Special Way

After taking a shower, putting on a fresh white tee and pair of dark leggings, and demolishing two helpings of lasagna Elijah had been gracious enough to make her, Elena felt more like herself than she had in days. Every breath didn't saw out of her lungs, her vision wasn't blurred by tears and every thought in her head didn't revolve around Stefan, Klaus or her own inadequacy at preventing all this from happening in the first place. She felt...calm, a still lake with no ripples, just serene, tranquil waters. Of course, there was no guarantee how long this state of zen would last, so Elena vowed to make every minute of it count.

Wandering into the spacious kitchen, Elena paused at the threshold, transfixed by the sight before her: Elijah Mikaelson, jacket gone, tie folded in his top pocket and sleeves rolled up to the elbows, cleaning dishes whilst wearing pink washing up gloves, the rubber dotted with swirls of foam. Elena darted up the stairs and to the guest room she'd been occupying, snatching up her phone from the mahogany rosewood nightstand with almost vampiric speed, and before the Original could turn his head and utter a syllable of protest she was snapping a picture of him, unable to control her laughter.

Rasing a brow, Elijah surveyed her with a pinched expression, like someone had shoved an entire lemon in his mouth. Or gotten sufficient teasing material for the next decade or two. "Are you quite done?"

"Nope," Elena replied, popping the 'p,' leaning on the doorway for support as she continued to laugh. He even had bubbles in his hair! Ah, it was just too priceless.

"Just because we are friends, Miss Gilbert, does not give you the right to laugh at me so unabashedly."

Pouting, she crossed her arms. "Hey, that's totally not fair. If I had been the one covered in bubbles, I would have let you laugh at my expense. That is, if you could manage it."

Elijah smirked mischievously, subsequent warning bells going off in her head as he drawled, "Well, if you insist on fairness," before he began pelting her with bubbles from the sink, wiping some on her face for good measure. Shrieking, she batted at his chest until he stopped. Elena stared at him in abject surprise, mouth hanging open in the most unladylike fashion.

"I can't believe you just did that," Elena laughed, the momentary break in his stoic, reserved countenance feeling incredibly precious to her.

Shrugging lightly, Elijah pulled the plug from the sink, tossing over his shoulder as he stacked the dishes and glassware, "You should know by now that I can never resist a challenge when it is, as you say now, 'thrown down.'"

"You got me there." Hopping up onto the counter, she plucked the dishtowel from his hands and started in on drying the cutlery, swinging her legs back and forth against the cabinets as she worked.

The vampire stared her down, comically stern. "I was just about to do that," Elijah grumbled at her like a kid who'd had his favourite toy taken away. It was kinda cute, she had to admit.

"I know," Elena chirped, examining her soap-riddled reflection in a spoon, "but I wanted to help. You did the cooking, after all, and I've never minded washing up: I was the designated Gilbert Washer-Upper."

Chuckling, he said with that knowing way of his, "I take it young Jeremy didn't like doing chores then."

Elena huffed, flapping out the towel to air-dry it. "You could say that. I mean, it's not like I ever minded helping out, but it would have been more fun if he'd done it with me. Were you and your siblings like that?" As soon as the question was out of her mouth, Elena worried of she'd overstepped, if she'd pushed the boundaries of their camaraderie too far, but her fears were unfounded when Elijah offered her a hand down from the counter, forehead creased in contemplative thought.

"In the beginning, we were very much like that," he confided, like the fact they had once been a normal, happy family was something to be kept secret. "When I was younger, I often helped my father with chores, my eldest brother Finn always clinging to the presence of our mother in her workroom. I enjoyed looking after the horses, helping mend baskets and fences or odd jobs around the house. After Klaus was born, I often took care of him, and as he grew he often tried to bribe me into doing his chores for him in exchange for drawings. Kol was the worst, though: he often outright refused to do chores on moral principles, especially if it was winter and early in the morning. If it came down to it and he couldn't worm his way out, he simply used magic to do his tasks, which Mother always scolded him for."

