deercountry | ( this one's for the moms )

( he doesn't think katherine would acknowledge mother's day if he didn't. he thinks it's gotten easier for her, over time, to deal with it when she doesn't have nadia close but considering the last few years, stefan thinks she deserves some recognition.

he slips out of bed that morning, giving her a kiss and tells her he'll be back. and he's not gone for long. he goes out and buys some flowers, some candy and breakfast and sets it up downstairs before he waits for her to get up.

sometimes, she sleeps late and sometimes she doesn't. he's not sure what today will bring so he slips a bagel out of the breakfast bag to eat while he waits. )

( amos is a man who doesn't really celebrate mother's day. his own mother hadn't been a presence in his life and while he'd had something of a mother figure, it was still better to just not think about it, not deal with it.

but, he knows that someone he's close with does have kids...of a sort. he doesn't really know how to explain that so he's just going with it, accepting it and that's why he shows up on the designated day and knocks on her door.

there's no flowers or anything like that but the fact that he remembered and was making an effort to celebrate it was a lot, in his eyes. )

( they could be normal people sometimes. normal people who had a lot of blood in their freezer and lived for a long long time but they could do normal things.

and tonight's normal thing was a movie night. stefan's done most of the work and now he's coming back into the living room with popcorn and drinks. he puts that on the table and then grabs the newly arrived blanket from the back of the seat and drops it on katherine's lap. )

Come on, open it up and invite me under.

( he doesn't know how she's talked him into this but he's agreed to go shopping with her for some reason. mostly, he's agreed to accompany her because he is not planning on buying anything for himself.

but, he's been at her door for a good few moments now, knocking and he hasn't heard anything from inside. she could be gone or she could be asleep or she could be ignoring him.

he'd ignore him. but he's a little concerned so he keeps knocking and if her neighbors get mad or suspicious, what the fuck ever. )

[ of course, wanda knows amos is outside before he even steps foot on her front porch. sometimes, she wishes her abilities let her be pleasantly surprised like how people often are in sitcoms.

she can only hope that what brings amos to her front door is a spontaneous need to go bar hopping... or he's simply lost and requires some direction back home. it's not lost on wanda that amos has been reciprocating and reaching out in response to her incredibly annoying niggling over the last few months.

when she opens the door, she narrows her eyes playfully and teases, ] You do not look like the postman.

That's because I'm not.

( thank god. what a boring job that would be. )

You expecting something from the mailman or something?

I am.

[ she's not.

wanda sighs dramatically and shakes her head. ]

And yet, all I have here is you. [ she smiles as she leans against her door. ] So disappointing.

Sorry to be a disappointment but you're definitely not the first person to tell me that. I won't stay long.

( he doesn't want to bother her especially if today's hard but he hadn't wanted it to go by without saying something to her. )

I know it's Mother's Day today so I just wanted to stop by and tell you that. Tell you, uh, Happy Mother's Day. That's all.

[ wanda's bright smile falls. she doesn't appear angry—wanda can't be, not with anything that pertains to her children or that facet of her life that had felt like it had existed for years rather than mere days. she feels as though she's been punched in the gut, but it hardly hurts as it should. it feels right in the way that being billy and tommy's mother felt in westview.

tears prick her eyes. for the first time in a long time, wanda isn't sure what to do.

impulsively, she steps out from her doorframe. resting her hands on his shoulders, she lifts up on the tips of her toes and kisses his cheek. when wanda steps away, she wipes the back of her hand against her eye and smiles wetly, ducking her gaze away from him. ]

Thank you.

( amos thinks he's done something wrong as soon as she starts to react. he'd known this was a bad idea, that he shouldn't have taken that risk and he's about to hold his hands up and retreat when she moves.

he doesn't even realize that she's kissed him on the cheek until she's speaking. he blinks slowly and feels his cheek warm where she'd kissed him. he swallows. )

Uh, you're welcome. Are you...are you okay?

[ she nods and smiles, although she doesn't quite look at him. she's partly embarrassed by her impulsive reaction... and by the fact that this is her very first mother's day as a mom and he's ensured that she didn't quite get away with not acknowledging it. ]

Very. [ she shakes her head and waves her hand in an act of dismissing her reaction. ] It's silly.

