InsaneJournal

Who: Tyler Lockwood & Katherine Pierce
When: May 30, 2011 – Night (After this!)
Where: Random Bar
What: Katherine and Tyler make a deal.
Rating: PG-13

For two days, he had let himself believe that things were going to be okay between him and Caroline. For two days, he allowed himself to hope that maybe he could reconnect with her and maybe start talking to the rest of the people from Mystic Falls again. He didn’t have any friends here, aside from Jules, and the whole lone wolf thing wasn’t his deal. He could do it for a little while, but then he got restless and things ended up breaking. And right now, he literally couldn’t afford it. He hadn’t started to work yet so he had virtually no income, but that wasn’t why he was sitting at a bar, trying to forget who he was for a little while.

He could understand Caroline’s reasons for why she thought Mason would die if brought back. He might not have agreed with them, but he understood them. But for her to talk about them so, frankly, without emotion about them when her filtered failed and he commented on it...that had hurt. It wasn’t just some townie that had died. It was his uncle and for her to follow up her apologies about why a possible resurrection would fail with “But he would die anyway and here are the reasons why” had been cold. He hadn’t expected that from her and he didn’t think she was capable of being like that. Not about him.

Tyler pushed away those thoughts again, as he ordered another shot. He was running low on cash and he would regret this in the morning, but he was determined to forget his name tonight. He didn’t notice anyone or anything around him and that probably wasn’t the smartest thing in the world, but he didn’t care. It was why he was startled when he looked up to accept his glass and found Elena’s face staring at him.

No, he thought as he took a sniff. Katherine.

He didn’t say anything for a moment and narrowed his eyes. Finally, he said, “What do you want?”

Katherine had smelled Tyler the moment she walked into the bar. It wasn’t hard to mistake the slightly musty, wet-dog odor that all werewolves smelled like to her. Except Mason. He’d smelled like evergreens and rain and coconuts (thanks to the Sex Wax he’d used on his boards) all on top of the musty, wet dog scent. It hadn’t taken longer than a moment to pinpoint him at the bar.

She should leave him alone. She shouldn’t bother Tyler any more. But Katherine couldn’t help herself sometimes. She had that problem a lot when it came to men, it seemed. Mason was dead and, in a panic, Katherine had made a grave, grave mistake- She’d forgotten her plans. She’d arranged to turn Tyler, partly because of the heart-crushing grief, partly because of the anger, but mostly as a way to say “Fuck you” to the Salvatores. Constantly fucking things up for her, they were. But it was a mistake, she realized too late. Not that she’d ever admit it.

Katherine ignored Tyler’s question and smiled at the bartender. When the young local woman caught her eye, Katherine worked her magic. “All his drinks? They’re on the house, right?” she asked, a hint of a seductive lilt coloring the words just so. The bartender just smiled back and parroted her words. Only after the young woman walked away to get Katherine’s order did the vampire turn her attention back to the young werewolf beside her.

“Want?” she asked, brows arching toward the ceiling. “Do I have to want anything?”

Tyler carefully watched her as she ignored him and proceeded to get him free drinks for the night. He set his still full glass down on the counter with a solid thud and pushed it away, suddenly losing his desire to drink. Katherine’s mere name put him on edge. Having her this close to him, smelling of vampire and death, was enough to get the little hairs on the back of his neck rising in ire.

“Yes. Always,” he said, holding back the pure rage shuddering through him. He was already drunk enough to have responded to the weird text he had gotten from Damon earlier that night, but he had just enough sense left to not go launching himself at her until he knew what she was up to. “You never not want something.” He barely knew her and yet he still knew this.

“Oh, Tyler,” Katherine said with an amused sigh, leaning against the bar as she face him. “I want a lot of things. Klaus’s head on a platter immediately comes to mind.” Her drink was delivered and she shot the girl a wink, before picking it up and taking a sip. “Right now, though? I want a drink.”

She arched her brows at his untouched glass, a smirk playing across her lips. “Not thirsty?”

He arched a brow in return, wondering how the hell this was his life. “Someone I hate just sat down next to me,” he snapped, fists clenching at his sides. “It kind of made me lose any desire to drink.” And not just because it was logical to not get drunk while around a person that could kill you with a flick of her wrist.

Tyler wanted to be as sober as possible in case she started her mind games again. But he was already five drinks too late for that.

“You could look at it like that,” Katherine said easily, spinning on the stool so she was facing the mirror, watching Tyler through it. “Most people would see it that way, in fact.”

She took another long sip of her Jack and Coke, locking eyes with him through the silvered glass ahead of them, over the bottles of Grey Goose. “A smart man, though- He’d take advantage of the situation.”

“A smart man according to who?” Tyler asked, looking away from her gaze in the glass and looking at the side of her head until she turned it to look at him. “According to you? Why would anyone listen to a murderess? Why would anyone see it any other way than that way?”

He tried counting to ten and taking slow breaths, but he lost focus on four and almost lurched out of his seat at her. The only thing that kept him from doing that was the bartender that was watching Katherine with a slightly dreamy look in her eyes.

