#idk how else to tag this but w.e have it jsbkdnf

[lizzie-saltzman]

I’LL CRAWL HOME TO YOU

A Hizzie fanfiction

Pairing: Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman Fandom: Legacies Rating: M Chapters: 1/? Summary:  In many ways, meeting Hope in a different reality had helped Lizzie put things in perspective, and perhaps even understand her in ways she hadn’t before. Understand them, their connection, the palpable animosity that had turned into a reluctant friendship and now something far more tangible. The rest, well, she doesn’t tell Josie. Not about waking up after three weeks away from her real home, tucked under the covers of Hope’s bed with their clothes discarded around the dormitory, with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and her hair sticking to her cheekbones. There were some things better left unsaid. (Upon her return from an alternate timeline a Malivore monster teleported her to, Lizzie must deal with the aftermath of her time spent away, and her newly doormat feelings for Hope Mikaelson.) READ HERE ON AO3 or under the read more

Chapter 1: The hero thing's not just for the broody, you know?

Professor Saltzman’s office is dimly lit by the lamp on his mahogany desk, wind rustling loudly against the open window that slams against one of the bookshelves incessantly behind Lizzie. Josie, frustrated, silently closes her hand and slams it shut, half startling her twin, who sits perched atop of her dad’s desk, picking grapes out of a yellow bowl. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? It's not every day you’re transported into an alternate timeline by a mud pit monster”. Josie paces, hands crossed over her chest now, worried wrinkles creasing between her eyebrows. 

Lizzie looks behind her, towards the window frame, holding a grape to her mouth.

“I’m fine”. Lizzie says, exhaling, turning, and continuing with a grape halfway in her mouth. “Starving. Out of all the things I could assume dimension traveling does to you –– you know, aside from the crippling motion sickness that you feel when you come through a hell portal –– I would’ve never thought hunger was one of them. Do you think this is what vamps feel when they’re first turned?”

Josie stops, her frown more prominent. “I’m pretty sure the answer’s no”. 

Lizzie shrugs, swinging her legs and hopping off Alaric’s desk, leaving the bowl behind.

“Well, I’m fine”.

“Do you want to talk about what happened? We tried everything to find a way to get you back. Alyssa Chang helped. She felt bad about… Everything, but I don’t think there’s a book about dimension hopping anywhere in this school, so we had to wing it. Unsuccessfully”. 

Lizzie rolls the sleeves of the sweater she’s wearing, an apologetic smile on her lips, whether it's about Alyssa Chang and her attempt to mend things between them or not thanking Josie for trying to save her despite the odds set against them when she had the chance, she doesn’t know. Or maybe it's not about Josie and Alyssa at all…

“It was weird. Different. Everything was. Mystic Falls looked exactly the same except the Salvatore School didn’t exist ––”

“Dad mentioned you said that”. Josie interjects.

“–– And for a while I thought about setting out to find our doppelgängers, or us or whatever, but then I thought about all those movies where the time traveling hunk finds himself in a different timeline and it all goes to hell, and I got a little freaked out so I wandered around town for a while, went to the Mystic Grill and... Saw dad.” 

Josie doesn't have to look at Lizzie to know exactly what her tone means. “Oh?”

Lizzie’s face falls. “Yeah. He was drinking. A lot. I didn’t stay long enough to talk though. How do you explain to him that you’re his daughter in a timeline where fairytale monsters try to kill us like, bi-weekly? So I decided to come here instead”. 

“And that’s when you found out our school didn’t exist?” 

“Another one did. Hope’s”. Lizzie deadpans.

That finally makes Josie quit her pacing, making Lizzie feel less on edge, not having to watch her walk back and forth in the small space of their dad’s office anymore. It's been making her anxious, twiddling with the bowl of grapes that she absentmindedly pulled to the corner of the desk while she was talking. She pushes it away from the edge, waiting for Josie to recover, to give her that look that urges her to continue. 

“The Mikaelson School. That’s how I got back. She helped me make a portal back home, but we spent weeks researching magic that helps you travel through time and space. It felt like I was stuck in an episode of Star Journey ––”

“Trek”. 

“–– But she was different. I mean, she was still Hope but cockier, meaner…” Hotter. Lizzie catches herself, reaching again, for the bowl of grapes just to find something to do with her hands. “Her parents were alive”. 

