Chapter 92
Marcel stomped into the Compound in a fury, vamping through each room until he found Elijah cuddled up on the sofa in his study with Hayley in his arms as they enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace and the tenderness of each other's touch.
"Marcellus," Elijah's voice lilted with more annoyance than surprise. "May we help you?"
Marcel ignored the discomfort on Hayley's face as he marched across the room to Elijah. "You spanked Oliver?"
Folding one leg calmly over the other, Elijah answered, "I did."
His casualness only fueled Marcel's rage.
He grabbed Elijah by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. "You old bastard, how dare you!"
Elijah said nothing as the heat of Marcel's breath blew from his puffed chest.
Rising slowly from the sofa, Hayley said, "I'm gonna go check on the kids. Good luck with…whatever this turns into."
Neither vampire said anything until she left. Then, Elijah leaned closer to Marcel's face and said, "You need to calm down. Before I assist you."
Tightening his grip on Elijah's collar, Marcel growled, "I want you to try, you son-of-a-bitch."
With a sigh, Elijah stared into Marcel's eyes and said, "Release me and go stand in a corner until I tell you to come out."
Marcel was shocked by Elijah's order but, moved by his compulsion, he had no choice but to obey. His face burned with anger and humiliation as he marched over to the nearest corner.
Elijah brushed down the front of his shirt with a sigh. "Teenagers. You'll be the end of me."
"You can't compel me," Marcel barked from the corner.
"Oh?" Elijah strolled over to his desk. "I would say your nose would beg to differ, seeing as it's so firmly pressed against that wall."
Marcel pressed his forehead between the intersection of the wall, tears of frustration burning his eyes. "This isn't fair, Elijah. You…you can't just…send me to the corner like a child. I…I'm…a father now."
Silence lingered in the room for a moment longer before Elijah finally said, "Come out of the corner and come here."
Relief rushing over him as Elijah's magic wore off, Marcel turned slowly back towards Elijah, subtly eyeing his hands in search of a brush or, worse, the dreaded meter stick.
Elijah leaned back against his desk, his arms crossed, hands empty. Of course, Marcel knew, that didn't mean he was unarmed.
"Here," Elijah pointed to the spot in front of him. "Marcellus."
With an indignant huff, Marcel marched steadily over to Elijah. Standing in front of his eerily silent uncle, he waited in silence.
"You are a father now," Elijah repeated steadily. "So you cannot be as impulsive as you've been for the past two hundred years. Unlike Niklaus, I am on your side when it comes to Oliver. I believe that you can be a great father to this boy. But for the rest of his life…for the rest of your life, you will have to overcome the physiological limitations that come with being trapped in an adolescent body."
Marcel's guard fell at Elijah's soft tone. "My body…isn't a limitation."
His jaw tightened as brought his hand up to Marcel's forehead and tapped a finger against his temple. "Your prefrontal cortex is."
Pushing Marcel's hand away, Marcel growled, "Are you really going to use me being a teenager as a reason to keep…treating me like a child?"
Elijah smirked. "My apologies. But…if you behave like a child, what do you expect me to do?"
"I am a man!"
Elijah sighed as he leaned back against his desk again. "There it goes again. That…boyish temper. It's only natural, really. When we treat you…the way we do, you feel like you don't have any control. Just like you didn't have any control over your life as a child before us. It makes you angry, and like any angry teenager, you react…passionately. Impulsively."
"If you know that, why are you so damn condescending to me? Why do you intentionally try to piss me off?"
"It's not my desire to...'piss you off', Marcellus. I only mean to protect you. For the first century of your life, we were all in hiding, so none of our enemies knew where to find us. The second century, you spent lording over baby vamps of your own which made you, their 100-year-old sire, feel very powerful, I'm sure. They followed you because you were stronger then them and worshipped you because you were so benevolent. They were all so blinded by your power, they ignored your short-sightedness.
"So in two hundred years, you have never had to face any of the drawbacks that come with being stuck in a youth's body. But life in New Orleans has gotten increasingly more dangerous over the past decade and your poor judgment and impulse control – or lack thereof – has put you in dire situations on more than one occasion. And when you are in danger, this entire family is in danger. So you must understand why it is necessary, on occasions when your judgment is clearly impaired by your youthful vigor, for us to tow the ethically grey line of selective paternalism."
"I don't understand and I don't accept it!"
Elijah nodded. "That's understandable too. Unfortunately, it will still happen."