Katherine smiled at the bartender, a hint of a giggle in her voice. “Sweetheart, give us a little privacy, will you?” she purred. She watched the woman walk away before turning in her seat to face Tyler once more. “No, not a smart man according to me. A smart man according to me wouldn’t be so openly hostile because he would know that I could snap his neck without breaking so much as a nail.”

She leaned forward, toward him in a manner more like flirting than like a person offering what she was about to offer. “No, a smart man would listen to what I had to say first.”

He leaned back from her when she started to move forward. He tried to keep the anger at bay, but his teeth were clenched and rage coloured each word very obviously. “A smart man would get the hell out of here, before listening to your poison.”

Abruptly he turned, took the shot he had pushed away earlier, and downed it. Then he made a move to get up and out of there because all of the warning bells were ringing and a voice like Jules was telling him to get the fuck out of there.

Katherine put her foot up up on Tyler’s stool, blocking his way. If he wanted to leave, he was going to have to go through her to do it. Which, in his drunken state, she wouldn’t put past him. When she’d decided to come out tonight, it was to find some fun... Fighting or fucking, it was all good with her.

“Are you sure you want to go that route?” she asked him, her face a mildly pleasant mask that hid the violence she was easily capable of. “We don’t have to be friends, Tyler, but I am not someone you want as your enemy.”

He just about managed to stop himself from tripping over the length of her leg, when she blocked his retreat. A huge part of him wanted to grab her leg and push it away. A much smaller part, the sensible part that is, knew to back off. The two parts of him warred for a moment, before settling with growling at her and staying where he was. “You might have the advantage right now, but don’t forget that I have some tricks up my sleeve too, Katherine. You’re not always going to be stronger than me.”

Glaring some more, he looked at her leg with raised eyebrows. His eyes might have been cloudy with drink a few minutes ago, but they were clear with warning right then. He might not win in a fight with her right now, but that wouldn’t always be the case.

Katherine rolled her eyes then, looking every bit a petulant teenager. “This is not about a show of force, Tyler,” she said, shoulders heaving with a put-upon sigh. “If that were the case, your body would be broken into a couple hundred easy to assemble pieces and this bar would be condemned.”

Leaving her leg right where it was, she reached over for her glass and sipped. “Why don’t you have a seat?” she suggested, watching him over the rim. “Have another drink. They’re free, after all.”

Tyler considered her words and then rolled his eyes so hard, that they almost fell out of his head. Or at least that’s what Carol Lockwood would have said, if she had witnessed it. With obvious annoyance, he sat down on his stool again, his spectacularly bitchy retreat ruined.

Not having much choice if he wanted to live, he glared at her through the mirror across from them, ignoring the drink that the bartender had automatically brought for him. “What do you want? You can’t find me that fun to mess with.”

Katherine smiled at him in a way that was very reminiscent of Elena- and it was easy. Being Elena was easier each time she put the mask on, in fact. “Well... I suppose there is something I want from you,” she said, eyes wide as she sipped her drink. “But... You’re not going to like it. At all.”

He stared at her blankly for a second. If he pretended, he could almost pretend that it was Elena that he was talking to, the Elena he had known before her parents’ car crash, the one that had dated his best friend and he had grown up with. But then he blinked and he remembered once again who he was dealing with. “Stop that,” he demanded, annoyed that he let himself forget for even one second who she was. “Stop fucking around. What do you want?”

Ah, down to the fun part. Katherine grinned at Tyler, watching him through the mirror intently. Now she’d lay her terms down and give him a chance to counter. She loved negotiating- It was so much like foreplay, just way more ruthless.

“I want you and your bitch to leave both me and Damon Salvatore alone once the full moon comes around. And in return, I will ensure that the both of you are shielded from him.”

“Shield us from him?” Tyler asked, eyebrow raised high. “What makes you think we need you to put a buffer between us?” The question was asked in amusement. Damon Salvatore might be a big bad scary vampire that ripped out people’s hearts, but Tyler had seen the power that Caroline had over him. So long as he kept Jules from doing something rash, they were safe.

“Come on, that’s the best you can offer?” He asked, looking at her directly instead of through the mirror.

“Less a buffer than a direct line of defense,” Katherine said matter-of-factly. “You might think that your little girlfriend can control him, but she really can’t. She’s not strong enough, and no matter how much he might like how she licks his lollipop, when push comes to shove, he’s got more than a century of strength on her and one hell of a temper.” One corner of her mouth crept up in a smile. “Want to take a guess at how much I have on the both of them?” Yes, she was bragging a little, but the truth remained- the only vampire from Mystic Falls here that rivaled her in age was Annabelle. Even if Damon had friends, which was a shock to anyone who knew him, she was still stronger, faster, and more willing to make the tough choices.

“But really, that was just a jumping off point to begin negotiations.”

Tyler almost lunged at her at the implication she was making about Caroline and Damon. He wanted to call her a liar and maybe throw the shot glass at her head and hope that he got glass in her eyes, but self doubt made him stop. If Caroline was with Damon now, that would explain why she had gotten so pissed at him when he had spilled the beans on Damon's impending death back home.

