AN: This is the epilogue, y'all! I didn't mean for it to get this long, but it just sort of... happened

We're bouncing around the timeline of the story a bit, just like in chapters three and four. This is a combo of things I always wanted to add 'post' story and things that just didn't make it in, so if it's a bit clunky- that's why. I hope it doesn't detract from anything!

Heads Up: This chapter has a content warning for child abuse. This talks about Joshua, their mother, his murder, and how Jo and Kai navigate/d both his abuse and death. Like 85% of this focuses on Kai and Jo and their sibling dynamic/ effed up family history. I focus less on specifics of the abuse and more on how it shaped Kai and Jo, but still- lots of feels.

If you'd like to skip the section about abuse read everything UP TO "it was an accident, so she claimed" then begin reading again AFTER "that familial trauma nestled down inside them both." Please take care if this is a trigger for you and you want to proceed. I am happy to send a version with the section cut out entirely if you'd like, lemme know.

So long, I've been looking too hard
I've been waiting too long
Sometimes I don't know what I will find
I only know it's a matter of time...

It feels so right, so warm and true
I need to know if you feel it too
Maybe I'm wrong
Won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong?
This heart of mine has been hurt before
This time I want to be sure

I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
I've been waiting for a girl like you, you're a love that will survive
I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive...

(Waiting For A Girl Like You, Foreigner)

Present

"Oh, hey, did I tell you that your sweetheart came snooping by the hospital recently?" Jo says around a mouth full of cheese curls.

He's instantly alert, "What? Exactly how recently, Josette?"

She licks the orange dust from her fingers and takes her leisure to respond, "Recently like...two or three weeks ago?"

"What are you talking about? Why didn't you think to tell me this sooner?!" he snaps.

Jo ignores him and finishes her snack. "My head nurse told me someone, a girl, had been asking around about me for the last two weeks. But I was at that conference up in Canada, so I missed her the first time."

Her brother's rising anger only amuses her, and she continues. "Then, a week later, after I got back, I saw her lurking around the ER, but I was swamped with patients and didn't have time to see what was up. Eventually, she left, and I figured that would be the end of it."

Kai is looking at her intently. Two weeks? Two weeks?!

Were his sis thoughtful enough to clue him in to Bonnie's snooping from the get-go, everything from last month could have been different. He never would have been caught unawares by his then-victim, now-paramour. The only reason he's not more upset is he doesn't know if finding things out would have changed them for better, or for worse.

Cards falling as they did, he was with Bonnie now. If he knew she was sneaking after him right back what would he have done differently? Where would they be? Maybe it's best Jo hadn't meddled. If there's even a chance him knowing about her would lead them astray from the current outcome he doesn't want to consider it.

"The third time I caught her, though." She beams as she finally turns to look upon Kai's pinched expression. "Told me her name was Patricia. Of course, I already knew that was a lie, thanks to your little briefing months before." She uses air quotes around the word 'briefing' and spins around in the chair.

Around the time he first saw Bonnie he told Jo everything. The twins never kept secrets from each other, no matter how twisted. They were always there for each other- through thick and thin, through murder and mayhem, come hell or high water.

Thanks to their father.

Telling her about Bonnie months ago, Jo was the one who reminded him to be patient, to watch and wait when he got antsy. Jo was the person he called to help with Damon's body, who checked-in to see about his progress, directed him to the best places to buy non-chafing rope.

"Okay...and? What else? Did she say anything else?" He presses.

"Anything else? Hmmm," she taps the side of her head and screws her face up in deep thought, "I think she said...do you have any pork rinds, Mally?"

"Come on Jo, be serious! Also don't call me that, I only use that name when I'm up to no good, you know that."

Brother dear leans over his sister's outstretched legs and grabs her a pack of pork rinds to sate her insatiable Gemini hunger. His fingers quickly pull open the top and she leans towards the opening. At the last minute, Kai tilts the bag away from her and to his own chest. He begins to munch in earnest as his adult sister whines and reaches out in protest as he eats her snack. "Ah, ah, ah, Jojo." He says with one eye on her, "No talky? No snacky- now tell me everything."

"I help clean up your messes and this is the thanks I get? That body was clunky I'll have you know, and you spilled blood all over the place. What have I told you about being sloppy? I spent my night cleaning up greasy blood behind a giant trash can and a girl can't even enjoy one measly bag of pork rinds?!"

"I wasn't sloppy, I was upset and... careless; besides, I was proving a point," he shrugs in nonchalance. " Sometimes things get messy, sissy. I didn't whine about that hatchet job you pulled with what's-his-face? Allergic or whatever. "

"His name was Alaric, and he was not a hatchet job-"

"Yes, it was, literally- but that's fine! I was happy to sort that out for you, I didn't complain like you, Miss... Miss... Complain-y Pants."

"Oh wow, good one bro! You come up with that all by yourself?" She rolls her eyes and folds her arms across her chest.

"Whatever, pork rinds are my favorite and you know it. One bag of pork rinds is equivalent to like...three bags of cheese curls AND a bag of Funyuns."

"What?! Are you out of your mind? No way! I only want those gross things 'cus all the good snacks are gone!"

"Insulting my pork rinds isn't going to help your case." He turns to the bag in his hands and coos at it, "She's just a mean old fart, don't listen to her baby. You're the best of the rest, I love you." Even swaying like the bag is a fussy baby in his arms.

"Old fart? We're the same age, you dweeb!"

