18th April, 2028

3rd person POV

While they're still stuck in traffic, Kaitlyn leaves Damon a voicemail, telling him to meet them at the Excelsior Hotel, as they're almost there, themselves.

A while later, they finally reach their destination. While Klaus stays back to ensure the rooms are ready and the cars are safely handled by the valet, the others stray further into the lobby. The kids are all chattering along, unable to hold their excitement while Freya and Kaitlyn talk about things they could go see during this 3-day trip.

Suddenly, Kaitlyn's phone rings and Damon's Caller ID pops.

"Hey Buttercup, I'm at the hotel lobby. Where are you?" he asks as she answers the call.

"We're at the hotel lobby too. Just a little further down," she replies.

"Okay I think I see an Original. See you in a bit," he says as he hangs up.

Kaitlyn walks towards the counter as well, to see if Damon was there.

Suddenly, she gets pulled into a tight hug but someone, "hey there, Buttercup. Long time no see," Damon says as they pull away, giving her his signature smirk.

"Damon! Hi, god I missed you so much! Where's Elena and Stefanie?"

"Stefanie is home and Elena is still at the hospital, "he says as Kaitlyn frowns, "but, she promised she'll be here with us the whole day tomorrow."

Kaitlyn nods as the twins rush towards them and Klaus joins the group as well.

"Uncle Damon!" they tell out in sync as Damon hugs them both before turning to Ryan, "happy birthday, kid. You're so grown up every time I see you guys," he says and everyone laughs.

Then Damon turns to see Klaus, "ah, I don't know how to greet you," he says.

"How about a 'nice to see you after so many years?'" Klaus suggests as he holds his hand out for Damon to shake, which he does.

"I would be lying if I said that, though. But we're here for my nephew's birthday, so I guess I can make my peace with you this once," Damon says and Klaus nods.

"Oh and Damon, meet Klaus' sister, Freya and his daughter, Hope," Kaitlyn introduces as he smiles at them.

"Okay if the greetings are over, the rooms are ready and I think we should get some rest before tomorrow," Klaus suggests.

"This is New York, dad. Nobody stays in for the day, here," Hope complains as Damon nods, "you know, she's right. How about the kids take a stroll around Central Park or something while us, adults take a trip to my favorite place here- my bar," Damon offers.

"Yeah I wanna see Central Park," Lizzie cheers.

"So it's decided. I'll pick you guys up in an hour or so," Damon tells them, "oh and Buttercup, I have a surprise for you."

"What surprise?"

"The entire point of a surprise is that it remains a secret until revealed. And it's a 'who' not a 'what'," Damon smirks and then walks away as the Mystic Falls group head to their suites.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

Upon reaching upstairs, the group splits in groups of six, into the two sides of the duplex suite.

Ryan, Landon, Rafael, MG, Penelope and Madeline take the rooms downstairs while Lizzie, Josie, Hope, Freya, Kaitlyn and Klaus take the upstairs ones.

After freshening up and relaxing for a little, Kaitlyn gets a text from Damon saying he's waiting downstairs for them and so, they all head out.

While the kids decide to go take a stroll around Central Park and look around a little, Damon drives the other adults to his bar.

"So what surprise were you talking about?" Kaitlyn asks him as they enter his bar.

"I believe he was talking about me," a voice comes from one side of the bar.

They all turn around to look at the direction as a smirk plays its way into Damon's mouth and Kaitlyn's eyes widen in shock, while Freya and Klaus look confused.

"Bash?" she question, more to herself than the others. The mystery guy (imagine him as Toby Regbo) nods and Kaitlyn immediately rushes to him, pulling him into a tight hug.

Klaus' jaw clenches in jealousy at seeing how excited Kaitlyn was with his presence.

"Ah it's so good to see you two together again," Damon smirks, mostly targeting his words to piss off Klaus.

As they pull away from the hug, Kaitlyn asks, "what are you doing here? When did you get back? Why didn't you call me?"

