Chapter Text

October 21, 2010, close to midnight, Bonnie's house, Mystic Falls, Virginia

The air hung heavy with the scent of damp earth and dying leaves. A chill wind whispered through the trees bordering Bonnie Bennett’s property, carrying with it the faint scent of pine and…bourbon?

 Deep in the woods, Niklaus Mikaelson, a creature of myth and nightmare, sat slumped against the gnarled trunk of an ancient oak. Empty bottles lay scattered around him like fallen soldiers. His usually impeccable clothes were rumpled, his dirty-blond curls tangled and unkempt. The pristine facade he so carefully cultivated had crumbled, revealing the raw, festering wound beneath.

His family…His siblings had finally cast him aside. The words, the accusations, Rebekah’s final barb – Marcel – echoed in his mind, each cutting deeper than the last. Centuries of betrayal, forced obedience, and suffocating loneliness had culminated in this: utter and complete rejection. He was alone. Truly, terrifyingly alone.

He had sought solace in the fiery kiss of alcohol, a pathetic attempt to drown the cacophony of voices in his head. He knew it was futile, but tonight, he simply didn’t care. He embraced the oblivion, welcoming the numbness that crept through his veins.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there when he heard it: a sob, raw and laced with an unbearable ache. His supernatural senses, usually a source of irritation, honed in on the sound, leading him through the tangled undergrowth.

There, bathed in the pale glow of the crescent moon, sat Bonnie Bennett.

She was huddled on the small swing on her porch, her small frame trembling. Her face was buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking with each ragged breath. Her tears caught the moonlight like scattered diamonds. He watched her for a moment, a flicker of something akin to…pity??…stirring within him. It was a foreign, unwelcome emotion.

He shouldn’t be here. He should leave. But something held him rooted to the spot. Perhaps it was the shared sense of desolation that emanated from her, a mirror reflecting his own fractured soul.

He stepped out of the shadows, the crunch of leaves under his boots announcing his presence. Bonnie startled, her head snapping up, her olive green eyes widening in alarm.

“Klaus,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears. “What are you doing here?”

He leaned against a porch railing, trying to appear nonchalant despite the swirling vortex of emotions within him. “Enjoying the…ambiance,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “And you, witch? What tragic tale has brought you to this melancholic tableau?”

Bonnie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, leaving a smudge of mascara on her cheek. “None of your business,” she snapped, her voice regaining some of its usual fire.

“Oh, but I find myself…intrigued,” he drawled, pushing off the railing and taking a step closer. “We’re both outcasts tonight, Bonnie. Misery loves company, does it not?”

Her eyes flickered with a mixture of fear and something else…something he couldn’t quite decipher. “My mother…” she began, her voice cracking. “She’s gone. Really gone. And everyone…Elena chose Damon and Stefan. And…and my friends chose Elena. I don’t have anyone, Klaus.”

The raw honesty in her voice disarmed him. He knew the sting of betrayal. He knew the bone-deep ache of loneliness. He knew that black, gaping abyss of abandonment.

He found himself saying, surprising even himself, “I understand, Bonnie.”

She looked at him, her eyes searching his, as if trying to find some hidden motive, some cruel manipulation. “No, you don’t,” she said, shaking her head. “You have your family.”

He laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that echoed through the night. “My family wants me gone. They despise me. I am…unwanted.” The word tasted like ash in his mouth.

Silence fell between them, a heavy, pregnant silence filled with unspoken pain. Finally, Bonnie spoke, her voice barely a whisper. “I want to feel something else,” she confessed, her eyes fixed on the ground. “I want to feel…love. I want to feel wanted. I’m tired of being the strong one, the one who fixes everything. I just…I just want to feel something good.”

He stared at her, his mind reeling. He saw the pain, the vulnerability, the desperation in her eyes. And, in that moment, he felt a pull towards her. Not the calculated desire he often felt for Caroline, but something deeper, something more…primal.

“And what if I told you,” he said, his voice low and husky, “that I feel the same?”

She looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief. “You?”

He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. He reached out and gently cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs tracing the curve of her cheekbones. “Yes, Bonnie,” he whispered. “Me.”

He lowered his head and kissed her.

It was a tentative kiss at first, a hesitant exploration of unfamiliar territory. But then, the dam broke. Months of repressed emotions and pent-up desires surged to the surface. The kiss deepened, becoming hungry, desperate, all-consuming.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, her fingers tangling in his hair. He groaned, a low, guttural sound that vibrated through her. He pressed her against the door, his body moulding against hers.

She opened the door, pulling him inside.