As Marcel reached out to grab Elijah's collar again, his hand was suddenly caught in a steel hold.
Elijah's eyes narrowed as he held Marcel's hand at his side. "Is your intention to prove my point?"
Marcel's hand clenched into a fist as he stared down Elijah. He hated how much faster the man was than him.
The sound of the door creaking open was enough to distract them both.
"Daddy?" Oliver squeaked as he pushed the door open further. He was sure that he heard Marcel's voice coming from Elijah's study but he was banned from Elijah's study after accidentally getting finger paint all over some very old books. It wasn't his fault, of course. The Mikaelsons simply had way too many old, priceless things that looked way too interesting to a curious little boy. Still, he really wanted to see his daddy, even if it meant upsetting his Uncle Elijah.
Elijah released Marcel's hand without prompting as Marcel started walking towards the boy.
"Hey there, buddy," Marcel's forced smile quickly became genuine as the boy's big brown eyes shined up at him. "What are you doing?"
Oliver looked over to Elijah, his eyes mixed with both caution and indignation. Then, turning his gaze back up to Marcel, he muttered, "Are you mad at me?"
"No, sweetheart." Marcel brushed his knuckles softly across Oliver's cheek. "Why would I ever be mad at you?"
His eyes drifting down to his bare feet, Oliver mumbled, "Because...I spitted on Unc'a 'Lijah."
Marcel's eyebrows rose in confusion. "You…spat on Uncle Elijah?"
The boy nodded and hung his head.
Marcel cut his eyes back at Elijah, realizing that must've been the straw that lead to what he considered the boy's harsh punishment. Elijah had always been very patient with the boy, so he should've known Oliver had to have done something wilder than usual to earn a spanking.
"It's…okay, sweetheart." Marcel lifted the boy into his arms and held him close as he left Elijah alone in the study. "You shouldn't spit on anyone anymore, okay? It's not nice."
Oliver nodded, resting his head against Marcel's chest. "'M sorry, daddy."
Running his hand gently down the boy's back, Marcel said, "I'm sorry too, sweetheart. I should've been here for you. You've had a very long day."
"I'm happy you wasn't," Oliver mumbled. "Because, if you was, you would've seen me being…so bad. And you wouldn't want me no more."
Marcel suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall. He stood the boy on the floor in front of him and knelt so they were eye to eye.
"That's not true. You are one of us now. You are…a Mikaelson. And that means there is nothing you can say or do…or person you can spit on…that'll make me ever give you up. You are my son. Always and forever."
Sucking his bottom lip between his teeth, Oliver mumbled, "Even…even when I'm being bad?"
Marcel chuckled and ran his hand over the boy's unruly curls. "Especially when you're being been bad. That only means that I need to love you more."
With his arms wide open, Oliver flew into Marcel, squeezing his neck with enough force to choke him but Marcel simply squeezed him back.
"Thank you for being my daddy."
"Marcellus,"
Marcel turned back to Elijah's study with Oliver still wrapped tightly in his arms at the sound of Elijah's voice.
"Family emergency at the theater," said Elijah, sliding his phone into his pocket. Noticing the way Oliver clung to Marcel's neck, he added, "Of course, it does not seem like something my siblings and I wouldn't be able to handle on our own if you have...more pressing obligations."
Marcel's jaw tightened as he tried to read Elijah's tone, wondering if he was just being understanding or condescending.
"Let me guess," Marcel began lowly. "I decide to stay and you use that as another example of me being 'irresponsible'?"
Walking slowly over to them, Elijah said, "The protection and growth of this family is the responsibility of each and every one of us." He stopped in front of Marcel, his eyes falling down to Oliver. "Whether we enact that responsibility through the role of soldier or nurture does not matter. As long as it remains our priority."
Marcel's eyes widened in shock as Elijah gave his shoulder a supportive pat before turning and walking back towards the staircase. "I will be taking Hayley, Kol, and Rebekah with me just in case the threat is not as benign as your father's text suggested. Izzy is still grounded so don't let her talk you into letting her leave the Compound while I'm away. I'm afraid supper is up to you tonight. I implore you, do not let me come home to greasy Chinese takeout."
This is probably the shortest chapter I've ever written but I have so much to do and so little time but I wanted to get a chap out before the end of the week. Please don't hate me for not even breaking 2K words.
Promise the next chapter will have a lot more action, in more ways than one *wink* (no sex though, still not crossing that line in this story lol)