Somewhere out there, in a world parallel to their own but not quite right, Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall were still alive. Somewhere out there, in a timeline not too far from this one, Hope had grown up with the care and love that she lost when she was barely fifteen years old. Grief changes people, forges them into unimaginable things; for this Hope, her Hope, it was all about atonement, weighed by the guilt of her family legacy and the isolation of being the only one of her kind. In that world, Hope didn’t carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, didn’t feel the need to isolate herself from her peers or the fear of losing the people she loved every waking day of her life. In many ways, meeting Hope in a different reality had helped Lizzie put things in perspective, and perhaps even understand her in ways she hadn’t before. Understand them, their connection, the palpable animosity that had turned into a reluctant friendship and now something far more tangible. 

The rest, well, she doesn’t tell Josie. Not about waking up after three weeks away from her real home, tucked under the covers of Hope’s bed with their clothes discarded around the dormitory, with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and her hair sticking to her cheekbones. There were some things better left unsaid. 

“Are you planning on telling her?” Josie asks, breaking Lizzie from her trance. “She might want to know. Maybe”.

She wouldn’t know where to start. She wouldn’t know how to soften the blow. She wouldn’t even know if Hope would take any of it kindly, knowing there was a world where she could have been happy, where no one she loved had to die to save her. Let alone a world where she ends up tangled in her bedspread, sweaty and naked ––

“Lizzie?” 

“Oh, sorry. Yeah. I think I should talk to her”. Finally, she leaves the bowl of grapes alone, picking one last one before stepping forward. “Do you know where she is?” 

“Last I knew she was with MG, they were looking for the monster.” 

“It's been weeks! I thought you guys would’ve killed it by now”. Indignantly, Lizzie crosses her arms.

Josie grimaces. “Lizzie, it's only been two days”. 

Lizzie sets towards the door. 

“Lizzie, wait!” Josie pulls her by the back of her sweater. Lizzie stumbles, but catches her balance. “It's not safe. You could be sucked back in through a portal”. 

“I’m not going to leave Hope and MG fighting that thing alone. At least I know how to make my way back this time”. 

And she shrugs her off, disappearing out the door before Josie has the chance to stop her.

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A piercing, painful hiss echoes through the trees, scattered around the back of The Salvatore School. Hope clutches a sharp, lethal looking knife in her hand as she flies through the linen of maple wood, crashing through the branches and huffing loudly as she rolls through the mud covered ground, leaving tracks in her path and skidding to a stop near a pair of white boots. She groans, rolling over and finding, not the starry night sky and the leaves rustling above her, but Lizzie Saltzman, looking straight ahead at the snake-like monster screeching in the distance. 

There’s no time for pleasantries though, as Hope pushes herself up on her elbows. “Lizzie, watch out!” 

And Lizzie ducks, instinctively; a log flies past her head and crashes against the tree behind her, taking Hope’s hand to help her back on her feet and using it as an opportunity to siphon enough magic to be useful in a fight. When she looks ahead, wiping her dirty hands on her sweats, she spots MG through the branches, face down on the mud and seemingly unconscious. 

“Is MG okay?!” Lizzie shrieks, right as the giant snake creature uses its tail to send another branch flying past their heads. They duck for cover behind a tree and Hope peeks around to get a good look ahead.

“He’s fine. The monster caught us by surprise and snapped his neck. I’ve been keeping it distracted, waiting for him to wake up”. 

“Yeah, he’s doing great, Hope! Way to go!” 

Hope ignores her. The wind picks up pace, looking like a storm is approaching, taking the leaves from the muddy ground with it as clouds line up in the sky and obscure the moonlight. It’s waning; the full moon is only a few days away ––

“Where’d it go?” 

Suddenly, it's eerily quiet; Hope’s shoes make crunching sounds against the leaves below, stepping out from behind the tree with her knife pointed forward. Behind her, Lizzie follows, turning around and walking backwards until she collides with Hope’s back. It doesn’t seem to startle Hope, who momentarily reaches behind her to touch Lizzie’s wrist. 

“This is freaking me out”. 

“Be quiet”. Hope hisses.

And Lizzie presses her lips together; she’s sure Hope can hear her rapidly accelerating heartbeat. The last time her heart raced anywhere near Hope Mikaelson they were in various states of undress, and Hope had grinned triumphantly as she cornered Lizzie against ––

“Uh, Hope? Hope!” Lizzie reaches behind her. Hope must have sensed her tension, because she turns around just in time to see it too. The snake-like creature slithers out through a hazy looking hole, baring its teeth and launching itself through the air. Lizzie puts her hands up, but she’s roughly pushed out of the way as Hope takes a guarded stance on the ground and chants a spell under her breath. 

