Chapter Text
2014
Robyn waddles back towards the couch in embarrassment, hoping Kai won't notice as she tries to settle back into her spot on the couch where the two of them sit watching a movie.
The two of them have been through a lot together, and while she'd never admit it out loud, she cares about him. He's one of her closest friends, thanks to the 1994 prison world, which forced them to be together every day for nearly a year, to which anyone would end up getting to know one another. Even if you hate each other's guts.
It's been about three months since they escaped and only two weeks since Robyn had to break Kai out of the 1903 prison world, where she met Stefan and Damon's mom, Lily, who was a heretic. Kai was banished there by Joshua, again, in fear of retaliation against the Gemini coven. This time around wasn't so difficult.
His freedom came with a cost, though; if Robyn wanted to free one person, she had to free them all. This didn't make her friends very happy, nor did the idea of Robyn still being around Kai. Luckily, Lily and her coven fled Mystic Falls.
Kai came back... different. Nobody had thought that it was remotely possible for a vampire to also be a witch or vice versa, and that's because they were locked away long ago. A true abomination to nature, as Bonnie would put it. It's hard to believe one can still be shocked after everything that's happened in Mystic Falls.
Kai was now a heretic, and due to his siphoning abilities, he could now draw magic from a permanent source with the side effect of vampirism.
Considering that heightened emotions are an effect of vampirism, Robyn truly had to help talk him down from going on a bloody bender when he got back, furious with her friends for trying to kill him again. She'd never seen him so angry before, which is surprising, to say the least. She even had to threaten him a few times herself, babysitting him for a few days until she could trust him not to kill her family and friends.
It would've been something they could've never come back from. Kai knew this.
Kai watches Robyn shuffle awkwardly, on account of her Diva cup shifting within her slightly, raising an eyebrow at her stiffness as she sits back down next to him, remote in hand as he pauses the movie to study her with a questionable look on his face.
Getting her period is always an uncomfortable subject considering she's friends with a bunch of vampires. She's never outright asked if they could tell, because honestly, she doesn't want to know the answer.
"Sorry," she mutters, tucking her legs beneath herself as she clears her throat. "So? What do you think so far?"
"This is the amazing movie you gushed over while in 1994?" Kai gestures towards the screen, a look of disgust on his face.
"What's wrong with it?" She frowns.
"You know, this is an absolute mockery to vampires everywhere. I mean, why are they so pale?"
Robyn narrows her eyes at his criticism. "A mockery? You've been a vampire for, like, a day. And newsflash: nobody knows you exist! So I'm sorry you're so offended by their depiction of a species nobody knows is real." She says sarcastically, throwing her hands up in mock surrender.
"I wish I could sparkle in the sun," Kai mumbles under his breath. "Plus," he points at the screen again, "why do their eyes change color so much?"
"It's a movie," Robyn says flatly.
"Not a very good one," Kai says pointedly as if he's too good for it. "Can we watch something else?"
"Oh, like Baywatch?"
"Hey, Baywatch is a classic way ahead of its time. How can you not appreciate the complexity of such a cinematic masterpiece?" Kai defends the movie he's seen way over a thousand times since being imprisoned, now going on a tangent about the 'glory days' of film. He's probably seen four modern movies and he's already calling the late 80s to early 90s the glory days.
Robyn blinks at him slowly, saying nothing as she lets him get through his rambling, which is best for the both of them. Kai pauses, looking at her and the way her fingers push into her brown hair in annoyance. He smiles at her, the same old mischievous smile he always does. Robyn doesn't like it one bit, eyeing him suspiciously.
"What?" She asks slowly, side-eyeing him as she leans against the back of the couch, shifting so one knee is propped up in front of her.
"Oh, nothing." He hums innocently. Robyn knows him far too well for any of that nonsense. But she also knows it's pointless to engage in his mind games.
She shrugs, opting not to give him the attention he so desperately wants. "Can you play the movie?"
"Remember when we kissed?"
Robyn harshly kicks him with the flat of her socked foot, which hardly even moves him, her face scrunched as she does so. "Play the damn movie, Kai."
