Thunder
Isolation had captured Kol for centuries. It followed him and cloaked him every place he went. Miles did not halt the advancement of his oldest enemy. An invisible enemy that lurked and ducked around the corners of his heart and mind. It speared him at his core, and yet he pushed himself to hide away from the shadowy villain. He battled and resisted against the loneliness gripping him for centuries. Alienated from everyone, even his so called family. They never attempted forging a genuine connection with him. They looked at him with suspicious glances and thrusted daggers into his heart.
Finn rarely interacted with him, after Nik drove a sharp dagger through his elder brother's chest. His brother sulked and hid behind his drooping shoulders and miserable expressions. He hated his brother's disregard for his vampiric nature. His brother never deserved to breathe the same air as the rest of them.
Yet he mourned Finn. He was his brother once. He looked after them for a time, until their parents perverted their purity.
Kol recognized the importance of family. Even one as twisted as theirs. The Mikaelsons were no saints, but a deep desire for true familial unity rested under their backstabbing and murder plots.
Elijah acted as the Mikaelsons' eternal nagging conscious. Unlike Jiminy Cricket, Elijah eternal checkups were aggravating at best and major migraine-inducing at worst. Jiminy Cricket at least amused him. Yes, Kol attended a showing of Pinocchio. And no one would ever find out as long as he lived. Nails on a chalk board would sound like Mozart's Requiem compared to Elijah's endless nagging train. Kol preferred burning and eternal punishment from the agitated witch spirits than his tight ass elder brother's lingering presence.
They either ignored him or tolerated his presence. His brothers had some nerve corralling his diabolical deeds, when they often caused more trouble he could ever dream to achieve.
Nik and Elijah once dueled to gain the tease's (better known as Tatia) affections and hand in marriage. She was a nuisance. Kol wished he pushed her off a cliff. Would have saved his brothers the embarrassment of fighting over that bitch.
Maybe then they would have actually paid attention to him.
They only acknowledged him as the troublemaker. The Original who thrived off draining humans and scattering their fleshy remains like breadcrumbs across the numerous lands he traveled.
Nik loved stabbing him into submission. He snatched years away from his life. Decades flew by, without his approval. Whole historical moments he missed in the 20th century. All because Nik couldn't stand to have him undermine him or alert their current location to daddy dearest.
Mikael's main target was Nik. The rest of them were merely innocent bystanders. Of course, Mikael wanted all vampires dead.
But Nik's name sat at the top of that list. Mikael despised the bastard child more than anyone. And Nik was no angel. Kol often envisioned moments where he suffered after committing his dagger stabs in the chest to him. He loathed him. Sometimes even more than Mikael.
Thank the Gods, Nik killed him and Kol appreciated the gesture. It spared Nik's life from being taken by his hand. At the moment.
Rebekah was his favorite sibling. He loved her. Deeply. Perhaps the only family he continued loving for centuries, without a hint of fear or hatred. He didn't like how trapped she was, but he also did not like how easily she fell in love. He hated how she allowed men to seize her heart within minutes.
He was assigned this role. And he eagerly played the role his family declared him as. The reputation lingered and festered on his skin. So he played whatever opposing force his siblings or his enemies believed him to represent.
He couldn't care less about people perceiving him as the bad guy. He didn't need a moral and upstanding reputation like Elijah.
Or that bratty yet cold, and calculated persona Bekah draped around herself like a fancy coat.
Or Finn's solemn facial expressions and stiffened shoulders that presented a calm front hiding a violent storm beating against his skin.
Or even Nik's unpredictable emotional rollercoaster he provided his enemies and allies alike to his never-ending need to control everything and everyone.
The Mikaelsons his behind their defense mechanisms to propel them past their eternal purgatory filled with betrayal and loneliness. They each looked out for themselves at the end of the day.
His remaining siblings attempted to cling to the ancient vow they loved reciting. They never bothered adding him or Finn to that eternal trust circle.
Always and forever, his ass. Kol had been a loner the moment his mother sent him into the world. The vampirism snatched the invisible joy he once wielded as a boy. Magic.
His one joy dissolved in a single moment. Where his mother carved out any humanity that once lingered inside him on that infamous night.
