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Niklaus had an...unusual relationship. For the hybrid, at least. Seen as the big bad wolf, the king of terror, the deadly hybrid- seeing him act the way he does around his girlfriend is sure to throw anyone who knows him off. Whether they know him well or just met him recently, it was a shocker for sure.

Although people found them adorable, he personally thought the relationship was mildly frustrating at times. He wasn’t interested in her “childish games”. So he claimed.

“Y/n?” He called sweetly. He hesitated before calling again, and again, and again, until the sickly sweet tone of his voice had run out of it’s sugary goods. Klaus’ yell was familiar but not to the person he’d directed it at. “Y/n!”

“Yeesh, I heard you the first time! I’m coming!” She was by his side quick, and by the teasing smirk on her face, she definitely really had heard him the first time.

“I need you to do something for me.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I’ll be busy. I need some things from the market.” He sighed when her wide eyes caught his disinterested ones. “And you can buy some stuff for yourself. Rebekah too. She’ll be going with you.”

Y/n turned towards Rebekah and winked before turning back towards Nik with a sudden lack of energy and enthusiasm. “B- I- But- b-but do I have to? It’s so far away and there’s like-” she checked the clock, “ten hours left of daylight.” Her drawl was well acted but didn’t phase Niklaus. He’d grown rather used to it.

“And?”

She scanned her brain for further arguments against her boyfriend’s plea, smiling as one popped right on time. “Fine. I’ll- We’ll go.”

“Thank you!” His tone was far too...thankful for her leave for her liking. Perhaps pulling this wouldn’t be as hard as she originally thought it’d be. Walking towards him to say goodbye raised his hopes, hopefully, but when she reached for his wallet and called after Rebekah as she walked to the front doors, Niklaus growled. His eyes narrowed and he cursed under his breath.

It was on.

When they returned, he decided to get Y/n back, pressing a surprise kiss on her cheek. “Welcome bac-” His plan backfired as she glared at him and brought her hand up. “Don’t. Don’t you dare, Y/n.”

“Try me.” She wiped her hand harshly on her cheek. Right where he’d kissed her. A growl emitted from his throat. It was time he initiated plan b. Unfortunately, a kiss on the lips was no different to her cheek. Aside from one very bold change in her attitude. She screamed and wiped it off with an desperateness that made his semi-undead heart ache.

Klaus began to storm off and passed his sister, who was in a fit of laughter on account of being a witness to the scene that took place in the entry way. Her chortles were brisk to fade, though, and the hurt radiating from her brother sunk in. “Nik! Nik- calm down! She’s just messing around.”

“Yeah, it’s just a joke!” They waited for his response, but nothing came save for silence. “Awh, come on, Nik! Learn how to take a joke instead of giving them every once in awhile!” The silence was more harsh than his glare. “You’re no fun.”

“And you’re wet.”

“What?” Y/n and Rebekah swapped glances of confusion before looking around for the voice. Klaus’ voice. Their surroundings were the same as they were mere seconds ago. Left, nothing. Right, nothing. Behind them, still, nothing. There hadn’t been any changes in front of them either. They looked up, but not on time.

“Well hello.” a smooth accent interrupted her silent and peaceful thinking. She was delighted to finally hear an accent, but within a second her smile fell as she realized it wasn’t the accent she wanted to hear. “You look absolutely divine. Who have you accompanied tonight? Or are you...alone?”

Deciding to be friendly rather than blowing everyone off until the love of her life returned by her side, she shook her head. “No, I’m not. And the name of my partner should be known by now. If you aren’t aware...god bless your poor soul.”

The man scoffed, chuckling as if he were mocking her warnings. “Duly noted, love. However...I don’t see anyone around that I should be ‘cowering just from the very thought of’. So, why not indulge me for a few moments, huh?”

It was a semi-usual occurrence. The vampires at parties trying to either hook up with or feed on her. Most of the time, it was ‘cause they weren’t sure whether she was a vampire or not and they either had forgotten or had no knowledge of the man who both fell asleep and woke up beside her.

“No thank you.” Y/n tried to push him away, giving him a polite smile as she shook her head and began to walk towards the kitchen in hope for something to clear her mind. Unfortunately, the grip on her wrist prevented her from leaving.

“My name’s Lucien, by the way. May I ask you what yours is?”