"Minus two minutes, sissy," he smirks holding up his fingers. "Cheese curls are for people without taste, Josette. That's why you think that."

"You eat grape jam directly from the jar! You're the last person who should be talking about taste!"

"Excuse you, I do not eat grape jam straight from the jar. I eat blackberry, sometimes strawberry; grape jam is for children and men who live with their mothers. And yea, I appreciate things straight from the source, is that a crime, Josette?"

Leave it to the wonder twins to get sidetracked arguing about the superior snack food while discussing the tables being turned by his prey.

"Jo!" He holds the bag above her so she can't reach it, "Tell me! You're not getting any until you fess up."

Jo continues to wrestle him in their game of keep-away. "Learn to share, jerk!"

Kai grabs several more and shoves them into his mouth. "Oooo, these are so good. Probably the pork rindiest pork rinds I've ever had. Uh oh, and they're almost gone too. I'd start talking if I were you." He pops two more in his mouth and smiles around them before chewing them up and sticking his tongue out at her.

"Ugh! Do you have to be such a child?!" She yells still scrambling and jumping to the now half-eaten bag of chips.

"That's rich coming from Little Miss Cheeto Fingers," he scoffs.

"First, I'm 'Complain-y', now I'm 'Cheeto Fingers', what's next? Little Miss- give me the damn pork rinds!" his sister yells as she dives for the snacks again.

At that point, he lowers the bag just enough inadvertently that Jo can grab it. "Gotcha! Come to mama."

She quickly takes the bag and dashes back to her chair then spins her back to him. Though not before making a face and sticking her tongue out. "That's Doctor Cheeto fingers to you. Anyway- where was I? Right, so Patsy..."

Jo tells him about Bonnie's visit animatedly. How she had snuck around until she got annoyed and tripped over a bedpan. How she kept coming back even after running into barriers and frustrations. There is a permanent smile etched into his face as she recounts meeting his baby. He resolves to bring it up to Bonnie later and make fun of her, his own little reverse stalker.

He's touched.

Kai crumples the now finished bag of chips that caused their sibling spat and tosses it into the trash. Jo cannot help him any more than she already has. He bends over and pecks the top of her head before she shoves him out and confirms their plans for dinner at his place later that week, asking if Trish will be joining them.

"Here's hoping," is all he says as he flips her off and leaves her office.

6 weeks ago

Google does not help figure out how much sedative to inject and he's not willing to incriminate himself further by clarifying his search terms. So far, he's got plausible deniability.

Every so often he made sure to look up vague crime podcasts and watch some chick named Bayley Saran Wrap his sister recommended for some YT make-up murder show. He leaves it on in the background every Monday when it's uploaded. Sometimes they FaceTime during and he actually enjoys the times he pays attention. The makeup is whatever, but Jo loves it, and he loves the psychological profiles of famous murderers and serial killers. The FBI agent assigned to his webcam will just think he's super into true crime, which isn't exactly a lie. Bing and Ask Jeeves are about as 'helpful' as Google, the internet is not the source he should be asking. No matter, this was something he always knew- if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.

Of course, by 'doing it himself' he means asking his sister and pressing her for more specific medical knowledge. Jo is more used to working with these types of sedatives, Kai was used to gas. Just as his lover saw for herself, his sister is hard to track down, perpetually bustling between the hospital and her home; every once in a blue moon, to hide her exes body parts or help her sibling mop up some blood.

Rather than wait and risk missing her, he goes for her help that night.

To his chagrin, he finds her in no mood for his shenanigans. He works to keep the usual antics to a minimum as he persists in getting her advice.

"Be a good twin and tell me how much to inject so I don't kill the boy."

His sister ignores him in favor of searching through the bottom drawer of her file cabinet, but she does mutter under her breath, "Heh, ya sure you don't wanna kill your only competition in the game you created?" it comes out quiet, but it's still loud enough to be heard.

Uh, duh, he wants to kill Jeremy. That's a given. Like she even needed to bring it up at all. It ticks him off, he's already planned this, he doesn't need her undermining a decision he already hates. Her bad mood is infectious, it's quickly eeking into him and affecting his own. "I'm sure I want you to stop whispering out of the side of your mouth and answer my question," he smiles deceptively.

"Do we have to do this now, Kai? I'm swamped at work and I don't have time for your coo-coo shit." She says moving from the file cabinet back to her desk strewn with papers.

"Touchy, touchy- name calling Jo? I thought you and your therapist were working on your temper?"

His sister looks up from her workspace and glares. "Whatever, Malachai, fuck you. Hurry and ask your damn questions and get the hell out."

"Now, now Josette. I don't complain when you ask me to help you clean up your big messes, do I? Actually, with Dad, you didn't even ask now that I think of it. Why don't you be a good sport and return the favor, sissy dear."

"I hope you know his height and weight? I'll need them both. Exactly. Without that I can't help," she says ignoring his comment.

Agitation is his favorite pastime, he wants to ask if it's that she can't help without it or that she won't? but he knows better than to poke a bear, "What kind of question is that? Of course I do, Josette, I'm not an amateur."

*10 years ago*

It was an accident, so she claimed.

Returning from hockey practice he dropped his bags in the foyer then turned and walked straight down the hall and into a blood-covered living room to find a pacing sister- knife in hand. Scanning the room, blood is everywhere. On walls, on the floor, on the furniture.

