Chapter 8 - A Frank Discussion


As soon as Kurt stepped into Klaus' bedroom, he knew that things might be okay after all. There was something inside of him that made him feel more relaxed about what he was coming home to. Klaus was sat on his bed, engrossed in a book and it was probably the most normal thing that Kurt had seen the man do. From feeding on humans to running at high speeds, it had been difficult to separate who Klaus was from what he could do, but seeing him just sitting and reading a book was quite the eye opener.

"May I come in?"

Klaus looked him and tucked his bookmark neatly into the book, placing it on his bedside table. "Of course. Kurt, I…"

"I know you want to apologise," Kurt whispered. He could really feel Klaus' regret and ennui that circled through him, along with a maelstrom of other emotions that Kurt didn't really want to touch on in that moment. He concentrated on the ones that he could tangibly understand.

Klaus eyed him solemnly. "Empathy…interesting."

"What?"

"You can read me can't you? You can see what I'm feeling."

Kurt nodded lightly. "I feel it too, though I'd imagine not as potently as you're feeling it now. But I'd also like to apologise first."

Klaus fell silent, wondering what Kurt would say next.

"I admit that I understand why you'd object to me seeing that particular group of people. You have history with them and you'd much rather avoid any chance of them poisoning you to me."

"And did they?"

Kurt shook his head. "Caroline had a lot of nice things to say and everyone else left it alone, though I imagine they're discussing me at this very moment."

Klaus nodded. "Probably. I also want to apologise. I was out of line to try to dictate who you could spend time with. You have your own mind and a sharp one at that, you're not going to fall prey to some idle gossip from the townspeople. I know I can be challenging and a little possessive Kurt, but I'm…"

Kurt watched as Klaus struggled to finish his sentence. "Go on…"

"I'm worried about losing you."

Kurt sat down next to him, running a thumb over Klaus's palm. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Oh, there's a lot more, things that I would love to tell you. My life has been very complicated and there's a lot to it. I don't have a lot of good things going for me right now, Kurt. You're an important one of them. There's Elijah and, I suppose Katherine, but you…you've come into my life at an important time and I couldn't be happier."

Kurt's lips quivered as he felt himself leaning forward. Suddenly his lips were on Klaus' and their fingers were intertwined. Kurt gasped into Klaus' mouth as the man opened it, wrapped his own hand around Kurt's head.

Kurt pulled back, panting. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from."

Klaus swallowed heavily. "I can't lie, I've wanted to do that since I met you."

"You have?"

Klaus nodded. "Ever since we got that hotel room. I would ravished you that night if I could have."

"I had no idea."

"Not used to thinking that any of those whiny Ohio boys might be into you?"

Kurt chuckled. "That was never really a possibility, unless one of them was really good at hiding it."

"I don't know how they could without wanting to devour you at every opportunity."

Kurt raised a brow. "So what took you so long?"

"I have excellent self-control. Comes with the territory. I wanted to see how you might have felt about me."

Kurt grasped Klaus's surprisingly soft hands. "I tried denying it at first, I was afraid of what it might do to me. But the more I think about it, the more I let myself feel it."

"And are you still afraid?"

Kurt swallowed heavily and nodded. "More so now. It really hit home tonight just how much you mean to me. I…at first I thought it could've been a sort of Stockholm Syndrome. You saved me from my circumstances in Lima and showed me a whole new world."

"What changed?"

"I did. I started seeing and feeling things for what they were under the surface, rather than what they could be logically. Thinking with my head became a secondary reflex, instead I started thinking with my magic."

Klaus let a small smile grow across his face. "That's…really good. It means you're developing at a healthy rate."

"I do feel more powerful every day. But I don't know whether that's just magic or whether it's feeling more content within myself. And that's where your influence comes into play. You've had a very significant impact on me and my life."

"The question I posit now is just how significant would you like it to become?"

Kurt looked down at his trembling hands. "What I want and what I think are two different things, but they're equally important. I want you, Klaus, I'd be lying to you if I said anything else."

"But?"

"But," Kurt stressed, "this can't happen yet. I have a lot of things to work through, things I need to overcome on my own and I'm not going to enter into something with you if I can't be the best version of myself."

Klaus dipped his head into what could almost be considered a nod. "I can't fault you for wanting the best for yourself, I suppose. I'm just hoping you'll still stick around."

"I don't think I could leave even if I wanted to," Kurt whispered. "Which is something that really scares me."

"Why couldn't you?"

Kurt flexed his fingers as they steadied. "I think my magic is keeping me here, telling me to stay. I have no desire to leave Mystic Falls but now even thinking about it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I think it's telling me that I'm needed here. I wonder if it's to help you."