He smiled so innocently, it made Y/n sick. She knew guys like him, that they weren’t what they wanted everyone to think them to be. “No.” With one harsh pull, her wrist was free and now bring rubbed with her free hand as she stomped to the destination she had yet to reach. The kitchen was free and quiet until...

“Feisty! I love it! Listen, I’m sorry if I rubbing you the wrong way-”

“Please don’t say it like that.”

Lucien began to cackle dramatically. He wiped away a fake tear before realizing how much the joke was lacking in the making-Y/n-laugh department. “My apologies. What I’m trying to say is that I really do wish to get to know you, become your friend and all. Is there uh...anything I could do to make it up to you?”

“I’m not sure.” She wasn’t giving him nothing just because she didn’t like him or whatever. Y/n was being honest and genuine, feeling sorry for the man when he frowned and began to leave the kitchen. “But you can sit with me for a bit if you’re alright with that?”

Moments flew by in a blur, the two starting with clean slates. Of course, Lucien still had his flirty advances, but Y/n blocked them out with a simple interruption. Every time he tried to flirt with her, she’d cough or sneeze, talk or yawn, just whatever she could do to ignore him.

At some point, he’d compared her to a goddess. She didn't engage with him any further, knowing she’d make it worse had she done so. And Lucien wasn’t exactly worth the drama nor struggle.

Everything was going swell until her lover had returned. At least, for Lucien. She smiled brightly when she saw him, but the way he looked at her and Lucien made her smile fall and her heart race. Lucien even found himself doing a double-take when he saw his sire standing in the doorway.

“Nik! Glad you could join us, old friend!”

“Of course, Lucien. Why wouldn’t my beautiful Y/n be glad I’m joining you lot?”

The hybrid broke into laughter and Lucien laughed along until he realized just how serious Klaus was. “This is who your date is?” He turned to Y/n with wide eyes and a slack jaw. 

“You can’t tell me I didn’t try to warn you.” She grimaced as she avoided both males’ intense eyes. There was no stopping Nik, especially not when Lucien had already been warned of what would happen had he continued like he did.

“What’s got you so surprised, old friend?” Niklaus roared with sarcastic laughter, however, the look he was shooting at Lucien emphasized how sarcastic he really was being. If looks really could kill, Lucien would be dead more than a thousand times over.

Confident in his innocence in anything, and everything, involving his sire, Lucien frequently claimed the roll of the misunderstood character. The description was simple; yes, he was melodramatic and petty- how could anyone blame him though?

Lucien felt nothing but hatred for Klaus after everything that occurred his past with the hybrid. And though he thought it was hidden by his façade, some Mikaelsons had already uncovered their suspicions. Klaus had his doubts as well, but even if he wasn’t aware, he would still want to figure it out on his own as usual.

When Klaus swooped in to snatch Lucien’s prey just as he did Aurora a great many years ago, Lucien felt the hate grow just a little bit stronger. He was taking from him once again. “Uh- Well...” he grinned as he scoffed dismissingly, “nothing really. I was only talking to this goddess of a woman.”

“Yes, indeed, she is a goddess. However, that goddess has a god, just as a queen has a king.” Klaus began to grow more intense, determined to make his position in Y/n’s life as obvious as he could make it.

“Oh? My apologies, I didn’t know.” Lucien responded with a chuckle. ‘But...then again, you didn’t know with Aurora, did you?’ So many centuries later and he was still salty.

“Well,” he advanced towards Lucien, accent thickening and voice dropping octaves with every step he took in his direction, “now you know.”

He wasn’t intimated, only annoyed. Nevertheless, for the sake of his act, Lucien cowered slightly with a nervous waver in his voice. “Yes, heh, I suppose I do.”

“Good. Now...leave.” Klaus waited impatiently with his infamous dead eyes and victorious smirk, repeating himself with the same faux softness before Lucien left. Had Lucien ignored his command once more and stood planted beside her a second longer, Y/n was sure Klaus would’ve yelled in his face with a complexion and vision of red. Not that it’d be a new sight.

“While I didn’t enjoy your...friend’s feeble attempts of charming me, you didn’t have to scare him like that.” Y/n sighed with a smile that counteracted how stern her scolding was supposed to feel. His hands gripped her waist, pulling her into him with a dominating intent. There was no way in hell that he’d let go of her after Lucien’s little stunt, and she was well aware of that.

