Bonnie sighed softly, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. Her dress was simple, clean and elegant - off-white with sleeves that hugged her arms all the way down the to the wrists. The back was low cut and the front hugged her neck just below her Adam's apple. It fell across her body in soft waves and brought out the dark chestnut color of her hair and blood red of her lips even more than she had actually anticipated. A crown of jasmines adorned her head.

As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help the small smile that touched her lips.

This…was actually happening.

"You know, I didn't think it was possible for you to look any more beautiful."

Bonnie looked over her shoulder, smiling softly as her Grams approached her. She stood up, reaching out her hands to grasp the older witch's as she gave her the once over. It was taking everything she had not to cry.

Sheila grinned easily to her, reaching out a hand to brush some of her locks behind her ear. "No tears, my dear. Not today. You've cried enough, don't you think?"

There was a look in her eyes that had caught Bonnie off guard. Her Grams was a woman who rarely showcased her emotions. She'd been an austere but compassionate woman. But she'd never seen her Grams cry.

Not until today, that is.

"Grams?" Bonnie had been wanting to ask her something, but she didn't know if she wanted to know the answer. But she wanted to ask anyway. "You sent me to that place for a reason, didn't you? You did it, knowing I'd meet Kai…"

Reaching out, Sheila touched her cheek with her palm and stroked the skin under her eye with the pad of her thumb. "Does it matter?"

Bonnie nodded.

"On a day like today, does it really matter?"

Again, she nodded.

Chuckling to herself, she watched her Grams sigh as she shook her head. "Then let me be selfish this one time? No one in the world deserves you more. That broken boy? Everyone had given up on him, but I didn't. Not even in death. I always believed there would be hope for that child. It just needed time to grow - it needed time for it to be you."

Bonnie's eyes widened slightly. Was that what she'd done? Getting herself involved with the creation of the Prison World? Had her Grams seen this coming all along? "Grams…"

"He will love you until the end of your days. He will love you even after. And when you both are reborn, he will love you in your next lives."

Bonnie squeezed her hands in hers, looking up at the older witch as she tried to gather her nerves. "Are you sure about that?" Averting her gaze, she looked down at her feet. "Are you sure he'll keep loving me, beyond time itself?"

She felt her grandmother's fingers under her chin, lifting her face up to look at her. Her Grams' expression was a mixture of reassurance and fondness. "Trust me, my girl. If it's not you, it's no one else."

Sheila kissed Bonnie's cheek and then motioned for her to leave the room she was given to prepare for everything. Bonnie smiled, pushing back the tears as she took a deep breath; the lovely bouquet of lilies clutched in her hands.

It was time. Bonnie knew that this was the beginning of the rest of their lives. The venue was perfect, the greens and golds of Mystic Falls in Autumn a beautiful backdrop to their world. And it was outdoors, so no one would make any snide jokes about burning to ashes for entering something as sacred as holy ground.

None of that mattered though. None of it ever did. Only each other.

That was all that ever mattered. From start to finish.

There were more people in attendance than he'd thought there would be. Most were there for Bonnie, he knew, some for them both. Kai was fine with that; his wife - how amazing was it that he could say that, now? - was a beautiful woman, and popular. She'd always seemed to be and even now he could see it.

Not that he minded. She was his and he was hers in so many ways, and the rings on their fingers were only a physical way to show it. Only You by The Platters played - their first dance as husband and wife.

He did make his way with her through the crowd, stopping here and there to chat. The obligatory niceties that came with these sorts of social functions. Kai had always loved weddings. The celebration, the booze, and the overall merriment that accompanied the whole affair. The energy was contagious and he remembered being a little giddy over his twin's wedding.

Kai spied Bonnie talking with others, ever the blushing bride and glowing more fiercely than he'd ever seen her. He loved her. And she loved him.

He knew what she wanted; he could see it in her eyes just as clearly as he could read it in her mind. Kai was an exhibitionist and despite Bonnie's protests during their earlier months of dating, even she couldn't stop him from getting what he wanted. Because he wanted what he wanted and he wanted it then and there. She had adjusted to his need to give her open affection, to which he was grateful.

