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Previously:

Saying goodbye to the two left sitting at the table, they were almost at the door when Elena called out after them.

“I guess you told her about Kol and his freaky girlfriend then. I’m surprised you of all people approve of it Bonnie, I didn’t think you liked their type.”

Bonnie was just about to open her mouth to tell Elena that no matter who Jeremy was friends with she was being a grade A hypocrite, and that Jeremy’s choice of friends was his alone to make, when the door swung open next to her.

Identical looks of dismay crossed both Bonnie’s and Jeremy’s faces as they recognised the figure in the doorway, and even Elena looked worried.

“Well now,” Klaus paused in the entrance to the Grill, looking between Jeremy and the Doppelgänger curiously, “Isn’t that an interesting bit of information.”

Not that you’re the one
Not to say I’m right
Not to say today
And not to say a thing tonight

 “Klaus knows about Bella.”

The four words declared in a sudden phone call from Jeremy, in combination with the other ongoing threats posed to Bella, had left Kol in a constant state of tension for the last day.

He had been a little relieved when Bella had easily agreed to stay off from school from the rest of the week, as he might have even considered begging her to. Though even that small reprieve wasn’t enough to really calm him.

They still hadn’t heard anything more by the next evening – Jeremy had been in touch several times, but he hadn’t had anything new to share, other than that his doppelgänger sister didn’t appear to be particularly sorry for shouting her mouth off and landing them in it.

However with Edward lurking around, and Victoria’s plans to form her own army, Kol wasn’t prepared to take any chances, especially as they had no idea what Klaus’ intentions would be now that he knew about Bella. He could be unpredictable at the best of times.

Kol’s strain was only compounded by his worry for Bella herself. She had barely said a word about it all, but her pale worried features gave away the anxiety she was trying to hide, and she had spent half the night crying out in her sleep as unseen horrors plagued her dreams.

Unable to do much to help her, he had just held her close, comforting her as best he could, all the while loathing the way her distress made him feel.

All through the day his instincts had stayed in overdrive, and he found himself wanting to be close to Bella, automatically reaching out to touch her every so often, as if to reassure himself that she was there and safe.

Kol found it deeply unsettling to have these impulses, and if he hadn’t been so consumed by the immediate situation at hand, he might have seriously considered just how disquieting he found the depth of connection he was beginning to share with Bella, but in the midst of everything all he could do was go with it.

He wondered if he would be able to consider it objectively once the danger to Bella had passed, but deep down on a subconscious level he knew that by then it would be far too late.

The only real high point of the day had come that morning. Remembering that it was Thursday, Jeremy had sent Bella a photo of himself posing in the kitchen shirtless.

Bella had been in fits of laughter when she’d seen the two figures in the back ground of the picture; Elena and a male who she’d been told was Alaric, both wearing confused frowns at the sight of Jeremy posing in the kitchen without a shirt.

Kol had been genuinely amused when Bella, giggling like crazy, had promptly taken a picture of her legs, complete with her feet covered in yet more of those fuzzy socks, and sent it back to him.

Jeremy’s good natured outrage when he’d called just a few moments later had entertained them all, even Elijah who had quietly been observing his younger sibling’s reaction to the pressure he was under with interest.

He hadn’t missed the way Kol and Bella always seemed to automatically gravitate toward each other whenever they were in the same space, and seeing Kol care for the young woman he so obviously loved was fascinating.

Neither Niklaus, Rebekah, nor himself, had ever really found anyone to truly love, and yet somehow it seemed that the most volatile and unbalanced one of them all now not only loved, but had that love returned.

Frequent contact and light reassuring touches were unconsciously sought out and accepted between Kol and Isabella even as he watched, both of them receiving comfort from the simple affectionate gestures.

He also had witnessed Kol several times in the last few days, tenderly brushing his fingers down Isabella’s cheek, something he had never seen his younger sibling do before. Indeed he had never seen Kol do anything even remotely like that, and the sight made him smile to himself in a manner most unlike a Mikaelson.

Though it was clear that Kol was under a great deal of stress, Elijah couldn’t help thinking that this girl was the best thing that could have happened to his brother, and he could only hope that Niklaus wouldn’t come charging into things and ruin that for him.

He had a suspicion that it would not be long before they heard from him, whatever his reaction was. It had been more than twenty four hours since he had walked in on Jeremy’s sister making unpleasant comments – something which had saddened Elijah to hear of, given the respect he had previously afforded the doppelgänger.

