In truth Davina wasn't really a brunch person, she never understood the appeal, but Kol had told her it would be the perfect place to discuss the situation that she had been pulled into. She wasn't sure where people usually discussed this sort of things, given that it was actually illegal, but she figured a restaurant that was a bit of a hole in the wall felt fitting enough. Though the idea of a restaurant catering to breakfast and brunch also being a hole in the wall was a bit worrying.
It was better than the office at least.
When the less than convinced immigration officers finally left they were faced with realizing they had just put on a show for the office. She wasn't sure how uncomfortable the situation was for Kol, but for Davina it was less than stellar. She was quick to untangle her hand from his when she noticed the looks she was getting, she just made sure the officers were out of sight at that moment.
"You know you aren't that good of an actress," Kol informed Davina, glancing up from the menu.
"I wasn't exactly given time to memorize my lines," she retorted, not daring to look up from hers. The recent situation gave her leverage over Kol, which allowed her use her right to free speech for the first time with him, but it was still weird to her. She hadn't had many real conversations with him, even after four years of working with him nearly every day. Though after a few moments passed she peeked up, seeing that there was a slight small evident on his face, though calling it a smirk would be more fitting.
"About that," he started, taking on more a serious tone, "I think we should start discussing the matter at hand." This was when Davina finally decided to look him in the eye. "I'm going to assume that you figured out the situation is at the moment," he said, though there was question embedded in his statement. in which she gave him a brief nod in reply.
She had guessed the basic situation at hand, but when the immigration officers started starting to her she was able to piece together more of the story. After she had announced that was she was in fact engaged to the soon to be deported Mikaelson they gave her a little information on what would be happening. There would be an investigation of their relationship, and there would be interviews. One of the men kept slipping in how green card marriages were illegal, which didn't seem promising to either of them.
"Before we get to anything about following through with this, I need to discuss my terms," she told him, and she quickly raked through her recent thoughts to remember them. On the ride over to the restaurant she had made a mental list.
"I can give you money," he offered, but she shook her head.
"I want to be an editor," she told him, and he raised a brow. "It's not my goal to be an assistant forever," she added.
"You do realize how that would look right, an assistant getting a lofty promotion only once she has married her boss," he replied, though she wasn't sure that was a rejection.
"I would be an assistant who married her wealthy boss anyway," she reminded him, "I don't think I'll have much shame to lose after that." She gave him a smile that could only be described as filled with venom, and though it was quick it made an impression.
"It wouldn't look great for me either, giving that position so easily," he muttered, and it was her turn to look at him with some disbelief.
"I'm helping you stay in the country, sorry if my limited terms will affect your pride," she said, and the venom had moved into her words. "That's the one term I won't be lenient on," she admitted, which prompted Kol to take a sharp intake.
After a brief hesitation he shrugged, "Fine. What else do you want if you don't want money?"
"I want you to look at a manuscript, I'm not asking you to publish it but I am asking you to give it a long look," she said, and she didn't think this would be a demand to hard to meet. Manuscripts could be submitted anytime, but the problem was that few got out of the ever growing stack. Never less she made
"You're a writer?" he asked.
"My friend is, and if he wants it be considered for publication than I want to be," she explained. She was speaking about Josh, who admitted to most only that he dabbled in writing. In truth it was more than a hobby, it was what he really wanted to do with his life, and his most recent story was really something.
"I can do that," he told her, and he didn't seem fazed by it. Shortly after that the waiter came over, and they after they placed their orders they fell into a short silence again. "And even if you won't accept my money, I won't let you pay for things like expensive dresses that you wouldn't wear again," he added, which confused Davina.
"If you're talking about a wedding we can just go to the courthouse," she offered, but he shook his head.
"Well I wasn't actually referring to the wedding costs there, more just general events I have to go to, but while we're on the topic... Well a courthouse won't do. I'm a Mikaelson, that was be suspicious and we don't need that," he explained, and she got where he was coming from. She didn't like the idea of wasting money and effort on a marriage that would end in a year. "Obviously there isn't much time for planning but we could do a small gathering, just family really..." he trailed off, thinking for a moment, "but it needs to look like there was some effort put into it."
He stood firm on that. His sister had gotten married to Stefan Salvatore with the wedding of the decade, if not the century. Not was practically a week long affair, and the guest list, while exclusive, was at least mile long. Rebekah was always a hopeless romantic, and she married rather young, but she sure did set the standard for the rest of the family.
The eldest brother, Finn, was already married to his long time girlfriend Sage, but another of his siblings Klaus was engaged soon after to Caroline Forbes, a journalist who wanted the big white wedding too. It didn't compare to Rebekah's, the guest list a little more reserved and they kept it under wraps, but it no expenses were spared. Their family matriarch made sure of it.
