manipulative | deerington contact.

That's all you can do, Stef.

[ pick yourself up and try again. katherine may come off like everything she does is perfect the first go round, but she had to try and try and try to get the things she wanted. she may posture she always gets what she wants, but it's through her trying that she gets it.

stefan could be an unstoppable force if he lets himself do this.

she smiles warmly at him. ] I think Lexi would be very proud.

Let's see what happens before we start congratulating me. It's one thing.

( and it's probably something he should have done awhile ago, if he was honest. maybe not here but he could have probably sought out other methods of controlling this thing before.

he just hadn't.

he sighs and shrugs one shoulder. )

I'll let you know how it goes though. I don't really know how to do this so I'm just kind of playing it by ear.

[ he's such a pessimist. doesn't he see how big of a step that is? if she can, then surely anyone would think it's right to congratulate him on actually doing something. she understands that he's humble and doesn't think anything he does is really worth a commendation, but that's why she's here. ]

Hmm. [ katherine scrunches up her face, pressing her lips into a thin line as she considers his recommendation they don't congratulate him. she shakes her head, ] Nah.

[ she reaches over to poke him in the shoulder so he can stop shrugging this off.

playfully, she declares, ] I'm older than you and therefore wiser, so if I say we should congratulate you on taking a step, then we are. Deal with it.

And what if I don't deal with it? You're older but that doesn't always mean wiser.

( he's not protesting all that seriously but he is trying to keep expectations low about this because he knows who he is and how easy it is for him to sleep.

but, despite that, he does like that she seems to be pleased. he didn't do it for that but it's a nice benefit nonetheless. )

You're trying. That counts for something, Stefan.

[ it's true. with every one of her failures, she picked herself up and tried again until she succeeded. she's a woman who's survived five centuries of drastic culture changes, a skill that she didn't pick up overnight. so, she's older, wiser, and far more experienced in consistently staying positive when all she'd wanted to do in the face of epic failure was be negative and give up.

with a purse of her lips, she shrugs a shoulder, ] If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. You pick yourself back up and try again until you figure it out.

Yeah.

( he sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. he knows she's right and he's trying to keep an open mind. he blows out a breath and then peers down at her. he's quiet for a few moments before reaching down and brushing some of her hair off her forehead. )

I'll let you know how it goes. ( if there was one person he would keep abreast of everything that happened, it was her. ) I promise.

[ although this is very much her new normal, every time stefan reaches out to touch her, she finds herself taken aback. he treats her like she's a friend, and while that's what she wanted, it's still so strange to be considered one of his confidantes with no strings attached.

she smiles, pleased. ] Good.

[ resting her head against the sheets, she regards him with a very warm close-lipped smile. she lets herself enjoy the fact that she's naked with stefan on his bed and he's sharing something very personal with her. ]

I would love to hear about it. [ her smile stretches into something playful to match her tone, ] And I will take great pleasure in telling you I told you so.

Shut up.

( he says it lightly before giving a strange of her hair a little tug. he shakes his head, dropping his hand back to the bed and sighing. his gaze turns up to the ceiling while he breathes, feeling himself relax a little now that he's told someone. )

There's nothing else to tell right now. Just that. That's all I've done so far.

( but he's glad he told her. )

[ he's so cute. that's what she thinks when he tugs on her hair and acts all sheepish over what she's said. he's cute. ]

It's a step. Better than no steps.

[ it doesn't matter if he's done just that. it's a good just that to do. it's one that she hadn't expected of him, but she's glad he did it. it's not a surprise to her that he's capable of doing that; she'd known it all along.

on an exhale: ] Since we're being open and honest about things… [ now it's her turn to appear sheepish. she looks over his shoulder for a moment. ] I've filled up about ten pages of my diary. [ looking up at him, she does her best to play it off. ] I still think it's stupid.

[ she doesn't. she's not entirely converted yet, but it's something to do. ]

Really?