“Ictus!” It sends the monster flying backwards, into the portal it came out of. Lizzie groans as she scrambles off the ground and the portal closes with a resounding hush. Hope rushes to Lizzie’s side, examining her body for injuries, but she comes out of the collision relatively unscathed, save for a bruise she knows she’ll be feeling well into next week on her left shoulder blade. 

“Are you okay?” Hope sounds genuinely concerned; she knows that worried look in her eyes, she’d seen it, not only on the other side of the portal, but here too. Except this time it’s not Landon that Hope is cradling, it's her, and she’s searching for any signs of distress just like she would’ve in another lifetime. 

Lizzie swallows, nodding. “I’m fine”. 

“You need to go”. 

“Like hell I am!” She protests, pushing Hope away from her. “I’m not letting you fight this thing alone”.

Hope is startled by the whiplashing display of softness and animosity, but she doesn’t have time to question Lizzie’s sudden change of demeanor, because below her, the monster conjures another portal, and his hook-like claws extend to yank Hope’s feet from underneath her, sending her crashing against the ground and tossing the knife at Lizzie’s feet. 

“Hope!” Lizzie launches herself forward, catching Hope’s hand as she’s dragged back a few feet behind her. The monster is strong, strong enough to drag both of them down into a hell dimension, but Lizzie acts quickly –– “Immobilus!” And anchors herself to the ground as Hope attempts to pull herself up and away from the monster’s claw. Lizzie grits her teeth as Hope struggles to get back up –– she yanks and the monster pulls harder. Hope digs her fingers into the dirt and turns to kick the monster’s claw away from her. It hisses, raising it’s razor sharp hook and sinking it down on her arm. 

Lizzie can hear Hope’s breath hitch, the pain making Hope let go of her arm as she’s dragged a few inches down the ground again. She pulls herself up on her hands and knees, crawling towards Hope in an attempt to reach her, but when her fingers slip right through Hope’s when she tries to launch herself forward again, she watches Hope’s foot almost touch the edge of the portal. So Lizzie chants, and the creature shrieks so violently it lets go of Hope’s forearm. When Hope turns, the monster’s claw is bent in two –– Lizzie had broken whatever bone was underneath it as a last minute effort to save her. 

The adrenaline between them is palpable. Hope pushes herself up on her feet in such a graceful way it distracts Lizzie long enough to stay on the ground until Hope holds out her hand. She takes it, pulling herself up and wiping the leaves away from her sweat pants. 

“Thanks for the save”. Hope huffs, making sure Lizzie’s found her footing before letting go of her hand. Lizzie closes it, disappointed by its absence. 

“The hero thing’s not just for the broody, you know?”

Hope laughs, Lizzie grins. The wind picks up pace again, making Hope turn ahead, where another portal appears between the trees. Hope quickly picks up the knife from the ground, ready to strike again, but when the creature fully emerges from the portal, it does nothing but stand there, looking at them with its wings outstretched. 

“Ew! What kind of Harry Potter crap is that?” Lizzie makes a face, already taking a few steps back behind Hope. 

“A snake. We think”. 

“How do we kill it?” 

“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure beheading is lethal for all supernatural monsters”. Hope grips the knife harder. The creature hisses, rattling its tongue in Hope’s direction before slithering back through the portal and disappearing into nothingness. 

The wind finally settles and the clouds clear, slowly but surely, making the stars visible in the sky again. Whatever sense of impending doom had made its way through Hope’s body, it's gone now. Lizzie however, frantically looks around, expecting the snake to attack any second. Hope looks at her, at her shaking fingertips, the frantic turning, the way she looks for MG from the corner of her eye, but only lets Lizzie freak out for a few seconds, before she reaches for her wrist. 

Lizzie’s breath hitches. She looks down at Hope’s hand clutching her wrist and urging her to stop. She swallows, looks at her for reassurance. 

“I think it’s gone”. Hope says. “The wind stopped blowing”. 

Lizzie nods. 

Behind them, the leaves blow. They turn at the same time, only to hear MG groaning as he comes to, slowly getting to his feet. He rubs the back of his neck, looks around for the creature, until he spots Hope and Lizzie in the distance. 

“Heeey, guys. Hey. Did we kill it?” 

Hope and Lizzie roll their eyes in unison. They’re standing too close for comfort, enough that Lizzie feels the crevices between her boots wetting, she looks down, blood tinting her white Doc Martens and the leaves below them. When she turns to examine Hope, she notices the gash on her arm, so she reaches for it, frowning. 

