The Missing Piece

Our Spot

"Nik, I told you, the rest of the day. Do you really want to spend it climbing?" I complained, pausing on the steep hill and looking up at him a few steps away.

"We are going somewhere special." He stepped back and gently took my hand and continued to walk forward.

"You'd better hurry, I want some sleep before I have to deal with my brothers." I sighed as I moved to walk next to him. As much as I complained, I was enjoying myself, though I wouldn't let him know that.

"Of course, love." As we came to the top he stopped. He pulled me close after spinning me so I was facing away from him with my back against his chest. "Do you remember?" He leaned to whisper in my ear.

"How could I forget." I pulled away, walking to look down past the waterfall. "There." I pointed down to a small clearing. "That's where Elijah brought me after he found me running. He brought me to see you, and Bekah." I turned to him, grinning. "I will never forget all that your family has done for me. You saved me from a life of being alone." I walked back to him, grabbing his hands. "Thank you for this."

"I've missed your smile." He says gently, removing one of his hands from mine and placed it on my cheek. I leaned into his touch, allowing myself to be lost in the moment. "I've missed you." He says even quieter than before. I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck.

"I've missed you too Nik." He began to lean in before my cell phone began to ring. I smiled softly as I grabbed my phone. Seeing it was my brother I rolled my eyes but answered.

"What do you want Damon?" Not hiding an ounce of my annoyance. Nik ran a hand through his hair and took a few steps back.

"Where are you?" Damon replied sounding very agitated.

"Why do you care? You don't trust me, or treat me like your sister, your family." I sighed exasperated.

"We need to talk. About what you told us at the boarding house." I could hear his agitation very clearly, but I didn't care.

"You mean about me being married to Klaus and caring about Elijah? That's as simple as it gets, not much to talk about." Nik, who had turned away, looked at me in surprise. I shrugged and smiled, trying not to chuckle.

"Cleo, please. Just come to the boarding house so we can talk, as a family." He emphasized, but I sighed.

"Not today. I have plans for the rest of the evening." I took a few steps closer to close most of the distance that had been put between me and Nik. "I promised Nik he had the rest of the day and I meant it."

"Nik? You're with Klaus! Cleon-"

"Goodbye Damon." I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket. Nik then reached for my hands and intertwined our fingers. "I really did miss you. But we might have a problem with my brothers." He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "Without killing them, would be preferable. They are still technically family. No matter how much they annoy me." He chuckled.

"We'll see, love. I'm sure that we can wait until the problem actually presents itself though." At that, I laughed quietly.

"Yes, we can. You know Elijah told me, that I couldn't simply wish my feelings away, and that it was understandable that I still cared because we shared a deep love. He was so right. I'm glad I listened to him." I looked up into his blue eyes and found myself lost within seconds. I must have been smiling like an idiot.

"Yes, he does tend to have good advice." He replied eventually, leaning down so that our lips were almost touching. I closed the distance, closing my eyes as well. The kiss lasted a few seconds before I pulled away smiling.

--

"It's getting rather late, don't you think?" I said, as we laid looking up at the stars. We had been here for several hours, laying on the grass and watching the sunset.

"Are you tired, my love?" He propped himself up on his forearm so that he was looking down at me.

"A little bit." I responded quietly. He lowered himself to give me a quick kiss.

"Then why don't you go home?" He asked. I slowly sat up not breaking eye contact.

"Because, I'm enjoying my night with," I paused, "my husband." Even in the dim moonlight, I could see his face light up with delight.

"Well, there's always tomorrow, and the next day, and the next." He joked, succeeding in making me laugh.

"I'm going to have to deal with my brothers tomorrow Nik." I sighed. "After that, who knows." I let my head fall back onto my bunched up jacket that I had set as a pillow. "Let's just lay here a little longer. Ok?" I looked at him as he nodded and laid back down beside me.

We laid there for at least another hour, I was wrapped in his embrace, and I felt at peace. Though I knew that tomorrow, my brothers would probably give me hell for, well all of it. I had no regrets, other than leaving 'our spot' as Nik had deemed it.

I've finally finished school for the summer! I'm hopefully going to write more often and be able to post, but I still have to finish my graduation project so I'll be getting those hours in at a summer camp. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. ~KJ