Currently he felt little more than indifferent towards her. After having had her own relationship with a vampire, a former ripper no less, he would have expected her to be a little more understanding about her brother’s choices, but instead she was coming across as somewhat hypocritical and immature in her actions.

Elijah shook his head wryly. He himself had been guilty of misjudging his brother’s intentions, fully expecting Kol to have been shamefully using both Isabella and the Gilbert boy, until he had seen them all together anyway. Then he had realised how wrong he was.

Now he imagined there was very little Kol wouldn’t do for her if she needed it of him.

An incessant buzzing drew him suddenly from being lost in his thoughts, and Bella almost giggled at the surprised expression on his face. The tense look on Kol’s face made her hesitate though, as he looked at his phone which he’d pulled from his pocket.

Both of them fell absolutely silent when Kol slowly put the phone to his ear, forcing his usual exuberant, slightly obnoxious tone into his voice.

“Well hello, Nik…”

“I’m in Denver… don’t make me search for you…”

But suffice it to say
We’re leaving things unsaid
We sing ourselves to sleep
Watching the day lie down instead

And we are leaving some things unsaid
And we are breathing deeper instead

Kol had quickly told Nik where to find them after he’d said that. It would not bode well to have his brother already in a rage by the time he arrived.

Though he cared little what his brother could try to do to him, he wasn’t willing to place Bella in any more danger unnecessarily. Nik in a temper could be unreasonable at best, and downright savage at his worst. Kol knew that because, as much as he hated to admit it, he was much the same way.

Klaus hadn’t been far away when he’d called, so only a mere ten minutes or so later and he was self-assuredly striding into Kol’s apartment.

He paused in the lounge area, where Kol had positioned himself just in front and to the side of a petite female, whom he assumed to be the ’Bella’ he’d heard about. Looking her up and down curiously, his nostrils flared as he took in her scent.

“Now… aren’t you a delicious little morsel?”

The low rumbling snarl that erupted from Kol at his brother’s smirking words made the hairs on the back of Bella’s neck stand on end. Despite that, when he stepped further in front of her, she pushed herself close to his back, her cheek lightly pressing between his shoulder blades.

Relaxing minutely at the contact, Kol’s hand dropped back to loosely grip her hip while he kept a protective stance in front of her, not taking his eyes off Klaus for a moment.

“Interesting…” Klaus drew out the word slowly, his gaze calculating.

Kol shifted in response, his knees flexing slightly, his voice barely coming out above a low growl.

“Touch her Nik, and I swear to you that I will make you suffer.”

Klaus blinked, taken aback as he suddenly remembered Kol saying something eerily similar to him a few centuries before in Spain. Only this time Kol was trying to protect somebody else, not trying to stop himself being daggered.

He studied his younger sibling for a moment, for once not certain of how to proceed. He hadn’t expected to find that Kol truly had feelings for the girl, as it now appeared he did… Kol had never seemed to genuinely care for anyone.

Klaus was unable to stop himself from needling him though, their almost friendly rivalry rearing its ugly head as it so often did between them.

“Not planning on sharing then, brother?”

“Enough of this!” Elijah’s voice cut across the room before Kol could do more than snarl viciously.

He had been waiting in his bedroom, out of sight, wanting to give his brothers a chance to sort out their own differences, but it seemed at this point that was too much to hope for.

Giving Bella a small strained smile, he approached Kol and put a gentle yet firm restraining hand on his shoulder. Satisfied that Kol wasn’t about to lose control for a moment, he turned to face Klaus, mentally calling him all kinds of idiot for needlessly fuelling Kol’s rage.

It was time that they finally dealt with Klaus’ refusal to accept that someone else just might actually love one of his siblings.

“I’ve simply stood by and watched you do a lot of cruel things over the centuries Niklaus, but I refuse to allow you to take this from him… from them. This time I will not just stand by and let it happen. I will not let you continue to tear what’s left of this family apart to satisfy your own needs.”

If the situation hadn’t been so tense, Bella might have laughed at the way both Kol and Klaus almost gaped at Elijah when he’d finished speaking. Clearly neither of them had expected him to be so outspokenly on Kol’s side in this instance.

She could understand their surprise though. From what Kol had told her, as well as conversations she had witnessed between them, Elijah had never really been on Kol’s side in any instance.

She shook her head, feeling an odd mixture of amusement and sadness. After a thousand years, all they really had was each other, and while the idea of them turning into a ‘Stepford family’ like the Cullens was sickening, she hoped they could move past their differences.

