"Dear," Kol says, "Why are you forcing me to spend time with my family in your very small, very breakable home?"
Out of all the things you expected today, this wasn't one of them.
"Hi Kol," you say as you turn off the heat for your pot on the stove, "What ever happened to knocking?"
"I brought wine if that helps."
"It doesn't."
You block the doorway and Kol's smile fades. You tilt your head.
"A little birdie told me you've been moping."
He scowls. "Bex has always been loose lipped."
You remain silent.
"… I'm sorry," he says. He's subdued in a way you haven't seen before. "I've been avoiding you on purpose."
"Are you sorry for avoiding me or forcing me to drink your blood?" You ask dryly. Kol bristles.
"The blood," he says shortly, "Are you going to accept my apology or not?"
You study him.
"That is not an apology, Kol," you say, "Apologies aren't words. They're actions."
Kol's jaw clenches. Some dark part of you takes satisfaction in his anger. You consider sending him away to sulk by himself. (It's the least he deserves, you tell yourself). But you don't. You move out of the doorway to let him inside. He steps inside silently, looking down at you with dark eyes.
"Don't do it again," you say simply.
He just tilts his head and nods. You get the strange feeling he means it. You leave him by the door and turn the heat back on your burner.
"No pastries today?" He asks, breaking the silence. He's still on edge.
"I thought it was time for real food."
"What are you making?"
"French onion soup," you say, looking over your shoulder, "Want some?"
He says he doesn't, but he still takes a bowl when you're done. You take your bread out of the oven. Sourdough.
"Rebekah isn't what I expected," you say when you're both settled at the breakfast bar.
"Do tell."
His eyes glitter.
"She said Klaus didn't want us to meet because she would kill me."
"Yes," Kol says without hesitating, "That seems likely."
"— And yet he had no problem with locking you in my house. I was expecting someone more unstable."
Kol inclines his head. "You haven't seen her at her most unstable yet, darling," he says with a grin, "She can be quite wild, that one."
"She seems no wilder than you."
"She's also a bit of a harlot," he says.
You pause. "And you aren't? You're rather pretty."
Kol brightens into a wide grin. "You think I'm pretty!" He says.
"Don't make me regret saying that."
Kol keeps grinning at you.
You break off a piece of baguette and dip it in your soup.
"How's Klaus?" You ask. He still hasn't come by.
"Wouldn't know," he says, "We've been avoiding each other."
"… Can I ask why?"
"He seems to disapprove of everything I do," Kol says with some measure of genuine irritation, "He has a habit of sticking me in a box every time he deems it necessary."
You pause, spoon stilling midair. You wonder if this has anything to do with what Rebekah wanted to say last night. You want to ask, but you don't.
"Well if you ever need somewhere to hide out, you're welcome here."
He looks at you, eyes glittering.
"Do you mean that?"
"As long as you don't trick me into drinking your blood again, then yes."
An uninterpretable expression passes over Kol's face.
"I said I was sorry."
"How old were you when you were turned?" Kol blinks at the non sequitur. You feel some sort of amusement at his confused expression.
"Eighteen."
"Have you ever read Interview with a Vampire?" You ask.
"… I have not."
"There's a character who's turned as a child and never grows up or matures, even though she lives for centuries."
His expression clears and darkens.
"That's not how it works."
"Isn't it?" You say, biting into your bread. (Maybe, you think, Kol doesn't even have the capabilities to be apologetic, at least not in the way people older than you can. Maybe Kol's id just runs in whatever direction it chooses).
"There's some truth to your words," he admits, "But not the way you think."
The steam from your soup warms your face. Kol's bowl sits abandoned. He pauses before continuing.
"It's true that vampire children cannot mature," he says and you're surprised he says anything at all, "It's the reason why they tend not to survive. They're reckless in ways that adult vampires are not." He suddenly looks up at you. You're struck by the heat in his eyes. "I was not a child when I was turned. I doubt I was a child when I was born."
You understand.
(You too, were made to mature at a young age).
You reach across the counter to hold his hand. He seems startled at the touch.
"I'm sorry for assuming," you say quietly.
He eyes you for a moment, pondering. He must come to some sort of decision because he drains his soup and stands up.
"I got you something."
"Why do I feel scared?"
Kol grins.
"It's a good gift, I promise."
You finish your soup, watching Kol as he ducks out onto your porch. He comes back with a record player. It's not one of those $40 plastic ones you can find online, it looks like it's made of solid mahogany.
"Kol…"
"Before you protest, this is mostly selfish. If I'm forced to be here with my family, I at least want to be able to drown them out."
You remain tense. "Are you sure it's not an apology gift?"
He looks at you unblinkingly.
"Positive," he says. You want to believe him. You force your muscles to unknot themselves.
"Then fine. You can put it in the living room." You can feel his eyes on you as he passes through your entry way.
The wine, now this.
It sets you on edge.
Kol comes back and he must see something on your face. He pauses and some flash of emotion passes over him. You're struck by the strange fact that Kol is worried.
"This isn't—" Kol breaks off, "This isn't bribery."
"Isn't it?"
His shoulders hunch down.
"It was a little, but not if it makes you…"
He trails off again. Today is a day for firsts.
"Kol, do you know why I don't like apology gifts?"
"Because you're irritatingly different from the countless humans I've met."
"Incorrect," you say dryly, "People who hurt other people use gifts to soften the blow and make up for it. But they don't change. They keep hurting that person."
