They went into town and found a boutique with nice looking clothes. After going in, they both looked around, thankful there were only a few humans in the store. Elena was still held over from the blood she had drunk from Kol earlier, so the few humans were not as enticing.

Elena immediately grabbed a few things and pulled Kol over towards the dressing rooms.

"Okay, you stay here while I try these on, I might need some opinions!" Elena said before walking into the dressing room.

She tried on a few basic clothes, then put on a skin tight dress, walking out of the dressing room. Kol's eyes widened as he looked her up and down before looking side to side and then flashing to her side, turning her around and whispering in her ear.

"If you keep trying on things like that, we might have to cut this trip short and go home, love. " He whispered.

"Calm yourself. There's even better ones coming up…" Elena winked before wiggling out of his grasp and walking back into the dressing room.

Sure enough, she was true to her word and Kol had to hold his composure as she showed him two more outfits that made his head spin. At the sight of the last one, he grabbed the pile and her waist and pulled her along to the register.

"I promise I will buy you whatever you want if we go now." Kol said swallowing hard. Elena smirked at him before remembering something.

"Hold that thought, I forgot some essentials!" Elena said quickly walking over to the undergarment section and grabbing several lacy bras and panties, before walking back and dropping them on top of her other large pile.

"You will be the death of me…" He muttered under his breath, too low for a human to hear, looking away as he handed the cashier his card.

After they left the store, they immediately went back to the house and Kol let Elena put away her new wardrobe.

"Put something comfortable on. It's time to start training, darling." Kol told her from the other room, muttering about needing a cold shower. "Meet me downstairs when you are ready."

Elena flashed downstairs moments later, wearing her new workout attire, and almost ran directly into Kol, who held out his arms to stop her before she did.

"Whoa there, tiger." Kol said, laughing as he still held onto her arms.

"Okay, so what are we doing down here?" Elena asked curiously, looking around at the padded basement.

"We are down here to train, darling. I'm going to teach you how to fight like a vampire, that way you can learn to protect yourself if you are in a situation where I am not there." Kol explained. Elena nodded, understanding, and happy that he wanted to teach her.

"Okay, so what's first?" Elena asked, waiting for Kol to guide her.

"Close your eyes, let your other new senses take over. I am going to move around you, and I want you to turn to where you think I am." He told her and she nodded, closing her eyes.

She listened and heard his feet move, following the sound. He moved again, and she turned toward him. He then stepped backwards, and Elena stepped forwards. He flashed to the other side of the room and she flashed towards him, stopping directly in front of him.

"Good. Now I want you to try to tackle me to the ground." Kol said before flashing away again. "You can open your eyes for this part."

Elena opened her eyes and flashed toward him, attempting to grab him, but he was quicker than her.

"You've got to try harder than that, love." He said from the other side of the room again. She laughed and flashed up to him, kissing him directly on the lips, distracting him for a moment before she pushed him down and straddled him, holding his hands above his head against the ground.

"I got you." Elena said, leaning down to kiss him again. He quickly flipped her over so that he was leaning over her, holding her hands above her head.

"You cheated." He said, leaning down to kiss her again.

"Distraction isn't cheating." Elena laughed.

"It is when you wouldn't use the same technique on all other opponents. I dare say you wouldn't run up to an enemy and kiss them, now would you?" He asked her with a teasing smile.

"Nope, but it worked on you!" She said laughing as he helped her back to her feet.

"Indeed it did. However, I need to have you prepared for an enemy, love." He said to her.

"You were an enemy once." She retorted.

"Not every enemy becomes your mate, darling; I believe that only happens once." He responded and she looked at him for a moment before deciding to definitely ask him about what he had said after they were done training.

He motioned for her to come at him, to attempt to attack him. She ran at full speed, chasing him around the room before finally stopping him and blocking the moves he was making. She managed to get onto his back and he flipped her over, onto the ground, hovering over her. She kicked his leg out from under him and quickly tackled him to the ground, flipping him on his back.

"Well done, darling. Where did you learn those moves?" Kol asked as she hovered over his face.

"You tend to learn a few things being around vampires for a couple years, just some observations." She responded.

He showed her a few more techniques that older vampires used to take advantage of younger, new vampires. She knew that he was not using his full strength on her, and that was okay for right now, but he would need to eventually.

