Kol heard that trace of bitterness in her tone and he hated that it had to be there. Oh, he understood it, better than he would have liked, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He hated the way things had turned out for him, the way Bekah always ended up being dragged through the mud. Nik could do whatever he liked to him, but he needed to leave her alone for awhile. But he doubted that would happen, should some certain mood strike his brother just so. Love him as he did, Nik really drove him crazy sometimes. "I don't think anyone would ever put up with me long term," he said, tone a bit lighter, trying to lighten the mood if only slightly. "And you shouldn't be."
That little glimmer of hope in her eyes was enough to get to him. No one could get to Kol quite the way his sister could. Whatever part of him that wanted to doubt, to tell her he wasn't really sure about anything with Nik anymore, it was overshadowed by a need to not entirely crush that tiny sliver hope she had. And maybe, just maybe, Nik could prove his personal assumptions wrong. "No," he shook his head, "I don't think he could mean all of it." Kol could lie with the best of them and just hoped that she couldn't pick it out, just this once. He just wanted to let her have her hope. "It's not pathetic," he assured her, "It's normal. It shouldn't be such a fight to get him to admit that, not to us." But it always was.