Chapter Fourteen: Hiraeth
Noun: homesickness for a place to which you cannot return, longing for a time and place, or a person, that no longer exists
Elijah and Niklaus waited all night for their private jet to return to the valley of the Eyrie. Niklaus nearly bit the pilot's head off when he arrived, but they needed the pilot desperately, and so that wouldn't do. The tension was palpable as they flew off into the rising sun, back to the city of New Orleans where his daughter waited for him. Niklaus had dreamt of this moment – dreaded this moment – and the anxiety was making him sick. Literally. Niklaus had thrown up into the doggie bag three times by the end of the flight. Elijah stole glances throughout their travels, but he did not spot a single smile.
It was noon by the time Niklaus and Elijah rushed through the back alleys of New Orleans and found their way back to the Mikaelson Estate. Passing by the gated entrance, Elijah paused to stare at the ornate, cursive 'M' that decorated the wrought iron. Mikaelson. His blood boiled hot, and he tore the M from the gate before throwing in into the street to be forgotten in time – hopefully just as their cursed surname would be forgotten as well. Then, he followed suit to meet his precious niece.
Elijah nearly ran over Niklaus, who seemed to be hiding just outside of the opening to the courtyard. Niklaus hardly noticed being tripped over in his trance like state.
"She's going to hate me," whispered Niklaus.
His eyes were wide and his breathing was shallow as he tried to inhale past the pit in his stomach.
"She's going to love you," said Elijah firmly.
"What if she finds out about us," said Niklaus as his panic increased.
"She won't," said Elijah.
"I don't know how to be a father," said Niklaus, his voice pained and thin.
"You'll learn," said Elijah, "come on."
They passed the courtyard and entered the main house.
"Hayley! Freyah! Rebekah!" called Elijah. His voice echoed through the estate.
No one answered immediately, but they could hear the pitter patter of little feet racing down the hall.
"Papa!" screeched a high-pitched voice, and a rocket of red hair barreled into Niklaus' hips. Hope's arms swung around her father's thighs and she squeezed as if letting go meant she would never see him again.
"Hope," whispered Niklaus as he stumbled under the impact. His hand trembled over her hair as if afraid to touch her and break her, "my Hope."
Niklaus had feared so many things – that his daughter wouldn't recognize him, that she would hate him, or that she simply wouldn't care – but his heart was full to bursting. Niklaus sank to his knees and held Hope's shoulders to take a good look at her bright freckled face.
"My darling, how I've missed you," he said as tears sprung to the corners of his eyes. He pulled her into a bear hug and squeezed. "I'm so sorry that I was gone for so long. I'm here now."
Muffled, Hope replied, "Mama said you were protecting us."
Niklaus almost laughed and sobbed at the same time. He would have to remember to thank Hayley from the bottom of his heart for keeping his name unsullied.
"Hey Elijah, hey Klaus," said that familiar sultry voice from down the hall.
Niklaus looked up through watery eyes and smiled at the woman who bore his child and gave him hope – literally and metaphorically. In that moment, he felt invincible.
"Thank you, Hayley, for everything," said Niklaus as he stood and stared at Hayley with his hand still grasping Hope's shoulder lightly – as if she would fade away.
Hayley nodded, saw the beaming grin on Hope's face, and couldn't help but smile through her worries.
"Hello Hayley," said Elijah with a curt nod. His tone was overly formal and stiff as he stayed on the sidelines of this touching moment.
"Mama, is that Uncle Elijah? The one that you always t – " started Hope in that way that kids do.
"Yep, that's Elijah!" said Hayley quickly as a bronzy blush covered her cheeks.
Niklaus peaked to see a matching flush on Elijah as well.
"He looks like a Disney prince!" sang Hope happily, and it was obvious how painstakingly Hayley had tried to raise a well-adjusted child.
"Time for a nap," said Hayley before she herself could pass out from embarrassment.
"But mommmm," whined Hope with a pouty lip.
"But Hayleyyyy," mimicked Niklaus with an identical pout. "Thirty minutes?"
Niklaus winked at Hope as Hayley sighed and rolled her eyes. Her schedule had kept her little family safe and alive for the past few years. She hesitated, but she knew they needed time together.
"Elijah, do you want to talk until then?"
Elijah swallowed thickly and nodded, leaving Hope and Niklaus to get to know each other for the first time.
Niklaus whipped out his phone, apologizing to his daughter, and texted Vincent.