"Are you hungry?" Kol asked as he cleaned up the room a bit from the training.

"You ask as if you don't already know…" Elena said teasingly. He looked at her a smiled before motioning for her to follow him.

"Come, I'll make us some dinner." He said walking up the stairs to the kitchen.

"You can cook too? I think I found a keeper!" She said lightheartedly as she followed him up into the kitchen. "Will food taste the same?"

"Unfortunately not. You won't get satisfied by human food any longer, and it won't taste exactly as you remember it, but it will still be good to eat. If you would have tried to eat anything during the transition, it would have tasted like dirt. However, there are ways that a vampire can spice up human food." He said, pulling out some pots and ingredients to make spaghetti.

She sat on the counter and watched as he made the meal from scratch, then as the sauce was almost finished, he took a knife and cut his hand, letting the blood mix into the mixture. Then, he put the last remaining drops of his blood into a glass of wine, mixing it in gently.

Kol brought the meal over to the table where Elena was now sitting and she smelled the heavenly creation.

"Enjoy, love." He said to her as she took her first bite.

"Oh, that's amazing." She said before taking a sip of her wine. She closed her eyes and let the taste set in.

Kol silently ate his plate of food as he watched her savor every bite. After dinner was finished, he quickly washed their few dishes, with Elena's help (only because she insisted) and decided that he wanted to show her the stars from the rooftop.

"Come with me, I have something to show you." He told her as he walked outside, making sure she had his jacket on. Once outside, he jumped to the rooftop easily. He could tell Elena was apprehensive, because she had never done so before, but he urged her to jump. Finally, she jumped and landed on the rooftop with him, her eyes closed. "Open your eyes, darling."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He softly placed a kiss on her forehead before turning her eyes upward to the night sky. She could see the stars much more clearly now, as well as the beautiful full moon in the night sky. He sat down on the roof and tugged on her arm for her to sit down as well.

"It's beautiful." She said as she stared at the light speckled sky. He was just watching her, taking in her complete awe at something so simple.

"I know." He responded and she looked over at him, only to see him watching her instead of the stars.

"How would you know if you aren't even looking?" She asked teasingly. He smirked.

"Darling, I have had a millennium to behold the night sky in all its beauty, and I believe I have a better view right in front of me." He explained to her in all honesty.

She smiled shyly. "What did you mean earlier in the training room?"

"I was wondering if you had caught onto that. There was a prophecy made by a trusted witch a very long time ago, that had informed my siblings and I that part of the spell our mother had cast to make us into vampires, contained a loophole of sorts. You see, nothing in magic can be absolute. My siblings and I are nearly invincible- save the white oak –but if all of that were destroyed, there had to be something else that could make us vulnerable, at least in a sense. It was said that each of us were destined to have a mate, and we would be connected to that person in a way that if they were to die, we would not die, but we would be so broken to the point of begging for death." He explained to her.

"So I'm your mate?" She asked quietly. He nodded. "Did you know when I was human?"

"No. I'm not sure if it was because my emotions were off, or because you weren't a vampire yet. I did know in the back of my head that I needed to protect you - which was why I gave you my blood in the hospital, but I didn't know that you were my mate until the moment you died. That's when my humanity came back and I knew it. Estelle just confirmed my suspicions." He replied, hoping that she wouldn't become distant from him because of the newfound information.

"Is that why I'm attracted to you, or is that my own choice?" She asked, needing to know more.

"No, darling, I promise the bond between us hasn't created any feelings, what you feel will always be your own choice, and that means if you chose to hate me, nothing is stopping you." Kol told her solemnly. It was best that she knew.

"If we are mates then so be it. Perhaps that is why we are so protective of each other." She said, thinking back to the club. "Don't worry, Kol. I'm not leaving, I definitely don't hate you, and I'm not looking at our relationship any differently. If anything, I'm more intrigued. I never expected to be someone's mate, but honestly I'm okay with it." She told him, making him relax immediately and pull her into a tight embrace as they both laid back and looked out at the stars.

"I was afraid that you wouldn't stay after I told you." He said; the vulnerability noticeable in his voice.

"I'm staying for as long as you'll have me." She responded, turning over to look him in the eyes.

"You know forever is a long time, don't you?" He said teasingly.

"Not long enough." She told him before kissing him softly.