Bonnie must have sensed him staring at her because their eyes met and that ever-frequent silent conversation passed between the two of them. He didn't miss that dark color change in her green eyes. Kai was sure that his had done the same.

They would stay at the reception for a little while longer. Mingle. Thank people for attending. And then… then they could disappear.

He was looking forward to spending time alone - finally - with his wife.

The two of them gave a knowing smile with Kai gesturing toward the dark alcove near the back where no one could see. It was an open bar and food for miles. Everyone had their own methods of getting home. They could fend for themselves, dammit.

As soon as their hands touched, he whispered a spell and they were vacant from the world. It was only them. No one else. Kai pulled her in close and took her lips in a kiss, his tongue licking into her mouth, tasting her and the drinks she'd had. His hands slowly caressed her waist down to her thighs. Her dress was beautiful and flowy and he pulled the skirts up, his fingers grazing her thighs and leaving light scratches.

"Tell me what you want, Bon," he said, his voice whispering against her skin. "Show me." The words were a command, his tone full of the heat, the passion he had for her and her alone. "Beg me." Every word was accentuated by his hands moving against her, his lips on her skin, his magic brushing against hers and allowing her to drink of the thirst he had for none but her.

Kai could feel Bonnie's heartbeat elevate slightly as her arms rose to rest on his shoulders, his own hands roving her body. He had memorized every contour of her, yet his hands were familiarizing themselves with it all over again. Kai felt her leg lifting so he could have better access to the folds of her dress and run more of his hands along her bare skin.

So compliant. So his. It was worth the years it had taken to get to this point.

Bonnie leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck as her lips brushed against his ear. Taking the flesh between her teeth, she bit and suckled for a moment before breathing a warm sigh against the wetness she'd left behind. A soft shiver slithered down his back. "Seduce me," she whispered hungrily. "Make me weak for you... I want to fall apart in your arms again."

He smirked just before overtaking her mouth in succulent kisses. His lips slowly traveled down from her mouth and trailed down along her jaw before eventually meeting her neck, in which he sucked and kissed in between groping her waist and hips. With a gentle groaning sound, Kai slowly pulled his mouth from her skin and then gazed up into her eyes - lifting a strand of dark hair from her face.

They had made love countless times since their reunion and he could lose himself in her embrace countless more times. It still wouldn't have been enough to satisfy him; to satisfy her. Time, it was something that only existed when the memories of the past came. Kai knew that Bonnie wanted to be desired all over again - like the very first time. She wanted to relive the years they had in every moment they could spare until they destroyed one another in the wake of their emotions.

He knew she wanted that because Kai wanted it too.

"As you wish," he said, his voice low.

He took her lips with his once again, drinking deeply of her before he began to focus his ministrations elsewhere. His lips followed the line of her jaw down, working her throat, and he slowly, slowly left a trail of kisses until he hit fabric.

The dress, while beautiful, was entirely in the way. He growled, wanting to just tear it off her, but he didn't want to damage the gown, either.

So instead, he moved down until he was kneeling in front of her. He pressed kisses to the inside of her thighs, soft, gentle, loving things that turned into sharp nips, until the smell of her arousal was too much for him. While he thoroughly enjoyed seeing her in the lacy thing that passed for underwear, it was in the way.

Kai removed it with the aid of teeth and hands, not caring that the offending garment was ripped and falling to the floor. He'd buy her more later. He nudged her legs further apart, his hands caressing her legs. With a brief glance up to her face, he pressed a kiss to her clit, his tongue swirling around it.

"Don't make a sound," he whispered along her skin, focusing on her, "not a single whimper."

Another game with no real loser. He tunnel visioned on Bonnie, licking and sucking - one hand stroking her leg while the other moved up, fingers ghosting across her folds. He loved feeling how wet she was; how wet he made her.

He slid two fingers into her slowly, enjoying the way she squirmed against him, clearly wanting more. He would give it to her... but not yet. Kai kept up the slow pace, taking his time, savoring the taste and feel of her, daring her to beg for more.

