manipulative | deerington contact.

Sexy delivery pizza girl?

( jesus. he blinks at her, eyes wide and mouth suddenly going dry. )

You were going to do that?

( jesus. he's pretty sure he would have preferred that over a gun shot wound. he would have preferred almost anything over that. )

Sorry I ruined pizza night.

( or sorry his father had. )

[ rolling her eyes in annoyance, she shifts and places her knee on the side of his bed. ] Stop saying sorry.

[ all she wants is to lift his mood. being shot by his father has to have left a mark on him, and while she knows he probably won't want to talk about it right now... maybe being playful is what he needs right now. other than her, apparently.

she moves to sit on her knees on his lower legs, loosely straddling them. letting out a sigh, it's very clear she's putting it on. feigning disappointment, ] I was kind of planning on being a sexy nurse for Halloween, but you're very good at ruining my plans.

[ she curves her fingers around his leg beneath the sheets in what she hopes is a comforting touch. ]

Mmm. Sorry.

( this time when he says it, he smiles, stretching out underneath her and closing his eyes to enjoy the solid weight of her and her touch. )

Halloween's not for awhile though. You're already planning that far in advance?

( yes, he knows she has plans upon plans but five months in advance for a costume is a lot even for her. )

[ peering down at him in amusement, she's glad that this time when he closes his eyes, it's not because he's in any incredible pain. she doesn't feel any surge of worry; his heartbeat still sounds pretty healthy and steady in her ears. ]

I've had a lot of time on my hands. [ she shrugs a shoulder, keeping her hands near his knees. ] I could be a nurse, school teacher, or even a very classy lady from the 1800s.

[ has she told him she'd gotten a few of her corsets from 1864? that may have slipped her mind. ]

You've already been a very class lady from the 1800s, haven't you?

( when she was actually living in the 1800's, that is. he smiles, laughing quietly. )

I think you left all your dresses back in that time period.

[ biting her lips, she tries to hide away her smile. ] That's... not exactly the case anymore.

[ it's far better to talk to him about the dresses she'd received than to debate him on whether she truly was a "classy" lady in the 1800s. she's certain shacking up with two brothers and flirting with other men doesn't quite fit the bill. ]

I actually received a few outfits from my past last month. Scarily in perfect condition.

[ it would've been plenty ironic if she had been wearing the corset she had worn the last night they had together in 1864 when giuseppe originally interrupted their fun time. ]

Really?

( huh. he's not surprised that she'd received a few gifts from this town but what he is surprised about is the type of gift she'd gotten. )

The entire outfit or just the dress?

The entire outfit.

[ why does she feel like she's about to cross a line here? probably because she already crossed one the moment she decided to slip into her lingerie with the intention of showing it to him.

sliding her hands along his thighs, she tries to appear nonchalant. ] All I'd have to do is curl my hair like it was in 1864 and I'm pretty sure you'd think I was that girl again.

[ it doesn't matter that she's already been that girl—quite literally, too—with someone else. ]

( he swallows, relaxed by the touch and excited by the words. )

I don't...have any of my clothes from that time. Would you want to do that?

( he breathes in, breathes out, watching her hands move against his thighs. )

With me?

[ ngl, she enjoys him being nervous. ]

What, curl my hair? [ she laughs.

of course, she does know what he's asking. katherine kind of wants to push him to say the words. is that wrong of her? maybe it's a little unfair... but they're friends, so he should be able to ask for whatever he wants to ask for without fearing judgement. ]

Well, yes.

( he clears his throat and reaches down to brush his fingers against her wrist. it's the lightest, barest of touches before he pulls his hand back. )

Would you want to act like we were back then?

[ even though she fully expects him to say what he says, it's still a little surprising to hear him propose they revert back to their 1864 selves. she had kind of thought he looked back on that time with some regret. she did, but not in the way he always postured as resenting his time with her ]

Okay.

[ it surprises her how agreeable she is, and she wears that surprise on her face.

peering down at him with a sly smile, it's a little easy to step back into those corsets of being 1864's lady katherine pierce. ] Mr. Salvatore.

Miss Pierce.

( he can't really bow at the waist but he does bow his head as best he can and smile easily at her. )

A pleasure to see you again. I hope the day finds you well.

( he tries not to laugh at how that sounds after so many years. )

[ he may not try to laugh, but katherine does. it's just so absurdly cute how he seems to try and step back into those shoes he has very fortunately outgrown. ]

It's Miss Katherine.

[ leaning forward, she brushes her hair through his thick hair, as if she can make it grow into what it had looked like so many decades ago. ] I think your hair needs to be a little floppier than this.

I don't think you're going to manage to get my hair to look anything like it did back then. It's not possible.

( his hair was much, much shorter and he wasn't one to wear it down these days. )

Unless I take a shower and I'm too comfortable to do that.

Good.

