The Impala's engine rumbled to a stop outside the Salvatore Boarding House, the silence that followed almost deafening.
Neither Winchester spoke as they sat in the gathering dusk, the dashboard clock's soft ticking the only sound breaking the tension.
Lucien stared straight ahead, watching shadows lengthen across the boarding house's weathered facade.
His fingers absently traced the jaguar mark on his palm, the black silhouette seeming to absorb what little light remained in the car.
"Sam," he finally said, voice small but determined. "Before we go in..."
Sam turned, his expression guarded, exhaustion evident in the shadows beneath his eyes. "Yeah?"
Lucien met his brother's gaze directly, swallowing hard before continuing. "I need you to forget everything we talked about. All of it."
"Lucien-"
"Please," Lucien cut him off, his tone shifting from request to plea. "It won't help anyone to dwell on it. Let's just... go back to normal."
Sam's face nearly crumbled, a complex mixture of emotions washing across his features – guilt, sorrow, frustration – before settling into a mask of forced neutrality. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, then slowly relaxed.
"Is that really what you want?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," Lucien answered without hesitation. "Trust me, it's better this way."
A heavy silence stretched between them, filled with all the things neither wanted to say. Finally, Sam nodded once, a short, jerky motion that spoke volumes about his internal conflict.
"Okay," he said, reaching for the door handle. "Okay."
-------------------
The boarding house's main room was buzzing with activity as they entered.
John and Dean hunched over a map spread across the antique table, while Trevor examined a collection of weapons laid out with methodical precision.
"There you are," John said, looking up as the door closed behind them. His eyes narrowed slightly, fatherly instincts immediately detecting the tension between his sons. "Everything alright?"
"Fine," Lucien replied too quickly, moving to put physical distance between himself and Sam. He positioned himself near the fireplace, casually examining a book left open on the mantelpiece. "Elena's parents want to meet you, Dad."
Dean's head snapped up, his attention momentarily diverted from whatever he'd been discussing with John. "What?"
"Her parents invited us to dinner tonight," Lucien explained, grateful for the change of subject. "Me and Dad specifically."
John straightened, his posture shifting subtly into hunter mode. "When?"
"Seven o'clock," Lucien replied, watching his father's expression harden. "At their house."
"And this came out of nowhere?" Dean asked, his tone suspicious. He glanced at Sam, who had moved to the far corner of the room, his back half-turned as he pretended to examine a bookshelf.
"Not exactly," Lucien continued, carefully keeping his voice casual. "Elena mentioned her dad's been acting weird. Burning papers with jaguar symbols in the middle of the night."
Trevor approached, his expression thoughtful. "The Gilberts are one of the founding families," he noted. "If anyone knows about these marks, they would."
John nodded slowly, his mind clearly working through the implications. "Could be a trap," he mused. "Could also be our best chance at getting information."
"Sam?" Dean called, finally addressing his brother's unusual silence. "You okay over there?"
Sam turned, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Yeah, just tired. Long day."
Dean looked between Sam and Lucien, suspicion clear in his narrowed gaze. "What happened with you two?"
"Nothing," Lucien answered smoothly. "We just drove around town a bit. Sam showed me some of the local landmarks."
'Not a lie, but not the full truth either.'
John watched the exchange silently, his expression unreadable. After a moment, he seemed to make a decision. "We'll accept the invitation," he declared, effectively ending Dean's interrogation. "Could be our best lead on what's happening in this town."
Lucien nodded, relief washing through him as the focus shifted away from him and Sam. "I'm going to rest before dinner," he announced, already moving toward the stairs. "Been a long day."
He felt their eyes on his back as he climbed the stairs, Sam's gaze the heaviest of all.
The moment the door closed behind Lucien, Dean rounded on Sam.
"Alright, what the hell happened?" he demanded, green eyes flashing with concern barely masked as irritation.
Sam busied himself with a book he'd pulled randomly from the shelf. "Nothing happened, Dean."