Niklaus: 'Bring fresh beignets in the next 15 minutes and I'll buy you a convertible Ashton Martin.'
Vincent: 'Done.'
Niklaus grinned and stared at his beautiful, charming child. He wanted to tell her stories, listen to her ramblings, teach her to whittle, teach her to paint. He wanted her to know that he thought of her always, that he wanted to watch her first steps. Niklaus wanted her to know that she was loved.
"I've missed you every day," he said.
"Always and forever?" she asked with those innocent doe eyes staring up at him.
Niklaus felt his heart warm up.
"Always and forever," promised Niklaus as he put out his pinky for a pinky promise.
Hope accepted with a giggle.
"Come on, I want to show you something," he said as he led her to her old nursery room. Dust had collected over the years, but it was just the way they left it that fateful night. "This was your room when you were little."
Hope picked up a rattle and rolled her eyes in a Hayley-like fashion.
"These toys are for babies," she said.
"Well you were a baby back then, my dear heart," said Niklaus with a fond smile. He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out an unfinished photo album. Niklaus sat in the old rocking chair, pulled Hope into his lap, and showed her pictures of their once happy family. The pictures were taken when Hayley had just turned, and she had a vicious beauty about her. Rebekah seemed healthier back then, before the witch's hex had taken its toll. Elijah was as stiff and formal as ever in his traditional thousand dollar suits. And there was Niklaus holding Hope. Niklaus couldn't help but cringe when he thought of how gaunt and tortured his frame looked compared to the vitality he had all those years ago.
Still, it was important for Hope to know where she came from.
"There we are," said Niklaus with a guiding finger.
"Mama's smiling," said Hope in a mild state of awe, "And I was so tiny!"
His phone buzzed, and it was Vincent with the beignets. For this, he was grateful, because he was intent on putting the past behind him. Niklaus closed the album and put a finger to his lips with a mischievous grin.
"I have a surprise! But we can't tell your mother," whispered Niklaus devilishly and Hope giggled. They snuck down the steps together. Niklaus made grand displays of peaking around corners and tiptoeing over creaks in the floorboards. Finally, they made it to the gate where Vincent stood with a box of warm beignets as promised. Upon seeing Hope, Vincent cast a toothy grin and all but forgot about his Ashton Martin.
"Hope, meet your uncle Vincent," declared Niklaus proudly.
Vincent cocked his head in surprise, having been officially welcomed into the fold, and his impossibly wide smile seemed to grow impossibly wider.
"I didn't know I had an Uncle Vincent," said Hope skeptically, taught to be forever weary of strangers.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Hope," drawled Vincent in his finest southern accent. He tipped his hat and Niklaus could have sworn that he saw his daughter blush.
"Alright, alright, off with you!" Niklaus chastised his friend playfully.
Vincent laughed and said his goodbyes as he handed over the Beignets.
"I want that car, man," he called over his shoulder.
"You got it," called Niklaus, and he heard Vincent click his heels. He turned his attention back to his darling daughter. "Anyways, my dearest darling Hope, these are a treat you'll never forget!"
And then they sat on the stones in the courtyard and opened the powdery puffy pastries to share.
Up on the terrace, Elijah and Hayley leaned over the railing and watched the father-daughter duo get to know each other. Elijah's heart felt warm watching Niklaus, who was all smiles, laughter, and wit. Hayley felt a sense of ease washing over her as she watched Niklaus' gentlest version of himself come out to play.
"He'll be a good father," said Elijah.
Hayley nodded. She thought too.
"How have you been?" asked Elijah.
Hayley shrugged.
"It's hard being a single mom, but Hope was worth it," she said, and Elijah nodded.
"You did a wonderful job," said Elijah.
Silence fell and they watched Niklaus and Hope blow clouds of sugar at each other. Hayley kept glancing at Elijah, but Elijah's gaze was resolutely fixed on the courtyard. She sighed.
"I missed you," said Hayley. "Did you miss me?"
Elijah frowned.
"I missed you everyday," said Elijah, truthfully, the thought of Hayley had kept him going over the years – but things had changed.
"Do you think – " started Hayley.
"Thirty minutes is up!" yelled Niklaus from the courtyard with his hands cupped around his mouth. He waved at the two on the terrace. Niklaus scooped up Hope, who was yawning and covered head to toe in powdered sugar.