“You’re correct, love. I didn’t have to, yet regardless, I did just that.” He could practically feel her eyes roll against his chest as he held her close to him. The calm change in his tone brought butterflies to her gut and the smile back on her face. “You really are a goddess, you know.”

“How could I not? You never let me forget, Klaus.” Y/n giggled, Klaus’ chest heaving with his own cachinnation.

MYSTIC FALLS, SOME TIME AGO

“Are we sure we should be doing this?” Caroline whispered. She’d seen what Klaus did when he was mad. Not that she was afraid of him, it was Y/n she was afraid of. She actually liked Niklaus’ wife, but doing this would be stabbing her in the back, and stabbing her in the back would mean she’d have to face her wrath if she were to ever wake up.

“Klaus can’t, and won’t, do jack shit. He’s all bark and no bite...pun not intended.” Damon snickered.

“I’ve gotta agree with Damon on this one.” Caroline glared at Elena. It really seemed like Stefan, Matt, and her were the only ones who genuinely liked Y/n. But why? What’s not to like about her...aside from being the wife of their worst enemy. “She’s married to him. She must be used to this, right?”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

“No! Not you too!” Caroline exclaimed, widening her eyes at Stefan with shock.

“I’m sorry. I like her, but I agree, if this makes Klaus powerless and weak, it has to be done.”

“How would it make him weak?”

Stefan sighed, “His wife. She goes missing and is our bait, he can’t hurt us or else he’ll never know where she is.”

“You do realize you’re going to make it worse by having two grudges to face?”

“How so?”

Caroline rolled her eyes at Damon’s doubt but indulged him in her explanation. “We’re betraying Klaus. That’s one stab in one back. And we’re making his wife temporarily die and hiding her at that! That’s two stabs in one back, and another stab in a different back.”

“What’s with all your metaphors, blondie?”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes again, and paced ahead of the group. Whispering to herself, as if Y/n could hear, she apologized and shrugged off her fear. “I’m sorry, Y/n. It’s the only thing we can do. I hope you understand.”

NEW ORLEANS, PRESENT DAY.

Klaus slammed his fist against the table. It had been years since the Mystic Falls betrayal. That’s what Rebekah called it anyways. Elena and her group of friends had taken the one thing Klaus loved, the one thing that loved Klaus. Damon and the others were always telling him he didn’t know what it was like to be loved, but his wife assured him that he didn’t need to prove anything.

Now, she was gone. He didn’t know whether they’d stabbed her with the white oak stake or if they daggered her or something, but she was gone, that was the one of the only things they could establish.

“We’ll find her, Niklaus. I give you my-”

“Word?” He flipped the table with a growl, “You give me your word that you’ll find my wife? She’s gone, Elijah! She’s been gone! Where was your word then?”

Elijah simple nodded. It infuriated Klaus even more that Elijah expressed nothing but a neutral expression. “Niklaus. Yes, Y/n has been gone for some time, and for that I am sorry, but you must understand, I couldn’t give you my word then be-”

“Because what?!”

“Because, brother, we didn’t know she was alive back then.”

Klaus froze in place. “What?” He felt the anger leave his body and relief take over. Over and over again, he asked himself if he’d heard Elijah correctly. Hope, once lost, returned.

“She’s alive. Caroline Forbes has confessed. She refuses to talk to you, as you’re a little on the murderous side,” Klaus scoffed yet held a smile, one of which Elijah returned, “but nevertheless, she knows Y/n’s health status, as she and Stefan are still in on at least that part. However, she’s been compelled to forget.”

“Damn it.” Klaus allowed himself to have hope, but he should’ve known something was wrong. Every time it was too good to be true, there was something off. “Do we have any information on her whereabouts? Like anyone who knows?”

“I’m not sure. She mentioned other people getting compelled as well, but even if that is true, we’re immortal, Niklaus.”

“Yes? Get to the point!”

“We have thousands upon thousands of years to live. We have an entire earth to pursue. I promise you, brother, I will not rest until Y/n is recovered, healthy, and by your side once again.” Elijah clenched his jaw after speaking.