Just the idea of her being the thing that tore a thousand year old family apart for good made her blood run cold.

Klaus was watching her, she realised suddenly, and she fidgeted nervously under his level stare. His shrewd ocean blue eyes making her feel like he could somehow tell what she was thinking.

Mustering up her courage, she bravely met his gaze, just like she had with Elijah at their first meeting. Elijah had barely twitched a smile, Klaus however cocked his head looking amused, before nodding slightly in acknowledgment.

“It appears we may have gotten off to a rocky start,” He spoke, looking directly at Bella. Then to everyone’s surprise he slowly stepped forward.

Kol all but vibrated with tension, but stayed still as Klaus carefully approached Bella stopping just a few steps away from her.

“As you already know, I am Klaus Mikaelson… and I believe you’re involved with my brother…”

Bella smiled a little nervously at the way he trailed the statement off, clearly leaving it open for her to answer him.

“Um, yes… it’s very nice to meet you,” She replied softly, “I’m Bella Swan.”

“Isabella… a pleasure.”

“I think that could be the first time I’ve heard anyone say that meeting you was nice.” Elijah remarked dryly.

Klaus cracked a grin in response. “Well, she doesn’t know me yet… give her some time.”

Kol snorted, some of the tightness slowly draining out of his body, though he didn’t relax completely.

“There’s far more going on than you know, Niklaus.”

Klaus followed Elijah over to the sofa, his eyes darting to where Kol also sat down, Bella tucked against his side. The image of his younger brother ‘cuddling’ the fragile looking girl incongruous with anything he’d ever seen from Kol before.

He suspected that the girl’s appearance was deceptive though, and that a layer of steel lurked beneath that delicate surface. He knew that nothing less than that would attract his brother or keep his attention – after all he and Kol could be almost uncomfortably alike at times.

“Well, do tell.” He drawled, taking a seat and looking at his elder brother expectantly.

“Isabella? It would be best if he knew everything, would you like me to handle it?”

For a moment Bella wanted to say yes, and let Elijah ‘handle’ the painful subject, but this was Kol’s brother they were talking to, and something in her gut told her that if she ever wanted him to respect her at all then she would have to start earning it from now.

Shaking her head at Elijah, she thanked him quietly before steeling herself and looking at Klaus.

“It started close to a year ago, when I moved to Forks, Washington…”

She told her story from meeting the Cullens right through to arriving in Denver and going on to meet Jeremy first and then Kol, and Klaus stayed silent, just listening as he watched both Kol and Bella closely.

It surprised him to find that he felt something like a kinship with Bella. Though it was under entirely different circumstances, he knew what it was like to feel betrayed by someone you had loved.

On top of the betrayal of magically suppressing his werewolf half, his mother had almost succeeded in her attempts to see him and his siblings dead… and Bella had been all but left for dead by people who had told her that she was family. They had to have known that Bella would be targeted for vengeance and yet they had still left her unprotected, with no way to defend herself.

Klaus shook his head to himself. That just wouldn’t do. If his brother truly loved this girl, as Klaus already suspected he did, then surely that made her family, and there was nothing more important than that.

We’re both pretty sure
Neither one can tell
We seem difficult
What we got is hard as hell

A hundred thousand words could not quite explain
So I walk you to your car And we can talk it out in the rain

And we are leaving some things unsaid
And we are breathing deeper instead
And we are leaving some things unsaid

It was late by the time they had talked the events of the last few weeks over, and Bella had been exhausted when she’d finally excused herself.

To her surprise, Kol had followed her into the bedroom. She had expected him to be a little distant with Klaus here in the apartment with them, Kol’s relationship with Klaus was entirely different to the one he had with Elijah, but so far he hadn’t been distant at all.

Even now she would have expected him to be more concerned about staying with his brothers than saying goodnight to her, yet here he was, stripping off his worn shirt for her like usual, all the while glaring at her teasingly, before laying a kiss on her that made her toes curl.

He winked at her afterwards, as if he knew exactly what he just done to her – and he probably did, Bella thought.

She was so tired though, that even after his teasing, she was still sound asleep barely moments after her head had touched the pillow.

Kol had re-joined his brothers, ignoring Klaus raising an eyebrow at the sight of him pulling on a fresh shirt as he left the bedroom. What he did with Bella was his business alone.

Detouring by the kitchen to get the extra bottle of bourbon he knew he had stashed there, he paused on his way back to the sofa when Klaus spoke.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

“Shut up,” Kol growled in reply, glaring at the hybrid, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course not,” Klaus smirked, “You share your home and your sleeping quarters with just anyone, don’t you…”

Kol only growled louder in response, making Klaus chuckle.

