#Elijah Mikaelson x OFC | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mrs-kmikaelson · 1 year ago

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Braver Together

(Should've Known Better Part Two)

Pairing: Kol Mikaelson x reader, Klaus Mikaelson x reader, Mikaelsons x sister-in-law!reader, Hope Mikaelson x mother-figure!reader Summary: Ever since your heart was broken, you became scared of love altogether, but then the most unexpected thing happens and you realize that there was no point in being alive if you weren't living. So you force yourself to face your fears and start being brave... with some help, of course. Warnings: very long, mentions of cheating, angst (with more fluff tho imo), complicated relationships, death, ofc violence, and i totally bend the tvd-originals timeline Words: 10.6K

Masterlist

a/n is at the end of the post.

When you accepted Klaus’ proposal a thousand years ago, you could’ve never imagined that your life would end up the way it would. For a long time, you were happy, maybe even the happiest girl in the world. It didn’t matter if your family was dead—the Mikaelsons became your family. And for a while, that was fine with you, but now it just felt like torture to be with them every single day.

But you supposed that you signed your life away when you married your husband.

His infractions amazed you, but you still didn’t leave him, even when every bone in your body begged you to. It was the little things, like watching Hope smile as she opened presents on Christmas morning, that made you feel like it was worth it.

You had grown attached to her. While you still weren’t the best of friends with her mother, you remained civil for her. After all, you were both stuck in this family with no way of escaping, so you found it pointless to continue to ignore her.

Klaus, however, was much more deserving of your ignorance, but like Hayley, you pushed that to the side. Your feelings didn’t matter when their child was involved. Even though you weren’t her mother, Hope felt like a daughter to you. Her name was so fitting; she really was this family’s last hope, and she was definitely yours.

Over the years you had, you managed to mend your relationship with Rebekah, even if it was never really the same as it was before. You were no longer running around Chicago together, dancing the night away, but now you had responsibilities to care for and hurt in your hearts. Rebekah had always been a child of sorts, but coming back to this city forced her to grow up. In a way, you supposed you did, too.

Elijah and you were better after that talk you had that one Christmas Eve, not as good as before, but better, and for the time being, that was good enough.

Sometimes, as you were playing with Hope in the living room, your siblings surrounding you, you lied to yourself and pretended you were a family again. But you knew better now. You’d been here before already.

But then something happened, something that almost made that lie feel real.

You walked into the Abattoir with a wide smile on your face, a sight that’d become rare to see. But when you were with Hope, it was impossible for the corners of your lips not to go up. She was giggling at something you said, but, looking back, you couldn’t even remember what it was.

There were shopping bags in your hands. You just took her out to get clothes for her first time at school. You were expecting to see the family seated on the couches, prepared to watch her “runway” her new wardrobe.

Instead, you were met with an apparent crisis. Rebekah sat on the couch, hand cupped over her mouth in shock, tears in her eyes. Hayley stood off to the side, glancing in between Elijah and Klaus, the former staring pointedly at an unknown man whose back was turned to you and the latter with his arms crossed, also staring at said man.

At your entrance, Hayley looked over to you, seeming to let out a breath, as if she was thankful to have a reason to leave the situation. “Mommy, mommy!” Little Hope waved Hayley over, even though she was already walking in your direction. “Me and Auntie Y/N/N bought pretty clothes! Wanna see?”

“Yes, sweetheart, just after your father and Uncle Elijah work this out.” She picked the child up, glancing your way with a sort of warning in her eyes, nodding over to where the rest of the family stood before she looked back to Hope. “For now, why don’t we get you in the bath?”

Hope groaned in protest, making you smile in amusement, but Hayley paid no mind to this, taking her upstairs. Your smile was immediately wiped away. The look the werewolf gave you suggested that something was going on, something she didn’t want Hope to be apart of. The rest of the Mikaelsons hadn’t taken their attention off the man they were staring at for even a second, worrying you.

So, you placed the shopping bags you were holding down next to the gate, walking towards them with your arms held out. “What’s going on?” You asked, but no one turned to answer you. Your brows furrowed. Just as you were about to ask again, the mystery man turned around and it was like the wind was knocked out of you instantly.

Standing right in front of you was no stranger. It was Kol Mikaelson.

For a moment, you almost forgot how to breathe. He gazed at you tenderly with an indecipherable look in his eye. Before you could get to even trying to figure it out, you jumped out of your shock and engulfed him into a tight hug that he quickly reciprocated. Tears leaked out of your eyes for the first time in years.

After a minute, you pulled away, patting his arms and looking him up and down, like you were trying to figure out if he was real. He looked just like Kol, just like your Kol. You pinched yourself, causing the man to let out a small chuckle.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you, Y/N,” he said, and you were gobsmacked because that was his voice, his voice that you hadn’t heard in years. As you realized this was real, that this was really Kol, you pulled him in for another hug.

Kol was the one to pull away this time, cupping your cheeks with his hands and wiping your tears away. You opened and closed your mouth like a fish, trying to find the right words to use, trying to figure out what you even wanted to say. When he died, you felt like there was so much left unsaid, but now you didn’t know where to start. “How- how are you here?”

He softly smiled at you, so different in comparison to the usual Mikaelson smirk that you were used to. “I’m going to explain everything.”

All of a sudden, you heard a throat clear, reminding you of the others in the room that you’d somehow forgotten about. You looked behind Kol to see Elijah, straightening his cufflinks. “Yes, it appears that we all have a lot to discuss,” he remarked, almost looking uncomfortable. You then glanced to Klaus whose jaw was clenched. Rebekah was still in the same exact position as before, expressionless.

Kol guided you to the couch next to her, telling the brothers they should sit, too. And then he told you all the story of a lifetime.

You listened intently as Kol explained how he was alive. He said he had been on the other side, watching all of you every day. Hearing this made you tense as you wondered what he could’ve possibly seen or heard; you were embarrassed that he might’ve seen how Klaus treated you and how you stayed, but your mind didn’t linger on the subject for long as he continued with his story.

He said the other side started to fall apart, all thanks to the travellers and their sociopathic leader, Markos. You were surprised he was even real; when you came across travellers in the past, you thought they were insane, but it turned out that they actually had real power, enough to bring down a supernatural purgatory that had existed long before even your time.

Kol then said he went back to Mystic Falls after a witch told him that Bonnie Bennett had taken the place of the other side’s anchor. He explained how, following Stefan’s death, the scooby gang engaged in a plan to bring him and their other fallen friends back.

“So I was stuck with my life in the witch’s hands.” He suddenly looked to you. “She refused at first, but when I mentioned you, she eased up and decided to let me through.” For some reason, this information made you freeze. You were stuck staring into Kol’s eyes until he eventually looked away, making you shake your head. “Whatever you said to her, Y/N, may have just saved my life.”

You knew what he was referring to. Long ago, when you were still in Mystic Falls, before Klaus cheated and before Kol died, you gave the Bennett witch some advice you thought she’d find useful. You told her not to let people walk all over her, to start living for herself.

How ironic was that?

It seemed that neither of you had followed this advice, though, because Bonnie was still stuck putting her life on the line for her friends and you still lived with your husband and his family.

Both of you were doing things that’d kill you eventually.

Maybe it already did.

After Kol’s story, you were all worn out, like each of you had lived through it yourselves. Even though you were exhausted, you were still ecstatic that Kol was alive, that your wishes had come true. When Rebekah got over her shock, you could tell she was happy too, and even Elijah had a ghost of a smile of his lips. But Klaus didn’t look as happy as you would’ve thought he’d be.

You didn’t mind this, ignoring it altogether, refusing to let anything ruin your good mood. That night, you went to bed happy in a house full of Mikaelsons.

The next day, when Kol met Hope, the smile that was already on your face got even wider. Oh, they would cause trouble together, you thought. The three of you spent the week together, sometimes including one of your other siblings. And for the first time since you were with that boy, you felt human again.

You could’ve never imagined this turn of events, Kol coming back to life, Klaus’ child being your salvation. But no longer could you imagine any what ifs, any other life for yourself. You didn’t wonder and wonder about what would’ve happened if Elijah let you go, if Klaus never found you. If you got the chance to go back, you didn’t even know if you would’ve done it all differently. That was saying something, but at the moment, it all felt like it was worth it.

There were so many questions you had for Kol, so many qualms you still had with your family, but for that week, you ignored it all. You could only focus on the influx of pure happiness you felt. You started living like you weren’t a thousand-year-old Original whose heart was broken and like you were gonna die the very next day.

And it was liberating.

But you knew better than to think you could live in paradise forever.

You and Kol lied on the grass of some hill he’d driven you to. You were surprised he even still knew his way around the city, but he was always one to surprise you.

You just stared up at the stars together in silence, a comfortable silence that didn’t feel like it was suffocating you. It was just the two of you, no Klaus, no drama, no anyone. It was just you and the stars.

Out of nowhere, Kol broke the silence, his voice just above a whisper. “My brother doesn’t deserve you.”

Your breath hitched, turning your head towards him, but his gaze was still aimed at the sky. Your perfect little moment was suddenly invaded by the thought of your husband who you’d been unknowingly avoiding in conversation with Kol altogether. Maybe he noticed that.

Maybe he noticed the way you and Klaus no longer touched, even though you couldn’t keep your hands off one another the last time he was alive. Maybe he really was watching you from the other side, and that terrified you.

You knew Kol held you on a pedestal, even if neither of you would ever acknowledge that. He thought you were so good, so strong, so it killed you to think that he saw you when you were most vulnerable. It killed you to think that he knew all of his brother’s indiscretions and how you stayed, anyway.

You knew better than that—no, you were better than that.

Kol went on, “He never has-”

This time, you cut him off, the shock wearing off. “Kol-”

“No, Y/N.” He finally stopped staring up at the stars, turning to look at you. You were expecting the disappointment, but you weren’t expecting the raw anger in his eyes, an anger that’d never been directed at you. But you know it wasn’t. “You were always too good for that bastard, too good for this entire fucking family.”

You tried to stop him, but he kept going every time you opened your mouth. “Here you are, raising a child that isn’t even yours for his sake. Even after what he did to you, what he kept doing to you, you stayed—because that is just how loyal you are and how loyal he isn’t.” He started laughing, but there was no trace of humour in it. “You have no idea how much I want to sock him every time I see him.”

“Kol-”

“You know there’s nothing you can say to make this better, Y/N.” That shut you up. “I’m not going to let you spin this just to spare my brother the trouble.” Oh, how embarrassed you felt. Klaus cheated on you over and over again, yet you still felt the need to defend him.

Things were okay with Elijah and Rebekah because, even though they were there, they weren’t really there. They didn’t know how bad things were between you and Klaus, how it ate you alive, not even Rebekah who watched you break down and isolate yourself. But Kol- oh, Kol saw it all.

You swallowed, looking back up to the sky. “I’m sorry,” you whispered.

Never had you been turned so fast. When your eyes met Kol’s, they were fierce, but his voice softened. “Don’t ever apologize for him. Never again, not to me- not to anyone.”

You swallowed a second time, losing your words as you just stared into his eyes. You hadn’t seen him in so long; you forgot how well he knew you, how he was able to read you like a child’s book.

But Kol had gotten more complicated to you. Whenever you were around him, there was a new look that’d surface in his eyes. This look was like a passerby that you didn’t know but had seen before, a friend of a friend. This was a look you could not decipher, and currently, he was giving you that exact look.

For a long while, the two of you just looked at each other as if you were the stars you’d came all this way to see. The only things heard were crickets and the cars from the city until Kol’s voice sounded.

“I should’ve never let him do this to you,” he said. And you didn’t know what that meant.

But it didn’t matter.

Because, seconds later, you both got up and drove away.

This night hadn’t dampened your mood. There were so many things to be happy for. Years ago or even a week ago, you were depressed beyond words, but Kol coming back had filled a hole you’d thought would never go away. So even though this conversation stung, you were still okay.

When you got back to the compound, you both pretended he never said what he said. Kol went back to being his playful self, making jokes, and you went back to laughing at them.

It was like you’d been given a miracle. You never thought you’d feel like yourself again, and you didn’t really, but it was so close, as close as you’d been in a long time.

You didn’t feel so alone anymore.

Every day started being spent with either Kol, Marcel, Hope, or sometimes even Rebekah. Life was as normal as it had ever been, as sunny as you’d ever seen the world—at least as sunny as your life has been in decades.

Until it started to rain.

You were in the kitchen of the Abattoir, looking through the cupboards to see what you could make. While none of you had to actually eat, Hope did, and so it’d become a staple in the Mikaelson house to have dinner every night. These dinners stopped being so awkward after a while.

Hayley and Eijah were at some werewolf meeting, Rebekah had taken Hope to buy school supplies, Kol was roaming around, and you suspected Klaus was out causing some sort of mayhem. You assumed you were alone in the house, but you were proven wrong.

Footsteps sounded behind you; you sensed him before you even turned around. Even though Klaus and you had gotten to a point of pleasantness, that didn’t mean you enjoyed being alone with him.

A few years of pleasantness couldn’t erase the thousand years you’d spent together.

“Love,” he greeted, pulling out a barstool and sitting down, the kitchen island separating you. You lightly inhaled, turning to nod to him in acknowledgement.

You kept rummaging through the kitchen, trying your best to ignore your husband’s presence. Oh, Klaus hadn’t felt like your husband in so long, but what else could he possibly be to you?

You were trying so hard to be friends with him, but could you really be friends with the man you were in love with for a millennium? With the man who had hurt you more than anyone else ever had? You didn’t have an answer to that.

The two of you sat in silence. There was a point in time where silence between you both felt like a warm blanket, comfortable and safe, but now it felt ominous, like the calm before a storm. With Klaus, there was always a storm.

Just as you placed your final ingredients on the counter, he caught you off guard and asked, “What are you doing with my brother?” You quickly spun around, widening your eyes and narrowing them in the same sequence. This was a question, but it felt much more like a challenge.

Klaus was impassive, but you knew better than to actually believe that. However, you mirrored his expression, anyway. “What do you mean?” you quizzed. You tried to keep your voice devoid of emotion, but you couldn’t help the bite of annoyance that seeped through.

He clearly noticed this if the tick in his jaw was of any indication. “You and Kol, Y/N.” Your brows furrowed at his vague explanation, causing his eyes to roll. “Come on, don’t act as if you’re surprised. You had to have known that I’d ask eventually. You’re my wife.”

He stared firmly into your eyes. No, I’m not your wife, you wanted to scream, but you bit your tongue. You hoped that your gaze said it for you, anyway. Instead, you scoffed, “No, Klaus, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to say something, but you cut him off. “I’m not sure what insinuation you’re trying to make, but you need to cool it.”

You were fed up, and you could feel an argument on its way. Klaus and you hadn’t argued in a long time, but that didn’t mean you didn’t have things you wanted to say to him. You held your comments in for Hope’s sake, but if he wanted to poke the bear, then you’d make sure that the bear poked back.

This time, he scoffed, his calm façade falling apart as he snarked, “Oh, please, you can’t possibly be so naive.”

“There is nothing to be naive about, Klaus—there’s nothing going on between your brother and me.” And if there was, it wouldn’t be your business, you wanted to add, but you weren’t gonna add more fuel to the fire. You didn’t even know why your mind went there in the first place.

“Perhaps that’s what you think, Y/N, but I’ve seen the way my brother looks at you-”

“He doesn’t look at me in any way.”

“Yes, he does- and you’re fooling yourself if you think he doesn’t.”

There was a door in your mind that Klaus had opened with these remarks, a door you’d been scared to even go near. But you closed it right away, refusing to wonder about it. He was wrong. There was nothing going on between you and Kol.

Your eyes hardened and you snapped, “I don’t have the time nor do I have the patience to deal with another one of your paranoid episodes.” He scoffed again, but you paid it no mind. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have dinner to make.” You turned around, not caring to see Klaus’ expression. You heard the barstool screech against the floor and then his angry footsteps as he left the kitchen.

And just like that, that opened door was slammed shut.

You tried your hardest to ignore Klaus’ words, telling yourself it wasn’t true, that there was no way it could possibly be true, but you couldn’t stop thinking about it. You and Kol had always been close, but there was nothing that wasn’t platonic there.

Or maybe you were wrong.

You had given up on love so long ago. You gave your lover your heart without a second thought and he threw it to the ground like it was nothing, like it wouldn’t shatter everywhere, like it was possible for you to ever recover from that. And then when you try and find happiness, he rips that away from you, too.

Klaus had blown out any spark you had, leaving you alone in the dark.

Was love worth it if felt like this?

You didn’t know. These weren’t questions you asked yourself when you said “I do.” You didn’t know what to do anymore.

So you did what you always did, stuffing your feelings away and acting like nothing was wrong. But something changed. Whenever you saw Kol after that, you felt something—something you couldn’t explain, something you couldn’t name. It was like you had felt this before, but just never noticed it.

This feeling lurked in the background for a while until it was pulled back to the forefront of your mind when you least expected it.

“Bloody hell,” you muttered, storming into the compound with Kol following soon after. Your language was partly ironic because bloody you were. Of course, not your blood, but you hadn’t been in this state in at least a century.

Safe to say, you didn’t miss it.

You had just killed a horde of witches. They were good opponents, strong, but nobody was ever really smart if they decided to go up against the Mikaelsons. Nothing was stronger than family, even if it didn’t always feel that way.

They wanted to go after Hope, but you would never let that happen—none of you would. So you killed them- slaughtered may have even been a better word to use. Some of them had their hearts taken, their limbs ripped apart, stakes stabbed into their chests; your family could get creative.

Elijah, Hayley, and Klaus were dealing with the mess while Rebekah was tending to Hope. They didn’t need anymore man-power, so Elijah told you both to go home and clean yourselves up. He didn’t have to tell you twice.

“Seems that this family can never escape a bloodbath,” he joked.

“Ugh, disgusting. I need a real bath.” You spun around, a dramatic look on your face. Kol chuckled. He was more at ease than you were; he got a meal out of it, but you preferred quick kills, so now you were just annoyed.

“If you weren’t my brother’s wife, I’d join you.” His tone was light and playful, teasing even, but there was a glint in his eye that made you think he wasn’t completely joking. Your mind went back to what Klaus said to you, about the way Kol looked at you, then you thought about everything he did to you, how he just discarded your vows like they were meaningless.

Maybe, if you hadn’t just come from a fight, you would’ve laughed it off, but you were tired of thinking about what Klaus wanted.

You shrugged. “Well, I don’t think I’ve been his wife for a long time now.” You maintained eye contact with Kol as he paused. The playful atmosphere disappeared and was replaced with tension.

A beat passed before he slowly responded, “Y/N, what are you trying to say?”

What were you trying to say? You didn’t know if you could put it into words. So you stepped forward, hearing his breath catch in his throat, putting a hand on his bicep. “I think you know what I’m trying to say.”

Another beat. And then the next thing you knew, Kol’s lips slammed onto yours. You were sped upstairs, immediately ripping his shirt off and letting it fall to the floor. Yours came off somewhere in the mix. You could taste the leftover blood on his lips, not enough to satisfy you, but just enough to leave you wanting more.

You didn’t know what you were doing, but it felt good. You never thought you’d feel anything remotely like this ever again, but now that you had it, who knew if you could ever let it go?

Kissing Kol was like drugs. Ecstasy raced through your veins. You didn’t know if you had ever felt anything like this before; if you had, then how was it possible that you let it slip through your fingers? No, this was unlike any experience you’d ever had.

He suddenly pulled away, heaving. You reached to pull him back in, but he stopped you, breathing, “Are you sure that you want this?”

You didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes- you have no idea how badly.” This clearly sufficed because he was back to kissing you the second you stopped talking, hands going to unclasp your bra.

Oh, at that moment, you couldn’t give a damn what Klaus thought.

And Kol made sure you didn’t think about Klaus for the rest of that night.

Kol made it feel like your first time all over again, like everything you felt was new and foreign to you, but by the time you were done, your body was anything but foreign to him.

After multiple rounds and showering, you laid in your bed tired. You couldn’t remember the last time someone else laid with you. Part of you thought that, for some reason, Kol would leave, but he stayed right next to you, holding you in his arms.

You only had sex, but this felt like so much more than that.

The only thing that could be heard in your room was the sound of your breathing. You didn’t want to say anything, to talk about it and be reminded that you were married. You just wanted to bask in this moment.

You don’t know how long you’d been lying in silence before Kol whispered, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” You turned your head toward him, but like that night on the hill, he kept his vision directed to the ceiling as if he was afraid what he’d see if he directed it to you. He hesitated. “I think I’ve felt something for you for years, centuries. Maybe- maybe I always have.”

Your heart nearly stopped. Not just because he was confessing to having feelings for you, but because maybe you did, too. But this was more than a confession.

Your response to this could determine your future, if there was any, with Kol.

The rational part of your brain argued that this could never work, that Klaus would never let it happen, that this would only end in tragedy. You wanted to stop this before it became something more, but that other part of yourself, the part ruled by her heart, told you that it was too late for that. This was already something more.

You couldn’t let this go, not even if you wanted to.

You cupped his cheek, turning him to you. When his eyes met yours, you saw an emotion that Kol rarely ever showed, and that was fear. You wondered if he could see that you were scared, too.

You looked into his eyes for what felt like forever but was really only a minute. And then you decided that what you were feeling was more powerful than words, so you didn’t say anything at all, leaning in to kiss him. It wasn’t as fervent as before, now tender and soft but still with purpose. You weren’t too sure of what’d happen after this, once you woke up from this dream and got back to reality, but as you kissed him, it didn’t matter.

You were together.

And for now, that was more than enough.

When you woke up, Kol was still there, right next to you. You could’ve stayed in bed together all day, but you weren’t normal people. You belonged to the least normal family and led the least normal lives. So you got up, reluctantly, and he went back to his room before anyone could find him in yours.

Then you walked downstairs, ate breakfast, and dealt with the effects of the your most recent problem. You were at Rousseau’s, about to meet with Marcel, when you were pulled into the bathroom, Kol’s lips immediately meeting yours.

The feeling of his lips soon became so familiar to you.

You wanted to be normal so badly, but you couldn’t. You knew you couldn’t. So this became your new normal instead: stolen moments and glances, being together when no one else was around.

Slowly, that feeling you had whenever you were around him was given a name. You don’t know if it was love, if it could even be that yet—but it felt dangerous, and exciting, and warm all at once. You felt it whenever you kissed him, whenever you looked into his dark brown eyes, and whenever he smiled.

You were falling for Kol Mikaelson.

You constantly berated yourself, even though it felt so good. This was like alcohol, and drugs, and every other vice out there: it was temporary. The Original Hybrid was your husband—this was his brother. He wouldn’t let this happen.

This was wrong.

But it felt so right.

You had rejected every possible opportunity of happiness for years. Couldn’t you just have this one thing? Couldn’t you just let yourself be happy?

Oh, Kol made you happy. He brought out a part of you that you thought was gonna be gone forever. He made you feel like yourself again, like you were alive, like you had something to live for.

You had been living in black and white for so long that you forgot what it was like to live in colour.

Music filled the Mikaelson living room, music that the rest of the world would perhaps call old but never got old to you. Kol held you close to him, rocking you to the rhythm while your head rested on his chest. You were both very well versed in classical dances, but you didn’t need a big fancy dance for this to feel the way it did: special.

There was something going on—there always was—but, at that moment, that something didn’t exist. At that moment, it was just the two of you.

A small smile came to your lips. “You know, you weren’t even actually alive when this song came out.”

You felt his chest rumble as he chuckled. “Yeah, and I’m glad. This song is terrible.”

You gasped, pulling away and hitting his arm. “Kol Mikaelson! Don’t you dare speak about Celine Dion that way.”

He laughed again, easily pulling you back to him and kissing the crown of your head. You tried pouting, but it felt impossible to do anything other than smile. “Don’t worry, darling. You like it, so I like it.” Your smile got wider, pulling back again but this time it was to kiss him.

You found that, when you kissed Kol, it wasn’t always so hot and heavy. It didn’t always lead to making out or making love. Sometimes, you just kissed because it felt good. It was soft, and gentle, and reassuring, and it felt good.

Maybe, if you were being honest with yourself, it felt better than anything else.

You pulled away after a few seconds, taking the time to stare into his eyes. You did it all the time and yet, every single time you did, it felt like the first time all over again. You could stare into his brown orbs all day long if you could. However, your lives didn’t allow for that.

But that just made little moments like these all the more special.

After a few seconds, he directed your attention away from his eyes, mumbling under his breath, “The song’s still shit, though.”

“Oh, shut up,” you scolded, but your head still made its way back to his chest, anyways.

Everyone else was back at the benefit. You were there, too, until you both decided to sneak away and go back home. That was cutting it close, definitely, but you couldn’t find it in you to care. You didn’t get to go on dates or hold hands in public, so you were gonna grab these moments while you still could.

You knew that what you were doing was just prolonging an eventual- no, an inevitable outcome, but after everything you went through, you learned a few lessons. All good things came to an end—everything had to end at some point. Your marriage sure did, but that didn’t mean that you’d go back and change a thing. Yes, things with Klaus ended badly, but he gave you a thousand good years first.

So if what you were doing with Kol ended, then at least you had this. At least you had dances in the living room, and stargazing, and soft kisses.

Maybe this story wouldn’t have a happy ending.

But as long as you got a happy middle, then you were okay with that.

And he did everything he could to give you just that.

It felt… different, to be with someone other than Niklaus, but it was a good different. It felt good to smile and to actually mean it. And it made you wish for something more, to be more than just two people engaging in a forbidden love affair, but that’s what this was, wasn’t it?

But Kol made it feel like it really was more than that. He made you feel like a diamond, like you were beautiful, like everything that had weighed down on you only made you that much stronger.

This was more. This was so much more than you could’ve ever hoped for.

You were lying in bed together late at night when it happened. You weren’t expecting it- you weren’t sure if you ever expected it. But Kol was always one to do the unexpected, surprise you and keep you on the edge of your seat.

Yet, when he spoke, he didn’t sound so dauntless. He sounded small and afraid, but at the same time, you could hear the hope in his voice. Hope, courage, bravery—at the end of the day, it was just called Kol.

He was always brave enough for the both of you.

“I love you.”

Your breath hitched, turning to see that he was already staring at you. The déjà vu hit you hard. Here you were, in the same position you’d already been in with him, but this time, he looked right at you.

Brave enough for the both of you.

You didn’t say anything. You wondered if you were dreaming, hallucinating, imagining things, if this was some cruel trick of the mind. But, the longer you stared and the longer he stared right back at you, the more convinced you became.

This was real.

You wrapped your arm around his neck, pulling him in and connecting his lips with yours. Butterflies still erupted in your stomach, even though you had been at this for a while. You put your everything into this kiss, but Kol deserved more than everything.

This scared you, but Kol had given you so much. He didn’t need to be the brave one all the time.

You wanted to be brave, too.

So when you finally pulled away, resting your forehead on his, eyes closed, you whispered back, “I love you.”

You and Kol were brave together, braver together. Yeah, there were dragons out there so much more powerful than you, but you could slay them together. Maybe it would’ve been safer to just stay away, to just tuck yourself away in a castle and avoid the dragons altogether, but what was the point in that?

What was the point of being alive if you weren’t truly living?

And you were living.

Everyone around you could see it. Your change in behaviour was unusual, but it lifted everyone’s spirits. You were starting to be able to actually hold a conversation with Rebekah, and you were starting to be able to talk to Elijah about things other than the family’s latest conflicts. You were even starting to be a little more friendly with Hayley.

You didn’t tell her, but a part of you was thankful for what she did. She knew who you were when she met Klaus; she knew he was married, and she still slept with him. This had previously enraged you, but now you couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Had she not done what she did, you may have never had this with Kol.

And Hope would’ve never been born.

Oh, you would do anything for her. This family may have been cursed, but you were all willing to do whatever it took to break the cycle. No more running, no more instability. No matter how dysfunctional you all were, you would give her that.

She was never alone. When her parents weren’t there to bring her or pick her up from school, you were. And if you weren’t, then Kol was, or Rebekah, or Elijah, or Marcel. The odds were against you from the start, but you were all there to flip them.

For her.

You were always happy with Hope, but even she could tell that something had changed. She was a child, but she was bright, and she knew you were happier.

The relationships in your life blossomed. Klaus was the only person that this didn’t happen with.

You loved Kol—you were in love with Kol, but loving him didn’t skew your memory. Klaus and you had a long history. You still couldn’t look at him without picturing it.

It was easier to be more forgiving of Hayley. She wasn’t the one who vowed to be faithful to you, nor was she the one to cheat on you three times or give up on your marriage. He was. You couldn’t see yourself letting go of that. Maybe one day, but being around him wouldn’t speed up that process.

Klaus was actually the last person on your mind.

But that didn’t seem to be the case for him.

You were on your way out of the compound when something caught your eye. You stopped, turning to see your husband by himself in an empty hallway. It appeared that something had caught his eye, too.

He was so focused that he didn’t even see you. You could’ve pretended not to see him, walked away and gone on with your business, but you knew what he was looking at. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t look at it every once in a while, too.