It hadn't been just sex, carnal desire, primal needs for Kai. He knew that. Which was why he reminded her now, with his lips, his fingers, his mind against hers.

She was his, had always been his, and he'd loved no other, wanted no other, needed no other in all the time he'd known her. He gave that to her now, the surety of his love and his need for her in every touch until she was writhing against him, the air filling with the perfume of her. It was intoxicating, and he drank deeply of it, of her, until she fell apart in his hands - what few sounds she made being lost to the din of the reception hall.

When her spasms eased, Kai withdrew from her folds and rose, towering above her, pressing her into the wall as he took her lips in a searing kiss. He tasted her, tasted of her, and he gave an appreciative growl when she responded to his kiss with fervor.

He still had control of the cloaking spell but knew he wouldn't manage to quiet their corner, too. Not for much longer. The challenge of staying silent thrilled him, gave something more to the game. With one hand, he reached down, working his trousers until he had freed his erection, pressing it against her. The shaft twitched with the beat of his heart and he slowly, oh so slowly, pressed into her.

Her legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust into her; he could feel her fingers digging into his coat, and he moved to a beat only they could hear, agonizingly slow and yet so gentle a lesser being might have cried from the sense of it. Kai's lips captured any sounds she might have made, swallowing them with sighs and low moans of his own.

She was his. He was hers. And he would remind her of that from now until eternity.

His chest rumbled with a growl as he pushed into her, driving her against the wall. Their moans mingled together, sighs of pleasure intertwining in the space between their lips. He could feel her tightening around him, the way the walls of her quivered with each stroke. Being with her, inside her, taking her and tasting her was driving him crazy, enough so that the spell was beginning to slip from his grasp.

He pulled them back, but only barely, even as he continued to drive into her, her sounds of encouragement, her words in his mind, pushing him harder, faster, deeper into her. Kai released her lips to assault her throat with his mouth, marking her with every bite, every kiss, every suckle of her soft brown skin. He could feel her breath as it came and went in ragged gasps from the effort of staying silent and it spiked his desire for her.

That Bonnie took his commands in this, the way he took hers, was exhilarating. They were perfectly matched, had been all these years, and they proved it time and time again. And it wasn't just the sex. It was the way they danced together; how their magic was always singing with life on the surface of their skin. Kai and Bonnie moved in concert and knew how to work a room just as easily as they worked each other.

And he was working her now, winding her up, bringing her to the very brink and then holding her there - his movements slowing, the passion still there but gentler. When she seemed about to step away from the edge, his fervor increased again, thrusting into her until he could feel her need to cry out.

Kai captured her lips again, muffling her cries with his lips and his tongue. He gave a cry of his own, lost in the caverns of her mouth as he spilled into her. And still he took her. Took her further, higher, deeper into the moment until she was writhing against him, the waves of her release spiraling them both into a moment of ecstasy.

Bonnie leaned forward to kiss him, capturing his lips in his with a lingering hunger from the pleasure she had been given. After the swift kiss, she pressed her forehead against his - feeling the sweat of her brow against his own. "I think it's time we make our exit, don't you?"

He said nothing, just gave her a knowing smirk and she smirked back to him in return.

With a spark of magic springing up into her green eyes, the world swirled around them as they disappeared - the spell whispered against each other's mouths. He was ready to take her again. Kai wanted to be with her - focusing only on her and all the love he wanted to give to her throughout the night.

They reappeared in their living room just beside the couch. He watched Bonnie smile as he fell to the soft leather sectional. He watched her reach behind her to undo the clasp at the back of her neck. He watched as the gown fell to her feet with a hushed whisper. He watched her looking at him with longing and purpose before falling into his arms again - their lips crashing together in that all-too familiar dance.

All that mattered was each other, entangled in each other's arms and affections.

That's all that ever mattered. All that ever would.

