Klaus looked around the opulent hotel room; in the back of his mind he remembered being here once, many years ago. His eyes settled on his recently acquired older sister, who was watching him with an expectant nervousness.
"Freya," Klaus sighed. "As much as I appreciate the effort, I don't have time for this."
"Nonsense," Freya argued. "It's your birthday, Klaus. The first birthday of yours that I've been able to give you anything. Let me give this to you." Klaus looked at Freya's determined expression and, as he was opening his mouth to disagree, she continued speaking. "I have your body, safe and sound. Nobody knows you're here. You have twelve hours of peace, and if something does happen I can get you out. If you get bored, I've left an entirely obvious representation that you can break, but since I've arranged a second guest for you, I can't imagine you'll need to."
Klaus started at the mention of another person. He was suspicious, but Freya looked far too pleased with herself for him to consider she was betraying him. She truly just wanted to make her little brother happy on his birthday.
"Very well," Klaus surrendered with a smile. "But if you've arranged a lecture for me from some well meaning do-gooder I will be very cross." Freya looked at Klaus with a mix of exasperation and fondness that seemed to be genetic in the Mikaelson blood.
"Happy birthday, Klaus." With those words, Freya disappeared.
(~*~)
Klaus was staring out the window at the idyllic visage Freya had created for him when he felt another's presence in the room. He turned his head slightly, and immediately recognised the silhouetted form of Elijah. His heart clenched, but Klaus forced himself to turn away and feign indifference, as they had learned to do with one another over the centuries.
"It appears our sister is eager for us to spend some quality time together," Elijah spoke, and Klaus could tell he was moving closer without looking. "Perhaps she is not as naive as I thought."
"I wouldn't be surprised if Rebekah has told her all our secrets," Klaus smirked. "You know how she loves to meddle."
Elijah stopped out of arm's reach, and they stood for a moment in silence. It was broken by Klaus, whose tone was suddenly unsure. "Freya assures me our representations are easy to find."
"You think I want to leave?" Elijah's tone was even, and Klaus couldn't stop himself turning around to face his older brother.
"You can't possibly want to stay."
To Klaus' surprise, Elijah smiled. "Niklaus, it is your birthday; we only have twelve hours of solitude, let us not waste time pretending I don't adore you."
The look of astonishment on Klaus' face pulled a soft laugh from Elijah.
"But you've been so angry with me."
With one sentence, Elijah felt like he was once again looking at the young boy who had followed him all over the woods when they were children. The boy who sought approval openly; who could not lie. The boy their parents had destroyed.
"Yes, I have," Elijah stepped closer. "And I suspect I will be again, and often. My anger at your actions has never overridden my love for you, and it never will. I understand your fear of abandonment leads you to lash out, and your wolf side fuels those fears with an irrational rage. I have always understood you, Niklaus. You forget that too often."
Elijah was expecting Klaus to close off as he often did when things became too emotional between them; he was not expecting to be pulled into a desperate embrace. He hugged back quite automatically as Klaus began speaking in a hushed voice.
"I will not ask your forgiveness here," his brother said, and Elijah understood why – Klaus was afraid that any pardons he received here would be given out of the tradition of granting requests on one's birthday. "Please don't leave me." The sound was young and pleading, and Elijah pulled away so he could cradle Klaus' face in his hands. In the privacy of this space, with nobody around to judge him but Elijah, Klaus was no longer keeping up his façade of indifference. He needed Elijah, and he was afraid to lose him. With no more words left to offer his brother, Elijah instead brought their heads together and kissed Klaus softly on the lips. Klaus' eyes slipped closed, and he made no move to take control from Elijah as the older Mikaelson placed equally soft kisses on the tip of his nose, and then his forehead. Elijah pressed down on Klaus' shoulders, as if to ground him, before pulling away to look at his face. Klaus opened his eyes to meet Elijah's but otherwise stayed still.
"I'm sure Freya has conjured us up some top-shelf whiskey," Elijah said with an encouraging smile. "Would you care to pour us a glass?"
