Disclaimer: No ownership of TVD. With the way the show is going, I'm totally okay with that -_-
Before Kai even opened his eyes, he could register a change in his surroundings. Instead of a bitter, cold sensation that seeped into his bones, a comforting warmth enveloped him, and the darkness that his vision grew accustomed to in the prison world was interrupted by a steady stream of bright light, which pulled him out of his tense unconscious state. His eyes reacted first—opening suddenly and darting around his immediate surroundings, trying to figure out where he was. Next, he lifted his arms and extended them to release the thick, woolen coat that once helped keep him warm in the endless winter, but now felt stifling in the heat. After he unbuttoned it, he moved to a sitting position, shook the coat off, and rolled up the sleeves to his sweater. His eyes were immediately drawn to the many cuts and patches of dried blood that adorned his arm, and the sight actually brought him relief. It meant that he didn't dream everything. The spell must have worked.
His heart spiked in his chest, forcing his attention away from himself and instead, concerned over Bonnie's whereabouts. He spotted her immediately, lying on her side, eyes still closed and her jaw clenched. He noticed a trail of dried blood descending from her nose—proof of her intense effort in making the spell work. He and Bonnie took an extra day to prepare for the spell, which ultimately took hours of chanting, intense concentration, and pain before it succeeded. Reaching out, Kai traced her jaw line carefully while searching for a sign of life from her. The steady rise and fall of her chest reassured him, and he finally took a deep breath.
He would've been content sitting there and waiting for Bonnie to wake up, but the faint sounds of distant conversation and music distracted him. He tucked a piece of Bonnie's hair behind her ear and shot her a concerned look before turning away from her and towards the noise. He only had to take a few cautious steps before the grassy terrain ended abruptly, proving that he and Bonnie were on a hill. However, the spot they occupied was completely still, while the land below was filled with excited chatter, upbeat music, and adorned by sparkling lights on all of the trees. Falling to his knees, Kai could only openly gape at the scene before him as he searched every part before landing on a nicely dressed couple—the man wearing a tailored suit and the woman wearing a flowing, white dress. 'They are probably celebrating my permanent exile by moving their wedding date up.' His past words ringing through his head, causing a painful echo that taunted him. He immediately recognized the silhouette of his sister. This was her wedding reception.
The realization hit him sharply, sending a torrent of emotions through him—bitterness, desolation, and anger—that practically made his head spin. The remnants of the dangerous magic he and Bonnie used to escape suddenly awakened within him, driving his thoughts to the type of damage he could cause. Closing his eyes, a range of different scenarios—all bloody—flittered through his mind. Jo and Alaric lying in a pool of their own blood, Damon Salvatore decapitated, and all of the guests littering the floor with their lifeless bodies. The disturbing imagery only instilled a sense of euphoria and excitement within him. He had the power to destroy this entire occasion with just one wave of his hand.
While Kai delved deeper into dangerous territory, Bonnie began to open her eyes. Despite feeling like they were filled with lead, her eyes blinked slowly, observing the drastically different scenery. Sitting up, her eyes widened at the realization that she was no longer trapped in 1903. She made it out. A smile reached her tired face, but it didn't last long. Looking around her and seeing no Kai instilled a sense of frantic panic within her. The idea of him staying behind in the prison world made her heart lurch uncomfortably. For better or worse, she felt emotionally attached to him, and the idea of losing that connection scared her. She had been lonely for too long. Bringing a shaky hand to unbutton her coat, she quickly removed it, while settling onto her knees and searching all around for Kai. When she finally spotted him, she sighed in relief and immediately began to move towards him, completely unaware of his increasingly violent mood.
"Kai," she spoke breathlessly, lightly touching his shoulder for support. She never noticed the party occurring underneath them; instead, she only focused on her relief that they both made it out alive.
Her voice and touch broke through his sadistic thoughts and completely distracted him from his anger. "Bon," he whispered in return. He immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, lifting her up into his lap and wrapping his other arm around her back into a snug embrace.
Bonnie instantly returned the hug, placing her cheek against his before releasing a long drawn out sigh. "We did it," she whispered. She inched away briefly so that she could make eye contact with him. Before she could say anything else, Kai kissed her passionately, losing himself in the feeling of her lips against his. Bonnie responded to the kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him briefly before breaking the kiss. She nuzzled her nose against his chin before turning around, suddenly aware of the noise of the celebration. Her mouth opened, completely taken aback by the sight of her friends dressed in their best formal attire. She scooted off Kai's lap, just enough so that she was sitting on the ground but left her legs draped over his, and craned her neck forward as she tried to spot all of the familiar faces.
"I guess they all felt the need to celebrate while we were gone." Bonnie immediately sensed the intense bitterness lacing Kai's words, and despite her own shock at seeing her friends so carefree even when she had been clearly missing, she couldn't resist defending the scene before her.
