lifeline ⇾ kai parker

50┃lifeline

CHAPTER FIFTY
epilogue

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"KAI, YOU'RE NOT ROBBING a bank," Mila told him, peering over the ajar trunk latch to see him leaning against the passenger side of the car. After double checking that they had everything they need, she closed it shut.

"Why not? Then we could live in a mansion. And have five pools. And a million rooms," Kai rambled on, his head angled up towards a bright sky like he was actually picturing what he was saying. "And hey, with all that square footage, our baby could get his exercise in."

Instead of a roll of her eyes or an unamused scoff, she found herself sighing lovingly at Kai's antics and whatever ridiculous nonsense he spewed. Kai, in his recently-acquired, black sunglasses that fought the unforgiving sun rays beaming down on them, had never looked more carefree, more himself. It was a comforting image of normalcy Mila thought she would never experience again. And now that she was, now that Kai had returned to her, she was going to try to soak it all in and appreciate what it was like to have him completely.

After their reunion in the blazing field, the repercussions that she believed they'd still have to face were nowhere to be found. There were no more tricks left up the Necromancer's sleeve. Ric was surprisingly understanding about Kai being brainwashed into behaving so catastrophically. Josie's tweak to the memory restoration spell so that they wouldn't forget their nemesis and his problematic intentions even after succumbing to Malivore was a success. Everything was falling into place.

Since there was nothing holding them here anymore, it didn't take very long for the both of them to come to the agreement that they definitely needed a vacation, especially because they were robbed of a honeymoon beforehand. They had already bid a goodbye to Damon and Elena and even stopped by Mila's parents house, using the excuse that they were passing through town. It was a relief to be around the people she loved without the absence of the most important person in her life. So much so that it had Mila considering that she, herself, should take up a more permanent residence here.

Mystic Falls was not a dark chapter of her past. It was no longer the reminder of sorrow and suffering. This town and its tendency to attract the supernatural had always been tucked away into a corner of her heart. She grew up here, met lifelong friends here, fell in love here... and her family is here, too. Her mom and dad, Lizzie and Josie, they were certainly people worth putting down roots for. She didn't want to miss out on anything else, anyone else, ever again.

Nothing was set in stone but she had a feeling Kai wouldn't mind living here, raising up the kid he's adamant on calling up Levi in this town. It was baffling how much he was already forming a habit of touching her stomach. He'd also talk to the baby, too, even though he wasn't developed enough to understand him but Kai didn't care. He would lie his head on Mila's lap, untuck the bottom of her shirt, and talk about anything and everything. Mila found the gesture sweet and adorable, encouraging her husband by stroking his hair and letting him plant the occasional kiss on her belly.

Mila joins Kai's side, feeling the hot surface of her car that had been victim to the sun all day through her blouse. "Yeah, and you'll be getting your exercise in the yard of a federal state prison."

"I could bust out of prison."

"And where would you go? I wouldn't take you back."

"You're just being unsupportive because you don't want to see my pretty face covered up with a Ski Mask." Kai reverts his shining blue eyes, revealed from his sunglasses sliding down his nose, from Mila to the ancient being watching their exchange from the sidewalk. "Zera, look into your crystal ball and tell Mila that I could be a successful bank robber if I wanted to be."