Elena could feel the tears on Damon's face as he deepened their kiss, his strong, gentle hands on either side of her face. And to her surprise, she found herself enthralled in the moment and kissing him back passionately.
It was only when the back patio door opened that Elena snapped back to reality, pulling back from the kiss with a startled gasp and Damon immediately turned away, seemingly stunned by his own actions as he came to realize them.
"Oh…uh…" Caroline stuttered, her eyes widening in surprise as her gaze moved back and forth between Damon and Elena, then she narrowed her brow as she looked over to Rebekah standing next to her.
"We didn't… see anything," Rebekah added, then hurriedly pushed Caroline back through the doorway.
"Wait—" Elena started, but they had already disappeared behind the closed door.
"And…'End Scene'," Damon sighed as he turned back to face Elena, just in time to see her drop her face into her hands.
# # # # # # #
"Oh…my…" Caroline scoffed, looking over to Rebekah, watching as the original moved forward and jumped up on the center island in the middle of the kitchen.
"Yeah…" Rebekah replied, her eyes narrowing in thought
"Did we both just see the same thing out there?" Caroline asked, still stunned, but confused as to Rebekah's reaction to the sight.
"Damon kissed Elena…" Rebekah replied and then shrugged, coming to her senses, "Honestly, it's not major surprise—he loves her. We all know that—it's pretty obvious to see. It's practically been written on a neon sign since my family first arrived in Mystic Falls—"
"No…" Caroline shook her head
"Caroline, Damon just lost Stefan. He's lonely and hurting and its no secret he's been waiting for Elena to return—"
"No…" Caroline interrupted, holding up a hand, "This isn't lonely or hurting Damon who lashes out and acts without thinking, this was something else. Didn't you see Elena? She was kissing him back—"
"Maybe, it was a 'hello' kiss…" Rebekah tried to reason, spinning where she sat on the counter, watching as Caroline scoffed and moved her way around the island to the other side and opened the dishwasher, "Damon's Italian, right?"
"Italian or not, people don't normally use their tongues to say 'hello'," Caroline replied, picking up a couple of glasses out of the top rack of the dishwasher, then turned back to Rebekah and quirked an eyebrow, "Or well…I guess they do when they talk but—"
"What's all this about tongues?" Kol suddenly asked, walking into the room and looking between the two vampires
"Nothing," Rebekah immediately replied discretely, hopping down from her place on the counter
There was a moment of silence as Kol looked back and forth from Rebekah to Caroline as the younger vampire turned back to keep emptying the dishwasher.
Then he spoke.
"O…kay…" he mused, "Well, Elijah's called a meeting. He wants us all upstairs in fifteen minutes, saavy?"
Rebekah nodded, then looked back to Caroline, who was still manically focused on emptying the dishwasher
# # # # # #
Elena! Wait!" Damon called, quickly following Elena as she marched down the gravel path toward the front of the house, "Elena!"
"Just…leave me! I want to be alone, Damon!" Elena cried over her shoulder as she passed the front veranda and started moving faster, now headed down toward the end of the driveway.
Damon scoffed as he watched her suddenly head away from the house into the darkness.
"Elena! Where are you going?!" Damon called, frustrated
"Away from you…" Elena replied
"That's fine and dandy, but do you think you could walk away from me a little closer to the mansion?! You can't just go wondering off alone!" Damon cried, his tone turning worried
"Dominic isn't out there roaming around anymore!" Elena spun around to face him, her dark chocolate eyes flashing confusion and anger as she continued walking backwards, "Didn't they tell you? Thanks to Chogun, he's tied up with magical chains in the woods with a yeti…creature… looking… thing as his body guard!"
"It's a wendigo!" Damon corrected as he watched Elena suddenly throw up her hands in frustration at his words and turn on her heel to keep walking forward again, "Don't children read ancient folklore around here?!" Then Damon sighed under his breath as he kept walking, "We've got every supernatural being there could possibly be in this town and no one your age has heard of a Wendigo…figures…"
There was a silence for few moments, just the sounds of the night and their footsteps crunching violently on the gravel before Damon saw Elena look back over her shoulder and roll her eyes.
"Oh…my God, you're still back there?" she grunted and folded her arms around herself as she kept walking
"What? You thought we were done?" Damon chided, "We could live for two thousand years, Elena Gilbert and this would never be done!"
"Ugh! What part of 'I want to be alone' do men never understand?!" Elena shouted out into the night, throwing up her hands and looking up to the sky
"Hey now! For the record…" Damon said as he quickened his pace and arrived at her side, walking backwards now to face her, "Men are actually pretty good about leaving women alone when they ask, unless A) They are sick, dying, crying or in distress…or B) They have poor judgement and they want to be left alone so that they can do something incredibly stupid and possibly life threatening. And I'm just going to be brutally honest here, Elena—"
"Well, I'd never expect you to be anything less, Damon…" Elena scoffed at him, eying him out of the corner of her eye as she continued walking
"You always seem to fall into the latter category," the older Salvatore brother continued, "And at least two prior boyfriends would agree with me on this—that, by doing so, you have made it impossible for us to ever just 'leave you alone'!"