That night, the overly self-righteous witch spirits removed his gleaming tie to his humanity. He lost all cares about attempting to feel for others and help them with his monstrous power.
Why should he help?
None of the so called good witch spirits attempted stopping his parents from killing their children and then perverting them into a new species. And then, when they changed their mind and attempted slaying them on a few occasions, those ancient hags didn't lift a finger.
Kol could care less about the fickle witch spirits felt about him and his family, but he did remain respectful to them and their anchor to Mother Earth.
Nature always calmed and excited him with the powers it wielded. It once touched him with a small gift from its' overwhelming power. He yearned to embrace and reclaim the natural link.
He wanted to take back his magic.
Anger poured out from his veins over the anguishing separation he experienced from his power drain.
It wasn't fair, but then life rarely was. Especially an immortal life.
But he knew that nothing would change his dilemma. His vampirism would always remain an eternal blister festering in his veins.
His soul evaporated once the blood slid down his throat. He enjoyed ripping into veins and drinking the life flowing from his bleeder's sliced skin.
Kol stared into those warmth dripped chocolate eyes of the little Gilbert. They comforted him. They nurtured him. He couldn't remember a time where someone worried about him.
People feared him, yes. Despised him, definitely. Attempted ending his life on multiple occasions. Women and men alike flocked though to seduce him.
He cared for none of their pathetic attempts to sing sweet words of praise or flatter him to reveal their desired prize: him. Whatever their goal, his heart, his vulnerable state, his pleasing rod, or his support. Poor pretty things. They would not receive what they really wanted.
They never mattered to him.
Only one thing moved him: magic. That was the only element pushing him to change his course.
Until Little Gilbert appeared.
"Hi, my name is Jeremy Gilbert."
Kol swallowed hard.
"Kol Smith."
He wasn't about to reveal who he was to the boy. He'd startle the boy and then the little Gilbert would cry all the way back to Mystic Falls.
He wouldn't want to disappoint Nik. Or more importantly, get daggered by his big brother. He wasn't about to lose more years from his eternal life.
Never again.
"So where you from?"
"Everywhere."
Jeremy smiled.
"You're a strange guy, Kol."
"So, I've been told."
Jeremy snorted.
"So are you here for baseball practice?"
"Yep."
"You like baseball?"
"Definitely. I love it."
In fact, Kol helped popularize the American pastime. But he wasn't about to tell his wide-eyed prey that.
"Really? How long have played baseball?"
"Feels like forever."
That was the biggest understatement of the year.
Jeremy laughed and revealed his bright white teeth.
"Well, I just hope I don't bring down the team too much."
"Why would you think that?"
"Not much of an athlete."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"You haven't seen me swing then."
"I doubt you'll be that bad."
Jeremy scratched his chin.
"Probably worse."
"Come on, now, you must be joking."
Every human has some basic athletic skill. He had to be exaggerating. Truly.
Jeremy sighed.
"You'll see and then you'll definitely laugh."
Kol shook his head.
"Whatever, Gilbert. You're full of it."
Jeremy huffed.
"Gilbert, where are you?"
Jeremy turned to see a black man in short gym trunks and a red cap with clip board and chewed pencil twirling around in his right hand.
"Here, sir."
The grown man then muttered, "Need to get him out the way first. Don't need the kid hurting anybody."
Kol scoffed and rolled his eyes.
Humans were dramatic little things.
And they were inferior athletes compared to vampires. They were fun to chase, but annoying to interact with.
They at least could run and attempt fighting off the predators who chased and hunted them for their ruby liquid.
The coach sighed as he slapped a baseball into brown glove encasing his right hand. He pivoted his arm and hurled the ball in Jeremy's direction. Jeremy gulped and wacked that circular scarred white object ricocheting about the cage. Other players dove and scattered as the ball reverberated around the steel bars. The coach flushed as the ball finally wacked a player in his left eye.
The young man gasped and crumpled to the ground. He groaned and then got up to throw a bat at the wall. While he covered his left eye, he glared at Jeremy with his blazing right eye. Jeremy flinched.
Kol widened his eyes.
Jeremy Gilbert hadn't exaggerated. He was terrible. Horrendous, even.
The little Gilbert disgraced the glorious American pastime.
Kol grimaced for every baseball player that ever existed.
His heart pounded and wanted to die on the spot.