The smell of copper is overwhelming, and it makes his eyes water; soon the fallen body of his father comes into focus. For as much blood is covering his double, their father looks worse. He lies prone on the floor with blood surrounding him. Of the soaked room, he is the epicenter, the heart, the point from which it all flows. Joshie is the star of the scene.

Josette looks agitated but she is at least upright. Judging by the way the other body in the room wasn't moving...Kai doesn't need to get closer to see his father is gone.

His twin's gaze is vacant, and her breathing is labored. At first, Kai assumed the blood she wore was their father's, but she clutches her left side where she's clearly been stabbed. Kai is worried, but at least Jo is still standing, her wincing seems less from her own pain and more attached to the scene before them. She looks between the body cooling on the ground and her brother as if expecting him to be upset with her. He doesn't rush to comfort her, but he does rush to action. The boy didn't care much either way about Joshua being deceased. He'd hated his father since forever, and the feeling was mutual. Without needing to be told, he begins to clean up. For as impulsive as he so often is, there is something cold and calculating about him in the direst of situations.

That breaks his sister from her haze, "What? what are you doing?" His twin croaks, knife still in hand, blood dripping to the floor.

"Cleaning up this mess, Josette, what does it look like I'm doing? Tell me what happened." He doesn't mean to be so harsh, but he cannot get bogged down by emotions; he's got to think, and he's got to work.

"He was going to hurt me, he was, I swear, please Kai you have to believe me, please. He was screaming at me- he had this look in his eyes, and he kept shouting." She struggles through it as he tiptoes around the blood that blooms from the freshly cooling body of his last remaining parent.

His father's eyes are open, but they're glassy and, well? Dead. Which makes sense- you know, considering.

Kai hoped to find something like remorse in the man's eyes, but he's searching for something that isn't there. Expecting to find some nugget of care or regret from his maker was always fool's errand, so in life, so in death. What he does see reflected in his sire's visage is not a cry for help, but a final act of aggression before confronting his mortality at the hands of his own child.

Despite how the light has clearly left them, his peepers are still expressive. Joshua's posthumous gaze looks beyond as if seeing into the next world. What's more, is that he looks as haunted and malicious as he does terrified. His mouth hangs open as if his dying breath was a shout. His hands are curled and talon-like. Perhaps they were reaching for something in their owner's final moments; perhaps absolution he thought might reach him across the horizon.

More likely they found damnation and the eternal abyss.

Kai relishes the idea that in the moment of death Pops was made to confront all the pain and misery he visited upon his family for the entirety of his existence. He hopes it was all returned to him tenfold in some sort of brilliant cosmic punishment. If the deity in the sky (or the earth, or the sea, or the wind-wherever celestial entities dwelled) was worth any praise it would see to it that his progenitor suffered.

Wishing the murdered man pain and eternal damnation is as close to prayer as he's ever come, and probably the closest he ever will. He squints at the corpse and lets the corner of his mouth lift in a mocking smirk as he sends his 'prayer' down and continues to listen to his sister's chaotic recount of events. He schools his features, not wanting his sister to think he gets a kick out of her upset.

Jo herself is much too caught up in the moment to pay much attention to her brother's face. How could she not be? She's trying to stay afloat long enough to get her words out as best she can. She knows it's hard to follow, but it's still so fresh in her head, she needs to vocalize it before it gets lost in the growing mess of her mind. "He kept demanding to know where you were, asking if I was hiding you. I told him— I kept telling him— you were at practice, but he wouldn't listen. I - I tried to be calm but it only...it only made it worse, it only made him even angrier. He was different Kai, please you've got to, understand," she pleads finally locking onto her brother's eyes again.

Kai is a person who hides, who lies, and camouflages and masks, so he has to work as hard as he can to keep himself open and vulnerable the way the one person he cares about most in the world is depending on him to.

It works. The next words come out more measured, he can see she's the slightest bit more grounded. "He's been easier lately, you know? He's barely said much to me in the past couple months, and he hasn't gone off on you in so long, I thought-" she looks down as if she feels chastised for holding to her hope, "I don't know, I thought maybe he was getting better, or - not better, but at least- changing. I thought finally things were turning, that it could be different- but it was like he pent it up, like all that time all of it was still there, waiting for something- then bubbling up and boiling over."

Jo pauses when Kai leans over and stares at a spot on the floor, she cranes her neck and can see he's looking at one of the objects their father had thrown that's now covered in his sticky blood, he doesn't look away from whatever interests him, but he does wave his hand to signal her to continue.

"Uh, right- I was in my room reading and I heard the door slam. I thought you were back early and went to come down, but when I got to the stairs, I heard him out here. It was so loud, he was throwing things around, fussing- it was like it was before, but...more. I still didn't know if you were back yet or if he was yelling at you, I came out here, when I didn't see you, I asked him what was wrong, and he- he was on a warpath. He shot across the room, right in my face- accusing me, demanding I 'reveal' you, like I was hiding you or something. He wouldn't say why he was upset even; I still don't know what set him off in the first place, he just came in like that. One second it was quiet, just me in my room, then the next he's shaking me and yelling again- "

The brief months of respite from Joshua's usual level of scrutiny and terror were confusing for the twins, so long they walked on eggshells and navigated the daily reality of their father's violence when he pulled into himself neither knew what to make of it.

Jo desperately held onto the idea he was making progress; that it was a sign the 'father' who had made their lives hell for years was finally becoming human. Kai held no such delusions. He didn't know what Joshua was up to, but he trusted him about as far as he could throw him. To Kai, the pause in his sperm donor's hatred was exactly that, a pause, some time for him to re-group and come back with a sicker strategy. He holds no joy to discover he was right.