Yes, you could’ve walked away, but the easy thing was never easy for you to do.

So you walked up to him, leaving a foot between you and looking at what had captured his attention. It was a portrait, and a familiar one at that.

The truth was, you’d studied that portrait until it was engraved into your memory. Even when you weren’t looking at it, it still came and found you in your dreams and even when you were just sitting around and thinking.

It was you. It was you, and Klaus, and Rebekah, and Elijah, and Kol. Before he died, before Hayley, before this godforsaken city. It was when things were calm, when you still had some sort of semblance of family. Or at least that’s what it was supposed to be.

Because it wasn’t real.

You never got together for this portrait. This time didn’t exist. It was fake. Niklaus was such a wonderful artist that he almost made you believe it, but it wasn’t real. He could paint you all so realistically, make you look so happy, but when was the last time you were all happy as a family? It was never in these clothes, never in this age.

But he made it look real.

He made it look like you were all picture-perfect, like his brother didn’t bring you to your end, like Rebekah never lost her mind, like Kol was never murdered, like you were never out crying in the rain for a man who would never change, like he was a man who could change.

Who knew that such a happy picture could evoke such sadness. Because this portrait wasn’t what was— it was what could’ve been.

Klaus broke the silence with a voice you would’ve never heard without enhanced hearing. “I really did love you.” Neither of you turned to face the other. “I really do love you.”

Not too long ago, you would’ve started crying. And while tears did build in your eyes, you smiled first. You didn’t doubt that. It didn’t take you long to respond, “So did I.”

1996, when you left, when you came back, when he cheated again, when you found out he was having a baby, when he killed Leo, when you stayed, when you took Hope. All of this flashed before your eyes, but it wasn’t all you saw. You also saw your wedding, your first time, when he painted you as you slept, when you got drunk together, when he cooked for you, when you kissed on the beach at night all by yourselves. You saw how happy he made you and how easily he just took it away from you.

You would never forget these things, none of it. You would never forget the bad, but you would never forget the good, either.

He lightly chuckled as if he was remembering all the same things as you. And then, for a while, you both just stood there, staring at the painting. There was a time when you could practically read his mind, but now you had no idea what he was thinking.

You were different people now. You weren’t the same people who went through the good, nor were you the same people who went through the bad. You weren’t the same people you could’ve been in that picture, either.

And he knew that, too.

“I’m never going to be your husband again, am I?” He mused, but this wasn’t a question. You both already knew the answer, even if you hadn’t said it out loud to each other.

“No.” You shook your head, opting to look down at your boots. “No, you’re not.”

Maybe you were imagining it, but out of the corner of your eye, you saw him wipe at his eye. Suddenly, a part of you felt bad, but not for him. You felt bad for the boy you fell in love with, the boy who gave you humanity even when he had lost his own. And you felt bad for the girl who kissed him at the altar.

So, against your current feelings, you turned and swiftly wrapped your arms around him, hoping that you weren’t just hugging Klaus, but that you were hugging the boy you married all those years ago. He quickly hugged you back, holding you tightly, but his grip slowly lessened.

Like he was getting ready to let you go.

You don’t know how long you were in his arms, but eventually he pulled away. You could finally see his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, and how they were filled with tears despite the smile on his face. He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t need to. You had both said everything you needed to say; there were no more chapters to write in this book of yours.

It was time for your story to end.

You let go of each other and you turned around, walking away without sparing that painting another glance. You were just at the edge of the hallway when he called your name, making you turn your head.

“Be happy with him,” he said, even though it looked like it annihilated him to say it.

But you didn’t question it. You just nodded, then you turned around and walked away. You didn’t need to ask him who he was referring to or have him explain any further. You understood perfectly.

You would.

You were gonna be happy with him.

And just like that, the Original Hybrid and the Mikaelson Wife were done.

But who knew? You could very well become a Mikaelson once again if Kol got his way. You wouldn’t admit, just as to not inflate his ego, but deep down, you wanted him to get his way.

Slowly, the suspicions your other siblings had became confirmed. You weren’t overly affectionate in public, but they were able to put two and two together. Rebekah had been in love so many times that she was able to see it clearly on you, and Elijah was always the scholar amongst you, the smart one. Marcel saw it from a mile away. While he and Kol hadn’t always gotten along well, they were both willing to put that aside for you.

Even a child could see that you were in love; Hope did.

“Aunt Y/N/N, do you and Uncle Kol love each other like Belle and the Beast?”

You both simultaneously turned to her, along with everyone else in the living room. It was movie night; Beauty and the Beast had just finished, and Hope had asked you that question as soon as the credits were rolling.

She was just a kid who was curious. She didn’t know the potential outrage her question could cause.

But you weren’t gonna lie to her. You weren’t gonna deny what was possibly the best thing you ever had, even as your entire family was in the room.

“Hope-” Hayley had started to scold, but you cut her off.

“Hayley, it’s alright.” She didn’t look convinced and still looked embarrassed, but you turned back to Hope with a smile on your face. “Yes, sweetheart, Uncle Kol and I do love each other.”

She now looked confused, like your reply hadn’t cleared anything up at all. “But my daddy looks at you the way Uncle Kol looks at you.” You opened your mouth, but you didn’t know what to say. “Does daddy love you, too?”

It appeared that none of you had the answer to her question. How were you meant to explain your situation to a child, that you and her father had loved one another for a thousand years and then your relationship ended because he slept with her mother?

What you were least expecting happened. Instead of having an outburst, Klaus beckoned Hope over, petting her hair once she was sat on his lap. “Ah, my littlest wolf,” he sighed, but the corners of his lips were upturned. His eyes were slightly glazed over as if he wasn’t really there, but that look quickly disappeared. For Hope, he’d be present. “I wish that love was as simple to understand as Belle and the Beast, but it is much more complicated than that. Your Aunt Y/N has been there for me many times, and for that, I will always love her,” he professed. His eyes found yours for a moment, but he quickly looked back to his daughter. “But we love each other differently from how her and Uncle Kol love each other. We love each other as family, not as people in love with one another. But no matter what any of us feel for each other in this family, Hope, we will all always love you.”

Hope slung her arms around her father’s neck. “I love you, too, daddy.”

“Always and forever, little one.”

While Hope’s back was turned, your eyes met again and the corners of your lips quirked up slightly. You knew that must’ve been hard for him to say, so you mouthed, thank you.

He smiled back at you. Even though it was so obviously fake, you still appreciated it. He nodded in response.

Yes, you and Klaus had been through a lot. You all had complicated relationships with one another, Kol and you included, but you were gonna push that aside for Hope. Every time.

One day, you would explain it all to her, how Marcel was her brother but your son, why Rebekah was so soft and hard at the same time, why Elijah was so protective, why her parents weren’t together, how you fell in and out of love with her father, why you were still here, how you fell in love with Kol.

But for now, you were gonna let her hold onto her innocence for as long as she could.

Hope still had questions, but she also had all of you to distract her from all of the problems you dealt with. However, you were no longer consumed by all these problems. You had someone to distract you, too, and that was Kol.

Whether you were in bed together, kissing, or just holding hands, he always took your mind off your troubles. He was like a wizard, transporting you from reality and bringing you to cloud nine every day. The problems, the threats, the drama—none of it mattered to you. To you, being with Kol was enough.

If you could just have this for the rest of your life, then you’d be happy, and that is exactly what he wanted to give you.

Time passed in a blur. It was a true what they said, that time flied when you were having fun. Before you knew it, a year had passed since Kol first kissed you, since you started this. A perfect year, calm with minimal conflict both in the Quarter and in the Abattoir.

You could’ve passed many more years this way happily, but you were always one to accept less than what you were worth. Kol knew that, and he wanted more for you- more for both of you.

He wanted to do more than just take you to dreams away from reality.

He wanted to make those dreams come true.

“Kol, what are you doing?” You giggled, stumbling a little but never falling. Kol would never let you fall.

He hushed you, “Shhh, we’re almost there.”

A blindfold was over your eyes as he guided you around. You got into the car together hours ago, and when you woke up, the blindfold was on. He said he had a surprise for you.

This was so cheesy, but you were a sucker for these kinds of things. You never thought you’d get to a place like this again, that you’d be a hopeless romantic or even just a romantic ever again after what Klaus did to you, but Kol made you believe in romance again.

He put your heart back together after you thought it’d been broken beyond repair.

Finally, after more stumbling and laughing, he stopped, holding you in place. “Okay, are you ready?” You couldn’t see him, but you could hear the excitement in his voice. You nodded. “Alright. Three, two, one-”

The blindfold fell to the ground and the sight he’d been withholding was revealed to you. Your brows furrowed. You were in a living room with beautiful floors and beautiful decor, a fireplace parallel to the big couch behind you. You looked around and saw incredible artwork hanging on the walls and gorgeous windows that let the moonlight in.

It was beautiful and all, but did you drive all this way to break into someone’s house?

You voiced your confusion. “Kol, what is this place?” You turned around to see him trying to hold back a smile, a twinkle in his eyes. He looked like a kid about to tell you that he saw Santa. That thought made you laugh. “C’mon, Kol, really. Where are we right now?”

“Well, geographically, we’re in North Carolina.” His explanation produced a gasp from you, making him laugh. He was having way too much fun having you in the dark.

“North Carolina?” you echoed. Your jaw was practically on the floor. “We’re in North Carolina? You’re kidding- that’s like ten hours away-”

“Thirteen, darling.” This didn’t get rid of your disbelief, though you doubt that was what Kol was aiming for, anyway. He shrugged, adding, “Well, I actually got it down to twelve, but that’s besides the point.”

“Trust me, the shocker for me is not your reckless driving-”

He cut you off by speeding to you, lifting up your chin so you were looking right into his eyes. Funny, how he was still able to make you speechless. “I’m going to ignore that jab at my impeccable driving skills because I love you.”

You snorted, “Sure, if impeccable means shit.”

He hushed you again, causing you to roll your eyes. “Back to your question,” he said, making you remember the topic of conversation. You wondered if he had any idea how easily he was able to make you forget about anything—about everything. “I drove us here because North Carolina is relatively… quiet.”

You raised a brow. “Quiet?”

“Yes.” He gently grabbed your hands, holding them in his. Sometimes, he did this absentmindedly, but you were never bothered. You were far from bothered. “Louisiana is perhaps the heart of the supernatural. New York and any other state with a thriving night life also has a thriving vampire population, and they’re busy enough with humans as it is. The big states always are. But North Carolina… North Carolina isn’t on any vampire’s bucket list.”

You drawled, “Okayyyyyy… but why are we here?” What he was saying made sense, but you didn’t get how it related to either of you.

He just smiled, so clearly amused by your confusion. “You amaze me, Y/N, truly,” he proclaimed, that same shit-eating grin on his face that you’d grown accustomed to. “Only you would take so long to get the hint.”

That was obviously a hint, too, but you weren’t catching it. Kol shook his head, getting that look in his eye that he got when he was remembering something. “You told me once that, if we weren’t who we were, you’d want to live somewhere without ruckus, like a normal person. But you knew that couldn’t happen with my brother’s aspirations.” Now he looked at you pointedly and, all of a sudden, a wave of realization washed over you.

Your eyes darted all over the house. There was a reason why you were so in love with it. You looked back to Kol, mouth agape. He continued, “You wanted a house that wasn’t just decadent, but a home.”

Tears welled in your eyes as your hand flew up to cup your mouth in shock. You could remember telling him that, but it was so long ago. You’d long since abandoned the idea, but here he was, offering it up to you. “You- you remember that?”

He leaned in to wipe a tear that you didn’t even notice had fell, caressing your cheek. “I remember every moment I’ve ever spent with you, Y/N.” His actions were pointless because his words caused even more tears to fall.

You had never felt such an overwhelming feeling, so in love, so loved. Your heart’s immediate instinct was to kiss him, to say yes, but your mind… you’d been through enough to know better.

“How are we going to-” you stammered, “we can’t- we can’t just move away.”

“Y/N-”

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, but-” your voice cracked. “we can’t just pick up and leave, Kol—you know that.”

He was now cupping both of your cheeks, staring so deeply into your eyes that you were sure he could see the parts of yourself that you’d tucked away. “Do you remember when I left Mystic Falls?” Of course, you did. How could you ever forget? “I asked you to come with me and you didn’t. Why was that?”

You didn’t want to answer, to relive this after you’d already agonized over it for so long, but you did, anyway. “Klaus. I didn’t go because of Klaus.”

“Exactly. You didn’t go because of that bastard, and you don’t want this now for the same reason.”

“Kol-”

He stepped closer when you thought he’d already closed all the space between you. His voice was soft and firm all at once. “I died thinking I’d never get the chance to tell you how I felt. I wasted so much time, worrying, unhappy.” He shook his head. “Well, I don’t want to worry anymore. I don’t want to waste any more time.” More tears fell, from both of you. “You make me happy, Y/N. I just want to be happy with you.”

A teary laugh escaped your lips. He made you happy, too, so much happier than you’d been in so long, so much happier than you even thought was possible after everything you’d been through. And he was right. Klaus was the one thing holding you back, but why should he get to do that?

You’ve given away years of your life for other people. Couldn’t you be selfish, just this once, and have this one thing for yourself?

You just wanted to be happy.

So you pulled him in and kissed him until you had to pull away for air, and when you did, you whispered, “Yes.”

And that may have just been the best decision you had ever made.

When you eventually drove back to New Orleans days later, you explained the situation to Klaus. He wasn’t jumping up and down with joy, but he surprisingly took it better than you expected.

You spent a thousand years with that man; saying goodbye wasn’t as easy as it seemed, but it needed to happen. It was time for you to go your separate ways. And even after everything he put you through, you still hoped that he could maybe find happiness one day, too.

Niklaus Mikaelson was your epic love, but you knew without a doubt that Kol was your true love. He was the warmth you’d been yearning for, and you were gonna let yourself have that.

North Carolina was the perfect place for you to settle down. It was quiet, like Kol said, with little to no supernatural population. It was also close enough to Louisiana that you could distance yourself from all the crazy but still get there if they needed you.

That’s what you told Elijah when you said your goodbye to him, that you were just a phone call away. He was gonna be the one running the show now, as always. He was always the responsible one amongst you, and you hoped that he’d let go of that and let himself live a little, too. As much as you didn’t like her, maybe he could get with Hayley one day or even find his own person.

You had hope that all of your family could one day be free of this Mikaelson curse, that they wouldn’t be bearing the hybrid’s sins for the rest of their lives. Rebekah was getting there. She was still growing up a little, and she all the time in the world to do that.

It was hard saying goodbye to Hope, but you just reassured her that this wasn’t goodbye. She’d always have a place in your home if she so needed it, and she’d definitely always hold a place in your heart. The only reason you felt okay with leaving her was because you knew she wouldn’t be alone; she had two parents that loved her more than life, a crazy aunt and uncle, and her big brother.

Marcel congratulated you with a wide grin on his face. He was elated for you, telling you that he’d be visiting you, to which you replied that he would always be welcome with you two.

Maybe you were just sentimental, but even saying goodbye to the city itself was hard, nerve-racking. It had given you so much, but taken so much more. You were learning, though, that love wasn’t supposed to drain you. You were learning to let go.

Goodbye, New Orleans, you whispered to yourself as you passed the town sign, and then you were saying hello to North Carolina… and also the new you.

Y/N and Kol Michaels. You got married not too far down the line. Of course, if you wanted to be normal, ditching the medieval last name was best. You supposed you could’ve kept it, but getting rid of it was more symbolic than anything.

You wanted to start over completely, and so that’s what you guys did. You weren’t abandoning your family, but making one of your own, too. Eventually, the idea of kids came up. You wanted nothing more than to raise your own child with the man you were in love with, but you couldn’t conceive a child and you didn’t want to drag one into this life, anyway. It was too dangerous.

The realization that you would never get to have kids broke your heart, but your lover repaired it like his words were glue. The two of you were together, and that was good enough for you.

Doing this, starting over, was scarier than any other situation you had ever been in—and that was saying something, considering how long you’d lived. But with Kol at your side, you were able to be brave.

There was so much to be afraid of. You were scared that this wouldn’t work out, that this was only a happy middle with no happy ending, that you’d feel cold again one day after growing accustomed to the fire, but if all of that happened one day, then you decided that you’d be okay with it. You would be okay with it because at least you lived. You weren’t gonna let your fears stop you from doing that. If you just gave into your fears, then you would’ve never felt this feeling. You would’ve never fallen in love. You would’ve never found yourself again.

You owed it all to your bravery.

And you owed it all to Kol’s.

But together, you were fearless. Together, you were braver.

You were braver together.

Taglist: @honestlycasualarcade @hyperactivewhore @tnrthings @brooklynscherry-z @roselibrary @kollover24 @volturissideslut

a/n: sorry for the long wait, but here is part two! ik i said i was gonna do the thg fanfic first, but that one is long asf so i decided to drop this first. i tried my best to listen to all ur suggestions—unfortunately, i couldn't find a way to write in a pregnancy. but we've got a happy ending! i really, really, really did not want a happy ending, like i had a whole sad ending planned for the part 2 but everyone wanted happiness so i just decided to end it there to avoid to outrage lol. if u want a part 3 where it doesn't end there but ends the way it was supposed to originally, then tell me. and lastly, thank u all so much for all the support!

2K notes · View notes

theeoriginals · 1 year ago

Note

klaus or elijah (your choice) x former flame!reader 👀

all i want | elijah mikaelson

+ Ohhh I loved your cat and mouse one! Could you please make a calm housewife/mom of the friend group type of girl and Elijah falling for her in a kind of best friend to lovers situation? Idk I just think it would fit cause elijah’s very family oriented and I see him falling for a dear old time friend too? Idk so uhm yeah. Feel free to refuse ofc!

elijah mikaelson x vampire!reader (no y/n)

author's notes; combining these requests :) hope that's ok!!

warnings; vague references to past violence but nothing insane. exes to friends to lovers, just plotless fluff, with an extra side of fluff. yes elijah is extremely charming, yes he can't make eye contact with a pretty girl. duality of man.

It’s an unspoken thing, what lingers between them still. Unspoken in the sense that they don’t talk about it, but everyone else does.

It always shocks people to learn that the oldest vampires on Earth are ridiculous, catty gossips. Elijah doesn’t know why it’s such a surprise. Living as long as they all have, you’ve got to keep things interesting, otherwise immortality becomes mind-numbing. He supposes that it just doesn’t measure up to their reputation for being ruthless animals, which isn’t unfounded. It’s just not the only thing they could be classified as.

Ruthless monsters that defend each other to the death at the end of the day, no matter how many times they’ve stabbed each other in the backs, certainly. Childish gossips that like to start rumors and rewrite history when they get a little bored, definitely. The two identifiers can coexist, and very much do.

And this thing, this unspoken thing that is unspoken for a multitude of reasons but none more so than the simple fact that even as long as they’ve known each other it’s still fragile, and something could break it with ease, is only unspoken to Elijah.

His brothers and sisters, however, like to do nothing but talk about it.

“Well, she’s almost here,” Rebekah rolls her eyes, but it’s just for the fact that her older brother is going to be a lovesick idiot the entire time the girl is here, and it really takes away from Rebekah’s own quality time with her. “No wonder Elijah’s been bumbling around like a fool all day.”

Klaus chuckles, and the two of them dutifully ignore the glare their brother sends them. “Do you think she sent him a letter to announce her arrival? Elijah always loves things like that,”

Rebekah’s blue eyes light up. “Oh, yes! I wonder if she sprayed it with her perfume– us ladies used to do that with a suitor back in the day,” She fans a hand towards her face, closing her eyes at the small breeze it creates. “They don’t text or call, of course, it takes all of the personality out of it. And god knows Elijah’s all personality,”

Klaus laughs again, and the two finally glance across the room to where Elijah’s leaning against a wall, glaring at them with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I hate you both,” He says, earning another round of laughter from them. “And stop going through my things, Rebekah. Those letters are none of your business.”

The blonde girl pushes her lips out in a pout. “But I get so bored, Elijah. You can’t be mad at me for entertaining myself,”

“I fear he just hates fun, dear sister,” Klaus says, feigning a wistful tone. “He doesn’t approve of my methods of entertainment either.”

“That’s because your methods of entertainment always end in a bloodbath,” Elijah says accusingly, earning a shrug from the hybrid. “You’re both immature. A thousand years old, still acting like children.”

Their faces twist in offense in unison, and Elijah distantly thinks that even though they’re not even fully related, let alone the same age even in their vampiric years, they were twins put on this Earth to terrorize him and ensure that he never knew peace.

Before they can begin their outcries of dramatized offense, and Elijah can continue to lightheartedly mock them, a voice comes from the hall, echoing fondly.

“Must you two always tease your brother?” The smile is obvious in her voice as she walks into the room, and the three of them snap their gazes towards the woman in surprise. “He’s a delicate soul, you know. His poor heart can’t handle too many jokes,”

Elijah recovers quickly, rolling his eyes, though he can’t (and won’t) stop the smile from growing on his face as she meets Rebekah for a hug. “Oh, wonderful. That’s just what they need. Encouragement.”

She chuckles at his poorly-feigned exasperation, and the sound settles in his ears like a morning dove’s song. She releases Rebekah from the hug and leans down to where Klaus is stretched out in a chair with his feet kicked up on the table, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Glancing around at the vaulted ceilings of the compound, she sighs wistfully. “I can’t believe this place looks the same as when you bought it,” She shakes her head in slight disbelief.

Klaus shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest. “When we first returned, there was some… cleaning up to do, but it’s maintained its shape wonderfully.”

If she catches onto his double entendre, she doesn’t say anything, just nods in understanding. That’s something Elijah has always liked about her– she lets things go unsaid. She’s always had the ability to connect with him and his siblings in a way that most others can’t, and even when Elijah is at his worst, she’s been that olive branch that he can grab onto to bring him back to himself. Always so understanding and level. It’s a wonder that she still associates with any of them, given their penchant for chaos.

Finally, she turns her attention onto him, and in its entirety he feels breathless. Even after decades of knowing one another, it’s never gotten easier to hide his ardor for her. He knows she can still read him as easily as she could thirty years ago, too.

“Elijah,” She says his name better than he’s ever heard it, with a tilt to her head and a fondness in her voice that makes him feel more alive than anything else he’s found in his centuries on this planet.

She crosses the room to where he’s at, because he froze in his spot as soon as he heard her voice, and wraps her arms around him like she’s never been more relieved to see him.

It’s another thing he’s always liked about her. She’s never stopped loving him. He knows that. Lives with it everyday.

Regrets a lot of things, too.

He says her name back as gently as he can, like she’ll break in his arms. He wonders if she thinks of all the times she has broken in his arms, and then he tells himself there’s no way she’s forgotten it, because he hasn’t. And that is something that is theirs and theirs alone.

She pulls away and he misses her touch the moment she goes because it feels rarer and rarer with each day that passes. Every time she leaves, he fears it’s the last time he’ll see her.

He doesn’t want to ruin her visit with these thoughts. Even though he knows she’d offer him endless comfort, he doesn’t want her to worry about him for a second.

She turns to face them, clapping her hands together with a smile. “Well, then. What’s first on the agenda?”

──────

Something that comes with living as long as Elijah has is learning that some things about yourself you’ll just never be able to change. Such things like being a vampire in itself, having a firm hand when it comes to doing business with people. He’s been told he’s somewhat of a snake, and he’s well aware of his silver tongued ways, and it’s something he knows he can’t change, and hasn’t ever wanted to.

One thing that has yet to fall under that category of acceptance is his jealousy.

In his defense, he’s never jealous when he thinks he should be. He’s never been jealous of his siblings, spare for a few embarrassing months spent around the doppelgängers, but Elijah has never had to envy someone for something they had because if he wanted it that bad, he could just take it.

But this. This he knows is jealousy, pure and unbridled, and nauseating, if he’s feeling that correctly.

This is the jealousy that he’s seen destroy entire regimes. This is the jealousy that has driven his family to madness at times.

And of course, she’s at the center of it all. Of course she is. There would be no other way he could feel this so strongly if she was not involved in it somehow.

She’s the source of a lot of jealousy, he knows. He’s jealous of the carefree relationships his siblings get to have with her because they don’t have to be burdened with the feelings of the past that are most definitely still there. They don’t have to worry if they looked at her lips for too long, or if they held her a little too gentle to be considered entirely friendly. They don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing, stepping past that line they so carefully drew in the sand for everyone’s sake.

These are the consequences of his actions, he knows. It doesn’t make it any easier to deal with, though. It might make it worse.

Watching his siblings drink freely as the band played on was nothing unfamiliar. Patrons had long since joined in on the fun, and he’s sure there’s a crowd outside looking in on the celebration of unknown origins.

At the center of it all, she is there, standing on a table with a crowd of adoring admirers surrounding her as she swayed and moved to the music. He would swear there’s a light shining on her, just for her, projecting her shadow above everyone like some sort of angel. He thinks she has every right to be worshiped.

And the reason he’s so maddeningly, bitingly jealous is because he is the reason that he’s not the one dancing with her. He can’t be the one to dance with her, and he can’t be the one that makes her laugh like she is because he’s the one that said they shouldn’t be together. He is the one who broke her heart, and he doesn’t deserve an ounce of the kindness she still shows.

So all he can do is sip his drink at the bar and watch as she pulls his sister, sweet, dangerous, devastatingly insecure Rebekah, up onto the table with her and shares her spotlight with her. Making his sister light up like she does with no one else. Earning another round of cheers from Klaus and Kol as they watch on, demanding another round of drinks for everyone in an odd show of generosity.

She brings out the best in his siblings. In him.

It makes him burn bright inside. Boiling, hot to the touch. He knows then and there that there’s a reason he’s seen something as trivial as jealousy take down the most powerful of men. Love is such a dangerous thing to get involved in in the first place, but finding someone, finding the woman who makes you feel like you could conquer the world is something else entirely. It bypasses dangerous and heads straight into fatal.

Because she makes you feel like you could conquer the whole world, but the second you lose her, it all means nothing. You’ll tear it all down if it means she won’t be there, too.

And the worst part of it all is the only reason he feels like this is because he is the one that ruined it. Blamed his family, blamed his parents, blamed everything else but his own fears for the reason they couldn’t be together. The distance, the timing. Whatever he could grasp, he pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to her on a silver platter, served with a distant coldness he’d long since perfect, and never wanted to use on her in the first place.

He had so much time under his belt, but he was such a child. So helpless it bordered on criminal, all because he fell in love and he didn’t know what to do with it.

It’s embarrassing more than anything else.

He hasn’t taken his eyes off of her since she started dancing. Hadn’t stopped listening since he heard her first laugh. Didn’t want to miss a single second, just in case.

For the first time all night, he blinked and turned his head away from her and threw the rest of his drink back like it was water.

He could allow himself a bit more wallowing. Just a bit.

──────

“Well, Rebekah’s safe in bed. I even got her in pajamas, believe it or not,” Her voice carries even in its whisper, and he looks up from his lap as she enters the small living space, hands clasped in front of her as she takes a seat in the chair beside him. “Original vampire or not, I doubt she’ll feel very good in the morning.”

Elijah hummed, thinking of his dear sister and how even if she’d healed a thousand times over, she’d still find a way to complain. He adored it.

“What about you?”

He raises a brow, lips twisting confusedly. “What about me?”

She gestures towards his slightly slumped form on the couch pointedly. He follows her direction, looking at his rumpled suit, and the white button up he’d undone the top four buttons off, at least. He feels momentarily embarrassed at his state of disarray but he simply huffs out a laugh, lifting his gaze to meet hers again.

“I’m a mess,” He shrugs, earning a quiet laugh out of her. “But I don’t think that has anything to do with our drinking tonight.”

“I can’t disagree, unfortunately,”

He hides the way his grin threatens to split his face behind his face, rubbing along his scruffy jawline as he looks at her. The longer he lingers, the more she avoids his gaze.

“What?”

He shakes his head.

“Elijah,” She intones, such a familiar adoration in her voice that it nearly makes him sick. He doesn’t deserve it. “You’ve been so quiet tonight. What’s on your mind?”

“You,”

Her eyes widen in shock at his quick, candid answer, and he has to hide his own surprise at how quick the word had shot out of his mouth.

“Me? What about me?”

“Everything,” He sighs, shifting his long legs so he could turn towards her and give her his full attention. “I’ve missed you.”

“Oh,” She breathes out, looking slightly bashful. “Well, I always miss you. I wouldn’t ever leave if I didn’t–”

She stops herself, covering her mouth with her hand as a sheepish look crosses her face. He knows she wants him to move past her slip up, but he doesn’t. Can’t.

“If you didn’t, what?” He leans forward, looking at her imploringly. “Why do you stay away so long?”

She takes a moment to collect herself, picking at the skin around her nails half-heartedly, like it’s not really bothering her, she just doesn’t want to be so open right now. He’d feel worse about pushing her if he didn’t feel like his heart was leaping out of his throat.

“Well, I didn’t think you wanted me around that much,” She says quietly, gesturing towards him.

He rears back like she’s slapped him.

“How could you ever think such a thing?” He whispers her name, a distant veil of horror laced in his tone. Fear, really.

