This one is kind of long. And a lot of it is my first attempt at a flashback. But, we get to see some of Josh and Elijah's first few weeks in Manosque. Though, first up, some of Elijah acting like a giddy schoolboy over getting a letter.

Anyway, as always, thank you for the likes, follows, and comments. They really do mean a lot to me.

~You Can't Fight Destiny~

Elijah's eyes widened when the woman walked into the bar. She was the last person he was expecting to see. He was half afraid that she would walk right over to the piano. But, no. He followed her with his eyes as she walked over to Josh. "You seem to be doing well for yourself, Joshua."

"It's not like the place was a dive when I bought it. What do you want, Antoinette?"

"What? A girl can't want to see her ex-boyfriend and see how he's doing? Just because things didn't work out between me and Elijah doesn't mean I don't still care about him."

That did it. He stopped playing mid-song and walked over to them. "Funny, I don't recall ever being your boyfriend to begin with."

"Wow. Way to make a girl feel special, Elijah."

"What do you expect? We went on two dates. Had one kiss. I realized it wasn't going to go anywhere, and ended things. I was even a gentleman about it. I could have ghosted you. I didn't. It's hardly my fault that you took 'this isn't going to work out' to mean 'try harder'."

Before she could say anything, Josh held up an envelope. "Hey Elijah, this came for you. Take a look at the return address."

Leave it to Josh to try to diffuse the situation. But then, Elijah noticed why he was told to look at the return address. He could only stare at it, hardly believing that it said what it looked like it said. Much less that it could mean what he thought it meant. "You don't think…?"

"Honestly, Elijah. Yes, there are probably hundreds of Andreas running around New Orleans, but how many of them would be writing to you? Pretty sure this is from her."

Elijah's hands were shaking. Finally, he handed the envelope to Josh. "You open it. I'm afraid of ripping the envelope and mangling the return address." Because he definitely wanted an opportunity to write back.

Josh just laughed and took the envelope from him, opened it, and handed it back.

The letter was fairly short, but it was written in handwriting as beautiful as the woman who had written it. And on unlined stationary, which was pretty impressive in itself, these days. As he read, everything around him faded away. He could actually hear her voice reading her words to him in his head. And he couldn't help but smile.

"Elijah,

I wanted to thank you for giving me a beautiful day just when I needed it. You've helped me more than you can ever know. I realized that I'd been holding on to things that I shouldn't. If I'd met my ex under different circumstances, without the legacy of pain that haunted him, I think that things would have been different between us. My time with you helped me to forgive him for the pain that he caused me and remember the best parts of our lives together. And, though I can't honestly say that I'll ever get over him entirely, I… I can finally look forward. Because of you. I'll never forget my time in France. Those few hours with you were the most memorable part of my entire trip. And if by some chance we do meet again in another life, I'm gonna hold you to that dance. Until then, be happy. And, as you grow and find the parts of your life that fit you perfectly, make sure you never let them go.

Andrea."

He read over it again, and then brought it to his face and inhaled, hoping to catch a hint of her scent. He was disappointed when there was nothing of her that even his senses could pick up. When a third reading of the letter showed neither anything so personal that it shouldn't be shared, or any more of a clue as to why she was writing to him, he handed it to Josh. "What do you make of this?"

Josh read it over, and shrugged. "Honestly? I think you should write back. I mean, talking about holding you to that dance sure sounds like she would like to see you, again. And… that last line could have been a subtle way of saying that she would be interested in hearing from you, again."

"How do you figure that?" He so wanted to believe that. That she had felt the same connection that he had. But, it seemed to much to hope for.

"Just call it intuition. Like, she doesn't want to come out and say that she hopes that she might be one of those things you never let go of, but… she took the time to write to you. Not only will she never forget you, but she wanted to make sure that you knew that."

Elijah smiled. But then he thought of something else. "She mentioned her ex…"

"Yes, she did. But, look at the context. The woman flat-out told you that she's ready to move on. And then said that that was because of you. Write back. Let her know that you still think of her, too. That's the only way to see if there might be something there. Take a chance." He handed the letter back. "Take the rest of the night off. We have a jukebox. The patrons can use that if they want music."

Elijah smiled, all but grabbed the letter out of Josh's hand, and ran up the stairs to their apartment. Andrea had written to him. She seemed interested in continuing to have some contact with him. Even if she was only interested in friendship, at least he would maybe get to talk to her once in a while.

It was when he sat down to write back to her that he noticed the back of the letter. Her address. She had given him her address. Josh was right. She wanted to talk to him, again. At the very least, she wanted to be his friend. Andrea Labonair. Such a pretty name. He pulled out his stationary and a pen and started to write.

~You Can't Fight Destiny~

"I suppose that little show was for my benefit?"