"Bullshit," Dean shot back. "You two look like someone died. What-"
"Drop it," Sam interrupted, his voice uncharacteristically sharp. "Please."
John watched the exchange silently, his gaze moving between his sons. Trevor remained by the weapons table, pretending not to listen while catching every word.
"Sam," Dean persisted, stepping closer. "If something's wrong with Lu-"
"I said drop it!" Sam snapped, slamming the book closed. The sound echoed through the room, followed by a heavy silence.
John finally intervened, his voice calm but commanding. "Dean, help me clean these weapons. We need to be prepared for tonight." He turned to Sam. "Check our supply of silver bullets. And vervain extract."
Sam nodded gratefully at the distraction, moving toward their duffel bags.
-----------------------
Lucien entered his room with a heavy sigh, closing the door and leaning back against it. He rubbed his eyes, the weight of the day pressing down on him like a physical burden.
"Rough day?"
The voice jolted him from his exhaustion. Katherine lounged on his bed, one arm propped behind her head, watching him with a mixture of smugness and genuine concern.
Lucien silently cursed himself for not sensing her presence. He'd been so focused on blocking out emotions that he'd left himself blind to her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, not moving from the door.
Katherine smiled, stretching languidly against his pillows. "Waiting for you, of course."
Lucien's jaw tightened, already knowing what she did. "You set it up," he accused, voice low with anger. "You knew Sam was listening yesterday. You orchestrated the whole thing."
"Yes," Katherine admitted without hesitation or remorse, her directness catching Lucien off guard. He'd expected denial, manipulation, not simple acknowledgment.
She twisted on the bed, exaggerating her comfort with a soft moan. "Isn't it better to have things out in the open? No more pretending?"
Before Lucien could respond, he felt a strange tugging sensation – like invisible hands pulling him forward. The air around him shifted, currents forming where none should exist indoors.
Katherine made a subtle gesture with her fingers, and the air current strengthened, drawing him toward the bed.
Lucien could have resisted – the Force would easily counter her wind manipulation – but curiosity overrode his anger. This was an ability he hadn't seen her use before.
In his moment of allowance, Katherine pulled him onto the bed, catching him against her chest in a possessive embrace. Her fingers immediately found his hair, stroking it with gentleness.
"Surprised?" she asked, her lips brushing against the top of his head. "Five hundred years gives you time to develop all sorts of talents."
Lucien stiffened in her arms. "Let me go."
"Why?" Katherine countered, continuing her gentle caresses. "Because I showed you the truth? Because I didn't lie to you?"
"You're manipulating me," Lucien accused, though he made no real effort to break free.
Katherine chuckled softly. "Did you expect anything else? But manipulation doesn't mean what I'm saying isn't true." Her arms tightened slightly around him. "I'll never lie to you, Lucien. Always and forever."
Lucien scoffed. "You lied to me at the fair. You lied in that dream at the hospital."
"True," Katherine conceded, pressing a kiss to his hair. "And I'm sorry for that. But things are different now. I promise you, from this moment forward – always and forever – I will never lie to you again."
Hesitantly, exhausted from emotional barriers already strained to breaking, Lucien reached out with the Force, probing Katherine's emotions. What he found surprised him – absolute sincerity pulsed from her, a core of truth he couldn't deny.
"I can't put you above my family," Lucien muttered after a long silence against her chest, the words muffled but clear enough to her hearing.
Katherine continued rubbing gentle circles on his back. "Why not?" she asked softly. "Why can't you put the one who loves you above all else above those who would discard you compared to others if it truly came down to it?"
Lucien pulled back slightly, looking up at her. "It's not that simple-"
"But it is," Katherine interrupted. Her expression shifted, becoming thoughtful. "Though that's not what I'm asking of you."
Confusion flickered across Lucien's face as he adjusted his position to see her better. "Then what are you asking?"
Katherine reached out, gently taking a strand of his hair between her fingers. She brought it to her lips, kissing it with reverence.