He followed her into her bedroom, his eyes taking in the familiar surroundings. The room was a reflection of her: cozy, eclectic, filled with crystals and candles. The air was thick with the scent of lavender and something else…something wild and untamed.

He kicked the door shut, the sound echoing in the small room.

The tension between them was palpable, their eyes locked in a battle of wills. Klaus took a step forward, his boots making a soft thud on the wooden floor. Bonnie held her ground, her heart pounding in her chest. The hatred they shared was about to be replaced by something else, something raw and primal.

Klaus moved closer, his eyes never leaving Bonnie’s. He could hear her heart pounding, smell the sweet scent of her arousal. He could feel his hybrid side stirring, the beast inside him wanting to break free. He reached out, his fingers tracing the curve of Bonnie’s jaw. She gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.

Klaus leaned in, his lips brushing against Bonnie’s. The kiss was rough, a clash of teeth and tongues. Bonnie responded with equal passion, her fingers digging into Klaus’s broad shoulders. The tension between them snapped, giving way to a storm of lust and desire.

Klaus’s hands moved to Bonnie’s tank top, pulling it off in one swift motion. He traced the lacy red bra, his fingers brushing against the hardened nipples. Bonnie moaned, her hands moving to Klaus’s leather jacket, pulling it off to reveal the tattooed muscles beneath. She ran her fingers over the tattoo of flying birds, her touch sending shivers down Klaus’s spine.

Klaus’s hands moved to Bonnie’s jeans, pulling them off along with her red lace thong. He could see the wetness between her legs, a clear sign of her arousal. He leaned in, his tongue flicking against her clit. Bonnie moaned, her fingers tangling in Klaus’s curly hair.

Klaus continued his assault, his tongue darting in and out of Bonnie’s pussy. She could feel herself getting closer to the edge, her moans getting louder. Klaus’s fingers joined his tongue, plunging into her wet pussy. Bonnie cried out, her orgasm washing over her like a tidal wave.

Klaus stood up, his eyes dark with desire. Bonnie could see the bulge in his leather pants, a clear sign of his arousal. She moved closer, her fingers undoing the buttons of his pants. She pulled them down, revealing Klaus’s hard dick. She wrapped her fingers around it, stroking it gently.

Klaus groaned, his hands moving to Bonnie’s hips. He lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. He plunged into her, his dick filling her up. Bonnie cried out, her nails digging into Klaus’s shoulders. He started to move, his thrusts rough and wild. Bonnie could feel herself getting closer to another orgasm, her moans getting louder.

Klaus could feel his own orgasm building, his thrusts becoming more urgent. He could feel his hybrid side taking over, his thrusts becoming rougher. Bonnie screamed, her orgasm ripping through her. Klaus followed, his cum filling her up.

They collapsed against each other, gasping for breath, their bodies slick with sweat.

The silence that followed was broken only by their ragged breathing. He rolled off her, pulling her close, his arm wrapped around her.

They lay there for a long time, neither one of them speaking. Finally, Bonnie stirred, her head resting on his chest.

“What was that?” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

He chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. “That, Bonnie, was connection.”

He knew it wasn’t love. Not yet, anyway. But it was something. It was a shared moment of vulnerability, of desperation, of raw, untamed passion. And, in that moment, it was enough.

He held her close, her body nestled against his, and closed his eyes. For the first time in centuries, he felt a flicker of something that resembled…peace.

“Klaus… What did Rebekah say to you? It sounds like your brothers and sister knew where to hurt you…” Bonnie asked after two hours of them just holding each other in her bed as it started to rain at some point, but both of them just stayed lying in her bed in each other’s arms with her curly black hair and head nestled in between his neck and chest.  

Klaus stiffened slightly, the peace he had briefly found shattered by her question. The mention of Rebekah, of his family, was like a shard of glass twisting in an old wound. He tightened his grip around Bonnie, a possessive, almost desperate gesture.

“Rebekah… merely reminded me of my failures,” he said, his voice tight, devoid of the playful drawl he often employed. “She brought up Marcel.”

Bonnie frowned, pulling back slightly to look up at him. “Marcel? Who’s Marcel? Is he someone you… cared about?” The question hung in the air, laced with a hint of apprehension.

Klaus hesitated, his mind a battlefield of conflicting emotions. Marcel was a secret he had guarded for centuries, a weakness he had never dared to expose. He was a reminder of the man Klaus had once tried to be, the father he had failed to become.

“Marcel was… a boy I took in, long ago,” he finally said, his voice low and strained. “A slave. I raised him as my own, gave him a life he never would have had.”

Bonnie’s eyes widened, a flicker of understanding dawning in their depths. “You… you adopted him?”

