Who: Klaus & Katherine What: Another infamous Klaus encounter When: Tonight Where: At a jazz bar Rating/Warnings: Language, murder mentions, the usual with a vampire and Klaus Status: Complete!
Katherine was irritated.
Dangerous territory to be in, especially for this particular vampiress - but she wasnât sloppy, wasnât reckless, and was careful in regards to needless kills (she wanted to draw a line between who she was here, and who she was there). It was only for the feed, only to those who deserved it, and thanks to Ezio she had a gourmet list to make into a buffet. Tonightâs feast ended in with a side of excess brutality but no worries, she had someone on fucking speed-dial to take care of the evidence so she could re-apply lipstick in peace, fluff those voluminous curls, and adjust her tits (when she went out for dinner, she went out in style, duh) before swinging into a nearby watering hole.
Some place relatively clean, mind you - the neighborhood she came from had cracks filled with roaches and urban decay, and she needed to breathe in air that wasnât scented with urine. Inside, the bar was sultry and dim, and the small stage had a three-person brass band playing slow off-key jazz. It smelled of cigars and bourbon, and Katherine approached the bar to get exactly that.
Well, just the bourbon, anyway. Alcohol didnât taste like it used to. It didnât even get her drunk, but it was extra filler to keep her full for later - that bloodlust was ever present, a quiet roar she did her best to shush for appearances.
âThanks, sweetness,â she winked to the bartender, legs crossed and as she flipped those silky curls over her shoulder. She passed him cash for a tip - she wasnât hurting for money, there wasnât a point to compel someone when they needed to rely on the generosity of strangers to make ends meet anyway. Katherine was sympathetic, despite that simmering irritation.
Sort of.
Niklaus had only been back in Orange County for a few days and this was already about his fifth trip to a bar. His siblings had all been welcoming, which of course Klaus had been expecting. While he hadnât spoken to Esther and Mikael since he left all those years ago, even when he returned for Kolâs wedding, he had kept in touch with his siblings. However, being in just the same area as his parents? Drinking was a necessity. Not to mention it was how he was dealing with everything that had happened in New Orleans.
Speaking of New Orleans, this particular bar moderately reminded him of it. It was probably the jazz music. And then he spotted her, first those curls, followed by her other assets - namely her breasts, and finally her face. Elijah had mentioned she was back in town, and while Klaus hadnât really cared one way or another if he saw her again or not, he wasnât going to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.
He made his way over to the bar, slipping onto the stool next to her, a smirk on his face. âKatherine,â he greeted before turning his attention to the bartender ordering a bourbon for himself.
Fuck.
That aforementioned irritation? It skyrocketed, all thanks to the appearance of the cause - Katherine didnât have to turn and confirm what she knew, she recognized that voice even if it lacked the foreign lilt that terrorized her in her own hellish supernatural teen novel of a dreamscape. And several things crossed her mind, briefly.
First - snap his neck. No, donât do that, youâd have the whole fucking Mikaelson horde after you and thatâs a headache.
Second - compel him to go away. Whatâs the point? If heâs here, heâll dream. If he dreams, he turns. If he turns then heâll remember any compulsion he was under as a human. A sure way to get on the shitlist of a maniac.
Third - pretend to be Elena. Snore. Drinking vervain while in the sun without her amulet was preferred.
The fourth option was to deal. Deal and try not to squeeze her glass so tight that itâd shatter under the pressure. Elijah had warned her he was around, and she planned to avoid him at all costs because why the hell even bother? She escaped him for five hundred years once upon a life, youâd think she could escape him here too.
âKlaus,â was her unenthusiastic greet in return. Klaus smelling human, Klaus so vulnerable with veins to sink her pearly white fangs into. What a concept.
If she had gone the pretending to be Elena route Klaus would have no idea what the fuck was going on. He did not know Elena, nor did he care to. And yes he preferred not to have his neck snapped or be compelled. Not that he even knew what compulsion was. However, he wasnât sure what was with the tone. It had been years since their little fling. It may not have ended on the best terms, but wasnât it time to let that go? Maybe even have some fun liked they used to.
âLet me buy you a drink,â he said smirk still on his face. Yes, he was choosing to ignore her tone, for now at least.
When her head turned the mere slightest to catch a glimpse of him, she didnât see the ex-fling from her football model months - fuck no. Katherine he saw the original hybrid, the one that massacred her family because she wouldnât willingly sprawl on a silver platter ready to be a human sacrifice. The one that compelled her to stay in that shitty apartment, stabbing herself over and over, the one that chased her for five hundred years.
That was a lot of shit to put on someoneâs shoulders, especially when Niklaus hadnât a clue what heâd done in another life. It wasnât exactly fair, but, well. That was life, wasnât it?
