{Oh, how we cope with these slow days

[itchtokill]

Who: Kol Mikaelson OR Cisco Ramon and YOU
Where: Various places
When: Month of February
Rating: PG (?) will warn for anything worse as needed.
Summary: Kol is setting up to sort out this memory business; Cisco is getting down to business making a lab space, helping Chloe with the WPA, whatever.
The Story:

Comments

[itchtokill]

"And you have repeat experience with that, do you?" He's such a snarky prat, the real wonder is that anyone ever puts up with him for longer than five minutes.

[persevere]

"As much as I hate to admit it. Yes, I do."

She gives him a look of annoyance because she does not particularly like playing the damsel in distress, especially not anymore.

"I've also always gotten away so I'm kind of an expert on the subject. You should definitely take my advice."

[itchtokill]

"And yet, here you are," he says with a flourish of his hands. "So perhaps 'expert' is a bit of an embellishment, hm?" He moves in an almost predatory way to grab a chair and pull it up to sit in backwards, in front of her, leaning against folded arms across the chair back. "So tell me, Caroline. How's it feel to know your bestie and her baby brother have essentially as much blood on their hands as I ever could?" He realizes she's probably ahead of him, in the way everyone from their world seems to be, but it's a sticking point. And without a Gilbert around to go an eye-for-an-eye at, he may as well have a go with the next best, right?

[persevere]

"Just because I haven't gotten out yet doesn't mean I won't. I just have better things to do than get frustrated at a bookshelf."

She gives him a forced smile, doesn't flinch as he sits down. She knows that predatory gesture and she's not buying it.

"I think she was desperate and you made yourself a target by threatening everyone around you that meant something to her. If you want to talk about eye-for-an-eye, we would be here for days, so I'd really rather skip all that.

Or is trying to antagonize me really the best way you can think of to spend your time here?"

You know, while he's alive instead of...not.

[itchtokill]

"Like making eyes at my brother?" He perks a knowing eyebrow at her. Come on, Caroline. Is Nik really more important than getting the heck outta here?! "None of you were listening, you were all still trying to go gallivanting off and rise Silas like morons." He cants his head to one side, "How'd that work out, by the way? Anything at all like I warned you lot about?" He's almost certain he knows the answer.

[persevere]

"I don't need to make eyes at your brother, Kol. We're not, like, a new thing." And yes, as a matter of fact, he is more important because their relationship is something she actually can do something about right now instead of going on a wild goose chase that is just going to leave her frustrated and unfulfilled.

They're not going to get to keep what they have when they eventually leave, so she's going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

"Worse, but that's not the point. It's not like we had any reason to believe you at the time. But yes, you're right, it was a huge mistake. Happy?"

[itchtokill]

He blinks, almost in surprise at her answer. As snarky as it was, it was still honest, too. "Actually... yes." Not happy that he was right, or that it was worse than even what he'd warned them of, but there is something to be said about validation, and it goes a longer way than she might assume that she said it at all. Particularly for Kol, who has the worst case of Middle Child Syndrome known to history, always left on the fringes and edges of his siblings, never quite listened to.

[persevere]

Caroline clearly wasn't expecting that either, so her response is just a slightly delayed, "Good."

She seems to internally debate something then before she finally just sighs and gets it out there.

"Look, I know it doesn't really make things better or okay, but...things are different. I'm different. So you can hate me because of what my friends did, but just...don't take it out on Klaus, okay?" A beat passes as she presses her lips together before adding, "If anyone tried to do something like that now, I'd do everything I could to stop it."

He doesn't have to believe her, but it felt like something she needed to say anyway. Of course, she immediately feels awkward and vulnerable, something she highly dislikes, so she gets up to leave. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

[itchtokill]

Kol isn't really sure what he was expecting, but whatever it was, that certainly wasn't it. Not even in the same galaxy as that, really. He's left a bit dumbfounded at her words, not sure how to take it, or what to do with it now that he's had it dumped in his lap. He doesn't try to stop her from leaving, or even manage to get his head wrapped around what she'd said enough to say anything else to her at all. Instead, he's left sitting in the chair, and only glancing over his shoulder to watch her leave, wondering what just happened.