The morning after the two spent the night drinking champagne and feeding on people at the bar, Klaus quickly found out where Mia was staying and appeared at the door of her suite with a bouquet of white roses with a single flower stained with blood.
He wanted to know more about her, where she came from, what she liked to do. He wanted to know what made her laugh. He also wanted to know what it would be like to touch her. If she tasted better than he imagined. Klaus didn't get to know any of that the first night, but that wasn't a problem for him.
Since he moved out of New Orleans, Klaus has preferred to keep a low profile in Chicago about his origins. Of course, there was no way he could expect three filthy rich vampires living in one of the best houses in town to be discreet. But he avoided mentioning the words "original vampire" or the Mikaelson last name. After all, he didn't know what Mikael was doing or planning to do, which also put Rebekah and Kol at risk.
So that spring, he allowed himself to be Nik. The name Bekah had so fondly dubbed him since they were human. That was how Gloria knew him. That was the only way Mia would get to know him too.
He knocked three times on the wooden door, until the vampire opened it. She was wearing a light pink silk nightgown, her hair loose in waves down to her shoulders and her face free of makeup, her cheeks naturally flushed. She was lovely.
"I don't know if I'm worried that you've already found out where I'm staying…or I take it as a romantic gesture" Mia replied with a smirk, taking the bouquet from Klaus' hands and motioning for him to enter the room. "Well, you don't need to be invited anyway."
"I won't say I was in the area, love, because we both know that's a lie" Klaus said, sitting on the edge of the dancer's bed and looking around the room. Mia's room was tiny compared to every other room in his house. In addition to the bed, it had a dressing table with a large mirror, a small wardrobe, a balcony and a bathroom. "I thought I'd ask you out for breakfast."
Mia placed the flowers on top of the dresser and removed the bloodstained rose, examining each petal with her piercing blue eyes. "Why would I go? I don't know anything about you, Nik."
"I don't know anything about you either" Klaus said, his gaze fixed on the dancer. "That's why this is a great opportunity, getting to know each other in broad daylight. Come on, it's just coffee. Or tea. I'm not going to bite you. Unless you ask for it."
She handed him back the bloodstained rose. "I'll put on a dress. Wait here."
Four hours later, sitting in a cafe on the Gold Coast, Klaus discovered that she prefers black coffee to tea, despite having spent time in England. That she studied ballet in Russia back in the days when she was human, when the country was still the empire of the Tsars. That she traveled around Europe fleeing the points of the war and took refuge in Cuba for a while, and stabilized in Paris with the end of the conflict.
"And when did you leave England?" Mia asked, as she straightened her white elbow-length gloves. The duo walked towards Oak Street Beach, which was still empty at this time of year, due to the still low temperatures for spring and the wind that accompanies Chicago during the afternoon.
"A few centuries ago" Klaus replied shortly, seeing Mia's blue eyes widen in astonishment. Technically, he wasn't lying, but he didn't need to say he was one of the oldest vampires in the world. "Time is just a concept when you have eternity. You stop realizing that years have gone by so quickly. But you'll get used to that yet. How long have you been turned?"
"It was almost 50 years ago, in St. Petersburg" Mia broke her gaze for the first time. Klaus could see that she was uncomfortable and figured it wasn't a subject she wanted to delve into. "Despite everything, I like being a vampire. Well, killing people isn't necessarily my hobby and there's the issue of not being able to settle in one place for very long…but who wants a completely normal life? It's boring! No one sends you flowers stained with blood."
Klaus laughed at the spontaneous statement of the girl walking beside him. She had a witty sense of humor and he hadn't felt so light around anyone in a long time. At the end of the lakefront was the Mikaelsons' townhouse and he invited her to come in for a drink. She looked suspicious, laughed, and walked through the giant door.
"Wow, how many people live here?" Mia asked, turning her head to see the rooms. "This house is gigantic!"