[ she withdraws her hands and rests them on her thighs. she's pretty comfortable sitting astride him as she is. unable to stay still for very long, she picks at his plaid shirt with her fingers, tugging it slightly as if it's not sitting right against her.

glancing down for a moment to run her thumb across a thick dark line on the fabric, she feels a touch shy when she admits, ] Because I'm very comfortable, too.

[ looking up at him, she purses her lips and shrugs a shoulder. ] And if you passed out, I would leave you there. I've had enough of carrying you around, Stefan.

(does she know the words that are about to come out of his mouth? she should since he's said them a lot. )

I'm sorry.

( he sighs, looking away and feeling terrible that he caused so much damage tonight. he knows his father had been the one to really ruin things but he hadn't helped. )

But thank you for helping me.

[ katherine groans, annoyed, and shifts on him so that she can sit astride his hips. she uses that as her vantage point to shove at his shoulders. she's exasperated and amused, ] Stop.

[ tugging at the shirt she wears, she straightens it so that she can at least look presentable while wearing lingerie and his shirt while sitting astride him. she makes it work. ]

You're welcome. [ said a little awkwardly.

brushing her hair over her shoulder, katherine seems to settle down with the fidgeting with her hands clasped in her lap. focusing on his neck, she tries to appear in control when she feels possibly as frayed, if a little less, than him. ] I think I may have made things worse... coming in the way I did. I could've thought about announcing myself for a little longer.

[ it seemed as though the moment giuseppe heard her voice, he changed tack with stefan. she'd endangered him when all she'd wanted to do was find out why his bedroom door was closed and locked. ]

Or he would have done the exact same thing that he did and no one would have been there to realize it and I would have bled out.

( stefan's of the mind that his father was always going to show up and hurt him. he was always going to think that would be the way to fix his mistake and keep him away from those he thought of as evil and monstrous.

even if stefan was one of those people now. )

I don't think you coming in or not was going to change what happened. He was there for that reason, Katherine. You being there just meant someone was around to help me after it happened.

[ she wants to say he'd be all right if she hadn't been there, that maybe giuseppe would've chosen to shoot him once rather than twice… but she doesn't know. that's the thing, no one knows how it would've played out without her interference.

the conversation was making her feel a little uncomfortable. her, helping stefan? all she's used to is hurting him. she doesn't want to be that person anymore, but... she feels like it's wrong of her not to be.

looking at him, her gaze lowers. ] I was very scared. [ turns out, that sounds very difficult for katherine pierce to say. she then narrows her eyes, disliking that she's opted to say that rather than threatening him to ensure he never dies again lest she murder him herself.

lifting her gaze, she tilts her chin up defiantly and arches her brow, ] If you do it again, I won't put on my corset. [ she tugs at his plaid shirt as if she hadn't buttoned it up to hide most of what she was wearing away. ] Or let you see anything else.

Edited 2020-05-06 10:03 (UTC)

Hey.

( stefan focuses on her admitting that was scared rather than anything else. he sits up, careful not to jostle her free of her perch on him but he wants to be closer to her. )

I'm not going to leave you alone.

( he says it quietly in a tone that brokers no argument. he's not. that had been close before but he doesn't plan on dying. )

I promised and I intend to keep that promise, no matter what.

( she'd been alone enough in her life. )

[ she does everything in her power to not move back when he sits up. she wants to. it's a natural instinct of hers to lean back when someone comes too close, and given what he says next… she really does feel like running away.

a part of her does wish he hadn't remembered that.

swallowing thickly, she grits her teeth and presses her lips into a thin line. ]

That was only for Klaus.

[ it's really weak, considering that that man hasn't been so much as a significant blip on her radar since stefan informed her he was unfortunately here. maybe stefan had something to do with it, or maybe deerington was keeping an eye out for her.

but it's still very, very weak. he hadn't left her alone with nadia or after she left that first night when he could've. ]

So, does that mean you want me to leave you alone?

( does she always have to fight? does she always have to take something very vulnerable that she'd said and try and deflect that she'd said it?

he shakes his head. )

It wasn't only for Klaus. You know that.

( and so does he. )

[ having had to fight for everything she's ever had has ingrained in her the need to fight for everything. fight for what she wants, fight for what she doesn't want, and to fight people who threaten to upset the balance she's created for herself that's worked in her lonesome for so many centuries.

fighting stefan does feel somewhat natural. what's most organic for her is only letting him in some way before ensuring there's distance between them.

quietly, ] No, I don't want you to do that. [ it's very hard for her to admit as much, even though she wants to and knows she has to.

she can't help her sigh. she's frustrated at him for being shot and still trying to look out for her, and she's mostly annoyed at herself.

brushing her hair away from her face, she fiddles with the collar of her shirt before she drops her hand. ] And I know that.

Do you wish you hadn't said that to me?

( about being alone, he means. he has a feeling she wishes she'd kept that to herself even if it had been the catalyst he'd needed to go to the hospital. it had accomplished what it was meant to. )

I don't want to leave you alone either. You don't have to fight me.

( even if it was ingrained and instinctual, he wants her to know that she doesn't have to constantly press back against him. )

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