"Was he really so powerful at such a young age?" Elena inquired, intrigued at the family history he so willingly laid out before her. "I've known Bonnie all my life, and yet I never saw her doing anything magical, even by accident or anything. It's only this past year that she's been using her powers, usually to help me with my latest crisis." She regretted it immensely, how she always went to Bonnie when she needed help, and then everyone else took that as their queue to exploit how special she was, too. She'd have to fix that when she got home. A realization struck her. "Could you do magic? Before you turned."

"No," Elijah admitted, without a trace of either bitterness or jealousy. "While I listened intently to my mother's lessons on magical theory, I was not nearly as adept at physically producing results like Kol or Finn. I never minded, though: we each had our own interests. Klaus had his painting, Rebekah loved sitting in the garden or sewing dresses or blankets for the villagers, and I...I suppose my greatest interest was making sure they were all happy, and that I made my parents proud, that I upheld the worthy name of Mikaleson. Not that that matters anymore, of course."

No. No, no, no. She couldn't have him thinking like that. She wouldn't let him think like that. After everything he'd done for her, both this week and the weeks before, she refused to stand by and let him think so low of himself. Elena did the only thing she could think to stop him: she pulled out his tie, taking the silk hostage in her hands.

"Do you have a fondness for this particular tie or have you got something you wish to say?" Elijah questioned with a hint of amused exasperation.

"The wishing to say part." Nodding, she wound the strip of fabric through her fingers like a dancing ribbon, projecting her attention onto it rather than the subject of her speech as she said, "I wish to say that I think you're wrong, that your name does mean something. I wish to say that you are the most noble, selfless, complicatedly loyal man I have ever met, that your unwavering dedication to your family after so long apart is one of the most beautifully courageous things I've ever seen, but that you bear too much unnecessary weight on your shoulders because of it. And, finally, I wish to say that there is more goodness in you than you realize, than you take the time to look for, and that any parent would be an idiot not to be proud of you for sticking to your humanity as much as you have."

Elijah stood frozen, as if momentarily paralyzed by her words. Then, very slowly, he took the tie from her outstretched hand and looped it around his neck as he responded, "I meant the fact that our father never accepted us once we turned, although that was what he wished for us, forced onto us, and then proceeded to hunt us down like dogs for the next thousand years, or the fact that our mother cursed out brother at our fathers behest more than anything else...but I suspect they held more truth than I originally thought. Thank you, though, regardless: your words were incredibly sweet."

Elena ducked her head, praying to whatever higher power existed that he couldn't see her blush and would choose to ignore her racing heartbeat. "I only call it as I see it."

"Yes, well, I suspect you see more than most, often more than I perhaps wish to let on," he supplied, and if she didn't know any better Elena would almost say he was embarrassed.

"Is that a bad thing?" she wondered aloud.

"No," Elijah insisted fervently, "it is not. It just catches me off guard sometimes."

Elena flashed him a grin. "Glad to know I keep you on your toes."

He returned it. "And do I keep you on yours?"

"Absolutely. You're the whetstone I used to sharpen the sword of my banter."

"I can assure you, milady, that your sword is sharp enough and does considerable damage regardless of my influence."

Oh, crap, she could so get used to his smooth-talking her.

Desperate to change the subject, Elena posed, "Now that the dishes are all done...care to show a girl around the mansion she'd been living in for the past few days?"

"Its not a mansion, only a very large town house, but I'd be delighted regardless," he smiled, extending his arm to her with a gentlemanly flourish.

Rolling her eyes amusedly, Elena took it, and let him lead her around the house.