"-and I kept thinking of what he would do to you when you got back. I can't explain what was different about him today, but something was off, Kai, he wouldn't calm down, he was only getting worse- I got scared of what would happen to you, of what he would do and I-" her voice cracks from emotion. There is a beat where it leaves her altogether and her feelings rob her of speech.

"Kai, I don't know what happened, I remember screaming, I remember-" a short-term memory unlocks, and her eyes widen as she shares, "He said something- something about hating me for being so weak, 'just like your pathetic Momma,' he said- but I could barely hear it, everything sounded warbled and far away. It felt like I was underwater." Tears stream silently down her face and Kai knows she's remembering their mother. He can tell by the way her shoulders and chest softly heave.

"I snapped- I blacked out. Somehow, I got to the kitchen, past that I don't remember. In my mind, I was there...but at the same time, I wasn't. It felt like it wasn't me in my body. Like I was, I don't know...on autopilot, floating above it all, watching someone else puppet me. I was already so...so gone and then the comment about Mom," she looks at her brother desperately needing him to understand. She's trying her best to impart on him everything that led to this moment. "I got back here," she points down to the ground she's standing on. She hasn't moved from the spot since Kai came back and found her there.

"...and there was a knife in my hand. I don't remember taking it, but there it was, just...in my hand and I thought..." There is an eerie calm about his sister and her tone as she speaks that shifts on a dime. It moves from dreamlike to stern and weighted as her face twitches and her lip pulls up sharply in a sneer, she shows her teeth.

"I just wanted it to all be over. All of it. I couldn't take it anymore, I couldn't do it, Kai. I'm so tired, I've been so tired for so long, as long as I can remember. I needed it to end. I needed it to all finally be over. I didn't mean to, really, I didn't but I think I- I killed-" she chokes before she can finish the thought. "I was so scared, there was a second where got the knife, he got it and grabbed the handle from around my own hands. He pointed it at me- he... but I didn't feel anything, it didn't hurt." Her fingers move to her side as she stares off into the memory, they skitter over her abdomen and dance around the wound she didn't realize she had, absently stroking and soothing.

He wants to ask her what else can remember, egg her on while it's all recent, but he doesn't want to push. Too many emotions in such a short time- confusion, rage, sadness, despair, vindication, grief, and pain (both physical and emotional) roil around inside of her. She's fragile right now and he wants to create the space for her to speak more than he wants to force her to appease his questions. So, he waits, he allows her the seconds she needs to get back on track.

"His grip got looser, he was clawing at me, I think he was already fading but I can't remember what else he said; his hands- they got so loose around me, and I shoved him away. Then I stood over him for I don't know how long. I was just standing there, staring at him. I had to make sure, I had to. I didn't want him to get up again, I kept waiting for him to get back up, but he didn't, that's it- then you came home..."

He should have never gone to practice today; he mainly hates hockey anyway. Sure, it's a great outlet for his aggression, but his teammates are loathsome. Most of them are frustratingly dull, or narcissistically self-involved in the way many teenage white boys tend to be. The ones who aren't boring or vapid are sociopathic in a way even Kai finds unsettling.

Anyway, it was only an excuse to get out of the house and away from his father. Normally, Jo babysat for their neighbors or had tutoring at the same time, but she mentioned something about her appointment canceling at the last minute. That's the only reason she's now at the center of this- poor luck and a shit deal. It's the theme song to the Parker children's life.

He finds it in himself to be the brother she needs, "Hey, listen to me- you didn't do anything wrong, okay? You were only protecting yourself; you did what you had to. I'm so proud of you. Go, rest. I'll take care of this."

It hurts more than he is ready to acknowledge to realize his sister had been protecting him as much as herself. While he was busy ice skating and yucking it up at the rink, his meek wallflower of a sister was risking her life for his. Fighting tooth and nail against a man two times her age and three times her size to keep him safe. She was bleeding now, and it was because of him, he feels his knees begin to buckle as sorrow threatens to overwhelm him. He catches himself; he only needs to hold out for a little bit longer, until Jo is around the corner and up the stairs. When she does that- when she leaves him alone, by himself- just his thoughts and the body- then, only then, he can cry.

Sensing his shift, she nods stiffly and turns to walk down the hallway, eager to get away from what she had done. Though first, there is something she needs to ask, "Why- why are you doing this? H-helping me?" she sniffles, "I killed Da-, I killed Daa- I killed our fath-" but she can't get the words out.

"Were twins, Josette," this time it's his voice that cracks, "You're my sister; if you can't trust real family then who can you trust?" He says cryptically.

Kai is her only remaining family, of course he is her real family- whatever that even means. Too exhausted to decipher she continues to her bedroom.

When she wakes up it's to the gentle sound of her twin's voice coaxing her from slumber, "Jo? Jo, wake up. I need you to do something for me, okay?"

She's exhausted, but she gets up and out of the bed, looking at the clock beside her shows that only 15 minutes have passed. When she makes it to the living room the scene is minorly different. The pose Joshua previously was in has changed ever so slightly and some things are now re-arranged. Items previously on the walls and shelves now decorate the floor in a trail leading to the new placement of her father's body.

Corpse. Her father's corpse.

It ceased to be a body once she removed the host. Bile rises in her throat and tears find their way from her ducts. Kai is back in her field of vision before she can process any other changes, "Josette, I need you to listen to me as closely as you can okay? You're going to have to do what I say, no matter how bad it sounds. I promise this will turn out okay, just listen to me."

