( it was the last bit of hope he realizes now that he clung to — that if he couldn't find her, that even if all the avenues and signs pointed to her being gone — certainly she could still be here and still be found, if only by magic.
reading of nate's certainty feels like a punch to the chest. for a moment, he considers asking him to try again; try harder. but this is nate: hope's nate. he doesn't doubt him. without that doubt, it feels as if the world crumbles around him.
klaus has the wherewithal for only one response, for now. )
when nate arrives to the empty bar, the sign reads closed, but the door is open. klaus is perched on a stool with a pair of tumblers. his own glass has already been filled a few times; the scotch bottle between them is much depleted.
he looks up at nate enters and reaches for the bottle to pour a good amount for nate. a better welcome than a "hello", in his opinion. )
(how are you? is a loaded question. he, too, has not seen sobriety for days, and though he's yet to find any true comfort at the bottom of a glass, still he stares at the remaining scotch in his drink.
she would like this. he know they both would like it better if she were here. )
You know, this bar was founded and passed down through many people from our home, before she inherited it. ( hope told him as much. ) It's fitting, and right, to keep her legacy.
( that is what it is, what it signifies, to klaus. she is not gone. she can never be truly gone, for her mark stays. he looks to nate. ) Would you be willing to help me with it?
I remember. Damon Salvatore started it, I think, with Elijah. Her uncle. Your brother?
[ also actually someone nate has a shockingly poor opinion of, thanks to some shit he did while he was here. but that's all in the past, and worth only a passing thought. elijah is long gone.
they all are, all the mikaelsons. all of hope's family, except her father. klaus was the one she'd missed for so long, and now he's left to miss her. it doesn't seem fair. he leans forward on the bar, lifting his shoulders. ]
I'll help however I can, absolutely. What can I do?
( none of this is fair, but the world (any world, apparently) is unfair. klaus has long ago determined to meet it on its terms. this is his way — the only way — he can contrive to do so. to honor her.
he nods, silently, at nate's question regarding elijah. )
Hope was was running this place nearly single-handedly. ( how she accomplished it, he doesn't know. her co-owner is gone. her only full-time staff was pike, and while the man is still here, that's hardly enough. ) Stefan, Damon's brother, is here, and he's more than willing to step in to manage the place. I need hands, ideas, help. ( anything and everything, at the moment. ) To nurture this place and make sure it thrives in her image.
[ hope has mentioned the salvatores before. nate nods at once, not even needing time to think about it. he knows what hope would want, and that's more than enough to motivate him. ]
Well, then you'll have my hands, and my brain, and-- my magic, too. I can protect it, ward it, for a start. Keep going anything that Hope was maintaining.
Whatever I can do, to...to make this place still feel like her.
[ he takes a breath. he's never run a bar, and this one has two levels and was something of a haven. ]
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reading of nate's certainty feels like a punch to the chest. for a moment, he considers asking him to try again; try harder. but this is nate: hope's nate. he doesn't doubt him. without that doubt, it feels as if the world crumbles around him.
klaus has the wherewithal for only one response, for now. )
No.
( a few days later, however, klaus follows up: )
Meet me for a drink.
no subject
well. this. ]
okay
where?
no subject
( himself, obviously.
when nate arrives to the empty bar, the sign reads closed, but the door is open. klaus is perched on a stool with a pair of tumblers. his own glass has already been filled a few times; the scotch bottle between them is much depleted.
he looks up at nate enters and reaches for the bottle to pour a good amount for nate. a better welcome than a "hello", in his opinion. )
no subject
he hadn't thought to come here again. ]
Thanks. [ for the glass. he takes a decent drink, and slides onto the stool next to klaus. ] She'd like this. You, taking it over?
[ a glance around the room. ]
Still feels like her. How are you?
no subject
she would like this. he know they both would like it better if she were here. )
You know, this bar was founded and passed down through many people from our home, before she inherited it. ( hope told him as much. ) It's fitting, and right, to keep her legacy.
( that is what it is, what it signifies, to klaus. she is not gone. she can never be truly gone, for her mark stays. he looks to nate. ) Would you be willing to help me with it?
no subject
I remember. Damon Salvatore started it, I think, with Elijah. Her uncle. Your brother?
[ also actually someone nate has a shockingly poor opinion of, thanks to some shit he did while he was here. but that's all in the past, and worth only a passing thought. elijah is long gone.
they all are, all the mikaelsons. all of hope's family, except her father. klaus was the one she'd missed for so long, and now he's left to miss her. it doesn't seem fair. he leans forward on the bar, lifting his shoulders. ]
I'll help however I can, absolutely. What can I do?
no subject
he nods, silently, at nate's question regarding elijah. )
Hope was was running this place nearly single-handedly. ( how she accomplished it, he doesn't know. her co-owner is gone. her only full-time staff was pike, and while the man is still here, that's hardly enough. ) Stefan, Damon's brother, is here, and he's more than willing to step in to manage the place. I need hands, ideas, help. ( anything and everything, at the moment. ) To nurture this place and make sure it thrives in her image.
no subject
Well, then you'll have my hands, and my brain, and-- my magic, too. I can protect it, ward it, for a start. Keep going anything that Hope was maintaining.
Whatever I can do, to...to make this place still feel like her.
[ he takes a breath. he's never run a bar, and this one has two levels and was something of a haven. ]
What about her staff, are they still around?