Breathing ∞ Kol Mikaelson [1]

[45]

Emma couldn't stop her eyes from scanning the street around them, eyes trying to look into every shady corner as if expecting Alaric to be hiding within it while she and Kol stood out on her porch. Even though, Elijah had called to update them on the plan, in the process, revealing that Alaric had been sent on a hunt after Damon instead.

Trying to calm her own nerves, Emma let her eyes turn towards the man standing in front of her, ready to leave to meet his brother. "So you'll leave as soon as you get the stake?" She questioned, trying to contain the sadness which seeped into her voice.

"Yes. We'll scatter around, all go in different directions." Kol confirmed, the stormy look in his eyes being the only indication of how unhappy the idea truly made him.

Emma knew the plan. They'd sent Alaric on a wild chase, deceiving him into thinking he was after Klaus' body while instead he'd be walking into an ambush. One staged so Kol and Elijah, along with Stefan and Caroline, could get the dagger off of him and ensure the safety of the Mikaelsons with it in their possession.

"Promise me you'll be safe." Emma didn't bother with coded playful messages or hiding her emotions. Instead, she reached for his hand, holding it within her own as she gave him a pleading look, showing just how much all of this worried her.

"I promise." Kol's response was instant, his own hand giving Emma's a reassuring squeeze in an attempt to drive his point further. A small silence fell over them, tension in the air as they stared into each other's eyes, both debating whether to do exactly what they wanted. It was Kol who broke it. "Promise me that once you do leave this town, I get to take you somewhere too. Not just Rebekah."

The request had Emma giving out a small laugh as she nodded her head in acceptance. "I promise." She said, quite liking the idea herself. And as she admitted to herself before, she wasn't quite ready to say goodbye forever just yet.

"I'll call you when it's done." Kol said, slowly letting go of her hand as he got ready to leave, knowing he couldn't stay for too long as his brother needed him for their plan to work.

Emma nodded in understanding, saying nothing else as she watched him turn away from her and walk towards the street. He moved at a human pace, descending down half the steps of her porch before he came to a stop making Emma's brows furrow in confusion.

"To hell with it." Kol muttered to himself, turning around and letting his steps carry him back to her, hands grabbing her face as he brought his lips to hers. Emma didn't hesitate in returning it, hands going to his arms as she kissed him back.

It wasn't like their first. The passion was still there, but somehow it still felt different. It was filled with something else. Filled with a wish for more; a need to remember it for as long as it takes until the next. And it ended much too soon for her liking.

His forehead leaned against hers, not yet fully pulling away as he spoke. "I'll see you soon, Emma Park." He said, brushing some of her hair back as he took in her face one last time.

"I'll hold you to that." She whispered back.

And then he was gone, the absence of his hands on her face palpable as she stared at the now empty spot where he'd been standing only a second ago. She let herself take in a short breath, glancing around the street one last time before making her way back into the safety of her house. Moving through the halls, she went back to the kitchen, ready to tidy up after their small meeting, only to find her mother already in the room.

Marissa was the first of the two Park women to speak up. "I thought you were just their friend. I didn't realize how big of a part you play in everything. How much they respect your opinion." The mother commented, her tone somewhat cryptic and not letting Emma see how exactly she felt knowing that information just yet.

"That's what happens when you have good ideas." Emma replied in a simple tone, knowing that was exactly how she'd earned herself a seat at the table tonight. With time, she continued to use her mind to help them, proving her loyalty, and she planned on continuing to do so for as long as they'd let her.

"And when you're more like them than I realized." This time, the edge in her mother's voice was much easier to catch. It prompted Emma to raise her eyebrow in a questioning manner, wondering what it may mean. "Discussing murder and deceit with such ease. Thinking up plans to manipulate someone to give you what you want. You have the same need for power your father once had."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting power." Emma said, firmly believing her words. She'd spent her life knowing she was dying and thinking she was powerless to stop it. A craving for control, for a way to seem stronger than so many thought she could be didn't rise only after her arrival to Mystic Falls. "Their power is what protected me in this town when I thought I had none of my own. But I now know better. Don't I?" She added on, bringing them back to the topic still looming in the air.

"Emma..." The tone of her mother's voice made it clear she was about to go into another spiel about why Emma shouldn't use her power. But Emma had run through their previous conversation in her mind a thousand times by now.

Her mother seemed to believe Emma was the manipulative one, but she knew her mother could be too. All the words she'd chosen while explaining a siphoner to her daughter, they were carefully crafted in an attempt to make her fear or hesitate when faced with what she could do. But Emma wasn't one to shy away from things she could use to her advantage, even if her mother didn't like it.

"I don't understand why you don't use it, why you don't like it. But I won't force you to do so. It's your choice." Emma spoke to her mother, tone calm, but making it clear she was determined too. "Mine is different. As you yourself said, I'm involved in this town much more than you realize. And in this town, power is how you survive. Now that I know I have it, I plan on learning how to use it."

The look on Marissa's face made it clear she didn't like what she was hearing. But if the mother had learned anything from Emma's friendships with the vampires, it was that trying to stop her daughter would be pointless. Emma was a fighter, one eager to be strong and powerful. Of course she'd use her advantages. Marissa could only hope that with time she'd learn that what she now viewed as a gift was quite the opposite.

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Alrighty, this one is a bit shorter than the last, but that's because initially they were supposed to be one chapter, but that would have ended up much too long. And as it is the fifth chapter of the day, I don't think anyone will mind too much. But with this one, I do believe I'm done for the day. I hope you enjoyed it, and I shall be back tomorrow with more probably.