AN: This is actually the part I had in mind when I first visualized this fic. And I talked to Terapsina and realized I should rewrite some things. So this is the result of that. I have a much better outline thanks to her, she has some lovely Elejah fics here on ffn and she likes reviews as much as I do :D

I also got a DM to space out text when I post so that's why the formatting of this one is different. I love reviews, please tell me what you think!


Elijah has coffee ready for her when she parks in his driveway. Last night was fun but she just wants time with him alone before she leaves for a few days.

Caroline approved her interview outfit already. She's packed, she has a hotel room, and she'll be checking out the city a little bit by herself. It's a scary leap. Elijah welcomes her in with a smile while she sets her purse next to his coffee table.

He's wearing a black button-up shirt, not buttoned up fully. No tie either, but she doesn't mind his casual look at all.

"Did you already have breakfast?" Elena asks, looking to his kitchen for a sign of something out of place.

"I don't need to eat as regularly as you do," he reminds her. She watches the coffee pot for a moment before she replies.

"In the future, if we're eating in private, I wouldn't mind if you just had a blood bag or something. I need to get used to it sometime, right?" Elena asks. He gives a noncommittal nod.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable. We can ease into that however you'd like," he answers.

"I'm ready. And I was thinking we could take a trip up to the city together sometime if I get this," she suggests as she pours them both a cup of coffee.

Elijah looks pleased with the suggestion and they settle into some small talk for a set time.

Elena's got an alarm on her phone to remind her when she should leave, but she wants time with Elijah more than she wants the coffee. A lack of coffee might hurt her head but this absence from Elijah hurts her heart, just a bit.

"I guess I should go," Elena says, but he can see the displeasure in her posture at the thought. She wraps her arms around him and he closes his eyes as he holds her.

"When I get back, I have a plan for a date. Just the two of us. And someday you're gonna teach me those pool moves you used last night," she tells him.

"Perhaps," he teases. She grins at him before she reluctantly leaves the embrace, grabbing her keys off the counter. As always, she leaves him with much to think about.


"Hey, I was almost out of town when I realized I-" Elena begins and stops. The door is ajar, and she pushes it slightly.

Something is wrong, and she can't help but fall silent as an uneasy feeling spreads through her.

Elijah's on the floor, gray and dead, a stake sticking out of his chest. Elena slips through the gap and shuts the front door. Her phone beeps, she told Alaric and Jenna she was leaving town ten minutes ago, but her soulmate is dead.

Not even undead, just dead. Gone. Elijah isn't coming back this time, she thinks. It takes a moment of staring for the thought to truly hit her.

Elena sinks to her knees and sits next to him for a minute before she pulls the stake out of his chest.

At least Elijah's eyes are closed, she thinks. She's not sure she could take seeing his eyes glassy, looking past her, never seeing again. Elena can't stop the tears that come out or the little gasps she makes.

"I know I need to tell Klaus, but I don't think I can drive right now. Oh god. Everyone from your line is gone," Elena realizes, face in her hands.

She's aware she's lost her mind, talking to Elijah like he can answer her from wherever he is now, she never asked what he believed in.

Talking helps so she just talks to him, trying to figure out what to do. It seems too macabre to prop him up.

"Klaus and I-we're gonna find who did this. I promise I will find out who-" Elena can't bring herself to say the words.

She's talking to a dead man who can't hear but she speaks through her hot tears anyway. She can figure out an immediate plan of action, but anything past that-her chest hurts at the thought.

"Who did this to you," she finishes quietly. Elijah was her one and only soulmate, and he seemed so invincible, untouchable, and infinite.

Any future they had together got ripped from under her, just as she had planted her feet, and just as they had begun to explore their relationship. He was supposed to have forever, she was supposed to be the one with limited time and a fear of death.

He seemed so untouchable, so infinite and unbreakable. He's just gone. Another person ripped away from her before their time.

Tears burn her eyes and she almost screams as someone else gasps.

Elijah just moved, she's sure of it. She didn't think about searching the house, she assumed whoever did this left already, judging by the slightly open front door. Still, she glances around before she looks back at her soulmate.

"Elijah?" Elena asks, kneeling over him, it's hard to see through the tears she's blinking away.

Her soulmate looks at her and breathes, cracking noises sound from his joints and chest, just like when she undaggered him the first time.

Relief floods her body and the tension melts away, Elijah is alive, he's alive and safe. She can't resist wrapping her arms around him, she just needs to be close, needs to hear his heart.

He's still gray and dead-looking but he blinks at her. Eyes she never thought would open again, brown and warm, focused on her again. He's still a little blurry to her as tears continue coming out of her eyes.