“You said,” She says, face furrowing in confusion. “All those years ago– you said that there was no reason for me to stay here with you in New Orleans. So, I– I left. And I travel all the time until I come back here for as long as you’ll let me.”

Elijah feels something gripping his chest and it feels remarkably like his heart is breaking.

His voice breaks on her name and he leans forward again, reaching into her space to grab her hands in his. Allowing himself this piece of her that he simply doesn’t deserve.

“I never,” He stops, breathing out harshly. “I never wanted you to leave. I just–”

He stops again, squeezes her hands, and then steels himself because this is the least he owes her.

“You deserved more than to be stuck here with my family,” He starts slowly. “I never– I never wanted you to leave. Every time you walk out of those doors, I want to chase you down and make you stay. You have to believe me when I say that I only ever wanted you to be happy, and you wouldn’t have found that stuck here in the mess we had made back then.”

There’s a poignant silence that settles as she processes his words, and he holds the ragged breath that builds in his chest when she begins to drag her thumbs along the backs of his hands, smoothing at the skin there. Ever so gentle.

“All I’ve ever wanted was to be here with you and your family,” She says, shaking her head like she’s scolding him, even though her tone is anything but. “Being here makes me happier than any place I’ve traveled to. And I’m– I’m truly grateful that you had my best interest in mind, Elijah, but you have to understand,”

She trails off and an incredulous laugh leaves her lips as she smiles at him. “I’ve loved you my entire life. And my heart used to break every day knowing that I’d only have a short time with you. When I turned, I was so– I was so happy because I suddenly had the rest of time to be with you. And you… you broke my heart, Elijah. You truly did,”

She presses her thumbs into his skin firmly, just a pressure point to punctuate her words. “But I have never stopped loving you. And every time I walked out of those doors and left you behind, my heart broke again. You wouldn’t have ever had to make me stay. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

Elijah’s breath stalls in his chest, and lets it out slowly, shakily. There’s a distant string of hope he lets himself pull on, just this once. Because she let him.

He meets her gaze and smiles softly, just for her. “Will you stay, then? I’m– I’m asking you, truly. Will you stay?”

She nods before he even finishes speaking and laughs quietly, the sound just for him. “Of course I will, Elijah. I’ll stay as long as you want me to,”

“Forever,”

“Forever, then. I’ll stay forever.”

#elijah mikaelson #klaus mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries fanfiction #kol mikaelson #the originals #fic recs #elijah mikaelson x reader #elijah mikaelson fanfiction #elijah mikaelson imagine #elijah mikaelson fluff #the originals fanfiction

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infictionalwonderland · 1 year ago

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Hey girl I’ve just seen your Elijah x plus reader post, could you do one for klaus?

klaus mikaelson x plus size reader headcanons:

— warnings, lots of talks of body image, insecurities of weight & appearance, talks of binge eating, KLAUS BEING THE BEST BOYFRIEND!!!

first of all, klaus thinks you’re the most beautiful person to ever walk this earth bro

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

he adores you so much bby

this man will legit get mad if you mention anything negative about your appearance

“do you think my stomach looks werid in this d—“ “no, my love, it does not. please stop with this utter nonsense, you look as beautiful as you always do. extremely, extremely beautiful.”

“i don’t like the way my arms—“ “little love, if you even think about finishing that sentence with an insult to your heavenly self, i will throw you over my lap and spank your arse raw.”

you finished the sentence

WHENEVER HE BUYS YOU CLOTHES HE ALWAYS BUYS YOU FIGURE COMPLIMENTING THINGS!!

he loves you are ur body an actually obsessive amount 😋😋😋

“why would you even want to hide such beauty?”

LITERAL HEART EYEESSSSSS

when you wear said clothes his whole breathing stops, his eyes widen, he blushes, he stutters

he’s actually a little simp for you icl

ofc if you say to him the clothes that gets you, you won’t wear bc they make you genuinely uncomfortable - he will stop

BUTTTTT continuously tries to convince you bc he genuinely doesn’t understand why you would ever want to hide your body away when it’s so perfect and beautiful

he never oversteps any of this boundaries with you tho!!

if you tell why they make you uncomfortable (i,e they highlight my figure etc) he’ll just be SOOO confused

“that is the point, my love. your body is gorgeous - why would you want to hide it?”

I WOULD DIE

if you ever tell him you’re scared he won’t be able to lift you bc of ur weight or something…

he’s always picking you up, spinning you around, carrying you places, making you sit in his lap even if there’s a chair available to you just to prove you’re being RIDICULOUS

he’s all smirks and dimples as well like ‘you sure about that love’

when or if you decide to open up to him about your binges and cravings - he takes it all very seriously, anything to help his little love!!!

he’ll explain to you how he manages to get over his cravings for blood and try to help you if that’s what you want

BUT HES JUST FULL OF SOOO MUCH REASSURANCE AND LOVE FOR YOU BABE

hes actually the best bf

don’t every try test me on that

he knows that expressions on your face when you start feeling insecure about yourself and your body and immediately he’s there with you and kissing you all over your face, pulling you away from everyone else and whispering compliments

and/or taking the piss out of the people around you to distract you and make you laugh that laugh of yours he loves so much

my man 😋😋😋😋😋

#klaus mikaelson imagine #klaus imagine #klaus x reader #klaus mikaelson x reader #klaus mikaelson #the originals #klaus mikaelson x you #klaus x you #klaus mikaelson smut #klaus mikealson fanfiction #sub klaus #the originals imagine

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thatfanficstuff · 3 months ago

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Not About You - 48

Damon Salvatore x ofc

Lucy’s eyes darted around the dark when she emerged from the bar. Stefan came to a stop in front of her, his brow furrowed. “What are you doing out here? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just need some time to myself,” she assured him without fully meeting his gaze.

“Okay,” he agreed after a moment. “Be careful.”

“Of course,” she said. He moved past her into the bar and her gaze found Damon. He was looking at her over the top of a car down the street. She watched him lean inside to talk to someone else before he headed in her direction. She met him halfway.

“You okay?” he asked, looking her over.

She shrugged one shoulder. “It will take more than a temperamental hybrid to hurt me, Damon.”

“Yeah,” he said. His voice was low and heavy with sorrow.

Lucy reached out and took his hand in hers. “Are you okay?”

His eyes searched hers and he swallowed. “I miss you, Lucy.”

“I miss you, too.” The words came without thought. Almost as a reflex. She realized instantly that she meant them, however.

“Come home with me,” he begged.

Lucy took a step back and pulled her hand from his. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He dropped his head forward and took a deep breath. “Okay, Luce. It’s fine. I-I need to go. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

She gave a little nod. “Sure, Damon.”

He kept looking over his shoulder as he made his way back to the car, giving her one last wave before he slid inside. Lucy frowned. Why did it hurt so much to watch him drive away? What was she missing?

***

Lucy didn’t return to the others that night. Instead, she kept her distance and watched from afar as Klaus raved at Stefan for letting her leave. She watched as they reunited with the Mikaelson sister. She wasn’t sure what to make of the woman. The next day she trailed them as they went shopping and watched from across the street. Before long, Stefan headed for the door, undoubtedly needing a break. His eyes met Lucy’s through the glass and she gave him a little wave. She stepped out of sight and waited for him to join her.

“Where have you been? Are you all right?” he asked as he found her.

“I’m fine, Stefan. I just…” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “I’m unsettled. Something’s wrong with me.”

He hummed in understanding and pulled out an envelope before handing it to her. She grabbed at it, but he kept hold of the other end. “You can’t tell Klaus I gave this to you or he’ll kill Damon.”

She felt slightly nauseous at his words. “I won’t I swear.”

“And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe text Klaus and let him know you’re all right. He’s freaking out.”

Lucy nodded and pulled out her phone. When she turned it on, she ignored her notifications.

Stefan pressed a soft kiss to her head. “I should go. I’ll see you later.”

I’m fine. I’ll find you later, she texted before immediately turning the phone back off. She didn’t want to deal with Klaus right now. The truth was, she’d already forgiven him for the night before. It hadn’t really hurt her when he pushed her aside, but it had shocked her. Her issue now was this unsettled feeling that still filled her. The idea that she was missing something from her life.

Recalling a coffee shop she passed down the street, Lucy made her way to it. After getting herself a large mocha, she settled at a table in the back and opened the letter. She smiled when she saw Damon’s familiar handwriting.

Lucy,

I’m dying and I don’t know where you are. Okay, that’s a little dramatic. Lockwood bit me. All I need is a little blood from our resident hybrid and all will be fine. But Elijah ran off and took both of you with him. It’s killing me that I can’t find you, baby girl. And in case I don’t find you before my time is up, I need to tell you some things.

The moment I first saw you, you took my breath away. Not just your looks. Don’t get me wrong, you were are stunning, but it was your sassy attitude that sucked me in. I knew that I was in for a hell of a ride with you and I wasn’t wrong. And I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything.

I love you, Lucy, with every part of my being. I don’t deserve you, I never have and I never will, but I’m keeping you just the same. If this is it for me, baby, just know that you were everything I always wanted. Every miserable moment of my existence was worth it because it brought me to you.

I will love you for all of my life and beyond.

Damon

Lucy read through the letter twice and was reading it for a third time when a voice interrupted. “Are you all right?”

Lucy jerked her gaze up to find an old man with a concerned frown on his face. “I’m sorry?” she asked.

“I asked if you were okay. You’re crying.”

Lucy hadn’t noticed until the stranger pointed it out. She hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Yes, I’m fine. Just some unexpected news.”

She hastily gathered her things and left before any more questions could be asked. She wasn’t sure where she was heading, letting her feet take her where they would while her mind was still on the letter that was now folded and in her pocket. Why would Damon write something like that if they were only friends? And why did she remember so much of their past and so little of her time with Klaus? When she found herself in front of Gloria’s, she wasn’t entirely surprised. After glancing at her reflection in the window to make certain there was no further sign of tears, she opened the door and stepped inside.

“We’re closed,” Klaus’s sister said as Lucy stepped into view.

Klaus glanced up from his drink and his eyes widened. In a flash, he was standing in front of her. His hand cradled the side of her face and she resisted the urge to move away from his touch. His eyes ran over her and a sheen came to them as if he were trying not to cry. “I thought you left me.” His voice broke on the last word.

Lucy’s heart ached for this man in front of her. Surely she truly loved him if she couldn’t stand to see him hurt like this. If she couldn’t stand for him to sound so uncertain. “I just needed a bit of a breather, Nik.”

“I am truly sorry for what happened.” His gaze studied hers as if trying to determine if she believed him or not.

She shrugged one shoulder and forced a small smile. “It was an accident. I know you didn’t mean it.”

He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her to hold her there. He pressed kiss after kiss against the top of her head.

“I feel as though I’ve missed something, brother. Are you going to introduce me to your little friend?”

Klaus sighed and pulled back so Lucy could see the woman in question. “Lucy, this is my sister, Rebekah. Rebekah, this is Lucy. Be nice.”

“When am I not nice, Nik?” Rebekah asked as her gaze ran over Lucy.

She could almost hear Klaus’s eyes roll.

“And how long have you known my brother?” the female Original asked.

“Long enough,” he answered for her. “Gloria have you found anything?”

“It’s hard to find something when you don’t have anything to go on,” the witch snapped back.

“So use me.” Rebekah moved toward the other woman, Lucy forgotten. “I only wore it for a thousand years.”

“Now see, this one offers a solution.” Gloria took the vampire’s hand in her own.

“What are they looking for?” Lucy asked Klaus.

“A necklace my darling sister seems to have misplaced.” Irritation hung heavy in his words. But that wasn’t what captured Lucy’s attention. No, that would be the slightly panicked look on Stefan’s face. He tried to mask it, but she knew him too well. Whatever this necklace was for, he certainly didn’t want them to find it.

#vampire diaries fanfiction #damon salvatore fanfiction #damon salvatore x ofc #series: not about you

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thefictionconnoisseur · 7 months ago

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it will come back

Author: theilliterateironman

Platform: Ao3

Pairing(s): Klaus Mikaelson x OFC, Kol Mikaelson x OFC, Elijah Mikaelson x OFC, Finn Mikaelson x OFC, Enzo St. John x OFC

Status: Ongoing

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Underage, graphic depictions of violence

Summary:

"𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞."

"𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞. 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

[ in which a young girl with the power to alter reality through rumors finds that her soul is made up of five others

Proceed to check out

#TVD #Klaus Mikaelson #Niklaus Mikaelson #Finn Mikaelson #Elijah Mikaelson #Kol Mikaelson #Enzo St. John #tvd.fluff #tvd.romance #tvd.smut #tvd.soulmate!au #tvd.reverse harem #tvd.mature #tvd.ao3

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keepsdeathhiscourt · 4 months ago

Text

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x Original Female Character

Rating: Mature (18+ Only)

Story Summary: It's been ten years since Lucie LeMarche last set foot in New Orleans. But when she's forced to return to bury the woman who raised her, she finds herself pulled into the midst of rising supernatural tensions in the city. Entangled in a web of intrigue and seeking answers, Lucie must learn to navigate a powder keg of warring factions, family secrets, and old wounds if she hopes to survive.

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Language, Death, Mourning, Mental Health Issues, Family Drama, Gore, Depictions of Violence, Death

Series Masterlist

Read on AO3

Chapter 18: Ghosts

The streetlights pass in a blur of yellow and orange. All the while, the manila folder screams at her from the passenger seat. Cami resists the urge to reach across and inspect the contents. Maybe this time, she’ll find something she missed, some key element telling her she was wrong and her tired brain was playing a trick on her all the times before. But she knows to her core that there is no mistake, and if she were to run her hands over the soft black-and-white photo for the thousandth time, she would find the same thing:

The 1919 Picayune clipping of Marcel smiling in front of the New Orleans Opera House with none other than Klaus Mikaelson.

It should be impossible, but there’s no mistaking the high cheekbones, the smirking mouth, and even dressed in spats and a tailored jacket. His cocky swagger is the same.

The first time she saw it was rough. Her stomach bounced against her ribcage and her ears rang. She hadn’t wanted to believe it. Yet it made a strange sort of sense --absolutely bat shit insane-- but sense all the same. And for the first time in months, she felt relief buried beneath the confusion and fear. The missing chunks of time, her and Sean’s code on sheets of notebook paper that she never remembered drawing- she isn’t sure how, but it has to connect back to this.

Cami resists the urge to bounce her leg as she waits for the light to turn, fingers drumming against the wheel. Tired of obsessing over this alone, she’d left her Kenner apartment, throwing a coat on over her pajamas, and was on her way into the city before she could think things through. Now, adrenaline fading and making space for reason, she doubts.

What do you say in this kind of situation?

Hey, Lucie. I know it’s 3 am, but remember that British guy from the bar? Well, I’m pretty sure he’s over 100 years old.

She shakes her head, tapping the accelerator when the light turns green. There isn’t time for second thoughts. She isn’t about to spend the rest of the night on her couch in a paranoid stupor. Maybe Lucie will call her a basket-case then they can laugh it off and watch something mindless on TV.

Her breathing is mostly back to normal by the time she pulls up to the curb behind a red sports car she doesn’t recognize. She tucks the folder under her arm and heads for the porch. The air is humid. It makes her shirt cling to her stomach and the dew-damp grass tickles her ankles.

The rough planks of the porch groan when she reaches the top of the stairs. She can hear voices from inside, muffled by the door, and she hesitates. It never occurred to her that Lucie might not be alone. She was too much of an introvert for a party. A silhouette passes in front of the living room window, a blurry shape behind the curtains. It could be a man, but she’d never mentioned she was seeing anyone…

Maybe she should come back in the morning. Uncle Kieran might still be at the church--

A woman shouts, the sound almost drowned out by breaking glass and a thud hard enough to shake the windows.

Every true crime documentary she’s ever seen tells her she should call the police and let them handle it. Instead, she turns the knob and, finding the door unlocked, she throws her weight into it. The hinges groan as it opens wide. There’s no knife-wielding maniac on the other end, no robber in a ski mask, and no amount of crime drama could prepare her for what’s waiting beyond the threshold.

The first thing she sees is Lucie’s face, mouth slack, and eyes round with shock. She follows the curve of her tear-streaked cheeks, the bloody mess of her neck. With a little cry, Cami steps forward, halting when she catches movement behind her.

Broken glass and tattered wallpaper litter the hallway, like someone let a wild bear loose. Instead, she finds Klaus’ sister running faster than any living thing has any business moving. All she can do is stand there stunned as she grabs a man by the collar and slams him into a wall with enough force to break the drywall.

When shifts, Cami gets her first glimpse of Elijah. His eyes are frantic, hair disheveled, but her eyes lock on the bloody mess of his shirt, the red around his mouth, and the gleaming, monstrous fangs within. Something primal in the back of her head screams at her to run, but her knees are shaking and her feet won’t budge.

She staggers sideways, catching the door frame for balance, and chokes out, “What the hell is going on here?”

Three sets of eyes find her. Rebekah throws Elijah to the ground like he’s only a sack of flour, holding him in place with a foot to the chest. Her mussed hair is a ragged halo in the hallway's light.

She rolls her eyes, tossing her head. “Oh, for the love of--“

Elijah seizes her momentary distraction, hand wrapping around her ankle. Before he can pull her over, she plucks up a broken table leg and pierces through his chest in one fluid motion. He goes limp, dead on the floor. This time Cami does scream.

“Keep an eye on this one,” she tells Lucie, unbothered by her brother’s fresh corpse. “I’ll take care of this.”

Cami winces as Rebekah moves towards her, only to be stopped when Lucie grasps her wrist with a frantic, “No! Don’t.” It earns her a withering look. “She should know the truth.”

The house falls quiet as the two women exchange a look that Cami can’t even decipher. Then, Rebekah steps back with a gesture that can only mean ‘Fine, but this is on you,’ before dragging Elijah by the ankle into a back room.

Lucie turns to her and for a long while, neither of them says anything. Cami can’t seem to slow her racing thoughts enough to grasp a coherent thought, and Lucie seems focused on gnawing a hole through her bottom lip.

There’s a loud thump from somewhere toward the back of the house. It breaks the spell.

“Let’s talk in the living room,” Lucie says, tiptoeing around shards of glass to press the front door closed. Her hand trembles when she grasps one of Cami’s, who allows herself to be guided through an archway and onto a rich, patterned couch.

She pulls a pillow to her chest. Something about the warmth or the plush fabric smashes open the dam and she laughs, a breathy, choked noise from deep in her chest. Is this it? Is she about to snap?

The cushions dip as Lucie sits down beside her. She hadn’t even noticed her slip out of the room, but now she has a damp towel pressed to combat the gore on her neck. It does nothing to soothe Cami’s frayed nerves.

Her eyes fix on a landscape painting on the far wall, the oil strokes warping as her vision clouds over. She doesn’t realize she’s hyperventilating until Lucie says, “Take slow breaths like this.”

She demonstrates, sucking a lungful of air through her nose and then releasing it out of her mouth. Cami copies the motion, sloppy at first, and then more steady with each repetition until she feels less like passing out.

“What the fuck just happened? Why are you bleeding? Why is Elijah Mikaelson dead on your floor?—“The words, once free, stop coming, picking up velocity.

“Cami!” Lucie says, voice sharp, as she squeezes her hand. “Breathe.”

So she does.

“I’m going to tell you everything, alright? But I can’t do that if you faint on me.”

She shifts her hands into her lap, remembering the folder under her arm for the first time since she walked through the door. Setting it on the coffee table, she turns to Lucie with an exaggerated breath.

“First things first, Elijah is going to be fine—”

“—But I just watched Rebekah stab him in the chest—”

“—Because he’s a vampire.”

Cami loses her train of thought, jaw slack. Her mouth snaps shut, and she shakes her head. “Vampires? Whatever joke this is, it’s not funny.” But even as she says it, something falls into place, like the last stitch pulling the whole tapestry together. Her eyes dart towards the folder.

“Trust me, I wish I was joking,” Lucie says, playing with her fingers. She’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, body angled to face her. “There’s a lot you don’t know about New Orleans, Cami.”

----

She watches the servants set the dining table with fine silver and priceless china and all the while, Hayley resists an urge to be sick which has nothing to do with morning sickness. It’s been less than a week since Tyler Lockwood snatched her off the front porch and dragged her out into the bayou in some half-cooked scheme to get back at Klaus --as if he’d ever let any hybrids sired by someone other than himself live. After Klaus had run him off, staying at the manor was off the table.

She doesn’t dislike the Abattoir itself, even though it smells damp and you could hear a pin drop in the courtyard. It’s blessedly cooler here, the stucco walls built to keep out the heat, and she has to admit that the balconies are perfect for watching the sunset over the French Quarter. No, it’s not the compound, but its revolving door of inhabitants that set her teeth on edge.

She reaches for a glass of water, the other hand resting against her expanding belly. All the while, she keeps a sidelong look at the small army of vampires gathered around the table. Two chairs to her right is Marcel and beside him is his newest right-hand man, the one they call Diego. Her eyes narrow when he catches her staring, dark eyes full of calculation. She isn’t sure how much Klaus has told them about her and their miracle baby, but, then again, she doubts it matters.

Diego breaks the stand-off first when Klaus taps his fork against his wineglass. It’s not until she sees the back of his curly head that she turns to him as well. At the other end of the table, Klaus is on his feet with that smug ‘I have something important to say’ face that Hayley hopes their daughter doesn’t inherit.

“Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift: immortality,” he says, glass held high. “After a thousand years, one might expect life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows do diminish with time. But, as vampires, we feel more deeply than humans could possibly imagine.”

With a gesture, a handful of wait staff step forward, hovering just over the shoulders of the gathered guests. It only takes one look at their identical glassy expressions to know they’ve been compelled. He continues, “Insatiable need, exquisite pain…,” She holds back a wince when each cuts their wrists filling the empty glasses with blood. “Our victories, and our defeats.”

When all the glasses are filled, he lifts his higher. She doesn’t miss the way his eyes lock on Marcel as he says, “To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow…”

Marcel raises his glass with a wide smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “…and the party never end!”

Her eyes drift to Diego. It’s no secret that he resents Klaus’ takeover of the vampire faction, only following orders out of some misguided loyalty to Marcel. She waits to see if he’ll make a scene. Maybe that would liven things up around here, only to be disappointed when he raises his glass and murmurs, “To New Orleans.”

“To New Orleans,” they all refrain, drinking deeply. Hayley sips at her water, wanting nothing more than to shut herself in her room away from all the male posturing. But she knows Klaus well enough to understand that whatever he’s building to, he expects her to be present. She just wishes he’d hurry it up.

“I understand that some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership.” An interesting way to refer to a failed assassination attempt staged by Marcel that led them all under Klaus’ subjugation. “And I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No, my intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took and built for this community of vampires--

“And what about her?” Diego interrupts, ignoring Klaus’ veiled irritation. “The wolf.”

It’s a fair question, one that Hayley has asked herself more than once. Her own place in Klaus’ best-laid plans is still a mystery, even to her. She turns her head, watching Klaus warily.

“Had you’d let me finish, Diego, you would know that there is, of course, one further matter I would like to address.” Then he’s moving around the table, her stomach doing a backflip as he heads right for her. “As many of you know, the girl is carrying my child. Consequently, I trust you will all pay her the appropriate respect.” Which, to a vampire, is none. “However, I understand that some of you are concerned by this vicious rumor that I intend to use the blood of our child to create hybrids. I assure you, I do not.”

She can’t help the bitter curl of her lips. “Father of the year.”

If he was expecting elation or even relief, he finds none. The vampires spare the odd glance at Marcel before fixing him with a dozen blank, unsettled expressions.

With a dull satisfaction, she notes the way his eyes tighten at the corners and some of the sheen disappears from his grin. “It appears that I will have to earn your trust,” he says with a finality that makes her uneasy. “Very well. We’ll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the bayou to turn?”

And Hayley’s heart crashes through the floor. “What?” she chokes in horrified disbelief. “Klaus, no!”

She’s only just gotten used to the idea of having family out there and now, to soothe the fears of some motley group of vampires, it’s all slipping through her fingers.

“So eat, drink and be merry,” he commands over the ringing in her ears. “And tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all!”

The chair screeches in protest as she rises to her feet. She’s heard more than enough. Without a backward glance, she storms out of the room. Not that Klaus notices, he’s far too wrapped up in Marcel and his own blood lust to care.

Her feet lead her up the stairs to the second level, ignoring the exultations coming from below. When she reaches her room, she slams the door behind her hard enough to make the lamp on the dresser shiver. She doesn’t notice, she already has her phone in hand.

If she wants to stop this, she needs someone on the outside. But Elijah doesn’t answer, and neither does Lucie. And so she tries her one last lifeline and almost cries with relief when she hears Rebekah’s voice on the other line.

___

“So let me get this straight, not only are the Mikaelsons vampires but they’re the first ones in existence,” Cami says, once Lucie finishes giving her the thousand-foot overview of all things supernatural in New Orleans.

She’s sitting with her legs crossed beneath her. Across from her, Lucie mirrors her position. “Right, the Originals.”

“And while Marcel and Klaus are playing tug of war with the city, the witches,” That’s going to take some getting used to, “are also angling for control. And the werewolves…?” she trails, pinching her nose to ease some of the pressure building behind her eyes.

“Were banished from the city by Marcel decades ago.”

She groans in frustration, leaning sideways against the couch.

“You’ll catch on. It just takes some time.”

“It would be a lot if I could just remember.” She is still foggy on the details, but she knows enough to understand that what she had been experiencing wasn’t a slow descent into madness, but the effects of mind compulsion--another fun vampire trick. “You’re a witch. Are you sure you can’t just…I don’t know…wiggle your fingers and fix me?”

“Not a very good one.” Lucie’s lips pull into a frown. “I wish it was that easy.”

“When is anything in this town ever simple?” she asks with a laugh, but even she can hear the bitterness creeping in at the edges.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. By the time I realized you were in the middle of it all, Klaus already had his hooks in you.”

Klaus. The arrogant son of a bitch that toyed with her for his own gain and made a smoothie of her brain. His name alone is enough to make her want to break something. “I’m more sorry that no one thought to tell me,” she snaps, regretting it the second she sees the pained look in Lucie’s eyes. She sighs. “I get it, but just tell me one thing; if you suspected what was going on, why didn’t you do something?”

“What makes you so sure I didn’t?” Lucie says, loaded with meaning.

“What are you—” She gasps when it clicks, fingers tracing the space around her wrist. “You mean the bracelet? How?”

“My great-great grandmother spelled it with vervain, to protect from compulsion.”

She’s quiet for a minute, taking in the new information as she swallows a fresh lump in her throat. “Well,” she starts with a shaky puff of laughter, “Now I really wish I hadn’t lost it.”

Lucie doesn’t respond, only gives her a long look before disappearing into one of the back rooms. She’s back in moments, dropping something cold into Cami’s palm as she sinks back down on the couch.

She uncurls her fingers and finds herself staring at the familiar sun and moon charms. “Where did you find this?”

“Let’s just say I stole it back from the person who stole it.”

“Stolen? But I thought I—fucking Klaus,” she swears. “I’m going to kill that asshole if I ever see him again.”

Lucie laughs, hands resting over her knees. “There might be a line.” It wrangles a chuck from Cami even as her expression turns serious. “I really am sorry you had to find out the way you did.”

She sighs before placing a hand over Lucie’s. “Help me with Klaus and we can call it even. Just keep me in the loop from now on. Deal?”

Her lips curve up in a small smile. “Deal.” Then her face falls once more. “Cami, there’s something else I need to tell you. It’s about Sean.”

---

The pounding in his head is the first thing Elijah is aware of, a persistent thrumming behind the eyes that beats in time with his pulse. His limbs are granite slabs as he raises shaking fingers to his temple. While he works up the courage to open his eyes, he notes the softness of the mattress beneath him, the familiar scent of wisteria, and the faint padding of footsteps somewhere beyond.

Steeling himself, he opens his eyelids. It’s just a crack, but enough for the pale moonlight to slip between the blinds and burn into his retinas with the full force of the sun. He groans, shielding them with the side of his hand. Forcing them wider, he blinks until it doesn’t hurt so much and the surrounding room takes shape. A gray coverlet frames him, and a pile of pillows behind his head props him up. Straight ahead, garments in various shades of black and gray hang from the open closest, the wall around the doors plastered with band posters.

Suddenly, the floral smell makes sense. And if this is the LeMarche home, then he must be in Lucie’s room.

Lucie.

He jolts upright, memories of last night flooding back to him in hazy flashes. Her wide, worried eyes when she found him in the alley. Her fingers had been cool against his burning skin. He remembers the tremor in her voice, the warmth of her presence at his bedside. The events warp and waver, take a darker turn as he recalls her heart pounding beneath her breastbone. The hot, heady elation as her blood pooled in his mouth and overwhelmed his senses.

Shame crashes over him in a tidal wave, remorse as sharp as the stake Rebekah drove through his chest before he could do something he couldn’t take back. He wants to sleep, maybe for a decade, until he’s ready to face her. Instead, he kicks off the covers, staggering to the side like a drunkard when his feet hit the floor. He grasps the edge of the dresser and pauses, glimpsing himself in the mirror.

