man much taller than her, leaning against the frame of his door. "Elijah, I'll speak to you later, alright?" She cut the call and kept her phone in her pocket, before shaking her head and folding her arms.

"You seem sober." He said. "That run in with the Salvatore brothers must've stirred you out of your drunken state." She couldn't help but laugh briefly at his attempt to lighten the situation; after all, it was clear his enhanced hearing had picked up Aurelia's entire conversation.

"Are you really leaving?" She asked after just moments. "You just got back from... wherever it is the dagger takes you." Her lips curved downwards progressively as she spoke, showing her dismay. Kol chuckled and pushed himself off the frame, but stayed in his place.

"You're acting like you'll miss me." He said, his expression full of fondness; just as always when he'd look at her. "I've done this before darling, multiple times while you've known me. I doubt you'd feel any different about my departure this time."

Aurelia shook her head. "Kol, of course I'd miss you... we're not complete without you, and-and—"

"No one here needs me, Aurelia." He continued his passive argument with a soft tone. "Not Nik, not Elijah, not Rebekah, not you." Aurelia scoffed, clearly offended. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"I need you here, Kol, come on." She stated. "Please, why can't you stay?" She couldn't make out why she wanted for him to be with her, near her, while she knew about it. She simply wanted for him to stay, and finding out why wasn't the first idea in her mind- not before she made sure he'd stay.

"No one's given me a reason to stay." He answered simply, making Aurelia's expression fall even more than it already had. "No one has..." He trailed off, starting a steady pace towards her. "If you want... you can come with me. Wherever you want." Aurelia shook her head, slowly as she watched him approach her. "You're the one wish I've longed for, sweetheart. The one I've loved forever. If you came with me, my life would be complete."

"Kol..." He was now standing just in front of her. "You know I can't... Klaus wanted me here..." He closed his eyes and nodded once, showing her he had clear knowledge of that fact.

"I know, I just had to try." He whispered. "I'd grasp at the furthest of straws for you, Aurelia." Aurelia drew her tongue across her bottom lip when he said that, and had his next words in mind. "I love you, so much."

What she hadn't expected for those words to trigger everything in her mind to come crashing down at once. For the first time, she felt affected by his confession emotionally. It was strikingly different from the other times he had done so. She was able to make out a light feeling in her stomach, and the corners of her lips stretch up into a soft smile once she had heard him.

All that was left was to act on her instinct.

Without saying anything else, she clutched onto his shirt and pulled him closer towards her and making him stop at a miniscule distance away from her lips. Their foreheads had already made contact, and his eyes had long fluttered open to look at hers. "What have you done to me?" She asked almost inaudibly; her eyes closed as she spoke this time, and her arms wrapped around his neck as she pushed herself upwards to interlock their lips.

Kol had, on instinct, helped her reach him by holding her waist up slightly and his eyes gently shut to enjoy the first intimate moment that he had longed dreamt of. His lips had wrapped around her own as soon as they made contact, just as if he has known what was coming.

He guided her smaller body to come closer to his larger form with his arms, that had simply tugged her to reduce the space between their bodies; his desire could and would only grow from this point, and he only thought of what would come next as he tugged on her bottom lip gently with his teeth.

His heart's racing pace only increased by tenfold when he heard her emit a low and soft moan and twist his hair around her fingers, evidently expressing her feelings to him without having to interrupt the kiss that he was more than enjoying at the moment.

Aurelia's lips parted slightly as she felt herself hit his chest. The soft but noticeable collision made her pull herself away from him and let the cool air hit her wet lips.

"Don't...stop." She made out from his low mumbles as his hand snaked up to her cheek to rest on the soft and smooth skin. "Please..." His voice was now soft and overflowed with the emotion that his closed eyes would have shown her; had she been opening her own. She noticed how large his hand was in that moment; his thumb was just next to her lips, while the entirety of his hand easily cupped the entire left side of her face and head. His fingers had sloped downwards to reach her neck- an advantage as he would be able to direct her head closer towards him.

"Aurelia," She still heard him speak quietly when his forehead hit hers. "Please..." He took a deep breath this time, unable to help but let a small and genuine smile come over his lips. "Let me love you." As her eyes were shut, his voice seemed louder and more sincere. "If I can't take you with me, let me love you tonight..." His voice began to shake slightly as Aurelia let out a soft chuckle of surprise. "Please." She felt herself fall prey to his alluring voice within mere seconds as she nodded her head subtly.

"Okay."

[][][]

11/27/2020