"Elena," her name comes out like a relieved sigh and she puts her head by his shoulder as she lets out her own sigh of relief.

Elena wonders if any gods care for vampires and what Elijah believes in if anything. Elijah attempts to move and she curls her fingers into his suit jacket. She can't make her mouth work well enough to say what the gesture means, she just lets herself cry.

"I need blood, I'll be gone for just a moment," Elijah promises and she lets go for a moment and finds herself on his couch in a few seconds. There's the crinkling of plastic and she knows he needs blood, he was still a little gray when he got up.

Elena watches him from the couch, shifting as she waits. He returns in a minute and she wraps her arms around him again, as close as she can be. Elijah seems to have no issue with that, and despite the fact she knows he's fine, a few more tears escape her eyes.

"Elena?" her name comes out of his mouth like he's about to ask her something but she just moves her head closer into his shoulder, wraps her arms around him a little tighter.

He wraps his arms around her wordlessly and Elena closes her eyes. He's strong and secure and she doesn't realize she's crying again until he attempts to pull away. She holds onto him with all of her strength, and he relaxes into her embrace.

He'll let her decide when to let go, he has all the time in the world for her. One of his hands moves to rest between her shoulder blades and the other rests on her ribs. He listens to Elena breathing, knowing that she's listening to him breathe as well.

Her actions speak louder than anything her mind can come up with at the moment. Her heartbeat eventually calms, time is irrelevant now, the world could be ending this second, and Elijah would just let Elena hold onto him like a life preserver.

She sniffles and pulls back slightly to face him. He brushes a few tears away with his thumbs and she closes her eyes.

He wonders if she's merely embarrassed to see him cry or if it's easier for her to say whatever she needs to without looking at him. He knows he can be intense and that can be overwhelming.

He's reminded again of their stark differences as he thinks of how he doesn't want to see her cry again. Her tears make him want to rip out the heart of the person who caused them, but in this case, that'd only make her cry more.

"You were dead. You weren't coming back. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're still here," Elena murmurs.

Now is not the time for declarations of love. Grief swallowed her whole without mercy a few minutes ago, but that doesn't mean she should say those words. It's somehow hard to say that to his face, she'd rather mumble it into his shoulder and she does.

He could be witty, but Elena's looking at him with red eyes, clinging to him because she almost lost him.

He kisses her forehead instead and she wraps her arms around him again, like if she uses all of her strength he won't be able to leave, and she can just keep him here on this couch with her forever. One of his hands cards through her hair to cradle her head, carefully making sure she can breathe while his other hand finds a place on her waist.

It's a tempting thought to just stay and embrace her forever, and her phone beeps again, after the silence of what feels like an hour but is only a few minutes. He's gentle but firm, indestructible, and she wants to turn her phone off but she doesn't want to move. The hand in her hair migrates to her waist, lighting an ember of interest in her that she ignores.

It's meant to be a comforting gesture, and it is, but she could very easily lose herself in that touch and his cologne. Two sturdy hands helping her keep it together. There might be a time where she lets herself get lost in him, but it's not here and now. Not for any longer at least, no matter how good it feels, she'll move in a minute.

"Your interview," Elijah reminds her. She has a few hours before she actually needs to leave but, she was supposed to be on the road a good while ago. The reminder is like ice water hitting her, but she resists the urge to scramble away from him.

"Shit," is all she mumbles into his chest. Elena makes no move to leave, and as much as he wouldn't mind staying here, he knows she'd regret missing her interview.

"Come on, lovely Elena, you need to leave to get to that interview," he reminds her. She sighs and pulls away to look at him fully.

"Who daggered you?" she wonders. The question is all over her face and she notices his intentional silence.

"Alaric," he answers after a long moment.

She blinks and the urge to grab at him again rises in her chest. Alaric used to hunt vampires. He was going for the kill. He would rather she live without a soulmate than be happy with a vampire.

The truth sinks heavily into her stomach. Jenna might have known about this too. Alaric just tried to murder her soulmate. Sure, she hasn't always been thrilled that it's Elijah, but she's never wanted him dead.

"I'm gonna-" Elena trails off. Violent urges rise within her, bad in theory, bad in practice, and Elijah reaches for her.

"Don't go after your uncle right now. I'm unharmed. You need to get on the road for your interview," Elijah gently reminds her again.

"Come with me," Elena replies, looking at him again. He raises an eyebrow and she speaks again.

