Epilogue

They lost Damon, Stefan, Caroline and Tyler in the final battle.

It had been a day that started out like every other, but by noon, Klaus had ordered his hybrid army to attack Mystic Falls and leave no prisoners.

And attack they did.

Amongst the fallen was half the population of Mystic Falls.

Family, friends, neighbors, while no one knew what had actually happened, everyone was affected.

Kol stood beside Bonnie, when she sent Klaus back to hell where he belonged. While both were powerful, neither of them were unable to do anything to prevent her friends from being torn from the world.

Unable to bear the sight of an empty house once filled with joy, laughter and pleasure, Bonnie left the Salvatore manor, buying a small cottage by the sea with the money Stefan and Damon bequeathed to her and Elena. Kol went with her, having nowhere else to go and not wishing to leave her side.

Elena had planned to go with them, but couldn't face living with Bonnie as it reminded her too much of everything that had happened. So Jeremy, Alaric and Elena packed up and left to Europe hoping to escape everything.

Although they had never said it to each other, they knew they were dependent on one another now. Secretly, Kol hoped that dependence would slowly fade, and Bonnie would see him as more than a link to her past and her dead friends. He hoped she would one day love him back, giving him her emotional self as surely as she gave him her body.

The one-year anniversary of Bonnie's friends deaths loomed over their heads, and Kol found Bonnie sitting outside on the verandah, wrapped in a blanket to keep out the nights chill.

Without saying a word, he sat beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. Her eyes were fixed on the stars glinting above them, and he knew her thoughts were with her friends, as they always were. They sat in silence, the still night punctuated by the occasional cry of a crow, and the waves breaking on the shore in the distance.

She turned to him, her eyes sad and heavy with loss. He was reminded forcefully of a poem he had read while under her guard, about a woman suffering from loss and regret, and a fragment of those words he had absorbed so long ago floated through his mind –

Once she was beautiful.

Once we were warriors,

Scared of our sin.

Once we were monsters,

Scared to begin.

The war had changed them all, those that lingered and the ones left behind to suffer through life.

Bonnie had caught up with Matt, one of the few people still living in Mystic Falls, a few times.

She wouldn't admit it, but each time was a terrible experience for Bonnie, seeing how traumatized and lost her old friend was, and she and Kol would return to their little home by the sea feeling like strangers, until the memories faded a little and they were able to take solace in each other once again. He looked at her regretfully, at her tired face and drooping shoulders. There was nothing he could do to ease the pain of her loss.

"Take me to the ocean," she whispered, and Kol nodded, standing, pulling her to her feet gently. He tugged the blanket more securely around her frail body, ignoring the ice creeping into his own skin. Hand in hand, they walked the short distance to the beach, their path lit by the moon, their feet sinking in the soft silvery sand. They stood, linked together by the past, the present and future, at the edge of the world, letting the calm stillness of the night infuse their souls. Moonlight bounced off the waves, and Bonnie sighed, gazing out at the dark water longingly, her face etched with sadness.

"It's too cold to swim," Kol said softly, knowing where her thoughts lay. She nodded and smiled at him, a ghost of happier times flitting across her face. Her eyes reflected the stars, tiny pinpricks of light dancing over the chocolate brown surface. When the weather was warm, they would come down to the beach and swim together under the moonlight, her face transformed with the simple pleasure of being alive.

"Do you believe in heaven?" she asked him quietly, and he shook his head. They had had this conversation before, on nights like this, when depression scratched its claws deep into her soul.

She already knew the answer.

"Not really," he replied simply, puling her closer and sliding his arm around her back. She sighed repentantly, her head falling against his chest.

"Pity. I thought I may see you there some day."

"Maybe you will. I think you still have time to change my mind," Kol said, tickling her ribs, enjoying the sound of her soft laughter. She turned her body into his and slid her arms around his neck, her fingers finding their way into his hair. Kol felt his eyes close as she caressed the back of his neck, loving her touch more than life itself. She pressed a gentle kiss on his lips and he shivered, kissing her back tenderly, pulling her body flush against his.

The sound of the waves crashing on the shore in a constant rhythm of power and beauty lulled the pain in their hearts like a song sung to frightened children, and Kol felt a sense of peace settle over his body. She pulled her face away slightly, looking deep into his eyes, and he smiled at her, brushing a strand of silken hair from her cheek, his fingers lingering on her soft skin.

"Kol," she said, her eyes shining in the darkness, his name soft and beautiful on her lips.

"Hmmm," he replied, his hand reaching up to massage the back of her neck. The cool ocean breeze rushed around their bodies, the sea waiting patiently in the background, waiting to engulf the sadness that drowned her. She shivered, and he instantly pulled her into him again, resting his chin against her head.

"I love you," she whispered, so soft he barely heard it over the waves and the darkness around them.

The End.

A/N: I really had nowhere to go with this story, so I chose to wrap it up. Again, I should have just left this as a oneshot. I've said it before, I don't like this story much, and am actually thinking about rewriting it. Anyway, I hope this was okay. Thanks for all the reviews, each one makes me smile and inspires me to write :) So, until we meet again. xx