Elena tentatively pushes open the dilapidated front door, wondering why she agreed to meet here. The entryway is empty when she walks in – the floor creaking under her every step.
Elena peeks her head around the corner, but the living room is empty as well – she sees nothing but some old furniture and dust.
"Just imagine the old ghosts that fill these rooms," is whispered into Elena's ear from behind, making her jump.
Her heart still racing, Elena turns and hits him on the shoulder. She doesn't bother to make it playful.
Kol can take it.
"Don't ido/i that," she hisses, when he only smirks at her in response.
"Sorry, love," Kol murmurs, holding his hands up, as if in surrender. Elena glares at him suspiciously, wondering what he is up to, but it only makes Kol's smirk transform into a fond smile.
Nevertheless, Elena takes his arm when he offers it, and allows him to escort her to the next room.
The table is already set, candles lit, the food on covered plates. Elena sits when Kol pulls out a chair for her, looking curiously at the large bouquet in the center of the table.
It's full of pretty red tubular flowers that she doesn't know the name of, though they look vaguely familiar. They're accented by forget-me-nots, pink yarrow, and green leaves that she thinks might be sage.
"Do you like it?" Kol asks her, his expression earnest.
"It's beautiful," Elena tells him honestly. "What's the red flower?"
Kol looks a little disappointed. "It's salvia," he tells her. "Is it not a common flower anymore?"
Elena shrugs. "It looks kind of familiar?" she offers. Kol still looks upset. "I'm sorry – I do think they're very pretty."
Kol sighs, giving her a wry smile as he plates her food and encourages her to eat. It's all very good; Elena doesn't ask who he compelled to make it.
After they're finished eating, Kol reaches forward and grabs her hands, staring seriously into her eyes. He obviously has something he wants to tell her.
"I'd like you to move in with me," Kol says, not one to leave her guessing for long.
Elena blinks, stunned.
Kol begins to look anxious when she doesn't respond right away, so she gathers her thoughts. "You'd like me to move in… to Klaus's mansion?" she murmurs; she's sure that she sounds very skeptical.
"Would you like somewhere else?" Kol asks, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him.
"I'd rather ianywhere/i else," Elena informs him. Kol's face falls.
"Why don't iyou/i move in with ime/i?" she offers, before she can think better of it.
But is it really such a bad idea? Jeremy is still living in Colorado – and she isn't going to let him return to Mystic Falls anytime soon, not so long as Klaus is here. And although she hasn't invited Kol inside yet, it is really only a matter of time…
Kol brightens immediately, his face opening to her like a flower before the sun. He starts to open his mouth – and Elena leans forward and kisses him.
Elena isn't ready for his declarations of love quite yet.
Better for his feelings to remain known, but unspoken, for a while longer.
(Her friends are already going to freak out about an Original iliving/i with her…)