Kai smirks as Robyn begins to wonder why she doesn't take her sisters 'advice' and stop seeing him.
"What?" Kai innocently bats his lashes. He quickly covers his mouth with one hand. "Oh no. I mentioned it."
Robyn glares at Kai, ready to kick him again. She inhales deeply through her nose. "We said—"
"—you said—"
"—what happens in 1994 stays in 1994." She smiles sarcastically as if being polite, nodding in agreement with herself.
Kai hums, bringing his finger to move a lock of hair from my bare shoulder. "I specifically remember it being more of a threat than a mutual agreement."
"Not that you'd listen anyways," Robyn mutters before she swats his hand away. He laughs, narrowing his eyes when he looks at her again.
"And stop doing that weird squinty-eye-thing where you're clearly looking for a reaction instead of actually thinking about something."
"'Squinty-eye-thing'?" Kai muses, his eyes rounding back out before he does it again.
"Yes—that!" Robyn points at him with a huff.
"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about." Kai tilts his head to the side as he examines her body language.
"Kai, if you're that lonely, put an ad out on Craigslist or something." Robyn suggests in annoyance. "Or maybe get a hooker or something." She mumbles.
"I can't help it, Birdie!" His stupid nickname for her, which always makes her cringe, which he loves, "I'm just so pent up lately. You know, vampire stuff." He waves a dismissive hand. "I wouldn't expect you to understand." His tone, though amused, is quite instigating.
"That's your favorite excuse lately." She calls him out, the leather of the couch feeling warmer than it had earlier, the space between them becoming a little tense.
Robyn feels her heart rate pick up some, turning away flushed when Kai looks at her knowingly. She snatches the remote from his hand, pressing play on the movie, avoiding Kai's gaze as best she can. She feels herself growing tense, despite the subject not being unfamiliar territory.
Day and night, that's the two of them. One with too much humanity, the other with too little.
Yet, she's the only one who's never looked at him like he was some sort of monster, that same disgust everyone has when they find out what he is. She's the only one who makes him feel human in the most sense, despite the subject being unfamiliar.
The sound of the TV plays, and characters talking, but it's as if they're speaking a foreign language. Robyn's face feels warm as she pretends to watch the movie, her heart in her throat as Kai watches her. She wants to break out of the tight bubble she placed herself in, knowing he finds it amusing to watch her squirm.
Kai leans back into his side of the couch, pulling his phone from his pocket as it audibly unlocks. Just like an old person, he has no self-preservation when it comes to technology, meaning his phone is always on the loudest setting. She listens to the knack of the keyboard and then silence, presumably scrolling, finally curious enough to look over at him.
"What was it you mentioned, crave-list?"
"Craigslist?" Robyn corrects with a small laugh, Kai continues to scroll.
"Oooh, look Birdie." He turns the phone to show he is looking through apps, one of them with the icon of a red flame in a white box. "Tindedge."
"Tinder?" Robyn corrects again with amusement. She heard of the app while at Whitmore. He waves a dismissive hand.
"Says it's the hottest new app for singles." Kai flexes his brows, tapping the download button. Oh God, Robyn thinks, it's like Twitter all over again.
"You know, I'll give it to you, the modern world truly is fascinating with its little gadgets and applications."
"You can just call it an app, Kai." She finds his digital literacy amusing.
Kai opens the app and as the Terms of Agreement pops up, Robyn finds herself annoyed that he's actually reading through them.
"Just skip them."
"What? No." Kai defends, going back to reading his screen. "Seems a little silly to just skip a contract." This side of his digital literacy isn't so amusing. And so he sits there for the next 5 minutes, actually reading them before accepting and taking on the next task.
"A bio? Like, biography? An autobiography?" He seems stumped. All Robyn can think of right now is her regret of introducing Kai to the modern internet. She should've never convinced Kai to get a cellphone after the 1903 prison world incident but she got tired of him just showing up.
It hasn't helped much. Watching Kai try to work a phone is as painful as it is hilarious.
Robyn leans over to look at his phone screen. "Just tell people about yourself, you know. Make yourself seem interesting."
