Writing on the Wall: All Dressed Up
Shiny curls bounce and cascade down her neck as she pulls her hair into a pile at the crown of her head then releases it again. She can't make up her mind and puffs a stray curl out of her face with an exasperated sigh.
"Are you almost ready, Elena?" She turns from her vanity to look at Stefan, sharp and smart in a tuxedo. "What's wrong?"
"I can't decide what to do." Stefan has his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging as he looks at her in the mirror. "Up or down?" She does another demonstration for him and notices him squint when she lets her hair fall down. Quickly, she pins it into place and spins on her high heels to stand. Stefan is inches away from her, grinning at her anxious flurry of movement.
"What's going on, Elena?"
"I don't like these events," she pouts. "They don't even like us."
"You know Klaus likes to flaunt in front of the different factions. This is how he does it for the humans. He doesn't care if they like us as long as they respect us." Stefan reaches out to pull on a few loose strands of hair so they frame her face. As soon as he touches her, she can feel her anxiety pad back down her chest like a cat settling down to sleep. The tension in her shoulders dissipates and she brings her hands up to hook behind his neck.
"Do you like my dress?" she flirts, leaning to the left to show off the matching bite mark Stefan had left on her while she was still human. Klaus had insisted, relished in the idea of both of their bites being the last she experienced before her two deaths. Her face flushes when Stefan leans in to kiss her softly there.
"Gorgeous," he answers in a hush as he runs has hands up the sheer fabric of her black beaded gown. "As always." He kisses her down her neck and along her collarbone. Each one so feather light, but with the mounting promise of more that makes her heart race in anticipation.
He groans into her skin and grabs fistfuls of her dress in his hands. She encourages him by running her leg up his and hooking her heel behind his calf. It's all needs before he picks her up to slam her back against the bathroom door. His mouth is no longer gentle, sucking and biting until she's begging for more.
A few beads break off her gown when he pulls the fabric up and over her knees and his fingers trace a path up her thighs to the slick heat between her legs. She vaguely remembers a time when that was embarrassing to her, but it was a fleeting moment in the history of her life. Her head rolls back as his fingers expertly flick and twist insider her. It no longer bothers her that Stefan was with Katherine first. He's with her now and she considers that Katherine was just a prelude to her. Stefan's preparation for her. And he's perfect she thinks as he works a moan from her throat.
She tries to guide him up to her lips but he chuckles in a way that both infuriates her and pleases her at the same time. "Kiss me," she demands.
"I'll mess up your lipstick if we start that."
"I'll re-apply it then," she counters.
"You'll hate that and then we will be late and Klaus will hate that. Besides, we have ample enough time to get messy later," he promises, setting her down and adjusting her dress until no one would have ever guessed what they were up to. Stefan's eyes light up mischievously as he licks his fingers and turns to go meet Klaus. She sighs, annoyed that he seems to have taken up some of her traits. She has no choice but to follow. Klaus is downstairs waiting for them so he can impress and awe the humans. Even if he wasn't, she'd follow Stefan to the depths of hell and back if he asked.
Klaus looks from Elena to Stefan, an adoring glint in his eyes shaded with a touch of envy having heard their engagement upstairs. She walks down the stairs to Klaus's extended hand. Holding Stefan close, she pulls Klaus into her and together the three of them walk out of the Abattoir and into the waiting car.
The Women's Opera Guild is beautiful and ornate. Even with her role as founding daughter in Mystic Falls, this event would have intimated her. But being with Klaus was a roller coaster of depravity in opulence and now she's only mildly impressed.
"Elena, love. This is the new police chief, Sean Coleman," Klaus introduces her and his hand glides across her lower back as he leaves her alone with the younger man. She smiles, knowing exactly what Klaus wants from her, and she reaches out to Sean who takes her arm hesitantly.
"I have vervain on me," he warns and her giggle washes over him. Her eyes gleam in ways he can't comprehend and her attention makes him feel strangely powerful like he was the most important man in the room. She guides him to the other side of room to point out a painting while Klaus and Stefan watch her, impressed.
"I can never figure out how she does that," Stefan says. "I could feel his heart rate slow down as soon as she touched him."
"She put him at ease like a cobra, hood up, before striking."
"Do you think she knows what she's doing?" Klaus shrugs like the question isn't interesting enough to answer. "Do you think she does it to us?"