Klaus nodded, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. “In New Orleans, centuries ago. He was just a boy, facing a brutal existence. I saw… potential in him. I saw a kindred spirit, lost and alone.” He paused, the memories flooding back, both sweet and agonizing. “I turned him into a vampire when his father almost killed him. He became my protégé, my ally… my son, in every way that mattered.”

Bonnie reached up and gently stroked his cheek, her touch surprisingly soothing. “What happened to him?”

The pain in Klaus’s eyes deepened, his jaw clenching. “Mikael happened to him. My father found him, saw him as another weapon to use against me. He murdered him in front of me, a final, cruel reminder of my own inadequacy.” The bitterness in his voice was palpable.

Bonnie gasped softly, her eyes filled with compassion. “Oh, Klaus… I’m so sorry.” She knew, intellectually, that Klaus was a monster. But in that moment, listening to the raw pain in his voice, she saw a glimpse of the boy he had once been, the boy beneath the layers of cruelty and anger.

“Rebekah used that against me,” Klaus continued, his voice barely a whisper. “She knew that bringing Marcel up would hurt me more than any physical blow. She reminded me that I am incapable of true connection, that everyone I care for ends up dead or hating me.”

He turned his head, burying his face in her hair. “And she’s right, Bonnie. Everyone always leaves. They either die, or they grow tired of my… nature.”

Bonnie held him tighter, her heart aching for the millennia of pain he carried within him. She didn’t know if she could fix him, if she could ever truly break through the walls he had built around himself. But she knew that she wanted to try.

“They’re wrong, Klaus,” she said fiercely, her voice muffled by his hair. “You are capable of love. You showed it to Marcel, and… maybe, just maybe, you’re showing it to me too.”

He pulled back slightly, his dark blue-green eyes searching hers. “Don’t say that, Bonnie. Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not a good person. I’m not capable of…”

“Don’t tell me what you’re not capable of,” she interrupted, her voice firm. “I’m not going anywhere, Klaus. Not tonight, not tomorrow. I’m here.”

She reached up and kissed him, a soft, reassuring kiss that spoke volumes more than words ever could. He deepened the kiss, his arms tightening around her, drawing her closer. He felt a flicker of hope ignite within him, a fragile ember in the darkness. He knew that she was right. He wasn’t alone. At least, not for now.

“Bonnie… Why did your friend choose Elena over you? They can’t possibly think Elena cares about them as much as you do.” He asked, trying to understand the betrayal Bonnie felt.

Bonnie pulled away, her expression clouding over. The pain of her friends’ abandonment was still raw, a fresh wound that throbbed with every reminder.

“Elena… she’s always been the center of everything,” she said, her voice flat. “She’s the damsel in distress, the one everyone has to save. My friends… they’ve always been drawn to that. They’re all in love with Elena, and they will do anything she says.”

Klaus frowned, his brow furrowed in confusion. “But surely they see that you would do anything for them, too. That you’ve sacrificed so much for them.”

Bonnie sighed, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter, Klaus. I’m just… the witch. The one who fixes everything. The one who’s always there to clean up their messes. They take me for granted. And Elena… well, she’s Elena. She’s the beautiful, tragic heroine. They want to be a part of her story, and sacrifice me in the process.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and Klaus felt a surge of protectiveness towards her. He couldn’t understand their blind devotion to Elena, their willingness to hurt Bonnie for her sake. It was a level of stupidity that even he found baffling.

“They’re fools, Bonnie,” he said, his voice laced with anger. “They don’t deserve you. They are weak, foolish little sheep ready to be led to the slaughter.”

He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t waste your tears on them. They’re not worth it.”

Bonnie sniffled, trying to smile. “It’s hard, you know? They were my friends. My family.”

“Then you need a new family, Bonnie,” Klaus said, his gaze intense. “One that values you, one that appreciates you for who you are.” His eyes flickered, a hint of something dangerous lurking beneath the surface. “And if anyone ever hurts you again, tell me. I’ll make them regret the day they were born.”

Bonnie stared at him, a mixture of fear and fascination in her eyes. She knew he meant it. He was capable of terrible things, of unimaginable cruelty. But she also knew that he was capable of fierce loyalty, of a possessive protectiveness that could be both terrifying and comforting.

“Thank you, Klaus,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “That means a lot.”

He leaned down and kissed her again, a slow, sensual kiss that promised both comfort and passion. He pulled back slightly, his eyes dark with desire.

“There’s a lot I can give you, Bonnie,” he said, his voice husky. “Pleasure, power, protection… a world of endless possibilities.” He paused, his expression softening. “But most of all, I can give you… Myself.”

“And I can give you myself too, Klaus,” Bonnie said, pulling him back for another kiss.