A/n: Sorry it took so long but the explicit version had to be written out first so I'll know what needs to be watered down. I'm surprised there's still traffic count for a website that is chock full of ads and rigid formatting. Here's an early birthday present from me to you dearies. I love to know what your thoughts are. Also, if I were to upload any future chaptered versions on AO3 (because I love the free creativity - there's align right over those greener pastures), would anyone be subscribing /reading it?
Timeline Summary:
O → May 19, 2009 The sun and moon curse is lifted. Carla Lefyson regains her most recent memories hidden by the compulsion.
O → May 20, 2009 - Kol Mikaelson is undaggered and meets Caroline Forbes.
O → May 22, 2009 - Jeremy Gilbert wakes up from a magical-induced coma. Tristan de Martel, leader of The Strix, pays a visit to Mystic Falls. The doppelgangers flee Mystic Falls.
O → September 05, 2009 - John Gilbert becomes Mayor.
O → December 12, 2009 - The doppelgangers attend an exclusive party hosted by Lucien Castle in Salzburg, Austria.
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"In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity" - Albert Einstein
She wakes up to an empty bed dead into the night where the moonlight casts a soft glow from the open balcony. Her companion is nowhere to be found. The discovery is hardly unsurprising; her doppelganger is at it again. The bag of coins Katherine leaves lying around is missing from the low-rise broad coffee table.
She'd deliberately chosen a room with a clear direct view to the city square, but just to be safe. Katherine dons on her attire and slips out through the balcony. She lands on the sidewalk without a sound and makes her way towards the town square. Keeping a far enough distance but staying within earshot, Katherine settles into a nearby metal-wrought bench. She's unsure why her doppelganger needs to do this every other fortnight. She's given her the latest, trendiest mobile brand equipped with all the apps and yet, Elena Gilbert frequently prowls this area for one particular object - the payphone booth.
The reasoning behind this still eludes Katherine to this day. Elena who never once asked her about Mystic Falls and its occupants ever since her transition. Elena, who has a brother who frequently sent multiple calls to Katherine's 'discarded' burner phone, has gradually diminished in number and severity. Elena's mobile photo gallery is filled up with landscape picturesque shots of places they've visited and chockful selfies of each other… and yet there are no additional contacts of her family and friends in the contacts list.
"You want to talk about it?"
Someone else settles beside her. Her eyes don't stray far from where Elena's hunched form at the dinghy phone booth. If Elena is planning to call home, the time zone difference would be during the evening in Virginia.
The same gruff Briton accent coupled with cigar chew voices his amusement. "Has she finally found the courage to speak?"
They both know the answer. Katherine muses aloud, "I think she misses home. She dials the landline and doesn't say a word till the line drops. Somehow I get a feeling she doesn't want to return."
"Ehh.. she wants them to think she's dead or something."
"At best, they'll think it's a prank call," Katherine speculates. "What are they going to do anyways when they realize she's alive? Nothing."
The Gilbert men are awfully dense and live in their own little bubble of denial. Sommers, the guardian, on the other hand, is of a different breed. Katherine would bet a million she would figure it out if Elena continues this habit. It all comes down to what is she going to do about it.
Alec passes a phone to her, saying "Call for you." She takes it.
"Hello, my beautiful psychopath. How is Austria?"
Katherine rolls her eyes at his greeting. She replies with a bit of fondness seeping in. "Hello stranger. I'm waiting for one viciously charming swagger to detach some heads together. You're very late, by the way."
She hears a low chuckle on the other end, miles away.
"Had to take care of some icky mojo business, darling. But the job's done. Marcellius is no longer a threat to the organization."
"There is a new rising threat. Have you heard of The Five?"
"Should I?" Katherine scoffs. Alec comments beside her. "They're a special breed of bounty hunters, dedicated to hunting vampires especially. They're searching for something. Your doppelganger is on the move."
Alec makes a motion to follow. "Leave her be. She's probably heading back," she orders instead.
"Hold up. Did you ditch me for your doppelganger? Why for fuck- We could've burn the town for funsies. Why'd you stick me with baby Zhu?! What'd you do with her?"
An exasperated female pitch cuts through Kol's tantrum. "Please say you didn't go soft on us and turn her, Katerina." A loud static feedback occurs and Katherine pulls away from the mobile for a few moments. A sigh escapes when she catches Annabelle yelling at Kol's rude remark.
"Hello Annabelle. I can't say I'm pleasantly surprised you haven't ditched him yet," Katherine retorts. They both ignore Kol's shouting 'I-am-right-here'.
Alec laughs at the sounds of the far-away argument. He takes the smartphone away from Katherine and clears his throat loudly. "I think we're getting off track again. I doubt you calling us is no courtesy call. So why don't we get to the important matters first?"
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, the Five are hunting for ancients. They have a tattooed invisible magical map - each kill reveals a section. So the older vampires they kill reveal a larger portion. That's what I have for now. Katerina darling, don't make any big moves," Kol cautions.