Klaus shrugged. "Quite possibly. Love and magic have always been closely tied to each other so it would make sense if they combined."

"Maybe I…no, forget it."

"What, Kurt?"

Kurt sighed. "I was just thinking I might talk to Bonnie about things like that. She sensed a lot of dark power in me and I'm thinking she can help me. And then, in turn, I can help you. But if it's going to cause problems then I can always just wing it."

"I really fucked up. I don't want you not talking to people because you think that's what I want. I just…I want you to be careful around them, Kurt. Most of them are fairly decent people who were dealt a tough hand. And some of them…I just don't like."

"Tyler, you mean?"

Klaus put his hands up. "I may have been too harsh on everyone, I can admit that, but Tyler is not good news."

"Well, he's been nothing but lovely to me. And you need to get over this because he's my friend now. I care about you beyond measure, but if I'm going to survive in Mystic Falls, I'm going to need friends."

"I really don't like it."

"And you don't have to. I'm hoping the two of you will never be in the same room with each other because that's a dick-measuring contest I don't want to be a part of."

"You don't?" Klaus grinned.

Kurt tutted. "I just have a feeling you're a bad loser."

Klaus' eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Relax, I'm just messing. I have no desire to see Tyler's dick."

"But you're attracted to him."

Kurt tilted his head. "I think it'd be unusual if I wasn't. He's gorgeous, there's no point in denying that. But I have nothing more than platonic feelings for him. And you either have to trust me on that and get over it or…well, I don't know what the alternative is. And after your apology tonight, I'm hoping you're going to be the type of person who wouldn't make me choose."

"I'm hoping for the same. I can't promise that I'll get used to it right away, but I'm going do my best. Because you were right, you do need friends here, Kurt. And I don't want to be the guy to deprive you of that. I need to stop standing in your way and be there for you."

Kurt leaned his head on Klaus' shoulder. "Thank you."

Klaus chuckled. "Don't thank me just yet. I could still ruin it all for you, I have a habit of doing that."

"Don't sell yourself short. You're not doing too badly so far. Seriously, thank you Klaus."

Klaus kissed the top of Kurt's head quickly. "Did you have a nice time tonight?"

"You know, I did. It was nice to just feel…well, human again. We played games, ate food, and just hung out. It's been a while since I've done that."

"I'm sorry I'm not better company."

"No, Klaus, I don't expect any of that from you. It was just a nice refresher to have the parts of my old life that I once enjoyed back for a little while. I couldn't do that permanently, it's too draining."

Klaus smiled. "Tell you what, I'll give you some room to decompress and then we'll talk a little about your power. I'm concerned that Bonnie's picked up on something that I've missed."

Kurt nodded quickly as Klaus left the room, the events of the night swirling around his mind. He remembered Tyler's warning and the feeling of Klaus' lips on his, unable to separate the two in his head. He heard Bonnie's apprehension about his power, Caroline's gentle understanding about his own feelings.

He felt his magic stir within him, reacting to his thought processes. He pushed it down, knowing that he needed to try and think for himself and clear his head before he spoke to Klaus about it. Whatever the consequences of his enhanced powers, he knew that it wouldn't necessarily be good.


Caroline clapped her hands together. "So what does everyone think of Kurt?"

Elena smiled. "I like him."

Tyler, Matt, and Bonnie nodded their agreement.

Stefan remained noticeably still.

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Stefan?"

"I comforted him before because it was the right thing to do at the time, but I think we should be wary. A dark magic user under Klaus' control…that only spells out trouble, right?"

Caroline shook her head. "It's not as cut and dry as that. Yes, Kurt is associated with Klaus, but he's his own person. If Klaus suggests anything he's uncomfortable with, he'll say something."

Stefan eyed her carefully. "But Klaus has an…influence. You should know that."

Caroline gritted her teeth. "Watch yourself, Stefan."

Bonnie sighed. "Anyway, this isn't about Caroline. Kurt is not a dark magic user, he just possesses a great deal of strength in that area. Every witch has a choice whether to tap into or not. I could start using dark magic if I wanted to."

Stefan nodded. "True. So if Klaus needed him to use it, do you think he would?"

"That would depend on what for. Remember, Kurt is powerful, but completely untrained. He might not know dark magic from anything else. It's not all curses and blood and death. Dark magic can be used in many different ways. I'm going to work with him, really explore the boundaries of his potential and show him the way forward."

Caroline nodded. "Thank you, Bonnie. Stefan, I really thought you would've been more understanding about this. Think of it as him possessing Ripper capabilities."

Stefan's jaw clenched. "I see your point."

Elena rubbed circles into his back, sending a glare over to Caroline. "Thanks, Caroline."