He showed her the living room, the dining room -they'd had dinner in the kitchen- the immaculate garden, the solarium -because Elijah was just the kind of guys to have one of those- and all the rest, even the garage filled with fancy cars with even fancier names she could never hope to pronounce, but by far Elena's favourite room had to be Elijah's library/study. Patterned in a dark green wallpaper that went up all the way to the crown-moulded ceiling, towering bookshelves wrapped around two of the walls, the other occupied by a bank of windows and the other a marble fireplace that looked so cosy and inviting, two armchairs sat at the perfect angle for lounging and reading, accompanied with a matching loveseat of a rich red and a glass coffee table, and topping it all off was a polished oak behemoth of a desk, the undeniable centerpiece of the show.

Basically, if she was forced to spend her life here, Elena could die a happy -and extremely well-read- woman.

The brunette made a slow rotation of the room, letting her fingers investigate gilded spines as the urge took her, marvelling over various items on his desk and just how well put-together the room was.

"Am I to take your silence as approval?" Elijah smirked, taking a seat in the armchair on the right, gaze hooded as he simply watched her.

"Absolutely," Elena beamed, examining a painting she hadn't noticed when she'd first walked in, one she was very familiar with. "It's every literary nerds fantasy in here, especially if it's got a good Wifi connection." She gestured to the painting that had caught her, enraptured despite seeing it so many times over the years. "So, you're a Waterhouse fan."

"Well, the poem came first, so it's more that I enjoyed the poem and thought dear John had captured Alfred's conjurings of her likeness with vivid detail." Elijah leaned back, tipping his head to look at her as she openly gaped.

"Wait, Alfred and John? Were you like...buddies or something?"

"Or something," he conceded delicately. "I've always had a soft spot for the arts, and Niklaus made it his personal mission to meet every famous artist he could. Let's just say I spent many a night in many a tavern, drinking ale and listening to the best way to make red."

It was easy to forget, how old he was. How much of the world she'd seen, she stuff she'd only ever read of in books or seen in dramatized representations. It was a little frightening, to be honest, but also kind of incredible.

And, just to show off, he stood up with a flourish and drawled in a deep, melodious voice,

"'Or when the moon was overhead,

Came two young lovers lately wed...'"

She grinned, claiming his unoccupied chair, tilting her chin and reciting proudly, ""I am half sick of shadows," said the Lady of Shalott.'"

Elijah was impressed, she could see it in the set of his jaw and the sparkle in his brown eyes. "Miss Gilbert is a secret Tennyson fan. Who would have imagined?"

"Oh, there's no secret about it. In the tenth grade, we had to do a poetry recital in English, and I learnt it. All nineteen stanzas."

"That's no easy feat for one so young."

Elena raised a brow as if he were being particularly dense. Which he was. "Have you forgotten how stubborn I am?"

He chuckled, crossing the room and opening one of the drawers in his desk. "It all makes sense now." Coming back towards her, he placed a heavy sheaf of documents in her lap, as well as a fancy pen, the kind that doesn't smudge.

"Okay, well this isn't making any sense." She scanned the pages, confusion bubbling by the second. "Elijah, why did you just hand me a copy of the deed to this house?"

Now it was his turn to make her feel stupid. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked of her, resting a hand on the back of her chair. "You're vulnerable at the moment, Elena. Any vampire could choose to walk through the door right this minute, and while I can protect you from any threat, that does not mean I am willing to risk your safety for the sake of preserving my ego. So, if you're willing, I want you to take possession of the house, temporarily."

"Are you really sure?" Elena inquired hesitantly. "This is your space, Elijah. I don't want you to make a rash decision that you'll only come to regret later."

Elijah shook his head, extending the pen to her. "I won't regret it, Elena. And as for rash...well, I had this deed drawn up the night it brought you here. I would have brought it up earlier but we both know the last few days haven't been easy and I did not want to add anything further to your plate; It's only a piece of paper. At the end of the day, I trust you not to do anything unbecoming," he teased, and Elena felt some of the weight lift from her shoulders as she returned with, "What, like turn it into a frat house or fulfill my lifelong dream of raising a bunch of wild animals?"

"Something like that. Although I'd rather see the place turned into a zoo rather than a den of adolescent shenanigans and misbehaviour."