"Your sister must have had this planned for a while," she stated in a weak attempt to calm Kai down, but she knew him well enough to not be surprised by the palpable wrath radiating from him.
Laughing mirthlessly, Kai quipped "Sure and I'm a fucking moral upstanding citizen that everyone down there trusts." He laughs again, but this time the sound stabbed Bonnie's heart like a knife. "Forget me. They hate me. But they are having party while you have been missing. Why didn't the Mystic Falls gang wait until they knew what happened to you? I know you didn't tell them about your last minute plan to rescue me from 1903 out of guilt?" He finally tears his attention away from the party, settling his eyes on Bonnie. She mirrored his actions, almost jumping back when saw his unmistakably feral and threatening expression.
She never had the chance to speak before Kai pleaded with her. "Please let me kill them?" His request astounded her, and even more so, his calm, almost excited energy that laced his even tone. "I can kill every single fucking one, Bon Bon. Not just for me but for you. Don't you want revenge? They treat you like nothing even though they owe their lives to you. Hell..." He laughs briefly, "I owe you mine and did nothing to deserve it." He tightens his grip on her waist and pulls her into a searing kiss that blindsides Bonnie completely, and pulled away before could she even form a protest, "Let me do it." He whispered this last request against her lips with desperation.
Bonnie stared at him, dumbfounded by the unsettling madness Kai is displaying, and she could only focus on the very real reality of Kai's unstable mind, especially mixed with expression.
"What did you promise me?" Her inquiry was gentle.
Something shifted in Kai at the reminder, and he visibly deflated. Clenching his jaw, he broke eye contact with her and turned his head away to stare at some random point in the far off distance. He never answered her and made no move to initiate contact again.
Releasing a shaky sigh, Bonnie tentatively reached out to lightly trace her finger down his cheek. She repeated the question with confidence despite the trembling fear that consumed her due to threat of Kai's potential violence. "What did you promise, Malachai?"
The sweet, gentle way she used his name surprised Kai, and he couldn't resist looking at her again. Bonnie felt relief upon noticing that his angry gaze had weakened considerably, instead replaced with a look of vulnerability. He frowned, lips almost trembling with sadness as he finally answered, "To not hurt anyone."
Nodding encouragingly, Bonnie rested her hand against his cheek, "Keep your promise. Not for me but for yourself, okay? Show them you aren't a threat—the enemy. Please."
"But I am," he whined. "It's what they expect."
"So prove them wrong, Kai. The best revenge would be to show them that you can reform. You can redeem yourself." She grabbed his face, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Listen, my friends—the Mystic Falls gang or whatever— they have killed and ruined tons of innocent lives. I..." Bonnie's voice cracked and tears formed in her eyes, forcing her to pause, "I've killed and hurt innocent people, too. None of us can truly say that you are the true definition of evil without being the biggest hypocrites in the universe. We've all been the enemy at one point." She released him and leaned back, her eyes roving the party. "It's all an illusion. You don't have to prove anything but be the person I think you can be." She looks at him, desperately trying to convince him of her words. "Kai, I see it. If I didn't I wouldn't have gone back. I wouldn't be here with you right now just watching the party. I would be down there, too."
Her tone, laced with sadness and longing, tugged at Kai's heart. He placed a hand on Bonnie's knee, watching her with pure adoration in his eyes. "Having your acceptance is all I ever wanted since I met you. Even when I was so distracted from my hell bent plan on escaping my prison, I always admired you. I know that sounds twisted considering everything, but it's true."
Tentatively nodding, Bonnie just offered him a weak smile, not really willing to indulge in those memories of being trapped in Kai's prison world. Sometimes, she wondered if she was being crazy for trusting Kai like this, admitting that she believed in him, and openly showing her feelings for him. However, when he looks at her with such a sad but hopeful expression—the same one he used when they met at the diner to briefly discuss the plan to rescue Damon's mother—her heart melted and she couldn't resist.
"So you'll keep your promise?" The request created a brief sensation of tension between them until Kai hesitatingly agreed with a simple nod, his eyes once again traveling to the joyful party happening in the near distance.
Bonnie noted the way he watched the party; his anger abated but his desolation just replaced it, making him look truly defeated. Bonnie searched his face, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, the growing stubble on his chin, and the dim expression in his eyes. Pulling herself up, Bonnie propped an elbow on her thigh and leaned her head against Kai's shoulder.
"Maybe one day you'll have that. A marriage, family, happiness. Maybe we both will," Bonnie muttered the words longingly.
Kai snapped his head in her direction, his eyes narrowing. "Separately?"