"When have I made any big splashes?" Katherine complains. "Tristan has your ring."
"Take it back and gi-" Kol's reply gets cut off immediately. "Because of your latest involvement, Mystic Falls is now under curfew, controlled by none other than John Gilbert." Katherine detects an underlying sarcasm in Anna's statement.
"Oops. All the reason for you to leave and never look back," Katherine replies.
"Like you did?! I can't believe you! Katherine Pierce. You and Elena better-"
Beep.
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Katherine hits the red button and turns off the screen in one smooth motion. She ignores Alec's raised eyebrow in countenance to getting up from the bench as though Caroline hadn't barged in. It takes less than a few minutes to reach the town square where the pay phone booth is. She spots the phone abandoned and hears the disconnected dial tone. It was very unlike Elena to not return the germ-infested phone back onto the cradle.
Closing her eyes, Katherine stretches her vampiric senses. The smell of fresh spilled blood followed by low slurping noises beckons her to a dinged back alley where she finds the newborn vampire drinking messily at her snatched dinner. She blurs directly towards Elena. Her hand shoots up to grip Elena's chin firmly, forcing her face to tilt upwards and retract slightly from the nearly mangled human's throat.
"Long, shallow sips," Katherine instructs. "You don't want to drain him dry. Remember the third rule, cupcake."
By the time Elena releases the homeless man, he barely has a pint left. Katherine looks down in disdain. She yanks Elena's arm and with her fingernail, she slices an artery open and shoves it towards the human's gaping mouth. She keeps the wound open and watches the trickle of vampire blood drip past the man's lips. "Taste it," she orders. "You're not to remember this night."
She waits until the human's throat is mended all the while ignoring Elena's incessant grumbling before she lets go of her arm. "I'm not going to keep cleaning up your mess, 'Lena. You're going to learn how to hunt properly," criticizes Katherine.
For fuck's sake, sometimes she swears she's looking at an Isobel 2.0 except Elena still has her humanity intact. However, the way she feeds with a maniac feels like she's staring back at one of Kol's spectacular hunting sprees. With a slight tilt of her head, she blurs away and into another darkened back alley. She finds another wanderer and grabs him by his collar. With a hush placating tone, she pierces his skin and takes a long sip.
She takes her time and has her fill before offering it to her ravenous doppelganger, eyes black as coals. Elena inhales using unneeded lungs. She bites into the same spot as Katherine did before. Katherine's hand curls around Elena's back. "That's it," she coaxes, ignoring the slight tearing of the victim's throat.
She's still a newborn - barely a year old. There were bound to be some hiccups. An inner voice of the devil's advocate makes itself known, perching on doubt. But your other sired had no problems with it. There was no tearing of the victim's flesh or overfeeding.
Then again, Caroline always had impeccable self-control as a human. Being a vampire amplified that. Elena, on the other hand, had none. They repeat the same process until they're both warm with blood. They return to the bedroom and find Alec massaging himself through his boxers on the super king-sized bed.
She doesn't get it and she isn't blind.
Elena sees the way Alec's watchful eyes dart towards her whenever she's in close proximity with Katherine. They have a routine; Katherine and Alec. A gnawing pit grows deep within. It makes her so uncomfortable that she spends the time in another room busying herself with her diary. She flips to the last entry and re-reads it:
October 12, 2009
You want to know how this feels - it's like when you're submerged underwater and your eyes are closed. Everything in the world suddenly stops. The only thing you hear is the phantom beating of your heart and the thoughts in your mind. If you don't reach the surface, you start to feel your lungs crave for oxygen you no longer need.
That's how I feel about everything lately. I only hear the echoes of past voices screaming in my head… Sometimes… it hurts to breathe, but the rest of the world can burn. Nothing matters right now. I just feel the rush of blood soothing my burning throat. Nothing more, nothing less.
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A low moan breaks out, disrupting her scattered troubled thoughts. Elena slams the journal shut, throws it carelessly onto a nearby side table before barging into the next room in contempt. Leaning against the open doorway, she can't help frowning at the sight of these two blood-sharing. This routine began or continued after her transition. Whenever she goes out hunting with the older vampire, Katherine would always drink from him as though hunting with her isn't enough. She doesn't know the deal with this Alec pilot cum butler of hers and she doesn't care.
She's tired of sharing her doppelganger with him. It's supposed to be just them against the world. What's the big deal about blood-sharing?
Katherine no longer drinks from her not since her transition. She misses how it feels or the multiple ways Katherine makes her ache; all she has left are memories so fleeting that whenever she tries to cling onto them, they whisk away into reddish puffs and an image of an unceasing bleeding pool surrounds her.
"I'm bored," Elena does her best imitation of a Katherine-esque drawl. It goes unheeded and an inner tick gives way to a new itch she can't quite reach. It annoys her.
He annoys her.
