( stefan has always been the dependable sort. at least in chicago, klaus felt he had found more than a friend; more like a brother. though perhaps a partner is more of an apt descriptor, recent deeds considered. sure, they've had their ups and downs, but as stefan pours him a drink and takes a seat, klaus considers just how valuable his presence is to him, now.
how he wants him around. wants him here, with him. for him.
he's silent, for a short moment, his eyes lifting to gaze at his old friend. his good friend, absent now of animosities and history left unsettled. )
I would like you to help me make sense of all this drivel. ( his voice is low, soft, but certain. ) This bar is mine, now that my daughter is gone, and I need your help.
( stefan was that much more enamored with klaus' sister, but he wouldn't downplay his connection to her brother. after all, he knows the relationship meant more to klaus at the time than he let on. he couldn't let him or his sister be caught, so he abandoned him and left him on his own. again. to forget that he ever had a roaring 20's.
he waits, letting klaus choose what he wants to say, if he wants.
he takes that in, nods once.
well, he's the do'er when it comes to the salvatores. so, he picks klaus' glass up and holds it out for him to take again.
once klaus doesn, stefan slides the banker's box closer to him, gathers what few papers klaus has managed to pull and goes to work. quite literally.
it takes him a few minutes to parse out the bare specifics. )
According to these, you have two part-time employees. A bartender and -- a cook -( he holds the paper up as if he has to reread it. ) who bartends when he needs to, ( he glances to klaus ) however that works. ( he pulls another folder out. ) But, you didn't always, there are employment records that go a few years back. ( he flips through them, his brother's name jumping out, fingers frozen as he holds the paper flaps back. ) But, not anymore.
( he sets them aside, pulling another set of documents out. )
Hope inherited it from Damon. And then... ( he takes another swig from the bottle. he furrows a brow, finding a paper clipped to the back of Hope's deed. ) Caroline was a co-owner. And - ( he squints. ) You co-signed with Damon, after Damon ended his and Elijah's business relationship. ( he drops the papers down, because that is a lot of information in one sitting. ) But, it's yours now. And severely understaffed.
( obviously. he swings the bottle up into his hand again, getting to his feet. it hits close to home. damon. caroline. he has to pace away. he sips, using the back of his hand the bottle is holding to wipe it away. finally, he turns back. )
( stefan describes more or less everything klaus has already gleaned himself from the papers, or heard about from hope, prior to her departure. the bar has a long, interesting history, passed within the hands of those from their world. the familiar names, stark on paper, has also inspired in him a certain disquiet; a longing.
it strains in him, that longing, pulled and stretched, painful and yet numbed with grief, soothed only by drink and anger. by purpose.
he is still, lounging back against the cushions; still but for accepting his glass and resting it on his thigh. he's watching stefan, coming to realization after realization, hurt after hurt. each realization and hurt is one they share, in their own ways. each are necessary, for them both.
he leans forward only when stefan rises, his gaze skirting to the man in peripheral. he imbibes most of his tumbler; his friend's sympathies go down hard with his swallow. )
As am I. ( for them both. ) It seems we've inherited a responsibility from those we've lost. ( and loved. klaus reaches for the bottle, and tops his drink off anew. ) I aim to honor that.
If you need a hand with more than making sense of the leftover paperwork, I can help.
( it feels like he should. that its history threaded through damon and caroline. it feels like he needs to step up. it will give him a purpose and something to focus on. and it will keep him closest to the one person in the city that knows him.
and, it may be good for klaus.
he knows the hybrid can go off the rails with his losses.
he didn't know caroline had been involved. he's curious about damon's dissolution of his contract with elijah, but knowing damon, that was on his brother. still, he came out on top.
he paces closer, and moves back around the table to the couch. )
( it's what he wants: stefan's involvement. it's what he needs and craves; what he always has. his gaze does not skirt this time, seeking to catch and decipher his old friend's feelings and intentions, but lifts to meet his eyes openly as he returns to sit.
he does need help. he has his purpose, but what he has lacked, even with hope here, was a touchstone. without her, he is truly adrift.
he does not want to be alone. )
I do.
( the words are heartfelt, heavy, and as difficult to carry as they are a relief to share. ) Not only is this place a heirloom from our brothers, and a treasured heirloom of my daughter... ( his hand is extended, palm-up, lifting and falling with the annunciation of his words. ) but I do not want to run it with anyone else.
( that stefan sought out this place tonight, for whatever purpose (no doubt about one mikaelson or another — perhaps both) suits him. his jaw tightens and the fierce earnestness in his eyes softens. they may have this conversation now. ) How about it? You and me?
( he made the short-list, not that he's surprised. now isn't the time to mention the people stefan would run a business with before klaus. because, under these circumstances, ready to run to the ends of the earth, stuck somewhere else, and coming off of Klaus' sire-line being completely rescinded.
it feels right.
not in the grand scheme, but with everything between them and where he is now. if only he had spoken to Hope in person. )
You and me.