He despised the betrayal just as much as Klaus, and not only because he is a man of his word. Y/n was his sister-in-law, whom he loved as a part of his family. Everyone knew; mess with one Mikaelson, get the rest. Any harm against a member of the family was a harm against all of the family. 

“We’ve found her, brother.” Elijah smiled as he hugged his brother tightly. After many agonizing years, months, weeks, days, and minutes of searching, they’d finally found her.

“We need to leave then. Right now.”

“He’s already got that covered, Niklaus.” Klaus stilled, almost looking like an actual statue. A chuckle he swore he knew filled his ears and brought the tears he’d been hiding to his tear-ducts. “My guess is that he got the strategy for such from you. I mean- Forcing witches to free me? Did you two switch personalities while I was gone?”

Klaus let out a chuckle of his own, turning and surging forward. He held Y/n close to him, practically suffocating himself in her shoulder while inhaling her scent. “Is it true? Are you really here?”

“Yes, Nik. I’m here, my love, and it’s all thanks to Elijah.” She giggled as her hand cupped the back of his neck.

Klaus shivered as Y/n’s fingers brushed over the hairs on the nape of his neck, a feeling he hadn’t felt for far too long. A squeal escaped her when Niklaus connected their lips in a familiar longing dance.

“I’ll leave you two to catch up. But, don’t forget, Y/n, we all miss you and would love to talk to you.”

It wasn’t long before Y/n discovered what her brothers were hiding. In fact, it was hiding that led to her putting two and two together. A poorly hid white oak stake and two very suspicious brothers, my my, what could be the problem?

She knew that they only hid it from her due to her romance with one of the Mikaelsons.

Kol was, like his older half-brother, a little off the walls. Nevertheless, he remained loyal and loving. Their relationship had shown her a good side of vampirism, as well as convinced him that life still had meaning even if he wasn’t a witch anymore.

But, if her brothers went through with their plan, neither of them would have that anymore. So she went out to put a large red stop-sign in the middle of their little plot.

“Gah!” Damon hissed as his younger sister sped in front of him, “Where the hell did you come from?”

“Home. Where the hell are you going?” Y/n spat back. She grinned when Damon sighed after studying her for a few moments.

“Uhhh...the Grill.”

“Ah... But, dear brother, the Grill is in the other direction.” Her smile grew wider with the feeling of success. “So, tell me, where are you going? And, please- the truth this time, if you will?”

Stefan walked up behind Damon, turning himself in as he knew they’d been caught. “Damn it. Curse our sister and her inhuman intellect.”

“Don’t curse me for my brains, curse that bitch of a vampire that turned you two as well. Had you not engaged in her games, we’d all be dead and happy in our graves.”

“You could just stake yourself or walk into the sun, ya know?” Damon chuckled teasingly but stopped quickly upon his sister’s dead glare.

“Yes, of that, I am aware. However, you two are also aware of my boyfriend...” She glanced at the bag in Stefan’s hand, somehow already having a terribly accurate guess of what it’s contents were, “A little too aware.”

Stefan sighed, “I mean, yeah. He’s a Mikaelson, Y/n/n-”

“That doesn’t matter! You can’t go through with it! Please...Damon?” Her older brother raised his hands in front of his chest, telling her to leave him out of it with a simple sympathy smirk and squint of his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Seriously? Have I ever tried to kill one of your girlfriends?”

The brothers thought for a moment before shaking their heads. Stefan looked down to the bag of stakes and back up to his sister, holding the same sympathetic expression as Damon. “I’m sorry. But, Klaus has to die. They all do.”

“No! Kol doesn’t!”

“He attacked Matt, Y/n!” Damon wasn’t one to care for most mortals, but Elena and Matt had been targets of some of the Mikaelsons for a bit of time, and he did end up growing a little closer to the group of abnormal friends, so he made an exception. Unfortunately, he was only willing to let that exception go so far.

“And? You attacked Bonnie! And Jeremy! Let’s not forget Alaric. My point is, we all make mistakes!”

“We all make mistakes, yet Kol has made over a thousand years worth of those without even apologizing. I’ve apologized...for most of them...” Stefan side-glared Damon, whom responded with a jab to Stefan’s side with his elbow. “And, well, my point is that he’s an original who’s just as bad as the other originals. We have a chance to kill the worst of them all, and you can’t stop us.”