What happens in the next few minutes is crucial. Kai drags his hand down his face preparing to explain the next piece of things to his increasingly distraught sister. He lets out a long sigh, he's no more prepared to tell her this than she is to receive it.

"You're going to have to get underneath the body."

She blanches at that, face whiter than a sheet. "No- no I can't, Kai, I can't please, I can't." She's beginning to sob again.

"Yes, you can, and you will." Cutting her off is the only way to ensure she will be in the right place mentally to do this. Allowing her to become more upset will delay them and time is not a luxury they have. She used all that for her little post-patricide nap. "I know you can, Josie. This is the last thing you need to do. This is it."

There is a more serious edge to his voice now. It gives her courage nonetheless, or perhaps it is fear. Whether that means fear of the potential consequences, fear of herself, or fear of her dead dad's corpse reanimating as she lies underneath of it, she's not sure. What she is sure of is her twin. His words sober her and make clear the severity of everything happening. "Okay," she says, surer of herself. "Okay, you're right. I can, I will."

Kai gives Jo the most reassuring smile he can to show her she's not alone. "Don't worry," he says moving them closer to the man on the floor, keeping Josette's back turned and guiding her by the shoulders so she doesn't have to look at what she's done until necessary.

"I promise this will all be over soon," he says stepping back and making sure his white sock feet carefully avoid the blood on the floor.

"Kai," she calls, voice hoarse from everything she's been through, "I- I'm sorry," the apology she wants to deliver upsets her. She doesn't know what to say but she wants to tell him something. She begins to shake. Her body begins to bow and she's swaying on her feet.

"Don't be, I'm not," he says, crossing back to hold her and gather her in a hug. He whispers softly against her hair. "Shh, shh, it's okay. You can do this okay? We're in this together, sissy."

Normally it's a name he only uses with her when he's being snide or derisive, but this is as close to affectionate as he can get, and she is grateful for it. In their time on earth, they had embraced only a handful of times, neither was particularly touchy-feely. To be honest, she was more touch averse than Kai, but their father had drilled it out of both of them from such a young age it was hard to remember ever being freely affectionate with anyone she knew, even her twin.

She allows herself to embrace and be embraced by her brother, she knows that right now no matter what they feel- they both need it.

Despite what he told her he is sorry. Sorry he wasn't the one to do it himself.

Joshua was an imposter.

A creature, a thing, walking in human skin.

He only pretended to be a father; it was just a role he pantomimed. Beneath the façade of human skin was a vile, wicked thing that hid. A cowardly and sickening horror who brought only misery to any and all who knew him. Their maker was a serpent, a crawling, slithering predator who had robbed so much from them. There are days when he misses his mother so badly, he can hardly breathe. Times when he imagines so deeply what a rich life with all his living brothers and sisters might have been likely he can hardly face reality.

He and Jo- they've known so much loss and they're still so young. All courtesy the person who contributed half their DNA. It always unsettled Kai to think of how much blood he shared with someone so cruel. He spent nights wishing he could carve the parts of him that were his father out. Of his flesh, of his mind. Pick apart the cells that came from his rotted donor and cast them away.

The thing about dear old dad was that he could harm without even making contact. His pops loved to use Kai as his personal punching bag, but his worst jabs landed without a single physical blow. Kai cannot meaningfully quantify the difference in how deeply his father's verbal vs physical abuse has fucked him up, it's all bound and woven together deep within his mind, body, and psyche. Whoever came up with that ditty about 'Sticks and stones' obviously never met anyone so cruel as Joshua Parker. The most brutal taunts, always Josh's favorite's, are buried in Kai's brain and they run through his head on a loop day in and day out.

Abomination...

Freak...

Useless...

Disgusting...

Subhuman...

Torment. Pain. Humiliation.

Ever since he can remember, all for existing. All for not being the perfect progeny.

When he thinks of his father the first thing that comes to mind is long, festering, hatred. A hatred that his body began to hold before he was even able to process it.

He had been fantasizing about patricide since age eleven.

Jo always beat him to punch. She even beat him out and into the world from their mother's womb. A whole two-minute lead. Now, this. He's as shocked as he is annoyed.

Good ol' Josie, always first to the finish line. Always first when and where it counted. Not that this was a race, exactly- but he's still pissed it wasn't his hand on the blade. Pissed it wasn't his eyes watching the light leave their fathers. More than all of those, though, he's sorry he couldn't protect her better. Kai cares little about living in Jo's shadow for not offing their Pops first; he cares that she shouldn't have to be cut out for this. He's the one who's fucked up, not her.

This should never have been her fight.

Her (*barely) baby brother is right- things do move quickly.

Jo shakily crawls underneath the stiffening corpse.

"Here, take this."

It takes her a moment to realize Kai is holding something out for her to take, it takes an even longer moment to realize it's the murder weapon already wet and shiny with their father's rich crimson blood. She doesn't vocalize it but more than she appreciates Kai's willingness to help, she appreciates his patience. Her twin could be impulsive and impatient but through all this, he's been calm and it grounds her.

He speaks softly, "You don't need to stay here too long, only long enough to stab him a few more times and get more of his blood on your clothes. It's very important this looks like clear self-defense Josette, do you understand? It's got to look like he struck first."