It's not.

( he feels a sense of relief to know he hasn't upset her and he even smiles a bit. )

I didn't mean to upset you or anything. Or remind you of anything that you didn't want to think about.

No, it's just...

[ wanda smiles a little toothily and shakes her head as if that's enough to dissuade any tears. it's not. for once, her tears are not sad.

she looks up at him and smiles. ] That is the first time anyone has ever said that to me.

( god, amos almost apologizes for the fact that he was the first one to tell her that. what a terrible first person for anything that was. )

Sorry I don't have like...flowers or anything. I don't really do the Mother's Day thing.

( thankfully she seems content with the words. )

[ wanda furrows her brows together and peers up at him like he's suggested he slime her as a gift. ]

I don't want flowers. [ and she says it to make him feel better about the entire ordeal. she can sense his anxiety ebb off him gently. lifting her brows, she tilts her head up and informs him, ] Saying it gruffly is exactly what I wanted.

Oh yeah, I'm sure the first thing you woke up wishing for this morning was for someone like me to try and wish you a Happy Mother's Day.

( he sounds amused though. not serious at all. )

I did.

[ she nods and regards him seriously. crossing her arms against her chest, she thinks she's very much selling it. (with her arms tucked against her, she wipes at the bottom of her eye.) ]

Do you not believe me?

I don't because when I said it, you were genuinely surprised.

( and for someone who knew when he was approaching, that's not easy to do. )

You can't make me believe it this time.

I wanted you to think that.

[ she presses her lips together as if that's completely plausible. amos should be going along with her lie! the fact that he isn't is absolutely atrocious. ]

It's not fun being unsurprised all the time. Even telepaths need to pretend to be surprised from time to time.

Uh huh.

( he does not and will not believe her. )

Sure fine, you wanted it and you knew it was coming. I believe you.

[ she beams happily at that. see? no more tears. no more happy-sadness. wanda beams brightly like she wasn't sad at all. tilting her chin upward, she regards him smugly. ]

Good.

[ clasping her hands in front of her, she twists her fingers. ]

You can come in if you want... but you must maintain your belief.

[ when stefan's coy, she's curious. acting uncharacteristically, she doesn't pry in the hopes he'll confess his plans and let her in on the ruse... but, of course, stefan doesn't do that. stefan never follows the script she wants him to follow.

purposefully thumping down the stairs, katherine skips towards the kitchen before she stops and takes a great step back. turning her back to the kitchen's entrance, she singsongs, ] Am I allowed to enter?

[ considering how some of stefan's surprises have resulted in her being banned, she very kindly wants to ensure she has permission. god forbid she walks in and she's ignored the sign at the doorframe that says NO KATHERINES ALLOWED. ]

[ katherine, who's slouched uncharacteristically against the couch, purposefully sighs and grumbles at his self-invitation. the blanket's nice. the blanket would be nice wrapped around them both… but katherine, the obvious romantic to him, doesn't wish for him to know that.

that's hardly fair.

especially when he's gone to the trouble of fetching their drinks and popcorn, she thinks it's only right that he doesn't have the blanket.

she tugs the blanket up to her chest to her chin and smiles at him. ]

There's no room for you. How sad.

[ when wanda had found that blanket, she had sensed something magical about it. it had been a warm type of magic, something that made her feel strangely comfortable like she was in her perfectly made bed in her perfectly intact childhood home. all she had wanted to do was tuck herself inside of it—and so she had on her couch.

what she doesn't realise—or what she perhaps does, deep down—is that it changes her. it makes her lighter. it makes her happier. while her home doesn't shift into the interior of westview, the air within it brightens and lightens. the grief that had been at her back door is gone temporarily.

when wanda opens her door (a little delayed in comparison to how she's often there before he even lifts his hand to knock), she smiles at him easily. everything about her is lighter… except for her hair. it's as dark as night and is no longer a light fire.

she presses her hand to her mouth sheepishly. ]

I forgot, didn't I?

I don't wanna interrupt anything. You were waiting for the mail?

( not that the mail would bring her anything exciting but here, it also could bring something like that. )

I don't have to stay or anything.

( this one's for the moms )

( she's a mother, she's a killer )

( fake kids count )

( movie night! )

( blankie blanket )

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