Heart Of Darkness II ((ON HOLD))

Chapter 1: Love or Lies?

Katherine made a face as she held a strand of grey hair between her fingers. Every day it was getting harder to hide the fact that she was aging quicker. She did her best to keep up with her hair, dyeing it every so often. Not to mention wearing makeup and concealer. But it didn't change the fact that she was still dying. It didn't change the fact that every single day there was something new wrong with her. The only thing her efforts really did was hide it all from Klaus.

For the past two weeks, it was all she had done. Put on a brave face and pretend she was fine for his sake. He didn't deserve to feel like he was failing. He already had enough working like mad trying to keep Hayley safe, control the city and make sure Marcel didn't try anything again, all on top of trying to find some magical way to save her life. She'd rather just let him see she was fine for now. That he didn't need to pressure himself into finding something to save her life right this minute. It was for the best in the end.

Reaching for her phone she set a reminder to go pick up more hair dye and then worked on fixing her appearance. She managed to style her hair in a way so that they grey hairs weren't too noticeable, at least not more than normal, and then applied a soft coat of red lipstick before heading downstairs.

As she approached the kitchen, she was instantly hit with the sweet smell of waffles being made, along with fresh jam and juice.

The closer she got, the more she could also hear the Lee Morse rendition of Yes Sir That's My Baby playing in the background. She smiled brightly entering the kitchen and spun around gracefully, standing beside him. "I do love this song. Though I prefer the Frank Sinatra version better." A giggle escaped her at his now displeased expression.

"You wound me greatly, love. Every version recorded in the 1920s is a thousand times better than what he did to that song." He grumbled, pouring a bit of the batter into the waffle iron carefully. As he waited for that one to be done, he reached for her hand and pulled her closer to him.

"Mmm. Let's just agree to disagree." She grinned, happily letting him lead as the two danced in the middle of the kitchen. Every day it was something new with him. Today it was dancing in the kitchen. Yesterday it had been breakfast in bed. The day before he surprised her with a shopping trip to personalize the guest bedroom which was now permanently hers.

"I agree...that your taste in music is still incredibly trashy." His lips twitched upwards into a wide smile as he gently spun her around and then pulled her close to him once more.

"It is not." She giggled, lightly hitting his chest. "It's literally the same song, just sung differently."

"Sung badly you mean."

"You know, I'm starting to realize there is absolutely no way to win with you." A chuckle left her lips and defeatedly, she rested her head on his chest.

"You're starting to realize?"

At his raised eyebrow and the clearly teasing look in his eyes, she giggled once more and leaned up, pressing her lips to his.

His hands snuck around her waist as the kiss between them suddenly deepened. They were no longer dancing while indulging in a playful banter. They weren't even focused on breakfast.

Instead he had picked her up and kissed her fiercely, placing her on the kitchen counter. He could feel her legs tightening around his waist the longer he touched her bare skin underneath her shirt.

"Klaus."

The way she breathed out his name was absolute heaven to him, and it obviously showed by how quickly he was reaching to unclasp her bra.