"All I want," she said, her voice soft but intense, "is for you, my dear little god, to grow up and become strong. As strong as you possibly can." Her eyes gleamed with something like religious fervor. "I can feel it inside my heart – I don't know how, but it's like instinct – that if you do, none in Creation will be able to equal you."
She traced a finger along his jawline, her touch feather-light. "And if you love me then, it doesn't matter if you care about others more than me. Because you'll be able to keep me and them all safe and happy anyway."
Lucien studied her face and her emotions, searching for deception but finding only that same core of belief.
'I see right through what she's doing,' Lucien thought, watching Katherine play with his hair.
'This whole "I'll wait for you to grow up" and "It's okay to love others more than me" thing is such an obvious play. She's not demanding loyalty now - just setting herself up as the one person who believes in me when I'm feeling like crap about my place in the family. Classic manipulation 101.'
He shifted slightly in the hug, uncomfortable with the thought of how comfortable it felt, the embrace of a monster.
'I know she's playing me, but I just... don't even care right now. Because yeah, she's manipulating me, but I can feel through the Force that she's not lying about the important part - she really would put me first.
She actually does believe I could become something insanely powerful. She does believe that if I become strong enough it would be okay, but prefers that I do put her first...'
A sigh escaped him as he acknowledged the truth to himself.
'After that car ride with Sam... after having all that stuff out in the open... Katherine's whole act is like finding an oasis in the desert. I know It's Katherine, Katherine fucking Pierce But damn it, she's right. She's absolutely right about everything, and that's what makes her so dangerous - and why I can't bring myself to push her away right now.'
Before he could respond, a wave of exhaustion crashed over him, the emotional toll of the day finally catching up. His eyelids suddenly felt immensily heavy.
Katherine noticed immediately, her expression softening. "You're exhausted," she observed, pulling him closer. "Sleep. I'll protect you, keep the nightmares away."
"How?" Lucien mumbled, fighting to keep his eyes open.
"Vampire trick," Katherine explained, her voice a soothing murmur. "I can guard dreams, keep the bad ones at bay." Her fingers resumed their gentle stroking of his hair. "I'll wake you when it's time for you and your dad to go to Elena's. Just rest now."
Lucien knew he should resist, should push her away and maintain boundaries. But the comfort she offered was too tempting after the day he'd had.
With a sigh of surrender, he allowed himself to relax against her, his body going limp as sleep claimed him.
Katherine adjusted her position slightly, cradling him more comfortably against her. Her expression held triumph mixed with genuine protectiveness as she watched him drift into darkness.
"My beloved little god," she whispered as his breathing deepened, her fingers still gently stroking his hair.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Do tell me how you found it.
So... Look, I pride myself on my writing being logical, it is why Katherine is... Well, making this happen.
How I've written Katherine, is I've taken her canon self, and put it here, with some adjustments to the past, to fit the upscaled, different world.
Her desires, personality and the like though are like in canon. It's why survival is her goal, and when finding out Lucien is the key she is willing to do all this.
It is also why, that precisely because of that desire for survival, that she can do fucked absolute disgusting up things, like having tried to force herself on Lucien in that dream, despite being attracted not to Lucien's body as a kid, but the concept of Lucien - a god who can be her protector.
Katherine can do a lot for survival. She is... I don't know if the comparison is completely correct, but kind of in a sense like Fang Yuan.
For immortality, Fang Yuan, doesn't care what he does so long as it gets him (well, he still has his pride, so nothing too humiliating, but still).
If being a demon will get him immortality he will become the greatest of all Demons. If being a saint is what gets him immortality he will be the greatest of the Saints.
Katherine is similar in that, for survival, safety, love, immortality and love. If it means that by becoming someone Lucien loves, likes, she is willing to change enough about herself, that, she gets that.
Like putting Lucien first, loving him more than life itself, being willing to die for him, and the like.
Question is: can she succeed?
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)