He felt sick to his stomach at the thought. Tyler was already starting to sober up because of his healing, but he didn't want to think about the possibility that Katherine wasn't bullshitting him. So he took the drink and slung it back. "So you keep Damon at bay and we don't come after your ass on the full moon. How do I know you're not going to just try killing us later, whenever we stop being fun to mess with?" He finally asked, looking down at the bar top.

Well, Katherine wouldn’t be killing anyone she wasn’t allowed to kill already because of her deal with Emmanuelle, but Tyler didn’t need to know that. “If Damon makes a move toward either you or your bitch, I will intercept him, and ensure your safety, yes,” she said, finishing her drink and calling for another, as well as another round of shots for Tyler. “And come the full moon, the two of you forget I even exist.”

She turned to watch Tyler for a moment, brow creased in thought. “I don’t suppose my word would be good enough for you, would it?”

He raised his eyebrow at her. “The word of the woman that signed my uncle’s death warrant and sealed my fate as a monster for the rest of my life? Let me think about that.” The sarcasm was obvious. He had no reason or desire to trust her. He didn’t even want to talk to her, but it wasn’t like he could just walk out of there. She was still stronger than him and if he tried walking out of there without her say so, he knew she would just stop him. The whole leg barring his route thing had been a cute little show of warning. Drunk or not, he knew the threat she held.

“No,” he finally said, when he deemed enough time had passed. “No, I’m not taking your word.” A brief little pause and he added, “She isn’t my bitch. What makes you think I’m even in charge of this whole thing? You would be better off talking to Jules.” He might keep Jules in line, but it was only because she let him. Tyler had no delusions about who was in charge when it came to their pair.

Katherine cocked her head to the side, watching Tyler without arguing. “What do you want then?” She could by quite direct when she wanted to be and this was one of those times. “If I wanted to deal with Jules, I would be dealing with Jules.”

Grinning a grin that showed off his teeth, he said, “I want you dead instead of my uncle. Second you can pull that trick off, well, it’s not like you’ll need to make this deal then anyway.” Tyler turned toward the bartender as she raised the bottle to fill his glass again. “Leave the bottle,” he said, still smiling in a somewhat deranged way. Turning back to Katherine, he raised both eyebrows at her. “I’d even settle for you bringing my uncle back. But you can’t. So no deal.”

Katherine rolled her eyes at Tyler again, but she wasn’t surprised. She might have loved Mason, but there was no way she was trading the life she’d worked so hard for so many centuries to keep for anyone, not even him. “If I could bring him back, I would, but certainly not for you,” she muttered darkly into her glass.

"Then you have nothing I want," Tyler said honestly, shoulders slumping in defeat. He had hoped she had known a spell or something that could have helped, but he wasn't surprised that the answer had been no. He didn't believe that she had really cared for his uncle, so why would she bother to bring another wolf into the picture now even if she did know of something that could have helped?

Katherine sat back and considered things for a few moments before turning to face Tyler. “Give me a month to see if I can pull it off,” she said, eyes narrowed in thought. “There may be a way- if you talk to the right people.”

It was a long shot, yes- She hadn’t exactly been making many friends while in town, but there was still a chance. And if it was possible, she’d certainly be negotiating for a much longer reprieve.

For a moment all he could do was stare at her. What did he have to lose? He hadn’t intended on going after her anyway this full moon, maybe not ever. But she didn’t need to know that. But Jules was another issue and he would have to be careful when he talked to her about this. He considered his options, before nodding.

“One month. And if you pull it off, we can figure what we’re doing next month. And I want you to keep Damon away from both me and Jules. Deal?” Tyler asked, turning fully in his chair to glare at her. He didn’t dare let any hope show, knowing that she would probably take it as a weakness and mock him forever.

“Deal. I’ll rip his heart out myself if he makes a move toward either of you.” Katherine reached over the bar and plucked a pen from the passing bartender’s pocket so she could scrawl her number on a napkin. “If he pops up unexpectedly, call me. And I will drop everything to deal with it.”

Her business concluded, Katherine grinned and passed the napkin toward him. “Well, it’s been something, but I’m going to go grab a bite. Enjoy your drink.”

Watching her as she pushed the napkin over to him across the counter, he didn’t make a move to pocket it until after she got up and left the bar. It was only when he was sure she was gone, that he did so, before grabbing the bottle and drinking until it burned. He felt dirty and wrong, but if this brought Mason back, then it would be worth it. He stared at the bottle in his hand, until it started to look blurry.

“My shift’s over,” a woman’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Looking up to see the bartender addressing him, she continued. “So how about you and me get out of here since it looks like your lady friend isn’t going to be going home with either one of us?”

Tyler snorted, knowing that some poor guy or girl out there was about to make the mistake of accepting what Katherine had to offer. They would find themselves dead within the hour. “Count yourself lucky,” he muttered under his breath, before standing with a wobble. Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Let’s go.”