deercountry | ( wow this sand is so quick!! )

What was wrong with the cruise liner?

( besides the fact that it was sinking. it had been one of those first interactions that had brought them closer. )

It was a strange time but I didn't hate it.

I got stabbed and it ruined one of my favourite outfits.

[ and she had been so unwell thereafter, trapped with the wrong salvatore and with the right one trying to crawl under her skin. back then, it had been a confusing whirlwind that hadn't been fun at all. ]

And it was very cold. You did a poor job of keeping me warm.

You barely let me close to you.

( she'd been keeping him at arms length, trying to let him go and look how that had turned out. )

I think I got to brush your hair and that was it.

[ yeah, yeah, yeah. katherine pulls a face to convey as much. ]

You did a poor job of it, too. I had knots for days.

[ she looks at him pointedly. he did all right, all things considered. what had mattered the most is that he had given her a semblence of nadia. ]

I think your hair was a goner before I got down there. Damon was the one in charge of helping you out.

( and then he'd decided to come down there, against her wishes, and tried to do his best to pick up where his brother had left off. )

Your hair survived.

Barely.

[ she scoffs playfully. ]

How many Salvatores does it take to brush someone's hair? Apparently more than two.

[ granted, stefan does a good job of it these days. but for the sake of her argument, he's made a lot of progress from being absolutely bad at untangling those stubborn knots. ]

Maybe you shouldn't get into situations where your hair ends up knotted and a mess.

( did you ever think that maybe it was your fault, katherine? )

You're right.

[ she elbows him hard in the arm. ]

That's such a simple thing to do. Next time we're on a ship that's sinking, I'll be sure to keep my head above water! You're sexy and a genius.

I know.

( ow. he gives her a shove away from him and laughs. )

You should listen to me more often. I'm very intelligent.

Then you make all the navigational decisions and I'll sit back and enjoy the view.

[ and while they might not be in a car, katherine does take a big step back so that she can bring up the rear and admire stefan's. there's a fifty percent chance stefan's going to get them more lost than she would and she honestly cannot wait. ]

Yeah right, you would never let me have that much power. You get mad when I drive a certain way. You're not going to let me navigate and make all those decisions.

( stefan scoffs and shakes his head. he knows you, katherine. )

You don't like not having some control.

[ while he may be right, he's overlooked one thing: katherine's been letting stefan take control of some things over the course of the last year and a half. it's the small things: making decisions about dinner, driving, picking her shoes even if they don't go with her outfit, and trusting him to walk aleksander. she's been letting go. ]

I'm in control of my view right now and...

[ katherine lets out a low appreciative whistle. ]

Are you wearing the jeans I bought you? Snug in all the right places.

What? I don't know. All my jeans look the same to me. They're denim pants.

( so, maybe they are? maybe they're not? he's not sure. he looks down at them and then shakes his head. )

It doesn't really matter right now, does it?

It does since it's what I'll be looking at while you make the decisions for our course.

[ she even reaches forward and gives his undercarriage a little gentle slap. yep, those are definitely the jeans she bought for him. it makes her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside that he's wearing them.

she feels a little domesticated. ]

Yep, those are it.

( stefan shoots her a look for that smack and then shakes his head. )

Would you stop that? You don't need to go smacking my ass to figure out if I'm wearing something you bought me?

( you're just trying to take advantage, katherine. )

I'm very old, Stefan. It helps me remember.

[ she'd poise her hand for another smack, but she holds her palms up in mock surrender and smiles at him sweetly. ]

Best keep your gaze forward. Wouldn't want to walk us into a tree, would you?

You're only very old when you wanna be.

( but he does as she asks, turning back to keep an eye on the path. he ducks underneath a low hanging branch and comes to what looks like a patch of mossy grass. )

Keep up, old woman.

I'm right behind you, Stefan.

[ right on his heels, even if there's a little bit of a respectful gap between them. no, it's not so she doesn't feel tempted to smack his ass. it's so she doesn't end up stepping on his heels.

she mutters, ] Not even enjoying the nice view of your ass.

( stefan starts walking and though the ground feels soft, it's not...terrible. he keeps going, one foot after another and then when he feels his shoe sink, he frowns. )

Stop, Katherine, stop.

( maybe the ground's just yet or something. )

[ katherine almost walks into him. while she had definitely been paying attention, she'd been a little distracted by the way his hair was shining and how there seemed to be a very small leaf in it.

she sighs, aggravated. ]

Why?

[ they were making so much effort! ]

Because there's something wrong.

( he doesn't know why but this just feels off. he frowns and takes a few more steps when his foot sinks quickly up to his ankle. he curses and tries to pull it free but it doesn't budge. )

Katherine, don't take another step. I mean it. Stop right now.

[ katherine does as he requests and stands behind him at a small distance. she peers down at his feet and can't help but chuckle. leave it to stefan to walk them straight into a small pool of quicksand. ]

You shouldn't have worn those shoes, Stef.

[ they were so nice and now they were filling with gross quicksand. ]

Be slow and pull your foot out.

Yeah, I just tried that. It's not working.

( he does it again but his foot only sinks in deeper. he frowns and keeps trying. )

I'd appreciate if you didn't laugh at this, Katherine. It's not like I meant it to happen.

I'm sorry.

[ she makes a show of clearing her throat loudly. while he can't see her, she even masks her face so that her smile is barely there. it threatens to beam, though. ]

I sometimes laugh at very dire and drastic situations.

[ only situations where stefan's a little huffy and puffy. ]

How about I pull you out?

How about you stay there?

( he doesn't want her getting any closer. he turns a bit and grimaces when his leg goes in deeper and deeper, quicker this time.

crap. )

Can you reach me from there?

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