✔ The Way We Burn || Kol Mikaelson (Complete)

Chapter 21

Sófi's home sweet home was warm in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature. Golden suns, bright blue skies, trees and flowers were painted on the walls and the main room was bathed in warm light thanks to openings overlooking a beautiful garden. The fragrance of flowers was strong, tickling delightfully Kol's nose from the very moment he crossed the threshold of the house.

As he walked over to a large wooden table with Nora by his sides, a young vampire appeared in the room and sat next to Finn. Fair skin, clear green eyes and long wavy bright red hair, she smiled at them tentatively and said, "Do all Mikaelsons have a soft spot for redheads or is it just the two of you?"

At the head of the table, Sófi snorted as Kol responded with a chuckle, "Nice opening gambit. Sage, is it? I approve."

"Good to know, even though I don't actually need your approval to be with Finn. Still, I have to admit, it does feel nice to hear that one of his siblings doesn't want me dead for daring to look at him."

"Yes, I can imagine." He paused for a moment before adding with a smirk, "To be fair, I am pretty sure they just don't like you. Whether or not you and Finn are making eyes at each other doesn't really matter at this point."

Someone else might have been offended by his words but Sage simply shrugged with a helpless smile. On her left, Finn briefly glanced at Sage before his eyes went back to Nora and Kol, looking at the two of them like rare animals. "You have changed, Kol."

In a way, Kol understood what Finn meant. Over the past decades, he was always alone for his visits to his siblings and never stayed long. He drank happily with Bekah, Nik and Elijah - which never failed to arise Finn's utter disgust - and boasted about his greatest slaughters. The reasons behind those were never brought into light though. His current behavior with Nora must be quite odd to see for his brother.

With a mirthless grin, Kol retorted, "Have I?"

Nora turned her head towards him with a slightly uneasy look and squeezed his knee under the table, the warmth of her hand comforting. They shared a glance at one another as Finn nodded and said, "You look less..."

His voice trailed off and he looked away.

"Crazy Finn," Sage teased him. "Crazy is the word you are looking for if what you told me about your brother is true. Mad and unhinged also work."

Under normal circumstances - meaning when Kol was far, far away from his brother's precious lover -, Sage's words might have made Finn laugh. Unfortunately for his future sister-in-law, Kol was there and Finn looked rather wary and ready to attack him. As if Kol would kill his future sister-in-law over a poor choice of words - or a good one, to be honest.

Sófi on the other hand merely raised her eyebrows before pouring herself a cup of wine, completely relaxed.

"Forgive her Kol," Finn pleaded, "that is not what I meant to say."

Nora snickered, her fingernails tapping the table, "That's only because you have never seen him when it's his turn to do the laundry. Crazy is then a perfect word to describe him."

A fond smile immediately reached across Kol's face as he reached out to play with Nora's hair, his hand running up and down the long locks. That woman, seriously... She always knew what to say, didn't she?

He watched as the tension slowly left his brother's body. Oh, it was still there, hidden behind an awkward smile and tense shoulders as Finn decided to follow Sófi's example and grabbed the wine jar to pour himself a cup. Once it was done, he began to fill the other cups and asked Kol, "Doing the laundry? This isn't like you. Actually, I can't even imagine you doing a single household chore."