Kai watched Bonnie as she smiled softly, the afternoon sun beating down overhead. Autumn's soft breeze tickled his face as he peered into the canopy of trees filled with brightly colored leaves. The branches would soon shed their Fall clothes, making them bare for the oncoming Winter months. But he didn't mind. Winter was one of his favorite seasons as it yielded into Spring. Winter Solstice would be around the corner, but not before he attended to his duties as the head of the Gemini for the start of the New Year.

It was something Kai had been a fan of. He had been enjoying the time off with Bonnie - shirking his duties and leaving things to his second when he wasn't around. He was still young and had plenty of time to truly set his pace for how he was going to lead. After all, his original had been to wipe out the Gemini. Bonnie changed that side of him and he hadn't harbored such murderous intent since he merged with his younger brother, Lucas.

The Elders were impatient. They were waiting for new leaders. Jo had explicitly expressed wanting no part of it with his nieces. Which meant it was up to Kai. He hadn't been worried about it but others were breathing down his neck and giving him no quarter. Not since Bonnie had given birth to their daughter, Lydia, and it was only then did they fully welcome her into the fold. It sickened him.

Kai was no fool. His eyes wandered to Bonnie's swollen belly and was thankful that she was preoccupied with their nature walk instead of him. It would become problematic if the little one practically kicking and ready to break free from inside of her wound up being twins. The Elders will have an absolute fucking field day over it. I can see it already...

Bonnie smiled as Kai hefted a sleepy Lydia onto his shoulders, piggy backing her as they walked leisurely through the park under the shade of multi-colored leaves. It would probably rain soon, but that would not be for at least another hour or so. The healers he'd appointed to be Bonnie's caretakers specifically told her that she needed to get as much rest and relaxation as possible. Which meant she would need to take off from her rogue witch hunting duties and leave that job to him and the enforcers in his coven.

What choice did she really have? None, that was what. Kai nagged her about taking care of her health, eating properly and on time, and maintaining a strict sleep schedule. She was used to it, though - or at least should have been. Bonnie had to endure the same thing back when she was pregnant with their now two year-old daughter.

Kai cooed softly to their daughter as the young girl slowly drifted off to sleep.

"I think she wore herself out, don't you?"

Kai chuckled, joyful in his fit of amusement. It was pure hell chasing after his daughter 90% of the time. If her curiosity wasn't getting the better of her like any feline on the street, Lydia was speeding around existence with the speed of a Mexican rat. He had no idea where she got so much energy from, but he wouldn't dare smother it. Being brought into the world in a such a short amount of time before, she had already shown a fair level of her own idea of expression.

Either that or Lydia had it out for her father.

All in all, it was nothing he couldn't handle. Regardless of how he acted when he was younger, Malachai Bennett-Parker was no longer that person. Whether the people around him believed him or not didn't matter.

His family did.

"How is coven business these days? Bored since I'm not there at the meetings?"

Kai glanced at Bonnie for a moment before he licked his lips in thought. "Oh Bonster, you know the world is boring without your presence. Tease." With a playful eye roll, he sighed in an exaggerated manner.

Bonnie had only started attending coven meetings in the last year. Kai had wanted her far away from those archaic customs for the time being. He was used to all that bullshit but she wasn't. And the less stress on her plate, the better.

It was no secret among the Gemini that the two of them had been joined to be one in holy matrimony. Secret, no, but they probably still felt the stinging burn of that shock. A few of the witches in the coven were their own friends/affiliates/whatever. Now, anyway. To be honest, he had lost count of how many of those friends/affiliates/whatevers hated his guts. But that face they made when Kai announced the news of their marriage - that face - it still filled him with that evil sort of pleasure when he replayed it in his head. Even to the point that he could be sexually pleasured from it if he wanted to.

So, with that smug look stamped onto his face, they were married. They had a child together. Their family was steadily growing. He had gotten what he had wanted and no one could do anything about it. And now? Now? If anything happened, Bonnie's might was no laughing matter - her inner momma bear worn proudly and fiercely on her person.

Never fuck with a woman who found her place in life.

