Happy Birthday, Elena
Chapter 3
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HisSecretLover18: Thank you for your review. While I have no intention of not continuing, future updates might come a slower pace, as work is about to pick up for me (at the time of writing this, anyway).
Elena woke the next morning to the sun shining in through the window and hitting her face. When she went to open her eyes, she expected to be blinded by the sun, due to being hungover, but before that could happened, the sun was blocked by someone else. Slowly opening her eyes, letting them adjust to the brightness of the room, she was met with Elijah smiling down at her. Smiling back, Elena went to sit up and groaned, moving to cradle her head in her hands as her headache hit. When she felt the bed dip, and Elijah's arm wrapping around her shoulders, Elena fell against him, and turned to bury her face in his chest.
"Good morning, sweet Elena." Elijah murmured into the top of her head.
"You being here is the only thing that makes it 'good'." Elena grumbled in return, trying to bury her head further into his chest to block out the sun.
"I'd like to say that you making it through the night and still being alive after drinking as much as you did last night is what makes it good to me." Elijah replied.
"Sappy."
"Maybe, but I don't know what I would do if you weren't in my life."
"Aw, the strong, stoic, noble Elijah does care."
"Is now really the time for joking, Elena?"
The only response he got was another grumble as Elena used all her strength to push him backwards, so he was laying down before she curled into his side. Elijah knew that he should object, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Something about laying with Elena in his arms, curled up against him felt right, and he found himself mentally kicking himself for not allowing himself to indulge in this the night before.
"I still want it, Elijah." Elena muttered a few minutes later as she drew random shapes on his chest with her finger tip.
"Then I shall take you out on a date, and when we get back to my place, I will give it to you." Elijah replied.
"A date?" Elena asked, lifting her head to meet his gaze.
"After you finally fell asleep earlier this morning, I had a conversation with Alaric, and I came to the realization that if you are wanting to have a physical relationship with me, that it would best if we try an actual relationship as well. One in which I take you out on dates, and, if you want it, for me to call you my girlfriend, and for you to call me your boyfriend. But before the latter happens, a first date needs to take place, and we need to have a full discussion on what a relationship with each other would entail." Elijah responded while running his fingers through her hair.
"You and Ric had a conversation? About us?" Elena questioned, her eyes going wide.
"He's concerned that being in a relationship with me would put you at constant risk." Elijah explained.
"I'm an adult, I can consent to being in a relationship with you, even if there are risks. There's risks to any relationship." Elena said as she moved her body up and pressed her lips to Elijah's.
As the kiss deepened, Elijah lightly gripped Elena's sides and maneuvered her so that she was laying more on top of him and in a more comfortable position. It was against his better judgement to make that move, but his words from the night before still rang true. Elena was too tempting for her own good, and after resisting his urges all night, he didn't have it in him in that moment to deny her. When Elijah moved her on top of him, Elena lightly moaned into his mouth and straddled his hips. If he wasn't going to try and stop this, then she was going to take it as far as she could. Her tongue darted out of her mouth and swiped along Elijah's bottom lip. It was at that moment that there was a clearing of a throat that broke the two apart.
"You just couldn't wait to get your hands on her, could you?" Alaric asked with a narrowed gaze, his voice hard.
"It's my choice who I want to be with, Alaric. I appreciate your concern, but I'm 18 years old now, an adult, I can be with whomever I want." Elena said, not moving from Elijah's lap.
"His family has a long list of enemies that will not hesitate to use you to get to him, Elena. You understand that, don't you?" Alaric questioned.
"Of course I understand that. But anyone stupid enough to use a loved one of an Original against them deserves what they get." Elena replied.
"No one said anything about 'love'." Alaric growled, his eyes going from Elena to Elijah.
"Calm down, Ric. It's a general term here." Elena said as Elijah moved her off himself and settled her on the bed next to him.
"As I told you earlier, Alaric, it's a conversation that Elena and I need to have. And I'm sure once we have come to a decision, she'll inform you of that decision." Elijah said, a hand on Elena's back, gently rubbing it to pre-emptively calm her down.
"Get dressed and come down for breakfast." Alaric said, his jaw clenched and his hands flexing as if wanting to turn them into fists and punch Elijah.