She gives into the darkness rippling underneath her skin, vampiric veins slithering above her pale complexion. Darting swiftly towards the foot end of the bed, she crawls towards Katherine. Alec sends a soft warning snarl, bristling his vampiric fanged teeth. Elena's tired of backing down.
She's mine.
She closes the distance instead, stopping only when she's right between Katherine's open thighs. Flicking open Katherine's black lace negligee, she licks a stripe right across the older doppelganger's matching thong. Elena ignores the second growl in retaliation. A hand snakes out to grip her by the hair. A grin forms as soon as her sharp hearing picks up the oh-so-familiar withdrawing hiss Katherine makes whenever she's done feeding.
"Stop it, both of you," Katherine intervenes with a harried tone.
Elena pokes her head out with a smirk. "You want this to stop?"
Her fingers slyly sneak past the flimsy fabric, brushing against Katherine's dampening folds. Katherine arches a well-practiced trimmed brow. "Your face is a mess, 'Lena."
She knows what she looks like; crusty bloodstained chin with trickles of split blood running down her neck seeping through the tips of her cotton top. Her head tilts as she grins, "I'm only messy for you, babe."
She's not quite sure what to make of Katherine's indecipherable expression. She makes it so difficult to read… sometimes. A hand shoots out to grab a fistful of her top, sending Elena off balance and hurtling towards the older vampire. She flings away Alec's arm that was slung across her torso, successfully shooing him off the bed. "Go draw us a warm bath," Katherine orders as Elena resists the urge to smirk.
Katherine mutters, "I think you've had too much to drink from that meth addict, 'Lena. You've shit tolerance."
"I do not," retorts Elena. "I never felt better."
It's not the answer Katherine wants to hear and yet she doesn't push away Elena's sneaky hand dipping into her dampening panties. Katherine gives into Elena's forceful, overly enthusiastic kiss. "I should have never let you pick your own food," Katherine says in between groans.
"Touch me."
"I am touching you," Katherine presses hot butterfly kisses down her neck, following up with blunt nipping on her shoulder.
"Lower," She growls into Katherine's mass of curls. She bucks against her sire's hips.
"Patience, cupcake." Katherine's palm brushes her navel. "You need to relearn some self-restraint at the very least." Her fingers dance lower, gentle barely-there brushes.
"You're killing me," Elena groans as Katherine kisses her sternum, all soft and teasing. Her lilith fingers rest against the hem of her panties which frustrates Elena to no end. Her hips twitch upwards to Katherine's chuckle.
"Fine. I'll do it myself," Elena says desperately. Her own fingers slip past the flimsy lacy material just as Katherine intercepts with her other hand. She weaves their fingers together, palm to palm. "Easy," she murmurs. "I said I'll take care of you, cupcake."
"You're not doing anything."
"I'm teaching you patience. Let's face it. You have none. It's been four months, Elena." Blunt teeth close in on her nipple as she releases a gasp.
"I don't even want to be here. Do you know why we're here?" Katherine twists Elena's other nipple, eliciting a yowl.
"I-" Elena moans.
"You went on a murderous spree for four days. There was an article about it."
"I thought I saw him," Elena gasps again when Katherine plunges two fingers into her suddenly.
"You are so wet," Katherine mumbles, sending a pleasant buzz through Elena's core. She shifts her wrist, angling for another push. It draws another long sound from Elena. "More," she demands and Katherine obeys, pushing in with a rhythm. Her thumb dances over Elena's clit. "Fuck," she cries. Her eyes fall closed. Her orgasm creeps up on her, curling hot behind her hips.
Elena chokes.
"Shh… I got you." Katherine coos as she crooks her fingers. She squeezes Elena's hand, flicks her tongue at her perky nipple, and Elena comes crashing fast. Katherine's fingers twitch inside her, thumb joint rubbing mercilessly against her clit. Elena's hips buck up again, legs tightening. "Beautiful," Katherine smiles as Elena comes again. She withdraws her fingers, settling her hand warm and sticky on Elena's thigh.
"Mm," Elena murmurs, delightfully boneless. "Give me thirty seconds, then it's your turn."
"Take your time," Katherine kisses her lazily.
When Elena finds her energy, she fucks Katherine in the bath through three orgasms, the tips of her vampiric fangs grazing but not quite piercing into her sire's shoulder. Katherine rides Elena's fingers with Elena's hand on her breast, her head tipped back, open and vulnerable.
Something nags deep inside her mind. Just a bit more pressure and she can-
"Don't."
A low gruff interrupts Elena's musings as she looks up to see Alec standing by the open doorway. She hears the silent threat loud and clear. She has heard him saying something similar since she first 'awoke'.
A memory swims forth unbiddenly. It's always the same.
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A crimson-soaked carpeted floor,
A pool of blood that can't be hers.
She has no explanations,
Not when Katherine's unresponsive,
And Alec's there, glaring daggers.