"Easy there, one question at a time," the mystery guy chuckles, "I got back last week after I finished a project in Paris. I was going to call you but I lost your old number and when I came to meet Damon, he told me how coincidentally you were taking a trip here and I was like, 'hey what are the chances? Must be fate'," he states with a laugh as Kaitlyn and Damon laugh along and Klaus rolls his eyes at the man.

Then Kaitlyn remembers that they had company, so she turns to look at them. Klaus looks incredibly pissed off while Freya looks scared, mainly of what Klaus might do. They could both already tell Klaus didn't like this guy.

"Oh how rude of me, Sebastian, meet Klaus Mikaelson and Freya Mikaelson. Klaus, Freya, meet Sebastian Carter," Kaitlyn introduces.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson," he greets them and Damon bursts out laughing.

"Oh no, they're siblings, Bash," Kaitlyn corrects.

"Oh sorry, my bad," he apologizes.

"It's alright. It's a pleasure to meet you," Freya replies politely while Klaus just glares at Sebastian's arm that was now wrapped around Kaitlyn's waist. Freya nudges Klaus to say something, thus breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Nice to meet you," he says, half-heartedly.

"Alright, now that the introductions are over, let's get some drinks for everyone," Damon says as he leads the group into one of the bar's private booths.

"So how do you two know each other?" Freya asks Sebastian and Kaitlyn who were now sitting side-by-side with Freya and Klaus on the opposite side of the round table.

"We're old friends," Sebastian replies.

"Oh really? How old? Because I've known Kaitlyn for over 16 years now and she has never mentioned you," Klaus asks with a smirk.

Kaitlyn rolls her eyes at him and Damon smiles, amused that his plan to hurt/piss off Klaus was working.

"Well, I met Damon in 2018 when he and Elena moved here. I invested in these bars, you see. And I meet Lyn in 2019, at the bar's opening party," Sebastian replies, "and we've been friends since then but she never mentioned you either, if I'm being honest," he retorts.

"I think it's time for the drinks, Damon," Kaitlyn interrupts before anyone else can say anything.

"We have the whole night ahead of us," Damon tries to reason but gets up to get the drinks when Kaitlyn glares at him.

"This is going to be a long night," Freya sighs as Sebastian and Klaus continue to glare at each other.

"I heard it's Ryan's birthday today?" Sebastian picks up the conversation as he turns to Kaitlyn and she nods.

"That's why we're here. He wanted to be here for this match and I couldn't say no. you should join us tomorrow," she offers and Klaus opens his mouth to object but Freya shushes him.

"Aw I wish but I have some work to do tomorrow. How long are you here for? We could do something later."

"We leave on the 21st, so we're not here for long. This was sort of a last-minute trip." Kaitlyn clarifies.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find a convenient time," Sebastian says as Damon returns with the drinks.

"So Bash, why don't you tell everyone a little more about yourself," Damon asks with a smirk.

"Well, they're not much to talk about. I'm a businessman but I mostly get my brother to look after the company since I like travelling," he shrugs.

"Bash can also play the piano, guitar and drums. Plus, he's a part-time photographer. Impressive, right?" Damon elaborates.

"It's not that big a deal. Do you still play?" he asks as he looks at Kaitlyn.

"Oh no I gave up playing a long time ago," she replies.

"You play an instrument?" Klaus asks curiously, not liking how Sebastian knew something about her that he didn't.

"Two, actually. Piano and the guitar," Kaitlyn answers.

"Yeah, Bash and Kaitlyn used to play together all the time when they'd hang out here. You should totally do it today," Damon suggests.

"Oh no, I'm totally out of practice. Let's not embarrass me like that," Kaitlyn denies.

"Oh please, music is a talent you don't forget just because you're out of practice. Plus you used to be a natural. Come on, let's sing something for our guests over here," Sebastian pleads as he points at Freya and Klaus.

"No you play. I'll sit this one out."

Sebastian huffs, "fine," and gets up, walking towards the piano.