"Brother, you didn't say you were going to bring guests…" Kol appeared from the hall, with a glass of bourbon in his hand, ready for some comment that would make Klaus lose his temper. "And even more so with the big star of yesterday's show…Sorry, Miss Mia, where are my manners? I'm Kol, the younger, better looking and funnier brother."
"And the eternal pain in the ass", Klaus replied and continued walking through the house, showing Mia the direction of the outside area, with a large porch with chairs and a view of the lake.
Mia sat down in one of the chairs and Klaus went back inside the house for a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. Kol was already comfortable sitting in the other chair next to Mia, who was laughing at some nonsense the youngest Mikaelson said.
"How long are you staying in Chicago?" Kol asked and lit a cigarette. Klaus handed the glass of bourbon to Mia, who took a sip and made an almost imperceptible grimace. He hadn't thought about it. They had talked about so many things, about art, about places they'd lived, about life as vampires. But he didn't know how much longer she'd be there, within his reach.
"Well, I'm signed to do shows at Gloria's bar until the summer. I don't know after that, but my best friend is expecting me so we can spend the summer in New York", Mia replied and looked away from Kol to Klaus "Not exactly New York, maybe the Hamptons or Long Island."
"And is your best friend going to visit you in Chicago? Is she as beautiful as you?" Kol said and saw Klaus roll his eyes "What is it, Nik? I'm asking about her friend."
"Kat is really beautiful" the brunette vampire said and took another sip of her bourbon. "But I have to warn you: relationships is not her thing. She doesn't get involved, so the chance of getting your heart broken is pretty much guaranteed."
"So she's like Nik" Kol said sarcastically and slapped his older brother twice on the back. Great, Klaus thought, Kol needed to say that and screw his chances with the dancer.
Kol left the porch and Mia grabbed one of his cigarettes from the table and lit it. Klaus watched her inhale and let it out slowly, as she looked out at the horizon that lay in orange tones framing the lake. She didn't turn her head to face him.
"Please ignore my brother" Klaus finally said and poured more bourbon into his glass. He got up and stood at the edge of the wooden porch railing. He heard the squeak Mia's chair made as she stood up and he could see her brown hair tossed by the wind.
"I don't take it seriously, but I'm curious" Mia asked and turned her face fully towards Klaus's direction. They were close enough, perhaps the closest they'd been in the last 24 hours since they'd met. He could count every freckle on her face. "Do you really not believe in love?"
"Love is a vampire's greatest weakness" Klaus replied. He didn't look away. He really wanted her to understand what he was talking about. Things could be pleasant, fun, even light for a while. Sex, love, lust, that was something else. Love led to great tragedies. Love requires loyalty. Love is where the war is lost, and Klaus Mikaelson was not used to losing battles.
There was silence for a few minutes. The sun had completely set over Lake Michigan, with only the moonlight illuminating the two vampires on the porch. The truth is, Klaus didn't know how to deal with this kind of subject. Not only did he think such a conversation was premature, but he also had no idea what Mia thought about it.
He took heart and asked.
"Do you believe that?"
"We're talking about feelings, Nik, not about God or Santa Claus. Of course there is love" Mia replied, in a way where she almost tried to contain a laugh caught in her throat.
"Have I ever been in love? Yes, madly when I was human. It literally cost me my life. Most of the time it sucks because falling in love is about losing control. And I can't think of anything worse than not having control. But there's that magical moment when a bunch of things seem to fall into place and start to make sense and your insides twist. And you feel that you are happier to have that person by your side. It's almost religious", Mia finished and downed every last drop of bourbon in her glass.
Klaus could only see glimpses of Mia's face through the darkness. He reached up and touched her face slowly. His fingers trailed down her cheek and found her lips, which were parted and breathless.