Elena protested, "Hey, not all teenagers are like that! I'm not like that."

Elijah straightened the papers in her lap. "Which is exactly why I'm trusting you with this. You don't have to make a decision right away, of course, but will you at the very least give it some thought? I'd hate to see you get hurt when I could have done something to prevent it."

She guessed he was talking about, what place his mind had dragged him back to. "The sacrifice wasn't your fault, Elijah."

"It was," he argued, "but I was also thinking of when you stabbed yourself the night I came to the Lake House. Which I never apologized for, which I should have."

"That was my choice, Elijah. It had nothing to do with you?"

"Didn't it? It's strange, looking back, a part of me wishes that I'd taken you with me, out of Mystic Falls, that I'd said to hell with helping my brother and given you a better chance."

The idea was a fantasy. "He would have found me anyway. And hey, none of this," she gestured to the room around them, how close they were sitting together, "would have happened. Which, despite the totally awful circumstances, I wouldn't want to give up. I'm really glad that I've gotten to know you better, Elijah."

"And I'm glad I've gotten to know you as well, Elena. Now, do I have your word that you'll consider my proposal?"

"I promise I'll think it over. So, I saw your living room has a very impressive flat screen TV...feel like watching a movie with me?"

"Only of it doesn't have talking animals."

"I'll see what I can do."

It didn't have talking animals, but it did have a talking Sorting Hat and one very cute baby dragon. Yes, Elena introduced Elijah Mikaelson to the wonder that was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and he seemed to actually like it, chiming in with questions here are there which Elena was more than happy to answer. It all felt so...normal, like they'd done this a hundred times. Of course, having Elijah falling asleep with his head mere centimetres away was a new experience, and admittedly not an unpleasant one. He looked so peaceful, so innocent, with his hair slightly rumpled an his arm flung out, the tips of his fingers just grazing the delicate skin of her palm. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she got up silently and switched off the TV, crossing from the living room into the foyer and double-checking that the door was locked, just to satiate her peace of mind.

Retrieving the blanket from the back of the couch, Elena draped it over his tall frame carefully, making sure it wasn't too tight in case he tried to get up. Before she realized it, she was brushing the hair off his forehead in a gentle swoop and ghosting her fingers over the hint of stubble on his cheek.

She was running the poor guy ragged, wasn't she, if the ever-immaculate Elijah hadn't even had a chance to shave.

Her feet had almost hit the top step when all the hair on the back of her neck seemed to stand up at once, making her instantly alert as well as instantly on edge. Elena stopped, pivoting dangerously so that she was facing the front door. There wasn't anything there she could see, but...

A sound like dry grass crunching underfoot, shifting body weight, and was that breathing?

Elena took another step down the stairs. And another. And another.

If she'd taken another step, she would have been dead when the door burst from it's hinges like a cork exploding from a bottle, smacking into the wall a few inches shy of her.

Crap.

Before she could so much as scream, a vampire was instantly lunging at her, sharp fangs gleaming as they dived for her throat. But they never found their target, of course. The vampire was hurled away from her, his back making a sickening crack as he hit the marble below. Elijah was there instantly, hair mussed adorably but face carved with an expression of death.

He uttered one word before he flashed down the stairs: "Run."

Elena ran.

Author's Note: Hi, everyone! Just a quick update; I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, but a) I haven't really done one before and I wanted to give it a whirl and b) it seemed to flow better this way. Any guesses where Elena's going? Let me know!

As always, my heartfelt thanks to all of you who are reading this and all of you leaving reviews: it means so much to see you all enjoying my work. The Tennyson quotes, are, of course, not mine, but used with great respect and admiration.

I hope you have an amazing rest of your week!

All my love, Temperance Cain.

PS: What HP House do you think Elijah would be Sorted into? Elena is obviously a Gryffindor, but maybe either a Ravenclaw/Slytherin for him? Alas, we can do nothing but guess.