"We'll talk soon," said Elijah firmly, thanking the gods for this fortunate timing.
Hayley nodded and left to put Hope to bed for a few hours. Elijah hopped over the railing to meet Niklaus in the courtyard. He was so happy to see Niklaus laughing and standing tall. The man seemed to be full of light and air.
"How was it?" asked Elijah when he was close enough to speak.
Niklaus let out a giant exhale and deflated. He shrugged as he tried to keep that too bright smile in place.
Elijah reached out to wipe some sugar from Niklaus' chin. Just as his thumb crossed Niklaus' skin, Elijah watched Niklaus' smile falter. The light was going out. Elijah let his hand slip away. A wind blew through the courtyard as Niklaus' smile finally fell. His eyes slid off into the distance and dulled. It was the same expression that had dominated Niklaus' features since before their trip to the Eyrie.
"Are you okay?" asked Elijah. He felt foolish to have hoped for more.
Niklaus tilted his head as if to consider this question, then nodded, and moved away from Elijah to pick up the trash and leftover beignets.
Elijah watched him go as a chill settled in his bone marrow. Something was wrong. He felt a dire need to stop the storm that was coming, but he was no god, and the storm was coming no matter what.
Later that evening, Niklaus lay in a bedroom far away from the sleeping quarters of the rest of the family. He stared up at the ceiling absent mindedly, waiting for Elijah to meet him as his blood dried and coagulated in his body. He desiccated so often lately that he hardly noticed the sandpaper feeling in his muscles and the pins and needles stabbing his limbs. He twitched his fingers on the duvet until he couldn't feel them moving anymore. His toes would be next in line.
Eventually, the door opened slowly and Elijah slipped in without a sound. Elijah immediately sat by Niklaus side and brushed his fingers over Niklaus' chest. Elijah felt sleepy and cozy as his energy seeped into Niklaus' body. The black veins regained their bluish green luster. Niklaus started twitching his fingers again, and he looked over at Elijah with something akin to sadness.
"I thought you had a good day," said Elijah softly as he slid under the covers, "a good weekend."
"I did," said Niklaus softly.
"Then what's wrong?" asked Elijah as he brushed a curl behind Niklaus' ear.
Niklaus closed his eyes under furrowed brows.
"Mikael went looking for Hope," said Niklaus dully, "Hayley told me before they went to bed. He showed up at their house, but she ran out the back with Hope before Mikael could spot them."
Elijah's fist clenched as rage and fear swirled in his gut.
"What if he hurts her?" asked Niklaus softly.
"He won't," said Elijah quickly – defiantly. He would kill that man.
"He hurt me," said Niklaus simply.
And Elijah had no response.
"I can't protect her. I can hardly protect myself these days. They shouldn't have come here," said Niklaus as a few tears gathered on his lashes.
"Nothing bad can happen within these gates. Our father won't lay a finger on her. I'll kill him first," said Elijah through bared fangs, "Together, our family can protect her from anything."
"You don't know that," said Niklaus. He curled in on himself. His fear of the known and the unknown was overwhelming.
Elijah leaned forward to kiss Niklaus' forehead.
"She deserves so much more than me," said Niklaus.
"Don't say that," said Elijah.
"I'm an awful, horrendous, murderous person with a fucked up family," said Niklaus, "Hope is so pure and innocent…I'll ruin her."
"You're not awful," said Elijah quickly, "Our family is fucked up – I'll give you that – but we're strong together and we can do this."
Niklaus sighed and rolled over to face Elijah – his noble, resolute Elijah – all broad shoulders and dense muscle. Niklaus didn't need uncertain promises. He needed the relief that only came from having his cowardly soul fucked out of his body. He needed Elijah.
"Make me forget," begged Niklaus with sad, blue eyes, "just make it go away."
Elijah stared back at that handsome face, still beautiful despite the gauntness from years of torture and constant draining. Yes, perhaps their relationship was the most fucked up thing of all in this godforsaken family, but how could he deny this man?
"We'll forget together," said Elijah.
Their lips met and Elijah sucked at Niklaus lower lip. The fear of the oncoming storm was tempered as they drew their bodies closer. Their tongues swirled gently, laying down bandages over their wounds and their guilt and their dread.
Slowly, they forgot.