"Would it matter, old friend? Perhaps some mysterious are best enjoyed unsolved." Klaus and Stefan watch her entertain the newcomer until she disappears with him into a side room. Their knuckles knock together and Klaus traps Stefan's hand between his thumb and the soft inside of his hand. "Come. It's our turn."
They venture further into the house, looking for the dissenting voice on the committee that's been giving Klaus problems and unable to find her.
At dinner, Elena abandons Sean to sit between Klaus and Stefan leaving the mortal man looking lost and sad. The dinner begins without a problem even though the mayor looks nearly purple in the face trying to hold her opinions to herself. The quiet of the evening is derailed by the dessert course when she can no longer keep up the façade.
"When are you going to drop the pretenses? We've spent half the evening in polite, meaningless conversations when we all know why we are here." She's a striking woman and her voice even more. This is the part Elena was dreading. It's only been about a few decades into her new life as a vampire, but she already feels so bored and distanced from her mortality. Looking at the humans that surround them at the table, she wonders how Stefan or Klaus ever tolerated her long enough to fall in love.
"What exactly are you referring to, Ms. Duplant?" Klaus lets his silverware clatter to the plate though his face remains impassive.
"The city needs more money. We have expansions planned for next year and infrastructure that needs to updated." Even with her indifference to humanity, Elena finds this woman something to behold. Her bravado and confidence are intriguing if not a pain.
"Is it the city that needs money or you?"
They stare at each other across the table and Elena's interest is piqued at this woman who doesn't seem afraid at all. She clears her throat and continues. "On top of that, your…" she struggles for the word, "People have been making mistakes. Too many tourists going missing."
"My people are my concern." Klaus's teeth grate against each other. A questioning hum next to Klaus and the entire table swivels their heads to Elena.
"You say people, but that's not what you meant. Is it?" Her voice is soft and pleasing though Elena is far from such good feelings. The mayor shifts in her seat and tries to address Klaus, intent on striking a new lucrative agreement between the vampires and humans. Elena stands up swiftly, nearly knocking her chair over. "You have the arrogance to make demands of us, but not the confidence to use the word you actually mean."
"Fine," she hisses. "Monsters. Is that what you want me to say?"
Elena had seemed to inherit Klaus's rage the same way Stefan had taken on some of Elena's more flirtatious qualities. Her outburst is satiated by the smell of fear slowly permeating the air. She sits back down and looks to Klaus who turns to the mayor again.
"We monsters will handle our own. As for the city, I'll look over your plans myself. I would hate for the beauty of New Orleans to suffer because of something as benign as a lack of funds." Ms. Duplant and the rest of the room relax.
"However," Stefan speaks up. "If he finds anything odd or numbers that don't add up, then I'll take a little road trip to Baton Rouge. Your niece is a junior now, right? It would be a shame if had to stop cheering for the day games, wouldn't it?"
For the first time all night, the mayor's steely gaze widens in horror and Klaus sits back in his chair, pleased with himself. Stefan cuts into his cheesecake, satisfied with his threat and considering the goals of the evening accomplished.
"I'm famished," Elena's husky voice sends shivers across the table. Sean scoots back in his chair and the rest of the group turns a worried eye to him.
"What are you doing, Mr. Coleman?" The mayor has found her authority in her voice again.
"She's hungry, ma'am. I'm going to get her something to eat," he responds so plainly like it is the most normal thing for him to do.
"You know what she means, Sean." When Ms. Duplant looks back at Elena she gasps, surprised by the sudden transformation of descended fangs and darkened eyes. "What did you do to him? He's been wearing vervain since his election."
"I didn't do anything, did I Sean?"
"No ma'am," he assures everyone by holding up his bracelet. Elena slinks over to him like a cat approaching an injured bird, distantly curious. He's taller than she is so she has to stand on the points of her shoes and pull him down by his collar.
He tries to back away but she's much stronger. "Are you sure you need this from me?"
She nods. "Just a little. I promise." She smiles at him like she's let him in on a secret and he returns the expression.
He reaches out to offer his wrist and Elena takes it. The room gasps and some people back away when Elena sinks her fangs in and he winces. The only person who remains in her seat at this point is the mayor.
"Just so we are clear. You don't get to make demands of me. I care for this city because I choose to do so and I allow you the illusion of control to keep the peace." Elena peels herself off Sean, mouth shiny and red, to watch Klaus talk. "Should that change or your desire for more supersede your intelligence, then know that I won't hesitate to drown this city in blood."
"But your secret." It's a last ditch attempt at maintaining control tonight that falls flat.