"They might come looking for your body, to get rid of. And I wouldn't mind having company on the long drive or in the new city," Elena tells him. Part of her simply doesn't want him to leave her sight for a while. There's only one thing that can kill him and he's never told her what that is. Maybe he'll trust her with that knowledge someday. Especially in light of what just happened.

She also likes his company and the long drive and the hotel she booked now sounds lonely without him. Whatever progress they just made, she wants to talk about it. They can keep each other safe and just leave. They can deal with the implications of Alaric being unable to find his body later.

"I don't want to intrude if you want to be alone. I can handle myself, lovely Elena," he tells her. She knows it's the truth but that doesn't change the thing clawing inside of her that wants to keep him close and be close with him.

"I want you to come on the trip with me. And we could look at the city together," Elena suggests. His gaze is intense but she meets it.

"Give me a minute to pack," he smiles slightly at her.

Alaric could return at any time and she really should check her phone, so she gives him the minute he asks for. She got a hotel room for a reason, no one will be expecting her to be home tonight. She makes sure she has her purse in hand as she waits. It's the first time she's been thankful she forgot her purse somewhere.


It takes until they're out of Mystic Falls for her to speak again. The Mystic Falls sign was missing, but maybe it's being worked on. It almost doesn't feel like leaving town without it.

"I can't believe Alaric would do that to you. Knowing you're mine. I thought he'd want me to be happy," she murmurs. The radio's on low but all she hears is white noise.

"He might have thought I compelled you. I don't know how your uncle will react when he realizes I'm not still there. I can't imagine he intended for you to find my body. He'll be back," Elijah says. Anger prickles in Elena's chest again. The sharp splice of betrayal. She almost slams on the breaks to turn around but not out of revenge.

"Can you get my phone out of my purse? I need to call Jeremy, he could have gone after Anna too," Elena realizes.

Unlike Elijah, Anna wouldn't survive a stake to the heart. Elijah hands it to her wordlessly and watches the road with her. Her shaky fingers make her grateful for speed dial. He gets his phone out of his pocket and begins texting someone, she assumes Klaus.

"Jeremy? Where are you right now? Where is Anna?" Elena asks.

"She's next to me, we're meeting her mom at this restaurant we're at in a few minutes," Jeremy answers, slowly.

"Don't go home. Keep Anna safe. Stay out of Mystic Falls," she blurts.

"What? Elena, what are you talking about? What happened?" Jeremy asks.

"Alaric tried to stake Elijah. Elijah survived but Alaric doesn't know that. He's coming with me to the city. I think Alaric might have figured out our soulmates are vampires. Or the Council. Something happened here, and until Elijah and I investigate, stay away. Seriously. Don't say anything about me or Elijah to anyone from Mystic Falls. Stay safe," Elena explains.

She can hear Anna swear in the background, but they aren't dead at least. With all that's happened, it might be a good time to start counting small blessings.

"Then we'll change our plans. Thank you, Elena, we'll keep you updated," Anna says into the phone before Jeremy mumbles a rushed goodbye before the call ends.

"I informed Niklaus as well. He'll be sweeping Caroline away for a surprise getaway in a few minutes." Elijah informs her and she lets herself exhale a sigh of relief. Caroline will like that, a romantic gesture sweeping her off her feet. If only the reason wasn't that her mom might try to kill her. Elena winces at the thought.

"I didn't tell Jenna or Alaric my specific hotel information, I only told you, so they can't find us that way, I think we'll be okay for a while," Elena voices her thoughts aloud. He nods at that. If the situation was different, Alaric would have been dead. Instead, his life has been spared for Elena's sake.


The hotel isn't what he expected. It's not one of the chain hotels that crop up everywhere.

It's an old hotel, there's clear history here, just based on the detailed architecture outside. Elijah watches Elena check-in, asking for a room switch from one bed to two beds.

The woman at the desk has no problem with that, with a few clicks, she's handing Elena two metal room keys. Not the plastic cards that seem to be used everywhere else and he finds it charming that this hotel hasn't adapted fully to the modern era. Elena doesn't seem to notice it, just scanning room numbers until she stops in front of the right door.

There's still some time before her interview, and she was supposed to check in with Alaric and Jenna when she arrived. Instead, she reaches for his hand, to guide him to the room with her. She doesn't comment on his silence, she just keeps one hand in his, and the other on her luggage.

Once the door is closed, she sits on one of the beds. It's been a long day and it isn't even time for lunch yet. He lets go of his suitcase before he joins her, fingers still intertwined. Elijah decides to break the silence as he looks at Elena.

From what she's told him, she usually drinks vervain in her tea or uses perfume mixed with it, but if they're here for more than a day, she'll be vulnerable.

