[ regardless of how she's felt about lexi, katherine feels saddened by how her loss still haunts stefan. perhaps it always will. damon's plan to win over the town's council didn't have to cost stefan his best friend. she may be callous, but she examines every single potential risk in her plans, and she never would have chosen that as her plan a.
katherine doesn't smile or frown. she looks at stefan with a look of empathy she very rarely wears. ]
( and then an already chaotic and confusing situation had just gotten more so. he hadn't forgotten about lexi but he'd tried to put the thought of seeing her aside, away so he wouldn't consistently have his hopes dashed. )
I got caught up doing other things and I tried not to open the box. I saw Lexi once but I don't think it was guaranteed to be her the next time. It might have been something else. Someone else.
[ because good things don't happen to people like them. that's the thing. despite having that thought when she'd considered opening the box again, she'd done it anyway in the hopes of getting to live that vision for a second time and for perhaps longer.
that'd been stupid and weak of her, but katherine's at least self-aware enough to know she occasionally lets her humanity seep in. ]
Did she still have her ridiculously long hair? [ it's asked kindly, despite her choice in particular words. ]
[ ah! victory—stefan's smiling. his smile could light up a whole room, or even a supermarket aisle. ]
I'm glad you saw her. [ she says that quietly, and finds herself meaning it. ] Lexi was… [ looking up at the top of the opposite shelves, she searches for her word up there. once she finds it, there's an upward quirk to her lips. ] okay.
[ lexi was annoying, a know-it-all, and stefan's guide when katherine wasn't it. she was a good woman who didn't deserve to be collateral damage. so was pearl. ]
[ lexi branson is very low on katherine's list of people to dislike. she'd been arrogant and stuck-up, and a know-it-all when it came to stefan. but she'd been a friend to someone katherine does value; everyone needs their own pearl. katherine can't begrudge lexi for her good effect on stefan.
not that she's telling him any of that. she's grateful he doesn't pry further. ]
She'd know that what you're about to buy is probably not helpful.
[ there's really no judgement in her tone, it something much more playful. if stefan wants to drown his sorrows and his discomfort of being in dream town with liquor, then by all means. katherine has no intention of being inebriated when trying to scope the place. ]
You act like I'm going to go home and drown in this.
( things weren't that bad yet. he hated feeling like he was on his back foot, unable to know what was coming but it's not the worst things that's ever happened to him either. )
It's one bottle. Who do you think I am, my brother?
( damon, who'd been pretty drunk when stefan had found him and who'd decided to stab him because he was damon. )
[ shrugging one shoulder, it's very obvious that katherine's not taking this particularly seriously. ] Sometimes you're interchangeable.
[ that's the most laughable thing anyone could say. damon and stefan are so unalike physically and spiritually that she'd be able to identify them if they happened to switch bodies. damon is playful and childish, hot-tempered to a petulant fault, and a hopeless romantic who would sell his soul just for a kiss. stefan's sensible and withdrawn, and seems to take on the responsibilities of ensuring those around him are safe, even at the detriment of his own romantic heart.
and one can style their hair really well with gel.
throwing her thumb over her shoulder, she turns slightly, ] Have you ever considered dying your hair black? We can go buy some right now…
( that's a no. and he's not even going to dignify the thought of himself and his brother being interchangeable. there are some similarities but overall, they're very different men who have led very different lives with said lives intersecting more often than not. )
[ even though she'd look awful as a blonde, she knows she'd be able to rock it. he's a cheeky shit. ]
Oh. [ she looks and sounds disappointed, even though it's clear she's far from it. ] They're out of blonde hair dye. But I saw them restocking the black...
[ she shifts on her foot as if she's about to lead him out to the beauty aisle, but katherine still doesn't move from the safety of this one. ]
narrowing her eyes, katherine tries to pinpoint a word for damon's thing. it's important it's established—bonding over damon's immaturity is an easy one, in all honestly. ] His petulant tantrums? His childish fits? Is black the new being-a-dick?
( okay, that's not true. his brother had, at one point, been a good, kind person but the world had changed him. people had changed him. and while stefan knew him as a better man than he'd been, he could still be a dick. )
He stabbed me when I got here. I think he's got the market cornered on being a dick.
[ katherine doesn't look surprised, even if she glances down to stefan's abdomen, expecting him to have some sort of bloodied wound seeping through his shirt.
it's typical. they relate to one another in physical violence. sometimes she wonders if they'd extended that to her.
looking up at him with an arch to her brow, ] What did you do to deserve it?
( he can't help but give her an offended look for that one. he hadn't done anything but show up. )
I showed up.
