begging me, Sybil," he said, continuing to stroke her. "Go back to begging, please."
Her panties were soaked now. As she let out a gasp, his lips crashed against hers. She was resistant at first, but then she realized that she liked it and that it had been such a long time. They kissed and kissed and kissed, his lips going from hers, to her shoulders and her neck, and even slipping under her sweater to caress her chest. Not wearing a bra had been a good idea. This went on for some time, but eventually, she pushed him away, wiping off her lips and waving an angry finger at him. "Don't touch me!"
He smirked. "I believe I already have. In many places!"
"Don't try it again. I want nothing to do with you!"
"I doubt that, your panties are soaked!"
"Screw you!"
"You wish!"
Then, quite abruptly, it was as if Mikael was arguing with thin air. There was literally no one in front of him. "Sybil?" He called uncertainly, casting a hunted look around. Perhaps she was playing a trick on him.
"What?"
"Where are you?"
"I'm in front of you, you asshole!" She replied. "Are you blind, Mikaelson?"
"You listen here, woman!" He roared. "I'm not blind and I'm not playing a joke. I really can't see you!"
"What do you mean?"
"You've disappeared!"
"No, no! It can't be!" Sybil cried in a panicked voice. She didn't want to go back to the spirit world. Not yet.
"Get back here, you coward!" Mikael called. He had a plan.
"Don't you call me a coward!" She retorted. "How dare you? Are you crazy?"
Suddenly as she'd disappeared, she reappeared.
"You're back!" He said. "I can see you now!"
"Oh, my god," she sobbed, hands on her face. "I thought I was dying all over again!" She jumped into his arms and hugged him hard, glad to feel something solid in her arms.
"I got you," he soothed her. "I got you." He caressed her back and her hair and kissed the top of her head as she sobbed endlessly in his arms. Then, at last, when that was done with, she looked into his eyes, gasped, and pulled herself free, before hitting the pavement, grabbing her groceries, and running away without another glance at him.