manipulative | deerington contact.

[ she knows he's behind the door.

the more she focuses on it, the more she can smell his very comforting and familiar scent. that's all she can get—just stefan's scent. whoever's on the other side lacks one. just like her mother had and just like nadia, she can't pick up on who it could be behind that door with him.

it has to be fireflies. one glance down at the base of the door and she can see a faint red glow.

maybe it's damon being an asshole. it's definitely not lily—katherine may not know the woman, but she's often right about people; she wouldn't dare come back.

unsure of what to do, she lets out a frustrated breath. she does think to pull at the doorknob again. that rattling doesn't come, although katherine does stay on the opposite side of the door for a few more moments.

something's wrong, but she has a feeling opening that door isn't the best option right now. it's locked for a reason. maybe that reason belongs to stefan's. ]

I'm going downstairs. [ she purposefully sounds resigned.

if they look down, they'll see that shadow beneath the door linger before it disappears. katherine doesn't go downstairs. she doesn't even leave the hallway. she simply takes a step and rests her back against the wall beside his doorframe, listening. ]

( she doesn't leave and stefan knows she doesn't leave. while his father might not be able to hear that she's still there, stefan can but stefan doesn't let on.

his father gives it a few moments to make sure that she's gone before he finally says something. )

I would have hoped that, after everything, you wouldn't be associating yourself with her kind any longer.

( never mind that stefan was her kind and he'd demonstrated that when he'd killed his own father after his father had killed him. stefan swallows. )

She's leaving. She doesn't need to be involved.

( maybe she will leave if she hears stefan say that. or maybe she won't. she probably won't. giuseppe sighs, giving his head a shake. )

It was you who involved her in the first place, son, wasn't it? You were the reason all of this happened because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself.

[ giuseppe?

katherine frowns as she listens, trying to conclude just who had closed and locked that door and why. she can't imagine stefan doing it, unless he didn't want her to walk in (or his father to walk out) and start another vampire roundup in deerington.

giuseppe had to have done it. he has always tried to be stefan's puppeteer because he failed to snare damon. he'd always been kind and gentlemanly with her, but he was domineering and possessive… two traits damon ironically inherited from him.

she has half a mind to barge through the door, but katherine only inhales deeply to stop herself. she doesn't care what giuseppe says of her. she's never really cared for giuseppe in the first place.

very, very quietly, ] Stefan.

[ she doesn't expect him to talk back to her. if he does, he'll upset his father, but… she wants him to know she's here. he may be with the parent who had always wanted him, but she's not leaving him with the first person he killed as a vampire. ]

( stefan hears her but he doesn't say anything, of course. he stands still, spine straight while he meets his father's eyes. he can't let him see any kind of weakness or he knows this will go...worse than it might already go.

he swallows. )

It's good to see you, son.

( stefan finally shakes away his touch, stepping back and scoffing. ) Is it? You killed me.

( and stefan had killed him after he's transitioned because of the woman outside his door. )

I was trying to do you a favor, Stefan. Look what's happened to you because of that night, because of that woman.

( giuseppe sighs, crossing his arms and keeping himself in front of the door just in case someone tried to come in. )

And it seems that lesson didn't really stick at all, didn't it? I thought I only had one son to be disappointed in. It appears that it was actually two.

[ every single thing giuseppe says about her slides off of her like it's water. the only father figure who can actually hurt her with his words has come and gone and left damage in his wake.

giuseppe can only hurt stefan, and that's what she tries to listen for. just as she had with lily, she desperately tries to focus on stefan so she knows when (and if) to step in. but there's a difference between his mother and father. lily had never meant to intentionally hurt him but had done so by mistake with her own fumbling and poor excuses. despite not being a ripper or vampire, giuseppe is far worse. he possessed a power no supernatural creature could hold; that's what always made him such a domineering figure in mystic falls.

there's a reason why these remnants of their past have come to them over the course of the last few weeks, and that's closure. that's all she find she wants for him—something that can help him heal. ]

( even now, when he knows he's stronger and more powerful than his father, he feels meek. he feels like he should lower his head and nod and act like the dutiful, scolded son. he doesn't but god, he hates that he wants to.

his posture slumps the tiniest bit but it's enough for giuseppe to notice. it's a victory in his eyes because he knows his words are having an effect. )

We can fix this, though. You and I together. That's why I'm here. To make things as they should be.

( the smile he gives stefan is thin and lacks any sort of happiness. it's a forced, fake. stefan's given enough of those in his life to recognize them. he shakes his head. )

There's nothing to fix. I am what I am and she is not the villain.