Elijah kissed the deep-set wrinkles of Niklaus' frown until they faded away. He kissed along Niklaus' jaw, down his neck, and back to his lips. He kissed Niklaus' carotid and unbuttoned Niklaus' stripped pajamas with practiced fingers. Elijah's fingers tingled with each brush across Niklaus' abdomen until the shirt fell away, revealing warm-toned skin pulled taunt over lean muscles and protruding ribs. Elijah bent to kiss the deep line from Niklaus' belly button to his solar plexus. When he looked up, Niklaus was just staring at him with those dull, mournful eyes again.
With unbroken eye contact, Niklaus reached blindly for Elijah's hand, to spur on the whirlwind of bliss and pain that he craved. He drew Elijah's palm down over his forehead – his eyes – his nose – his lips…until Elijah hand came to rest over Niklaus' throat.
"Please," said Niklaus through pressure on his windpipe.
Elijah squeezed, gently, and Niklaus felt his burdens falling away.
Niklaus put two fingers in his mouth to coat them in viscous, dehydrated saliva. All the while with unyielding eye contact, Niklaus slipped those wet fingers under his waistband and started scissoring himself open for Elijah.
Elijah was breathing heavily with unblinking eyes as he watched his brother do such lewd things. His cock strained against the confines of his clothing. Elijah removed his hand from Niklaus' throat and put his own fingers in Niklaus mouth. Niklaus' tongue danced obediently until Elijah fingers were soaked. Elijah hesitated with his wet fingers starting to dry in the air as he watched Niklaus' cheeks begin to flush.
"What are you waiting for, a formal invitation?" asked Niklaus with breathless impatience.
Elijah almost smirked against the heaviness of the atmosphere, but there was no humor in this race against the darkness that threatened to consume them both.
With a swift movement, Elijah ripped Niklaus pajama bottoms open, exposing Niklaus' spread-eagled legs and bare ass as Niklaus fucked himself with two thin fingers.
Elijah re-wet his fingers with his own saliva before he slid his much thicker fingers against Niklaus' fingers. Elijah pressed into Niklaus' entrance to join those digits. Niklaus sucked in air as sharp fingernails grazed the sensitive skin. Elijah's fingers went much further than Niklaus' fingers, and the pace was more intense. Niklaus finally felt his cock twitch in arousal as his depression was replaced with something a little more sinister. The heat was rising in his stomach and their combined fingers weren't enough.
Niklaus spit on his other hand and slipped into Elijah's trousers to find a rock hard erection in need of lubrication. It was warm and throbbing in Niklaus' hand as he slicked the tip with saliva. Elijah shuddered as Niklaus focused on the head of his cock with a slippery hand. He wanted to fuck the warm body below him until there was nothing left – but he needed self-restraint. He didn't want to hurt Niklaus like last time.
"Come on," urged Niklaus as he pulled away enough for their fingers to slide out of his ass. Niklaus flipped over onto his stomach and arched his lower back to present his slicked bare ass to Elijah.
Elijah's restraint was cracking – but they had prepared Niklaus' entrance together. He knew spit wasn't enough for anal sex – but Niklaus' ass was beckoning...
Before Elijah could process his doubts, Niklaus arched his back further and pressed his ass against Elijah's trousers. Elijah's heart rate skyrocketed.
"Break me," murmured Niklaus with half-lidded eyes, as if he were about to fall asleep.
It was perverse. It was lewd.
Elijah's cock was painfully hard.
His resolve crumbled once more.
In a haze of lust and desire, Elijah unzipped his trousers, freed his cock, and settled himself firmly between Niklaus' cheeks. It was warm and wet, but the saliva wasn't enough. They both knew that, so when Niklaus felt Elijah's wide palm reach around to muzzle his mouth, Niklaus knew he would get what he wanted out of this encounter. Elijah shifted to line up with Niklaus' entrance and pressed gently to test the resistance. Niklaus was pliable, but the skin pulled here and there.
"I'm awful too," muttered Elijah, calling back to Niklaus' self-loathing. They were all monsters here, but they would be monsters together.
Elijah tightened his grip around Niklaus jaw and used his thumb to close Niklaus' nostrils. With a snap of his hips, Elijah tore through Niklaus' physical defenses. Niklaus screamed into Elijah's palm as his entrance ripped instantly. The saliva had already dried, but thick rivulets of warm blood were already taking its place. Niklaus bucked forward as if to escape from the intrusion, but Elijah kept pressing forward, dragging against his bleeding skin in search of something warm and tight. Niklaus whimpered against the suffocating hand over his airways until Elijah was filling him up completely.