Shuffling Lydia off his back and into his arm, the small child whined softly as she clung to his shirt, resting her head on his shoulder. Kai's slate-blue eyes glanced at Bonnie and the bump she was carrying. She had been on maternity leave for a while and though he knew it was hard for her, he couldn't help but keep her from doing the things she was used to doing. Even after having their son, he'd have to keep her inactive. But even that was a job in itself. Heh.

"I blame you," she said suddenly and his eyes widened slightly as he looked at her. There was a teasing glint in her eyes that was hard to miss. "I blame you for all of it."

Kai gasped at the words that Bonnie was spewing. She blamed him for everything? "So, let me get this straight? You blame me for being a kind, loving husband who is not only worried about your well being, but the well being of our unborn child?" He saw her rolling her eyes and continued. "You blame me for rubbing your feet, caressing your tummy and being your crutch when you need it?"

Bonnie hummed as if in thought, then nodded. "Yep. I do."

He blinked, then laughed. "Well, I can live with that. I don't need you falling out after all." He shrugged, dancing a step away from Bonnie as she tried to elbow him.

She had this nasty habit of doing things at 120%. The last thing Kai wanted was her intense work ethic to get in the way of everything else important in life. Mainly her health. Besides, she couldn't hide anything from him. It wasn't allowed!

"Care is doing some dinner party...thing. We're invited."

Kai wrinkled his nose. The fights between him and Caroline Forbes were infamous. Especially in the beginning. But for Bonnie's sake, he had clammed up and listened and, in time, he and Caroline had actually forged an interesting friendship. Nothing got past that girl, bloodsucker as she was. She had weeded out Kai's feelings for Bonnie months before they'd come out and said anything. Finding out the truth of how he and Bonnie really met came with serious repercussions, but with that came some type of masochistic friendship he never thought he'd have in her.

In other words, if he called her right now with a dire emergency (though the words to each other may prove to be harsh), she'd still be there.

In all honesty, he could get along with most of Bonnie's friend's now - having shown the better side of himself. Kai even tried to keep in some sort of contact with them on a semi-regular basis so they could know that this life change wasn't just for show.

Sighing, he glanced down at his wife. "Fine, but I won't be responsible for the actions that happen from the two of us being in the same room. What time is she planning all of this anyway? The two of us might have...previous engagements."

She rolled her eyes teasingly. "In a week," she said easily. A soft rumble of thunder echoed overhead. The storm was quickly approaching and soon the rain would be upon them. She rubbed her stomach where their was behaving himself inside of his mother - deciding to not stir up a fuss yet. "And it is that same previous engagements excuse that has me sporting this belly now."

Kai snorted his eyes playfully. Well, his wife was right. He'd used the "previous engagements" excuse many a time and it finally caught up to him. If he didn't want to catch up on his work in the coven, he'd tell his colleagues he had "previous engagements". If he didn't want to go to any sort of gathering, he'd claim that he had "previous engagements".

If there was one thing Malachai Bennett-Parker enjoyed doing with all his heart and soul, it was making love to his wife. He did it at every chance he got. In every way. In every room she would allow (at some point, there was a disagreement about being intimate in a common space area and he claimed that was what chemical cleaners were for). There was nothing he enjoyed more and no one was going to take it away from him except Bonnie herself.

No matter how much time passed by, no matter what was thrown in their way, Kai would always love her. He would always put her first.

Bonnie didn't know what kind of intricate web her husband had woven to convince her to have another child, but she made a mental note to never fall for it again. Ever. Not in a million years. Not in tens of millions of years. In fact, once the days for her recovery process were complete and their son's 100th day birthday passed, she was going to make Kai sign a blood oath that if she should get pregnant again, she had license to murder her husband.

...okay, perhaps that was going a bit too far.

If Kai had any idea the pains of giving natural birth entailed, he wouldn't have been so inclined to readily push for a third child. If his claim to not wanting to cause his lovely wife pain and suffering were true. The fact that he was waiting with great anticipation for their child to be brought into the world was just further proof. All those "previous engagements" and stealing her breath away, locking eyes with her so that she had no choice but to stay transfixed in his line of sight...