( his father's reaction is immediate. he steps closer and grabs stefan's shirt, yanking him closer. )

She is. And you will see that before I leave this place.

[ she hates that her heart pounds hard in her chest. giuseppe has always been one of the easiest and hardest men to read. he's arrogant and forceful even about the most basic of things. she wishes she could see through the door to know what's going on physically in there. she swears she hears some immediate movement, but she can't be sure.

stefan can handle himself. he's not a young man who has no idea how the world even works anymore. he's seen it and he's experienced it. she has to hope that he won't falter as she did with her own father, but even she knows, deep down, that that's inevitable.

pushing herself off the wall, she steps closer to the door as quietly as possible. placing her palm against it, she reaches for the knob but doesn't touch it or move it. she can easily push it down, but she wants to make sure stefan isn't near where it could fall and crack. ]

Let go of me.

( stefan shakes himself free, giving his father a shove to put some distance between the two of them. giuseppe has no choice but to move, eyeing stefan when that true nature shows itself. )

I'm sorry. ( stefan knows he shouldn't say that but he does. he does and he hates himself but he does. this man is still his father despite everything.

giuseppe eyes him for a long moment before straightening and brushing dirt off his shirt very deliberately. )

It's all right. Emotions are running high and I know that my arrival here is a surprise.

( to say the least. )

It doesn't have to be like this. She is not a bad person and you would see that if you gave her a chance.

(giuseppe moves closer again, hands at his sides. one slides into the pocket of his jacket casually. this time, his smile is slightly gentler. )

And what do you suggest? We all have dinner together? Drinks? I don't think so. You see, she made you into a monster and that...thing killed me. I would have expected it from Damon but not from you.

( he sighs, disappointment written all over his face. ) But you've made a mistake. And I'm here to fix that mistake.

[ the one thing she knows about giuseppe salvatore is that he shot his sons the moment they revealed to be traitors to his cause. they stopped being blood relations to him in that very moment. she doubts a century and a half has healed that particular wound for him, so it leaves her wondering what fixing stefan's mistake might even mean.

not wanting to risk his father actually coming here with a stake in his pocket, katherine turns and easily shoulders the door, shattering that lock. his door is going to require a bit of a fine-turning later.

appearing as poised as ever, despite having just broken a door wide open, katherine smiles sweetly. ] Mr Salvatore. [ her voice is high and overly sweet, sounding very much like how she used to greet him in 1864. ] What a pleasant surprise.

[ looking at stefan and finding him to at least be in one piece with no blood seeping from his body, she throws her hand over her shoulder and continues to act flippantly. ] You do know your door was locked, right? A bit unsafe, don't you think?

[ while she thinks to walk over to stefan, she remains where she is between giuseppe and the door. ]

( both men startle at katherine's sudden entrance. stefan because he'd been so focused on his father, he hadn't heard her getting closer and giuseppe because he just hadn't known she was there.

but, now that he does, he puts himself between her and stefan, clearly not caring about how powerful she is. )

That's because I was having a private conversation with my son. You were not invited.

( not that that's stopped her as evidence by the broken door. giuseppe sighs, shaking his head and glancing back at his son. )

I had hoped I would never see you again. I'm sure I would have gotten my wish if you hadn't slithered your way into my son's head and manipulated him.

( stefan stiffens and finds his voice. ) She didn't. I made my choice. She had nothing to do with what happened.

( even if that wasn't technically true, stefan says it anyway. )

She turned you into this...monster, boy. A traitor to your own kind. You were such a slave to your own baser instincts that you killed your own father.

( he's just going to conveniently ignore what he'd done to stefan and damon. )

Edited 2020-05-02 01:53 (UTC)

[ she looks to stefan and gives him a small shake of her head. no, stop. wasting his breath with his father over her isn't worth it.

what she doesn't want is stefan trying to rewrite history so that she comes off as softer and kinder than what she truly was. she doesn't deserve it. she also doesn't want it. she'd come to the salvatores with the intention of having a little fun playing cat and mouse and being chased by someone as gorgeous as stefan, all the while doing her best to try and get five hundred steps further in front of klaus. what she hadn't planned for was to fall for him.

but what giuseppe says is true, and all three of them know it. ]

And you killed your favourite son. [ she purses her lips together, looking at giuseppe's back judgementally. tsking, she shakes her head. ] Guess the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree after all.

You poisoned his mind and here you are, doing it again. Why do you think I'm here? I love my son.

( in some warped way, that was probably true. he did love stefan. )

And whatever you're doing with him I cannot abide by. Maybe he's too weak too see it, too blinded by his own desires but I see it. I see through you and I will not let you continue to play your games with him. Because that's what this is, isn't? A game?