"Our existence? Are you threatening to expose us? Who do you think that keeps safe more, us or you?" Klaus asks not bothering to hear an answer before he stands up and the three of them walk out into the cool of the night. Elena glances back to wave at Sean who grins stupidly back at her.
The dinners are never her favorite night out with her boys, but this one was at least entertaining.
Klaus's date nights always require them to wear fancy outfits while demonstrating a show of power within the political sphere of New Orleans; either with the witches, wolves or humans. Sometimes, Elena enjoys the intrigue and the manipulations that Klaus requires of her, but mostly she prefers when Stefan plans their dates. She can relax and they can all settle into each other's company without the stress of running a city from the shadows.
This weekend, he's driving them to the new beach front home he's purchased in Grand Isle. The blue house nearly blends into the surf and Elena delights in how hidden it seems.
They spend the weekend watching Stefan put the kitchen to good use. As always, Klaus is impressed by the quality of the meals and Elena is impressed by Stefan's confidence in the kitchen. She likes to wake up early and have coffee on the patio, watching for dolphins to break through the waves. She likes it even better when she gets to guess which man has woken up first and come to capture her in their arms like she's some wild thing.
Walking along the coast at night is her favorite activity and they pretend to be annoyed when she drags them along. Her hesitancy to enjoy the beach during the day has nothing to do with her ability to be in the sun and more to do with how she feels around crowds, like a wolf among sheep trying to ignore their bleating conversations.
On their last night in the house, Klaus and Stefan are deep in discussion about the rumblings of small faction of vampire loyalists who are planning to free Marcel. Elena sets down their drinks and listens to them strategize while she does her best to distract Klaus. At first, she snakes her arms through his and kisses her way up his shoulder. He leans over to give her a distracted kiss on the forehead but then resumes his conversation with Stefan. She rubs her leg up his until she's practically halfway in his lap, but he gives her leg a squeeze and gently knocks it off.
She rolls her eyes and Stefan smirks at her. The rain rhythmically pounds on the windows outside and she gets an idea. Shedding her cardigan, she walks outside. This is a sensation that, ever since she turned, she will never get sick of feeling. The warm rain on her skin and the flow of air from the gulf make her feel so in tune with nature that she could never feel like the monsters people like the mayor claim her to be. She lifts her arms up, soaking in this feeling of being more alive than she's ever felt.
When she hears the door open behind her, she turns and smiles seeing her two men watching her with the attention she's been asking for all night. "Love, what on earth are you doing out here?"
"There's more to life than planning and plotting. What's the use of taking over New Orleans if you can't enjoy it?" she reaches out to Klaus, impatiently waiting for him to take her hand and join her outside.
It takes a moment, but he comes out with help from Stefan pushing at his back. Elena holds out her arms for him and he takes her by the waist, spinning her in circles until she laughs. It took them awhile to perfect this, but Stefan is soon at her back holding her hips and moving with Klaus's lead. They switch off with every spin and Elena enjoys being passed between them; a preview of her night to come she hopes.
Elena knows that anyone who sees them dancing in the rain or any of the number of ridiculous activities she manages to rope Klaus into might likely judge them. She used to care about things like that, gossip in the small town and what her neighbors thought of her. With Stefan and Klaus and the stretch of her new life ahead of her, those anxieties have faded. She buried them when they killed her for the last time.
When the rain starts to slow down, Klaus and Stefan do their best to get her inside. She wants to go with them, but doesn't like giving in too easily. This is a game she began on the couch and one she intends on keeping up until they've worked hard enough to satisfy her.
Stefan gently guides her into the house with a hand at her back and she reaches over her head to pull him closer to her. Her hips roll back and into him. When Klaus turns back, Elena's eyes glint in the dark night and Stefan is kissing along her neck up to the hollow behind her ear. She likes to recreate the first time she knew Klaus was attracted to her and he groans softly with the vision she's painted for him.
His hands match Stefan's as they explore a familiar body they never tire of holding. Klaus leans in until his lips just graze her own. "Let's take this inside, my little shadow."
"Make me," she demands with delight. Depending on his mood, Klaus will indulge Elena but he's smart enough to have picked up on her weaknesses and he's too impatient for her games tonight. With light kisses down her cheek, he carves a path across her body to Stefan until their lips meet. Elena's kisses are always more aggressive where Stefan happily lets Klaus lead. He's the connective tissue between the strength of their personalities.