The creature blinks back at him with red-rimmed eyes. Stubble is a dark shadow around his jaw while the hair at his head sticks up in every direction. He rakes a hand through the errant strands with an absent precision, unable to tear his eyes away from the damning rust-colored stain on his shirt.

He pulls away, following the sounds of life to the front entryway where he finds Lucie, sweeping glass into a dustpan. She does not notice his presence. It’s a chance to watch her undisturbed. As his eyes rake over her slight form, he notes the tired slump of her shoulders, the shadows beneath her eyes, and wonders if she’s been awake this whole time. But any worry over her exhaustion is eclipsed when he sees her neck. Identical bite marks taunt him, red and angry against her skin. His stomach lurches and guilt trickles in, hotter than the fever that had ravaged his system the last two days.

Before he can vanish from her life forever, before he can even begin to make amends, she turns. Whirling around in a flash of russet, she jumps when she spots him, free hand clutching her chest.

“Shit. I didn’t know you were awake,” she whispers. Then, before he can answer, she presses a lip to her finger and, with a glance down the hall, adds, “Cami is asleep in the other room. We can talk outside.”

She leads him back down the hallway and, abandoning the dustpan on the kitchen table, slips out into the backyard. The moon is only a day or two shy of full, so bright that even behind the clouds, its glow casts the withered garden in shades of silver and blue.

Neither of them speaks until they’re down the steps, hovering near the overgrown path that weaves around the garden, the spot where she’d once accepted his deal.

When she turns to him, the moonlight draws the bite mark into sharp relief again. Elijah’s shoulders tense and he shoves his hands into his pockets to curb any misguided attempt to brush his fingers against it. With an exhale, he opens his mouth to speak, but Lucretia beats him to it.

“Before you start whatever ‘I’m a monster speech’ you have on deck, it’s been a long night,” she says, arms folding over her chest. “Yes, you were a dick and scary and it also wasn’t your fault - don’t give me that look, it wasn’t. So can we just skip to the part where I forgive you and you agree to stop looking at me like a kicked puppy?”

For a moment, he says nothing, only watches her carefully. His guilt will not be so easy to abate, neither will the conviction that somehow his entrance into each other’s lives has only made things more complicated than they should be. But there’s no missing the resolve in her stare.

“Very well,” he says. “But in the spirit of negotiation, I’d like to make a counteroffer.” When she raises her eyebrows, he adds, “I will agree to your terms if you allow me to heal you with my blood.”

This time, it’s her turn to regard him silently. Her eyes scan his face and, not for the first time, he wonders what is going on behind those large, guileless eyes.

Her jaw sets in determination. “Alright, fine.”

It’s a quick thing, giving her his blood. He opts to give it to her in a mug retrieved from the kitchen. After his attack, anything more intimate than that seems a step too far. When he returns, it’s with his hand wrapped around the handle and a blanket draped over her arm. He hands her the former, ignoring the skeptical look his way when he tucks the latter over her shoulders.

Her nose wrinkles as she examines the macabre contents. And then, with a deep inhale, she chokes it down in a few quick gulps. To her credit, she doesn’t wince, only wipes at her mouth with her sleeve. And Elijah watches as the wound at her neck fades until it’s as if it never happened, almost. Though it dulls some of the sharper edges of his shame, the bulk of it remains.

“Lucretia, I know I do not have a right to ask any more of you,” he says, unable to endure any more silence. “But in my…state…last night, did I say alarming?”

Her hesitation gives him his answer, but, kind as she is, she does not make him ask for details. “There was a moment you thought I was someone else. You called me ‘Celeste’…” She must catch the way his cheeks heat because she adds, “Nothing too scandalous, I promise.”

He doesn’t miss the waver in her smile, the anxiety lurking in her dark eyes. So he gently prompts, “What else?”

“When I touched you, I saw one of your memories.”

With a catalog of ten centuries at her disposal, he doesn’t guess, only waits in growing apprehension for her to tell him which horrible act of brutality she’d witnessed firsthand.

“A ball at the governor’s mansion. Niklaus was there,” she says. “And Melodia.”

“I see.”

She shifts the knit fabric over her shoulders, pulling around herself and holding it closed with one hand. “I guess it only makes sense you knew each other.”

His head tips up to where the moon is still beaming down from a velvet field of stars. “She was a gifted witch, your progenitor. And good woman.” When he turns his attention earthward, he finds a strange expression on her face. “What’s on your mind?”

Though it’s dark, he swears he spots a flush on her cheeks. “I know it was a long time ago, but were you two…close?”

He furrows his brow, confused. And then, catching her meaning, he can’t help a small bark of laughter. “No, at least not in the way you’re thinking. …It was an alliance built on mutual respect and a common goal.”

She snorts. “Sounds familiar.”

“Perhaps,” he says with a wry smile. “With some notable differences.”

The breeze bats playfully at a loose curl. Elijah watches it flutter about her face as she bites her lip, deep in thought, and resists the urge to tuck it behind her ear. Soon, the impulse fades.

“Elijah,” she starts, so uncertain that he knows beyond a doubt what will follow. That does not stop his breath from hitching when she asks, “Who was he, the boy she mentioned?”

Silence ensues as Elijah debates over how much he wants to tell her. “His name was Cyrus,” he says, adjusting his cuffs. “A member of the Dupin family.”

Her lips pull into a frown, a line forming between her brows. “Dupin? I don’t know that name.”

“That is unsurprising. The Dupins were an ancient magical lineage from the Old World, powerful as they were proud. The boy was the last of their line,” he explains. “He was an orphan when we came to the city, with a vast inheritance and little sense.” Over his shoulder, he gives Lucie a half smile. “Of course, he took a shine to Niklaus.”

“Of course.”

“With his name and connections, he was vital to our integration into New Orleans society, and it was a fact he used to his advantage once he understood who we were. I believe Cyrus always veered toward ambition, but it was under my brother’s tutelage that the truth of his character began to take shape. From Niklaus, he learned to manipulate, to embrace his lust for power, and, in turn, my brother not only benefited from his status and deep pockets, but I believe the boy amused him.”

“Meanwhile, his powers grew with each passing year, until they were such that the elders of the nine covens feared his potential. I soon found myself equally troubled. You see, Cyrus had become obsessed with the immortality that my siblings and I possess, and I soon understood that he meant to obtain it by any means necessary.”

“But Klaus never meant to turn him.”

“No,” he concedes. “He did not. Niklaus strung the boy along with empty promises of siring him. After all, a powerful warlock beholden to no natural tenets or compunctions about morality was a valuable asset. And when the young Dupin heir finally realized that his master would not give him what he wanted, he endeavored to take it for himself. It was New Orleans that paid the price.”

“What happened?”

“I still do not understand the full extent of what he discovered or how he came upon it, only that it was an unnatural magic, the likes of which I’ve only experienced once, when my mother turned us into vampires. But a darkness fell upon the city as an eclipse blotted out the sun for days on end and it was then that Niklaus realized the true extent of his folly. Thankfully, we were not the only ones seeking a way to end his quest for power.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, for once in their storied history, my family and the witches of New Orleans worked together. Melodia LeMarche was the one to perform the rite that separated him from the Ancestral Well.”

“And Cyrus?”

“Severed from the font of his power, he was just as mortal as any human. Niklaus’ retribution was swift. And buried in unconsecrated ground, Melodia banished his spirit to isolation, in a place where he could never join the Ancestors.”

When Lucie shivers, he takes her hands in his. “There’s nothing to fear, Lucretia. Three centuries later, Cyrus is little more than a ghost story, even in my own mind. The ghosts of the past cannot harm anyone now.”

Seemingly placated, she only nods, her attention diverting upward. He follows her line of sight and watches a shadow pass over her features as a cloud covers the moon.

---

It had been an hour since she’d gotten off the phone with Rebekah. And though Hayley had solicited a promise from her she would come soon, she hadn’t specified when that meant. Waiting was an exposed nerve, one that flared up and gave her a nasty shock with each minute that passed.

Hayley Marshall is sick to death of waiting. Waiting for the end of her pregnancy, waiting to learn what fate Klaus has in store for her, and always, always waiting for someone else to come to her aid. It’s enough to drive a weaker person to insanity, but she’s made of steel and fangs and tougher things. And if it means saving the family she never knew she had, she’ll take on every vampire in Louisiana if she has to.

Besides the occasional peel of raucous laughter wafting up from the courtyard, the compound is quiet. Though bedecked with modern electricity, the light that bounces off the deep gray stucco is just enough to see by. A fact that she uses to her advantage as she slips down the stairs, hugging close to the shadows.

It’s a short walk to the side door, her heart hammering in her chest all the while. She doubts Klaus will inflict any serious punishment if she’s caught, at least not to her personally. And with a death sentence hanging over the wolves, there’s not much else he can do to her that matters.

She hazards a glance over her shoulder. When she finds the hallway empty, she steels herself, ready to bolt out the door and into the night. Before she can take a single step, a figure bars her path.

“Going somewhere?” Diego drawls, amused.

Her eyes narrow and her jaw clenches. Even as her hands ball into fists, she knows she’s no match for one of Marcel’s inner circle. Not for the first time since that fateful positive drugstore pregnancy test, she wishes she could shift into her stronger form. The one that would allow her to run away from this mess or at least maul the next person who tries to fuck with her or her baby.

Hayley doesn’t notice so much as a shadow before Diego’s head wrenches to the side at an unnatural angle and he goes limp.

She fights a smile when she glimpses a familiar form. “Took you long enough,” she says as Rebekah Mikaelson throws her victim into a nearby wall.

“Yeah, well, you might have warned me about the guard.”

She manages a huff before spinning around to strike down two more vampires lurking nearby.

“Alright,” she says, circling back over to Hayley. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

When she reaches out for her, Hayley steps back, ignoring Rebekah’s exasperated look. “About that,” she starts, feeling a bit guilty about her lack of transparency on the phone. “That’s not actually the help I had in mind. I’ve been deemed under protection by the almighty Klaus. It’s the werewolves who need help,” she powers through before Rebekah can so much as groan, “He ordered a wolf hunt as some jacked-up peace offering to Marcel’s crew. You have to help them.”

“Out in the Bayou?” Rebekah balks, looking at her like she has two heads. “Do I look like a bloody vampire rescue squad? I think you should be grateful I came to save you.”

And she is grateful, more than she expected. But she needs this and her people need her.

“Listen, Rebekah. All my life, I’ve wanted to know who my real family was, and just as I find out they’re out there in the Bayou, Klaus orders them killed. You want to help me? Help my people. Please.”

And maybe it’s the quaver of earnestness in her voice or maybe just Rebekah’s vulnerabilities where family is concerned, but somehow it works. She spots the moment her words break through, the way Rebekah sighs when she’s about to fold.

“Fine, but you owe me a new pair of boots this time.”

___

Only when Rebekah leaves, the fate of Hayley’s pack in her hands, does Hayley return to the calm oppression of the compound. She travels the winding halls with purpose, unsure of what she’s moving toward until she finds Klaus in the study. Pouring over a book from his spot in an armchair, he doesn’t acknowledge her presence, though she knows he heard her enter. His obvious dismissal stokes the embers of rage that have been roiling all evening, threatening to ignite.

She takes a step forward, fists clenched. “Those werewolves you ordered killed, that’s my family.”

Slowly, he turns his head to look at her. The directness of his gaze is unnerving, as if he’s not just immortal by omniscient. “Not for long, love. I mean, this so-called family of yours, they haven’t done you much good, have they?” She turns away from his stare and the sharp daggers of truth behind his intent to hurt her. “You said it yourself — they abandoned you and left you on your own. Now it’s simply your turn to do the same.”

“Maybe they had their reasons,” she fires back, hearing the undercurrent of doubt.

The book slams closed, punctuating his attempts at nonchalance as he rises to his feet. “Yes, well, I have reasons too, little wolf. If the werewolves are dead, then the vampires have less desire to kill you. I am trying to keep you safe.” And she hears it, the force of conviction in his words. “Not that you appreciate the effort.”

A thought returns to her then, like a bucket of ice water dropped over her head. “And as soon as I have this baby, what happens to me then?”

His silence is damning, amplified only by the flicker of guilt that flashes behind his eyes. She swallows hard, rage tempered only by her growing fear.

“Right... Well, lucky for me, I have a little while before I find out,” she says with a bitter smile. “And in the meantime, I will find a way to pay you back for this. As long as I’m in the family, you can’t do a damn thing about it.”

She doesn’t turn around to watch her words land, but she feels the heat of his eyes on her back until she rounds the corner and disappears from his view.

___

Cami sleeps through the morning and halfway into the afternoon. More than once, Lucie toys with the idea of waking her, but when she remembers breaking the news about Sean’s hex and holding her, helpless as she sobbed in her arms, she can’t bring herself to do it.

Instead, Lucie occupies herself with cleaning up the rest of the evidence of last night’s disaster. And when that’s finished, she plants roots in the kitchen and turns her hand to dinner, hoping that maybe a home-cooked meal with bring some semblance of normalcy back to her life.

She attacks the potato in her hand with short flicks of the wrist that send little chips of peel fluttering, collecting in a pile on the cutting board. All the while, she taps her toes, hums, tries to remember the words to a poem she recited in fourth-grade English. Anything to keep her mind distracted. But try as she might, the events of last evening creep back in, present as a hand on her shoulder - or wrapped around her fingers.

It’s both astounding and irritating how long after he’s gone, Elijah’s presence always seems to linger. Like fragments of his aura make their home in the walls and burrow deep into the floorboards. She’d watched him leave just as dawn was cresting over the neat rows of shingled roofs. And as his retreating form disappeared from view, she felt the same strange desolation that came with his departure. Was this how it would always be between them; one always left behind while the other chased down their demons?

The shuffling of feet against the tile breaks her out of her thoughts. She sets the vegetable down while there’s still something left of it, the little pile of shreddings has doubled in size, and finds Cami standing bleary-eyed in the doorway.

She groans, stretching her arms over her head. “Smells amazing in here.”

Picking up a knife, she dices the potato with deft precision before adding it to the stockpot. “Thought a stew seemed fitting with the chill. Should be ready in a half hour.”

Cami nods, raking a hand through her hair and stifling a yawn. “What time is it?”

Lucie glances towards the green numbers on the microwave. “Just a few minutes before four.”

The information must kick-start some life into her because her eyes go wide with panic. “Shit,” Cami exclaims, casting around for her phone. “I had a lunch shift today. Paulette is going to kill me—”

“It’s all good,” Lucie interjects, stirring the broth with a wooden spoon. “I called and let them know you weren’t feeling well. If your boss asks, you had a migraine. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh.” She seems to relax a little. “No, no. Thanks for doing that.”

Lucie nods as Cami settles in at the kitchen table, occasionally helping with chopping or peeling, but mostly content to pass the time in friendly conversation. Every now and then, she manages a smile and it's a tight, fragile thing as she makes sense of all she's learned. They’ve settled into a comfortable lull when the doorbell rings.

She sets down the knife with a frown, her eyes meeting Cami’s over her shoulder who shrugs. “Keep an eye on this, will you? I should go see who that is.”

It isn’t that strange for someone to be at the door in the middle of the day. In all honesty, it’s likely a solicitor or maybe a neighbor kid looking to make a quick buck moving lawns. Maybe it’s the lingering memory of vampires outside her door, but she feels a flicker of trepidation when she turns the knob.

But as the door pulls free, it isn’t Rebekah’s haughty expression or Elijah’s steady demeanor that greets her but a pair of big blue eyes.

“Davina?”

“I’m sorry to turn up here unannounced but I need your help.” She doesn’t wait for an invitation, brushing past Lucie and into the living room. “Marcel’s been lying to me. I can’t trust him anymore.”

There’s nothing to do but follow. Davina drops her back onto the floor near the couch, craning her head to peek around the doorway that leads into the kitchen.

“Oh, hi Cami,” she says with a wave before turning back to Lucie. “I didn’t know you knew each other.”

Lucie blinks owlishly, her brain trying to catch up with the teenage witch in her living room. Meanwhile, Cami sets down the spoon and wiping her hand on a dish towel, pads into the living room with a confused expression. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

Davina’s brows scrunch together, and then, all at once, understanding seems to dawn. “Oh, you’ve been compelled.”

She closes the distance, and as she leans forward to inspect Cami, Cami leans away. “What are you doing?”

All at once, Lucie’s sluggish thoughts catch up and she feels a surge of apprehension at the look on the girl’s face. “Davina, wait—”

“It’s okay,” she says to Lucie, and then to Cami, she adds with a reassuring smile, “I can fix you. I’m really sorry, but this is gonna hurt.”

#elijah mikaelson fic #elijah mikaelson x oc #elijah mikaelson x ofc #elijah x oc #elijah x ofc #the originals fic #original female character #elijah mikaelson #originals fic

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justjessame · 5 months ago

Text

Light Through the Darkness: Chapter 71

Elijah was honest about just where she’d be having dinner and with whom we’d be sharing our first meal together. Perhaps that’s why she chose the outfit she did - since she’d awakened hadn’t she heard overheard women, young and old, discussing revenge haircuts and dresses? Or maybe, just maybe, she wanted Elijah’s focus to be on her for the evening and not on whatever nonsense that Damon had planned.

The blood red slip dress was one that Gloria had talked her into during one of the many shopping trips she talked her into while she earned enough tips to make her need to show Abigail how to spoil herself with them. Stiletto heels that matched were another splurge that she’d insisted on, promising that she’d find somewhere to wear them.

After being under the loving care - and at the mercy of the teasing of - the flamboyant hair stylist and beautician in New Orleans, she knew that the lipstick he swore was my signature color was a perfect match for the dress and shoes. she managed loose curls, although she had a sneaky suspicion that they had less to do with the heated styling impediments she’d been talked into purchasing during my travels and more to do with the warmth that flowed through my trembling hands coupled with the strong urge to look more tempting than whatever delectable dessert Damon Salvatore might have cooked up for the evening.

she was adding a silky black jacket that was only slightly longer than the dress and was promising Cat that she’d buy more bacon on my next shopping trip if he didn’t rub against her and leave her covered in his fur when the knock sounded against my door.

“You look -” Elijah’s head was haloed by the porch light and he looked strangely saint-like, or as they were depicted on prayer books, at least. Momentarily distracted, she almost missed his Adam’s apple bob with the hard swallow he took before finishing his compliment. “I’m not sure I have the words.”

She couldn’t have stopped the smile that spread across my lips if she’d had the power to try, grabbing my clutch, she stepped across the threshold and shut the door behind her as he took a step back to give her room. “And you’re wearing blue.” The lighter color was unexpected after seeing him in black on black, but it made him look - “Your eyes look darker, I like it.” His answering smile reminded her of when the sun caught out in the middle of a rainstorm, unexpected and bright. “Although you do need a haircut.” His laugh, what she’d give to hear it again, and again.

“How she wish that she were taking you anywhere else for our first -” he left it dangle, like a string for Cat to play with, and offered her his arm - such an old and discarded nicety - my hand slid through, muscle memory after all this time and he led her to the car.

Damon opened the door to greet the guest of honor - if it could be considered an honor to be staked and tossed into a cellar - and almost shut the damn door again. Why he hadn’t considered that Elijah might add a plus one - and that that plus one would be HER - was a huge fucking hiccup in Plan A.

“Good evening,” the smug asshole already looked like he won, and with her on his arm he did. Sort of.

“Thank you for coming. Please, come in.” it sounded forced, even to his own ears, but he prayed like hell that this newcoherr wouldn’t notice. Not a prayer on heaven, earth, or hell would keep the truth from Abi - she knew him better than he knew himself half the time.

Abigail started to cross the threshold, but Elijah wasn’t moving and that forced her to stop and wait. “Just one moment.” Looking up, she watched as her date for the evening stayed as calm and cool as his tone sounded, but the undercurrent of power was evident. “Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider.” Polite and pointed, with that heavy current of threat - far from fear, she felt intrigued. Because if Damon knew anything, he knew he could read her interest - in ELIJAH MIKAELSON, what the -

She nearly missed Damon promising an evening to simply get to know one another - knowing him as well as she knew my own reflection - and she could tell he was lying, but she wasn’t entirely sure what he had planned since she was no longer part of his inner circle. Elijah’s reminder that while he had a deal or bargain with Elena, no one in the house was part of that deal - which made her realize that this was a true dinner party, unlike the travesty that was what acting Mayor Lockwood thought constituted a “tea party”.

Finally stepping over the threshold, she could see the other guests - as Elijah stepped behind her to help her from my coat - while taking a few beats longer than the task required and he didn’t necessarily have to press his cheek against my temple while he performed it. Andie, Damon’s new fill-in while he pined for Elena Gilbert, was helping Jenna fuss with the same duties that Abigail had been destined to perform once upon a time and she took a steadying breath when she noticed that Alaric was coming from elsewhere in the house to greet us as well - the third man, unknown to her until he came forward and introduced himself.

“John Gilbert,” Abigail studied him as she took his offered hand and felt like there might be more to him than meets her eyes, not only because he was from a founding family, but there was an undercurrent of shadiness that she knew could mean nothing good. Then she recalled his name, spoken in passing during a conversation she’d never wanted to have while in Chicago.

“I see,” was her only answer, ignoring the etiquette that would naturally have her offering her own name - “Set any more clever devices loose upon the townspeople lately?” Abi felt gratified when she heard Ric stifle a snort where he stood beside Damon, whose face held a smirk. “Jenna -” her coat free from her shoulders, she walked toward one of the few people in her hometown that she was always happy to see and offered her assistance while Jenna told her how amazing she looked.

Damon watched her, how her hips moved beneath what someone convinced her constituted a dress, and fought to remind himself that she’d dumped him. While he was naked and theoretically vulnerable - the truth was, where she was concerned he was always fucking vulnerable - but the reminder did fucking nothing to stop other memories ones where she was far less irritated and done with him and how she could whisper his name and make him think he’d finally died and somehow ended up in paradise, rather than where he was destined to end up.

“I think we should join them,” Ric offered, as Elijah shadowed Abi and a tint of red came over Damon’s vision. “The plan,” but when the original vampire’s hand touched Abi on her lower back, clearly enjoying the feeling of both the fabric of that slip of a dress and her warmth under it, he couldn’t fucking think about the plan at all.

A dinner party. Abigail was staring at the spot where Elijah had been seated next to her moments before and worked to wrap her mind around what precisely just happened - even as the chandelier started swinging gently above the table and the candles that were lit for ambiance flickered.

One minute they were all engaged in a rather forced conversation, one that was heavy with tension that wasn’t entirely directed at her date - something was going on between Ric and Jenna, something she couldn’t quite pin down - when Ric stood up and -

“Abi?” She could hear her name, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of where Elijah had been - when had they moved his body? And how the Hell was Jenna not reacting? A glance around the table, when she managed to pry her eyes from the empty place that once held someone she was drawn to, told her that Ric managed to ruin her life without his own partner being in the room. “Abigail, please,” who was begging? It didn’t matter, not when -

The lights flickered, all of them, and the chandelier wasn’t simply swaying easily, it was rocking so hard that if it hadn’t been kept oiled and shined it would be creaking. Damon returned to the dining room to find Ric trying to get Abi’s attention and presumably to stop the destruction of the room - the tableware that Jenna hadn’t gotten John to help remove was steadily rising into the air and while Abi was staring around her, she didn’t appear to see anything. Shit.

“Abigail Morgan,” he was shocked he sounded so sure, especially when he was witnessing an extent of her power that he’d yet to experience. “Look at me.” Kneeling beside her chair, he waited for her eyes to meet his. “That’s right, sweetheart, look at me.” Fighting a fear that she’d push him away, he let his hands frame her face and ignored the flickering lights around them. “Ric, go make sure Jenna is occupied -” never taking his eyes from Abi’s, he remembered that Andie was watching them too. “Take Andie and John along, too.” He heard their footfalls, he knew they were gone and it was just Abi and him - something he hadn’t thought he’d ever get to have again, but this wasn’t precisely what he would have wanted either - he could see several very sharp utensils turning to point at him. “Abi, please, you have to -”

“What, Damon?” Clipped and short, Abi had never sounded so irritated with him, not even when she - “What do I have to do?” Her eyes, those green orbs that had haunted him from the moment she’d come to live with his family and still managed to pierce through him while he seesawed through whatever the fuck he was doing with Elena and Andie, were fractured somehow. Broken. Because of -

“Elijah has to be stopped, Abi, he has to be -”

The chuckle that released from her lips, the dark color yet another piece of her that would be branded on his mind no matter how finished she might be with him, was dark. Darker than anything he’d ever heard come out of her.

“Elena Gilbert must be protected against all threats,” she murmured, her eyes still locked on mine, the cut glass wine goblets and silver of the silverware glinting around us in the still flickering light. “Katherine Pierce came first, then Elena Gilbert. You would burn down the world for those who either only see you as part of the Salvatore brother set or as a pawn in a very silly and endless game of chess.” Tilting her head she studied him. “Does it ever get tiring to be second best?” To hear her say it, much less know she was thinking it cut him deeper than any of the shit she had hovering around them. “Probably not, after all leftovers are still something, right?”

He couldn’t answer, not when she sounded so cruel and foreign to him. Not when she wasn’t the Abigail he knew.

“Release him, Damon.” She didn’t raise her voice, she didn’t have to. Not when she held him absolutely captive with this new piece of the woman he thought he knew came to the surface. “Let Elijah go, or I promise you, Klaus and the others will be nothing compared to what I do.” And with that she stood and every piece of tableware fell, crashing around them as the lights flashed as they burst around them, the candles flickering out.

He was still kneeling as she stepped around him for the door.

“I’ll give you until midnight,” and then he heard nothing at all until the door slammed.

#alternate universe #the vampire diaries #damon salvatore x ofc #elijah mikaelson x ofc #where did that come from

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selmasemlan · 5 months ago

Text

Be Mine

Summary: In the enchanting summer air of New Orleans, Marcel and Luna's deepening friendship blossoms into a romantic relationship when Marcel asks Luna to be his girlfriend

Pairing: Marcel Gerard x Luna Salvatore (OFC)

Author note: I'm back with another part of this fic. I just can't stop

Warning: cute shish, none

Word count: 821

Series Masterlist

Be Mine

The summer air in New Orleans was thick with the scent of magnolias and the distant sound of jazz drifting through the streets. Luna and Marcel found themselves strolling along the banks of the Mississippi River, the setting sun casting a golden hue over the city. It had been a summer of adventures and unexpected moments, each day weaving them closer together.

As they walked hand in hand, Luna couldn't help but feel a flutter of anticipation in her chest. Their friendship had blossomed into something deeper during their time together in New Orleans, and she wondered if Marcel felt the same way.

Marcel, ever perceptive, sensed Luna's quiet contemplation. He stopped by a wrought-iron bench overlooking the river, gently guiding her to sit beside him. Luna nestled close, the warmth of his presence comforting and familiar.

"You know," Marcel began softly, his voice carrying a hint of hesitation, "this summer has been... extraordinary."

Luna looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat at the sincerity in his eyes. "It really has," she agreed softly, a smile tugging at her lips.

Marcel reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair from Luna's face. "I've enjoyed every moment we've spent together," he confessed, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek.

Luna's breath caught in her throat, her pulse quickening with anticipation. She searched his eyes, finding warmth and affection mirrored in their depths.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Marcel continued, his voice steady but tinged with nervousness. "Luna, would you... would you like to be my girlfriend?"

The question hung in the air, filled with hope and vulnerability. Luna felt a rush of emotions—joy, excitement, and a deepening affection for the man before her. She leaned in, pressing her forehead against his, their breaths mingling in the warm evening air.

"Yes, Marcel," Luna whispered, her voice barely above a murmur but filled with certainty. "I would love that."

Marcel's face broke into a wide, radiant smile, his relief evident. Without hesitation, he pulled Luna into his arms, holding her close as they savored the moment. Luna melted into his embrace, feeling the weight of unspoken words and uncharted promises between them.

They sat there, wrapped in each other's arms, the soft murmur of the river and the distant jazz music providing a gentle backdrop to their newfound happiness. Marcel twirled Luna playfully around, causing her to giggle uncontrollably, their laughter mingling with the music of the night.

Their laughter filled the air, and Marcel pulled Luna closer, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "You have no idea how happy you just made me," he murmured against her skin, his voice full of emotion.

Luna smiled, her heart swelling with love. "I think I might have an idea," she teased gently, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt.

Marcel chuckled, leaning in to capture her lips in a tender kiss. The world seemed to fade away as they lost themselves in the sweetness of the moment, the warmth of his lips a perfect match to the summer evening.

As they pulled back, Luna rested her head on Marcel's shoulder, sighing contentedly. "This feels like a dream," she said softly, her eyes closing as she relished the feeling of being so close to him.

Marcel kissed the top of her head, his arms tightening around her. "If it is, I never want to wake up," he replied, his voice a low, comforting rumble.

They stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other's arms, the gentle sounds of the city around them. Eventually, Marcel stood, taking Luna's hand in his and leading her to a quiet spot by the water. The city lights reflected off the surface of the river, creating a magical, shimmering scene.

Marcel pulled Luna into another dance, their movements slow and intimate. "Dance with me," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear.

Luna nodded, her heart full as they swayed together under the stars. Each step felt like a promise, a silent vow of the love they were just beginning to explore.

When the night grew darker, they finally made their way back to the bench, sitting close together as they watched the last rays of sunlight disappear behind the horizon. Marcel draped his arm around Luna's shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"I can't wait to see where this takes us," he said softly, his fingers tracing patterns on her arm.

Luna looked up at him, her eyes shining with affection. "Me neither," she replied, her voice filled with hope and excitement.

In that moment, surrounded by the beauty of New Orleans and the warmth of each other's embrace, Luna and Marcel knew they were embarking on a journey that would be filled with love, laughter, and endless possibilities. The summer had brought them together, and now, their hearts were intertwined, ready to face whatever the future held.

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ladyxskywalker · 2 years ago

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DEC 2022 ☃️

fandoms featured on this list: star wars, rogue one, andor, moon knight, pedro pascal, triple frontier, multi. fandom

thank you to the amazing fic writers for sharing some wonderful stories with all of us ! & to the kind readers for their support. 💙

this month’s reading lists are kindly dedicated in loving memory of our friend Cindy (@keeper0fthestars ) 🕊 who passed away recently after a lengthy battle with cancer.

she was a wonderful friend to all, always supportive, kind, & an incredibly bright light to our community.

finding love, friendship, & comfort through reading, as well as getting lost in writing these beloved stories, has often felt like a warm hug when needed most. sharing & connecting with so many people over all of the things we love is a beautiful thing, & Cindy's amazing heart reached so many across the globe.

I'm so thankful for getting the chance to know her & offer warm thoughts & sincere condolences to her family & friends during this time. 💐

always daydream & never lose sight of all of the beautiful treasures to be found within your hearts. all the love, always, xo A 💌

please assume that all works & the blogs they belong to are 18+ only

be sure to check all warnings & tags before reading, feel free to skip if something isn't for you

mature adult content will be marked with a double asterisk **

& of course, enjoy responsibly

please send me things to read ! favorite fics or something you've written that you're proud of ! 💌

find more monthly fic recs over on my masterlist ✨

please let me know if you would like to be removed

a special tribute to Cindy @keeper0fthestars 🕊💙

there are truly no words to express how beloved cynthia was in this community. 🌸

her lovely work has always brought so many people warmth, comfort, and an immense amount of joy & love.

not only was she a wonderful writer in every possible way, but she was also an incredibly supportive & encouraging friend as well.

she was one of the first people to connect with me here on tumblr, to reach out & form a sincere friendship with, & I will always remember the kind interactions we shared.

talking to her always made me feel a sense of true belonging & acceptance. I can only hope that she felt the same way & I will always carry her in my thoughts and in my heart forever. 💐

you can find some of my favorite pedro pascal character stories & mandalorian works by her here

especially ‘the way you put that smile upon my face’, ‘solace’, ‘fragments’ & ‘you were my new dream (and you were mine); & a wealth of more amazing stories here over on her ao3 page ✨️

✨ new authors & characters added for the first time !

✨ some authors are mentioned more than once throughout the list, check to see if your works are there !

andor / rogue one

bodhi rook

reprieve by @uwingdispatch (gn!reader)

** please note the content warnings before reading

brasso

unwavering by @uwingdispatch (gn!reader)

cassian andor

cassian helping you through a panic attack before aldhani by @archieimagines

endlessly by @uwingdispatch (gn!reader)

cassian andor/jyn erso

dancing on my own by @waterpancakeao3 / wanterpancake on ao3

rating: E (18+ only)

ruescott melshi

before.when.after. by @littlemisspascal (f!reader)

rating: M (18+ only)

misc. / multi. fandom

the batman

alfred pennyworth

bookstore date by @eupheme (gn!reader)

like the movies by @eupheme (f!reader) **

rating: E (18+ only)

my foolish heart by @eupheme (f!reader)

the gentleman (series) by @stargirlfics, moonglowfics on ao3 (ofc) **

rating: M (18+ only)

the holiday (2006)

a new year by Dramerjunkie09 on ao3

major weeper by jesterlady on ao3

the santa ana winds by lizwontcry on ao3

the spaces between us (are full of everything we love) by lionessvalenti on ao3

the vampire diaries / the originals

elijah mikaelson

tell me a story (series) by StarSailor23 on ao3 (ofc)

rating: M (18+ only)

twilight

carlisle cullen, charlie swan

lazy sunday by @eupheme (charlie swan x f!reader) **

rating: E (18+ only)

watch what happens by @eupheme (carlisle cullen x f!reader x charlie swan)

rating: E (18+ only)

moon knight

steven grant

dream a little dream of me by @redahlia-writes (f!reader)

pedro pascal characters

ezra (prospect)

earthlings by @imtryingmybeskar (f!reader)

rating: M (18+ only)

static and snow by @the-blind-assassin-12 (f!reader)

jack daniels

it’s a marshmallow world part one, part two by @writeforfandoms (f!reader)

joel miller

come home (series) by @imtryingmybeskar (f!reader) **

rating: E (18+ only)

wolf song by @eupheme (f!reader)

rating: M (18+ only)

marcus pike

where the love light gleams by @the-blind-assassin-12 (f!reader)

zach wellison

coming home (a room with a view series) by @absurdthirst (f!reader)

rating: M (18+ only)

star wars

anakin skywalker

forbidden by @mylifeisactuallyamess

armitage hux

too late for goodbye by @mylifeisactuallyamess

din djarin

bookstore girl by @saradika (gn!reader)

cuyan (series) by @againstacecilia (f!reader) **

rating: E (18+ only)

traditions and promises by @huffle-pissed

obi wan kenobi

baking/messy kitchen by @saradika (gn!reader)

rating: M (18+ only) (modern au, ‘ben’ kenobi)

love me and mend (series) by @hellotherekenobi , karasong on ao3 (f!reader)

seek them out, secret writings, sharing soap, undercover, take care of you by @hellotherekenobi , karasong on ao3 (f!reader)

you make me feel like dancing by @saradika (f!reader) **

rating: E (18+ only) (modern au, ‘ben’ kenobi)

poe dameron

the first noel life day by @dailyreverie

triple frontier

benny miller

all I need by @dameronscopilot (f!reader) **

rating: E (18+ only)

under the stars by @artemiseamoon on ao3 (f!reader, ofc)

rating: M (18+ only)

frankie morales

how about you and me? by @artemiseamoon on ao3 (f!reader, ofc)

rating: M (18+ only)

will miller

christmas morning by @rayslittlekitten (dad!will, wife!f!reader, child oc lucy)

wisteria & moonlight (series) by @artemiseamoon on ao3 (ofc) (werewolf & magical au)

rating: M (18+ only)

** 🌸 thank you kindly to everyone for a wonderful year of reading, writing & daydreaming. It has been a pleasure sharing the love with all of you. see you in the new year ! 🌸 **

#pxk monthly reading list 💌#pxk fic recs 💫#star wars #rogue one #andor #pedro pascal #triple frontier #multi fandom #pxk queue

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mrs-kmikaelson · 1 year ago

Text

Should've Known Better

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x reader, Mikaelsons x sister-in-law!reader, Kol Mikaelson x reader (if you squint), Marcel Gerard x mother-figure!reader Summary: After a thousand years of marriage, everything comes crumbling down, taking you with it. But you shouldn't have been so surprised; you knew that Klaus was fire, and you knew that fire burned. You should've known better. Warnings: long, lots of angst and tears, cheating, (do i put tw for violence? like it's tvd, ofc there's violence), no promises of a happy ending Words: 7.8K

Masterlist | Part 2

a/n: not an update for the tribrid yet, but i come bearing a peace offering. this is the only one for now, but i have an idea for a part two if you guys want one. also, tell me if you want to be on just my klaus taglist or my tvdu one.

In the past, you’d been told that your relationship with Klaus didn’t make any sense. You ignored them. They don’t know us, you thought. They don’t understand what we’ve gone through. And that, for the most part, was true.

You were turned with the Mikaelsons when you were only twenty-one years old. You and Klaus had stuck together since then. Through all the trials and tribulations, you two were inseparable. The daggering of his siblings, the hunter’s curse, his enemies coming after you, trying to break his curse—you were there every step of the way. Nothing could make you leave him. In your mind, it didn’t matter what obstacle life threw at you; you’d beat it. You beat it every single time.

Later, you realized that you should’ve known this would happen sooner.

You should’ve known that it was too good to be true.

You could still remember walking into your shared apartment that day in the nineties. You were on top of the tallest mountain, feeling like you were on top of the world. Until suddenly you fell, plummeting down to the ground as the life you’d built fell with you. But that wasn’t the right word to use. You did not fall that day.

You were pushed.

“Nik, I got the-” you cut yourself off, dropping the bags in your hands to the ground. Something in them cracked, but you couldn’t hear a thing. Your world went silent; it was as if the only cracking you could hear was the cracking of your own heart.

Klaus quickly got up, speeding to you. While he was able to get his pants on quickly, there was nothing he could do to hide the blonde in his bed- your bed.

“Y/N, love, it’s not-”

“It’s not what, Klaus?” Tears that you didn’t even know were there raced down your cheeks. You saw him wince when you addressed him. You never called him that.

“This is not what it looks like.”

“Oh, really? So you didn’t just fuck this girl in our bed?” At that, his eyes went downcast. You felt your hands shake. He had no explanation to give you and you knew that; it wouldn’t matter if he had one, anyway. You weren’t gonna stick around to listen to it.

You sped out of your shared apartment as fast as you could, not caring if any human onlookers saw. That day, you swore to yourself that you were done.

You should’ve known better.

That day, you ended up running to Elijah, hoping he would give you refuge, but you knew now that it was wishful thinking. It didn’t matter that Klaus and Elijah were fighting. It didn’t matter how close you and the nobleman were, how much he claimed to care for you. At the end of the day, his brother would still mean more to him.

So, that same day, Elijah brought you right back to Klaus.

You refused to talk to him, but he begged, and begged, and begged. He promised, and promised, and promised. He showered you with affection and more sweet-nothings than he’d ever given you. So, you thought to yourself, he’s trying. He just made a dumb mistake. We all deserve second chances.

You kick yourself now for ever being so stupid. But, at the time, all you could think about was the centuries upon centuries of love the two of you shared. It felt like a crime to throw it all away over one mistake.

But it wasn’t just one mistake.

“Y/N, love, please don’t do this-” Klaus reached a hand out to grab your arm, but you shoved him away. You stormed out of the house, your husband following right behind you. It was pouring outside, but you didn’t care. There was a much more dangerous storm brewing inside of you. You’d prefer to be out in the rain than to ever be in that house with him again.

“Y/N, please-”

“Get the hell away from me.”

“Y/N-”

You spun on your heel and exploded, “Get the hell away from me, Klaus!” The rain hid it all so well, but you were both crying.

“Please, I can’t lose you.” You finally broke down, letting out a sob. You fell down to the ground as Klaus tried desperately to catch you, ending up kneeling on the ground next to you.

You tried to hard to be strong, not to cry, but you couldn’t help it. You were smart; you knew better than to let a man do this to you. But, when it came to Klaus, the man you’d spent your entire life with, your heart overpowered your head.

Your voice cracked with every word you spoke. “You said this would never happen again.”

“Love-”

“No, you promised me, Nik, you said never again.” He opened his mouth to speak, but you didn’t let him get a word in. “You said you would never put me through this again-”

“Y/N-”

“It’s been all of ten years, and here we are, in the same position you put us in last time-” You cut yourself off sobbing as your voice failed you. You buried your head in your hands. The heartbreak you felt was ineffable, so much more intense than the last time. When you said your vows all those years ago, so high on happiness, you never could’ve imagined that you’d one day feel like this—that Klaus would make you feel like this.

He didn’t say anything else. There was nothing to say. There was no defence for what he was doing to you. So instead, he wrapped his arms around you, and being tired, you let him.

It was funny, almost. Even as he engulfed you in his warmth, even after he took you inside and placed you by the fireplace, you still felt so cold.

After the second time, you left him. You woke up the morning after, wrapped in his arms, and you left without looking back. Leaving him almost hurt just as much as catching him in the act, but you knew this was what was best. You needed to do this.

This time, you didn’t go to Elijah. You cut off all communication with the Mikaelsons completely, even though they were both blowing up your phone. After the first fifty phone calls, you threw it in a dumpster.

Being away from Klaus made you feel better, but you still didn’t feel like you. For a long time, you felt broken, incomplete, so used. You didn’t know who you were without him. But you got better.

Slowly, you built yourself back up, building walls around your heart so that no one could ever do that to you again. But if Klaus was the big bad wolf, then you may as well have just been a little piggy because, when he found you, he blew those walls down effortlessly as if they were made of straw.

See, Klaus Mikaelson was like a whirlpool: try and swim away all you want, but he would just keep sucking you in until you’d eventually die.

You should’ve known better.

You walked into your apartment with a kick in your step. It was a good day; you were happy. But the smile on your face dropped when you saw the figure standing in your home.

You tried to go back out through the door, but Klaus was faster, speeding to you and closing it shut, caging you between the door and him. You let out a shaky breath, unable to turn around as you rested your forehead against the door, tears welling in your eyes.

It’d been three years since you last saw him, the longest you’d ever gone without seeing him, yet he still made you feel things that no one else on earth could.

For a moment, you were both mute until you broke the silence, whispering, “What are you doing here?”

You heard him swallow as if he was scared, but you were the one that was terrified. Klaus would never lay a hand on you, but he could hurt you in ways that were so much worse, so at that moment, you feared for your life. Because you knew that, with the right words, he could get you to fall into his trap again, and going through all this again would kill you.

“I-” he paused, like he was gathering his thoughts. You thanked whatever god was out there that he didn’t make you face him. “I knew you were here, I just- I wanted you to have time to yourself, but, Y/N, it’s time to come home now.”

Your lips quivered as you struggled to hold the tears. He made it sound like this was a game, and maybe to him it was, but it wasn’t like that for you. This wasn’t a break that you’d just “come back” from; you were done, you promised yourself that.

You shook your head, but Klaus spoke before you could even utter your protests. “I can break my curse.” Your eyes involuntarily went wide, not having expected that. You were just about to spin around, but he turned you first. As soon as your eyes met his, you couldn’t help the tear that fell down your face.

It was like you forgot how beautiful he could be.

He looked to be having somewhat of the same reaction as you, scanning over you as if couldn’t tell that you were real. And honestly, you even felt like pinching yourself, too.

His voice got softer. “There’s a girl in Virginia, the doppelgänger.” He paused to let you say something, but you were so taken aback by everything that’d happened after you stepped into your apartment that you were practically speechless. How ironic. You’d spent months agonizing over all you’d say to him if you ever saw him again, but now that you were, you had nothing to say.

“I am so close, Y/N,” he whispered. His hands cupped your cheek so gently that a stranger would’ve never guessed that this man had destroyed entire villages, that he even destroyed you, too. When he rested his forehead on yours, the tears that you were trying so hard to hold in came falling like your eyes were a waterfall. “I can- I can wake the rest of the family. Rebekah, Kol, Finn- I know how much you miss them all.”

Your heart tightened in your chest because you did miss them, but you forgot just how much you missed him.

“We can be a family again, Y/N.” You screwed your eyes shut. Your husband was a smart man. Whether the tears in his eyes were real or if he was just a great actor, you couldn’t be sure, but he knew exactly what your weak-spots were and he was using them against you.

This wasn’t fair, you thought. This wasn’t fair at all.

“Please, let us be a family again.” You opened your eyes, biting your lip to prevent the sobs from escaping. “I love you.” Oh, you should’ve kept your eyes closed. You should’ve sped out the door the second you saw him. You should’ve ran farther, tried harder to disappear so that he would’ve never found you.

But none of that mattered.

Because, just like that, you folded.

After a week, you ended up leaving with Klaus. You helped him with his plans to become a hybrid, and he was trying, you could tell he was really trying, but your marriage wasn’t the same. Whenever you kissed him, you couldn’t help but wonder, did she kiss him like this? When you made love, you wondered, was he so tender and loving with her, too? Were you even as special as he told you that you were?

There was only so much trying he could do. You knew the damage was done. You now had insecurities that no amount of sweet words could ever get rid of. You were such a confident woman, but you didn’t feel that way, not anymore.

Your mirror was cracked, sure, but you could still see yourself. You still saw a future, a bright future. You, Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, Finn—you could all be a family, just like Klaus told you that day. You could see it.

So you stayed.

Eventually, they were all woken up. For a while, things felt normal, like when you’d been human. But you were starting to learn that good things never lasted long enough.

When Esther came back, she tried to kill you all. You defeated her, as a family, but no matter how hard you tried to convince them, your siblings all left. This family’s broken, Kol said to you. You’d best get out while you can, Y/N.

You should’ve listened to him.

But you didn’t, and you’d later wonder if things would’ve been different. If you took Kol’s offer to come with him, to leave your husband and travel the world, then would you have been happy?

You tell yourself you’d never know, but you knew deep down that you would’ve been happy, that at least you wouldn’t have been devastated.

It was only you and Rebekah; you were the only ones that could stick by Klaus. In that way, you two were one in the same, two sides of the same coin. You’d always be living in the same hell, trying to get to heaven by being loyal to him, but little did you both know, the longer you stayed, the deeper down into hell you went. Until heaven was unobtainable.

For a while, things were okay. You and Klaus were okay—God, you were just getting to okay. And then Kol died.

That took the cake. Nothing you’d ever felt was so painful, not even what your soulmate did to you, or the man who was supposed to be your soulmate.

Suddenly, you were wishing you could turn back time, wishing you could’ve gone with Kol when he asked you to, wishing you could’ve spent more time with him—you just got him back.

After Kol’s death, it was like the idea of a family became unobtainable, too.

You were in pieces, but Rebekah stayed strong. She handled Klaus while you couldn’t, because wasn’t that your job? What else were you here for—what else were either of you here for?

You wanted to kill Jeremy Gilbert, to rip him and Elena to shreds and to make the Salvatores watch. You wanted them to feel even an inch of your pain, but Klaus didn’t let you, and you resented him for it.

The way he behaved after Kol’s death was unforgivable to you, but you were able to see past it because what was his death if it wasn’t a wake up call? You didn’t want to take this life for granted; you didn’t want to wake up one day, regretting not spending time with your husband because he was dead.

So you repaired the bond that was severed after Kol. You held him and he held you just as tight, if not tighter. Neither of you wanted to lose the other. So you worked for it, you worked for something better, you worked to be something like what you were before—to be anything like what you were before.

But, oh, you should’ve known better.

You didn’t walk in on Klaus cheating on you a third time. He confessed to you, tears in his eyes. He begged, and made promises, and begged, and begged, and cried, and cried, and he did the whole routine, but you were silent throughout it all.

You didn’t cry. You felt like your body was out of tears. God knows you’d cried an ocean away for Klaus, for this family, for the family you could’ve had.

You didn’t say anything, but you knew better now. You weren’t gonna run away, you’d learned from your mistakes. Instead, you moved into a different room in the house. The flowers, the jewelry, the sweet words—oh, all of the things that’d made you swoon in the past didn’t faze you. You’d been force-fed so many sweet words that you now had a tooth ache that no doctor could fix.

You didn’t talk to Klaus for weeks, but when the time came, you followed him to New Orleans. You were practically lifeless, but when Klaus brought you into a bar and you were met with the sight of the boy you took in, the boy you thought died, it was like someone took a defibrillator to your chest.

Hugging Marcel for the first time in almost a century was like CPR. Is this a play? you wondered. Is this Klaus’ strategy? But at that moment, it didn’t matter. Once again, you were reminded of Kol. You needed to cherish your loved ones while you still could, and so it didn’t matter if Klaus was using Marcel to get you to crack, you’d appreciate it, anyway.

But you should’ve known better. You should’ve known that you couldn’t be happy.

When you got to the plantation late at night, the house Klaus insisted you stay in, you were confused to see a brunette woman standing on the stairs.

You furrowed your brows while the woman’s went up. She looked like a deer in headlights. Before you could ask her any questions, your sister came into view. She looked almost as shocked as you.

“Rebekah?”

She ignored you. “You’re here,” she said, surprise lacing her voice and an unknown emotion in her eyes.

“Yes, I am.” You glanced in between Rebekah and the brunette, starting to become unnerved with their expressions. You didn’t know why she was surprised that you were here; it was you who should’ve been surprised at her arrival.

You should’ve known better.

“Elijah- Elijah didn’t tell me you’d be here.”

You only got more confused as she went on. ��Elijah’s here?”

She ignored you again, scoffing under her breath, shaking her head at the ground. “My brother’s a fool,” she muttered. And only then did you realize that the emotion in her eyes was pity.

You looked back to the brown-haired woman, instantly realizing why she was looking at you like you were going to attack her. Quickly, you looked away before you actually did. You didn’t say the exact words out loud, but they knew that you knew.

“What is she doing here?” Your voice was sharp; you saw the girl flinch out of the corner of her eye.

When Rebekah looked up at you, you felt your heart drop. She looked at you like you were the last to be let in on the secret, like she knew she was about to single-handedly crush you. Softly, she told you, “Listen.” And so you did.

And then every other time your heart broke felt like nothing. Nothing could compare to the utter shock you felt, the pain. Because you heard a little heartbeat, and you knew the implication Rebekah was making.

You looked up to the girl to see that she was about to cry. That almost made you lose it. Who was she to cry? you thought.

You looked at Rebekah to see tears in her eyes, too. “How?” You asked, but she didn’t get a chance to reply.

“Niklaus is a hybrid, Y/N.” You turned to see Elijah slowly walking into the room. He looked careful, almost, like anything he said could set you off. “He’s not a full vampire-”

“And she’s human,” you cut him off, humourlessly chuckling. The human girl gave him a baby.

You couldn’t help but wonder, if you had a baby while you were human, would your marriage have ended up this way?

But none of that mattered. Right now, it felt like nothing mattered. Just as you thought there was nothing more Klaus could do to you, he gets his one night stand pregnant. Now she wasn’t so much of a one night stand anymore, was she?

Your siblings were looking at you like you were a china doll, like their brother had just thrown you and they were waiting for you to break. But your face was blank. On the inside, however, there was an entire hurricane taking place, but it was like your body refused to release any of it. Oh, you wanted to break down, you wanted to so badly, but it felt impossible.

There was nothing more to say- nothing you cared to hear, anyway. So you slowly walked up the stairs, heading for a guest room, ignoring Rebekah and Elijah’s calls. The blonde started crying, and if you’d looked down, then you would’ve seen Elijah burning a hole into the ground with his gaze.

You didn’t want to look at either of them, especially not your husband’s right hand man. You were growing to resent Elijah, even though there was a time when you were the best of friends. Maybe if he hadn’t brought you back to Klaus that day in 1996, then you could’ve been spared this horrible, horrible feeling. But no. Any relationship you had with a Mikaelson was trumped by the relationship they had with Klaus.

Of course, they were here, you thought. Of course, they come running back to him the second he does something stupid.

But how mad at them could you really be?

Haven’t you always been doing the same thing?

After you’d gone up stairs, you could remember popping open an old bottle of whiskey and drinking until your vision was hazy. You couldn’t remember when you fell asleep, but when you awoke, Klaus was right there in bed next to you.

You ignored your thoughts, questioning the nerve of him to get in bed with you after what you’d found out, and walked out of the room.

But you didn’t feel as angry as the night before. You felt numb, almost. The last time you felt so empty was after your parents died a thousand years ago. It didn’t necessarily bother you, though. Feeling nothing felt better than feeling everything.

So you let it be. You showered, got dressed, and left the house. Rebekah and Elijah stared at you as you left, but you didn’t give them the time of day. You went and met Marcel for breakfast like everything was fine, went shopping, then you came back home and climbed into bed. When you woke up, Klaus was there again, but you ignored it and continued with your routine.

For three weeks, you didn’t say a word to your husband. He could barely even try to speak to you; you were gone all day everyday and you were asleep by the time he came home. Rebekah would try to make conversation whenever she saw you, but she only received short answers. Elijah didn’t even try; something told you he felt guilty, and you hoped he did. The pregnant werewolf whose name you learned was Hayley would tense up every time you crossed paths. Once, she tried to apologize to you, but it was as if she were talking to a wall because you didn’t give her the slightest bit of attention.

While you weren’t communicating with the people you lived with, when you went out into the Quarter, you were a different person. You were lively, and confident, and funny, and you didn’t look like a woman whose husband cheated on her. Marcel was constantly introducing you to people; you were always surrounded by people, and while you felt so alone at first, as time progressed, you stopped feeling so lonely.

Suddenly, it was like that hole in you started to heal. The hole was still there, but it was getting better.

One day, one of your new friends introduced you to this boy, this young, newly turned boy. And, looking at him, you felt something other than despair: you felt like you were human again. Talking to him made you feel things that you forgot existed, things Klaus used to make you feel on a daily basis.

This boy was good. He was pure, and happy, and full of life, even though he was dead.

It felt wrong at first. Klaus was the only man you had ever been with. But perhaps that was why you liked this boy so much: he reminded you of a side of your lover that had been long dormant, the side of Klaus you fell in love with.

You never slept with him. You never even kissed him. All you did was feel something.

But that didn’t matter.

Oh, you should’ve known better.

So much better.

You opened the door, your bag immediately falling to the ground at the sight you were met with. “No- no, no, no.” You sped into the living room, falling to your knees. Your tears fell with you.

In front of you, the sweet, sweet boy you were starting to feel something for was lying dead in his own apartment. You wished it wasn’t real, but his body was grey, veins all over him. With the hole in his chest, he didn’t look so peaceful anymore.

You cupped your hand over your mouth in shock, silently sobbing. You were so distraught that you didn’t even notice the footsteps behind you.

“I ripped his heart out.” You turned your head to see none other than your husband standing a few feet away from you, the red organ in his hand. While your vision was blurred, you could still see the quiet anger on his face, even though he seemed emotionless. He dropped Leo’s heart on to the ground like it was nothing.

Suddenly, a fire that you thought died out alit in your body. You all but sneered, “What is wrong with you?”

Klaus humourlessly chuckled. It was almost like you couldn’t recognize him, but oh, he had never looked more like himself. “What’s wrong with me?” He echoed. “What’s wrong with me is my wife has been sneaking around behind my back.”

You scoffed in utter disbelief and shot up from the ground. “Oh, so I’m the villain now? I’m sorry, saint Klaus, I didn’t know you were so innocent.”

“Don’t start this with me.”

You snapped. “You started this! I have been living in that house with you and your pregnant werewolf, leaving you to your own devices, but the second I try to be happy, I’m the one in the wrong?”

“Y/N-”

“No, I- I can’t even believe what I’m hearing right now.” A laugh escaped from your lips, full of darkness. “I have not done any damage to this marriage.” You pointed at him. “You’re the one who broke your vows, not me. Forgive me for wanting to clutch at any happiness I could have after you took it all from me.”

Klaus pointed right back at you. “Our marriage isn’t over, Y/N- it will never be. I will never let you forget that.”

You shook your head. “This isn’t a marriage anymore.” Klaus’ mouth opened to protest, but you kept going. Everything you held in and didn’t say was coming up like bile in your throat that you desperately wanted to vomit. “You have destroyed this marriage, Klaus! Hell, you destroyed me.” You pointed to yourself, more tears coming to your eyes. “You have cheated not once but three times, and you got the last one pregnant! But the second I- what? The second I so much as talk to a man, you go and rip his heart out and get mad at me? Do you hear how insane that sounds?”

His jaw clenched, and maybe there was some sign of regret or remorse in his eyes, but you honestly couldn’t care less about his feelings at the moment. “Y/N-” he started, but you didn’t dare let him finish.

“No, it’s you who threw a thousand years down the drain, not me.” You took a step closer to him until you were chest to chest and you were looking right into his eyes. Maybe this would’ve ended in a kiss in the past, but your relationship was no longer the same. You grit your teeth.“I will never let you forget that.”

You then sped out of the apartment, running and running and not stopping until you were in an area you no longer recognized. Once you stopped, you let all of your tears fall, resting a hand on your chest and running the other through your hair. Your heart and your head were both pounding. Every time you thought Klaus couldn’t go any lower, he proved you wrong.

So, standing in the middle of nowhere, you grieved the loss of that poor boy, and at the same time, you grieved the loss of the man who was once your best friend. You grieved the loss of your marriage.

Because this was more than just killing a boy.

In doing this, Klaus killed another part of your marriage when you weren’t sure there was even anything left to kill.

After crying your heart out, you returned to the plantation and went straight to sleep. For a week, you stayed in bed, in spite of Rebekah who came knocking on your door every morning. One time, she didn’t leave so quickly after you remained mute. She sat on your bed, demanding that you eat something. When, throughout all her best efforts, you stayed silent, she threw the glass of blood onto the ground, breaking down and sobbing. Tears ran down her face as she pleaded to you, but you only stared at the wall, expressionless.