Caroline shrugged. "I didn't lie."

Tyler cleared his throat. "Do you think he knows about…?"

"Given what I know about him and that he's still here, I'm thinking not."

"Do we tell him?"

Caroline sighed. "I don't know. It's not really our place. But then again, knowing Klaus he'll probably spring it on him at the last minute. And he won't be happy with that at all."

Matt hated speaking up in situations that he didn't quite understand but he had an idea forming. "So Klaus can use Kurt as a…weapon, almost. I like Kurt, but maybe we should be more worried about this. It might not be Kurt's choice in the end."

Bonnie bit her lip in thought. "The way his power was awakened must have been through something traumatic. That's one of the only ways I know for a witch to gain their powers if not through heritage. He has enormous power which could be exploited."

Caroline frowned. "But you said…"

"I know what I said," Bonnie smiled lightly. "But Matt's half right. We may not have to worry, per se, but we should at least keep an eye on things. And tell Kurt the truth."

"The more I think about it, the more I think it can't come from us. It'll look like we're drawing him away from Klaus. I guess we have to hope that Klaus comes clean himself."

"And what are the chances of that?" Elena wondered.

"Higher than you might think," Caroline replied. "Klaus is evil, but he has a heart. And if he's travelling with someone, it means he cares about Kurt. It's not often he takes someone in who isn't family."

Elena nodded, understanding. "All the more reason we can't just condemn Kurt for who he's affiliated with. That's like cutting out Stefan because Damon's his brother."

Tyler and Matt nodded.

"That's exactly what we should do," Stefan whispered. "Klaus and Damon have a lot in common, but Klaus is far more manipulative and he'll know a way to talk Kurt into whatever he wants him to do. Including…that."

Tyler shook his head. "We've all got people in our life we'd rather not be attached to. And trust me, I've warned Kurt about Klaus three times now. He knows the risk. But it's his choice at the end of it all. We can tell him what we know, and I think we should, but he has to make a choice."

"So we should let him choose wrong?" Stefan snapped.

"No," Tyler shot back. "Of course not. But if we keep on trying to pull him away, he'll just attach himself tighter to Klaus. It'll be easy for Klaus to keep him because we'll look crazy."

Stefan looked around the room, standing up. "Are none of you seriously seeing the bigger picture here?"

He stormed from the room.

"Stefan, where are you going?" Elena called, scrambling from her chair.

Stefan re-appeared in the doorway. "I'm going home, Elena. I thought at least you might have my back on this."

Stefan was out the door in less than a second and Elena knew that it would be pointless to follow him. She would call him before she went to bed or the next morning, but Stefan always just needed some time to cool off in one of the rare instances where he became enraged.

The air in the room had seemed to leave with Stefan.

Tyler looked around the room slowly. "So where do we stand on telling Kurt the truth?"

Caroline sighed. "I still think it'll drive him away if we do."

Bonnie nodded. "I don't know, it's a tough one. There's no guarantee that Klaus is going to tell him until he absolutely needs to, but if we say something he might not believe us."

"He'd probably believe Caroline," Matt muttered.

"True," Caroline conceded."

"And he deserves to know," Elena added.

"Can I think on it?" Caroline wondered.

"I could do it," Tyler suggested. "I might not have Caroline's effortless charisma, but I feel like I understand Kurt in some way. If you're not up to it, Car, I could take point."

Caroline sighed. "And you guys really think it's the right thing to do?"

Bonnie nodded. "I think so. At least then he has all the information and can make an informed decision. I don't put it past Klaus to not say anything and then drop it in at the last second. This way, Kurt has some forewarning."

Caroline drew her legs up onto the couch and scratched her arm. "I don't love it, but I think I can agree. We'll do it. Tyler and I can meet him somewhere."

"Public," Matt suggested. "Just in case things get dicey."

Elena frowned. "Wouldn't that be more of a risk?"

Tyler shook his head. "Kurt wouldn't lash out in a room full of strangers. One, he's a particularly private person, and two he wouldn't put them at risk."

Caroline smiled. "Which is why I think he'll do the right thing when it comes down to it."

"For any well-adjusted person, it's not much of a choice is it?" Elena said.

"It's about loyalties," Bonnie explained. "Kurt's agreed to a task without knowing what the task is. The question is…does his allegiance change when he realises what he's actually signed up to do?"

Matt sighed softly. "I don't know how it doesn't."

The group exchanged tense looks around the room at each other as they weighed up their options and thought about the result of telling Kurt the whole truth.

Caroline fidgeted in her seat. She knew that nothing good would come of any of this and that it somehow it would be left to her to minimise the damage from the impending chaos that would soon rain down around their little town.