“Does it hurt?” 

It’s soft Lizzie once again, Hope notices. With worry in her eyes and a gentleness to her voice she’s a little unfamiliar with. Hope swallows. “A little”. 

“We should patch you up”. Lizzie lets go; for a second she almost takes Hope’s hand, but decides against it. Instead, she tucks them inside the pockets of her sweat pants as they both turn to the direction of the school. 

“Guys?” In the distance, MG calls out. “Wait up. I think I need an aspirin”. 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“MG looked happy to see you”. 

Sitting at the edge of Hope’s bed, Lizzie smiles, carefully wrapping a bandage around Hope’s forearm, where the monster had dug its claws and left a sizable gash on her skin. Rationally, she knows Hope will heal, but finds no reason not to aid the healing process and make Hope’s pain more manageable. Besides, it's an excuse to sit close to her, even if she’s not particularly interested in the direction this conversation was going. She’s more interested in knowing how Hope felt about her return, rather than anyone else’s. 

“I was gone a while”. Lizzie offers, concentrating on the bandage. Hope lets her have her way with her arm, lifting and lowering at her own discrepancy. “Though, Jo told me it was only for a couple of days. It was weeks there”. 

“Really?” Hope asks curiously. 

“Like three weeks, a little more”. She doesn’t give Hope a chance to ask any more questions, continuing. “What was that thing anyway? The monster. Does it have a name?”

Hope looks at Lizzie’s hands as she finishes wrapping the bandage around her. “Wade called it a Dimensional Warper, I guess from one of his games. Dungeons and monsters ––” 

“–– Dragons”. 

“Yeah, that. Anyway, he said that Dimensional Warpers create portals to other timelines and dimensions, and can move freely between them. It warped you to another reality when we were tracking it down, we were closing in on it, or you were. With that tracking spell.”

“Do we know why it's here?” 

Hope shakes her head. A beat. “Probably me”. 

Lizzie says nothing, grimacing and, taping Hope’s bandage together carefully, rattled by the idea that something so gruesome was capable of completely disappearing anyone from their world. But what had been three and a half weeks for Lizzie, had only been two days for Hope. She can’t help but wonder how much time it would’ve taken them to find her –– would they have tortured the monster, would they have found a spell that could warp her back to this reality, would they have never gotten to her at all? What about Hope? What if Lizzie hadn’t run to the woods just in time to help?

“We tried my aunt Freya’s grimoire”. Hope breaks the silence, probably sensing Lizzie’s sudden uneasiness. “We tried everything. Alyssa Chang and your sister read so many books I think they paper-burned their fingerprints off. I’m just glad you’re back, and that you’re okay”. 

“Yeah. Me too”. Lizzie says, plainly, looking at Hope’s arms, the tank top, the twig stuck to her hair that she reaches for and takes between her fingertips. “I had help”. 

“From who?” Its genuine curiosity. Hope’s eyelids flutter, as Lizzie continues to pick the leaves from her hair, distracted suddenly. 

“A very powerful witch”. 

Lizzie offers nothing further, and Hope senses that whatever happened on the other side, Lizzie was not ready to share yet. If she knows anything about Lizzie Saltzman though, is that she will, eventually, when she feels like sharing, even if unprompted. It makes Hope smile for a second, but it drops, when she wonders if Lizzie had actually gone through something horrible somewhere none of her friends or her family could help her. 

She turns to ask, to make sure she’s okay. Their eyes meet; Lizzie lowers Hope’s arm and closes the first aid kit. It’s electric, like a jolt, deja vu, but maybe it's just Lizzie’s wishful thinking. This Hope could never possibly have an interest in her, could she?

Hope clears her throat.

“You should probably get some rest and I should find Kaleb and the rest of the vampires. Make sure we have someone on the lookout, in case the snake decides to make a comeback while we’re sleeping”. Not that Hope is planning on sleeping with an impending threat still lurking around school grounds. “Thanks, for the help and for patching me up”. 

“You’re welcome”. 

They look at each other again, stand up at the same time. There’s little to no space between them and Lizzie takes a sudden step back, losing her footing. Hope grasps her by the arm before she tumbles. “Sorry”. Hope says. 

“Don’t be. Thanks”. 

And Hope lets go, taking the first aid kit from the bed before Lizzie gets a chance to. “I’ll just put this away”. Lizzie nods. 

After Hope puts the first aid kit back in her closet and turns around, Lizzie’s already gone.