Finally, Elijah's hand fell away when he was convinced that Niklaus wouldn't scream and wake up the entire villa.
"I like it," said Niklaus instantly, breathlessly, worried that Elijah would stop. This painful lullaby, it was all he needed. It would change him – it would make him new again.
"I know you do," said Elijah simply.
Elijah leaned forward and let his torso press Niklaus into the mattress. With his full weight, the broader and heavier man didn't need to use his hands to cause asphyxiation. Niklaus struggled to open his ribs and extend his diaphragm to take in air. The weight had forced the remaining air from his lungs, and so he had no air to scream when Elijah started snapping his hips and thrusting viciously into his bleeding ass. Niklaus couldn't move under the torrent of movement, but it made his own erection find friction against the bed sheets. Soundlessly, Niklaus spilled semen into the sheets long before Elijah's was done with him.
Elijah lifted himself up and yanked the dreary and half suffocated Niklaus onto all fours.
"Fuck," he murmured under his breath when he saw the mess that Niklaus had made.
Elijah's hips pistoned at an uneven pace until he came deep and long – the tension of the day finally leaving his body. He slipped out of Niklaus' ass and Niklaus fell into the mattress like a used ragdoll. Niklaus groaned as he rolled over the massage his compressed, bruised ribs.
"Too hard?" asked Elijah, almost shyly, as he fell into spooning position behind Niklaus.
Niklaus shook his head and snorted. Elijah severely underestimated the abuse his body had suffered in the past.
"I could go all night," said Niklaus as he pressed his hips back to meet Elijah blood soaked trousers. He had no sense of time – no sense of how long Elijah had fucked him – but tonight he felt that nothing could go on long enough. Without the pain and pleasure and movement and heat, Niklaus felt his self-loathing and dread return. Like a black abyss swirling around him and threatening to pull him under, Niklaus would drown himself before that abyss got any closer.
"Is that a promise?" asked Elijah as those sinful hips called the blood back into his spent and flaccid cock.
Niklaus craned his neck back subserviently and offered his veins to Elijah. His eyes fluttered as he felt sharp teeth puncture his skin and blood trickled across his collarbones. A thick hand wrapped around his chaffed cock and brought it back to life.
"You're mine, forever and always," growled Elijah into Niklaus' ruptured veins.
Niklaus would have agreed, but he was sleepy and dizzy. The growing erection pressing against his ass held his attention more so than any of the sweet nothings that Elijah whispered.
"Mine," said Elijah lowly as he pressed forward slowly but surely.
Niklaus winced and shuddered as his half healed entrance was torn open again for Elijah's pleasure. Niklaus hissed and jerked forward, but Elijah wrapped one leg around Niklaus' knees to keep him locked in place while they spooned and fucked. This time, Elijah kept a slow, shallow, and steady pace. He hugged Niklaus tightly and nestled his nose in blond hair after he finished drinking from Niklaus' neck.
"Harder," said Niklaus as he tried to push back and impale himself, but Elijah kept his distance. He fucked into Niklaus with only a quarter of his length to feel the tightness of Niklaus' entrance around the tip of his cock. Elijah groaned, feeling heady and over stimulated after coming so recently. He was lost in lazy sensations, and didn't notice the tremble that had started in Niklaus' limbs.
Without the brutal thrusts and oxygen deprivation, Niklaus was left all too aware of his predicament. The mind-numbing, mind-blowing sex from before had been replaced with something deceptively tranquil and unpleasantly gentle.
Niklaus wanted more – needed more – but he couldn't move and the words wouldn't come.
"Please," said Niklaus. He wanted this. He was trapped in Elijah's stone cold grip. He didn't want this. Elijah's breath was too hot on his neck. "Please."
He needed this.
Elijah complied and thrust in a bit further while still keeping that agonizingly slow pace. Niklaus gasped as he felt Elijah rubbing something deep and pleasurable with each little movement. Niklaus keened in earnest as he tried to move away, but Elijah was unyielding
Niklaus scrunched his eyelids shut.
He was being pulled under.
It was too quiet – too slow.
There was nothing to keep the darkness at bay.
"You feel so good," muttered Elijah unwittingly as Niklaus began to panic.
"Feels good," grunted Mikael, his hot breath in Niklaus' ear.
The darkness was already here.