For a moment it looked like Klaus would refuse to leave Elijah's side, but the moment passed and Klaus headed for the in-room bar. As Klaus poured the drinks, Elijah moved to a nearby chaise-longue and sat to remove his shoes. Before his task was complete, Elijah could feel Klaus' eyes on him. Without looking up, he removed both shoes and socks, and stood; hands moving to the button of his jacket. Elijah could almost feel Klaus holding his breath from across the room, and he slowly slid the button from its hole and prepared to take off the jacket. For some reason Klaus had always been fascinated with removing the layers of the Elijah the rest of the world got to see. Seeing Elijah out of his suit; be it naked or even just wearing something more casual, seemed to make Klaus almost giddy. Elijah pondered this, not for the first time, as he pulled his jacket off first one shoulder and then the other. He took the jacket in one hand and smoothed it down with the other, before proceeding to fold it neatly and placing it on the chaise with infuriating precision. Elijah could sense Klaus' impatience, and it amused him greatly. Jacket taken care of, Elijah moved on to his shirt cuffs with unhurried movements. He hadn't once looked up at Klaus so far. By the time Elijah got to his second cuff, he heard an exasperated huff from across the room.
"Heavens, Elijah!"
Elijah hid his smile and looked up to Klaus, feigning innocence.
"Niklaus?"
Klaus wasn't falling for it. He stalked over to Elijah with their drinks in his hands and a knowing smirk on his face.
"You realise these clothes are just a figment of the enchantment; so you couldn't really get mad at me if I simply tore them off you."
Elijah tutted as he took one of the glasses from Klaus, but he didn't hide the smile this time.
"Impatient?" Elijah asked as he tilted the glass to his lips.
"Well you've pointed out yourself that we only have twelve hours." Klaus placed his drink on a table next to the chaise without taking a sip himself. Elijah continued to sip his drink, but his eyes didn't leave Klaus' face. With a wicked glint in his eye, Klaus stepped into Elijah's personal space and, mindful not to spill his drink, began unbuttoning Elijah's shirt. The older Mikaelson made no move to stop proceedings. He finished sipping his whiskey and moved only the necessary amount to place his glass next to Klaus' on the table. Once his hands were free Klaus expected Elijah to take over, but to his surprise Elijah stood still and allowed Klaus to continue. This allowance affected Klaus more than he would have guessed, and his hands began to tremble as he reached the bottom half of Elijah's shirt.
He released the final button and looked up again into Elijah's eyes, as if waiting for instruction. Elijah shrugged off his open shirt; letting it fall to the floor and making Klaus grin in the process. Deciding there had been enough teasing for now, Elijah made short work of pulling Klaus' sweatshirt over his head and discarding it. Still smiling, Klaus rested his hands on Elijah's waist, thumb rubbing along his pelvic muscle but eyes focussed on the elder Mikaelson's face. Elijah's laid his hands on Klaus' arms at the elbow and met his brother's gaze. The look was not impatient or judgemental, but there was expectance; Elijah wanted Klaus to speak or act first. Klaus had shed his own shoes and socks as soon as Freya had left him alone earlier, and Elijah smiled when he felt Klaus nudge their feet together in an absentminded display of affection.
"Could we lie down for a while?" Klaus' request was so uncertain, and his voice dropped to almost a whisper when he added. "I feel like I hardly see you anymore."
Elijah bit off the instinctual retort to this. Blaming Klaus for their distance would achieve nothing, and if Elijah was being honest he too had missed being close with Klaus. This was the issue he always came up against: punishing Klaus with his absence served as punishment for Elijah too. Deciding not dwell on thoughts that would not end happily, Elijah took Klaus' hand and led him over to the bed. Elijah sat first and leaned against the headboard. Klaus didn't have to be called to move; he climbed onto the bed and leaned his back against Elijah's chest. In turn Elijah wrapped his arms around Klaus, and heard the pleased sigh from the man in his embrace. As Klaus let his head fall back to Elijah's shoulder, Elijah pressed their heads together and took a deep breath. Klaus' eyes were already closed, and Elijah allowed his own to close so he could better savour the moment. Klaus' pulse was strong and steady; Elijah could feel it at every point that their skin touched. It felt like home.
Silence reigned for a few moments, before Elijah realised that Klaus had fallen asleep. This made the elder Mikaelson smile; it was not often that Klaus relaxed enough to fall asleep so easily. Using his enhanced strength and years of handling Klaus, Elijah scooted them down the bed to lie flat on their sides and moulded himself to Klaus' back. In his sleep, Klaus made a soft, pleased sound, but he didn't stir. Elijah tangled their legs together, placed a gentle kiss on the side of Klaus' neck, and whispered.
"Happy birthday, my love."
The End.