"But, I'm not going to do anything stupid or life threatening, Damon," Elena sighed, "I'm just going to walk into town—"
"Well, then," Damon interrupted, "Let me stop you right there. That is life threatening."
"What?!" Elena suddenly stopped, eying him with disdained curiosity, "How? Tell me how walking into a small, east coast town of less than three thousand people on a school night, no less, is considered dangerous?"
"Dangerously devoid of fun…" Damon pointed out
Elena suddenly chuckled and Damon's heart warmed to the sound
They stared at each other for a long moment before Damon stepped into her path and turned his left wrist and looked at his watch, then turned it toward Elena, "Elena…please…let's go back to the creepy Mikaelson Mansion and forgo the trip to town. It's 9pm on a Thursday night. The 24hr drug store probably isn't even open."
"Well, I'm not going shopping, Damon, I'm just walking," Elena replied, then started moving again, side stepping around Damon
"And that's how it starts…"Damon teased, walking behind her, "All innocent… 'oooh, I'm just walking through Pleasantville on a school night'…and then Bam! We're pulling your butt out of the fire again—"
"Well, if it's that much of an inconvenience for you, Damon, then why don't you stop 'pulling my butt out of the fire', as you so eloquently put it?"
"Because I happen to like your butt," Damon smirked cheekily, eying Elena's backside up and down
Suddenly, Elena stopped and swiftly turned around, giving him a hard, unamused glare and Damon suddenly felt his face turn serious.
"And because I promised Stefan long ago that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe. He loved you…" Damon added quietly as he stepped forward and closed the distance between himself and Elena, watching her eyes soften as he approached
"Damon…" Elena whispered, reaching out a hand to him and laying it comfortingly on his arm in reply, giving him a sad smile.
"And because I love you, too," Damon continued, placing his hand over Elena's and stepping closer still, "I always will. No matter what stupid, irresponsibly human things you do or what original vampire you claim to have feelings for..."
Elena kept her eyes locked on Damon for a few tense moments, then closed her eyes and looked away, "Damon, please don't."
"Why? Because of…Elijah?" Damon replied, taking a step closer to Elena as she took a reflexive step back and tried to remove her hand from his arm, but Damon held it tightly in his grasp.
"Yes," Elena replied hastily, "I'm sorry. What happened between us…on the back porch…it was a mistake. Perhaps it was my fault—I let you kiss me. We were both grieving and …I—I realize that we once had something that could have turned into more before all this happened with Elijah, but …"
"You let me kiss you?" Damon replied, slightly angered by her words, "Granted, you're probably right about how the kiss came about…but was I the only one present for it? Because you kissed me back as I remember—"
"Damon…" Elena started, but Damon cut her off
"Don't 'Damon' me," Damon replied passionately, "Did you or didn't you kiss me back?!"
"May—Maybe I did—" Elena stuttered, "But, like I said, it was…I don't know…an impulse of the moment—"
"Are you sure about that Elena?" Damon shot back, "Because your tongue was practically down my throat!"
Suddenly, someone cleared their own throat nearby and Damon and Elena turned to see Chogun and one of his spirit warriors, in human form, standing at the end of the driveway behind them. Chogun still had the sage he had been burning for a protection spell in his hands as he stared at the two vampires with confusion and mild amusement.
Damon immediately released Elena's hand and they flew apart like shrapnel, clearly mortified that the old Indian had heard their conversation.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments, where all parties just stared at each other, unsure what to say, before Damon broke the silence.
"So, I hear that you've got Dominic tied up with magical chains in the forest…" he said, then raised an eyebrow and smirked his famous Damon smirk at Chogun, "Kinky…"
Chogun just smiled and, without a word, walked past Damon and Elena up the gravel drive toward the house, signaling over his shoulder for his spirit warrior to follow close behind.
"Kinky?" Elena whispered in an amused tone when the natives were out of earshot
"I'm sorry," Damon chuckled with a shrug, "What can I say…I panicked."
Elena responded with a huff and an eye roll to his comment then walked back up the drive
"Lovely…" Damon sighed, looking after Elena, Chogun and his warrior, "I wonder who else is going to witness our little teen melodrama tonight?"
It was then, as he too started walking back up the drive toward the house, that Damon looked up and noticed a light in one of the upstairs front windows…and the placid face of Elijah Mikaelson staring back out at him.
# # # # # #
"Hurry Niklaus!" Liliya cried with glee, her legs hurdling her quickly down the hill on the far side of the quarry, "We're missing it!"
"Well... unlike you, I've been working since dawn! I'm tired..." Klaus replied, nearly out of breath as he came over the top of the hill, following close behind and slowing as he now came up behind her at the foot of the slope, staring at the night sky, "And father had me smithing five new swords—"
"Be silent…" Liliya suddenly interrupted, turning swiftly to face him and placing a hand over his mouth as she smiled
Klaus rolled his eyes, but nodded
"Look," she whispered, removing her hand and using it to point up toward the night sky, Klaus following her gaze.