Kol despised terrible baseball players…But at least he hit the ball. The tiny Gilbert really sucked though.
"Alright, Gilbert, go to the bench."
"Yes, sir."
Little Gilbert stuffed his hands in his pockets and ambled over to Kol. Kol felt a void dropping down and deepening like a giant black hole swirling inside him.
He shouldn't feel anything for his prey.
But…
"Hey, Gilbert…At least you hit the ball."
Little Gilbert looked up and smiled at Kol.
He then ducked his head.
"Yeah. I guess. Still suck."
"A bit."
Gilbert shrugged.
"Proved you wrong though," he teased.
Kol blinked and smirked at him.
"You seem to take way too much pride in that fact, Gilbert."
"Yeah. Well, that's one of my many downfalls: hubris."
He really shouldn't tell him, Kol, the biggest apex predator the guidebook on what Jeremy Gilbert's weaknesses were.
Didn't this kid have any self-preservation?
The Gilbert girl had it in spades.
It seemed her brother never gained the good sense to listen to his inner selfishness. Interesting.
"Hey, new kid. Get over here."
"Sure."
That human adult needed to learn his place. Kol would take care of him…But first he needed to show these children how the game should be treated.
The boy with the purpling bruise stepped up to pitch and he pivoted and thrusted the dirt covered white and red trimmed orb to Kol.
Kol smirked and angled his swing to align the metal bat to the ball with a light tap. The ball struck against the metal stick and spun over the field and the trees outlying the gated diamond area.
"Wow."
"Damn."
"Thank, God. A kid who can play."
"We're gonna kill it this season."
"Yeah those Cardinals will wish they were never born."
"Yeah!"
"Dudes, as long as this guy plays. We'll win the playoffs for sure."
"And the championship, don't forget that."
"And then Gilbert will ride the bench."
"Anything to keep that dork any from my face."
"I'm for it."
"We'll nail his ass to the metal bench."
"Hell, yeah."
Kol smirked and "jogged" around the diamond. To the humans, he appeared like he was running, but he was strolling by vampire standards.
"He doesn't need to run."
"Maybe, the dude didn't see the ball go over the field."
"Who cares?"
"Well, then he is stupid."
Those humans better watch their mouths, before he considered ripping their tongues and displaying them on the baseball diamond.
He had killed for less.
Kol looked toward his prey, and Jeremy smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.
Kol's heart thudded against his rib cage. A giant swelling surrounded his insides. He must have drank from a human infected with Ebola or something.
That or Jeremy was a secret warlock.
Kol approached the first base, and the whole team swarmed him. Their questions and praises irritated him.
He hated when people kissed his ass.
He preferred people treating him like a God or at least an equivalent to one. People cowering and worshipping him was better than any compliments.
He was superior in every way. There was no reason for him to pretend otherwise. He loved the fear and pain he provided to others.
There was no reason to shy away from his true nature. He was a bloodthirsty beast who reveled in the bloodshed he graced the world with.
Kol Mikaelson was never one to blend in. He loved standing out. He lived too long to pretend to be like all the other inferior creatures scrambling across the Earth's surface.
He pivoted his head to Jeremy, and the Gilbert waved at him.
His heart repeated to thud against his ribs.
He should really drink from a boring, healthy human next time.
Kol didn't need to contract a mysterious human illness that somehow mysteriously translated into a vampiric one.
Kol smirked and compelled the coach to let him leave practice early with Jeremy. Kol needed to examine his prey closer.
"That was pretty cool. You never said you were some bigtime baseball player. Why aren't you on some big pro-team right now?"
Because they didn't let vampires play baseball, darling.
"I wish. My family wants me to improve my behavior before I go do what I love doing."
Kol did adore baseball, but he wasn't a mortal anymore.
His true love was traveling above all else. The freedom he craved was achieved when he explored the world.
He couldn't change who or what he was. So what was the point of moping around? And feigning a need to reform.
He wasn't Elijah.
He wasn't mortal. He was an immortal with a deadly reputation to deliver fear and hate to the world. Kol Mikaelson needed to present himself as a merciless creature who cared only for his selfish desires. And he loved every bit of it.
So he couldn't exactly lower his life standards. Besides morality was overrated, when one held immortality in their veins.