She nods sharply, takes the knife from her brother's hand, and proceeds to stab into their father's body twice more. His thick blood coats her hands and blouse, this triggers a new round of sobs that wrack her frame. Kai doesn't exactly like watching his sister heave and cry and fall to hysterics, but it will certainly help when the cops show up, making the whole thing an easier sell.

He looks back to their predecessor, now nothing more than an empty husk of skin bone. For the second time that night, he's jealous of his sister's offending hand. The guilt will eat at her. Beyond a shadow of a doubt Kai knows in his bones he should have been the one to do it. Not merely to appease his hatred for the man, but if only to spare his sister from the shame he knows she will carry from this.

He vows then to always protect his sister, no matter what. He failed her and he would not ever make that same mistake again.

The next thing Jo registers is the sound of sirens.

Police and paramedics swarm her home and buzz around her. They ask her questions she curtly answers and then swiftly take her away, soon she's in the back of the ambulance that waits outside.

As she's ushered out of the house and into the street the concerned faces of her neighbors surround her. They press their fingers to their mouths in shock, but they don't sneer, and they don't whisper. She could hear them gathering outside to see the unfolding situation and she feared their gossiping and derision, but they only offer her consolation with their eyes.

She clutches her side, the pain from being stabbed beginning to make itself more known now that her adrenaline is flagging. Jo wordlessly accepts the support of her community until Kai wraps his hand around hers and they get into the vehicle and speed away. She leans into hope again that this is a sign things will turn out as well as her brother promised.

The hospital is chaotic, doctors push and pull her until finally she's given a room and allowed to rest. She's admitted for several days and Kai stays with her round the clock, sleeping awkwardly propped up in a chair. He complains about hospital food incessantly and only leaves to bring them both better fare, in the form of the greasiest fast food he can find or the most decadent meals he can create himself. It's a weird balance of extremes that comforts.

Already Kai is getting back to himself. Her twin looks healthier, it's only been days but there is a light in his face that grows brighter by the day. He's cooking, he's smiling, and he's laughing.

During the day he tells her jokes and offers her reassurance before and after every procedure. It means more than she can say, and she hopes more than anything her brother can tell because she doesn't want to actually have to vocalize it. She's still in so much pain and having her brother there for her gives her hope. They spent so much time trying to survive, they'd rarely had moments to just...be. She hopes they can both survive the storm ahead of them and maybe, just maybe, find some healing on the other side.

Court is a circus.

The night of the murder itself almost feels like a dream now, along with her time in the hospital. Jo wishes she could trade the frenzy of courtrooms and lawyer's offices for the drug-induced rest she found in the hospital trauma ward. The media eats up the story and it's all over the news in their town. It's overwhelming, but it's not so bad. The news, sensational as it is, depicts her as the victim and most scrutiny falls to the late Josh Parker.

The justice system is less gentle, everyday someone new is grilling her. Cops, lawyers, detectives. They ask her questions that hurt to think about and even more to answer. Rehashing years of abuse day in and day out drains her. More often than not she feels she won't survive the scrutiny of all the officials she has to talk to. Slowly things lessen in intensity and progress in her favor.

"Attempted murder...self-defense," the voices around her all seem to echo.

The twins absolutely refuse to leave the other's side, even when the investigation tries its best to wedge them apart and force them to turn on each other. When they're not on the stand they stick together. They resist the plea deals, they resist the media badgering, the thinly veiled attempts to get them to turn on one another. Every outside attempt to tear them apart reinforces that they are totally alone. Everyone outside thinks they're dependent on one another, the last remaining family each has. It's just as well. It's not untrue anyway. They are all they have left. To be accurate they were all they had before either. After the passing of their mother, they had been pretty much on their own.

Failure is not an option, they want to live, they want to thrive. No more scraps, no more survival- they have a real shot if they can make it through this one enduring, hectic, whirlwind moment. To his credit, Kai plays the part of distraught son/ big brother perfectly. He corroborates every detail, and their stories match perfectly. Were she not so in tune with her twin she would probably buy his gut-wrenching act. But she is, so she doesn't.

Kai coaches her on what to say- she gives a perfectly tearful delivery from the stand. By the end of the trial, there isn't a single dry eye in the courthouse. Even Kai is sobbing- she doesn't want to spend time wondering how many, if any, of his tears are real.

She's acquitted of all charges.

In the court of public opinion, she's a victim, a hero who saved her own family from their evil patriarch. In the court of law, she's deemed the same. It's only a lie because she's not a hero, she was too late to save anyone.

Kai and Jo were meant to be the eldest in a brood.

From the time she was knee-high, she recalls her father constantly stressing the importance of a big family. 'Bolstering the ranks', he always called it. He was obsessed with power and the idea having a large family would help him achieve it. Kai always suspected he just wanted more people to control.

More kids meant more likelihood at least one of them would grow into some kind of fame or success, Joshua put Joe Jackson to shame. Their parents tried for other kids and their mother was often pregnant, but it never worked out. Pregnancy only made Joshua that much worse. Whenever their mom was with child Joshua's abuse would escalate to such a terrifying degree it was hard to believe he actually wanted the children as he claimed. He never raised a hand to his pregnant wife, but his words carved into her all the same.

Protecting Kai and Jo always took the most out of her. She tried to make plans to leave with them at night, but their father was always within earshot and barely let them see her, keeping her locked away in the most tucked-away part of the house. He would guard the halls and surveilled them to control both the twins and his wife.

It takes years for Joshua to finally destroy her.

Miscarriage.

Miscarriage.

Stillborn.

Miscarriage.

Stillborn.