Kol, if it's possible, looks even more uncomfortable.
"That's not what I'm doing."
"Are you sure?"
He bristles. "It's just a record player."
It's not just a record player, you want to say. It's never just a record player.
"… I'm sorry."
Two apologies in one day. You suspect that's a record for him. You decide to take it easy on him. Just the once.
"Thank you, Kol."
He unfurls. "Want to crack open the wine? It's from your birth year."
Oh boy.
You start to suspect Kol is a blossoming alcoholic
(Or maybe just a full-blown one, you consider as he leans back in his arm chair laughing to himself. He has had a thousand years to develop a tolerance).
"I can't believe Elijah stole my movies," Kol says and takes a moment to consider. "Actually, I can imagine it. It's still beneath him." You offer to give them back, but Kol refuses and tells you he has enough at home.
"I think he just wanted to cheer me up," you say dryly, "Or at least butter up."
Kol's head snaps up. "Butter you up for what?"
"Oh, haven't you heard? Elijah thinks I'm plotting to kill you all."
"Did he say that?"
"It was implied."
"Hm," Kol says, "He's dumber than I thought if he thinks you're any threat."
"I feel like that's an insult."
His lips curve and he gives no answer. You drink the rest of your wine.
"Not that I don't love wine, but have you considered expanding to cocktails?"
Kol shakes his head, leaning back in his chair. "Too inefficient."
"Not if you make them right."
He cracks a smile.
"I suppose you have a point." He looks around your living room. "Bex picked out nice furniture. Elijah must have helped."
"Don't remind me," you grumble, "I told her she could get a dining table and she got a couch."
Couch is underselling it. You're not sure where she found the teal velvet settee sitting in your living room, but you love it despite your intentions.
"Did she get a dining table?"
You snort. "Of course she did."
Regretfully, Rebekah has excellent taste.
He opens another bottle of wine. (You had thought he only brought the one. How foolish of you. He's gone through at least 7 already).
"Why do you collect movies if you haven't even been in this decade that long?" You ask once you're sufficiently drunk.
Kol hesitates before answering.
"Media is often the best way to interpret new eras. Films are just a new concept to me."
You wonder what it's like to miss such a large chunk of time.
"Why would you sleep for that long?"
Kol's lips twitch.
"I suggest asking my brother that."
You know he means Klaus. Asking Klaus anything has never gone well.
"I don't feel like getting my head bitten off," you say dryly, "Is everyone showing up for the dinner tomorrow?"
"Well," Kol says, "I'm here currently, so yes. Rebekah and Elijah planned it with you and Nik will do anything you want. It's a safe bet on all counts."
"Why would Klaus do anything I want?"
"For all of your talk about how I'm a child, you certainly are stupid."
You balk. "I resent that."
Kol just rolls his eyes and knocks back his glass.
"Ridiculous," he sighs.
He's rather bold for someone who breaks into your house once a week. He turns to you with a plaintive look.
"I have a favor to ask."
"No."
Kol's face grows annoyed. "You haven't even heard it."
"I don't need to."
Kol's pleading eyes break into irritation. "You are, by far, one of the most annoying people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting."
"I feel the same." You clink your glasses together with a grin. Kol's lips twitch against his will.
"Did you mean it when you said I could hide out here?"
You suspect you know where this is going.
"… Yes."
"Let me stay tonight."
"Excuse you?"
He rolls his eyes. "Not like that." Better not be, you think. "I don't want to have to face Nik."
"… Why, exactly?"
"I may have done something… ill-advised."
"Do I dare ask?"
Kol tilts his head. "I don't suppose you know who Silas is?" At your blank expression, he continues. "In the most simplified words possible: I confronted The Salvatores and Co about something they've been looking into. They nearly killed me. Nik's rather upset."
"Are you okay?" You ask, aghast.
His lips curve into a grin. "I never knew you cared."
"Nevermind," you say, "I don't care anymore."
"So is that a yes?"
"I don't have a guest room," you hedge, "Just the settee."
"I would sleep on the floor for a week if it meant I could avoid Nik."
"Am I really your only option?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
He just smiles. You sigh.
"Fine," you say, "You can stay. You're staying in the living room."
Kol, unsurprisingly, does not stay in the living room.
"Your couch is uncomfortable," he complains. You jump when you see him standing in your doorway.
"No it's not," you say, "Rebekah said it's feather stuffed."
"It's cold."
"That sucks."
"Yes," Kol agrees, "It does."
He's still standing in your doorway. You shift underneath your quilt, cold creeping through your thin pajamas. Cold that Kol barely even feels as a vampire.
"Fine," you sigh, "Come on."
You can't see Kol's face, but you can feel it brighten. He crawls onto the other side of the bed.
"Does your family not understand boundaries or is it a choice?"
"It's typically a choice," Kol says, curling up under the blanket. He keeps a foot of empty space between you.
You're grateful.
"Getting me drunk just to get in my bed," you say dryly, "Kol, I thought better of you." You hear rather than see Kol's grin. When he speaks, his voice is uncomfortably close to your ear.
"Trust me, dearest," he murmurs, "If it happens, I wouldn't let you be anything other than sober."
Unexpected heat passes through you. You expect to feel more uncomfortable than you do. Not two weeks ago he tried to kill you.
You roll over and go to sleep.
Hope you guys liked the chapter! I know everyone loves Kol (me included)