"Does that feel good for you, too?" asked Elijah softly.
"You like that, boy?" jeered Mikael as he reached around to yank at Niklaus' painfully embarrassing erection, "You want it slow like this next time?"
"I'm close," murmured Elijah as he finally thrust all the way in and started rutting deeply into Niklaus' sore ass.
Mikael's breaths became ragged and harsh. Spit and sweat dipped into Niklaus' ear and down the side of his face.
"Fucking hell, Niklaus," groaned Elijah as his balls tightened and his thrusting grew fast and uneven.
"Fucking whore…" groaned Mikael as he came and fucked Niklaus a little harder, "…all you're good for…" he said as he fucked the shame and semen a little deeper, "…only thing I want you for..."
This was why Elijah wanted him. This was all he was to Elijah.
Niklaus felt burning, stinging, salty liquid coat his internal injuries, and he wasn't sure who that liquid belonged to anymore.
It wasn't until Elijah came – slowly, deeply, gently – and removed himself from Niklaus, that he noticed that the other man was shaking. Elijah's heart skipped a beat as he pulled Niklaus' shoulder to make the frozen man roll over. Niklaus' expression broke Elijah's heart. Tears were dripping down his nose and his temples. Niklaus covered his eyes with his forearm and grimaced against the silent, wracking sobs that were trying to leave his body.
"No, no, no, no," whispered Elijah hurriedly as he tried to figure out what had gone wrong. His hands hovered over Niklaus, half intending to pull him close, half fearing to make everything worse. "What's wrong? What did I do?"
Then the sobs escaped. Niklaus groaned in humiliation, but he couldn't stop those embarrassing, chest heaving cries.
"Why am I like this?" asked Niklaus desperately, but Elijah didn't understand. "I've fucked half my family at this point…gods I'm disgusting."
"You're not," said Elijah insistently, among other platitudes, but he felt it too: the shame, self-loathing, and disgust. The fundamental belief that what they were doing was perverse and wrong – but he loved his brother and he couldn't lose him over this.
Niklaus' had stopped crying through sheer willpower but his breaths were still ragged and heavy.
"It's okay," whispered Elijah, trying to be soothing while his world fell apart, "everything is going to be okay."
Elijah reached out to touch Niklaus' arm. Niklaus recoiled as if he had been burned.
"I can't do this anymore," said Niklaus as he sat up and shot out of bed with an arc of bodily fluids behind him. He caught a glimpse of his bruised and bloody reflection. "I can't…I can't even fucking look at myself."
"Let me help," begged Elijah.
"Stop, just stop, just stop," repeated Niklaus as he tried to look away from his reflection but his eyes kept finding their way back. Niklaus scowled. This wasn't him anymore. This broken, abused, whore of a human being. It wasn't. It couldn't be. He was a father now.
Niklaus hooked his nails on the mirror hanging on the wall and pulled. The mirror shattered to the floor and Niklaus paced in the shards, leaving an oval of bloody footprints.
"What kind of a father…what kind of a father does something like that…" muttered Niklaus repeatedly as he pulled at his hair and paced in glass. He didn't know if he was referencing himself or Mikael, but the sentiment was all the same.
"Niklaus, just stop, you're hurting yourself," said Elijah as he tried to reach to pull Niklaus out of his disaster zone.
"Do not fucking touch me," snapped Niklaus as he sidestepped Elijah's helping hand. Elijah retreated instantly with his metaphorical tail between his legs. Somewhere deep inside, Niklaus knew that Elijah didn't deserve that, but he couldn't think like that now. He needed to disentangle himself from this web of perversions and incest.
Niklaus shook his head quickly, looking a bit crazed and unhinged. He pulled a blanket from an armchair and covered his broken body. Holding the doorknob in his skeletal hands, Niklaus felt resolve take root in the midst of his mental breakdown.
"Hope doesn't deserve a family like this…this…" Niklaus gestured earnestly between himself and his anguished brother, "this can't happen again."
Elijah felt ice wash over him. The storm was here.
"Okay, I promise, it won't happen again," said Elijah on his knees on the mattress, still confused, but afraid of what would happen if Niklaus walked out that door.
"I don't believe you," said Niklaus sharply, blaming Elijah for a lifetime of suffering that had nothing to do with him.
"Just don't leave…please don't leave me again," begged Elijah, "please Niklaus…"
But he did, leaving Elijah broken, always broken, in his wake.