She apologized to you in between in her tears, even though it wasn’t her fault, even though you were only this way because of Klaus. But, oh, wasn’t that Rebekah’s specialty? Wasn’t that yours—stuck paying for the sins of the hybrid for the rest of your lives?

She cried, and cried, and cried, until she eventually left the room, too exhausted to keep dancing the same dance. She didn’t come back again.

You never cleaned the blood on the floor from the glass she threw. If anything, you hoped it soaked in and ruined the mahogany floors of this god awful house. It wasn’t long before you wouldn’t have to stare at that stain anymore because Klaus had come to tell you that you were leaving. You’d all be going to the Abattoir, he said.

You were confused; that was where Marcel stayed. So, for the first time in a week, you spoke. When you found out about the altercation they had, you recoiled. Both disgust and shock were on your face: disgusted at your husband’s behaviour and shocked with how he was treating Marcel.

You felt like screaming at him, but you didn’t have enough energy. Instead, you just stared at him. With your voice just barely above a whisper, you told him, That is your son, Klaus. You hoped that conveyed everything else you wanted to say. And you knew your message was received when Klaus walked out of your room without another word.

When you arrived at the compound, little changed. You and your husband still didn’t talk. Soon, when your siblings arrived, you didn’t speak to them either. Life went on this way for a long time.

Until Hayley gave birth.

Oh, life had felt so slow, but suddenly it started moving so fast.

When you first laid your eyes on little Hope, tears came to your eyes. She looked just like her father, you thought. And while you had never wanted anything to do with this, what Klaus had done, you couldn’t find it in yourself to condemn an innocent child.

Maybe Rebekah and Elijah would pay for their brother’s mistakes. Maybe you would, too. But you’d be damned if you let that baby suffer solely for being a Mikaelson.

Even if it meant you’d suffer the most.

The night Klaus came to you, you didn’t greet him, but you didn’t look at him so scathingly, either. In the courtyard, he asked something of you that’d change the rest of your life.

“Y/N, I know we’re not on the best of terms- I know I haven’t been a faithful husband, nor a good one,” he admitted, glancing down as if he were nervous before looking back up to your eyes. This was serious, and he wanted you to know that. “I know you don’t deserve this, and I know you never signed up for this. But I need your help.”

You straightened your shoulders. Whatever he was going to say, it looked like it physically pained him to say it. You wondered if this speech was inspired by Elijah, but you diverted your thoughts away from that. This wasn’t about your marriage; this was about something more important.

“You’re the only person I trust enough to do this, the only person I can really ask. It’s wrong of me to put this pressure on you after everything I’ve done, but I wouldn’t be asking if this weren’t so dire- you have to believe me.” He grabbed onto your hands, and you let him, even though it made you want to die, because when your skin made contact, you felt his hands tremble.

“Hope can’t be here; it’s not safe. The people of this city now know she is my weakness, and they will do anything to spite me, you’ve seen it firsthand.” You knew exactly what he was referring to: the day the witches tried to kill her. At the thought, you tensed. You saw tears gather in his eyes. “Please, I need her not to be here right now-”

You cut him off, almost in a state of awe as you realized what this was all about. “You need them to think she’s dead.” Your voice was breathy, like you’d just finished running a marathon, and wasn’t that what life was like in this family? With the Mikaelsons, no matter how powerful you all were, you’d always be running from something, fighting something. That couldn’t happen to Hope- not now, not yet. And so, without so much as another thought, you agreed, “I’ll do it.”

“Y/N-”

“No, Klaus, I’m doing this.” For the first time since you got to New Orleans, he saw a spark in your eye that you both thought had been extinguished. “I’ll take her, and I will protect her with my life.”

After that, he just stared at you for a few seconds. And for a moment, you as you held eye contact, you caught a glimpse of the man you fell in love with. For a moment, it almost felt like everything was alright, like he never cheated and like you never left. For a moment, the world stopped, and it was just you and him against the world.

But you knew better now.

You were startled when your husband suddenly embraced you tightly as if he never wanted to let you go. And then you realized how you couldn’t remember the last time you’d hugged. So, after a few seconds, if not just for the sake of it, you hugged him back. Although he quietly stammered his next words out, he still said them with more sincerity than you’ve heard from him in a long time. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

You knew he was referring to more than just what he was asking of you. But, oh, you knew better now.

“I know.”

Not long after you and Klaus had that conversation, you took Hope. For the first time since you met her that day and found out she was pregnant, you actually talked to Hayley. Her eyes widened, like she couldn’t believe it. You told her that this didn’t make you two friends, but you also promised her that you’d look after her daughter.

She thanked you after a beat of silence, and then you and Hope disappeared.

You were gone for a while until your family’s drama eased up and you got the okay to come back to the Quarter. In that time, Hope’s parents missed their daughter’s first Christmas and also her birthday. But you made sure to take all the pictures you could. Even with the way you felt about them both, you weren’t gonna let those feelings get in the way of their relationship with Hope.

Their family, rather. When you returned, you realized that this was no longer your family. Eating dinner with them your first night back only proved that to you. This baby had changed all of you. You no longer knew your husband, and he no longer knew you.

When you first arrived to the compound, Klaus and Hayley came rushing to hug their little girl. The hybrid mouthed a thank you to you as he rubbed Hope’s back, tears in his eyes. The hostility you’d shown him from when he confessed he cheated on you all the way until just before you left New Orleans was gone. You couldn’t find it in you to be hostile as you watched him hold his daughter. In that moment, he was more than the man who betrayed you; he was a father who had been separated from his daughter.

That didn’t mean you forgave him, but you were trying to get there—for Hope.

Rebekah and Elijah showed up not a minute later. The blonde cooed at Hope while Elijah walked toward you, enveloping you in a hug that you couldn’t deny. You were worn out, and all you’d wanted this past year was to not be alone. But, deep down, you knew these efforts were futile. Things with your siblings would never be the same.

Rebekah had once been your best friend, but she was Klaus’ little sister first. Elijah was like an older brother to you, but he was Klaus’ first. The only person who could’ve possibly understood the way you were feeling was Kol, and he was long gone.

So, even as you stood in a room full of people, you still felt just as alone as when it’d only been you and Hope.

However, your epiphany didn’t matter. Maybe if it weren’t for Hope, you would’ve left and never turned back. Maybe you could’ve gone out and tried to find yourself, tried to be that same girl you were starting to like when you left Klaus in 2006. But Hope was there, and so you knew you couldn’t go anywhere. You had to stay with your family, even if they weren’t really your family anymore, because you just had to be there. You needed to protect Hope. You needed to keep Elijah from handling everything, and you needed to keep your little sister from spinning out. You needed to be there for Klaus to fall back on if he needed to, not for him, but to make sure he could be the best father he could possibly be to Hope.

To you, it wasn’t a choice. You needed to do this.

After all, didn’t you promise always and forever?

So, you stayed. You took care of Hope and took care of Klaus when Rebekah couldn’t take it anymore. It was almost as if your once other half and you had a silent agreement. He never tried anything, not even so much as holding your hand, but you were there for him as a friend, even though it broke your heart.

The two of you never officially ended things. Part of you wondered if maybe he thought you would get back together one day, but now you knew better than to ever expect anything like that. Yes, you would stay in the compound. And yes, you would take care of Hope. And yes, you would play nice with the mother of his child. But you were no longer Klaus and Y/N Mikaelson.

You were just Klaus and Y/N.

You never went out with another boy again. It was pointless, and you never wanted to fall for someone again if this was what love felt like, if it only ever brought you pain.

For years, things went this way. There were a few threats here and there, but they were taken care of every time. Hope was the most loved child in the world. She was starting to grow up, and so she was also starting to realize that her parents weren’t together. She was starting to realize that her father looked at the woman that’d been there all her life with a look of warmth in his eyes. She was starting to ask you questions that you didn’t know how to answer, questions you weren’t prepared to answer.

So, on Christmas Eve, after everyone had went to bed, you unscrewed the oldest bottle of liquor you had. You were originally saving it for a celebratory occasion, but you, too, were starting to realize things. You were starting to realize that, perhaps, the celebration would never come.

So you sat on the couch in the courtyard in front of the fireplace, unfazed by the cold. The Christmas tree diagonal to you glimmered and gleamed, but you were no longer so magnetized to it. Something in the last few years had taken away bits and pieces of your spirit until you were no longer sure it was even there anymore.

You took a swig of the wine, indulging in its bittersweetness as you stared straight into the fire, not caring if it’d blind you. For the first time since you turned, you loathed your immortality. At first, you looked at it like a blessing, something that’d give you an eternity with your family, an eternity to travel the world and enjoy all it had to offer you.

But now it was just a curse.

Just as you took another swig, you heard footsteps behind you, and suddenly the couch dipped, someone else sitting right beside you.

You could immediately tell who it was just from the mere grace of his actions. Elijah. You glanced at the nobleman, almost scoffing at his attire. Past midnight, and yet he was still in a suit.

Your voice was raspy as you remarked, “No rest for the wicked, huh?” Elijah sighed as you passed the bottle to him. For a second, you thought he’d scold you for not using a glass, but instead he took a large gulp straight from the bottle.

“It seems that way, Y/N,” he said, passing the bottle back to you. You chuckled, but there wasn’t much humour in your tone. He didn’t ask you why you were awake, nor did you ask him. You just sat together in front fireplace, passing the bottle back and forth. You didn’t know if you were both so silent because of how tired you were or if it was because your relationship had just become that fragile.

Sitting there, no Saint Nick came by in a magic sled. There were no reindeer, or bells, or snow. There was no magic to this holiday for you anymore, and you wondered if Elijah felt the same way. You wondered if he was as tired as he looked right now, as tired as you felt. If he was, then you couldn’t help but feel bad for him because, even though you had felt resentment for him, you wouldn’t wish this on anybody.

Still though, you wondered if you’d be sitting there if Elijah just let you go that day. You wondered how things would’ve turned out if he let himself go, too.

Like he was reading your mind, he suddenly turned to you and whispered, “I’m sorry, Y/N.” You turned to face him. While he looked serious, he looked more broken than you’d ever seen him. “I’m sorry I brought you back to him that day. I’m just now realizing that I’ve never apologized to you before.” You stared at him silently, and so he continued, looking back to the fire. “You could have been happy, and I took that opportunity away from you. So I am sorry.” He paused, like he was debating on saying something, a glazed look in his eyes as he lightly muttered, “More sorry than you’ll ever know.”

For what felt like forever but was really just a minute, you didn’t say anything. You, too, turned back to the fire, biting your lip as you tried to articulate what you wanted to say. “I think… I think, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.” You saw him turn back to you out of the corner of your eye, but you didn’t look back. You didn’t know if you could say this while looking at him. “I think it would’ve ended up like this, anyway. I was his wife, not his keeper, but that didn’t matter. My love for him would’ve always made me stay and look after him, even though it kills me inside, even though I think I died a long time ago.” You swallowed. “My mother used to tell me to watch how boys treat me, but Nik wasn’t just any boy. I was so enthralled by the beauty of the fire that I didn’t care if I’d get burned- God, I just wanted to feel warm.” Unknowingly, a tear fell down your cheek. At that moment, you turned to your brother to see him watching you intently. You shook your head, giving him a small smile. “It wasn’t your fault, Elijah, it was mine. I should’ve known better.”

At that, you got up, leaving the bottle with Elijah, and you walked back to your room. You didn’t sleep that night, but when Hope came running into your room in the morning, screaming that Santa came, you pretended to be asleep so that she could wake you.

You sat through the opening of presents, Elijah looking at you differently than before. And you’d sit through multiple Christmases after this one.

No matter how much it hurt you or how it unhealthy it was, you knew you were locked in now, and you threw away the key ages ago. You couldn’t get off this ride, not even if you tried to.

Maybe, if you didn’t let Klaus pull you back in time and time again, then you wouldn’t be stuck. But you did, and now all you could do was just sit and let the roller coaster run its course, no matter how sick it made you or how many tears would leave your eyes when no one was watching.

Now, you’d be here always and forever. But you still couldn’t help but think-

You should’ve known better.

Taglist: @honestlycasualarcade

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saiilorstars · 2 years ago

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Ch.7: My Beloved

Current Story Masterlist // Previous story // Maleny’s Masterlist

Pairings: Klaus x OFC || Elijah x Cami

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @transformerfan97 @stareyedplanet @foxesandmagic

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

"Mummy! Mummy!" A young, five year old, Marlenie came running inside the cottage where Maleny, in the body of Iris Velden, was separating straps of cloths the witches had ordered her to do.

"What is it, Marls?" Maleny looked up momentarily to see the girl looking crossed as ever.

"It's Nick, he won't let me play with him," Marlenie huffed and crossed her arms. "He won't share the wood with me."

Maleny smiled. "And why not?"

"Because he's making something special," Marlenie rolled her eyes, grumbling. "He can't make anything, Mummy!"

Maleny chuckled and went back to the cloths. "Don't be mean, Marlenie. He is, after all, only five years old - like you are."

Marlenie ignored her mother and dashed for their room, seconds later returning with the wooden craft of two joined stars in her hands. "No one will be better than Daddy, though," she sprinted back to Maleny. "Don't you think, Mummy?"

Maleny briefly glanced at the craft, no longer easy to see the craft without shedding tears. "Of course, but I bet if Nicolas keeps practicing, he might be able be just as good as your father."

Marlenie grinned at the craft, just like she always did when she held the craft in her hands. But when she looked up and saw her mother silently working, her smile waned. "Mummy, why don't we run away?" Maleny froze in the midst of her work. "Why don't we go find Daddy?" Marlenie climbed onto Maleny's lap, innocently looking at the woman. "I want to see him."

Maleny sighed and wrapped an arm around the small girl. "Marls, you know why we can't do it."

"Because the bad witches…" Marlenie glumly said, looking down at the craft.

"Hey," Maleny gently swayed her, pressing a kiss on Marlenie's dark hair, "Now you know what I told you - you and your brother - about your father. Can you tell me?"

Marlenie sighed and proceeded to recite the words she had heard since she could remember. "Nick and I will find Daddy as long as we're under the same stars."

"Exactly," Maleny took the craft from Marlenie and held it in front of them both. "Your father travels all the time, but no matter where he ends up at, you and your brother can find him. The stars are the same, and no matter where I am, you know that I will always love you."

Marlenie looked up at her mother, teary-eyed. "But I want you to be with us, Mummy."

Knowing it was impossible, Maleny became teary-eyed as well. "I would like that too, sweetheart, but Mummy made a bad decision that got her into this mess. But wherever I am after this, you look up to those stars, Marls, and remember that I am with you - will always be with you."

Marlenie sniffed and leaned on her mother's chest. "Always and forever," she reminded, wrapping her small arms around Maleny's waist.

She may have been only five, but Marlenie knew that her mother would soon be leaving her - that was what the bad witches were beginning to murmur. She wished she was big enough to protect her Mummy from the bad witches, to help her Mummy run away and find her Daddy, along with Nicolas. She wished on every star that she could just have her family together, doing family stuff….

"Okay! I think we just need one more," Maleny beamed at their almost finished Christmas tree. "Marls, hand me a gold bauble?"

Marlenie had been caught up in the memory while she and her mother decorated the Christmas tree the Mikaelsons had brought into the courtyard for the holiday.

"Marls?" Maleny called again and glanced back to see her daughter lost in thought. Slightly concerned, she left the tree and walked up to the young-looking woman. "Marlenie?" she gently shook Marlenie's arm, snapping her out of her trance. "Hey," Maleny chuckled, "what happened there?"

Marlenie sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, I, um…" she shook her head, fully embarrassed as she tried to talk, "...I was just thinking back to when I was a little girl and how much I wished we could do normal family stuff…like that," she gestured to the large Christmas tree.

Maleny softly smiled, half-remembering those certain memories. Now that more days had passed by, and with Marlenie's help, she was beginning to remember a lot more of her days with her twins...and Maleny felt incredibly happy. It was surreal to know she had children now, and even more-so to have one of them with her at the moment. Marlenie had made it her business to know as much as she could of her parents and their family. If she wasn't with Maleny, then she was with Klaus, and if she wasn't with either she was with her uncle Elijah or aunt Freya. She wanted to know every last thing about her family and no one was telling her 'no'.

"Well," Maleny began, walking towards a box set on the couch, "you can help me finish my very first Christmas tree by putting one of these on," she turned to Marlenie, holding out the golden bauble.

Beaming, Marlenie rushed to retrieve the bauble and place it to where Maleny pointed at. "Like that?" she glanced back at her mother questionably.

"Mmm," Maleny took a couple steps back, hands together as she stared the tree up and down. "Perfect!" she declared a moment later.

"Really?" Marlenie went to stand beside Maleny as they both took in the tree. "Ooh, I think we did good."

Maleny chuckled and went back to the boxes, figuring which ones needed to be put away where. She and Marlenie had taken out every last bit of decorations they could find to use on the courtyard and several other rooms. Being it the first Christmas Maleny would spend in her original body, and the first to spend with her daughter, she wanted everything to be perfect.

"Dad!" Marlenie's sudden exclaim startled Maleny into dropping a bauble onto the ground, making instantly shatter to pieces.

"Marlenie!" Maleny turned around, half irritated with her.

"Sorry," Marlenie winced at the scolding she knew was heading her way. But she just went to meet her father instead, Klaus distracted with the courtyard's appearance for the moment.

"You two went all out…" he remarked slowly.

Marlenie beamed. "Do you like it? Mum and I decorated it - well, Mum did a lot of the job. I just hung the ones she couldn't reach."

"Hey," Maleny hissed, crossing her arms.

Marlenie giggled. "You should have seen her trying to hang up the lights herself."

"Marlenie!"

Klaus, trying not to look as amused as he actually was, interjected the conversation. "Marls, go upstairs," he ordered lightly.

Marlenie pretended to gasp. "Is there a present for me upstairs?"

Klaus reiterated his order with a pointed finger to the rails. "Go upstairs."

Marlenie rolled her eyes and did as told, grumbling things under her breath that Maleny couldn't hear, but Klaus could. When Marlenie was gone, Maleny loudly sighed.

"You know, she reminds me of Kol a lot," she bent down to pick up the shards of the bauble she dropped. She thought that Marlenie had inherited some of Kol's mischievousness as well, because there were certain things Maleny knew for a fact neither she nor Klaus had ever acted like.

"Let's not go insulting the poor girl," Klaus joked and came to help her.

"Don't be so rude," Maleny playfully scolded. "You should have seen Marlenie in her younger days - she was an outright terror sometimes. I really wish good luck to Hayley with Hope. If that little girl inherits your awful temperamental genes like Marls...oh dear."

Klaus quirked an eyebrow at her, surprised. "Well, now who's being rude?"

Maleny sheepishly smiled and straightened with the bauble pieces in her hands. "Sorry," she uttered a minute after, reverting back to her shy demeanor. "Can I take those?" she pointed to the bauble pieces he held.

"How about I take them instead?" Klaus offered, not waiting for the answer as he took the pieces off her hands.

When his fingers touched her palms, Maleny felt a warm tingle that she was sure caused a bright blush across her face. Wanting to move on before Klaus could get a good ear on her racing heart, she brought in conflicting subjects to the table.

"I need to go out today," she announced while Klaus went to dump the bauble pieces over a small table for the meantime. "I need to see Davina. I know she hates me and all but I heard from Cami that she got shunned from her coven. I need to see her and see if she's okay."

"It's probable she won't want to see you, though," Klaus warned her, wanting to prepare her for the worst.

Maleny sighed, agreeing. "I know, but I have to go see her. It's Christmas."

"It's Christmas," Klaus agreed, lightly smiling towards her.

"And…" Maleny bit her lip, suddenly nervous which did make Klaus suspicious of what else she was thinking of. In the end, Maleny took in a deep breath and just came out with it. "I want to go see Lucien too."

"What?" Klaus nearly growled, his teeth gritting together.

"Look, it's been a couple days and I'm worried about him," Maleny tried to explain in a way that would make it easy to see her affections were completely platonic. They hadn't yet completely made up but Maleny would like for Klaus to see that her affections were never going to be on Lucien again.

"If he was worried then he would've came already," Klaus dismissed her statement and began walking away.

Maleny scowled and went after him. "You know damn well the moment he walks in you would snap his neck - at the very least anyways."

"Does he deserve any less?"

"He's not the villain here, Klaus," Maleny reminded, forcing him to stop by grabbing his arm. She turned him around, looking him in the eyes. "Lucien may have made some remarks about me I didn't like but last time I checked, he wasn't the one who kidnapped me. He wasn't the one who fed off me. He wasn't the one who hurt me."

"I don't think you need to go," Klaus declared after a minute or so before heading up the stairs.

Maleny, more than irritated with him, crossed her arms and called from her spot, "Well, it's a good thing I wasn't asking for your permission then!" Klaus stopped and looked over the rails, glowering. Maleny upheld the look on her. "I was only letting you know my plans should you need to find me. I need to see how he's doing and that's that." She left him to think about that and headed for one of the downstairs rooms.

~ 0 ~

Marlenie had laid down several evening dresses over her bed and was sipping some blood from a glass when Klaus walked into her room - well, her aunt Rebekah's room. She would have taken her mother's bedroom but unfortunately her parents were refusing to just make up already.

"So, did you and Mum and talk?" Marlenie barely turned to Klaus when he snatched her glass right from her hand to drown it all in one go. Marlenie blinked and watched him go lean against the dresser, taking a big breath in. "Um...how do I put this delicately - that was mine!"

"Lack of blood is not a problem here," was all Klaus had to say on the matter. His eyes trailed towards the bed with the evening dresses and made a face. "Funny, I don't recall having a gala tonight."

Marlenie playfully rolled her eyes and turned to the bed. "They're options for tonight. It's Christmas, haven't you heard? Plus," she smiled softly as she ran a hand down one lavender dress, "I was looking for something for Mum. Which do you think suits her best?" she glanced at Klaus. "You know her likes better than I do - as well as what looks better on her."

At her suggestive look, Klaus rolled his eyes. "I need you to do something today," he announced instead.

"Oh, like what?" Marlenie made a face. "You didn't let me help uncle Elijah go get aunt Rebekah."

"Elijah was more than capable on doing that himself," Klaus said back, leaning off the dresser. "Maleny has...these ideas, that, well...aren't safe."

"Like?"

"She wants to go see a friend who, currently, hates her. But, being who she is, Maleny is going to go anyways. She's a witch, and she's angry, so it wouldn't bode well for Maleny to go on her own."

Marlenie nodded in agreement. "Okay, I can do that." But just by looking at her father she knew that wasn't particularly what was troubling him. "What's the other idea Mum wants to do?"

"...she wants to go visit…" Klaus balled a fist, the mere name of the man making his insides twist with rage, "...Lucien."

Marlenie immediately crinkled her nose. "Ugh, why?"

"I don't know!" Klaus exclaimed, throwing a hand. "But she is going to do it and I'd rather you go with her to…" he paused momentarily, his gaze falling low.

Marlenie studied the sudden change in her father's face, unable to keep her smirk hidden. "To make sure she doesn't stay again," she finished what he couldn't. Klaus looked to the side as Marlenie approached him. "You want me to go make sure she comes back."

"Just do it," Klaus ordered her, attempting to keep his feelings away.

Marlenie widely smiled, chuckling to herself. "Alright, I'll go. Mostly cos I agree - I don't want her getting brainwashed again by that man. But you want to know something? It might be better for you to tell Mum about this. I assume you argued it out with her again?" by the silence she was given as a response, Marlenie sighed. "Not the best way to go, Dad. But, who am I to get into that, right? Only the daughter," she playfully rolled her eyes and headed back to the dresses.

"It's complicated," Klaus said as if it were obvious but he got a rather rude scoff in return.

"After a thousand years what else can there be that's complicated for you two?" Marlenie shook her head. "Be the bloody straight forwards man I heard you always are and just go to Mum already - clear the air! I just want to spend Christmas as a family...our first Christmas together?"

She met Klaus' amused look with a smirk. After a minute of silence, Klaus walked towards her, wagging a finger at her. "I should ground you for that big mouth of yours…"

Marlenie clapped her hands sarcastically. "First of all, it's your big mouth, actually. Second of all, I would just escape like I hear Mum tends to do."

Klaus rolled his eyes, letting another moment pass as he cast a look at the dresses Marlenie had placed on her bed. "That one," he touched a white, laced dress on the edge of the bed. Marlenie raised an eyebrow as he looked at her with a soft smile. "It makes her eyes look more beautiful."

A wide smile spread across Marlenie's face; she nodded her head and watched him leave the room. She then scurried to the side of her bed and picked up the white dress, smiling excitedly the more she gazed over it.

~ 0 ~

Cami walked into St. James' and was mildly surprised to see Tristan comfortable at the bar counter doing paperwork. She cast a brief look towards the vampire guard standing not too far from Tristan.

"Are you taking over the bar now?" she asked. "Funny, you don't seem like the one who listens to jazz."

"You're a Strix, Camille," Tristan said without looking up yet. "What's yours is ours and vice-versa. You should be grateful. You'll need my help, as I imagine the Mikaelsons still want your head."

Cami raised her eyebrows, deciding to leave the part out where she met Elijah to give him the information she gathered on a couple days ago.

Tristan went on without noticing. "This venue is brilliant. A neutral space where magic is useless. It should do nicely, at least until I install a suitable Regent to shepherd the local witches."

"Oh, well that might take a while," Cami said, pushing down her triump. "See, the last Regent was shunned, and the one before that murdered. No one is really eager to step up."

Tristan scoffed. "As a member of this organization, you should know that we do not wait for men to step up. We step them up."

As he got up, Cami walked towards him. "Alright, then, so we get an ally as a Regent - it's not a bad plan. However, how easy can it be to find a witch willing to do your bidding?"

Tristan smirked. "I already have a candidate. He's young, malleable. His name is Van Nguyen. It seems someone killed his mother. As it is Christmas, and I am- despite reputation- a charitable man, I made an offer. He'll use his powers to do as I ask."

Cami took his pat on the arm and watched the man go with his guard. Knowing she had to do something to be a step ahead, she pulled out her phone and marked towards a familiar number.

~ 0 ~

"So, am I to assume you just randomly wanted to come with me to meet a girl you don't know?" Maleny was giving suspicious glances towards Marlenie as the two walked down a street.

Marlenie was walking beside her, polite smile across her face with her hands behind her back. "Mother, I haven't seen you in almost a thousand years. I just want to be where you are."

"Hmm," Maleny looked straight ahead, then. "You know, you're almost a good liar like Klaus."

"Mum, I just want to spend time with you," Marlenie said softly, casting her blue eyes towards her mother. "Plus, you have to admit, with that Aurora still running around I can't leave you alone."

Maleny playfully rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. But this girl I want to see, she's like my little sister so be nice to her. She's going through a rough time."

"Got it," Marlenie mimed-zipped her mouth as they came to a stop at Rousseau's. She opened the door and let Maleny walk in first.

Maleny immediately scanned the area for Davina, disappointed to find the girl sitting lonesomely at a booth. "Marls, give me some time with her alone, okay?" Marlenie nodded and headed for the bar counter while Maleny went for the booths.

Davina was blankly staring ahead of her, an untouched plate of food in front of her. When Maleny came up to the table, she made a face. "What do you want?"

"I heard what happened," Maleny sighed, "and I wanted to see how you were doing."

Davina scoffed. "Or maybe you just wanted to see what spell I was thinking of doing to hijack it."

Maleny sighed again. "Davina, I apologized a million times for that. I'm truly sorry but there is nothing I can do. Now really, I just wanted to see how you were doing. May I have that privilege?"

Davina cast a glance towards the blonde, reluctantly motioning her to take a seat across. "I do have to tell you you're the first one to come and see me after I was shunned."

"I'm sorry," Maleny felt the need to say again. "I've been through some stuff, and…"

"Oh, I know," Davina cut her off. "You were kidnapped by some psycho vampire hell bent on making Klaus pay for whatever he did to her." At Maleny's surprised face, Davina added, "I have a civil connection with Cami due to the faction - or had anyways. Now that I'm no longer regent, I won't have that."

Maleny reached for Davian's hand, silently gracious Davina was allowing it. "No matter what happens, Cami and I will always be your friends. It doesn't matter how you view us, we love you."

Davina's eyes teared up for a second but she masked it with disinterest. "I don't know about you but I'd rather keep away from the Mikaelsons and anyone associated with them."

Maleny tilted her head. "That's kind of going to be hard if you bring back Kol. He can be whatever he wants but he always comes back for his siblings." Davina knew that she was right, but didn't agree out loud. "Davina, who are you spending Christmas with?"

"What?" Davina's eyes snapped back onto the blonde.

"Amarrah's having her own Christmas gathering with Cami, Alton and Yamilet. They would be more than happy to have you with them," Maleny smiled, patting Davina's hand affectionately. "Plus, Alton and Yamilet are leaving the Quarter tonight, so it's sort of a combined Christmas party and 'going away' party."

"Are you serious?" Davina looked more weary than irritated.