“Enough,” Elijah cut in, “You are worse than children. Am I the only one here able to act like a reasonable adult?”

He was hard pressed not to laugh when both Kol and Niklaus glared at him, the same put out expression on each of their faces.

“That frozen wench needs to be taken out,” Kol said suddenly, “With her plans to make an army, she’s too much of a direct threat to Bella.”

Elijah, and surprisingly Klaus both nodded in agreement with him. If she was allowed to create her army she would be more troublesome than if they just dealt with her now.

“Tomorrow,” Elijah suggested, “If the weather is on our side, we will be able to corner her while she shelters from the sun. Even seeking revenge, few of their kind dare to go against their rulers.”

“That makes sense,” Kol nodded, “I knew there was a good reason I called you into this, Elijah.”

“And I suppose I will be of no use whatsoever?” Klaus asked, his tone mocking.

“Yes, but nobody asked you… you just… turned up. A bit like a bad penny really.”

Elijah snorted in spite of himself at the mildly affronted look on Klaus’ face.

“I could just leave you to deal with this threat to your precious Bella on your own…” There was a trace of a smile in Klaus’ words, his teasing of Kol unusually good natured for once.

“Ah, but you won’t… admit it brother, you’re dying to get your hands on some cold ones.”

The conspiratorial grin they exchanged had Elijah wondering if he might have been wrong when he’d previously wished that they would get along better.

The conversation flowed between them for a while longer, along with the bourbon, until a noise caught Kol’s attention. He cocked his head slightly, recognising it when it came again as being Bella moaning softly in her sleep.

A slightly smug smirk stretched across his face, knowing that noise well, and knowing that it would be him that she was dreaming of. It he hadn’t already been certain, then it would have been confirmed a moment later when she moaned again and followed it up with a loud sigh of his name.

“Well, I think that’s my cue to head to bed.” Kol put down his glass and stood up with a grin.

Klaus laughed. “I assume your Bella would not want me to take the room next to yours then?”

“Well, she might care in the morning… but she won’t tonight.” Kol replied, his grin only getting wider. “You might not want to be so close to my room through the night though. Come to think of it, you might not want to be too close during the day either… my girl’s a screamer.”

Leaving Klaus laughing and Elijah shaking his head in his wake, Kol ducked into the kitchen for a bottle of water before disappearing into his bedroom, closing the door securely behind him.

He didn’t switch on a light, there was more than enough illumination coming through a gap in the curtains for him to see by, and for a moment he paused just inside the door to look at where Bella lay asleep in the bed.

Even with her scent filling the room and her soft moans, Kol considered gritting his teeth and bearing it, and leaving her to sleep. The decision was taken from him though when as he sat on the edge of the bed she stirred and woke up, blinking at him sleepily.

“Kol? Is everything okay?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, darling, I was just coming to bed.”

Nothing could have gotten Kol to admit out loud how cute he found the way she sleepily mumbled ‘oh’ and moved over to make more space for him in response.

He stripped off quickly and slid into the bed next to her, grinning to himself when she hesitated until he held his arm out before scooting closer to him, her head landing to rest on his chest.

His grin disappeared when she shifted and curled her body into his though, her bare thigh grazing over him.

Bella’s eyes snapped open at Kol’s sharp intake of breath, realising that he was naked and she’d just brushed her leg over a certain area. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, getting only a shrug and a grin in response much to her amusement.

Feeling bold as she noticed his hand wandering lower over her ass, she smiled to herself and slowly and deliberately moved her leg again, gently grazing it over him.

In a blink she found herself on her back, Kol looking down at her from his new position between her legs. His eyes flashed darkly, and then he was kissing her and she was lost.

The t-shirt she was wearing rode up, leaving only the thin cotton of her underwear separating them as he ground down, making her whimper softly into the kiss at the feel of him between her legs, hard and perfect and rubbing deliciously against her.

Her hands drifted into his hair, tugging lightly, knowing he enjoyed it, and herself enjoying the low rumble it elicited from him.

“It’s been too long.” He murmured against her lips, making Bella giggle.

“It’s been maybe a day and a half.” She reminded him.

“Exactly,” he responded with a smirk, “Like I said… too long.”

“You’re insatiable.” Bella giggled again.

“You know you love it.”

They looked at each other for a long and slightly awkward moment after Kol spoke, the words hitting a little close to home and both of them very aware that things were going unsaid, but neither willing to say the words and make them all too real.

