deercountry | ( CLOSED ) WE NEVER LEARN, WE BEEN HERE BEFORE.

[ nadia's expression grows stern. the betrayal she feels at katherine siding with stefan is something she will feel for centuries from now…

or that's what she'd say if she was as dramatic as her mother.

instead, she smiles sweetly at stefan. ]

He already does. I am a good older sister, Stefan.

[ and that? she says with pride. ]

That I'd believe.

( that she was a good older sister. he wishes he could be there to see it. more than anything, he wishes he and katherine could be that family unit with them.

he sighs and looks down. )

I know you protect him too.

I do.

[ nadia doesn't lace it with an attitude. she knows when and where to tease stefan, and that time, for now, has passed. she looks at her mother and smiles, giving her a small nod. ]

I tell him many stories. [ looking at stefan, she teases, ] Most that are unflattering to you.

[ she kids. ]

And yet, he still loves me so you can't be that good a storyteller.

( honestly, as long as luca was hearing stories about him, stefan was glad. he might not be able to be there but he wants luca to know him. )

And I'll be sure to find a way to repay the favor.

How do you know those are not the stories I'm telling?

[ nadia cocks her brow at him. smiling, she shakes her head and tsks for good measure. ]

That is quite presumptuous of you, Stefan.

I would say we could ask him but he seems pretty shy.

( which is kind of shock considering he's a child of katherine's. stefan wasn't shy, he doesn't think, but katherine is the furthest from shy you can get. )

Content to just cling to your leg.

Edited 2022-04-30 01:06 (UTC)

He is very loud.

[ nadia brushes her fingers through luca's hair and glances down at him with a warm smile. ]

He's on his good behaviour for now, aren't you? [ luca nods. ] Then, the next time he sees you, he will be a terror.

[ and that's when she ruffles luca's hair wildly, causing him to laugh. ]

( really, as long as luca's in good health and happy, he can be as loud and as quiet as he wants. )

He gets the loudness from his mother.

( miss loud and proud over there. )

[ she elbows him again. this time, she aims for it to bruise. ]

I hardly resent that. If my son is loud like me, then good on him.

[ she wrinkles her nose playfully at luca. of course, if she was living with him all day every day, she'd possibly find his loudness to be somewhat of an uncharming attribute... but katherine doesn't wish to make him feel anything but wanted. ]

I've never had a loud child before. [ she gives nadia a small smile, one that her daughter returns without any appearance of resentment. ]

Ow.

( stefan rubs his side and laughs because that's going to bruise. it's not going to stay but it hurts anyway. )

Maybe he makes Nadia loud. Rubs off on her. A bad influence but in the best way.

A very bad influence, just like you.

[ she smiles at him and, this time, when she elbows him, it's gently.

leaning against his side, she quietly says, ] I think the portal's going to close soon. You might want to take this as your opportunity.

There's never going to be enough time, Katherine.

( to do what he wants to do, to be who he wants to be. he swallows and smiles at luca before he crouches down. )

I miss you, Luca. I love you.

[ katherine watches stefan with a fond smile and slowly wraps her arm around his waist to step closer to him. while she misses luca just as much, she knows from experience—from nadia repeatedly returning—that this isn't the end. goodbyes have become easier for someone who never said them before. ]

And maybe you'll write to him from time to time in your journal? [ she suggests that gently. ] Then maybe you can read them to him when he comes to visit us.

I will.

( he's already written about him a lot. there's so many entries about the child he'd never really gotten to know.

he sighs and stands up, leaning into katherine a bit. )

I promise.

[ katherine slides her arm around him, resting her hand on his hip. she leans her temple against stefan's bicep as she notices the portal beginning to grow smaller. even if they were to combine forces and wish the portal to expand and launch a step to invite nadia and luca into the trench, she knows it won't happen. not today, at least.

it's easier to look at the kids than at stefan. if she looks at him, she knows she may end up breaking—and katherine wishes to keep her composure.

she looks down at luca and smiles. ] And a promise from your dad is a very unbreakable thing. [ she lifts her gaze to nadia. ] Don't be a stranger.

( he doesn't want them to go. the only thing that's stopping him from lurching forward to grab them and pull them both out is that katherine's got a hold of him.

she's not holding him tightly but he knows she would if he tried to make a move. he swallows a few times, fighting the lump in his throat and the tears. )

Listen to your mother and...yeah, come back sometime.

( please. )

[ katherine waves as the portal grows smaller and smaller. luca lifts his hand and waves as nadia does. katherine doesn't stop until the portal is gone, and when she drops her hand, it hits her leg with a pathetic thump.

she keeps her arm around stefan and squeezes his hip. she clears her throat somewhat awkwardly. ]

That was nice.

Yeah.

( it was. it was nice but he hates this part so much. )

Are you all right?

[ katherine's slow to nod. ]

Yes.

[ partly yes. mostly yes. katherine's stopped taking the departure of nadia as a stake to the heart. it still hurts—and always will—but after spending over five centuries without her, katherine's become very much pleased and content with seeing her every now and then. the same can be applied to luca.

she lifts her hand to his back. ]

It gets a little... well, not easier. But predictable, in a way.

Hopefully it gets like that for me too.

( because his chest feels heavy and he feels like he wants to cry but he won't. he just rubs at his eyes and shakes his head. )

I don't feel it right now though.

You never do, Stefan. [ she smiles kindly at him and rubs his back. ] I might act cool right now, but I'm not on the inside.

[ and that's who katherine pierce is in a nutshell: cool on the outside, not so cool on the inside. it's how she's kept it together for over five centuries. it's not the most perfect way to deal with things, but it's a way that's worked for her. ]

I want us to have a family.

( he doesn't think he has to articulate that because she knows. he thinks she wants it too but it's something that he doesn't think the two of them will be able to have.

he swallows and turns towards her, pressing his forehead to hers. )

[ she can't believe he's turning her into the sentimental one. she doesn't remove her hand from his back as she melts into him. it's become easier to do so over the last year and a half. stefan's broken down a lot of the walls she thought were permanent fixtures in her life. ]

Don't we already have one? It may not be perfect... or here half the time... but it's the first family I've had in a very long time.

[ she shrugs and keeps looking down at where his shirt crumples against his stomach. ]

I like it.

No, you're right.

( they do have a family. it's a good family if a little unique and not always present. he thinks what he means to say is: )

I just wish we could have it all the time.

( he's greedy, selfish. he wants them always to have their kids. )

[ she sighs quietly. ]

I know.

[ she wants them, too. ever since she held nadia in what's become her room in what used to be stefan's house, she has wanted nadia for every single day that she's been without her. she understands that longing better than anyone. but she has also learned to be grateful for what she has—a lesson he's taught her with and without knowing. ]

I doubt either of them would want us to be standing in some strange road. We should walk.

[ possibly see if another portal opens up. ]

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