"Yes and no. Did I give him the letter now to show you that there's someone he is interested in dating - and that someone isn't you? Yeah. I admit that. Was any part of his reaction an act? No. He hasn't stopped talking about this woman since they met."

"Why do you dislike me so much, Joshua?"

Josh shrugged. "We can start with you insisting on calling me Joshua. I believe I told you when we first met, before I found out what a manipulative bitch you were, to call me Josh, because everyone does. Oh, yeah. And the fact that you're a manipulative bitch."

"What did I ever do to you?"

"All right, I admit that maybe manipulative bitch is a little strong. But, you can hardly deny being more than a bit of a stalker."

She actually had the nerve to look affronted at that. "I never stalked anyone!"

"Right… Elijah said it himself. You took him telling you that it wasn't going to work out to mean 'try harder'. How long was it between your second and last date and the day you stopped coming in here almost every day trying to get him to 'take you back'. And never mind that two dates does not a relationship make and you were never together to begin with. I'll ask you again. What do you want, Antoinette?"

"I just wanted to see him. I still love him, and…"

Josh broke in with a laugh. "You went on two dates! If you ever loved him at all, that's just a sign that you fall in love way too easily. So, don't fucking start. He has a good life here, Antoinette. And there's a woman that he is very interested in, that I already know for a fact would be much better for him than you would. So, take the fucking hint you apparently didn't take four years ago, and get lost. And this time, stay lost."

He was getting tired. And honestly, the way this woman just couldn't seem to take a hint, even after four years, was making him start to think his initial assessment of both the town and the oh-so-convenient ad for a bar for sale were spot on.

~You Can't Fight Destiny~

Four years earlier

Manosque was what old people liked to call "quaint". Josh just called it "small". It seemed like a really strange place to go to start over. Paris would have made more sense. Easier to get lost in the crowd in Paris. Then again, what was true for them, was also true for anyone that might come looking for them. He had no delusions that the fact that Elijah Mikaelson was wandering around with amnesia wasn't going to somehow get out. Not that Elijah was exactly vulnerable. At least not physically. But, his sanity was another story, altogether. How many times could he hear his real name before Marcel's compulsion started to crack? How many people from his past, people who would naturally expect him to know them, could he "meet" before he decided to do some research into his past? Supposedly, any curiosity had been compelled out of him. But, Josh wasn't about to bet the man's sanity on that.

He was becoming paranoid. There was no other word for it. To the point that when Elijah found the ad for a bar for sale - complete with an apartment upstairs - Josh's first thought was that it was far too convenient. What were the odds of a bar being sold right when they were looking for both a place to live and a way to make money so that Josh didn't have to continue relying on Hayley and Marcel? A bar, of all things. The one kind of business Josh already knew how to run, and run well.

But, Elijah was so excited about the damned ad. So happy to have found something that he thought would work for them. It was almost depressing to see Elijah fucking Mikaelson acting all giddy about the fact that he was sure he had helped Josh.

"Fine. We'll go look at this place. But, don't be too disappointed if it turns out to not be the right place for us, okay? We can't really expect to find something perfect this quickly."

"I know. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. But, you moved to another fucking continent to be able to look after me. You can hardly blame me for wanting this to go as smoothly as possible for you. Speaking of which, I should definitely go with you. My French is better than yours."

Which was true. It shouldn't really surprise Josh that a man who was a thousand years old spoke several languages. Though, it had surprised Elijah when they arrived and he realized that he could read the signs, much less actually follow the rather rapid-fire questions asked at Customs. Though, he had also done more than his fair share of just compelling their way through.

Josh sighed and handed the phone to Elijah. "Go ahead and make the call. If I try to do it, I'm sure I'll screw it up."

Which is how they found themselves standing in a bar that looked more like the inspiration for Rick's place in Casablanca than any bar Josh had ever actually been in. And he could tell that Elijah kept eying the grand piano in the center of the room. Of course. Why not? Klaus painted, Elijah apparently played the piano. He wondered what Rebekah's hidden artistic talent was.

Once the deal was mostly made, Elijah wandered over and started playing, apparently trusting Josh to be able to finish negotiations on his own. Especially since the woman spoke English, and was willing to discuss business in Josh's own language.

Josh smiled when he actually recognized the song Elijah was playing. Yes, he really did play. Did Hayley know that? Hell, did Klaus or Rebekah even know that? "How much more to include the piano?"

Antoinette hadn't taken her eyes off of Elijah through most of the proceedings. Which might have been cute if Josh wasn't completely team Hayley when it came to Elijah's romantic future. "Honestly, the cost of moving it would far outweigh any benefits to me keeping it. Consider it part of the business. I'll make sure it's included in the actual bill of sale. That is, if we have a deal?"

Josh still had his misgivings about this. But, watching Elijah play… seeing him almost happy… He couldn't say no. Yes, his job was to keep Elijah safe, and keep him sane. But, the man had been to Hell and back more times than even Klaus could count. If this was where he wanted to be, then Josh was determined to give him this one little slice of normalcy. "We have a deal. Just make sure that piano is included."