Klaus leads Stefan away, leaving Elena to stand alone in the rain until she relents and joins them. She's seem them together and they are breath-taking. Nothing and no one, not even her pride, could stop her from following after them.
They are already together on the bed, Klaus kissing his way down Stefan's bare chest and when they both turn to look at her, she could almost fly. She's dizzy under their scrutiny and her feet leading her to them don't feel like her own.
Stefan encourages her on top with a hand on her thigh and the wet skirt of her dress bunches around her hips which are slowly grinding against the rough denim of his jeans. She likes the feel of him growing harder between her legs and she's losing herself in him when Klaus bites her shoulder with blunt teeth. He reminds her that he's there with a rough hand on her back forcing her to bend over until her face hovers just above Stefan's.
They smile for a brief second before Klaus rubs himself over the cleft of her ass. Teasingly over and over until she tilts her head to moan and he grabs her braided hair in one hand, forcing her neck to crane higher. Stefan captures one of her breasts in his mouth, sucking and running his tongue along her nipple. She becomes a needy, wanton creature in between them, crying out to beg for more because there's only so long she can handle letting them guide her up to the edge just to turn back around again.
Finally, it's Klaus who positions himself just right so that when she bucks her hips again he slides into her with ease. They've managed to work her into a frenzy and it's only when Klaus fills her up that the clawing beast inside her is satiated.
Her head is buried in Stefan's chest and she holds onto his hands for leverage as Klaus's speed increases and his pace becomes almost punishing. Stefan squeezes her as she whimpers her delight into his damp skin. Finally, Klaus finishes with a shuddering groan and rests his weight on her. His hand strokes her stomach while the other keeps him propped up behind her so he can kiss her back.
She looks up to Stefan, feeling drunk and silly. He tries to push loose strands of her hair behind her ear but she stops him, knowing he gets sweet like this when he thinks she's had enough. "I'm not done yet. Are you?" she asks and they sit up so that she's still in his lap. Klaus drowsily licks and kisses his way across Stefan's shoulder while Elena holds him tight.
He takes his time with her, letting her come down in his gentle ministrations. He holds her gaze as he enters her, achingly tight from Klaus. He smiles at her as they find a soft rhythm together that reminds her of the waves crashing outside. He's hypnotic and she's happy to let him pull her under even though she gasps out in ecstasy as her lungs burn for air.
She knows what the humans call her; enchantress, temptress, beguiler. Elena would have hated that once upon a time, but she's no longer a child. She hasn't been one in years.
When they return to the city, Elena drops her suitcase in their shared room and rummages through her bag until she finds three tickets.
"What are these?" Klaus asks when she holds out the tickets for him with a grin. "Love? A haunted ghost tour of our city? We are the creatures that go bump in the night."
"No! You already vetoed the bungee jumping. You only get one a month," she reminds him.
"She's right," Stefan says as he wraps his arms around Klaus's waist.
"You tricked me," he accuses half-heartedly because Stefan is behind him holding him in a tight embrace and he can never be too mad when he does that.
Elena meets them downstairs later with a Big Easy crop top and black pencil skirt with her scuffed converse. Klaus shakes his head adamantly. "You look like some high school student who snuck away while on vacation with her family. Love, if the some prominent member of the council should see us then-"
"No, this is my date. I get to do and dress how I want. That was the deal." Her ponytail bounces when she teeters on her toes to kiss his cheek. "And so what if they see us? Will my tourist look somehow make them less afraid? Are crop tops really that powerful?"
She had picked a walking tour that began in the French Quarter, having barred any tour that advertised buses outright. They begin the night hand in hand while they occasionally snicker to themselves at any inaccurate information from the tour guide.
They follow just behind the group of tourists from one location to the next. As the sun goes down and the tour takes them to the cemeteries and through the mausoleums, the tourists' fear spikes into a deliciously provocative smell.
"I'm hungry," she whispers and Klaus holds her closer. Stefan stops in his tracks and most of the group disappears when they take a sharp right turn. "Not tonight?" she asks, frowning.
Stefan shakes his head and Elena breaks away from Klaus to go to him. "Sorry. I don't think I can."
She reaches up to touch the side of his face and he looks up to her with struggling eyes. "One day," she assures him with a light kiss. "One day you will be able to join us."
"I'm working on it. Go on. Have fun." Stefan's gone before she has a chance to say anything else and she turns back to Klaus.
"I hate that he has to leave anytime we hunt."