She paused, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thought. Usually, family went first, but they were ever so willing to destroy her happiness- to destroy her first ever romance- that she didn’t really care for the usual anymore.

“You’re right. I can’t stop you. But, if that’s how you guys wanna play,” the veins under her eyes began to darken and her e/c orbs turned red, “then lets play.”

“Wherever is your little play-thing, brother?” Klaus’ voice rang through the phone. Kol only chuckled in response, continuing to watch as Jeremy failed painfully at baseball. “I take it she has yet to arrive?”

“Well, for one, brother, she’s not my play-thing. She’s my girlfriend.” A sincere look of love washed over Kol’s features; his undead heart skipped a beat just thinking about her. “And secondly, I suppose she is rather late.”

“Would you like me to resort to plan two? I can always threaten the witch’s little boyfriend some more. Perhaps get her to do a tracking spell?”

He thought for a moment, debating his options and the situation before licking his lips and nodding. “Plan two it is. See you later, Nik.”

“Until next time, Kol.”

“Shit!” Damon yelped as he dodged a plate that flew over his head. The house had been turned upside down and wrecked in a fit of rage. Just as her brother once had, Y/n had flipped the switch.

Although flipping the switch sounds like something you’d do in a state of pain, Y/n did it in, like mentioned, a fit of rage. In result, it was more like she’d snapped than flipped a switch.

Stefan, hiding with his back against a flipped over couch, attempted to make hand motions to Damon; a wordless code. Sadly, Damon was not in the best state of mind to register the meaning of Stefan’s odd finger movements.

“What?” He whisper-yelled as his brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay, okay, can we continue this later? We kinda have a very deadly and very very angry sister trying to kill-” Damon rolled over, dodging a knife that had come out of the other side of the table due to it being thrown so harshly, “...us.”

“Damn it Damon- I was trying to get us to go,” He pointed towards the door, “in that direction!”

“I can hear you, you know!” Plate after plate hit the wall in front of them.

“On three?” Damon nodded. They began counting quietly in unison until they got to three. From there, they made a break for the front door and to Elena’s house, where they picked the doppelganger up and headed for Matt’s house. Luckily, Matt had never brought anyone from the group to his house aside from Elena and Caroline. He answered the door and let the three in quickly, looking around before shutting and locking it.

“No- you idiot- she can’t get in. There’s no point in locking it.” Damon groaned from the couch.

“Be nice.”

He bitterly responded to Elena’s demand with a fake smile and an obviously sarcastic tone. “Yes, milady.”

“So uh...” Of course Matt hadn’t been informed as to why the three were hiding in his home. “What happened?”

“Oh, ya know, the usual.” The sarcasm in Damon’s voice held thick as ever, “Pissed off my sister by telling her we’re going to kill the originals, as in all of them- including her boy-toy.”

“You did what-”

“Oops. Sorry Elena. I might’ve forgotten to add the part about pissing her off...which reminds me of the most important detail...” He smiled toothily with faux remorse.

The two humans blinked at the dark haired vampire, staring blankly as they waited for the detail he’d spoken of. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to tell them, Stefan cleared his throat and redirected their attention to him. “She flipped her switch.”

“Flipped her switch? Nah, screw the switch. It’s more like she ignored the switch and just plain old snapped.” Damon crossed his arms behind his head and kicked his feet up onto Matt’s coffee table.

He acted as if his sister was not going off the walls in anger. Or rather, he acted as if it was just a casual every day thing for the soft-spoken and caring sister of the Salvatore boys to go on a potential murder spree.

Elena rolled her eyes and scoffed before shoving his feet off the surface. She ignored the glare that burned into her skin and slapped Damon. The sound of her skin hitting his made the other two in the room flinch; it was clear that she did not approve of his choices in the slightest.

“You’re fixing your sister. S-”

“What!? That’s not f-”

“Stefan, and I will go stake the originals. Understood?” Damon huffed and ignored Elena. “Understood?” She repeated herself with a harsher tone before Damon sighed and nodded.

“Yeah yeah, understood.”

Finn was dead. And the other four still breathed the air of the living world. The link had been broken, and they’d failed.

Damon had been kidnapped by Rebekah, therefore failing to stall, as well as fix, his little sister. What he didn’t know, was that Rebekah had contacted Y/n as soon as possible, informing her on the details of her brother’s murder and the older Salvatore’s location.