The sale went through remarkably quickly. Then again, when you had property changing hands between vampires, things did tend to go quickly. All three parties involved could, and did, compel anyone they needed to to speed the process up.

Though Elijah had frowned a little at seeing his own name on the paperwork. "This is your place, Josh. I'll work for you. You don't need to make me your actual partner."

Josh just shook his head. He could hardly explain that the money came from Elijah's family, and so really the place was more his than Josh's. "I never imagined actually owning something like this, man. My plan was to get a job as a bartender, somewhere. I never dreamed of buying a bar. This is really more your doing than mine. So, I put up the actual money, it's your vision."

He didn't know if Elijah was actually satisfied with that answer, or if he just decided it would be easier to drop it. In some ways, he was almost childlike. Which was another thing that was taking a whole Hell of a lot of getting used to. Elijah Mikaelson had been so self-assured. He had his ruthless moments. His was a name that was feared by almost every vampire in the world. Only his little brother evoked more sheer terror. Elijah Montgomery was an over-grown five-year-old, sometimes. He looked at the world with a sense of wonder that Josh hadn't seen in anyone's eyes since Hope had grown out of it. It should have been terrifying in it's own right. But, it was oddly endearing.

What wasn't endearing was the way Antoinette kept coming around after the sale went through. For somebody who was selling her business because she was leaving town, she seemed in no hurry to leave. But, he had to admit that Elijah wasn't exactly being discouraging. So, it was hard to blame her.

And hard to hide his surprise and disappointment when Elijah asked for a night off so that he could take Antoinette to dinner. "Yeah, of course. Just because I work seven days a week out of nothing better to do with my time, doesn't mean that you have to, too. We have a jukebox. Patrons can make do with that for one night."

But, part of his heart broke for Hayley, back in New Orleans, waiting for the day that Freya could put her world back together and give her her soulmate back. No, she probably wasn't expecting him to not date, or even to stay celibate. After all, it wasn't like he remembered her, remembered that there was someone out there that he had once loved with all of his heart. Someone that the very thought of being separated from her was so impossible to comprehend that it was easier for him to forget who he was and walk away from everything he was, than it was to live without her.

Josh shook his head. And then he picked up his phone and texted Hayley.

JR: I need to talk to you, later. Elijah is going to be out tomorrow. I'll call you?

HM: Yeah, of course. Is everything okay? Are you sure this can wait until tomorrow?

JR: Yeah. Nothing major. No problems or anything. Just… something you should be the first to hear.

And then the dots that showed that she was typing popped up. Disappeared. Popped up again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It was several minutes before the next text actually showed up.

HM: Gotcha. Thank you for that. Is… Never mind. Call me tomorrow while he's… out.

JR: Hayley…

She didn't respond. Didn't even start to. He didn't blame her. If it was him, he wasn't sure he would really want to hear about it, either.

If she mentioned that Elijah had a date to the others, none of them tried to interrogate him about it. Not even hopeless romantic Rebekah who would probably have had some choice words about it. Like Josh could have any control over this. Elijah was a grown man. Who he dated was none of Josh's business unless he had reason to suspect an ulterior motive.

The man who walked out of Josh's Place the next night looked so much like the old Elijah that it was uncanny. Where the hell had he gotten that suit, anyway? Not that it really mattered. Just one of life's little mysteries.

And the minute door closed behind him, Josh was on the phone to Hayley.

She answered on the first ring. "How are you guys doing?" She tried so hard to sound normal, but he could hear the suppressed tears in her voice.

"We're doing fine. The bar I bought came with a decent batch of regulars. And Elijah's piano playing is already starting to bring in decent amount of extra business. Woman we bought it from says that we actually seem to be doing even better than she did."

"Does she have a name?"

"Antoinette Sienna."

"You answered that too quickly. You do know that I wasn't asking about the woman you bought the bar from. I was asking about Elijah's date."

"Yeah… Funny thing about that…"

"They're one and the same."

"Got it in one."

"Is she pretty?"

"Not as pretty as you. And before you try the 'you aren't exactly the best judge of that' line, just because I'm not interested in sleeping with women, doesn't mean I can't appreciate feminine beauty from a purely aesthetic standpoint. And you are much prettier than she is."

She actually laughed at that. "I guess I'll just have to take your word for that." There was a pause. "Does he… Is he happy?"

"Hayley. It's a first date. She's not his girlfriend, or anything."

"I'm sorry. I'm not being fair. I just… it was a shock. Which is stupid. He doesn't remember me. Why shouldn't he date, right?"

"I know. But, now I'm starting to wish I hadn't said anything to you about it. I think that maybe that wasn't fair to you."