He sits before the piano, "good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm about to play this song and it's dedicated to that beautiful lady sitting over there," he points at Kaitlyn's direction as the spotlight lands on her. She just awkwardly smiles at him, scared on the inside of what could happen if Klaus lost his patience, which he might soon. Sebastian starts playing "The Way You Look Tonight"

As Sebastian sings, the crowd joins along. By now, Klaus' knuckles have turned white from the way he's clenching them around his drink glass. Freya keeps looking at him, ensuring he's not going to lash out in public and Damon steals glances at his as well but wears a victory smirk on his face.

Soon, Sebastian finishes his performance and as the crowd bursts into cheers, he walks back to the group and kisses Kaitlyn on the cheek before sitting down next to her, his arms around his shoulder.

"Did you like it?" he asks her and she smiles at him.

"Oh I bet she loved it," Damon interrupts and Kaitlyn glares at him, finally understanding why Damon had been acting this way the entire evening.

"Yeah, it was great," Kaitlyn says and Freya nods.

Suddenly, Klaus gets up from his seat and turns to Freya, "I'll see you back at the hotel," he says as he roughly places his glass on the table and storms out of the bar.

"What was that about?" Sebastian asks.

"Oh it was nothing," Damon reassures but Kaitlyn and Freya share a worried look.

After roughly half an hour since Klaus lashed out of the bar, Kaitlyn's phone rings to show a call from Ryan.

"Hey, where are you guys? Are you heading back soon?" he asks.

"Yeah yeah, we'll be out soon. Are you guys at the hotel already?" Kaitlyn asks.

"No but we're on the way."

"Okay, we'll see you there soon," Kaitlyn says before she hangs up and turns to Sebastian and Damon.

"That was Ryan. We should head back now," she tells them and Damon nods.

"Well let me walk you guys back," Sebastian offers. Kaitlyn tries to deny but it's of no use as he 'won't take no for an answer'.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

Upon reaching the hotel's entrance, Sebastian gives Kaitlyn one final hug and exchanges numbers with her before telling her he'll call her later to make plans. He gives her another kiss on the cheek before walking away from the way they had come.

"He seems like a nice guy," Freya comments as Sebastian walks away.

"He is," Kaitlyn says with a smile.

Just then, Freya's expression turns worried and scared and as Kaitlyn follows her line of sight, her eyes land on a furious-looking Klaus standing on by the sidewalk.

"I'll give you two a minute," Freya says as she walks into the hotel.

Kaitlyn opens her mouth to say something but Klaus grabs her wrist and rushes them away to a secluded sidewalk.

For a while, they just stare at each other before Kaitlyn decides to break the tension.

"Did you just speed us here, using your powers in the middle of a busy NYC street?" she asks him.

He doesn't say anything, just stares at her angrily.

"Say something or I'm going back," she speaks again but when he doesn't reply, she turns and starts to walk away.

"Who is he?" Klaus whispers but Kaitlyn hears him clearly through her vamp-hearing.

She turns to face him again, "Bash? He's just an old friend."

"Yes, Bash. He didn't look like just a friend," he comments, hoping she would deny it but when she stays quiet, he starts to panic and looks up at her.

"He isn't just a friend, is he?" he whispers.

"He is now. We... we went out for a few months when I was in New York with Damon and Elena but then he moved away and I had kids to go back to so," she trails off.

"If he didn't move away, do you think you'd still be together?"

"I stopped thinking of 'what ifs' a long time ago. It doesn't matter. He did move and I did have kids to go back home to. That's what matters," she clarifies, "and you don't get to act the way you are right now. You don't get to storm out the way you did. You should've seen Freya's face, she was so scared you'd do something wrong-" she tries to continue but gets cut off by Klaus.

"Because that's all I do, isn't it? Do the wrong thing? Treat everyone the wrong way? Wrong the person I love, leave her when she needed me the most-"

"Nik stop," she tries to calm him down as his voice keeps raising.