( that was pretty much all he'd had to do. damon had been in a mood and he'd rationalized stabbing him by demonstrating the slower healing here but still. )
[ she arches her brow at what he believes to have been his crime. stefan's capable of far more than that. was it a look he gave damon? his tone of voice? did he give damon a speech on how he can be a better man if he tried? did he buy him a diary?
the skepticism morphs into amused surprise with her eyebrows rising. ] Why can't you boys hug like normal brothers? [ the salvatore boys are so stupid and yet so entertaining. ]
[ it's out of her mouth, accompanied by a jut of her hip and an arch of her brow, before she can even mull it over.
really, at the end of the day, does her feelings and opinions even matter? in 1864, they undoubtedly did. now, though? over the years, she knows they've pushed and pulled her around in some bid for control over her.
( a question for a question. his feelings about her and for her are very complicated just as he knows they have to be the same for her. do they have a relationship? if so, what is it? these are all questions he doesn't know the answer to. )
What do you want from me, Katherine? ( he shrugs, looking around. ) What?
Of course, I like you, Stefan. [ she narrows her eyes in confusion at him, wondering just where this bout of insecurity comes from. doesn't he see how annoyed and immature she gets around him? stefan's presence in her life has always been something tumultuous, but he's been addictive-like blood to a ripper, and, sometimes, a very good influence.
he's much kinder to her than he should be, and, selfishly, she likes that. while it has not always been stefan, he's been someone she has liked being around. he'd been goofy and cute in 1864, and his meaner, more jaded self in the now is still as soft as when he was a human. she likes how he perseveres despite the hopelessness of the situation before him.
it hasn't always been about loving one brother more than the other to spark in-fighting and drawing attention away from herself, but that has been a nifty and handy shield to have. ]
I don't have time for people I don't like.
[ unless they serve a purpose for her, of course. ]
And yet, you come around Mystic Falls so much where I know a lot of people you don't like seem to live.
( he doesn't think she likes him that much that she'd ignore all the people that would gladly try and stake her if she hung around too much. not that that stopped katherine. she does what she wants and always has. )
Does that mean you're a masochist or does it mean something else?
[ this is not a conversation she wishes to have in the aisle of a strange supermarket, but perhaps it's the very venue for such a chat. no one knows who she is or who he is, nor their relationship to one another. it's hardly likely anyone overhearing would run back to whoever it is they run back to in mystic falls and tell on her.
that doesn't mean she's going to answer him honestly, either. she goes back because she goes back—unfinished business... or a home where she has none.
appearing unphased by his question, she tilts her head slightly. ] What do you want it to mean?
[ oh, honey, she likes at least five other people who haven't been murdered yet. two have blue eyes.
focusing on the shelf she stands beside, she lifts her hand up and brushes her fingertip against the price labels. she doesn't like the fact that stefan's feeling curious, and she doesn't like the fact that he feels curious enough to pry. ]
You answered it yourself. You. [ it's said easily. it's not entirely the answer—he's never been the reason why she's come back to mystic falls. the first had been for the doppelgänger and klaus, the second had been for… well, business. ]
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manipulative) wrote2019-12-08 11:16 am
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katherine doesn't smile or frown. she looks at stefan with a look of empathy she very rarely wears. ]
Did you? Open the box again and see her again.
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( and then an already chaotic and confusing situation had just gotten more so. he hadn't forgotten about lexi but he'd tried to put the thought of seeing her aside, away so he wouldn't consistently have his hopes dashed. )
I got caught up doing other things and I tried not to open the box. I saw Lexi once but I don't think it was guaranteed to be her the next time. It might have been something else. Someone else.
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that'd been stupid and weak of her, but katherine's at least self-aware enough to know she occasionally lets her humanity seep in. ]
Did she still have her ridiculously long hair? [ it's asked kindly, despite her choice in particular words. ]
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( he misses her like an ache. something deep in his bones, something that he can ignore but never goes away. )
She's still the same. I don't think anything's going to change that.
( he's come to forgive damon for what he'd done but forgetting? he won't ever do that. )
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I'm glad you saw her. [ she says that quietly, and finds herself meaning it. ] Lexi was… [ looking up at the top of the opposite shelves, she searches for her word up there. once she finds it, there's an upward quirk to her lips. ] okay.
[ lexi was annoying, a know-it-all, and stefan's guide when katherine wasn't it. she was a good woman who didn't deserve to be collateral damage. so was pearl. ]
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( not too many people were okay to her. it took a special person to reach that level but he's not surprised lexi had. )
I miss her.
( as if that wasn't obvious. )
She'd know what to do with this place.
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not that she's telling him any of that. she's grateful he doesn't pry further. ]
She'd know that what you're about to buy is probably not helpful.
[ there's really no judgement in her tone, it something much more playful. if stefan wants to drown his sorrows and his discomfort of being in dream town with liquor, then by all means. katherine has no intention of being inebriated when trying to scope the place. ]
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( things weren't that bad yet. he hated feeling like he was on his back foot, unable to know what was coming but it's not the worst things that's ever happened to him either. )
It's one bottle. Who do you think I am, my brother?