Their mother died shortly after her fifth pregnancy. There is no doubt in their mind Joshua killed their unborn brothers and sisters. There is no doubt their father killed their mother.

Present

That familial trauma nestled down inside them both. Shaped who they were meant to become. Transformed them. Darkness had long found a home in them, but Joshua morphed it.

As had killing him. As had covering it up.

Say what you will of patricide, it forges one hell of a bond.

But it's okay. Jo is okay. He is okay. They're successful and doing fine. The kids really were alright.

Between the two of them, they're responsible for a few disappearances, sure, but really, they've never killed anybody worth missing. Only people who'd dared to hurt them, they aren't totally psychotic. More like Dexter if anything, if Dexter had a twin, and it's not like it's a habit, they just...take care of their problems. Albeit a little more permanently than others.

They're both definitely worse for the wear- bad at relationships, bad at trust; but none of it matters anymore. Jo is so compassionate, and she's in therapy- she's getting better all the time, he barely even has to worry about protecting her anymore.

She even told him so.

Shortly after things with the case settled down, she said as much. Then again after the situation with her ex.

After telling her brother about all the problems in her relationship he offered to help her 'take care of it.' Acleric was miserable and a creep, how someone as pathetic as him managed to even catch Jo's eye was anyone's guess. He also had a suspicious trail of dead wives and exes that he could never explain. When the man started to become paranoid and possessive whatever charm attracted Jo initially had completely waned.

The elder twin ignored her brother's continued offers for assistance and assured Kai she could handle things on her own. He only insisted more and more firmly until the night he caught her standing over Alaric's chopped-up limbs with blood dripping from her fingers and a sick smile on her face. "See? I don't need you to protect me, Kai. I'm not as sweet as you think."

He hadn't listened the first time around, but as he got to work cleaning up after her bloody mess for the second time in his life, it stuck.

When they were younger, he often thought of himself as her shadow. Not because he followed her around, but because he was her mischievous alter, the evil twin.

Where Jo was kind and bright and loving he was nasty and murky and cruel. He remembers thinking Jo was the day- represented by the bold spectacular sun, so warm and breathing and full of life.

He was the night- something secretive and macabre as the moon itself. Akin to the nighttime, he was inky and impenetrable and craving of death.

Only time revealed that it wasn't true- his sister held darkness the same as his, she only hid it deeper. Beneath her bright smiles and beaming gazes lay something she used the veneer of positivity to hide. One of the most important things that Jo ever taught her brother is that brightness blinds as thoroughly as darkness.

Kai always let his intensity lead the way. He used snark, and condescension, and brutality to keep others from getting close. Jo relied on her natural warmth to give people false security. Genteel camouflaged the nastiness she buried. Only when others allowed her friendliness to become overfamiliarity did she strike back.

The sun burns hot and stings unforgivingly. When people cross Jo they end up like Icarus.

More recently, after her help with Damon, she revisited this conversation, pointing out how she was now the one protecting him. The offhand comment resonated. Despite however flippantly she meant it, she was right. Kai could no longer very well think of himself as his sister's keeper when she, quite literally, returned the favor(s). Axing her ex and disappearing Damon were a sure sign big sis didn't need his help anymore. Fully accepting this makes his transition to protecting Bonnie that much easier.

He's got all the love he could ever need. Bonnie may not love him now, but it's only a matter of time. After all, they're meant to be.

MP+BB= 4 EVER

He can see now that all his life was a setup for this. For her.

And honestly? That's alright by him.

'2- 3' weeks ago

"See you around," he hears as he moves to leave.

He leans over and kisses her once more, biting her lip and drawing blood as he pulls away and moves towards the door, making sure to grab the discarded syringe. Placing it in the miniature sharps container he brought with him, "Yes, you will."

Then he's out the door and in the elevator.

She tidies the mess, which is fine- there isn't much to actually clean. Kai was careful not to be sloppy. The only things out of place are a few pillows thrown on the ground and the, now soiled, bed. Other than the pillows there is a bowl of spilled popcorn and the DVD choices on the counter. She cleans the popcorn, returns the snacks to the cupboard, and shelves the movies. Lugging Jeremy's body is no easy feat, but she manages it.

She could have had Kai help her, but something about the idea of her own personal freakshow helping her carry her boyfriend's body to bed doesn't sit right with her. Jeremy is her problem, she decides, and she will take care of him. Breaking up is something she should have done long ago. The Gilbert's had brought her nothing but drama, misery, pain, and less than mediocre sex since they came into her life.

Kai was right- it was time for her life to change.

So, she cleans the apartment, airs out the bedroom, and removes any possible traces of what just transpired. Making sure to double, triple, and quadruple check for good measure. Airing out the bedroom takes the longest, they'd fucked in basically every inch of it. She runs the oil diffuser, sprays Lysol, and lights several heavily scented candles. The rest of the night passes easily, she finds some of Jeremy's secret pot stash and rolls herself the fattest blunt she's ever seen. Then actually gets some of the best sleep she's ever had. Thank you weed and thank you sex. The sleep is filled with dreams of steely eyes and firm hands. It only further affirms her imminent decision.

The next day she rises late, fixes herself and her soon-to-be-ex breakfast, and waits patiently for him to rouse. While she anticipates his return from the land of nod she comes up with her story. She collects all the wine and beer bottles she can manage from her recycling bin and a few from the trash room on her floor and throws them about. She'll tell Jeremy he got so trashed he blacked-out, which she'll then use to explain she's tired of taking care of and cleaning up after him. When he protests, she'll point to the litany of empty booze cans on the floor. Surprisingly, it takes her less than an hour to come up with and stage, she even has time for another quick shower after rummaging around in her neighbor's trash.