In one precise movement, Klaus pulled her by the waist and placed his lips against hers. Mia had her back pressed against the wooden railing as the original vampire kissed her passionately and ran his hand through her hair. She tasted like cherry, bourbon and cinnamon. And she was so much better than he had imagined
March and April passed so quickly that Mia didn't notice. She was immersed in the new routine, which was summed up in her gigs at Gloria's bar from Friday to Sunday, cafes on the Gold Coast, walks in Hyde Park, visits to the Art Institute of Chicago and many hours at Nik's house drinking anything strong in front of the lake.
The older vampire showed her his studio and his paintings. They have established small traditions, such as Nik presenting her with a bouquet of white roses and a drawing of her after all of her dance performances.
Mia spent more time at the lake house than she did in her tiny suite. Even when Nik was busy, she and Kol talked about anything and played poker. She knew that their sister, Rebekah, was on a road trip with her new boyfriend and would be back in the next few weeks.
She couldn't wait for Kat to meet them. Katherine responded in one of the letters that she was in the middle of a love triangle with a writer and his wife, and that the two had rented a gigantic mansion on Long Island, but confirmed that she was going to visit Mia in Chicago in mid-July.
In the almost weekly letters that Mia sent Kat, she told about Nik. She talked about how different he was from all the guys—humans and vampires—she'd known throughout her life. That when he looked at her with those blue eyes, as if she were prey ready to be slaughtered, she felt her knees go weak.
Katherine replied several times that she thought it was funny and that Mia had to be smart enough to know that this was just lust, those damn vampire hormones, and that she should stop holding the gold and finally have sex with him.
There was that little factor. Not that Mia was a prude, but they hadn't had sex yet. It was close to completing three months since they first kissed and every time Nik touched her it felt like he would set her on fire, but the two held back until the end.
It was as if inside the two of them, somehow, there was a big neon sign that screamed that if they passed that point, they would be consumed by that desire and there would be no turning back.
It was early May when Mia was sitting at one of the tables in Gloria's bar with Nik and heard one of the witches whisper that one of the Salvatores had returned to town. She felt a shiver run through her body and her head swim. They were here.
Nik didn't have time to notice her reaction, because he immediately waved to a blonde woman in a gold dress who was walking towards them with a tall man with dark blond hair and a face she could recognize in a million years.
Stefan was here. In front of her. After 56 years.
"Rebekah!" Nik shouted, in a more strident British accent. "I thought I'd have to send my minions to look for you, little sister."
"Nik, don't be dramatic" the blonde replied, sitting in the corner of the table accompanied by Stefan. She was gorgeous, extremely similar to Nik, with her golden hair tied up. "I was having fun. I see you also got a new toy while I was gone."
Mia didn't care that the two of them were talking as if she and Stefan weren't at the table. She was practically paralyzed in her thoughts. She knew that if she was human she would probably have passed out at this point.
"Bekah, don't be rude" Nik said, taking Mia's hand from under the table and squeezing it slowly, as if he wanted to apologize for his sister's behavior. "You haven't introduced me to your little boyfriend yet."
"Stefan Salvatore" the vampire replied for the first time and Mia saw a look of admiration grow inside Nik, as if that made any sense, but she couldn't do anything but tip the glass of champagne that was in front of her. She had many questions and many fears. Would Stefan be able to recognize her? Did she have to mention Kat was alive? Where was Damon? Was Damon alive?
"The ripper of Monterey" Nik said with a smile. "I heard about your fame. Consider me a fan of your work."
Ripper. Unfortunately, Mia knew what that term meant in the vampire world.
It made no sense. It was Stefan they were talking about. The brother who lectured her when she stole fruit from the Lockwoods' land. He couldn't be a mass murderer and enjoy it.
"Oh sweetheart, don't be scared, that's part of the fun" Stefan said looking directly at Mia, who had her blue eyes wide with fear. "Bekah told me we're family…that Nik also shares these interests that I have. So a pretty little thing like you don't need to be afraid, Miss…?"
She wanted to scream. She wanted to say "my name is Amelia Lillian Salvatore".
"Mia" she replied almost in a whisper, with a lump in her throat "It's a pleasure to meet you, Stefan."