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𝐊𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐦, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟐
Being free again was odd to Juniper. She no longer woke to the sounds of metal clanking at her door at the crack of dawn, instead she woke with the sun.
When she worked, she wasn't cleaning animal cells and dried blood, instead, she sat at her old desk and wrote out plans, either going over old ones to see what went wrong or creating new ones.
Juniper's eyes flashed along her desk, moving a few papers around with her gloved hands until she found the one she was looking for and retrieved it. Kol sat across from her on the couch and silently watched her work.
He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since they brought her back to the Slat two days prior. He hadn't left her side either.
"You don't have to stay with me," She spoke, unable to meet his eyes. "You could go back to Mystic Falls."
Kol stood from his seated position before standing by her desk, his leg hitting the wooden edge. "I'm not going back. Not unless you are by my side."
"This is going to get messy soon," She warned, already starting to feel the effects of withdrawal.
He knelt in front of her, his hand moving to her knee only for her to flinch away. "I'm sorry," She whispered but he shook his head, moving his hand back to his side. "It's okay, darling."
They sat in silence, Juniper joining him on the floor behind her desk. Her hand inched towards his, sitting just centimetres away, close enough that she could feel the warmth that radiated from his skin.
Two of the deadliest people the world had to offer and they could barely touch each other without one of them keeling over. But they'd tried. She'd tried. Maybe they could try again.
A foolish wish, the sentimental hope of a girl who hadn't had the firsts of her life stolen, who hadn't ever met Pekka Rollins, who wasn't covered in wounds and wanted by the law.
Centuries before, she would have laughed at her optimism. But she wasn't that girl anymore. She never would be.
"When I got daggered," he started his voice below a whisper. "And I saw you fall– I don't think I've ever felt fear like that. I didn't know what was happening, I didn't know if they were going to kill you and I couldn't move."
His eyes glanced at the side of her face. "I tried to get to you. I really did. But the ash... I couldn't fight it. I'm so sorry, Juniper."
Her eyes met his, tears pooling at her waterline. "I'm sorry, too." A soft smile spread on her lips, "I guess we both broke our promises."
Kol nodded. "I won't break it this time. Even if I can't touch you and I have to smother you in blankets near multiple fires. I will keep you warm, Juniper Rietveld."
The tear fell from her eye. All she wanted was to hold him in her arms and tell him everything would be okay. But she couldn't. She couldn't even think about touching him without feeling like she was going to faint.