Around quarter past one, he stirs and she's there stroking his hair and delivering her line just as she rehearsed alone in the mirror.

"Honey, wake up. I think we need to talk."

The building is easy enough to find. It's in a busy part of town, but she manages to find a spot easily. Walking up the path she spots a sign- Parker Dental: Suite 402.

After climbing the stairs to the right floor, she signs herself in and shares a quick greeting with the receptionist, who prompts her to sit down and wait to be called.

"Please fill out these new patient forms then when you're done bring them back to me, dear," the older woman says after a short while.

Bonnie wonders idly if this sweet little old lady knows the man who signs her checks is a perverted freak. She continues to wonder this as she fills out paperwork and returns it to the desk.

"Have a seat sweetie and he'll be right with you."

Several minutes later the receptionist leads her down a bright hallway with posters along the wall. 'I want YOU to brush your teeth' a picture of Uncle Sam holding a giant bottle of toothpaste and a poster of Smokey the Bear that says 'Only You can prevent tooth decay' are framed hanging opposite each other. Now that she pays attention, she sees there are loads of kooky old dentist posters opposing each other on the walls. 'Weird for an orthodontist'

She's so focused on the artwork she almost crashes into the woman in front of her who has stopped walking, they've arrived.

"Dr. Parker, 've got, Bonnie Bennett, your 2 o'clock."

"Thank you, Dolores," he says taking the folder from her hand before turning to her eyes wider than they should be for meeting a new 'client', "It's nice to meet you, Bonnie."

Dolly smiles before retreating down the hall as his eyes settle on her. Had they not 'met' two weeks ago when he knocked out her ex-boyfriend and snuck into her bedroom, she'd believe he was nothing more than a kind fancy dentist. "Likewise, Doctor," she says emphasizing his title.

"So, what brings you in today?" He asks, eyes drilling into hers.

"Well, my friend told me I ought to come in and get checked out. Said he saw something strange in my mouth that might be serious."

"Friend, huh?"

"Yes," she adds, "you came very highly recommended."

"Smart friend you've got there. Sure there's nothing more going on between you two? Looking into someone else's mouth is usually a sign things are fairly serious."

"Eh, well I'm not sure what he wants, plus he doesn't exactly scream boyfriend material. We met under some pretty…. strange circumstances."

He reaches for her hand and drags it against the fabric of his dress shirt. "Boyfriend material you say? I think you'd be surprised..." he whispers before pulling away completely and spinning around to grab her paperwork off the counter.

"Now, why don't you lie back and open up so I can take a look at what's going on?"

Bonnie shifts in the reclining seat and wonders if he has always been this corny. But, hey, it's charming, and it's working. She's glad she can hide her face because if not for tucking her chin against her shoulder he'd see the blush that is quickly blossoming across her cheeks.

When he leans over her his hands are gloved and some odd contraption is on his forehead obscuring his face. "You mentioned this friend…. are there any other men in your life? A boyfriend perhaps?"

His fishing is cute, so, appreciating the bait- she bites. "You know, I actually just got out of a serious relationship. I'm free as a bird."

"Well, I don't know about this friend of yours, but I'm free for dinner tonight."

"Isn't it bad practice to date your clients?" She asks as his finger prod around her mouth. Why do these doctors always wait until they're poking around your gums to ask questions?

"Meh, I think I can make an exception. Just this once, you seem worth it. Plus, you're not gonna tell on me, are you? I could get in a lot of trouble..." his mouth is hidden by his mask, but she can hear the smile in his voice.

"Your secret is safe with me, doc," she says opening her mouth wide to accommodate his gloved fingers. This is the second time he's got his digits in her mouth and Bonnie wants to laugh at how different things are this time around.

As it turns out her wisdom teeth do need to be removed. They schedule her for surgery after they schedule their first date.

But I was too blind to see it, baby
And you was out here doing the same thing as me...

Oh, we were so the same
I don't know why I can't see it, baby
And it ain't a point to feeling blue
You're just like me and I'm just like you...

Man, I can't be mad she just like me,
She just like me, she just like me, she just like me

(Jaime Foxx, Just Like Me)

AN: Did I say we'd bounce around a bit? Sorry I meant like a decade.

I had a fun time writing Jo and Kai as siblings who work together and support each other. It was nice to show them being silly and light-hearted but also complex and protective. I really wanted to work through what their relationship might have been like if abuse didn't fracture their bond. Something TVD focuses on is intense and chaotic sibling relationships- (Salvatore's, Gemini's Mikaelson's)- I wanted to lean in to that here.

I loved the idea of them being united in their unhinged shit and taking care of each other- but showing how that itself was a trauma response. Also, I just...really fucking hate Joshua Parker (all my homies hate Joshua Parker).

There have been some truly phenomenal dark BK fics to come out in the last little while (and also since these dweebs first touched hand to chest) and I, for one, am grateful. So grateful I just had to join the fun- hope you liked it.

I really really appreciate positive and constructive replies, I hope you'll share what you feel! Even if it's redundant, even if it's just a few words. I don't know if readers always understand how impactful comments can be!

I legit wanted this to be a nice short little freaky fic….then the google doc got to 30 pages...then 50... then 60.

I suppose you can't win them all.