And even considering doing so was laughable. He had better things to do and accomplish anyway.
"Let me guess strict dad?"
"Yeah."
Not really. Murderous sociopath brother. But Mikael was worse than Nik. He would give Nik that much leeway.
Not that he deserved such a compliment.
If Kol had time, he would eliminate the doppelganger. But he wasn't in the mood to lose a few more decades from his impulsive older brother.
"I get it. Dads love asserting themselves to keep their kids in line. It's all a power trip."
Kol internally snorted.
Power trip was one way to define it.
Control freak was the phrase better suited for his big brother.
Nik sure had a way with his family.
"Yeah, mine nearly killed me after the last stunt I pulled."
Half-truths weren't so bad…Nik being a father was humorous though. Almost as much as Sage loving Finn for centuries.
That was unreal.
Nik, ironically, took on the father role more than Mikael ever did.
And he daggered them and placed them in coffins!
"So what'd you do?"
"Did something I wasn't supposed to."
"That really narrows it down."
Jeremy scoffed and Kol grinned.
"Sorry, darling."
Jeremy chuckled.
"What?"
Jeremy shook his head.
"Nothing."
"I doubt that. What is it?"
"You sound weird."
What?
"What do you mean?"
Jeremy widened his eyes and scratched his head.
"You say darling like a serial killer would. It's weird."
Kol grimaced.
Closer to the truth than he thought the little Gilbert could manage. Could his sister alerted Jeremy about his location?
Then again, the doppelganger was not that quick on her enemy's plans.
Pathetic, really.
It would cost her one day. And Kol would laugh at her foolishness.
"That's an odd observation."
"Well, I'm a weird guy."
Odd little human. Most didn't have the good sense to bring up silly nonsense around him.
"Apparently so. Especially when you compare your new friends to murderers."
Jeremy eyes popped.
"What?"
Kol frowned.
"What did I say something wrong?"
Jeremy shook his head and coughed.
"It's nothing. I'm just a little surprised is all."
"Why?"
Jeremy opened his mouth and appeared to mouth his thoughts before he actually spoke them aloud.
Which was really cute-er- ridiculous, because he was wasting time. Humans had so little time to spare. They loved wasting it, though.
Foolish creatures.
Kol forced himself to focus. He needed to know what Jeremy wanted to say. Today.
"You don't seem the type."
Huh?
What?
Was he not acting human enough for this guy?
What was the deal?
"Type?" Kol echoed.
"Yeah, like the type of person who strolls into people's lives and opens up to them. You seem like the kind of guy who needs to test and measure up the people he meets, and then decides whether or not to let them in. More often than not, you don't. You don't think people are worth the time. But you'll play with them to fight off loneliness that hits you time and time again. And then you leave to go live your life how you want."
That was astoundingly accurate.
"Wow. Um. I don't know what to say to that."
"Yeah, sorry. I'm the opposite. I open up way too quickly, and then I get hurt by the people who just want to use me."
A wave of guilt washed against Kol, and rocked him. He forcibly pushed it down. This prey was too complicit.
But also too sweet to ignore.
Kol Mikaelson wanted him. No matter what.
Kol could never remember a time where he craved another human like he did Jeremy. His smile and that pretty little baby face made his heart pound and palms drip in sweat. At first, he brushed off his racing heart and sweaty palms as the vampire equivalent to the flu.
However the symptoms remained and his heart continued pounding and his anxiety soared around Jeremy. If Nik saw him, he would have accused him of betraying him. And Kol would have rolled his eyes and denied his statement. His heart would crack with his denials. But Nik killing Jeremy was a very real possibility.
Nik tended to kill or threaten any love interest his siblings intertwined with. Poor Nik seemed to enjoy the companionship of the spunky cheerleader who often sided with the so called heroes of Mystic Falls.
Kol wasn't impressed by the blonde, although her sharp tongue was satisfying. His brother loved challenges. Women and men who threw themselves at their feet eagerly and kissed their asses over the centuries grew boring in minutes.
Fickle mates were entertaining to seduce and charm into bed, and then leaving them was thrilling. The scorned lovers reentered their lives now and then. Some to punish, others to move on. Some people just needed to get over themselves.