"No! It's okay. I'm glad you told me. I mean… I admit to not exactly being happy about it. But, I do want him to be happy. And I'm not making any sense."

"You're doing fine. I totally understand."

"And, now I'm torn."

"Oh?"

"Part of me wants to have you text me when he gets home. And, another part is afraid of that text not coming until tomorrow, and…"

Josh had to laugh at that. "You think that forgetting you and his family turned him into some kind of man-whore? Elijah doesn't exactly strike me as a sex on the first date kind of guy. And if you have any personal experience to the contrary, well… that's you. The woman he loved for months before he even got around to kissing her. So, anything that happened once he finally admitted to his feelings doesn't count."

And that got her laughing, too. "I guess you have a point. Anyway… It sounds like you're calling from the bar, which means that I should let you get back to work. I'll talk to you, later."

"I'll text you when he gets in." Except, he was talking to himself. She had already ended the call.

Elijah came home two hours later. Seeming in a good mood, but not exactly on any kind of "I just had the best date of my life" emotional high.

Josh texted Hayley that he knew she was being silly, and then decided it was time to interrogate his friend. "So, did you have a good time?"

"It was enjoyable, yes. We went out to dinner. Talked. Just got to know each other."

"And that's it? Dinner and talking? Not even a kiss goodnight?"

"No. I don't know, it just didn't seem right. I guess I'm not the kind of man who kisses a woman on a first date. Which… seems really old-fashioned." He sighed. "Which makes me wonder just how old I am, anyway. Is that just me being eccentric, or is it a hold-over from my time as a mortal? I don't suppose you know the answer to that?"

Josh's personal theory - that somewhere in Elijah Montgomery's head, the ghost of Elijah Mikaelson was screaming at him that this woman is not who he really wants - was not something he could say. So, he just shrugged. "I know that you're several centuries old. So, I guess that being old-fashioned would make sense. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about your love life before. I'm sure you've dated, highly doubt you're a virgin after all this time, but I don't exactly know details. And, since you're a lot older than I am, I really don't know anything about your life before you became a vampire."

Elijah sighed. "I guess I'll never know the answer to that, then. Though, it sounds like me being old-fashioned at least makes sense. If I'm that old. Anyway, let me get out of this suit, and then I think I'll get back to work."

A week later, he went on another date with her. But this time, when he came home he was in a not very good mood.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not much to talk about. We went out dancing. I took her home. Kissed her goodnight. And… felt nothing. Decided it was better to end this than to lead her on. Except, she didn't take that very well. And is saying that I did lead her on? I mean, what exactly did she think was going on, here? It was two dates. I… if you don't mind, I'm still going to take the rest of the night off."

"Yeah, of course. You already had the night off. You're the weirdo that takes a day off of work, and then goes to work, anyway."

That should have been the end of it. Except, it took another six months for Antoinette to get the hint. She finally stopped coming in to the bar the night that Elijah threatened to call the police and have her arrested for stalking.

~You Can't Fight Destiny~

Present Day

Until now. Here she was again. Right when Hayley had walked back into Elijah's life, so did Antoinette. And Josh was through believing in coincidences.

He mixed her a drink, and handed it to her. "Here. On the house. Drink this, and then get the hell out of my bar. And this time, stay away from him."

And then he walked away, but he watched her out of the corner of his eye. Watched as she took a drink. Watched as she finished the drink. Watched as she, for once, did as she was told and walked out. And then he pulled out his cell phone and sent a group text to the Mikaelsons.

JM: Guys, we have a problem. Facetime. Now.

He told the other bartender that he was in charge for now, and went into his office. It didn't surprise him that Hayley was the first one to join the facetime chat.

"What's going on? Is he okay?"

"Wait. I only want to do this once."

A few minutes later, they were all there, even Davina. "You sure do have a flair for melodrama, sometimes, Josh. What's got you so upset that you even included me in this little group chat?"

"Stalker chick from when we first got here is back."

"Stalker chick? What did I miss?"

"Oh, that's right. We never told you about her. You didn't know what we had done yet when he first met her, and then we thought it best not to tell you that your amnesiac brother seemed to have a stalker. Were a little worried what you would do." Leave it to Hayley to come up with the worst possible way to explain things to Klaus.

"He has a what?!"

"Look, at the time, I figured she was just a normal stalker. And it's not like Elijah can't take care of himself in that respect."

"At the time? What happened?"

"I thought it was weird that she showed up again. Especially right when Hayley walked back into his life. So, I… spiked her drink."

"Good man."

"Which… is how I found out that we have a problem. Because she didn't notice. Guys… Antoinette Sienna is on vervain."

~You Can't Fight Destiny~

And the plot thickens. Just what is Antoinette's deal, anyway?

So, my hope going forward is to post at least one chapter of fanfiction a week. Which means updating each fic at least once a month. We'll see how well that works out.