Title: One of Those Nights
Author: ihearttvsnark
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Originals
Pairing: Hayley and Elijah
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: From sweetrupturedlight on Tumblr: Elijah, Hayley and a wardrobe malfunction. Preferably his because Elijah is always impeccable. It should be interesting to "see" a disheveled Original.
Hayley maneuvered her way through the courtyard, sidestepping hungry vampires sinking their teeth into the necks of elegantly dressed tourists. The ones who had already had their fill were compelling their victims to forget and showing them to the exit as the orchestra in the center played on like there wasn't blood being spilled all around them.
She knew the musicians were compelled and they would return to their homes when the party was over with the memory of putting on a show for a wealthy family and their esteemed guests. It was perverse and Hayley had planned on staying in her room and skipping the entire thing, but Elijah had asked her to join him and she'd found herself unable to say no.
But she was beginning to think that he'd had a change of heart. This was her fourth lap of the compound since she'd come down from her room wearing the dark purple gown that had mysteriously appeared in her closet and Elijah was nowhere to be found. Hayley had spotted Marcel earlier with some of his day walkers near the bar, Rebekah had waved her questions off as she'd disappeared to wherever it was that she seemed to be hiding lately and that left Klaus, who was standing on the balcony, overseeing everything like the self-proclaimed king that he believed he was.
Hayley sighed and headed in his direction, ignoring the vampires that eyed her suspiciously. Some of them were never going to get over the werewolf thing, but she didn't care. It wasn't like vampires were her first choice of company either, aside from Rebekah and Elijah. And for them, she was willing to suck it up and ask the one person who was usually pulling everyone's strings what he knew.
"Where's Elijah?"
Klaus merely smiled into the glass he was sipping from, his eyes never bothering to turn in her direction. "Are you enjoying the festivities, little wolf? I thought we'd try something different for tonight. Elijah of all people should appreciate the atmosphere."
"I'd be enjoying it more if I knew where Elijah was," Hayley replied through gritted teeth. She hadn't expected Klaus to give her a straight answer, but there was something about the smirk on his face that told her that he knew Elijah's whereabouts. "Where is he?"
"This was my gift to Elijah." Klaus gestured to the orchestra below them. "He's always complaining about Marcel's club nights so I came up with a different theme and he still wasn't grateful for all of my careful planning."
Hayley struggled with her temper. Klaus wanted her to play his game and she couldn't give him that satisfaction. "If this party is something Elijah would like, why isn't he here?" she asked.
Klaus finally turned his head to meet her gaze. "It is odd, isn't it, love? Especially since he knew you were getting all dressed up to spend the evening with him. Perhaps something mystical got in his way."
She opened her mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, but stopped herself when realization set in. Hayley turned and walked away without another word, Klaus' laughter following behind her. Bastard, she thought to herself as she moved through the house toward the bedrooms.
Elijah's door had been closed when she passed it earlier, but that was when she'd assumed he was already waiting downstairs like he'd promised. Hayley hesitated for a moment and then pushed the door open. She was greeted by silence and a quick glance around the room made it seem like nothing was out of place. But then she heard the water dripping, like someone hadn't turned the faucet completely off. The house was old and creaky, but Elijah wasn't careless.
Hayley quickly crossed the room to the attached bathroom and her eyes widened when she saw Elijah, lying naked on the marble floor. Hayley swallowed hard, her heart suddenly beating a lot faster for reasons that had nothing to do with fear as her eyes took him in. The rush of lust was instantly replaced by guilt when she spotted the dagger sticking out of his chest.
"Elijah, can you hear me?" Hayley leaned over him and pulled out the dagger, letting it fall to the floor as she searched his face for any signs of life. She knew Klaus enjoyed this twisted form of punishment, but she had no idea how it worked or how long it would be before Elijah was conscious again.
The dripping faucet caught her attention and Hayley leaned into the shower to turn it off. Her gaze went back to Elijah and she realized that he probably wasn't going to appreciate her staring at his naked body while she waited for him to wake up. She didn't see any towels so she grabbed the shower curtain and draped it over him. The hideous flower pattern against his smooth skin might have been funny under different circumstances.
Hayley slid down to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. His face had taken on an ashy color, but it had only been a few hours since they'd spoken so he couldn't have been dead for more than an hour or two. As Hayley tried to remember if Rebekah had said anything about how long it took the effects of the dagger to wear off, her thoughts were interrupted by a gasp. "Elijah?"
His eyes flew open, another gasp leaving his mouth as he sat up and looked around, a look of confusion on his face when he saw her sitting there. "Hayley?" Elijah coughed and Hayley saw a flash of movement beneath his skin as his face began to change and she realized that he needed blood.
"Wait here," Hayley urged needlessly since she doubted he had the strength to go anywhere at the moment. She went to the small refrigerator in the corner of his room and pulled out one of the blood bags he kept there. "Sorry, I should have had one waiting," she told him as she knelt beside him on the floor and held out the bag.
"Niklaus," he muttered distastefully before taking a long sip of the blood. As soon as it touched his tongue, the color returned to his face and the lines around his eyes smoothed out.
Hayley let out a relieved sigh as she watched him drain the bag. "Yeah, I figured that when I asked him where you were and he started talking in riddles about how this party was a favor to you or something." She rolled her eyes. "Are you all right?"
Elijah nodded. "My brother and I had a disagreement over some of Marcel's guests and he caught me off guard." His eyes drifted to the plastic curtain resting against him and he sent Hayley a questioning look.
Color warmed her cheeks as her mind easily pulled up the image of his naked body and she ordered herself to calm down because he'd hear her heart beating faster and this was already embarrassing enough. "Those flowers aren't really your color. Maybe next time you should keep some towels in here."
His gaze shifted from her to something above her head and Hayley glanced up to see a shelf with two dark blue towels on it. Her face burned even hotter. "Sorry, I guess I was distracted by the dagger."
"It's quite all right," Elijah replied. "Thank you for taking out the dagger." He started to get up, the shower curtain rustling as shifted it so that it was wrapped around his waist and extended his free hand to her, helping Hayley to her feet. Once he straightened to his full height, the shower curtain dipped.
Hayley couldn't help the loud laugh that bubbled out of her as Elijah grabbed the plastic with both hands, trying to keep it in place. He sent her a questioning look and that only made her laugh harder at the picture he made. This was a far cry from his expensive suits.
"Why don't I wait outside so you can get dressed in some actual clothes?" Hayley swallowed her laughter and headed for the door, only to stop a second later when Elijah called her name. She glanced back at him over her shoulder, instantly losing herself in the familiar heat of his gaze when her eyes met his.
"You look lovely tonight. I'll join you in a moment."
Hayley watched him for a beat, unable to do anything other than nod and walk out the door. She closed it behind her and leaned heavily against it, stopping herself from letting out a quiet sigh because she didn't want him to hear it. How was it possible that someone wearing a flowered, plastic shower curtain be so damn irresistible?