Kol wasn't sure how much his family would expect him to have a proper wedding, but he was sure he could rely on their shock on the mere possibility of marriage as a deterrent for wondering. Eloping has a certain appeal, but he figured putting some effort in would kill two birds with one stone. The birds being the suspicion of both his family and the people trying to deport him.
"It doesn't have to be grand," he assured her, "just up to par with my siblings." Davina gave him a disbelieving look, but did she agreed with him in general. Just not that the wedding had to be quite like his family's more recent nuptials.
"I've heard about your siblings wedding," she reminded him, she was his assistant after all, "and if you want to be up to par it would have to be grand."
"If it's quickly thrown together it won't have to be too elaborate."
"Well how quickly were you thinking?" Davina asked. The immigration had told them Kol had less than three weeks before he would be deported, so it didn't leave much wiggle room.
"Maybe when we get back from the trip to England," He offered up, and he looked to her for a confirmation. "Once we announce the engagement to my family, tell them we want to get married as soon as possible," he shrugged, "we could book a location last minute or something."
"You seriously think we could get a location on that short notice?" she asked him, more mocking than inquisitive. Kol opened his mouth to say something, but Davina cut him off. "I forgot, you're a Mikaelson," she said, shaking her head. "Silly me," she muttered, taking a sip of her drink.
His signature smirk was back, and she found herself realizing how confident in himself he was. It was a 180 from when she told him the immigration officers were there to him, but then again now he had a loophole. She wanted to say something about how people like to make examples out of the rich and powerful, but then she registered the comment he had made about England.
"Wait, you were serious about me going to visit your family with you?" she questioned, because he had said something about to the officers but she didn't think too much of it. Her mind wasn't the clearest at the time.
He nodded, as if it was obvious. In hindsight it probably was.
"Oh… isn't it your mother's birthday though? I wouldn't want to be a party crasher," she protested, but that got no reaction from the man across from her. "And I have work, I'm the one who was going to do some of the work while you were gone," she reminded him, "and that would be four days, three weekdays, away from work."
"The engagement could be her birthday present, who would've ever thought her youngest son would be getting married," he said, "and I'm your boss, I think I can give you a few days off."
"You already got your mother a birthday present," she deadpanned, "I know that because I ordered it for you, which I did because I'm good at my job."
"You could've come up with a better reason for why you need to stay at work than that," he told her, "I think your ability exceeds your familiarity with online shopping."
"It does," she promised, and she followed it with a sigh. Kol wondered if it was a sigh of defeat though? From the look on her face, most definitely.
"Okay I would go to England," she relented, "but is it really that smart to visit another country when you could be deported?"
"Maybe not smart, but when I mentioned the trip back in the office there weren't objections. Besides, it would be even less smart to start contradicting what we've said with what we do." He took a smug sip of his drink and then waited for her reply.
"Then okay, I will go to England," she said with a tight lips. "But if I'm such a bad actress how will I look to your family?" she asked, grasping at straws, but also revealing her true reservations about the trip in the process.
"Are you afraid of meeting my family?" he said, somewhat amused. In her defense they could be incredibly intimidating people, and after just a few seconds of thought he realized he understood exactly where she was coming from. So he supported her fears with a short little comment. "We are Mikaelsons."
"That you are…" she trailed off, and she knew what she was getting into but there was a lot more to the plan than she her initial thoughts gave her. Her mind wavered on the thought that things would be a lot easier if there wasn't his family to take into consideration, but that wasn't something she'd wish on someone.
"Well, if we get our story straight things would be easier," he said, "everything is easier with a script."
Davina saw the waiter coming toward their table with their plates. She had to admit for a hole in the wall the food didn't look all that bad. "Why don't we work on the Kol and Davina story tonight, you can come over to my place" he offered, glancing down at the food that had been set in front of them, "I'll get dinner."
Davina had been musing on the situation she had gotten herself into. When she was younger she always figured she'd get get married where she was born and raised, to her high school sweetheart and they'd bicker over the color scheme. But she came to the conclusion a long time ago that things don't always work out the way you want them to.
She didn't go back to the office after the brunch, she figured she would take a mental day. Maybe it was a bit hypocritical after her insistence on working, but she didn't think she should go back to a buzzing with curiosity office when they hadn't decided on what would be fact yet. Luckily Kol agreed, and she was dropped off at her apartment for well needed hours of reflection.
Reflection was a difficult thing to do when your phone keeps buzzing. She didn't have many friends at the office, but that didn't restrain her co workers from asking their questions. When she finally saw a text from Josh, and then another, she had to grab her laptop to stop herself from responding.
Just because she wasn't at the office didn't mean she was banned from doing work. That was the beauty of technology after all, even if it was rose with thorns. So she did a quick check of her email, where she saw Kol had forwarded a ticket confirmation. First class seat to England, at seven pm on Tuesday, arriving at seven am the next morning.
She was sure the jet lag would be a blast.
