Hey guys! It's been a minute, hasn't it. Honestly, It'd be a lie to say I'm not slightly clueless on how to continue this. I mean I have an idea of how I want things to end mostly because it's how I wanted the show to end and it's just this one scene of everyone at the dining table, and I mean everyone so including Kol, Davina, Marcel, Bekah, Freya as well as Elijah, and it's a dinner scene where they're all talking and laughing and then the camera pans out through the window and it's just, that's how it ends. That's my cannon ending for the show. Anyway, my point was, I'm taking suggestions for how to get to that point, any scenes or anything you want to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do to make it happen :)
This chapter is a little more Hayley-centric but don't worry, Klaus and Hope are still adorably adorable. I hope y'all like this!
Read, review and enjoy guys!
Hayley's first priority to inform of their return had always been and would always be Freya, the hybrid calling her as soon as she finished putting away the mugs used for breakfast. The witch, when she answered, looked better than Hayley had ever seen her, skin glowing with a healthy tan and a genuine smile on her lips, not strained like it had become these past few years. It was one that she couldn't help but match. Vacation was a good look on Freya.
An abbreviated version of their trip to Florence and Freya's smile turned watery, the witch insisting that she would be on the next flight back. A few well worded threats had her grudgingly agreeing to extend her vacation a couple more weeks. Personally, Hayley hoped it would be long enough for them both to get their asses into gear because honestly? She had plans and they all revolved around Freya finally putting a ring on it.
"You look different." Freya's voice broke her out of her thoughts, a light blush rising to her cheeks as the witch conjectured what it was about her that was 'different'. "I'd say it was that you're well rested, but we both know some decent O positive would take care of that-" she broke off, mouth hanging open as a possibility occurred to her. "Spill. Who was it?"
"Who was what?"
"You got laid," Freya pronounced, eyes sparkling with mirth. "I know it isn't Declan because if it is, I'll be on the next plane over to personally beat your ass. What other guys have you been around besides Niklaus -" she cut herself off and took a deep breath. "It was Klaus wasn't it?" Biting her lip to hold back her grin, Hayley nodded. "Finally! I want details and this had better not be a one time thing or I will hex the both of you. Rebekah owes me a gorgeous pair of heels now," she informed the hybrid gleefully.
"I cannot believe you bet on my love life," Hayley told her. "Those shoes had better be worth it."
"Oh, they are."
Stepping into the Sanctuary, Hayley was immediately greeted by the rush of protective energy Vincent had imbued the building with, a comforting prickling of magic running up her arms and curling around her neck. God, she was proud of what this place had become. Turning her head at the sound of her name, Vincent came into view, the warlock ducking around a couple of kids playing, grinning as he moved toward her.
"It's good to have you back, it's been too quiet without you," he grinned.
"You were so bored, weren't you?" She laughed as he confirmed her suspicions. Things had become easier these past few years, at the very least and they both had welcomed the change of pace. "Well, things are probably about to get louder."
Vincent's grin slipped a fraction. "How so?"
"Well," Hayley began slowly, "Hope's home for the week and we no longer have to worry about the Hollow returning at full power…"
"Ah, Klaus is back, isn't he?" His voice was flat, words coming out as more a statement of fact than a question. "Great, so, what, I'd say we have maybe a week before the world starts ending again?"
"Vincent, that's not fair-" she began protesting before she was cut off.
"What's not fair, Hayley," the warlock interrupted, "is the destruction that follows in his footsteps. I've put too much into this city to watch it burn down on his whims."
"And I haven't? Yes, Klaus's methods leave a lot to be desired, but let's be honest, when has anyone of us bothered listening to the full story before blaming him and putting the responsibility of fixing things on his shoulders?"
"I don't need the full story when he goes off and kills indiscriminately because someone he cares about might be in danger or because he wants to prove a point!" Visibly taking a moment to calm himself down, Vincent inhaled deeply, "look Hayley, you're my friend and I love you and Hope, but every time Klaus Mikaelson comes through this city people die and that is something I cannot and will not let go of. Not even for you."
"He'll deny it until the end, but one of the best ways to cheer up your Uncle Kol is with a mug of hot chocolate," Klaus informed Hope as he poured milk into a saucepan and shook out a couple spoonfuls of chocolate powder.
"Yeah, Auntie 'Vina keeps telling me how much of a softie he really is," the teen giggled. And - what? Klaus had to admit he hadn't expected Kol and Davina to keep much contact. It felt surprisingly… nice, though, that they did, something warming inside him at the thought.
"She isn't wrong," he confirmed. "At any given moment, all you need to do to brighten up his day is smother him with hugs." Then, with a smile, even as he rolled his eyes in pretend annoyance, "now your Aunt Rebekah, she prefers hers with the barest hint of cinnamon and she gets terribly upset if it isn't absolutely perfect. I do believe for her one of the greatest misfortunes of life is a badly prepared mug of hot chocolate. Unfortunate side effect of being the youngest of the family - she had us all half wrapped around her little finger and she knew it." He gave a sigh of fond exasperation before meeting Hope's eyes expectantly. "Remind me how you like yours?"