"I have something for you before you go," he tells her. She raises an eyebrow but lets go of his hand so he can take something out of his suitcase.

The black velvet box is long and thin with no distinct markings. He hands it to her and watches her carefully open it.

It's a necklace with a long gold chain and a golden oval shaped locket with an intricate design on it. It's clearly older than she is but it's in perfect condition.

If she wants the history of the necklace, he'll tell her, but he knows she's lost in thought. He doesn't blame her, she has a lot to think about than how he came to have a necklace from the Victorian era with him.

Compulsion doesn't work on Originals but something about it had captured his eye that day and demanded he buy it. It looks completely at home around her neck, just like he thought it would.

"It has vervain in it, just in case," he says. She blinks before she lets the thought sink in. Of course, Mystic Falls isn't the only place with vampires. It's a practical gift. She slips it on. Her outfit was missing something, but she and Caroline didn't find anything they liked enough to pair with it.

"Thank you," she smiles as her phone beeps.

"You're welcome. Do you want me to drive you to your interview? Then you don't have to worry about parking, and I could come to get you when it's over," Elijah suggests. Elena offers him another smile at the suggestion, she really didn't want to figure out where to park with just a few minutes to spare. Originally she was planning on looking around the city to figure that out today, but she arrived later than she planned then.

"That'd be great," she tells him.

A few minutes pass between locking up the room and the drive. Elena's not surprised he's a model perfect driver, even if he does speed slightly, he's been around since before cars were invented. She exhales, she can't hold that against him or focus on anything. Elijah manages to find an empty spot in front of the building to drop her off.

As she gets out of the car, she straightens her blouse and necklace.

"Do I look okay?" she asks. Her outfit's probably slightly wrinkled and she hasn't touched her hair since before she found Elijah dead on his floor. The image of him, gray flashes behind her eyelids as she blinks.

"You look perfect and you're going to knock them dead. We can worry about everything after you show them they'd be fools not to pick you," he assures her. A warmth spreads through her chest at his words. Her phone beeps another warning timer and she shoots him an apologetic smile before she rushes through the front door.

The check-in is brisk and she can't help but think of the way Elijah looked at her as he told her to knock 'em dead. All she needs here is a chance. Elijah had asked her for a chance what feels like an eternity ago. The interviewer calls her name and she doesn't remember the waiting room or the other people around, just how she gets up to follow.


"They're still alive," Elena informs him as she gets into the passenger seat. Elijah's eyebrow quirks slightly at her words. Elena laughs as she turns to look at him fully.

"You told me to knock 'em dead," she reminds him. He chuckles at that before he puts the car in drive.

There are too many things to talk about and she hears her stomach rumble. They did skip lunch.

"I did a little exploring. How do you feel about French food?" he wonders. The day keeps getting better.

"That sounds really good," Elena tells him. Not exactly like Mystic Falls has anything French other than fries, but she's interested in trying it. She's in this city to broaden her horizons after all.

He notices that as they leave the restaurant, her hand reaches for his. He lets her take it, watching the subtle grin she gives at the gesture. She doesn't let him go. They wander city blocks and shops and she never relinquishes his hand.

It's not tight enough of a grip to be concerning and he doesn't mind only having one hand to get by. He could get used to only having one free hand for the rest of his long life, but he squeezes her hand when he thinks about how long her life will be. Never long enough.

She squeezes back and they discuss authors quietly in a homey bookstore, overflowing with books he knows she'd love to take home. He wonders about what their home together could look like, full of books they both love, her perfume in their sheets, closets full of her dresses and his suits. There are so many things left unsaid but a few important things have already been said without words.

It's dark out by the time they're back in their hotel room. She's been yawning and she hasn't looked at her phone once.

Surely Alaric and Jenna have assumed the worst, but Elena seems unconcerned about checking in.

She's been quiet since they began their walk back to the hotel. Elena frowns to herself as she sets her purse down on the floor, kneeling next to it. Today has been a whirlwind, but he's not expecting her to throw a tornado his way.

She doesn't look at him as she speaks, just pretends like she's preoccupied with her purse. He's seen her find her wallet in half a second, she knows the contents of her purse. It's a way to fidget.

"I know you mentioned you've only found me, but do you think there's a possibility you'll find someone else in the future?" She manages to ask. Elena hesitates to add what she really means but it comes out.

"After me," she adds. There must have been a few before her, he's a gorgeous man after all.

Elijah freezes, looking at her like she just told him suits are now officially illegal. There's an obvious heartbreak in his eyes but there's an edge of disbelief. The tension in his frame almost makes her think he's angry, not at her, but the question. Part of her wishes she hadn't looked.