They stood silently for a few moments as they watched the falling lights in the sky—a meteor shower that illuminated the darkness beneath the moon.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Lilya smiled, her chocolate eyes reflecting the light, "We should each make a wish on it, yes?"
Klaus opened his mouth to protest, but immediately stopped when he saw that Liliya had already closed her eyes and made her wish.
When she finally opened them again, Klaus smirked and stepped forward to stand beside her, taking her hand in his just as Liliya looked over to see him close his own eyes tightly for a few moments.
And when he opened them again, he turned and met her gaze.
"What did you wish for?" she asked
"If I told you," Klaus said softly, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her cheek, before pulling back and whispering in her ear, "Then it wouldn't come true."
Lilya scoffed, then leaned her head on Klaus' shoulder and watched the rain of light continue to fall from the sky.
His breath sounded labored and his hands were ice cold and she knew why… but she didn't say anything.
She just prayed for his wish to come true.
And, for hers to as well...
Klaus's breath suddenly hitched and his eyes fluttered open to see Liliya sitting on the bed next to him, her hand covering his.
"You don't look well…" she observed, her eyes narrowing with worry
"And you look beautiful…" Klaus smiled sweetly, now looking down to where his hand moved under hers, entwining their fingers
Suddenly a look of realization crossed Klaus' face and he immediately looked up and met the doppelganger's gaze.
"It's you…" he said softly, cocking his head in surprise, "You're the reason I've been having the dreams I've been having—the memories of my human life I've been remembering...all after Chogun put his hands on me."
"I told you before, Nik," Liliya interrupted, with a small smile, "It's simple. You think of me and I come to you. Since you were poisoned, you've been calling out to me, but have been too sick to see me. But, Chogun's magic and the return of your mortality have made it easier to appear to you than before…especially in your dreams."
"You know, don't you?" Klaus whispered suddenly and withdrew his hand from her grasp
"Why didn't you tell him?" Liliya asked sighing as her eyes immediately filled with worry, "Why didn't you tell, Elijah? He, of all people deserves to know."
"I don't know…" Klaus answered, deflecting her, "It just…didn't come up."
"Nik, you and Elijah just caught each other up on almost a week's worth of events in ten minutes and, in the course of conversation, this very important fact about your mortality just 'didn't come up'?"
"Actually…no," Niklaus smirked cheekily
"Nik…" Lilya chided softly and watched as Klaus grew frustrated with their conversation and struggled to sit up in bed, but failed miserably and fell back on his pillow with a defeated grunt.
"Serves you right," Liliya smirked and Klaus eyed her, then scoffed and rolled his eyes
"Nik," Liliya continued, concerned, shifting on the bed, "You must tell someone the real reason why you want to sacrifice yourself in the ritual."
"He knows the reason. I told him. I'm mortal now and this is the one good thing I can do with it that will help everyone and more importantly, the one thing I can do to keep anyone else from suffering the hunter's curse. Elijah was once afflicted, he understands—"
"But, he's not willing to let you die tonight, is he?" Liliya replied, raising an eyebrow
"No," Klaus admitted, with a sad smile,"That's the one hitch in the plan. Typical, Elijah…He thinks that we will find another way. He feels that I deserve this 'second chance' as he calls it...and, he...played the Caroline card."
"I see..." Liliya replied, raising an intrigued eyebrow, "Well..."
"Ah!" Klaus continued, holding up a weak hand to silence her, "Don't say that she deserves to know, too."
"Well she does," Liliya added, "Because there is really is no 'second chance' is there?"
Klaus flared his nostrils and looked away.
Liliya sighed heavily and suddenly, leaned forward, crawling along the side of the bed before coming to lay down next to Klaus, placing a hand on his chest as she snuggled gently into the crook of his shoulder.
Klaus opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't, all he could do was close his eyes and try to keep his increasingly labored breathing under control.
"No. No second chances..." he whispered, a tear running down his cheek, "That is the curse of the dying."
Klaus suddenly felt Liliya's hand leave his chest and her arm tighten around him.
"You knew, didn't you?" Klaus asked, opening his eyes and looking down at her in realization, "That's why you showed me the memory of our night together, watching the falling comets…"
Liliya nodded into Klaus' shoulder as she turned to look up at him
"Back then, I knew you better than anyone, Niklaus Mikaelson...well, anyone short of your twin brother brother and Elijah. You hadn't told many people what was happening to you, but had known for a while that something was wrong…and especially, that night after the boy who always told his best friend everything didn't tell her what he wished for, I knew for certain."
"Well, I have to say, I feel a little cheated," Klaus smirked in good humor, looking down to her and seeming to try and lighten the mood, "And here I never knew what you wished for. Come on...tell me. What was it?"
Liliya suddenly looked up, resting her chin on Klaus' shoulder as her tear stained eyes now met his and his face immediately sobered when he saw them
"I wished for the Gods to grant you an immortal life," she said, her voice breaking, "So that you would never leave me."
# # # # # # #