"With a crazy amount of sugar," she informed him, grinning at the thought. "Guess I'm like Mom that way." And Klaus couldn't help his own smile if he tried.
"Yes, I suppose you are."
Hope's curiosity regarding her parents was probably the reason she paid their actions so much attention, picking up on things she otherwise may not have noticed. To be completely honest though, it was a little hard not to notice. Her mother had always been reserved in her affections, lavishing it on the few she trusted implicitly, yet constantly remaining just a few feet out of the reach of those she didn't. Hope had seen how long it had taken Declan to break through even the weakest of those invisible barriers her mother had placed around herself. It had taken months before she permitted any sort of touch, even longer before she allowed herself to admit to any feeling. At first, the teenager had figured that it probably had something to do with her Uncle Elijah.
But the choked quality to her mother's voice when referring to him in her stories of their family had long since faded and eventually, Hope had had to concede that he was not what was holding her back. She then figured it was likely to be at least partially because of her. There was no way her mom was letting anyone she didn't trust fully into her life when it involved Hope. It was why she had tried so hard to show that she approved of Declan, giving him some of her paintings and hanging out at the bar. He wasn't a part of her family, not really, but she was willing to try and let him be for her mother's sake.
She had watched for years as her mother refused to let anyone through her walls, refused to let anyone close enough to help. And then she watched as her father walked in and broke through those walls as if they didn't even exist. Couldn't help but notice the number of casual touches her mother allowed him, the way they invaded each other's personal space - her mom smacking his arm freely for any perceived slight, the way her dad stole a sip of her mom's coffee every morning even though Hope knew he hated its taste. She didn't let herself conjecture as to what it meant, didn't want to consider the possibilities… but, well, she was allowed to hope wasn't she?
In between all this though, what the teenager didn't notice, was how her father broke through her own walls. Whether it was dropping light kisses onto her hair or throwing out tips on how she could better her technique while painting, confiding amusing little anecdotes about her uncles and aunts over hot chocolate, he sauntered through her defenses easily, ruffling her hair as he did so. In a single week, her entire world was brought down around her and rebuilt brick by brick, stronger than before.
Hayley was curled up on a chair outside when Klaus found her, slowly sipping from a glass of wine. "Does it ever bother you how it's always your fault when things go wrong?" she asked when he approached her.
"Am I correct in assuming that Vincent didn't take my return as well as hoped?" he responded instead of answering, seating himself on the arm of the chair next to hers.
"Yeah, you'd be correct in assuming that," Hayley huffed, taking another sip. "I know I said you were on your own when it came to fixing things with him but damn. None of us ever let up on you, huh? Was there anyone besides Cami who ever bothered looking past the bullshit to realise not everything was your fault? Or that you aren't a complete psychopath?"
"Big bad hybrid," he reminded her with a sigh, plucking the wine glass out of her hand and setting it on the table as he spoke, replacing it with the hot chocolate he had brought for her. "Drink up, Hope helped make it to your specifications." A pause and then, not unkindly, "none of you were particularly in the wrong to think so. Besides," he tried for a joke, "who said I wasn't a psychopath?"
"I'm sorry." Klaus started at the whispered words, speechless as he met Hayley's eyes and saw the misery there. "You weren't the easiest to deal with, but neither was I and it wasn't fair to put everything on you always the way we did. It's not fair for Vincent to keep doing that like the rest of us are blameless-" she broke off as Klaus took her free hand in his own, lightly squeezing her fingers.
"Vincent isn't wrong to hate me, Hayley. When it comes to our family, I don't care who I have to kill and I don't make a secret of it." Pressing a kiss to her hair, he added quietly, "I'd do it all over again if I had to, Little Wolf."
"I know. That's what scares me the most."
It always bothered me how Klaus was blamed for everything when literally none of the villains were really that much his fault? Like yeah, he may have worsened the issue but at the end of the day, how many of the villains can be traced back as a direct result of his actions? The witches when they came to New Orleans hated Marcel, Dahlia was because of their mom's bad life choices, Marcel in s3 because he couldn't get over the fact that every conflict in Klaus's life has come down to power imbalances which is why he can't let go of his need for power. Tristan and Lucien technically a result of Elijah (also Lucien's actions were mostly jealousy like ? Get on Klaus's level first you useless turnip!) The Hollow cos of Vincent and fine, Greta can be blamed somewhat on Klaus but come on, lady was a Nazi, can you blame him for that conflict?
Any way, so it bothered me that he takes blame for everything and it's just such a typical thing like oh this happened? It must have been because of him. So this was my small attempt at fixing that. Oh and yeah, Kol and Davina keep in touch cos they aren't complete assholes and Hope needs all the family she can get.