"Phew, I thought I'd have to tell them about my axe-murderer days, nobody wants to meet someone like that." He says in false relief. "That shouldn't be hard, I'm probably the most interesting person on this planet."
Robyn stays quiet on that one, letting the silence speak for itself.
Kai begins typing on his keyboard, the clacking sound effect indicating he's typing slowly. He begins to read what he's writing as he types. "Vampire-witch heretic looking for casual sex with a human. Infertile. Haven't had sex in years."
Absolutely mortified, Robyn grabs the phone from his hand, "What, are you trying to drive them away?" She shakes her head. "People are going to think you're some insane basement dweller."
"My room was in the basement, though."
Him and his lack of social cues never fails to amaze her, but in all fairness, he's been locked away from humanity for nineteen years.
"You can't just say you're a vampire."
"Why not? Nobody would believe me anyway."
Robyn makes it a point to tap her chin, pretending to think to herself in the most dramatic way possible as she looks up at the ceiling. "Hmm, oh, I don't know, maybe because there's a secret council dedicated to killing vampires in Mystic Falls?"
Kai rolls his eyes at this, adding yet another item to the long list of why he hates Mystic Falls. The cons seriously outweigh the pro.
Robyn erases his sentence, causing Kai to frown as he leans over to watch what she's typing.
"Be sure not to mention the family-killing stuff."
She glares at him, causing him to back off. Pausing to think before typing, which she also reads aloud, she tries to paint Kai as normal as she possibly can, which is a challenge in itself. "Outgoing, old-fashioned guy looking for some fun. Likes: 80s horror, cooking,"
"Oh, and Baywatch, add Baywatch." Robyn ignores him.
"—And traveling." Robyn hands his phone back to him. "Women love a cultured guy."
"Think I should mention trying to decapitate myself in Washington, D.C.?"
"Maybe leave that one out." She taps his shoulder.
"Old fashioned?" Kai crinkles his nose when rereading the bio, an unconscious habit he's picked up from the girl next to him.
"Yeah, get it? Because you're actually, like, 40." Kai rolls his eyes.
"My glorious, smooth skin begs to differ."
"Oh, that reminds me." Robyn says, completely forgetting the small surprise she had for him. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a small object from her pocket, presenting it to Kai.
"No way." Kai's face drops at first, placing his phone on his lap. "You got a pager?!" Kai asks excitedly. She nods, smiling at his giddiness.
"Now if you can't figure out how to call me, you can page me to call you instead of just breaking into my house." She smiles, her tone indicating just how annoying she finds it. Kai frowns. "You know, you should appreciate the fact that I'm so hip with the times. I mean, this whole Tweeter thing—"
"—Twitter—"
"—is life-changing. You mean to tell me everyone can know what I'm thinking, and at all times?"
"Kai, I'm your only follower." Robyn reminds him.
"Give it time Birdie, and soon enough I'll be able to start a new coven."
"Oh, well, can I be a leader too, then?"
"What? No, there's only one leader in the Kai coven. Duh. It's the Kai coven. You can be, like, my right-hand man."
"I'm honored." She says flatly, her phone buzzing in her pocket, which she ignores at first until it becomes repetitive, reluctantly pulling out her phone to check her texts.
Robyn sighs, switching off her ringer and stuffing it back into her pocket. "I've got to go."
"Mm, mommy calling you home?"
"Ha ha, so funny." She says with a straight face, mocking him as she begins collecting herself, grabbing her tote bag and putting it over her shoulder. "I'll see you later. Have fun with your Tindedge." She stands up and walks towards the door snickering.
The door is open, Robyn halfway out the threshold before Kai chimes in. "Oh, Birdie?"
Robyn leans backward, looking back at him. "Hm?"
"I was just wondering..." He trails off, Robyn watching attentively, waiting for him to continue.
"I'll make sure to put some menstrual products in my bathroom next time." He looks down at the center of her pants to make a point.
A gasp leaves her mouth before she furrows her brows, slamming the front door behind her as harshly as she can, cursing him out in her head on her way to the car.