( the subtext and tension from the hoedown still lingers. stefan is nothing if not a compartmentalizer and he knows better than to think that was more than a blur, a combination of aphrodesiacs. likely the solo cups.
but he'd be lying to himself if he didn't find solace in the idea of doing it again. to distract the two of them of everything they lost and the magnitude of what they'd gained.
the dedication.
the burn of memory rests right behind stefan's eyelids as he tries to form the words he wants to say. )
You saved me life. And I witnessed your legacy being ripped away from you and your brother. It's only right that I help you uphold another here.
( for now, he leaves out. because nothing ever feels permanent or fixed. even when he wants it to be. )
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how he wants him around. wants him here, with him. for him.
he's silent, for a short moment, his eyes lifting to gaze at his old friend. his good friend, absent now of animosities and history left unsettled. )
I would like you to help me make sense of all this drivel. ( his voice is low, soft, but certain. ) This bar is mine, now that my daughter is gone, and I need your help.
no subject
he waits, letting klaus choose what he wants to say, if he wants.
he takes that in, nods once.
well, he's the do'er when it comes to the salvatores. so, he picks klaus' glass up and holds it out for him to take again.
once klaus doesn, stefan slides the banker's box closer to him, gathers what few papers klaus has managed to pull and goes to work. quite literally.
it takes him a few minutes to parse out the bare specifics. )
According to these, you have two part-time employees. A bartender and -- a cook -( he holds the paper up as if he has to reread it. ) who bartends when he needs to, ( he glances to klaus ) however that works. ( he pulls another folder out. ) But, you didn't always, there are employment records that go a few years back. ( he flips through them, his brother's name jumping out, fingers frozen as he holds the paper flaps back. ) But, not anymore.
( he sets them aside, pulling another set of documents out. )
Hope inherited it from Damon. And then... ( he takes another swig from the bottle. he furrows a brow, finding a paper clipped to the back of Hope's deed. ) Caroline was a co-owner. And - ( he squints. ) You co-signed with Damon, after Damon ended his and Elijah's business relationship. ( he drops the papers down, because that is a lot of information in one sitting. ) But, it's yours now. And severely understaffed.
( obviously. he swings the bottle up into his hand again, getting to his feet. it hits close to home. damon. caroline. he has to pace away. he sips, using the back of his hand the bottle is holding to wipe it away. finally, he turns back. )
I'm sorry.
no subject
it strains in him, that longing, pulled and stretched, painful and yet numbed with grief, soothed only by drink and anger. by purpose.
he is still, lounging back against the cushions; still but for accepting his glass and resting it on his thigh. he's watching stefan, coming to realization after realization, hurt after hurt. each realization and hurt is one they share, in their own ways. each are necessary, for them both.
he leans forward only when stefan rises, his gaze skirting to the man in peripheral. he imbibes most of his tumbler; his friend's sympathies go down hard with his swallow. )
As am I. ( for them both. ) It seems we've inherited a responsibility from those we've lost. ( and loved. klaus reaches for the bottle, and tops his drink off anew. ) I aim to honor that.
no subject
( it feels like he should. that its history threaded through damon and caroline. it feels like he needs to step up. it will give him a purpose and something to focus on. and it will keep him closest to the one person in the city that knows him.
and, it may be good for klaus.
he knows the hybrid can go off the rails with his losses.
he didn't know caroline had been involved. he's curious about damon's dissolution of his contract with elijah, but knowing damon, that was on his brother. still, he came out on top.
he paces closer, and moves back around the table to the couch. )
If you want my involvement.
no subject
he does need help. he has his purpose, but what he has lacked, even with hope here, was a touchstone. without her, he is truly adrift.
he does not want to be alone. )
I do.
( the words are heartfelt, heavy, and as difficult to carry as they are a relief to share. ) Not only is this place a heirloom from our brothers, and a treasured heirloom of my daughter... ( his hand is extended, palm-up, lifting and falling with the annunciation of his words. ) but I do not want to run it with anyone else.
( that stefan sought out this place tonight, for whatever purpose (no doubt about one mikaelson or another — perhaps both) suits him. his jaw tightens and the fierce earnestness in his eyes softens. they may have this conversation now. ) How about it? You and me?
no subject
it feels right.
not in the grand scheme, but with everything between them and where he is now. if only he had spoken to Hope in person. )
You and me.
( the subtext and tension from the hoedown still lingers. stefan is nothing if not a compartmentalizer and he knows better than to think that was more than a blur, a combination of aphrodesiacs. likely the solo cups.
but he'd be lying to himself if he didn't find solace in the idea of doing it again. to distract the two of them of everything they lost and the magnitude of what they'd gained.
the dedication.
the burn of memory rests right behind stefan's eyelids as he tries to form the words he wants to say. )
You saved me life. And I witnessed your legacy being ripped away from you and your brother. It's only right that I help you uphold another here.
( for now, he leaves out. because nothing ever feels permanent or fixed. even when he wants it to be. )