The confirmation was a reminder for her to look ahead into what she was supposed to do in next few days. Nothing too big thankfully, which was probably she given herself a light load because Kol wouldn't be around those days. She would be taking message after message for him, so she hoped she could find someone who could take over the mindlessness that her her job would be for a few days. Granted a majority of her work could be considered mindless, but some of it had a little less mind than others, and there was lot of it.
After doing a bit of that work she took a quick look at a book deal to make sure things were in order, and then she told gave herself the break she promised herself earlier. As she shut her laptop she realized she hadn't actually planned to do anything in the break. She had simply promised herself she would take a small break from work to digest the information.
Digesting the information wasn't all that consuming though, and she could see her phone lighting up to her right. Silent is a helpful mode until you become a little too enamored the way your phone lights up with notifications.
Not wanting to compromise her break she decided on going out for a cup of coffee rather than staying in the confines of her home with nothing enthralling enough to keep her busy. She debated whether it not continue her marathon of Friends, but decided fresh air wouldn't be a bad thing.
She wasn't about to leave her phone in her apartment though. If the emergency situation emerged she would need to have quick and easy access to contacting people. She could turn it off though, that would stop the notifications, though she noticed they were slowing down. Not replying is a deterrent, but not for one person.
A few missed calls, and even more texts. It seemed he had resorted to simply stringing emojis together to get her attention.
Davina had to be resolute in not talking to Josh. Someday, when she was only slightly older and divorced, she would tell her friend the whole story and it would be a laugh. But it was not yet that day, and laughs would be insensitive.
His avid texting and use of emoticons did beg the question of whether staying home was more useful in terms of working anyway though.
She let her imagination do the wondering as she turned off her phone, watching as the screen turned to a black. It was sad in that state, basically just a paperweight. Giving little time for mourning she tucked it into her pocket and headed toward the door.
Kol had just gotten home when he started to notice the little alerts on his phone from news sources. He didn't understand why first at first, but he quickly remembered why he had set up those specific notifications.
He had just a little too much to drink that night, and he had been charged with public indecency. Now it should be said for him to have had a little too much to drink meant he should've probably been in a hospital bed rather than a park. The park was where it all went down though, and people walking by had camera phones.
The details aren't really important, Kol would rather leave that event (and the video of it) in the past if it were up to him. The vital information is that he knew what was happening.
An alert was set up on his phone to let him know when a suddenly his name was suddenly googled, yahoo-ed, or bing-ed, more than usual. His brother Elijah's s ex girlfriend Katherine had shown him how to set it up a while back. The reason he kept it was a combination of vanity and people were going to be talking about him he figured he should at least know why.
He got an alert every once in a while. Usually because of something related to the Mikaelson clan as a whole rather than individual. But when one of them had an issue, the others were shortly brought into it.
This time he doubted he would be that lucky enough to have it be about Rebekah launching some new line, or Klaus defending some high profile client. The small sliver of optimism he harbored assured him it was about his mother's birthday, but the realist in him opened up the phone to see what all the fuss was about.
What he saw surprised him never less. He didn't think too much about it, but only because he didn't figure what he did was that suspicious.
On his phone he saw a photo of him, only thirty minutes earlier, leaving Harry Winston.
After a minute of scrolling through the countless captions from random news sources, none that had any real credibility, he realized he was not an discreet in his actions as he could've been. The picture snapped of him was slightly dark, but undeniably him. Despite that had inadvertently saved himself by tucking his purchase in the pocket of his coat.
So it simply appeared to the world, who seemed overly interested in his opinion, that he had left the jeweler empty handed. He could run with it, maybe say he was looking at necklaces but couldn't find anything.
The news articles flashed away as Rebekah's face filled his phone's screen, which prompted the question of whether or not to answer or let it go to voicemail.
"Kol!" Her voice shrieked, and the Kol in question froze where he was standing. Maybe answering hadn't been the best idea if her time was any indication of his the conversation would go. "Did you buy a ring? Who for? Do I know her? Is it my friend Kate who I set you up with once? Send a picture." The last part of that list of questioning seemed more like a demand.
"Hello, sister," he started, trying to figure out his next move. He really had no reason to lie, but Davina wouldn't be over for another few minutes and he didn't want to say anything he would regret. "I don't have a clue what you are talking about," he said with nonchalance, moving over to his kitchen counter where he unloaded the Chinese food from the take out bag. He heard Rebekah take a breath, which meant a long winded reply was about to be given to his statement. One that was likely accusative. "But I have business to attend to so I'm to have to call you back," he quickly interjected, happy he got the words out before she could say a word.
He quickly ended the call and placed the phone on the counter where he saw Rebekah was trying for a second attempt at contact.
She did mean well, but in matters of the heart she had very reservations. He always admired his sister for her passion, it was what drove her to create a fashion house and differentiate herself from their parent's money. At the moment he didn't need her enthusiasm though.