( he hadn't really asked about the diary since he'd given her to her. he'd just assumed that she'd put it somewhere and hadn't done anything with it but here she was, telling him that she'd actually been using it a lot.

he's surprised. )

Written anything interesting?

[ she's glad he's surprised. it means that he had expected her not to use it, just like she expected she wouldn't use it. she's surprised even herself that she wrote the first entry and has been sporadically keeping up with it. ]

My shopping list. Which I forgot to take with me when I did my shopping because who writes that in their diary?

[ and a few entries about one stefan salvatore, most of them now borderline erotic. he doesn't need to know that. ]

Well, I'm glad you're using it even if a shopping list isn't exactly what a journal's supposed to be for.

( but she's using it and that's something especially for katherine pierce. )

I usually keep those in my phone. Is that all you've written in there?

[ katherine hums, as if she needs a moment to rattle her memory to find what else she's written in her diary. really, she just wants a moment to come up with an answer that doesn't involve saying she's written about him, just in case he asks. ]

No.

[ her tone's light. she looks down at the bedsheet between them then at him, not wanting him to read in her body language that she's avoiding answering his question. what she wants him to read if that she's aloof and using her journal for non-journal purposes. ] I wrote a few times about people, but then I got bored. My hand hurts whenever I use a pen for more than a minute.

( stefan absolutely wants to know if she's written about him but he doesn't think he can outright ask. he waits to see if she'll elaborate and when he doesn't, he smiles. )

Well, I'm glad you're using it. I wasn't sure if you would.

( and even if it's shopping lists and other mundane entries, he's just glad that she's allowing herself to be open minded enough to use it. )

[ she lets out an amused breath. ] I wasn't sure, either. [ that's complete honesty. when he had given her that diary, she had no intention of using it at all. ]

I was going to use it as a doorstop, but I have so many doors, so... I figured I'd try it so I could tell you with evidence it didn't work.

[ and he had bought it specifically for her. maybe it had been a diary he had as a spare for himself, but the fact that he actually brought her one when they'd briefly discussed how she bottles everything up… what kind of person would she be if she was to not at least appreciate his gesture? he tried, it counts for something. ]

Even if it doesn't work for you, it still works for me. I like getting my thoughts out on paper.

( sometimes there were things that he couldn't tell people but at least getting those thoughts out of his head and onto paper meant they weren't weighing on him so heavily. it helped, at least a little bit. )

But I'm at least glad you gave it a try. ( he smiles. ) Thank you.

[ his gratitude makes her feel very awkward, causing her to shift in place. it's a spotlight that she's never really experienced in her long life, and it's one that he seems intent on putting on her. no matter how many times he's all stefan about something, she feels very uncomfortable with him showing that vulnerability to her.

looking down, she picks at his sheets and focuses her gaze on that. ] I did… write about Nadia. Just dot points so I would remember how she felt.

[ she has a very good memory, but she doesn't want anyone to be able to take that away from her. writing it down seemed like the thing to do. ]

I don't know if that's right, but it seemed like the best thing to do. [ so, she did it. ]

Katherine, there's no right or wrong in how you use your journal. It's yours to do with it what you want and if you want to write about Nadia, then it's right.

( and he thinks that's a very good use of her journal. it gets down in writing something important, something she wants to mark. )

But I personally think that's a very good thing to use your journal on. I've used mine on things like that before. Getting events down that I want to remember so I can go back and read it and remember what I felt like that day.

[ his praise makes her feel so shy that she does everything to not hide her face in her hands or his sheets. katherine hadn't wanted to write in the diary he'd given her initially out of fear of not doing it right, and then that fear had transformed into her being intimidated by whatever it is she put pen to paper. she still has no idea how he does it. ]

I've lived over 500 years and I've never written anything down. I was afraid that if I did, someone would find me and then Klaus would then find me and… [ she sighs and rolls her eyes. ] you know that whole story. But now that I don't have to worry about that? It's just scary. You make it look so easy.