She sent Stefan to pick up Damon with a disguised note, preventing him from knowing that it had been her to hint to him his brother’s location. After saying goodbye wordlessly from the shadows, she smiled to herself and ran as fast as possible to Kol.

The youngest Mikaelson chuckled as the female Salvatore knocked him off his feet and buried her face into the crook of his neck. “I see you’ve recovered from your snap? Nik told me how you flipped your switch.” His arms held her tightly against his own form. They relished in the feeling of one another, the knowledge that both were safe and together again.

“Snapping is over rated.” She smiled wider against his skin, causing a matching smirk to grace his face.

“You were faking?”

“Yep. Anything to be with you again... But, just to be safe, don’t tell my brothers.”

“Niklaus. She didn’t mean it-” Elijah tried his best to tame his younger brother, but it was of no use. Klaus’ mighty rage and ability to hold grudges with his immortality was things to fear. And for good reason.

It didn’t take much to piss the blood-thirsty hybrid off. Everyone knew to be cautious but sometimes Nik surprised them with what pressed his buttons. With Y/n, all it took was a little sign of pity and he was threatening death.

Niklaus was going through a hard time and Y/n tried to help, but he shoved her away with a growl. “I don’t need your damn pity.” So she talked about it with Elijah, who talked to Klaus. That was the beginning. Klaus was a little ticked that she couldn’t mind her own, but he let her off easy.

Then it was defending a person he was about to murder. Now that really got him.

“Are you crazy!? I did mean it! You were going to kill him! Did you think I’d just sit and watch as an innocent person dies?!”

“That’s exactly what I expected from you. Not butting into my business and preventing me from my duty.” Klaus scoffed.

“No, Klaus! That’s not your duty! That is an unjust act! And it would be wrong of me to just sit here and let it happen!” Elijah held Y/n back, rubbing her arms up and down in attempt to soothe her anger as well. She calmed only enough to stop trying to move forward.

“Well.” Klaus smiled, walking away slowly. “We all do some wrong, and we get over it.”

“You tell yourself that, but on the inside, you know what you’re doing is fucked up and that you’re only doing it to prove your father wrong.”

Niklaus froze on the spot, turning so slow that it felt like time was moving at negative speed, if that was even possible. As soon as his eyes burned into her skin and his face began to redden, she knew she’d messed up big time. “What did you just say?”

“Niklaus. Calm yourself.”

“Calm myself?! Did you hear what she said?!” His voice grew louder with each hue of red that colored his pale skin. “Tell me, Y/n, sister dear, what did you say?” He knew exactly what she said; he just wanted to see if she had the guts to say it again.

“Nothing Klaus, I- I didn’t-”

“Didn’t mean it? Too late for pleas, love.”

Elijah’s eyes widened slightly, the horrifying realization of what was to come striking him like lightening. He kept his hold on Y/n and took a few steps backwards.

“I should teach you a little lesson, you know? After all, Elijah would hate me forever if I kill you, so why not torture you instead? Or...live with Elijah’s hate.” His smile grew mischievously as different scenarios played in his head.

His pacing forward cued Elijah in, telling him it was now or never. He sped to a further location with Y/n, desperately trying to get her as far away from Niklaus as possibly.

“What’s going on? ...He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”

“Not if I can do anything about it.” He hugged her tightly, scared to admit that once he let go, there was a high chance he could never see her again. “I need you to do something for me.”

Y/n scanned his face with her e/c orbs, processing his request with heartbroken sighs as her bottom lips began to quiver. Her brows scrunched and her eyes grew watery. “No- Elijah- please-”

“I need you to run. Go as far as you can. Desert your phone, desert your identification. Never stay in one place for too long. Try to avoid getting too familiar with others. I’ll find you whenever I can, but it’s important to never stop running, you got that?”

She nodded, but avoided his face. Elijah grabbed her chin and redirected her gaze to his, brushing away the tears that streamed down her soft skin. “I’m sorry. I really am. I promise you, I will find a way to make him stop, but until then, you mustn’t allow him to find you. Understood?”

Y/n nodded again. They stood still for a moment before slamming their lips together, cherishing the kiss that would be their last for a potentially long time. Possibly centuries. But that didn’t matter to them; as they kissed each other, passion and love in the soft intimacy, they ignored time itself, not wanting to admit the horror of the veracious situation.