Their player reputation was probably the only characteristic they shared. Elijah still hooked onto doppelgangers and the occasion witch. He wouldn't dare allow himself to enter another's bed, unless mutual respect was involved.
Sap he was. Kol never understood his overly moral brother. He gained too many headaches trying.
How they were all related, again?
Well, the blood and removed hearts spoke the undeniable proof of their familial bonds. Try as he might, and the rebellious Mikaelson had, he could not remove his ties to his beloved family. Even if he wanted to.
They seemed to follow him everywhere.
Besides their drive to kill and conquer their enemies.
Nik may be a bastard, but he shared their family's murderous traits. After all, he was a Mikaelson. Evil and blood shed swirled in their veins and emerged when they were angered or proving a point to younger and more arrogant vampires.
Like that nuisance Damon Salvatore. Worthless toddler vampire. He grated Kol's nerves worse than Elijah's nagging and that was a hard feat to accomplish.
Kol would not regret removing his worthless head. It would benefit everyone.
Here he was. Fighting to claim Jeremy as his mate. He needed Jeremy.
"We need to talk, darling."
Jeremy bobbed his head.
"Look, Gilbert, I think we never addressed the giant elephant in the room. We never talked about us. Ever. We tiptoed around the subject, but never fully dove into the heart of the issue."
"But-"
"Let me finish."
Jeremy sighed and gestured for him to continue. Kol huffed.
"I was supposed to kill you, Gilbert. I'm not going to change, darling. I'm still going to slaughter people who irritate and stand in my way. And I'm not drinking out of those stupid plastic sacks. I'm a predator. I love hunting and tearing into my prey. I'm not human, and I'll never be one. I wouldn't want to dream of becoming one again.
However, I won't kill you, even when Nik uses his boring little dagger threats. I want to keep you alive. You aren't a toy to pick apart. I refuse to let Nik kill you. I want you and I know you want me too. Otherwise you would shout at me and tell me to leave.
I'm not perfect. But I will never lie to you. I will cherish you, Jere.
You deserve it.
That's all."
Jeremy smiled and stared at him.
"I never knew you were so poetic."
Kol scoffed.
"I'm not."
"Okay. That was beautiful. Almost as much as you."
"Don't start get sappy with me, Jere. It's one of the main reasons I love you."
"You love me?" breathed a wide-eyed Gilbert.
Kol snorted.
"Did you think I was just shooting the breeze?"
Jeremy shrugged.
"It's pretty hard to keep up with you, Kol."
"Whatever, Gilbert."
"I want you."
"What?"
"I choose you."
"Jere, this isn't a Pokémon match. Just spit it out."
Jeremy cracked a grin.
"You're the only person I can see myself with. No one else matters like you. I don't care if my friends and family think I've lost my mind or betrayed them or whatever. I just want you and only you."
Jeremy stared at him with a meaningful glance.
Kol smirked.
"Took you long enough."
Jeremy rolled his eyes before he cracked a toothy smile at him.
"Kol, just shut up and kiss me," breathed Jeremy.
Kol smirked. Kol then pressed his lips against the soft moisturized skin of Jeremy's neck. He kissed and ravished Jere's neck and shoulder blades and nipped at a few open areas. Jeremy's heart raced happily against his touch. Kol smiled.
Jeremy seemed to enjoy his affections.
"Would you like more of that, darling?"
Jeremy simply nodded his head. Kol opened his mouth and leaned down kissing every breath Jeremy unleashed between their connected lips.
"You want me, darling?"
"Yes," groaned Jeremy.
"May I come in?"
"Definitely."
Kol sped them both into the house and up the stairs.
"Jesus, you're quick."
Kol smirked.
He ripped off Jeremy's shirt.
"Hey, that's my favorite."
"Shut up."
"You owe me."
"Really, now?"
Kol hovered above those teasing brown eyes. Jeremy's lips parted and Kol's pupils widened. Kol pulled Jeremy close and traced his fingers down Jeremy's skin. Jeremy panted and groaned under Kol's tortuous strokes.
"Kol…"
"I know, darling."
"Please shut the door."
Kol blinked and Jeremy pouted.
"There's no one here, darling."
"Kol, please."
"Fine," huffed Kol.
The oak door slammed shut and the moaning, groaning and creaking echoed around the home. The men's passions thundered across the neighborhood.