[ it's amazing how much of her life has been dictated by this fear of being discovered by one man. even now, she frets putting too many details down to paper means that not only is it real, but someone can use it against her. ]

Katherine, I can't even imagine what it was like to be constantly looking over your shoulder. I don't know how you did it and I'm sure there aren't very many people who would have survived and thrived with a life like that. So, I make it look easy because I didn't have to worry about the things you do.

( because they were legitimate, valid worries. from what he knows of klaus' chase of her, he would have used anything in his power to find her and keep her. )

A journal is for you, Katherine. It's a good way to get thoughts of your head so you don't dwell on them so much. It's a good way to remember important events or maybe mark what you were thinking on a specific day. Use it for whatever you want, whenever you want.

[ god, he has this tendency to completely overwhelm her.

all stefan seems keen on doing is validating every single thing she says when she's spent so long having people invalidate every single thing she's done. klaus chasing her for over five centuries has simply been a mistake on her part. every decision she's made to outrun him has been her fault, with no string tying it back to the original hybrid.

but here's stefan fucking salvatore changing the script, and katherine doesn't quite know how she's meant to navigate that.

so, she goes with instinct. she looks down and brushes the hair from her face for something to do. it gives her a very brief moment to reconsider, but she doesn't quite know how to respond to him other than with a lame thanks.

she shuffles over towards him, and cradles his face in her palm before she leans down to press her lips against his. ]

( stefan knows he hasn't always been this way or seen it from her side of things. he knows he'd been one of the people to throw obstacles in front of her when she came into town for whatever reason. he can't take that back but he can try and be different now.

he wonders if he's said too much or said the wrong thing when she doesn't immediately reply. he isn't trying to say that he knows how she's feeling and an apology is on the tip of his tongue when she kisses him.

it's...warm and familiar, something that he knows he can sink into and escalate or just let happen and be content with. he doesn't press for more because this is more than enough for him. )

[ it was just meant to be a kiss to articulate far more than what she could verbally manage. he's once again rendered her speechless, which is something she hasn't quite prepared for. she doesn't quite know how. planning ahead for an original hybrid, original vampire lover, and even the monsters of deerington is far easier than being able to figure out how to deal with stefan when he's so stefan.

she pulls away, letting her face hover near his. with the hand cradling his face, she lets her fingers trace over his cheekbone and up to his browbone, liking how this mere act relaxes her. it reminds her that he's here, and selfishly, she can only hope it reminds him that she's here, too.

she knows she could climb on top of him and straddle him, but katherine doesn't feel like she needs to. laying half on top of him with him being so open and vulnerable to her is far more than she expected to have.

she looks up at his hair, letting her fingers tease it. quietly, ] You're irreplaceable. You should write that down in your diary so you don't forget it.

( maybe he will. he's certain to write something about this day, he knows, so maybe he will include that.

for now, all he can really do is stare at her, blinking slowly because he hadn't expected her to say that. he doesn't know if it's true or of if he believes her but hearing it said out loud is...something. it's a lot.

stefan swallows, finding it suddenly difficult but finds his voice a few moments later. )

Maybe I will.

( or maybe he'd keep that just for himself, tucked away in his head only to remember it when he needed it the most. )

[ she smiles, feeling rather victorious even if he hasn't outright said he will most definitely write it down. he heard her say it and he acknowledged it, and that's all she can really ask for.

he is irreplaceable. she can count only on one hand and one finger the number of people who would continuously fight for her. if he was anyone else, he'd let her go the very first time she tried to push him away. but stefan remains stubborn to a fault, and she thinks it's paid off for the both of them.

katherine leans down to give him a peck on the lips and then shifts off of him. still lying on her side, she nestles herself against his and lets her fingers trace his clavicle and the muscles of his chest. ]

Your table was very ugly, by the way.

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