"There won't be. As far as I've been able to tell, even vampires only get one soulmate. We just have a longer time to find them. Rebekah was the first of us to find hers," he informs her. Before that information can sink in fully, he speaks again.

"In the 1920s," he emphasizes.

Part of her had assumed she would have her time, and perhaps in a thousand years, he'd gain the trust of another soulmate. Maybe someone already undead or someone who would prove a better match.

It's hard to not be insecure about her lack of experience. She stares at him. He's spent his whole life for someone who would always tell him the truth. It's easy to wonder if she's a letdown and if he's been disappointed with her.

She doesn't want to ask, doesn't want to know, and can't stand the idea of him telling her every one of her shortcomings. He's the only one who couldn't lie to her and tell her it's fine after all.

He wants to ask if there's something that made her think this was transactional, that she'd be so easily replaced like she's not a miracle made flesh, that he'd worship at her altar if she'd let him go through the effort. He's been trying to ease her into the shallows of this, not drop her in Lake Baikal with cinderblocks tied to her legs. He doesn't want to be dead weight to her either, something dragging her down, stopping her from her life. He just wants to be part of it.

He takes her hand and guides it to his chest, kneeling next to her.

"My heart is yours, whenever you're ready for it. You are not replaceable in any sense. For me, there is only you. From the day we realized to the day I die. I won't want another regardless of how much time passes."

The only word that comes to mind when part of her wants to flee, emotional overload, the weight to his words is crushing, is chickenshit. Even in her head, it sounds accusatory.

Elena Gilbert, you're being chickenshit about this.

She's wildly aware of her pulse and the way her mouth tastes like beignets as she swallows. If either of them wanted, they could close the distance between them, of just a few inches, and she could find out if he tastes like the dark chocolate souffle he ordered for dessert. Still, the instinct to move is hardwired into her, and she wonders faintly if it's related to being a doppelganger, Katherine ran and ran and ran for centuries. Maybe it's something primal, the recognition of a predator, she's always been told she has doe eyes. He's been a hunter for over a millennium now.

Elena places her other hand over his, on his heart. His eyes connect with hers. He's looking so intently she wonders if he can see the gears frantically grinding in her brain.

"I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. It's just new territory. It is for both of us. I will never want anyone else either. I'm yours. Just give me time."

It's not her best work, but considering she managed to make words come out is a victory in itself. He could probably cut steel beams with the intense look in his dark eyes. She corrects herself mentally, Elijah is not Superman, he's just a vampire.

She's not sure how long they stay like that, but it does surprise her that his phone is the one ringing this time. She waits until he lets go first to part. She needs time to think, to brush her teeth, and change into pajamas. The hotel has impossibly soft, snow-white towels but nothing in the color-coordinated bathroom can hold her attention, not even the antique claw tub. The room is empty when she enters it and she wonders why she's so disappointed.

It's easy to slip into the queen bed she claimed earlier, with a gray comforter, matching sheets, and two pillows. She plugs her phone in and sets it on the nightstand face down.


The room is dark when she opens her eyes again. The other bed is occupied, she can see the shape of Elijah covered by the sheets and comforter. It doesn't help her racing heart or the fact she's out of breath.

"Elijah?" she asks the room. Admittedly, she's not sure how loud she needs to be to wake him up but she's about to repeat herself when she sees him shift positions.

"Elena? Are you okay?" he asks, voice rough from sleep. Of course, he can hear her racing heart and she takes a moment to try and breathe.

It feels a little ridiculous to ask but she did fall asleep in an empty room, which probably contributed to her anxiety, and the nightmare was part of her brain trying to process yesterday's events.

Despite the easy rationalization, it's hard to tell that to her instincts. Still, Elijah doesn't look annoyed, he looks concerned. She can blame it on her sleepy brain later if she needs to.

"Can I sleep next to you?" she blurts. He nods, moving so she can settle in next to him.

"I had a nightmare," she tells him. He helps her adjust the comforter while she tries to look at him in the dark.

"Someone took your daylight ring and you were on fire and then you were just ash," she tells him slowly.

He doesn't touch her and she watches him as she settles her head on the other pillow.

"I'm not going anywhere, with or without my ring," he promises. Her nightmare of finding him on fire in the daylight doesn't care about the promise.

"Will you tell me what can hurt you?" she wonders.

"Tomorrow. I don't want it to guest star in your dreams tonight," he rationalizes.

There's a gentle hand in her hair, and the slow strokes of his fingers send her back into dreamland.