"No, tell me! Isn't that it? That no matter how much you say you've forgiven me and that you don't hate me, you still do. You always will. Because I wronged you and as long as I stick around, you and your friends will keep running it in my face that I was the one who messed up the one good thing I could've had in my life. That I am the villain of your story. I look at you and Alaric and see how you are a family. How he got to be there with you as you raised your children. I look at Kol and see how he got to be a part of so many important moments of your life. I see this guy and I think how he got to love you right, even if for a little while, although I'm pretty sure he's still in love with you. I see all these people and all I see is how they all have the things we could've had, if only. If only I hadn't left when I did, if only I'd asked you to come with me or maybe stayed back here. If only-"

"Nik stop," Kaitlyn whispers again, "stop it. All these 'ifs' won't change what the reality is. Yes, these are all things we could've had but maybe our lives would never come to this if you hadn't left or if I had left with you or if we never even broke up. Maybe you wouldn't have Hope today and I wouldn't have my kids, my school. And I can't imagine my life without my kids, so I'm glad things turned out the way they did. And trust me, I mean it when I say I do not hate you." 

"I know I mean it because I tried. I tried to hate you when everyone kept blaming you, I tried to blame you too. I tried to hate the thought of you, the thought of us but I just couldn't. For the past sixteen years, I tried over and over again but I couldn't hate you. When Kol told me you and your family were moving here, I thought maybe if I saw you happy with your family and without me, I'd finally be able to hate you but I still couldn't. if anything, it just brought back all my past emotions. So I tried, okay? I tried to hate you, forget you but I realized, no matter how much I tried, I never could hate you. Because no matter what everyone said, deep down I always knew that you weren't the villain in my story," Kaitlyn says, whispering the last bit as Klaus stares at her in awe.

Without hesitating for even a second, he walks towards her as soon as she finishes talking. He leans down close to Kaitlyn's face, so now both their faces were just centimeters away. As Klaus closes his eyes and leans even closer, their noses brush and they can feel each other's breath on their faces. It's like the world around them had stopped spinning for a moment and everything else had disappeared. For a moment, it was just them.

Slowly, Kaitlyn places her hand on Klaus' cheek and as she goes to lean in as well, his phone starts ringing, snapping them both out of their daze.

Kaitlyn moves her face a little away but doesn't move her hand from his cheek as the both stare into each other's eyes, Klaus not answering or even bothering to check who was calling.

"I'm sorry. For everything," Klaus whispers.

"I know, so am I," Kaitlyn replies, "but it was fate. We can't change the past, only see what the future has in store," she states and she moves her hand from his face and steps away, both of them instantly hating the space between them and Klaus missing the warmth of her hand on his cheek.

He checks his phone to see a missed call from Hope.

"We should head back," Kaitlyn says and Klaus nods.

He takes her hand in his and they both slowly walk back to the hotel where their families were waiting for them.

All the way to the hotel, the same thoughts swirl around both their minds. What would've happened if his phone hadn't rung? Would they have kissed or would she still pull away? What did this mean for them now? Where to they stand now? Where do they go from here? Will they finally get to be together like they were meant to, all those years ago? Or is there still a lot left for them to face?

They enter their suite to see all the kids scrammed on the floor, intently watching a movie.

"Mom, join us!" Lizzie exclaims as she was the first to notice them return. While all the other kids look happy or amused in general, to see Klaus and Kaitlyn walk back in together, Ryan looks bothered and Madeline places her hand over his to comfort him.

Kaitlyn smiles at the kids and joins them under their giant blanket as the movie continues to play.

"Dad, you joining?" Hope asks Klaus.

"No, you kids go ahead. I'll see you in the morning," he replies as Hope nods.

Kaitlyn and Klaus share one last look before Klaus unwillingly turns around and walks upstairs to his room.

Author's Note

AHHHH THEY ALMOST KISSED!

KEYWORD: ALMOST. I decided it'd be to simple if they just reconciled over the appearance of one ex. I want to build up the angst a little more so heheh, just wait and don't hate me for this.

I promise I'll make their first actual kiss WORTH IT!

Double update today as well because I was so excited to get on with this plot. This trip will change a lot for them, ngl. Can't wait for the next chapter as well.

How're you guys liking the story so far? Any suggestion on how to make it better? Anything is appreciated. 

With Love,

Awwmoons.