So that's why he let each of her calls go to voicemail as he waited for Davina to arrive. Rebekah was up to thirty-one before he heard a knock on the door.
Davina didn't give herself much time to digest how big his apartment was. She knew the address because she was constantly having to ship things to his home, and she knew it the building was a lot nicer than her own, but it still a culture shock to see so much living space in New York City.
She went ahead deposited the plastic bag in her hand on the kitchen counter. "Okay so I got notecards and colorful sharpies," she told him, waving a rainbow assortment in the air. "I figured once we figured everything out flash cards would be helpful to remember it all," she explained when she saw his confusion. "What's a story if you don't know it," she rambled, eyes moving over to the brown take out bag.
"I got Chinese," he motioned to the bags he saw her eyeing. He didn't know what she wanted but he got a few of the basic dishes, he didn't think there were many people who didn't like mongolian beef or rice.
"Works for me," she said, unloading the boxes. She went for the spring rolls, and then Kol made his own plate. "So have you thought through anything yet?" she inquired, moving over to the what she assumed what the breakfast nook, and settled into a chair. She hadn't really come up with anything concrete herself.
"I think the first step would be when we started dating."
"How about six months after I started working for you?" she offered, "so a little over four years ago." Earlier she had tried to think of a way they got together that wouldn't compromise her professionalism, but she couldn't really think of anything. She thought for a moment that they could say they met before they started working together, but that got to be too complex of a story. One that could also probably be invalidated considering Kol traveled across the continents before he started working, and Davina was in New Orleans in school for almost right up until she got her current job. That and other factors made that option a no for her. "And it would explain why we've kept it a secret," she continued, "assistant and her boss, not the most original scandal but it serves it purpose."
"So four years?" he confirmed, and she nodded, taking a bite of her food. "So I could've proposed to you a few months ago, and that's why we hadn't set a date or anything. I don't think a long engagement would be any surprise coming from me."
His reasoning was sound enough. "Speaking of which, we need to get a ring," she reminded him, and he shot her his signature smirk.
"Wait one second." He hopped up from the his seat and went over to his where his jacket hung from his couch. He grabbed the ring box from the pocket and set it on the table, right in front of Davina. "I already took care of that," he opened the ring box, revealing a very large diamond.
"Wow," she mumbled, not able what else she was supposed to say. She was going to offer that they go to like a pawn shop or something and give it back after everything was over, but he had taken initiative. "So how did you propose to me?" she asked.
"Well, we were eating dinner at my place," he started, "like we do many nights-"
"Chinese?" she questioned, glancing down at their food. He nodded.
"-and we were eating Chinese take out, like we do a lot because we can't very well go out to real restaurants together. I wasn't planning on proposing that night, but I kept the ring I'd bought in my pocket just in the case the moment was right."
"And what made the moment right?" she prompted.
"Well, if you must know, you looked absolutely ravishing that night, and I thought the engagement sex would be good," he joked. That got him a very unamused glare from Davina.
"I think you asked me because I was talking about our future as a couple, and I didn't sound too optimistic since we had kept it a secret for so long," she figured she could start contributing, "and you thought it would be a nice gesture if you went ahead and proposed then."
"That works too," he muttered. He collected his thoughts, going on with her idea. "And obviously you said yes," he finished for them, and he gestured toward the ring for her to put it on.
"You made me put on the ring myself?" she asked teasingly, though she started to move her hand to grab it from the box. She wasn't sure how he had gotten her ring size, but it looked like it would fit. And if not, there was always resizing. Kol made a move quicker though, and he grabbed her hand, which startled her to say the least.
"No," he said simply, and he slipped the ring on her finger. Who would've guessed, it was a perfect fit. It was a gorgeous ring, and though the diamond was big it appeared simple. She would've chosen it for herself if Kol hadn't gone out and purchased the extravagant ring himself. His hand lingered on Davina's maybe a second too long, causing her to break her admiring on the ring. He was watching her look at the ring when she looked up, and he quickly broke the eye contact. "That's something I was quite capable of doing that myself."
a/n - So there's chapter two! Hope you liked it, and make sure to give me feedback! I didn't have much time to check over for spelling or grammar mistakes, so I apologize for that. I'll try to go back through another day. Also, I'm admittingly not the lengthiest with chapters, but most of them should waver around the 4k or 5k range. I'll try to shoot for longer sometimes but I plan on updating about once a week or so I think that's about what you'll get.
As you have probably already noticed I have revealed some of the minor ships in this story, but I want to remind you that even if you aren't a fan of who I've paired with the Mikaelson siblings that this is a Kolvina fic and there won't be much going on with the other ships. The nonTO TVD characters that will be in this story present day (not just mentioned in the past) are Caroline and Stefan.
xo,
Luce