Elena waited for Alaric to leave, closing the door behind him before she turned to face Elijah. He was staring at her intently, and it made her giggle. Moving to straddle his hips again, Elena pressed her lips to Elijah's once more, opting for a slower, more chaste kiss. Despite the change of pace of the kiss, Elijah's hands still drifted to Elena's back to hold her close: one wrapping around her waist, and the other trailing up her spine to cradle the back of her head.
"I'm surprised he didn't comment on the age difference." Elena muttered when the pulled away so that she could get some air.
"Physically, I look to be around my mid-20s, Elena. You being 18, for anyone who doesn't know what I am, it wouldn't be a big deal, and I think that's why Alaric is more focused on your safety than on the age difference." Elijah replied while brushing some of her hair behind her ear.
"How old were you? When your mother turned you and your siblings?" Elena asked.
"24 at the oldest. It's been so long that I can't remember for sure how old I was." Elijah responded.
"So physically, there's only 6 years between us." Elena said thoughtfully, causing Elijah to nod.
"You should get changed, Elena. I have a feeling that if we aren't downstairs for breakfast soon, Alaric might come back up, or he might send Jeremy to check on us, and I doubt think you want your brother to see you in such a compromising position." Elijah said before placing a kiss on Elena's forehead.
"I can think of a more compromising position that would worse for Jeremy to find us in." Elena commented.
"Tonight, after I take you out on a date." Elijah said nipping at Elena's lower lip.
When the tip of Elijah's fangs poke through and broke skin on Elena's lips, they both moaned when the blood bubbled to the surface and Elijah swiped it away with his tongue. Elijah could feel the veins beneath his eyes start to show up at the taste of Elena's blood, and in a blink of an eye, he was on the other side of the room, leaving Elena sitting on the bed, confused and looking a bit hurt.
"I'm sorry, Elena. I shouldn't have nipped your lip." Elijah said as he breathed deeply, despite it being unnecessary.
"I don't mind, Elijah. I know that you need to feed to survive, and on occasion, you might need to feed from me." Elena said as she moved from the bed and moved towards him.
"Elena, I never want to hurt you. And even from that small drop of blood, I can tell you that there is a chance that if I feed from you, that I wouldn't be able to stop." Elijah replied.
"You really don't think very highly of yourself, do you, Elijah?" Elena asked as she closed the distance between them and placed her hands on either side of his face. "If you aren't going to have faith in yourself, then I'll have faith for both of us."
"I can't ask you to do that, Elena. It wouldn't be fair of me."
"You aren't asking, Elijah; I'm offering."
"I can't let you offer, either. Elena, I am a vampire, and the act of feeding from someone you have a strong attachment to can be dangerous." Elijah explained. "The blood of that person is more potent to a vampire, and even if I were to stop myself, I would constantly crave your blood, and would have a hard time feeding any other way. So unless there is absolutely no other way, I can not taste your blood again."
"Okay, no feeding unless it's an emergency." Elena agreed with a nod. They were getting somewhere.
"You should get dressed, sweet Elena. I'll meet you downstairs." Elijah said, his body relaxing slightly.
"Help me pick something out?" Elena asked hopefully, but when she was met with a raised eyebrow from Elijah, she waved him off as if to say never mind.
After a lingering kiss to Elena's lips, Elijah made his way out of the room and headed for the stairs. Elena was rooted to the spot as her fingers absentmindedly ghosted over her lips, still feeling Elijah's own lips moving against hers. She honestly didn't know how long she stood there, replying the kiss over and repeatedly, but it was the combination of Elijah's presence, and his insistence that she answer her phone that finally pulled her out of the trance. Giving Elijah an embarrassed smile, she took her phone from his hand, and answered the call.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Elena? Thank goodness. What happened to you last night? You were at the party and then you were gone. And I could have sworn I saw Elijah Mikaelson come into the Mystic Grill and grab your jacket and purse." Caroline's voice was clear as day to the Original Vampire, and he couldn't help but smirk as he pressed a loving kiss on Elena's shoulder.
"I was really drunk and tired and I called Elijah to ask him to pick me up and take me home." Elena replied as she moved to her closet and pulled out a red and white dress that came to just above her knees along with a black leather jacket and a pair of ankle boots.