"As do I; however, I won't ever complain about getting one-on-one time with either of you." Klaus lifts his arm and she fits so perfectly next to him that she can't imagine a time when she was afraid to be near him.
Hunting with her is thrilling in a way it hasn't been for him in a long time. He enjoyed and learned so much from Stefan when he'd descended into the worst of his ripper phases, but Elena was a different breed. He admires the way she manipulates their prey with her body, either by seduction or the guise of innocence. Tonight calls for the latter.
He's proud as he watches her raise the pitch of her voice to give the impression she is much younger than she is and frantically pulls a couple from the group asking for their help finding her parents. But her parents are long dead and Elena is far from helpless.
She leads them so easily to a dead end that Klaus wonders if he should actually look into what it is that she can do. He can hear their hearts beat harder and the man asks if it's money she wants.
"What use do I have for pocket change?" Klaus asks and when they turn around, the woman's scream is strangled in her throat as Klaus bites into her. The man turns to run, but Elena is in front of him before he can make it far.
"You said you were going to help me," she reminds him and when she bites his neck, his blood sprays just bit over the marble inlay next to them. She isn't as experienced yet as Klaus and still makes a small mess when she feeds. When they are done, Elena is the one who feeds them her own blood and compels them to forget the attack. Klaus is unbothered by their survival, but restrains himself knowing that Elena cares a little.
He wonders if she will stop caring so much when her brother dies and she no longer has a strong connection to her mortal life. He helps her clean up before they return to the group and finish out the tour.
Stumbling through the halls that night in each other's arms, Klaus leads Elena to the bathtub he's had installed specifically to fit the three of them. Tonight though, Stefan has sequestered himself in his own room leaving Klaus and Elena to indulge themselves in each other. They are drunk on liquor and blood having hunted and stalked several more tourists before coming home.
The hot water fills the tub and steams the room and as Klaus monitors the bath, Elena peels off her blood specked clothes. His mouth gapes slightly as she shimmies out of her shorts and walks to him half-naked.
"Did you have fun tonight?" she asks, helping him out of his own shirt.
"There were parts I found enjoyable." He stands up when she tugs at the waistband of his jeans.
Her long fingers unsnap his button with ease though she never breaks eye contact with him. She adores him in a way that both fills his soul and unsettles him. His paranoia that she'll leave with Stefan lurks beneath the surface like an alligator in the swamp. His jeans fall to the ground and Elena slides her hand down his shorts. When she grabs his cock and begins sliding her hand up and down the length of him, he lets out a shuddering sigh and all thoughts of her leaving are chased out.
"Just parts?" she asks between kisses along his chest.
It takes him a moment to remember their conversation and he tilts her chin up so he can look her in the eye. "I always have fun with you, love." She takes a step back into the tub and Klaus follows urgently as soon as he manages to take off his own clothes.
He tries to lift her up, but she backs away and points down. "I'm on top tonight. My date. My rules." He obliges and sits down, excited when she straddles him in the water.
Hunting was foreplay between them, another perk of her transition, and she's more than ready when he inches his way inside her. The beginning is always her favorite part. The untapped potential and the way she feels completely confident with him.
She leans down to close the gap between their bodies as she twists and rolls her hips over him. Noticing her shirt getting damp, she sighs and tries to pull it over her head, struggling when Klaus sits up to grab the excess fabric around her arms to hold her in place.
He increases the speed beneath her and she bucks against him to match his tempo. As the pressure mounts between her legs and her body shivers spasms around his, she starts to call his name. His unrelenting need to hear his own name transfers from his body to hears and just as she's nearing the edge to release, he bites into her torso just below her breasts.
Klaus and Elena biting each other, knowing how dangerous it is for her, is a game they only play when Stefan is gone. He's reprimanded them, but it had only made them stop including him in those moments. The water turns pink with her trickling blood and when Klaus lets go of her shirt and she yanks it off, his eyes are yellow and his mouth red.
Kissing the metallic taste of her own blood from his mouth until there's nothing left, she finally bites him. Sucking and licking his open wound until hers is healed. They continue like this into the night and until the bathwater runs red with drops of their blood.
Laying in his arms that night, the part of Elena that had wanted to be a doctor curiously wonders if she'll become immune to werewolf venom at some point. She laughs to herself and Klaus opens a curious eye to look at her. "I was just thinking about inoculations," she says, waving her hand over her face trying to stop her giggles. "Sex inoculations."