As they separated, their true feelings were exchanged in painfully longing glances. Their moment was corrupted when footsteps began to near them. Klaus growled threats, his voice distant, yet so close. “You can run as much as you want, but don’t forget, Y/n. We’re immortal. I’ll hunt you down as long as it takes! Do you hear me?!”

After Jackson’s death and Elijah’s revenge for Hayley, she expressed her feelings. The space she needed. The way she wanted to honor Jackson’s memory. Elijah just didn’t fit into any of it. So, she let him go. Or at the very least, tried to.

Not even a whole year later, they couldn’t hide it anymore. Elijah grew strong with his flirtatious advances...intended for Hayley, but subconsciously curving to his heart’s true desire. Y/n.

Elijah was blind to it, yes, but that didn’t mean Hayley was. She scoffed to herself just thinking about it; the smiles he sent her, pecks on her hand, worries and comforts- they were for her but not for her.

“Hayley?” His voice, desperate, brought her back to reality. “I mean everything I’ve said. I’m here for you...and I want to take the next step. If you’re up for it?”

“Elijah. It’s not that...it’s not that I’m not up for it.” Her eyes began to water and her voice began to falter and crack. “You are what I want, and I know that... It’s just...”

“Just what? If you’re having doubts because of who you are, don’t. You’re beautiful, smart, loving, caring, strong, brave-”

“No. Elijah. It’s not because of me. It’s not because of you...well it is, just...”

Elijah’s eyebrows furrowed. He inhaled heavily, troubling himself with confusion and determination to figure out what had been holding her back. He thought she was perfect. Everything he’d ever wanted. The words about her came from his heart-

Just... Hayley wasn’t who “she” was. Though Elijah convinced himself she was, Hayley had noticed long ago that she wasn’t. Y/n didn’t notice either. She too was head over heels for Elijah, saddened by his lack of interest of her, just as oblivious as him.

They belonged together, and Hayley knew that.

“I’m not the right person for you.”

“So it is about you?”

“No. It’s not-” She leaned down, sighing as she rubbed her temples. “It’s about who you seem to think your heart belongs to.”

Elijah scoffed, suddenly amused. “So now it’s about me being confused?”

“Actually, yes, that’s exactly what it’s about. Thank god you finally noticed.” He couldn’t tell she was being serious. The sarcastic ending to her comment was no help, but nevertheless, she was deadly serious.

“I’m not. Hayley Marshall,” he took her face into his hands, gazing lovingly into her eyes, “I’m in love with you, and I know it.”

“No, Elijah, you don’t.” She pushed his hands away. “You’re in love with Y/n. Yet, for some reason, you reject your heart’s true desires.”

“And how do you know this?”

“Because. I’ve noticed the way you look at her, the way you smile when she enters the room, the ‘pep in your step’ after a simple interaction with her. Elijah, that’s love. And I know it. It’s the way Jackson was with me. The way Marcel is with Rebekah. The way Klaus is with Camille...you might not notice it, but others can and do.”

“I love you, Hay-”

“No. You don’t.” She stood up, walking to the door. “I get it, you know? Jackson loved me, and I loved him too...I just didn’t notice it fully. Now, Y/n and you are in love with each other, you just...don’t notice your own feelings for her.”

Elijah rose, opening his mouth to argue.

“Don’t. Some... somethings just can’t change. Time can’t heal all wounds. And missed opportunities rarely return... Go after her, Elijah. I can’t be happy for a while...but you can. Promise me you will, alright?”

With her final words of encouragement, she left the Mikaelson’s home. She could only hope Elijah did as she asked. Hayley didn’t want him to hurt, nor did she want Y/n to. Jackson was gone, time couldn’t heal that for her, not fully, but that didn’t mean Elijah and Y/n had to hurt.

She didn’t want two people she cared about to hurt. She didn’t want to hurt Y/n by taking Elijah up on his offer for a relationship and she didn’t want to hurt Elijah by lying and accepting his offer. She didn’t want them to hurt by missing the opportunity to feel content together.

Despite the quote, time wouldn’t be able to heal any of those possibilities. So she made sure the right choice stood a chance before time could even reach it.