But sheâd be hush-hush about it like the class-act she was. Maybe if he was actually going to stick around, heâd get to see all the terrible things heâd done over the span of a thousand years - just like she did. âGo on, then,â she replied, smiling, but it was deceptively mirthless, hiding secrecy and dripping just the tiniest drops of venom. âBuy me the next one. I donât sip.â
That drink went down her throat and there was nothing, not a tingle that she felt - it didnât warm her like it used to, didnât give her that sweet buzz. It was water to her.
Klaus raised a brow as he watched Katherine down the drink. He remembered her liking her liquor but this seemed to be a whole other level. There was something different about her that he couldnât quite place. Oh well, he didnât really care either. He just wanted to have a bit of fun.
Klaus signaled the bartender back over. âSheâll have another one,â he ordered. âAnd Iâm still waiting for mine.â Patience wasnât one of Klausâs virtues. Then his attention was back on the brunette. âSo what brings you here, all by yourself, love?â
Love. Oh, barf. Donât make her vomit in the tumbler. âHaving a drink, duh,â Katherine stated the obvious. âBut not in a mopey way - Iâm about to go see my boyfriend in a bit.â What a strange word that rolled off her tongue. She liked it, though. It was about time she settled for someone without the dramatics, and someone who wasnât from her dreams.
And someone who didnât have a brother.
She had bad luck with siblings. Must be a curse. âAnd youâre here because?â
Boyfriend? Klausâs brow shot up. That was not something he thought he would ever hear Katherine say. And it also meant buying her a drink was probably a waste of his time, and money, the little he had left. It was too late to go back on it now, but that would certainly be the only drink he was buying her tonight.
âWhy isnât your boyfriend here with you?â he couldnât help but ask, because yeah that was a little odd. âHaving a drink,â he responded to her question, a smirk on her face as he shot her own words back at her. Although he didnât add the âduhâ. âI thought that was fairly obvious.â
Dropping several proverbial bombs would be fun, wouldnât it, just to see Klaus squirm like a little bitch for once - itâd be immensely gratifying, but there was a little voice in her head that told her donât. A little voice in her head that said youâve done bad things in them too, and look what it turned you into. Telling him what he could eventually become wasnât her job, anyway, and her plan was to steer far, far away from it all.
So no bragging about how she bit into someoneâs neck, drank them dry and dropped their body on the floor. Katherine would have to play it nonchalant - she could manage. âHeâs a scientist,â she said, deciding to gloat about her genius beast instead, and crossed her arms with the tiniest of smirks playing on her lips. âHeâs having a long, long night at work, and Iâm going to give him a long, long night in bed to ease the stress.â
A scientist. Was that supposed to impress him? Intimidate him? It just sounded dull and pathetic. Katherine could do so much better. But if she wanted to date and fuck some loser who was Klaus to stop her? Clearly their fling would stay in the past, and that was just fine with him. If Katherine was fucking her brother, well that would be another story.
âWell then,â Klaus replied finishing off his drink and signaling for another. âDonât let me keep you.â Best she didnât waste his time either. If she wasnât going to give it up tonight he might as well move on to someone that would.
âI never did,â she replied, winking at him with her coquettish charm. Katherine swirled her second drink - all thanks to Niklaus Mikaelson, the âgentlemanâ paying for it - before knocking it back. âDonât spend too much money on the ladies trying to get your dick hard, Klausy. Youâre going to want to save the funds for yourself when things get a little weird for you. Youâll thank me for the advice later.â
She looked so smug on the outside but on the inside, she was screaming a little.
Because all she could remember were the faces of a family that werenât even hers here. A family whose blood was splattered all over her childhood home in Bulgaria, from her father pinned to the wall by a blade and her mother, her sister. All slaughtered by him. Klaus had driven her to vampirism, left her an orphan, and had been the reason why she ran and ran for five hundred fucking years.
How would he end up here if he saw it all?
Shit was always weird, and complicated and just a plain fucking mess whenever his family was involved. If it wasnât for Freya and Kol he would have already left. He saw his older sister so little, that he certainly wasnât going to waste an opportunity to spend time with her. And Kol was just Kol. Regardless of the siblings he did want to spend time with, it was already causing an intake in his alcohol consumption. Katherineâs warning meant nothing to him.
âThanks for the tip,â his tone was dripping with sarcasm. He didnât even bother dignifying the rest of her words with a remark. Klaus had no problem finding companionship for the night. He didnât need to defend that. âNow run along to your little boyfriend.â
âGladly,â was her cheerful quip, and look, she even blew him a condescending kiss. âThanks for the drink, Klausy, you always did know how to treat a lady.â Sarcasm, clearly, because why the fuck would Katherine Pierce ever genuinely offer him kind words? They didnât exactly âendâ things on best terms.
How fitting for them.
Her pinky caught the strap of her purse as she got up to leave. âHope you have fun during your stay.â