Still without speaking, Kol shifted his weight to one arm and reached out, softly brushing his fingers down Bella’s cheek, making her close her eyes briefly to dispel the tears that threatened to well up at his unexpected tenderness.

Reaching up, she repeated the action on him, her fingers stroking down his cheek in the same slow soft way his had done on hers. Their breathing the only sound in the room as they wordlessly acknowledged their growing connection.

He moved then and Bella moaned, wanting nothing more than to lose the thin cotton barrier between them and feel him skin on skin, have him moving inside her. She had called Kol insatiable, but she wanted this just as much as he did.

Her tiny frustrated noise made Kol smirk when he shifted his weight off her to ease her underwear down, though it quickly changed into a wordless cry of pleasure when his hand slid up the inside of her thigh, fingers brushing teasingly over his mark before finding their way to where she wanted them most.

“God… Kol.” Bella whimpered when he stroked his fingers over her, the thought that Klaus and Elijah would hear every sound she made the furthest thing from her mind right then.

Unable to resist when her back arched, all but thrusting her breasts into his face, Kol bent his head and flicked his tongue over her nipple, enjoying the taste of her skin and the feel of her in his mouth. It was becoming more and more of an addiction for him as time went by, having his mouth on her in some manner.

It was hard for Bella to remember how to breathe when Kol trailed his mouth down her body, over her hip bone and down onto her thigh where he sucked lightly on the mark he’d left there. Her entire body shuddered when he trailed upward and buried his head between her thighs, replacing his fingers with his tongue and tasting her.

“Kol… ungh… fuck, please…” Bella begged as he licked and sucked just enough to tease her.

He pulled away with a smirk, licking his lips.

“Something you needed?”

Again that word ‘cute’ popped into his mind at Bella’s little growl of frustration, making him shake his head to himself. What had this girl done to him… and why didn’t the idea that he could be turning soft bother him more?

It would only be her, he reasoned with himself. Though his brothers and Jeremy had all had their own ideas of what he felt, he didn’t have to let them or anyone else see just how deep his feelings ran for the girl lying beneath him or what she was coming to mean to him.

The unfamiliar yet somehow natural affection that hinted at things left unspoken… that would only ever be for her.

It was with that thought in mind that he moved himself up her body and kissed her slowly.

She whimpered and shifted underneath him, her hands find their way back into his hair and tugging softly again. A moment later his hand moved down to grip her hip, gently angling her body so that he could thrust inside her.

He moaned deeply, almost drowning out Bella’s own gasping moan as he filled her in one leisurely stroke, stilling momentarily to allow her to adjust to him before he moved.

Bracing himself on one elbow, his other hand slid slowly from her hip upwards, grazing over her side and up her arm, moving one of her hands above her head and finally lacing his fingers with hers, their joined hands pressing into the sheets there.

All the while he kept slowly moving, even as Bella arched up into him, mewls of pleasure escaping her with each of his thrusts.

Her free hand was still threaded through his hair and she hooked one of her legs behind him in an effort to pull him impossibly closer. Kol managed to oblige her though, thrusting deeply and then grinding down against her, making them both moan and shudder at the feel of it.

Then Kol shifted and suddenly he was hitting that spot inside her, and Bella couldn’t hold in the long loud cry of his name, her limbs trembling and her breath coming in short gasps as the delicious tension wound tighter and tighter.

Finally it snapped, the pleasure crashing over her in blissful waves, and Kol who had been precariously close himself gave in and tumbled over the cliff with her, with a last few erratic thrusts and a deep groan that only seemed to add to Bella’s euphoria.

Rolling onto his back before he squashed her, Kol pulled Bella to lay on his chest while they both caught their breath, his hand resting on her back and his fingers tangled in the ends of her hair.

They lay like that for a while, the silence feeling comfortable between them, until eventually human needs made themselves known.

Kol handed Bella the bottle of water he’d brought for her to drink, and headed to the bathroom. Barely a few moments later they were ready to sleep, both sliding back into bed.

With Bella curled up against him, Kol looked down at her with a faint frown, hoping that after tonight, with the combination of what they’d just done along with one less worry in the form of his brother, perhaps her nightmares might stay away.

~*~*~

I can sing myself to sleep
No more

Not that you’re the one
Not to say I’m right
Not to say today
And not to say a thing tonight

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Lyrics and chapter title are from Unsaid ~ The Fray

Unbeta’d, so as usual any mistakes are my own.