( it had been in 1864 and giuseppe does not think anything's changed now. )

I will have you know that I will do everything to protect him from you.

[ although she knows he's goading her, she easily steps into it. it's better to have him take his anger out on her than it is to have him target stefan. after all, he can't hurt her. anything he says has the high chance of sliding into stefan's ribcage and piercing his heart like a stake.

while she does feel the need to protest and defend their relationship, she knows its fruitless. this is giuseppe salvatore, a man who thinks he knows everything despite having had no clue he was housing a vampire who fed and compelled both of his sons. perhaps the best way to deal with this is to be the monster he thinks and knows her to be. he won't take her seriously if she comes to him as a girl or woman.

brows furrowing together, she tilts her head to the side. ] How are you going to do that? You couldn't even protect yourself. [ she shrugs, ] You still can't.

( he doesn't need to protect himself anymore. he's dead and gone and if he has to take extreme measures to protect his son and take him out of a world where she exists, he will.

so, he meets her headtilt with a sharp smile before he pulls something out of his pocket. stefan sees it before she does, raising a hand but only managing to get a sound out before the gun fires and the force of the bullet striking his chest knocks him back and spin him around just enough that the second bullet pierces his back and propels him forward and into the wall where he manages to hold himself up for a second.

the fireflies that brought his father there suddenly appear and then he's gone, still with that sharp smile on his face. )

Stefan!

[ ignoring giuseppe's fleeting arrogant grin, she rushes over towards stefan and holds him to her. the scent of his blood is sharp and rich in the air, and she can feel it starting to dampen her tank top. she doesn't care. all she wants to do is ensure that he doesn't collapse on the ground or crumple and push those bullets further inside of him.

with her palm flat against his collarbone and her other on his abdomen, she turns him so his side presses into her chest. she holds him to her, trying to take all of his weight onto herself. ] Stefan, come on. You need to move. We need to get into your bathroom.

[ she has no idea what she's doing, but she tries to move him into his bathroom. he has to heal. he's going to heal. although bullets hurt a lot less in mystic falls, she remembers how they'd sharply stung and the bulletholes had lingered in her body for more than a day. she knows all too well how healing fluctuates here, so all she wants to do is get him to his bathroom and make him heal. his body is definitely going to listen to her. ]

( it's actually a shock to stefan that his father had actually done that but he doesn't know why he's shocked. hadn't his father done that once before? hadn't he killed both he and damon a long time ago?

and now, here he was again, trying to use violence to solve a problem.

it hurts. it hurts a lot and he looks down to see his blood staining his shirt and dripping down onto the floor. )

I can — I can walk. ( he can walk and he tries to show katherine that by putting one foot in front of the other. except he stumbles, nearly falling down and dragging her with him. )

I'm okay. Just let me — ( sit down. or lay down. he reaches for the wall, trying to hold himself up and not just fall face first onto the ground where he can lay and be comfortable. )

[ it's a good thing she's stronger than him. she lets him flail about until she decides she can't let him do it any longer. manhandling him as gently as possible, she throws her arms around his waist, one behind his back and the other against his front, and holds him to her in a grip that's loose enough to not aggravate his wounds but tight enough to not let him break free from her.

his bathroom feels like it's now light-years away, but she makes sure to drag him there and deposit him onto the toilet. pulling at his shirt, she drags it up so that she can see where his bullet is in his chest. everything is red and sticky, and his skin is stained with his sticky, warm blood. lowering herself to her knees, she kneels between his legs. she pushes herself up so she can try and find where the first bullet is. ]

We need to get the bullets out so you can heal. [ it's all business with katherine. she ignores how her hands shake lightly as she struggles to keep his shirt up. her fingers are already stained with a faint red.

unsatisfied with how his shirt sticks to him and falls down his chest when she tries to drag it up, she holds the hem taut between her fingers. looking up at him, ] How attached are you to this shirt?

( she basically drags him to his bathroom and he knows he tracks blood the entire way. by the time he's there, he's woozy and lightheaded, dizzy and ready to sit down. as soon as he does, he sees spots pop up in front of his eyes and he nearly passes out.

that...must mean it's pretty bad. he barely pays attention to her fussing with his shirt, too focused on staying upright. )

I don't know. It's just a shirt.

( he can get new ones. he reaches up to press a hand over one of the wound, sucking in a sharp, pained breath. there's an answering ache in his back and he can feel blood splotching his shirt and sticking to his skin there too. )

I just need...I'll heal, Katherine. I just need a little time.

Uh huh.