"It's Christmas, Davina, and I don't want you spending it alone. I hear Cami's going to be dragging Marcel too. Now that you don't have to answer to the witches, what does it matter who you spend Christmas with?"

Davina began to smile, the idea making sense to her. "Well…"

"I'd offer you my place but I know how you feel towards us now," Maleny sighed, pulling back her hand. "I want you to be happy and comfortable."

After a moment, Davina nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Maleny."

The blonde scooted out of her seat to go hug Davina in her spot. "Stay away from the drinks, though," she joked, making Davina chuckle. "Hell, what am I saying, like Marcel's gonna let you anywhere near bourbon."

The two laughed together, more than used to Marcel's overprotection with Davina.

~ 0 ~

On a gas station at the roadside, Elijah was finishing up putting in more gas in the car when Rebekah stepped out of the gas station's convenience store.

"Ugh," the blonde crinkled her nose as she wiped her mouth with a paper towel. "I think I prefer the bottom of the murky sea to that restroom."

Elijah was more than amused by his sister. "Still hungry, are we?"

Rebekah groaned, frustrated, while she relentlessly rubbed her wrist. "I'm not hungry, I'm angry. Staked by your ex, drowned by Nik's. Do me a favor and just stick with the ones you already have please." Seeing Elijah's confused face, Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Maleny and Cami, clearly." Now flustered, Elijah focused on the gas. Rebekah sighed. "Do those lunatics actually believe the prophecy? I mean, to kill me just to get me back in this body because of some stupid fortune?"

Elijah sighed then,. "You'd be foolish to ignore the manifestation of these omens."

Rebekah scoffed and leaned beside the car. "We can't be killed, Elijah!"

"This prophecy does state one of us will fall by family."

"Well, I would never harm you, you killed half the Navy rescuing me, Freya hates traitors…"

"Yes, Freya. Let's not forget her allegiance to Finn. I do want to trust her, but…"

Rebekah felt a jab at her wrist but ignored it for the moment. "So, that leaves Nik. Do you think he's learned his lesson about backstabbing his family?"

"Hmm," Elijah shook his head, "I think he learns that lesson all the time. He's just a terrible student." He took the nozzle from the gas tank and put it back in place. He then moved to the driver's seat but was stopped by Rebekah, whose eyes were in a dazy state for a second or two before darkening up with hunger - even her fangs bared out!

"Do you ever want to just rip out his heart and see how long it takes to grow back?" she growled. It only lasted a minute before yelping in pain and clutching her arm. She slowly raised the sleeve of her arm to reveal a skull-shaped weal on her wrist.

"What is it?" Elijah asked in concern as he held his sister's arm to study the mark.

"Marvelous," Rebekah rolled her eyes, more tired than anything else. "What do you get the girl who has everything this Christmas? A cure to a magical mark growing on her bloody arm."

~ 0 ~

After Maleny had left a somewhat happier Davina, Marlenie pulled her mother towards the busy streets of Jackson Square. She knew Maleny still wanted to go visit Lucien and she wanted to put off that stupid visit for as long as possible. Plus, she did want to spend time with her mother. So, it was a win, win for everyone.

"Look, Mum!" Marlenie held a little mistletoe hanging by a red ribbon. Maleny, who had been looking at other decorations from the next stall, looked up in confusion. "Maybe we can put it up at home for a certain Original to walk through it at the same time you do…"

At Marlenie's suggestive look, Maleny coughed and blushed. "That wasn't funny!" she scolded when Marlenie laughed.

"What? I was just saying," Marlenie put down the mistletoe.

"Mhm," Maleny rolled her eyes. "Your first Christmas is going to be spent in your room if you don't watch what you say."

"You would actually ground me?"

Maleny glanced at the vampire. "I am your mother, and therefore I have the authority to."

"But I'm nearly a thousand years old—"

"I'm your mother."

"Yeah, but I'm past the adult age—"

"I'm your mother."

"But I'm a vampire!"

"I'm your mother."

Huffing, Marlenie walked past Maleny. "Can't believe I'm being threatened to be grounded - on Christmas!"

Maleny chuckled and walked after her. "Be polite and you can have a wonderful Christmas."

"Well," Marlenie came to a stop and played with her fingers, "the only way I can have a wonderful Christmas is if my parents work things out." Maleny's amusement faded from her face as Marlenie went on. "I mean, when I came into the Quarter I was only looking for my Dad. I never thought Mum would be here too. And now that she is, I would really like to have my parents content and together."

Maleny sighed and rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry, Marls. It's just compl—"

"Don't say it's complicated!" Marlenie exclaimed, whirling to face her mother who was surprised by the sudden louder voice. "I don't understand what is so complicated, mother." She ran her hands through her hair. "You clearly made a mistake going to Lucien's because you still love Dad. He made a mistake going to Aurora, and guess what? He still loves you. Please, point me to the complicated part because I don't see it."

"I'm—"

Marlenie whined and came back in a rather childish way, taking Maleny's hand. "Why can't just one of you just speak up with the truth?"

"Marls—"

"It's Christmas!" Marlenie continued on. "I don't want you guys fighting like I know you did earlier."

Maleny cut her daughter off by placing her hands over Marlenie's cheeks. "No matter what happens, I promise you today there will be no fighting. You're right, it is our first Christmas together and I would like one family night in peace. Everyone will be on their best behavior."

"But what about you and—"

"Marlenie, sweetheart, everyone will be on their best behavior," Maleny smiled. "I am only making promises I can keep. Now c'mon, I still have to go see Lucien."

Marlenie groaned, rolling her eyes. "That guy? Honestly, I don't know why Dad didn't kill him on the spot after what he said about you."

Maleny shrugged and started walking again. "Lucien is always throwing comments like that. Now I really don't like what he said about me but I still need to make sure he's okay."

"You're too nice to that guy," Marlenie crossed her arms, glumly following beside Maleny.

"No, I'm really not," Maleny said earnestly. "What he said about me did hurt me, but what I did was worse."

Marlenie sighed deeply and almost stomped after her mother, unable to believe Maleny could feel guilty towards Lucien. Who gave a damn about that guy?

~ 0 ~

"Look, Marcel, I know it's another hassle but please? Can't you do anything to help me?" Cami was in the church gym having trouble convincing Marcel to help her out with a Strix problem.

"Cami, this is a dangerous game you are playing with the Strix," Marcel had his arms crossed, firmly looking at her.

"You have to understand that if we put Vincent as Regent, we can ensure that the Strix don't activate the Serratura," Cami insisted.

"Except we'd be placing our friend in danger," Marcel gave her a narrowed look, feeling more like a parent than a friend to the blonde.

Cami scoffed. "Oh, c'mon, we both know Vincent would love to kick some vampire ass. He won't be manipulated so easily."

"While I can agree on that," Marcel began, walking past Cami, "How would we even get Vincent to accept the offer? That's the whole reason he got Davina into the mess of Regent in the first place."

"I don't know," Cami admitted, flapping her arms. "But we have to come up with something. The Strix already have Van Nguyen in their hands - they transferred a heavy amount of money to his bank account." Worried, Marcel turned back to the woman, listening as she continued on. "His family business got shut down because of his mother's death so he didn't have money for his sisters. The Strix have him in their hands. It won't bode well for any of the factions if a kid with a debt to the Strix is placed as Regent of the witches. Marcel, he's going to become Regent tonight."

"Okay," Marcel sighed, he too would rather see Vincent as Regent than some kid. "So how do we do it, then? How do we get Vincent to agree?"

Cami was a little relieved and so felt more confident now that there were two people working. "Well, I think we should go with the most basic thing: guilt."

"Guilt?" Marcel quirked an eyebrow up, doubtful of the tactic.

"Look, Vincent put Davina as Regent because he didn't want to do it. Now she got shunned because of him and now he's going to let some kid take Regency."

"You want us to throw it back into his face, then?" Marcel could see that actually working, and impressed with her, he smirked and nudged her. "You're good at this."

"I'm not proud of it," Cami sighed, thinking back to all that she had done lately because of the Strix. "So, you think you can help me out? Vincent's my friend, but you and him��"

"Aren't exactly on good terms, got it," Marcel nodded, making a face that had Cami chuckle afterwards.

~ 0 ~

"I can't believe we wasted all this time for a guy that wasn't even home," Marlenie complained for what Maleny believed was the tenth time since they left Lucien's apartment.

"I'm frankly a little worried," Maleny admitted with a light sigh. "He hasn't answered any of my calls nor has he appeared anywhere in the Quarter since Thanksgiving. That's well over a month now."

"And here's to more months," Marlenie widely grinned at the idea of never seeing Lucien again.

Maleny rolled her eyes and turned down a new street. "Honestly, Marls, can you stop being so bitter? You're like the Scrooge."

"Oh," Marlenie came to an abrupt stop, letting Maleny walk on ahead. "That's rude! You don't know squat about Christmas but you know who 'Scrooge' is?"

"To be fair—" began a third voice behind Marlenie, "—that is an interesting character."

Marlenie gasped with delight and turned around. "Dad! You're here!"

Maleny stopped walking to turn as well, surprised to find Klaus with their daughter. He had a wide smile across his face as he looked between both women.

"What are you doing here?" Marlenie asked him.

"I realized you were right about it being your first Christmas - how it's the first Christmas for both of you," Klaus met Maleny's look for a minute, "and I—" But Marlenie's excitement cut into his words.

"And you wanted to spend time with us!" she beamed, nearly hopping of her joy. "That's what you meant to say, right? Right?"

Klaus chuckled but nodded, making her squeal. While she proceeded to babble on about what they could all do, Klaus' attention drifted towards the silent blonde who had yet to say a word.

"Mal, is that fine with you?" he forced himself to ask after a moment. He admitted it was a rather abrupt idea of his to come and find them. Partly, his idea sprung out from fear of Maleny visiting Lucien - and a little jealousy - but he felt the need to make the first step to make things return to normal.

Maleny cleared her throat as she slowly came towards the two. "I'm alright," she shrugged. "I promised Marls there would be no fighting today. Plus, I wouldn't mind having a nice first Christmas."

"Ooh! This is so exciting!" Marlenie exclaimed, clapping her hands.

~ 0 ~

Back in the compound, Freya had taken a closer look at Rebekah's mark on her wrist. Unfortunately, as the time passed by, the mark grew larger and painful.

"Give me the bad news, Doc," Rebekah sighed as Freya finished up.

"Aya's stake was cursed. It infected you," Freya regretted to inform. "As this mark grows, you will go mad. Left unchecked, you will become a relentless, unstoppable Ripper."

Rebekah rolled her eyes, ungracefully leaning against the couch cushion. "Aya was always thorough."

"The Strix always employ a safeguard," Elijah sighed. "In the event that we were successful at retrieving your body, you were cursed. You see, if one is on a rampage, one is not difficult to hunt." And of course that would be their downfall, he thought. He glanced at Freya. "Can you fix this?"

Freya grabbed the enchanted stake to study it a little more. When she noticed a set of carved runes running down, she nodded. "The spell is carved here. I can... I can reverse it." She made the mistake of rising up to her feet quickly. Her head felt fuzzy, and the way she spoke was not a good sign. "I just... need some time... and a hell of a lot of magic."

She then fainted, falling almost to the ground if Elijah hadn't caught her in time. Placing her back on the couch, the others exchanged looks of worry.

"She was fine. Hayley healed her," Jackson felt the need to say before accusations started flying about. They thought they had cured Freya of the attack the Strix had done against her.

Elijah then noticed a puncture wound on Freya's neck which was still bleeding. "This scratch is not healed," he realized with horror. "This is poison. This is an assassination attempt."

~ 0 ~

Marlenie was somewhat disappointed to find her parents still watching the ongoing Christmas musicians play across them. She'd gotten sidetracked by a couple of holiday trinkets and so when her parents began paying more attention to the music, she felt more comfortable looking at the trinkets. But now that she was done, and they were still intently watching, she was bored.

"Why are you still watching this?" she came to stand beside her mother. "It's just random music."

"Be more appreciative, Marls," Maleny smiled softly, her eyes locked on the musicians. "These people are out here, choosing to play wonderful music for people they don't even know. I love it."

Marlenie rolled her eyes and leaned forwards to see Klaus. "Dad? Please tell her something? I'm bored."

"You haven't told her about the piano?" Klaus asked Maleny instead, sounding rather amused much to Marlenie's dismay.

Maleny shrugged. "I haven't had a mood for the piano nowadays so she hasn't seen it."

"Seen what?" Marlenie asked curiously.

"Your mother has an exceptional ability with the piano," Klaus explained to her. "And one of her favorite pass times is to come out and listen to these 'random musicians' and you say."

"So...you come out to watch these people?" Marlenie asked Maleny, chucking a thumb in the direction of the musicians.

"Well, not alone," Maleny shrugged, glancing at Klaus with a sly smile, "I have to force him to come along. And then I have to deal with his nonstop commentary that's almost always annoying."

"Oh, is that the case?" Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Because I don't recall you having any problem with my 'pretty words' for you that I would whisper to you while we watched."

Maleny then awkwardly coughed and looked to the musicians. "You can be quiet now."

"Oh no," Marlenie beamed, seeing a playful (and hopefully helpful) banter start between the two, "Please go on, Dad. I'd love to hear more about these 'pretty words'."

"No, you wouldn't," Maleny shot her a warning look before quickly changing her look towards Klaus, even more threatening, "She doesn't need to hear them - you know some of those were not for others to hear."

Marlenie snickered while the two went at it again. Klaus dramatically sighed as he went on, ignoring Maleny's looks. "So I can't tell Marlenie how I often say you would make a lovely pianist? Because your tunes are the only ones that would actually make people give a damn about the classics?"

"Is she really that good?" Marlenie asked curiously, seeing her mother was becoming flustered.

"Marvelous," Klaus assured, now only looking at Maleny.

Marlenie saw she was no longer being paid attention, and figuring they could probably use a moment she made her exit. "I'll be back, I want to go get some of those snacks…"

"Do you know Mal," Klaus went on, neither of them really noticing Marlenie leaving, "I think you could acquire a renown piano teacher…"

"Oh, I think Elijah has done a good job with my lessons," Maleny chuckled. "Despite all the headaches I probably gave him, he did manage to make progress with me."

"Perhaps an abroad teacher could continue that progress? I know of excellent Italian ones…"

Maleny met his look with a surprised one of her own. "Venice…" she whispered, reminded of the last time they'd spoken about 'Italy' and all that traveling stuff. It seemed like such a long time ago for her.

"Ah yes, we could always make that stop," Klaus smirked at her.

"You still...you still want to g-go?"

"You don't want to go anywhere?"

"U-um," Maleny nervously scratched her cheek, glancing at the musicians, "I just figured you would have thrown those plans out the window - considering everything that's happened. We haven't 'decided' yet what...we are..."

Klaus reached out and took Maleny's hand from her cheek, making her look back to him. "If it means spending lovely afternoons like this with you - like we used to - then I would leave today."

Maleny displayed a warm smile across her lips, gripping his hand that was in hers. "I would like that too. Oh, we can go to the water-filled streets—"

"Its streets aren't covered with water, Mal," Klaus chuckled, "Just where...well, where the roads are meant to be."

"Ooh," Maleny blinked, looking to the side while she processed that new detail. "That would make a lot more sense."

"And we could take our twins with us - because they're twins now," Klaus once again had to redirect her gaze back onto him, though he felt less anxious around her now that the, quote on quote, 'ice had been broken'. It almost felt like old times.

"Marlenie," Maleny whispered, the idea of them actually having twins was still such a novelty. They had never expected to have a child between them, let alone two.

"Yes," Klaus nodded, moving his hands to her arms, discreetly moving closer to her. "We can visit any place you want…"

"Marlenie did mention there were fantastic shopping stores—"

Klaus dramatically groaned and shook his head. "Except there - anywhere but there."

Maleny giggled, deciding to tease him further. "Oh, but we are going to go there. I want to go to those cute little shops I see on the magazines. Oh! And the shoe stores - I definitely need to go to the shoe stores."

"Absolutely not," Klaus declared, shaking his head with genuine horror. "Do you know I once took Rebekah to get modern clothes - after I daggered her for a near century - and all I heard was 'where's the rest of the dress' or 'why isn't this in red' or-"

"Good, then you already have practice!" Maleny leaned forwards, beaming. "And since Marlenie does lead a very successful designer company you can rest assure we'll be spending a lot of time at the stores."

Klaus suddenly placed his hands on her cheeks, taking a minute to just look at her. "I suppose if it keeps you happy - like this—" he rubbed circles over her cheeks, making her smile even bigger, "—then make your list and we shall go."

"Don't I feel special," Maleny chuckled to herself, actually sporting a blush she wasn't fully aware of.

"Because you are, and I failed to show you for a while…"

"It wasn't just you - I did my fair share of bad stuff."

There came that awful, awkward silence that neither wanted. With his hands already placed on either side of her face, Klaus meant to lean down and kiss Maleny. And it would've happened, seeing as Maleny was already under his charms with her eyes closed, but then came the lovely interruption...

"Uncle Elijah just called," Marlenie was meekly smiling. Her parents turned in her direction, sending her very annoyed looks. "There's a problem with my aunts. It seems like aunt Rebekah has been cursed and the only way to help her is by reversing it with some stake. However, aunt Freya's been poisoned by the Strix. The ingredients for her poison antidote are a bit complicated so we should get a move on to help—"

"You don't need to find the ingredients," Maleny declared, earning herself confused looks from Marlenie and Klaus. "Look, it was 2 weeks at Lucien's and when I got bored...I snooped. He has a bunch of strange things and one of them was a strange chess I couldn't open on my own. Odds are, he keeps his defenses well guarded."

"Like antidotes," Klaus realized, thinking back to Lucien's magical cure for the werewolf bite he received from Jackson.

Maleny nodded. "If the Strix poisoned Freya then we can probably find the antidote there."

"That's great!" Marlenie cheered and rushed to the two. "I can't believe I'm saying this but let's go back to Lucien's!"

"I hope you never say that again," Klaus grumbled under his breath, leading the two women away. Marlenie giggled and cast a wink towards her mother, who sheepishly looked elsewhere.

~ 0 ~

Much time had passed and Freya discovered her power alone may fail to reverse the curse set on Rebekah. She had called upon the spirit of Finn - which was still locked away in her blue talisman necklace - to get help but he outright refused to do so. So, Freya ventured on her own to do the required spell. However, in the midst of her cast, she felt the power begin to overwhelm her - telling her to stop or she would die - but it wasn't going to make her quit...even as the blood began pouring from her eyes.

Finn's spirit stood across from her, wearing a mixture of anger and concern across his face. "You are dying for her!" he said to Freya. "Let Rebekah go. Let them all go!"

"Nu-uh," Freya vigorously shook her eyes, squeezing her eyes shut to focus better.

"It will just be the two of us again!"

"I will save her," Freya angrily insisted. "If I am at all important to you, brother, help me!"

A second later, Elijah came into the room with a glass of water Freya requested. Seeing her terrible state, he sped up beside her. He put the glass down and tried to stop her as well.

"Freya, stop! Please!"

Freya turned away from him, keeping her eyes shut. "No!" she argued with him as well. "Don't touch me! Do not stop me!"

"At least wait until Maleny returns," Elijah persisted, trying to get her to snap out of her spell trance. "Together you two can do it - we cannot lost anyone else in the process." But seeing Freya wouldn't listen to him, he grew more frustrated. He shook off his jacket and tried more forcibly to get her to stop.

Unbeknownst to him, Finn was watching rather surprised of the act. He believed firmly that none of his siblings truly cared for Freya...but perhaps he was wrong.

Freya was having none of the pleads getting in her way. Nearing a rage, she shouted a warn to both brothers, "Help me, or get out!"

A couple minutes later, she started breathing heavily, like there wasn't enough air to fill her lungs. Worried she might actually die from asphyxiation, Elijah bit into his wrist and practically forced Freya to take his blood. "This will strengthen you."

With a light sigh, Finn walked over to stand on Freya's other side. He leaned closer to her, speaking softer, " As will my power. Just this once, sister. For you." Just like Freya had pleaded with him earlier, he gave her his strength to help her finish the spell.

And perhaps it was fate putting everything together, because not too far from them there was a brewing fight between Hayley and Rebekah - the latter beginning to lose her sanity. Eventually, the strength boost given to Freya began fading as the spell required more of her power. Combined with the poison deteriorating her health, the spell had to be done between pauses as she threw up considerable amount of blood on the side.

"Ugh! I can't do it," she finally stopped for a minute to rest. "I can't focus."

Jackson came into the room and saw how awful the woman was, instantly becoming worried. He hurried to check her temperature and was appalled to feel her skin like it were fire. "She's burning up!" he looked up at Elijah. "I guess a hospital's out of the question?"

"A hospital won't help her," Elijah shook his head, internally wishing the little trio he called earlier would hurry the hell up.

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud crash outside. Exchanging a seconds-look with Jackson, both of them made to go see for themselves...when Freya chucked up another worrisome amount of blood.

"You stay with her, please," Elijah said to Jackson, assuming Rebekah was in need of help only he could give. Jackson sent him off with assurances to look after Freya.

Outside in the courtyard were both Hayley and Rebekah, barely waking from their violent tumble from the second floor. Rebekah woke up with a ferocious growl, her eyes pitch black as she jumped to her feet. She turned for Hayley, intending on a second round with her. Hayley already had her hybrid face out, preparing to at least take down the woman long enough for the spell to be done.

However, Rebekah was a bit quicker and kicked her in the stomach before backhanding her across the face. Hayley landed with a thud on the floor, and struggled to get back up as Rebekah came towards her. When Rebekah lunged for Hayley, at vampire speed, Elijah cut in and roughly grabbed her by the arms.

"Listen to me. Listen to me!" he tried capturing Rebekah's attention, but she was growling at Hayley like she were a wild animal. "Rebekah, look at me! Rebekah!" Slowly, Rebekah was able to do so. "Control yourself."

Rebekah sighed and closed her eyes, doing as he wanted. A couple seconds later, she re-opened them to reveal her blue eyes. "Dear brother... I have control."

Elijah released her then, sighing with relief. "Good."

But not a second later did Rebekah smirk and her eyes returned to their dark orbs. She swung a hand to Elijah's chin, the force of the hit sending Elijah to the floor with a near-snapped neck.

"Ha!" Rebekah cried with actual joy.

Hayley didn't waste a second in trying to take her down again, before she actually hurt someone. Rebekah growled and sped Hayley up against a pillar, shooting her hand through Hayley's chest for her heart. Hayley frantically squirmed as she felt her heart tightened by Rebekah's hand. Another minute and perhaps Rebekah would've actually ripped it out, but thankfully the required trio had returned.

"Rebekah!" Klaus called out to her, appalled of the sight. He sped to her, grabbing her wrist to force her to let go of Hayley's heart. "Not her!"

Hayley loudly gasped when she finally felt the hand leave her heart. She slid to the ground as Klaus pulled Rebekah away.

"Oh my God!" Maleny rushed to Hayley's side, ignoring Marlenie's exclaim for her.

"No, Mum!"

Rebekah caught site of the human blonde and tried lunging for her next. Klaus yanked her back, even more annoyed. "Not her either!"

Without a further word, he slammed Rebekah onto a table across them. Marlenie, who held the black briefcase they'd taken from Lucien's (still lonesome) apartment, called out to Klaus. "I'm giving this to aunt Freya!"

"Go," it was Maleny who responded back, frantically motioning to her daughter to hurry up. "C'mon, Hayley," she then helped the healing brunette up.

Right after Hayley mumbled a 'thanks', Rebekah called out, eyes flickering from Klaus and Maleny, "Aah! Dear, sweet Mal, stuck forever behind glass like the breakable object she is." She managed to push forwards and get to her feet, but Klaus still tightly restrained her by the arms. "Tick-tock will go the clock, and before you know it you'll have withered away from age…"

"Rebekah…" Maleny feebly said, visibly hurt.

"She's not precious, Nik," Rebekah went on like the blonde hadn't spoken. "Every woman that you and Elijah bring into our lives turns to poison. She'll grow toxic, too."

Klaus looked back to Maleny, horrified, while Maleny became overwhelmed. She shook her head and dashed away.

"Mal!" Hayley went after her, slightly better enough to run.

Elijah, who had recovered from the nasty attack, got to his feet and hurried to help Klaus keep Rebekah back. But the blonde was persistent and tried fighting them both. Minutes felt like hours as the two brothers worked to keep her in one place. In the end, they threw her back on the table, each pinning her by one arm.

"No!" Rebekah growled at them both, pushing forwards. "No! Aah!"

"Hold her!" they heard Freya's frail voice from the stairs. She was coming down holding the needed blade in her hand.

As Klaus and Elijah pinned Rebekah to the table, Freya came forwards and used the blade to slice the part of Rebekah's skin that bore the deadly skull weal, all in the meanwhile she chanted the spell. Rebekah screamed in utter pain until the spell finished, and then she fell limp. Hesitantly, Klaus and Elijah let her go, stepping back to where Freya was as Rebekah closed her eyes for a second.

When Rebekah opened her eyes, they appeared to be her normal blue hue. She sat up with a groan, speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Well," she rolled her eyes, "that was annoying."

~ 0 ~

Much time later, Marlenie knocked on the open door of Maleny's bedroom. Maleny stood in front of the window, which was opened and letting in a breeze.

Marlenie came in holding the dress that had been chosen in the morning. As she put it down on the bed, she glanced at her mother, seeing the conflict in Maleny's eyes. "I know this is a stupid question but what's wrong?"

Maleny couldn't force herself to look away from the window. "I...well," she sighed, "forgetting all of today, the problem now is...well...I don't know." Marlenie straightened up, crossing her arms while she looked at her mother. "There's just something…" Maleny put a hand on her stomach, "...like a feeling, yeah - it's a weird feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach. It's not bad, I...I actually feel like I want to cry…"

"But that's not bad?" Marlenie arched an eyebrow, struggling the urge not to make another sarcastic remark. She may be nearing a thousand years of age but her mother could and still would smack her if she tried getting smart.

Maleny shook her head, her eyes quickly returning to the sky which bore only a couple of stars due to the overflow of Christmas lights in the Quarter. "They're...happy tears," she tried explaining, "Like...like it's...a relief. I…" she sighed, unable to find her right words to correctly explain the odd feeling she felt.

Marlenie walked up to her mother, hugging her tight from behind. "Oh, Mum, let's get ready for Christmas instead? Aunt Freya says you make mean minty fresh brownies."

Maleny lightly chuckled. "If you only knew who taught me how."

Marlenie let go to give her a curious look. "Who?"

Maleny turned around, a smirk spreading across her face because she knew the reaction she would get from Marlenie. "An alien Queen who traveled through space and time."

Marlenie's eyebrows shot up. "What!?"

The white dress on her bed caught Maleny's attention, and so she left her confused daughter to go examine it. "What's this?"

"Alien Queen?" Marlenie whispered to herself as she went for the bed. "It's the dress you're wearing for tonight." She picked up the dress and smirked. "Someone special chose it for you."

Uncomfortable, Maleny hugged herself and looked to the side. "Dare I ask how this happened?"

"Oh, before he asked me to come with you because he was overly scared you would leave again," Marlenie knew her answer would startle her mother, and so when it happened she chuckled.

"He said that?" came the low whisper from Maleny, now eyeing the laced dress.

"Mother, it is completely obvious," Marlenie rolled her eyes and put the dress on the bed. She took her mother's hand and led her towards the dresser. "And I think it's high time this silly, childish game came to an end."

"What are you—"

"Hush," Marlenie covered her mouth, ignoring the looks she received as she thought of the look she would create for her mother. She would be damned if her Christmas wasn't like the proper family one she always dreamed of.

~ 0 ~

Down in the courtyard the large Christmas tree that had been set up was now being covered in different wrapped-up gifts. Freya and Elijah were sifting through some of them, while also dropping off their own. They had dressed up for the night, Elijah dawning a sharp dark suit, while Freya wore a tight, dark blue dress.

"Where in the hell did Marlenie get the time to put all of these?" Freya couldn't help laugh at the influx of gifts from her older niece.

"Sneaky just like someone I remember," Elijah mused, sharing a knowing look with Freya before the two chuckled.

"I suspect they are talking about you, Nik," Rebekah also laughed as she and Klaus came with two drinks in their hands for them and the others. Her berry dress matched the shade of Elijah's shirt under his jacket.

"Well, just like me, Marls doesn't take it lightly," Klaus warned as he handed Freya a drink. "And she's also quite the match in a fight."

"That I am," Marlenie strolled in with her own drink in hand, fashioning a bright pink dress with no sleeves and an opened black jacket. "And I can ruin that nice jacket," she winked at Klaus, nodding to his silver jacket, "so I best get my present."

"Don't be smart with me," Klaus warned her, and paused suddenly to look around, "...where's your mother?"

Marlenie beamed. "Oh, she's coming, trust me! She was just on the phone with aunt Cami."

"And bidding goodbye to 'aunt Cami'," Maleny came in with her phone still in hand. "She wishes you all a merry Christmas," she looked to the siblings, "Actually, there's a long list of people but you get the gist."