The way he never failed to remind her just how much she was in love with him.

Despite all of that, it didn't stop Bonnie from wanting to curse her husband's name. She didn't, however, actually curse him due to the simple fact that she was slightly superstitious. If any negative energies were directed toward blood relations of the child being born into the world, the child would suffer some sort of physical or mental ailments.

Lydia and Josiah had already been dropped at the nursery when they arrived at the hospital. The physicians wasted no time hauling her off to the delivery room since her water broke at three in the morning and her first contractions began promptly at four. Here it was, eight in the morning the last she checked the clock on the wall - four hours into labor - and there was still no sign that the baby was coming. Josiah had also been a morning child. She prayed that Emilio would be the same.

Her soft hand gripped onto her husband's slightly more calloused one, the sweat touching her brow. Kai quickly wiped it away. She sent silent thanks his way, her brows knitting together as another wave of pain hit her.

"Ready, Bonster?"

She nodded, biting back a groan.

"Because I kinda need you to be ready even if you're not."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, then cried as yet another wave of pain came forth. Quick breaths. Lamaze. Breathe.

"I mean...it's my son."

"Whose son?!" she roared. Her voice was strained, throat thick with pain, but she still managed to stay snippy at him. Let him get on this trolley and push then!

"...our son, but just be careful. We don't need him with any weird birth defects or anything. J-just do it!"

"MALACHAI!" she managed to scream, her hand gripping tighter to his as she pulled him down closer so their faces were barely touching.

Her doctor continuously encouraged her to keep the pace she'd been making up till this point. Tears filled her eyes and a vein was most likely bulging at her temple. This was utter misery. Mi-se-ry.

A threatening growl pushed from her throat. "This is all your fault! Now if you don't call Caroline and have her here within the hour, I promise you that our son will never know his father! Do you hear me?! NEVER!"

Getting all worked up like that only further issued a push. Emilio did not like the strain that his mother was putting on her abdominal muscles in order to pass threats to his father. Bonnie knew that her threats were just those: threats. Hardly idle ones, but she could never actually keep Kai from his children. Just like she could hardly stop loving him as much as she did.

But oh, by the spirits of her ancestors, did she want to string him up and leave him out for the crows to peck at.

"I'm not leaving you! Are you nuts?!"

"Yes," she breathed, opening one of her eyes that had been squeezed shut in a vain attempt to stave off the pain. "I must be if I'm going through this agony a third time because of you!"

Bonnie only meant half of what she was spouting. It was the pain and lack of painkillers. And that incessant coaxing from the physician who was urging her to keep pushing. Hadn't she been pushing for the past few hours? How much more pushing was necessary? Why was Emilio being so stubborn? Why couldn't he be quick like his siblings and be out in an hour? Truly, this was an arduous labor.

She watched Kai shaking his head at her request. Why did he insist on being so stubborn? All she wanted was for her best friend to be here for the birth of her nephew. Was that so much to ask for? Clearly it must have been since Kai was being completely unreasonable about all of this.

"I'm not going, alright? Blondie is a vampire and can just blur her ass here. Besides, it's time for you to push!"

"She isn't a mind reader and she lives locally you stupid-!"

Bonnie's insult was sliced in half by another bout of pain followed closely by her screams. The Bennett Matriarch had a certain fond admiration for her mother now. To think that the woman had given birth to her naturally? She'd missed the window for the epidural this go around.

In the midst of all the pushing and talking and sweating and clapping... Wait. Clapping?

Bonnie cast her green eyes over to where Kai was and, sure enough, there he was clapping his hands in a rhythmic fashion. The sight was ridiculous - but what came falling from his lips was even more outrageous. "Push him out, shove him out, waaaaaay out!"

Oh God, help me...

"Push him out, shove him out, waaaaaaaay out!"

"Malachai? Caroline." The words pushed through her clenched teeth. "Now. RIGHT NOW!"

She would have her family present or so help her.

So. Help. Her.