To Bonnie, the question seemed almost ridiculous, because it actually involved the image of her and Kai married with a family. The idea was so healthy and normal that his expectation seemed bizarre. Her first reaction was to roll her eyes, but she forced herself to meet his gaze and ponder his borderline angry reaction. Kai didn't want to imagine that kind of foreign existence with anyone but her. Surprised by the thought, Bonnie felt any annoyance and distrust fade away. She tilted her face towards his, kissing him lightly on the chin before mumbling, "I didn't say that." She quickly redirected her attention to the reception in an effort to avoid Kai's intense gaze. Despite her cool demeanor, her heart pounded violently against her chest.
"You can go over there," Kai suggested so softly that Bonnie barely registered his words. "See your friends." He voice dropped as he finished, revealing his sadness. "I'll wait over here." He knew that attempting to crash his sister's wedding would go horribly wrong. Someone would try to kill him.
Bonnie considered the idea, her heart skipping at the idea of seeing her friends. She noticed their happy grins, relaxed stances, and generally carefree attitudes as they celebrated the occasion, and she suddenly became very aware of her bloody, bruised appearance. It no longer felt like she fit in anymore, anyway. "No," she protested after exhaling deeply. "They'll question my appearance and ultimately figure out I helped you escape. Unnecessary drama." Exhaustion overwhelmed her at the thought of arguing with Damon for the billionth time.
Frowning, Kai surveyed the party. "Okay," he began with a skeptical tone, "But you'll have to return home eventually right?"
"No," she replied with an air of finality, "I don't." She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "If I go there then they'll figure out what happened. Lily will get ideas that I can release her psychotic group of friends. Once again my powers will be used for someone else's benefit."
Kai silently acknowledged her fears, his jaw clenching with frustration. "Let's just kill her," he suggested nonchalantly. He shrugged his shoulders when Bonnie looked at him skeptically.
"That's not going to divert any attention away from you." Turning her head again, Bonnie watched as Enzo approached Lily with a sly smile, holding his hand out in invitation, and Lily surprisingly accepting it with a tiny smile of her own. "Just let her go," Bonnie stated after the two walked to the dance floor.
"And you'll just leave?" He questioned, watching her intently.
"We'll just leave," she answered. She bit her lip, wincing with embarrassment at the suggestion.
A moment of silence passed before Kai broke out into a grin, his dimples displayed proudly. He squeezed Bonnie's hip until she made eye contact with him, her eyes widening slightly at the bright smile on his face. She couldn't resist returning the smile wholeheartedly. "What?" She asked shyly.
"I'll go if you go," he repeated the words from the diner. Her heart fluttered at his words and the genuine happiness in his eyes. How did they get here from where they started? Dismissing the question, Bonnie grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled herself up to reach his lips. She kissed him gently.
Kai kissed her back immediately, slowly lowering them down until he was lying on his side, hovering over her. The kisses grew more intense, leading him to trace the hem of her sweater before slipping his fingers underneath the fabric to stroke her stomach.
Bonnie attempted to mumble his name during the kiss, but it ended up sounding incoherent. Kai understood all the same and removed his hand from under her sweater; instead grabbing Bonnie's free hand and interlacing their fingers together. He pushed himself against her despite breaking the kiss. "What?"
Bonnie shot him a knowing look, her lips swollen from the kiss. "We can't here," she scolded. Kai detected a teasing tone to her voice that ignited a spark in his heart.
Kissing her softly on the cheek, he moved to her ear and whispered, "Why not?" His hand slipped under her sweater again, teasing Bonnie with the circles being traced on her lower abdomen.
Bonnie resisted the urge to sigh and spoke clearly, "Because we need to decide on a place to go. You can pick."
This captured Kai's interest and he pulled away, looking into her eyes eagerly. "You'd trust me?"
Bonnie nodded, "Why not?" The rhetorical question incited a short bark of laughter from Kai. "The only condition is that the city has colleges nearby. I want to continue school, just not at Whitmore."
"My smart cookie," Kai cooed playfully. "Of course Bon Bon." Her smile widened at the nickname, and she welcomed Kai's lips against her own. After a minute of kissing, Kai pulled away with a content sigh. "You sure?" He stared at her, suddenly scared about the possibility of her rejection or a change in heart.
"Yes," she responded and tugged at his collar, pulling him back down to kiss her again—the party occurring below them forgotten.
A/N: I am sorry to all of you who have been waiting so long for an update. I have been very busy, so it's difficult to keep up with my stories. That being said—I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and thanks to all those BonKai fans who still feel the love even though the ship is lying somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean right now due to the writers and show runners being idiots. At least we'll always have fanfiction. Happy reading! This story will have an epilogue, which I already started writing; however, I'll need some time to finish it and do the ending justice. I'm excited about it though, and I hope you all will like it! Until next time :D