"Thank you," Elijah said first, resigning himself to receiving only that from the distant blonde vampire.

They heard a noise upstairs and looked up to see Jackson leading Hayley, who held Hope in her arms, down the stairs. The others gathered closer to welcome them in. In the process, Klaus 'discreetly' pulled Maleny closer to him, looking her over in the dress he had chosen for her. Maleny caught him and smiled, her face warming.

Her face was brightened up with the stark red lipstick over her lips, her pretty blonde hair curled and let loose with only two twists to keep it from getting in her eyes. The laced, straight-across dress was a pure white, its lace reaching down to her wrists in long sleeves. Matching lace went around the hemline of the dress which settled right above her knees.

It was exactly how Klaus pictured her after seeing the dress in the morning.

"You said you wanted a happy family Christmas. Well," Jackson helped Hayley take the last step of the stairs, "the family's all here."

Hayley was ecstatic to see everyone there, and more so knowing her husband actually wanted to be in there same room as them. She immediately rushed to them, more than ready for one peaceful night.

"I will take her," Marlenie declared as she took her younger sister into her arms. "You won't believe what your big sister got you for Christmas," she kissed Hope on the head.

"Thank you for helping Freya," Klaus walked up to Jackson holding a new glass of wine for him. The level of shock on Jackson's face by the genuine kindness Klaus portrayed was clearly evident, and so Klaus felt the need to add on a special joke afterwards, "Unfortunately, we're all out of mason-jar moonshine."

"Well, Nik, you are positively merry tonight," Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"Ooh, but not for long," Maleny laughed as she smelt the beginnings of wood burning.

Klaus gave her a look of confusion until he too began smelling the burning wood. It was fairly comical of the rapidness in which his expressions turned into terror. "Oh, no!"

"It's not exactly a bonfire, but I improvised," Rebekah laughed herself. "Come on. It's tradition!"

"What is?" Marlenie asked then, beyond confused on what apparently was so funny.

Klaus sighed, still explaining to her, "We write our wishes and then burn them for luck. Strangely, I don't recall wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year after year…"

Elijah smirked as he took a sip of his wine. "How odd. Forever on Santa's naughty-list."

Marlenie then huffed mockingly, remarking, "Well, I find myself to be a delightful gift, don't you think?" Klaus smiled, unable to say much when Marlenie added, "And Mum's here too - oh, and we can't forget Nick is coming home soon. We're good gifts...aren't we?" she asked in an unexpected soft voice.

"Marls," Maleny gave her daughter a good stern look, but in the end Klaus had the last word.

"Excellent gifts," he smiled wider at the two.

~ 0 ~

A middle aged taxi driver was stuffing in a suitcase into the back of his cab while the customer patiently waited on the side. "Where are you headed, young man man?" he asked after shutting the trunk. "And I must warn it'll cost you double the rate for Christmas."

The customer nodded. "Can you get me to the French Quarter please? As fast as possible?"

"Of course," the cab driver nodded and went for his seat while the customer got in the back. "Address?"

"You just drive," the customer said, getting comfortable in his spot. "I'll tell you where to turn."

~ 0 ~

Even as the night progressed and peace did continue, there always had to be one upsetting detail. In the Mikaelsons case, it was the departure of Rebekah. As far as anyone knew, she was still at the bottom of the sea and it was best it stayed that way for strategic points.

As Rebekah returned to the courtyard with a suitcase in hand, and black coat around her, the others were in the process of opening up the gifts. While Marlenie helped Hope onto her new tricycle, gifted by Elijah, Maleny busily unwrapped a cream-colored present.

"Oh my God it's a reversible sweater!" Maleny gaped as she raised the red leather jacket which clearly had a white side underneath. When she heard the others snicker, she blushed and lowered the jacket. "I said that too loud, huh?"

"I'm glad you liked your gift, Mum," Marlenie said, struggling not to laugh as she added, "Though I don't know who's more excited for their presents: You or Hope?"

Maleny sent her a playful glare. "Keep it up, smart-alec, and you'll find yourself grounded on Christmas."

"Don't be so hard on her," Klaus came by her side, holding another glass of wine for Maleny.

"Thank you," Marlenie faked a dramatic sigh.

"I was talking about Maleny," Klaus clarified, causing Maleny to snicker as Marlenie huffed and looked away.

"I need you to grow up so we can outnumber them," she said to Hope, who merely responded with a grin.

Klaus bent down beside Maleny, handing her the drink. Shyly, Maleny took the glass. The exchange between them made the others feel like they were intruding on an intimate moment. Still mighty excited over it, Maleny showed off her new reversible jacket to Klaus, who laughed at her in amusement. It was apparently still a big deal to her.

When Rebekah came to bid goodbye, the group rose to their feet and each said their farewells. Second to last were the older mother and daughter.

"I'm sorry for all that I said," Rebekah pleaded as she hugged Maleny goodbye.

Maleny pushed down the ache of those words away and smiled at the honest blonde. "It's alright. I'm glad you're better."

Rebekah looked grateful for the forgiveness, and soon her eyes flickered to Marlenie, immediately perking. "You take care of your mother, then."

"Doesn't everyone," Maleny mumbled under her breath, clearly upset by the overused instruction.

"Of course I will," Marlenie said without letting her mother's words go. "But I think Dad's going to have that covered."

"Marlenie!" Maleny scolded, but Marlenie just shrugged and hugged her aunt. As she walked away, Maleny went after, continuing the scold.

Rebekah laughed lightly at the two, already knowing she would miss hearing those interesting arguments. When she met with Klaus last, she had only one warning for him. "You realize those two will be forcing you to pick a side against the other in arguments?"

The expression Klaus gave off said it was something he had already thought about. Rebekah had to laugh again, but she sobered when Klaus gave her his warning. "Run far and fast, stay on the move," she nodded, "And- should you happen to meet some handsome fool- know your weaknesses."

Rebekah playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha, ha, ha. If we're on that page, then I'll advice you to run towards love." She cast eyes towards Maleny and Marlenie, the latter being still lectured. "The Girl in the Forest, it's a nice name…but I think she's earned her 'always and forever' don't you think?"

The idea put Klaus in a nervous state, something Rebekah wasn't quite used to seeing so openly. "I don't want to do this, Rebekah, especially not tonight."

"Yes, tonight," Rebekah softly insisted. "My words, as harsh as they were, had truth—,"

"No, Rebekah," Klaus shook his head, "Not—"

Rebekah put a hand on his arm. "Time will pass and before you know it, our Mal will age." She sighed upon seeing the refusal in her brother. "What is it, Nik? I don't...none of us understand. Why won't you relent and turn her? Between us," she whispered, "what's the real reason?"

Klaus hesitated to confide, but seeing everyone else distracted, he gave in. Astonishingly feeble, he explained. "I have met, killed, and hurt so many people. I am the ruthless monster people fear. I am the monster that plucks hearts out, slices people's necks without a second thought. To turn Maleny, she needs to die. And I know that she wants me to do it. I would have to—" he swallowed roughly, "—kill her. I have to take her life, and I...not her, Rebekah, not her."

Rebekah tilted her head, a half-smile working its way across her face. She put a hand on his arm, affectionately squeezing it. "This is something completely different. Think about it like this: one split moment of death for an eternity with your love? A hell of a bargain if you ask me."

Still mildly unsure, Klaus stayed silent. He glanced to where Maleny was, the blonde now intently watching Marlenie show her the reversible jacket. She was far too focused on it, and heavily awed by it, to notice any stares. To have that — a woman who managed to be wonder-struck by a material of clothing despite the terrible, dangerous situations she often found herself in — was comforting and...warm? Was that the right word? Well, it certainly felt like it. In all his centuries of life, he found no one could give him those same feelings. Could he bear to lose Maleny again? Forever?

~ 0 ~

Not too long after Rebekah left, Elijah took a lonesome drink inside the upstairs study. He heard the steps of his sister nearing and looked up with smile as she entered the room.

Freya held her phone in one hand while the other a wine glass. "Do you know, one hundred years ago, I snuck into a Christmas ball here." Elijah lightly chuckled. "I wanted so much to be a part of it, but I thought I was forever fated to be an outsider, always looking in. I know this hasn't been your most elegant family Christmas, but, well, it's already been the best one I've ever had."

"I suppose some things are worth the wait," Elijah clinked his glass with hers, both exchanging smiles.

As they drank, Freya stared intently at him, barely containing her excitement as she spoke again. "You would know. But you know what, brother, I think you should be done waiting." Elijah gave her a look, but let her continue as she waved her cellphone. "And I think Cami thinks the same, considering she's going to be waiting for another ten minutes out at Jackson Square."

Elijah's brow knitted together in fear, and mild confusion. "Freya, what did you do?"

Freya smirked and took a casual sip from her drink. "If Marlenie can play matchmaker why can't I? I phoned Cami, giving her some excuse of business to get her to come. She's waiting out there...so go."

"Freya," Elijah seemed almost mortified by what his sister had done. "This...this is completely-"

"A waste of my minutes if you don't hurry up," Freya cut in, finishing her glass of wine.

"But she's upset with me-"

"She was," Freya clarified. "But right now she's merely acting tough for show. Give her your charms and—" Freya winked, "—have a wonderful Christmas night."

For a minute, it looked as if Elijah wouldn't take the opportunity. But soon, he began smiling, and handing Freya his drink and kissing her cheek, he sped off. Freya laughed and finished his drink, turning to join Marlenie and Hope - who were given permission to continue with Christmas gifts in the lounge rooms downstairs. She was to be the supervision of her two nieces, and she couldn't think of a better way to end the night.

~ 0 ~

"Look, I know this is probably the thousandth voicemail I leave you, and if you want me to stop just give me a sign you're okay…" Maleny paused, simultaneously stopping and leaning against the second-floor banister, "...you can text me a simple word, one word to show me you're fine, and I promise I will stop these calls. I know I'm redundant and that I've said this so many times now, but...I'm sorry. I am so sorry for everything. I shouldn't have led you on to believe what couldn't work again. I should have just told you who I am, and...clarified where I was. I needed a friend, but instead I deceived you. I'm sorry. I understand you don't want to talk to me, nor see me, but please, just give me this last thing and you won't ever have to hear my voice nor see my face again. Please, tell me you're alright. And, merry Christmas, Lucien."

Maleny pulled the phone from her ear, looking at it a minute before hanging up. The chances of getting a call back, or a text message, were almost non-existential, but Maleny kept hope.

"Mal," the call had her gasping loud and whirling around to find Klaus coming her way.

She sighed, assuming he had heard everything she left in the voicemail. "I don't want to argue," she said. "If you heard, then you know it was all genuine platonic concern."

Klaus nodded. "I still don't like it," he admitted, not that it was much of a surprise.

Maleny rolled her eyes, thanking her stars it wasn't going to be turning into an argument. "I wouldn't expect you to. This is just...something for me. I need to set things right, and doing so means I need to apologize."

"I'm not surprised," Klaus tried his best not to chuckle at her. Things were delicate as it seemed and he had to be extra careful with what he had planned next for her. "It's very like you."

"Hmm," Maleny hummed and turned to the balcony, clearly upset despite their ongoing civilized conversation.

"What's wrong tonight?"

"Just…" Maleny bit her lip, glancing his way, "...I just can't stop thinking about Rebekah's words. I mean, you once said the same thing. I'm fragile, I'm...soft," she rolled her eyes, "And that's fine - for a while. I love that you care for me, that you want to protect me but...at the end of the day, I don't like knowing that you see me as this little breakable object—" she mimicked with her hands, "—that...that has to be put behind some glass. You didn't see me like that back in the village, did you?"

"No," Klaus answered quietly, coming closer to her. "But the times are different, and there are so many people who would be happy kill you just to spite me. It wasn't long ago when you were kidnapped because of me."

"I remember," Maleny made a face at the reminder of crazy Aurora. "And, I guess, on some level, I probably am this breakable thing. But I don't want to be treated as so, because believing it is what makes me so. It's what allows others, like Aurora, to take advantage. Don't view me like that please," she whispered. "Don't put me behind glass like a doll."

The frailty in her voice shook Klaus deep inside. Her glossy eyes staring up at him, pleading him to do as she requested. He rested a hand on her cheek, smiling as she leaned into his touch. "I could never put you behind glass 'like a doll'," he began, finding it amusing when she scrunched her nose in confusion, "because if I did that, I wouldn't get to do this," he leaned down and kissed her.

Maleny kissed back rather quickly, draping an arm over his shoulder. She had missed his lips and was eager to remember what it felt like to be kissed by him. Unfortunately, she had to pull away after a while because her human lungs needed air.

"I suppose that would be kind of awkward to do if I were behind a glass," she giggled.

"Your sarcasm is something I truly missed, you know," Klaus kept surprisingly serious, Maleny noticed he seemed a bit different and she couldn't help feel nervous of it.

"Then why does it look like there's something else you're worried about?" she asked him. "For tonight, we are allowed to forget everything outside this building. Example," she pointed at herself, "I forget that my son is still out there somewhere, celebrating Christmas with God knows who. I also forget that I am competing against a deranged, thousand year vampire for your love. Oh, and let's not forget the prophecy that foretells the downfall of our family."

"One of those three are completely irrelevant," Klaus informed, though Maleny laughed. "Mal…" he said more sternly.

"C'mon, Klaus," she gave him a sharp look, "You know it's true. When you loved Aurora, you were you - in all your complete senses. What I had with Lucien was under a false identity. I didn't even remember him up until a month ago. And you? You're seriously going to say you never thought about that redhead in all this time? At least once?"

"My mind was occupied with a different woman—" Klaus said, or at least tried to anyway but Maleny cut him off.

"It's okay," she firmly assured. "I was the past — I was where I belonged."

But Klaus shook his head, looking more so determined then. "Come with me," he suddenly grabbed her hand and led her down for a room.

~ 0 ~

As Freya had told Elijah, Cami was beginning to get impatient waiting at Jackson Square. It was night and any people passing by were giving her odd looks for her solitude. She wrapped her arms around herself, cold in her dark, violet dress. Thinking it would only take a couple minutes with this sudden business call, she had only grabbed her purse and left for the place. But after an hour or so, she was growing irritated for being so 'stupid'.

"Camille?" the voice made her freeze for a minute. She shut her eyes, then, squeezing them hard like doing so would make it not real. Elijah came a couple steps closer, but still kept a respectful distance from her. "Camille, please…"

Opening her eyes, Cami turned around, surprised yet somehow believing she had known something wasn't right in Freya's request. "Getting your sister to trick me…?" she began, but Elijah was quick to clarify.

"Freya did this without my knowledge. You must understand I could not let this opportunity pass me by."

"What opportunity?" snapped Cami, "To see me like an idiot who waited for the Mikaelson witch?" she made to walk past him but he grabbed her arm, forcing her to stay there, and close to him.

"Don't leave me," Elijah whispered, looking down to her softly. She looked beautiful in her dress, her curled hair complimenting her angel-face as he thought it was.

"Elijah, I don't want to do this," Cami sighed, shaking off his hand from her arm. "It doesn't work between us - it can never work."

"If you believed that you wouldn't have helped us retrieve Rebekah," Elijah said sharply.

"I did that because I wanted to help you guys. Not to mention there's the little detail of my life hanging onto yours," Cami pointed. "You die, I die. Call me selfish, if you'd like."

"I will call you a liar," Elijah came up with instead, surprising her with his bluntness. "I'm not asking anything from you except this one night. Allow me to take you to dinner, anywhere you'd like—"

"Elijah—"

"We can just stand here if you say so," Elijah persisted, growing more determined by the second, "and I will be content. Please?"

Cami sighed and looked to the side. "If the Strix see us together…"

"Then maybe standing out here isn't the right thing to do," Elijah half-smiled. "But I do know of this lovely restaurant you might like."

Cami playfully rolled her eyes. "We don't even need the meal, you know that."

"I frankly don't care," Elijah chuckled. "It's the mere thought that counts, don't you think? Please, shall we?" he gestured.

Biting her lip, Cami racked her mind for any possible way this could go wrong and she would wind up hurt. And even as she came up with about ten, her hand automatically reached for his. Elijah smiled for a moment before the temperature of her skin got to him. He shook off his black coat and gently placed it around Cami's shoulders. The blonde flushed and smiled, allowing him to take her hand soon after.

~ 0 ~

"I don't understand what we're doing here," Maleny said as Klaus pushed a dresser away from a wall. They were in his art studio but apparently there was something she hadn't yet seen in the room.

"I often regretted not showing you this earlier," Klaus said as he put a palm on the brick wall, bitterly laughing to himself. "I suppose it would have avoided us many arguments if you realized how much you meant to me."

"Showed me what?" Maleny stepped forwards, crossing her arms.

"Life is like a city- built in layers. No matter what new experiences come along, the foundation remains," and then with such severe force, Klaus punched a fist into the wall.

Maleny jumped in her spot, alarmed with the action. "We're okay!" she quickly shouted, looking out to the open door where she was sure the others would have heard. "Klaus, what the hell was that?" she hissed and returned her attention back to the wall.

But as the last pieces of the wall fell to the floor, she caught sight of a never before seen portrait of herself. It was old, that much she could see straight off.

"When was this…?" she stepped towards it, her eyes scanning every last feature of it.

She was, once again, the simple village girl in a portrait that was far too kind with its beautiful colors and scenery. She suddenly laughed, her hand going up to her hair. "My flower crown…"

Klaus backtracked till he stood beside her, also viewing the portrait like it was his first time. "Two hundred years ago, it was my art studio. It became a tomb for my memory of you."

Maleny blinked, glancing sideways at him. "But I was dead to you. I mean, I was Maya at the time but I—" she gestured to herself, "—was dead to you."

Klaus nodded his agreement with her. "I thought if I painted what haunted me, I could free myself of you forever. But centuries have proved I have never been more wrong about anything."

Maleny moved to stand in front of him, her back to the portrait. "But I was dead. You couldn't have...you shouldn't have…" she shook her head. "You should have let me go."

Klaus reached to touch her face, making her stay still. "You think there's a competition between you and Aurora, but you won the moment you returned to my life. I suspect the only reason I was ever able to love her was because, as you said, you were dead in my mind. But now you're here. You're standing before me - your beautiful self with your pretty blonde hair."

Maleny smiled, flushed. "And would you really be content with someone like me? A girl who made flower crowns," she pointed back without taking her eyes off him, "Or, a woman who barely understands the concept of 'Halloween'? Because you were right, we are opposites sometimes. And I think it's only fair we finally discuss all this. I don't want to go back to ignoring everything we are. I am naive, and you are clever, I am clueless of this new world, and you almost run it."

"You're progressing, Maleny," Klaus assured, "And you will continue to learn like you have. You are a fighter, but with different weapons."

"I'm a weak fighter," Maleny quietly said. "Fragile one…"

Klaus traced his fingers over her cheeks, becoming nearly entranced with her scent. "There is beauty in the courage of the fragile fighter — those who persevere despite all they've been through. That is what I admire most of you."

"Hmm, really?" Maleny arched an eyebrow.

"Absolutely," Klaus nodded. "And I know that within the next week, the next months...within the next years..." he paused suddenly, pulling his hands from her. That nervous glint Maleny identified earlier had returned to his eyes, to his entire body. She watched him reach inside his jacket, pulling out a small silver box. He placed it over her palm, encouraging her to open it with a silent look.

Maleny looked at the box, gently raising its top to see what laid inside. The sight made her freeze.

"And hopefully, if it's not too late," Klaus continued, his voice now shaking, "...within the next centuries, you and I could learn of new things to admire about each other."

Maleny lifted the vial of blood from the box, her face pale with shock. Her fingers curled around the vial, gripping it tightly like it would slip away from her. "I-it's…"

Klaus took a deep breath before making his final statement. "You have given me your 'always', would you give me your 'forever' as I wish to give mine to you?"

Maleny shuddered a breath, her hand dropping the empty box to the floor. With teary eyes, she nearly lunged for Klaus simply to give her response in the form of a passionate kiss.

~ 0 ~

Just as Elijah returned to the table he and Cami had taken, Cami hung up on a phone call. She thanked him for her glass as Elijah took a seat across the table.

She sighed. "That was Alton and Yamilet. They're leaving the Quarter tonight."

"The best thing they could do, honestly," Elijah admitted. "This place...it's about to become the scene of a war."

"Yeah," Cami muttered. "Tell me something else I don't know."

There was a moment of awkward silence, but when Elijah spoke up again Cami wished he hadn't. "I would prefer if you left as well."

"Excuse me?" The blonde blinked rapidly.

"Save yourself, Camille, and leave," Elijah requested with a near broken heart. "You deserve far better than being constantly thrown into my family's fights. You deserve to…" his eyes bore into hers with such intensity Cami felt overly nervous than irritated, "...you deserve to see wonderful places. You deserve-"

"Stop," Cami ordered, her voice soft. "Please, stop. Is this why you took me here? To tell me to leave?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "But seeing you, all beautiful and dressed up, reminds me that this is only for one night. For mere hours. By tomorrow morning you'll be back with the Strix, fighting more of their enemies - coming to fight me."

Without thinking, Cami took his hand over the table. "I'm in this for you and your family. Because no matter what happened between us I want you alive."

Elijah gripped her hand, his fingers finding a way to interlace with hers. He relished in the rare moment of peace and affection. "Camille," he began quietly, never knowing the effect of using her full name had on Cami, "I appreciate your attempts, your time on me and my family, but—"

"No," Cami cut him off, startling him with the determination in her tone. "Elijah," she sighed, "it's no secret I, um…" she blushed then, coughing awkwardly, "...I, uh...have feelings for you, so of course that's an extra motivation," both shared flustered smiles, "But I am doing this for my city, for people who don't deserve to die. I like helping people, don't take that away from me."

Elijah looked at her a long while, and finally placed his other hand on hers as well and smiled. "It seems like I now understand the troubles Niklaus goes through with Maleny - it is almost impossible denying you something."

Cami laughed wholeheartedly, knowing she was blushing like mad. When Elijah raised her cupped hand to kiss it, Cami discovered the conflict Maleny went through with Klaus. It was nearly impossible breathing right with such intense looks from them.

~ 0 ~

Maleny and Klaus had moved to the latter's bedroom. In the middle of the room they stood, kissing, until Maleny pulled away for a moment to catch her breath. With an incredibly happy smile, she held the vial of blood between them. "Tonight? Or tomorrow?" she asked curiously.

"Whichever you please," Klaus replied, honestly. The excitement on her face was unlike anything he had ever seen - it was impossible not to laugh just a little.

Maleny considered the upsides for a minute before returning her eyes to Klaus. "I think...tomorrow." Although the answer was a little surprising, Klaus took it with a simple nod. "I waited long for a proper Christmas, and I'd like to finish it as how I started it - a human."

Klaus took the vial from her then, speeding to the dresser to leave it there. He returned in a flash, taking her by the waist. Maleny giggled as he turned them for the bed.

"Take your last look at this human because tomorrow she's gone," Maleny warned with a wide smirk. "And then—" she kissed him softly, "—what wonders await us, hm?" she asked with a suggestive look on her face.

"I'd be happy to discover," answered Klaus all too quick, making Maleny laugh. He started kissing her again, backtracking her to the bed. His hand trailed searched for the zipper of her dress, causing Maleny to pull away with another smirk.

"You're gonna have to work for that," she warned, sitting on the bed first and scooting a bit back.

"I accept that challenge," Klaus moved to get on the bed with her, crawling over her. He truly was never one to let a challenge just slip by.

~ 0 ~

"I can't believe that just happened," Marlenie looked at her aunt Freya as the two returned to the compound after a...interesting meeting with Rebekah. As it turned out, the cure had not been enough and Rebekah was on a one-way path to insanity if she was not subdued. So, they had to dagger her. But on Rebekah's request, they would not tell either of his brothers for the time being.

"I can't believe we just did that," Marlenie feebly remarked, holding little Hope closer to her, the baby completely unaware of what happened around her. She chewed on the wooden craft Klaus had made for Rebekah when they were children.

"For now, it's best we follow Rebekah's instructions," Freya sighed, coming to sit at the couch.

"I know," Marlenie nodded, resigned. She turned her head to Hope and smiled. "If your mother knew where we took you she would kill me!" Hope responded with a giggle, flapping her free hand. "Let's go get you changed, yeah?"

Freya nodded for her niece to go while she took a moment to herself and processed what they had done. They hid Rebekah's body in a temporary location, for it was dark and with a baby it was impossible to go far away.

Freya shut her eyes, letting her head fall back as she groaned in frustration. "Ooh, why can't anything��be simple?" she asked herself.

Suddenly, she heard noises coming from the front entrance. She believed it to be Elijah so she quickly sobered from the tragedy. "Elijah?" she called but when she heard the distinct noise of suitcase wheels she knew it wasn't her brother.

A young man with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes nervously came out from the dark, and upon seeing Freya he froze in his spot. "A-aunt Freya?"

It took only a second to realize who the young man was, and immediately Freya dashed to go meet him in an embrace. "Nicolas!"

Nicolas Mikaelson took his aunt into a tight hug, laughing as he was taller than she was and planted multiple kisses on her hair. "I-I can't believe it's you! Like, proper you…" he pulled away, eyes big as he studied her fancy clothes and genuine happier face.

Meanwhile, Freya took to studying his face. He looked exactly the same as the last time they saw each other - centuries ago. But being free of Dahlia's control was a reason to be more joyful, and it showed on Nicolas' face.

Freya remarked the first thing that popped into her head. "You really do look a lot like your father."

Nicolas warmly smiled, eyes roaming up to the second level of the compound. "I-is he...is he here? I...I don't know what's going on, aunt Freya. How did you defeat aunt Dahlia? How did my mother escape those awful sacrificial witches? How did she find you all? How did you find them? How-"

"Aunt Freya!" Marlenie called from the lounge room, coming out with Hope (now in a Christmas onesie) in her arms.

Freya turned around in time to see the woman coming in, and wondered how they would all react to the new arrival. Nicolas looked over Marlenie with a sense of familiarity, but the centuries had turned the once child Marlenie into a proper woman. The same happened to him.

Freya looked between them curiously. "Oh, don't tell me you don't know who they are," she spoke to both, chuckling. "I'm sure even Hope would know judging by the fact all three of you share the same eyes."

Marlenie fit the pieces in rather fast when she saw the suitcase behind Nicolas, and the clear travel clothes...and the eyes. The eyes were what told her exactly who he was.

"N-Nick?" her frail voice dared to ask.

"That's...impossible," Nicolas breathed in. "Marlenie?"

"Oh my God!" Marlenie cried out in utter happiness and rushed to hug her slightly older brother. "It's you! It's you!" she draped one arm around his neck, the other still holding Hope.

Nicolas leaned the side of his face on Marlenie's head, grasping the fact she was there - alive. "Of course it's me. But...you...you're a…"

"...vampire," Marlenie sniffed and pulled away, sheepishly smiling. "I had to meet my father, remember?"

Nicolas chuckled, and at that moment he made Hope squeal out like she clearly wanted to be included in whatever was going on. Nicolas laid eyes on her, evidently confused by the presence of the toddler, but nonetheless pleased to have the child. "And who's this little one?" he eyed the wooden craft in Hope's small hand.

"Oh, well...this is Hope," Marlenie slightly turned to bring Hope closer to Nicolas, "...our younger sister."

Nicolas' eyes widened in shock, flickering to Freya for confirmation. Freya chuckled and nodded. "D-did our mother…"

"No," Marlenie cut in before he made the assumption. "Hope is our step-sister. And, just before you get the idea, her mother is married and loves another."

That did make Nicolas feel a little better. What a disillusion it would have been to come home and see his father was with another woman, with a child as well.

"Hope, meet your big brother," Marlenie handed the toddler over to Nicolas, who nervously took her. "You and I are gonna make sure to annoy him like the good little sisters we are."

Hope tilted her head and looked at Nicolas, much like he did to her. Suddenly, Hope flapped a hand on his cheek, giggling.

"That means she likes you," Freya came to stand beside Marlenie.

Nicolas smiled and tickled Hope's stomach, eventually moving onto the two people he was dying to meet. "And, um…" he looked upstairs again, "...Mum...she's...and Dad...they're…"

"They're here," Freya nodded, smiling softly. "And they have been waiting for you for so long now." The piece of information made Nicolas brighten up. He had been rather nervous coming over to practically introduce himself to the two parents that he assumed new nothing of him except of his existence.

"But," Marlenie said before he could move a step, "I don't think you'll be meeting them today." Nicolas raised an eyebrow. "They had problems before, but I'm pretty sure they fixed it. So...you can assume they're, uh…" she cleared her throat, awkwardly finishing, "...a bit busy."

Freya snickered, mockingly scolding her niece with a look...while Nicolas just laughed and returned his attention to Hope who was flapping her little wooden craft in front of his face. He didn't mind spending the night with them.

#ocfairygodmother #fd: the originals #the originals #klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson fics #klaus mikaelson imagines #the originals fics #the originals imagines #tvd #tvd fics #tvd imagines #oc: Maleny Rowan #oc: Marlenie Mikaelson #fic: under the same stars

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