Tumblr Prompt: Elijah and Klaus catch Rebekah in bed with a boy and they freak out. Elijah/Klaus/Rebekah Overprotective Brothers
No Walls (Can Keep Me Protected)
"What is the meaning of this?"
Hayley glanced up from her cereal at the sound of Klaus' demanding voice. He walked further into the kitchen to stand beside the table, a look of displeasure on his face that she'd come to think of as his default expression. "It's breakfast," she replied, picking up her spoon once more, "A meal people eat in the morning."
Klaus narrowed his eyes and Elijah let out a soft chuckle from behind the newspaper he hadn't bothered to put down. He was used to his brother's tantrums and did his best not to react. Niklaus would tell them what was on his mind sooner or later whether they played into his whims or not.
"You will not be laughing in a moment, Big Brother." Klaus opened his hand and a small object fell out and bounced onto the wooden surface of the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Elijah expectantly.
Elijah calmly folded the newspaper and set it down before finally letting his eyes drift to what had gotten his brother worked up. His brow creased and he glanced at Hayley before meeting Klaus' impatient gaze. "It's a button."
"From a man's shirt," Klaus snarled, fresh irritation coloring his voice. "There was a trail of them in the hallway leading to our sister's door. She brought a man into our house last night."
"And?" Hayley asked, not giving Elijah a chance to speak. "What's the big deal? Last time I checked, Rebekah was 1,000 year old woman and more than capable of making her own decisions."
"Hayley's right," Elijah agreed, even as he looked at the button with disdain. His little sister's love life was not his favorite thing to think about, but that didn't mean she wasn't entitled to one. "Rebekah has repeatedly asked us to stay out of her romantic affairs. You need to respect her wishes."
"Her wishes?" Klaus replied, outraged. "Her wishes are to find one unsuitable man after the next. And then I'm left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Are you going to just sit back and let history repeat itself?"
Hayley snorted and both Klaus and Elijah turned in her direction. "Aren't you the one who kills her boyfriends or puts a dagger in her heart every other month?"
Klaus glared at her. "It's my job to look out for my sister's best interests. And it would be in your best interests, Little Wolf, to eat your breakfast and mind your own business." He turned back to Elijah. "What's it going to be, Brother? Are you going to help me or leave me to my own devices to deal with the problem?"
"What precisely is your plan using his shirt button?" Elijah held up the small, white button. There was nothing the least bit unique about it. "This could be from anywhere or anyone. Just let our sister be, Niklaus."
"Have it your way," Klaus replied. He snatched the button from Elijah's hand. "But remember that I came to you first." Klaus turned and sped out of the room without another word.
Elijah let out a heavy sigh and pushed his chair back from the table, sending Hayley an apologetic look as he got to his feet. "Do excuse me," he said politely before he was gone in a blur as well.
Upstairs, Rebekah let out a startled cry when the door to her room was thrown open and suddenly Klaus was standing beside her bed, glaring at her. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded as she pushed herself into a sitting position just as Elijah appeared in the doorway. "Did something happen?"
"You tell us, Little Sister." Klaus dropped the button onto the comforter. "Would you care to explain why the hallway outside your room is filled with men's buttons, but your bed appears to be empty? Did your guest run out on you already?"
"Niklaus," Elijah warned.
Rebekah grabbed the lamp on her nightstand and hurled it at Klaus, cursing his reflexes when he caught it easily. "How dare you? Get the hell out of my room. What I do and with whom is none of your bloody business, Nik."
"It is my business when it happens under my roof," Klaus replied. He set the lamp on the table and crossed the room to the balcony doors, yanking them open. "What kind of example does it set for my kingdom when my little sister is parading unacceptable men in and out of my house at all hours?"
Elijah rolled his eyes and grabbed the lamp before Rebekah had a chance to throw is once more. "That's enough. Every vampire in the compound does not need to know our family business. Niklaus, let's go."