"Why didn't you just ask Damon? He wasn't drunk." Caroline asked.
"Do you really think that Damon, of all people, would have been a gentleman when I was drunk?" Elena asked as she tossed the outfit onto her bed and walked to her dresser to grab some underwear before tossing them on the bed as well.
"I guess you're right. But then why didn't you call Jeremy or Alaric? Why did you call Elijah? Unless there's something that you've been keeping from me and Bonnie, and you've been secretly hooking up with him since Stefan left." Caroline inquired, and Elena could see her best friend narrowing her eyes just from the tone of her voice.
"Trust me, Care. I have not been secretly hooking up with Elijah. And I'm not sure why, but in my drunken state, he was the first person that I thought of who wasn't at the party. And before you say anything else, you should know that he's still here, and can hear everything you're saying." Elena said.
"Still there? Elena Gilbert, did you sleep with an Original last night?" Caroline asked.
"Nope, Elijah was a perfect gentleman last night, and stayed on the window seat to watch over me last night to make sure I was okay." Elena said as she moved closer to Elijah and wrapped her arm around his waist in a hug.
"Elena, do you have a thing for him? Because you're already in like, constant danger because of his deranged brother. Wouldn't getting cozy with him be putting yourself in even more danger? Not just from Klaus but any enemies he's made through the years?"
"You sound like Ric. I know he has enemies, and we are going to talk about everything and figure out what to do going forward."
"Well, you should really listen to Alaric and I. We know what we're talking about. Besides, Alaric is essentially your step-father."
"I know that Alaric is basically my step-father, and Elijah is aware as well. But I'm 18, so any decision that Elijah and I come to together, it's up to us."
"And the age difference? You're not worried about that?"
"Physically, he's 24, Care. I'm 18, that's 6 years. And anyone who doesn't know that he's a vampire wouldn't think much of it. But it's not like I haven't dated someone that's considerably older than me. Stefan is over 150 years older than me."
"But he looks to be the same age as you." Caroline said. "You're my best friend, Elena. And of him and his siblings, Elijah is probably the nicest of them, so if the two of you decide that you are going to give a relationship a shot, I'll support you. I just wouldn't tell Damon." She warned.
"I had no intention of telling Damon, because it's none of his business. If it gets back to him, then it gets back to him, but I'm not going to go out of my way to tell him." Elena said with a small smile as Elijah placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll talk to you later, okay, Care? Elijah and I are planning on spending the day together." She added.
"Girl's night tonight?" Caroline asked, and Elena could hear the hopefulness in her best friend's voice.
"Not tonight, but we can have a girl's night tomorrow." She said. "But thank you for the party last night, Care. Thank you for having it be a small gathering."
"Of course. You said that you wanted something small. And we can totally do our girl's night tomorrow. I'll let Bonnie know. Have a good day with Elijah, 'Lena." Caroline said before the call ended and Elena looked up at Elijah.
"Thank you for not making that call difficult on me."
"I would never think of doing that, sweet Elena. I am not a torturous man." Elijah said with a playful wink.
"You are more relaxed this morning than I've ever seen you. Can I take that as a good thing?" She asked.
"Of course you can. But you should really get dressed. Alaric and Jeremy want to talk to you." He replied as he nudged her towards her bed. "And I love the choice of dress. I'm sure you'll look gorgeous in it." He added in a whisper before kissing her cheek and leaving her alone once again so that she could get dressed.
Dread filled Elena's body at Elijah saying that Ric and Jeremy wanted to talk to her but was replaced by a shiver of excitement at his whispered words. As she moved to pick her clothes up and head to the bathroom to change, Elena's phone vibrated in her hand, indicating an incoming text. Glancing at her phone, she rolled her eyes. Of course Damon would text her like he had a right to check up on her. Unlocking the phone, she deleted the text conversation with both Damon and Stefan before going into her contacts and blocking both Salvatore brothers. If there was to be a chance that she and Elijah could work, then she couldn't let herself be pulled back into the Salvatores' orbit, even if Stefan was off only god knows where with Klaus. Opening her group text with Caroline and Bonnie, she sent them a quick text.
