MOONS.
042. | ❛ the man i want you to
be. ❜

Klaus quickly rushes away towards to give to vial to Luna whom he sees standing arms-crossed inside of the balcony, staring out into the sunshine.

"It really is a beautiful day."

Klaus begins to approach behind her, although keeps his distance as she turns back around to face him.

"Well, perhaps when we've got this all sorted we can go for a stroll. My sister gave me this concoction, she assures me it will put you on the mend."

He sniffs the vial and grins, groaning,"Unfortauntely, this doesn't seem like your type of drink."

Luna walks forwards to sniff at the vial herself and pulls back with a grimace,"Ugh, if I really am dying, there's no way that's going to be my last drink."

She walks towards a table in the corner of the room in which holds full bottles of alcohol, although Klaus stands in shock at hearing her words,"What can I get you?"

"Bourbon. Neat."

"Neat? Either you're extremely sophisticated or you've had one hell of a day."

"Need the two be mutually exclusive?"

Luna approaches with the Bourbon in hand and begins to pour drinks,"Cheers,"

Luna and Klaus clink their glasses together, although Klaus is more concerned with watching her sadly but he takes her drink away,"You still can't drink because-"

"The baby."

Luna looks sad but then thinks of something, "you might not like this but the Ancestors might make a deal in exchange for-"

"No! We're not exchanging our child's life for yours because you both are living."

Luna quickly changes subjects, "I should've published youre memoir, I would've made a fortune. Hey, will you do something for me? You'd think with current events I would've written a will, but.. no time like the present, will you write a few things down?"

"Luna"

"Look, I just don't wanna leave any loose ends, so.."

Klaus is visibly unhappy at Luna's previous words although as Luna smiles and holds out a book, he quietly sighs and takes it off her.
_______________________

Klaus and Luna are seated in their earlier positions on the couch, with Luna dictating her will to Klaus, who has a pad in his hand, writing the information given to him.

"To Davina, I leave everything in my closet.. just nothing too revealing. To Vincent, all of my books. To Elijah, my mug that he always steals in the morning."

Luna is beginning to tear up whilst reading off her wishes, although the two share a small smile at her last request.

"To Hayley, my place in the bayou. Will you make sure she gives it to Hope when she's old enough? Hope should have it to remember me. And to you-"

"Oh, enough!"

A tear has fallen down Luna's cheek as Klaus throws the pad aside angrily as he stands and walks behind his chair, looking somewhat calmer.

"This is-is pointless! We're going to find a way to fix it."

Luna is starting to cough harshly and leans over the table as Freya runs up towards her with the bowl of Lucien's blood, pushing it into her hands.

"Here, drink this."

Luna drinks from the bowl with Klaus, Marcel and Vincent watching anxiously from beside her.

The blood don't work due to the fact that the bite was still there and Luna was growing paler by the hour.
_______________________

In a darkened bedroom, Luna is lying unconscious as Klaus sits by her bedside holding her hand, Freya briefly appears behind him and watches the scene before her. Klaus' eyes are closed, looking away from Luna as we witness an illusion he has placed in Luna's mind. The two are seated opposite each other in a cafe within the Quarter with a musician picking up his guitar and beginning to play. Several others are seated nearby and the Quarter is busy with people passing by outside the cafe street.

"Perfect day at a corner cafe. You really outdid yourself. If only it were real."

"It will do to pass the time whilst we wait for the cure to take effect. And then tomorrow when you've recovered we can travel anywhere you like. Perhaps we'll go to Santorini for some vinsato, or to Rome for the perfect expresso."

"I've always wanted to go to Venice. Ride in a goldona down the Grand Canal."

"Well then we must start there."

The two smile and share a laugh,"I wish I would've known you were sure a romantic, I wouldn't of played so hard to get."

"Let us not speak of regrets. We're in the perfect moment of the perfect day. Let's try to enjoy it."

Seemingly several hours after their earlier cafe conversation, Luna and Klaus are walking down a busy side street within the Quarter heading towards the main street, a jazz musician can be heard in the background as they pass by several people seated at tables, and a drunken man stumbling into Klaus.

"This is my favorite time of day. You can feel the city coming alive. The lights turn on.. the music cranks up."

"It's lovely. Save for the incessant parade of inebriated baffoons. I should've omitted them when I conjoured this."

"You don't get to delete the details that annoy you. If you love something you have to accept the good with the bad."

"I prefer to shape reality to my will. That's a far better practice than simply accepting what's been offered."

"Even you don't get the micromanage the world. Besides, it's an unhealthy impulse."

"It is for those who'd defy me."

Luna and Klaus cross the road and the stroll down the pavement holding hands,"Healthy, happy people get by just fine when they don't get their way. The whole revenge thing, the obsession with power... it's all rooted in fear."

"I've been around a thousand years, I've endured as many horrors as I've committed. What could I possibly have to fear?"

"For one, you're afraid of what will happen when I'm gone."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"I'm just trying to enjoy my perfect day, and I will be able to if you allow me to make my point. Do you remember when we first met?"

"You were so damaged. Manipulative. People were just things you used to get what you wanted."

"That's a harsh appraisal, though I admit accurate."

"But you wanted to show me you were more than that. So you showed me your whole life. You wanted to be understood, Klaus. That's a human impulse, and if you're capable of that after everything you've been through, then you're capable of everything else that comes with being human.. joy, hope, love. Do you know that, Klaus? You are loved. By Elijah, Rebekah, Freya. By me."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because love will make you strong. It will make you the man I know you want to be. And you're going to have to remember that.. becauese I won't be here to remind you."

A sudden wind blows and the people around them in the illusion suddenly disappear, due to Klaus' distraught emotions beside Luna's bed, before back in their illusion, Luna, whilst in tears, presses her hands to Klaus' face and makes her look at him.

"Hey, hey. Look at me. It's going to be okay."