"He can't help himself, Elijah." Rebekah folded her arms across her chest and glared at her brother's back. "He's just jealous that there are people who actually want to spend time with me and he's all alone with his precious subjects that only pretend to like him." A satisfied smirk crossed her face when Klaus' back tensed.
"Who was it, Rebekah? Marcel?" Klaus demanded, turning to face her again. "Or was it Thierry?" It was his turn to smirk when Rebekah looked surprised. "Do you think I don't know that you let him out of the garden? I've seen you two with your heads together."
Elijah frowned as he looked back and forth between his siblings. "Thierry?" he questioned. "Rebekah, do you think getting involved with Marcel's former right hand is a wise move? There's already enough bad blood in the compound."
"Thank you, Elijah," Klaus said smugly. "I knew you'd see things my way sooner or later. I suggest we find Thierry and return him to his rightful place in the garden before our sister makes a difficult situation worse."
"Go ahead, Nik. Jump to conclusions and punish Thierry for something that only happened in your imagination. Let's see just how much your new family respects you after that," Rebecca challenged.
Klaus laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "Now you're trying to protect him, the man who left you all alone? You really never learn, do you, dear sister?" He started for the door and glared at Elijah when he moved into his path. "You were the one who didn't want to be involved," he reminded him.
"That was before you mentioned that Rebekah has been spending time with Thierry." Elijah's eyes went to their sister. "Have you been planning something?" he asked, recalling all of the times Rebekah had talked about being unhappy in New Orleans.
Rebekah glared at both of her brothers. "Not that it's any of your business, but Thierry was not the man that I was with last night. You can both go now and stay the bloody hell out of my bedroom." She grabbed the lamp again and this time she sent it flying across the room and watched it shatter against the wall.
"It's nice to see that some things never change."
Three heads turned to the now open bathroom door where Stefan stood, leaning against the doorframe, a hint of amusement on his face. "This is what, Klaus, the second time this has happened? And I'm only counting this century. It happened in Chicago too. Hello, Elijah," he added.
"I remember. Nik was rude then too," Rebekah muttered, but some of her irritation was replaced with enjoyment at the pure shock on both of her brothers' faces.
Elijah said simply nodded at Stefan before he decided to follow his own advice and not get further involved in the situation than he already had. "Try not to destroy any more furniture," he suggested as he turned and left the room.
"Stefan dropped by last night. Sorry if I failed to mention it, but we were a little busy," Rebekah said. She couldn't recall the last time Klaus had been rendered speechless and she planned to bask in it. "You can go too, Nik. Unless you're planning to lock Stefan in the garden."
"This is rather unexpected," Klaus replied. He ignored his sister and focused on Stefan. "What brings you to the French Quarter?"
"I was just passing through and I happened to run into Rebekah," Stefan replied. He walked toward the bed and leaned down to kiss her. "I have to get back on the road, but remember what I said."
Rebekah smiled, forgetting her brother for a moment, and reached for Stefan's hand. "I will and thank you. I'd say that I was sorry for the intrusion, but I am done apologizing for my brother's bad behavior."
"That's a step in the right direction." Stefan winked at her and straightened up, pausing beside Klaus on his way to the door. The familiar, expectant look on the hybrid's face made Stefan laugh. "Just this once, it's good to see you." He clapped him on the back and moved out of the room, switching to vamp speed as soon as he crossed the threshold.
Klaus watched him disappear and then turned his attention back to Rebekah. She was keeping far too many things from him and he intended to find out what each and every one of them was, including whatever it was Stefan had told her. "This is not over, Little Sister."
"Go bother someone who cares, Nik. And close the door on your way out." Rebekah shifted so she was lying down again and pulled the covers over her head as she snuggled against the pillows with a satisfied smile on her face.
Author's Note: There will be a 'prequel' to this story to show what happened the night before with Rebekah and Stefan. But I didn't want to post it first and ruin the surprise. Thanks for reading!