[ wasting very little time, she rips his shirt in half from top to bottom, exposing his bloodied chest to her. if it was any other time, this would've been a rather sexy move, but katherine doesn't think about that as she lifts herself higher onto her knees to try and search beneath all the blood for that first bullet wound. she wants to see if that second one's come out of him, too. so far, there's nothing to indicate it's shot straight through his chest. ]

How about we get the bullets out while you get that time.

[ nudging his hand away from where it seems to shield it from view, she tries to wipe the blood away as if it's capable of no longer oozing out of him. she can't get a good view of what it looks like, but she doubts it's a shallow hole. ]

Edited (donut judge me, i saw an imperfection) 2020-05-02 09:26 (UTC)

I can't believe he shot me again.

( he finds himself wheezing a bit, trying to get a breath and not pass out. he knows he'll heal as long as nothing gets too close to his heart. the bullets aren't wooden so they won't kill him but if he loses enough blood, then he might be in trouble. )

I need a towel.

( to wipe the blood up with or catch the blood or something. he can feel it oozing down his back and chest and every single breath he takes hurts. he's felt pain before but that doesn't mean he's used to it. this hurts really bad. )

[ breathlessly, ] Right.

[ why didn't she think of that?

she hesitates for a moment, understanding that she can't have one hand on his chest and the other reaching for his towel. quickly, she moves away from him and grabs a towel from its rack and brings it over to him. rather than give it to him, she tries to wedge it behind him, knowing that there's another bullet causing blood to pour all down his back. ]

I need to get this bullet out, Stefan.

[ her hands are back on his chest, her fingers trying to smear his blood away like it's water. when she gets to where the wound is, she winces. although she wants to dig her fingers into his torn skin and fish that bullet out, she knows it's going to hurt. she doesn't want to hurt him. doing this means she breaks that vow.

peering up at him, her face pinches. ] This is going to hurt, but it needs to come out so you can start healing.

[ she's waiting for him to say go. ]

( stefan grunts when she shoves the towel behind him. he knows it should be there but it's pressing right against the wound on his back and all he wants to do is move and make it not hurt as bad. his entire torso feels like it's on fire and now she's telling him it's going to hurt worse?

he shudders, bowing at the waste to try and find something to grip onto if it's going to hurt that bad. )

Do it.

( if it needs to be done, she needs to do it no matter how badly it hurts. he doesn't want to die because every pint of his blood oozes out of him because his father was a cold, unfeeling monster. )

[ as if reading his mind: ] Hold onto me if it hurts too bad.

[ she expects it will. what's it to her but a few dark bruises? what happened tonight is a consequence of her actions in 1864. she feels guilty for egging giuseppe on and for not being smart enough to suspect he was here to repeat history once more. out of the two of them, she should've known better. she's the one who studied the man during her time with the salvatores.

shifting on her knees and pushing herself up a little higher, katherine doesn't waste any more time. with one hand on his hip to hold him down if she needs to, she presses her fingers into the wound of his torso and tries to get a grip on the bullet.

thankfully, it doesn't seem to be overly deep, but she can't get her slim fingers around it. it's expectedly wet and bloodied, and despite her attempts to try and dislodge it, she can't get her fingers beneath it to dig it out. all it does is shift inside of him, resulting in more blood to ooze out of his torn skin. ]

( it hurts. it hurts a lot and while he tries to bite down on his jaw and not make a sound, he fails. he gasps and then shouts, grabbing for the side of his sink and cracking it while she digs around in his body for the bullet.

when she pulls back, he's panting hard but he knows she doesn't have the bullet. he can feel it deeper now, shifting and sliding around. stefan swallows, giving his head a shake. )

It's okay. Leave it in there.

( she can't, he knows. but the deeper that bullet goes, the more painful this is going to be and he doesn't know if he can stand too much without passing out. )

[ she frowns, ] And risk you potentially bleeding out?

[ this would be so much easier if she had magic. but considering she lacks it, she has to make up for it in her innovative thinking.

good thing she's done this before. unfortunately, stefan's not her. she has to try and get these two bullets out as quickly as possible or else she risks having him lockdown on being utterly stupid and stubborn. besides, who knows what these bullets from a firefly ghost are made of. she's not taking any chances.

the last time she'd helped him out with dislodging something stuck inside of him, it had been a splinter.

leaning up on her knees, she's hovering over his torso. determinedly, ] I'm getting it out.

[ wasting no time, she digs her fingers of her right hand into his chest and uses her left to try and pick the bullet out. it makes it move, but it's not enough. so, katherine does what she'd done for his splinter—she plants her mouth over his wound and messily coordinates using her fingers and tongue to make it move. ]

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