I'm cutting Stefan and Damon out of my life. I can't let myself be pulled back in by either of them. – E
Once she hit send, she placed her phone on her nightstand and headed into the bathroom. Deciding on a quick shower, she turned the water on before turning her music on. Once the water was to the right temperature she stepped in and quickly washed the slight lingering smell of alcohol off her body and out of her hair. Turning the water off and stepping out, she wrapped her towel around her body while moving to the sink to wash her face. 15 minutes later, Elena was making her way downstairs and she could faintly hear Alaric and Jeremy talking to Elijah. 'More like interrogating him.' Elena thought to herself with a slight cringe before hurrying the rest of the way down the stairs and into the kitchen to come to Elijah's rescue.
"That's enough interrogating. Elijah said you wanted to talk to me?" Elena questioned while placing a hand on Elijah's arm.
"Since you went out with your friends last night for your birthday, we were thinking we could go out to dinner for your birthday tonight." Jeremy said.
"Unfortunately tonight and tomorrow night are both out of the question. Elijah already asked to take me out for a birthday dinner tonight, and I'm having a girl's night with Caroline and Bonnie tomorrow night. But the night after that is open." Elena replied.
"When did he ask you this?" Alaric asked, looking between Elena and Elijah.
"I asked her this morning once she woke up." Elijah replied for Elena, his arm wrapping around her waist and possessively pulling her into his side.
"Can you stop doing that?" Alaric snapped.
"Doing what?" Elijah asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Touching my step-daughter. Especially in front of me."
"We're really going to use that label for what we are to each other, Ric?" Elena asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes, we are. It's easier than me being your teacher that sleeps on your couch because the only other parental figure you had was killed... by his brother." Alaric replied, his eyes landing pointedly on where Elijah's hand still rested on Elena's hip.
"I'm. An. Adult. Alaric." Elena said through gritted teeth. "I will always appreciate your concern, but I am legally an adult, so I can make my own decisions. And if I want to be in a relationship with Elijah, then I will be."
"We're just worried about your safety, 'Lena." Jeremy said.
"And I appreciate that, Jer. But everyone seems to think I'm fragile and need to be protected at all costs. But have either of you taken a moment to think that being with Elijah might be the best protection I can have, especially from Klaus?" Elena asked glancing between Alaric and Jeremy.
"But it also puts you in more danger, because you would be closer to his inner circle." Jeremy argued.
"I'm not going to continue to have this discussion. Nothing has been decided yet on if we are going to pursue a relationship with each other, so all your worrying might be for nothing. But let us come to that decision on our own." Elena said while taking Elijah's hand in hers and linking their fingers together. "Let's go, Elijah. I'm not all that hungry." She added.
Once out of the kitchen, Elijah blurred them out of the house and to his car. Once they were alone, Elijah pulled Elena onto his lap and pressed his lips to hers in a slow, loving kiss, with one hand resting on her hip, and the other on the back of her neck. When Elena pulled away for air, Elijah moved his lips along her jaw and down to her neck, being conscious of not giving in to the urge to bite her.
"What are we going to do all day? Since you only mentioned taking me out on a date tonight, and then going back to your place." Elena asked while running her fingers through Elijah's hair.
"I might just keep you to myself all day." Elijah said in a low voice.
"Do you want to go to your place now and talk about everything to get that out of the way?" Elena inquired.
"My dear, sweet Elena, if I take you to my place now, I will want to do everything but talk." Elijah said with a groan when Elena scraped her nails along his scalp.
"Then we need to go somewhere public so that we have a better chance of keeping our hands to ourselves." Elena said when she pulled back to look Elijah in the eye.
"How quickly the rolls are reversed, sweet Elena. Last night all you could think about was getting me into your bed, and now that is what I am offering, you are being the responsible one." Elijah said with a smirk.
"We can't both be irresponsible at the same time. We need to keep a balance if this is going to work." Elena replied. "And just in case it wasn't clear, I really want this to work."
"As do I." Elijah replied, placing one last kiss on Elena's lips before settling her on the seat next to him.
"Can you take me to the woods that used to be your family's village? We could talk there, and we wouldn't be interrupted." Elena suggested, and Elijah nodded before driving off.