Klaus sped forward and caught Avra gently, to stop her from tumbling off the sidewalk, as she exited the Mystic Grill. She landed in his arms moments before hitting the gravel. His nose cringed at the waft of alcohol in the air. She was drunk. Ah, when life's woes caught up to the strongest of us. Her hair was disheveled, and her gait was disoriented. She would have never let him get that close to her if she wasn't, after his little stunt.
He may not be excused for his impropriety but he couldn't see her just getting hurt.
He hadn't been following her because he missed her, not at all. It was a true coincidence.
Mystic Falls only had so many bars after all, and they all needed to drown their sorrows all too often.
"Where are you going, love?" Taking his chance, Klaus questioned, hoping she'd answer some questions she wouldn't sober.
"I don't know. Away from here, this dumpster fire of a town." She sniffed haughtily. "And why should I even tell you, I don't even know you."
"Ah, but you do now. I'm your knight in shining armour, just casually stopping damsels from tumbling into the traffic. It's my nightly side hustle."
"You know, you've got really pretty eyes, stranger." She murmured drunkenly, tracing her finger over the dark veins near his eyes.
His eyes briefly flashed golden yellow at the touch.
"Want to know a secret? Only if you promise not to tell anyone." She extended her pinky, wanting confirmation of the contract.
"Tell someone?" He gasped in exaggerated horror, "And betray our sacred oath? Never."
"Promise." A smile tugged at his lips as his finger found hers.
"My friend, he can turn into a wolf. I call him Nikkie, " She whispered adorably as if revealing the secret of the universe. Her being a vampire did not seem to be of shock value, however.
While happy to be the centre of attention, he grumbled slightly but accepted the personal nickname.
"He looks awfully similar to you, handsome stranger. It's magical. I really love him." Her eyebrows furrowed in thought, she excused the similarities in their appearance.
"You do?" He interrupted her midway between her speech. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as his heart warmed at the thought. Ideally, a love confession wouldn't be in a drunken stupor in a sketchy alley but his undead heart had already committed several backflips in his chest. He didn't know vampire hearts were even capable of arrhythmia.
He desperately hoped that it wasn't the alcohol talking. He wasn't sure if he could survive then if all of it turned out to be fake, a mistake.
"Well, duh!" She slapped his shoulder, with more force than intended as he stumbled backwards in shock. She seemed to have picked up on modern slang. She continued, unperturbed by the interruption as if it was obvious. "Why would I be here in this backwater town if I didn't? Anyway, I really love him. And I'm really happy for him cause he did his ritual thingy. But he's being a real jerk, and I hate him. Don't get me wrong, I'd murder anyone for him and I still love the dimpled bastard, but he's making it really hard to. He's an idiot but unfortunately, he's my idiot."
That was one way of putting it. Really classy.
"Don't tell him!" She warned again, with a dark look in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't."
Drunk Avra seemed to wear her heart on a sleeve. He could get used to that, mind you, he had enough plots and schemes to keep track of anyway. It had always been more difficult to keep track of all the machiavellian plots since he had lost his co-schemer and partner in crime, again.
Klaus wondered if they could just remain in this moment, temporarily suspended in time forever, shrouded in the bliss of ignorance. It wouldn't be fair to her though and even someone as selfish as him could acknowledge that. He had to let go, at least temporarily. She had to go somewhere else, safer than here, the hotspot of crawling supernaturals, this cursed town where everything began.
Until it was safe enough for them to be a family again.
And so, she would leave and he would let her.
Despite having to resist the urge not to, he dropped her off at her residence and went to his own. He poured some wine into a glass, and lounged on the sofa, uncaring of his unkempt appearance.
With a sigh, he toasted to the empty wall, "To insanity."
His own and that of those foolish enough to bear with it. Madness raged in the very core of Mystic Falls, after all, sweeping all bold or stupid enough to stand against its current off their feet. They were all connected by the singular thread of their lack of self-preservation and sanity, a band of idiots, all fighting against their fates, against the cruel bitch that was destiny.
There was another day of schemes and plots that rested in wait for him. Just like always.
***
The next day, Avra passed by the Mystic falls signboard, hoping to close that painful chapter of her life, although, in her heart, she knew that things could be no further from over. Not for her. Not for the Mikaelsons.
Danger would befall them all and sooner or later, death would come for them all.
The grim reaper's lingering scythe that grazed their throats would pierce the flesh too.
The reign of the Mikaelsons would be over. And only few heads would be left intact, in the war that was brewing, if the fates were kind. It was each man for themselves. Only the cockroaches would make it out alive, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
May the stars be in their favor.
And so the story ends, with one brother six feet under, another wishing he was.
One brother who signed his life away, and another that had to live with the burden of two lives in one.
It was all the fucking same, all wrong, but perhaps, that was the only way it was meant to be.