( damon, who'd been pretty drunk when stefan had found him and who'd decided to stab him because he was damon. )
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[ that's the most laughable thing anyone could say. damon and stefan are so unalike physically and spiritually that she'd be able to identify them if they happened to switch bodies. damon is playful and childish, hot-tempered to a petulant fault, and a hopeless romantic who would sell his soul just for a kiss. stefan's sensible and withdrawn, and seems to take on the responsibilities of ensuring those around him are safe, even at the detriment of his own romantic heart.
and one can style their hair really well with gel.
throwing her thumb over her shoulder, she turns slightly, ] Have you ever considered dying your hair black? We can go buy some right now…
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( that's a no. and he's not even going to dignify the thought of himself and his brother being interchangeable. there are some similarities but overall, they're very different men who have led very different lives with said lives intersecting more often than not. )
I'll die my hair black if you go blonde.
( you gonna take that challenge, katherine? )
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Oh. [ she looks and sounds disappointed, even though it's clear she's far from it. ] They're out of blonde hair dye. But I saw them restocking the black...
[ she shifts on her foot as if she's about to lead him out to the beauty aisle, but katherine still doesn't move from the safety of this one. ]
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( so, you can fake leaving all you want, katherine. he's not going anywhere. he's just going to stand there with an amused expression on his face. )
I'll leave the black to Damon. It suits his whole...thing.
( whatever thing he was choosing to be on that day. )
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narrowing her eyes, katherine tries to pinpoint a word for damon's thing. it's important it's established—bonding over damon's immaturity is an easy one, in all honestly. ] His petulant tantrums? His childish fits? Is black the new being-a-dick?
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( okay, that's not true. his brother had, at one point, been a good, kind person but the world had changed him. people had changed him. and while stefan knew him as a better man than he'd been, he could still be a dick. )
He stabbed me when I got here. I think he's got the market cornered on being a dick.
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it's typical. they relate to one another in physical violence. sometimes she wonders if they'd extended that to her.
looking up at him with an arch to her brow, ] What did you do to deserve it?
[ damon's reactive, hardly proactive. ]
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I showed up.
( that was pretty much all he'd had to do. damon had been in a mood and he'd rationalized stabbing him by demonstrating the slower healing here but still. )
I stabbed him in the leg.
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the skepticism morphs into amused surprise with her eyebrows rising. ] Why can't you boys hug like normal brothers? [ the salvatore boys are so stupid and yet so entertaining. ]
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( maybe once upon a time they'd been normal brothers who lived normal lives but that hadn't been the case for awhile. )
You wouldn't like us if we were normal.
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[ it's out of her mouth, accompanied by a jut of her hip and an arch of her brow, before she can even mull it over.
really, at the end of the day, does her feelings and opinions even matter? in 1864, they undoubtedly did. now, though? over the years, she knows they've pushed and pulled her around in some bid for control over her.
and also because they're assholes. ]
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( a question for a question. his feelings about her and for her are very complicated just as he knows they have to be the same for her. do they have a relationship? if so, what is it? these are all questions he doesn't know the answer to. )
What do you want from me, Katherine? ( he shrugs, looking around. ) What?
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he's much kinder to her than he should be, and, selfishly, she likes that. while it has not always been stefan, he's been someone she has liked being around. he'd been goofy and cute in 1864, and his meaner, more jaded self in the now is still as soft as when he was a human. she likes how he perseveres despite the hopelessness of the situation before him.
it hasn't always been about loving one brother more than the other to spark in-fighting and drawing attention away from herself, but that has been a nifty and handy shield to have. ]
I don't have time for people I don't like.
[ unless they serve a purpose for her, of course. ]
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( he doesn't think she likes him that much that she'd ignore all the people that would gladly try and stake her if she hung around too much. not that that stopped katherine. she does what she wants and always has. )
Does that mean you're a masochist or does it mean something else?
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that doesn't mean she's going to answer him honestly, either. she goes back because she goes back—unfinished business... or a home where she has none.
appearing unphased by his question, she tilts her head slightly. ] What do you want it to mean?
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( he knows what he wants it to mean but...he asked her first, okay. )
Why do you come back if you only tolerate one person that lives there? ( that being him. ) It can't be the ambiance and I know it's not for solitude.
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focusing on the shelf she stands beside, she lifts her hand up and brushes her fingertip against the price labels. she doesn't like the fact that stefan's feeling curious, and she doesn't like the fact that he feels curious enough to pry. ]
You answered it yourself. You. [ it's said easily. it's not entirely the answer—he's never been the reason why she's come back to mystic falls. the first had been for the doppelgänger and klaus, the second had been for… well, business. ]
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