Chapter twenty three

Three Words

Elijah had thought he had been in love twice before, but whether he really was either times was up for debate. He had trailed after Tatia for months with his heart on his sleeve, only to have to watch his brother do the same. And Katerina had been another mess entirely. It started with chasing after her, and now he still was. But this game was different. He wanted to catch her. He wanted it to be over. And if he ever did catch Katerina Petrova, it would end with her heart in his grip.

He had confessed his love before, to Tatia. It had been forced, rushed. He had hoped it would make her choose him, love him and only him. Of course he didn't. Niklaus had done the same thing, hoped the same thing. And Tatia just loved playing the game, making the two brothers tear their selves apart for her.

But with Kassandra, there was no game. And waiting might actually help him. It wouldn't come out forced. He could wait decades, centuries even, until the timing felt right. Kassandra was such a flight risk, scared off so easily. Waiting for her would only help him not lose her like he lost Katerina and Tatia.

He'd wait, until the moment was right. Until she would look up at him and he could read it in her eyes that she loved him too. If it was too early, everything would crash and crumble, and Kassandra would be lost to him.

He thought about the chance that Kassandra would never love him back, not in the way he wanted her to. What would he do? What would be worse? Leaving her and returning to his family or trail after her for centuries, like with Tatia. Would he put her behind him because she couldn't love him or would he wait, hoping she would eventually? Would he be heartless or pitiful?

He hoped he never had to make that choice.

Kassandra laughed aloud, causing him to cut away from his thoughts and focus on her. She was stretched out across his bed, in nothing but his shirt, her head resting in her hands as she stared at the TV screen. I Love Lucy was playing on the screen, and over-zealous laughter was coming from it.

"I used to love this show," Kassandra admitted, as she flipped onto her back and looked up at him. Her eyes ran over Elijah in all his shirtless glory. He had his pants on, though- unfortunately. And the rather wild round of sex the two had gone at barely ten minutes ago, his hair was in perfect order. It was like his superpower.

He scoffed. "The 50's were horrific," he told her bluntly.

Kassandra shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. But I Love Lucy was the reason I managed to make it out of that decade without slaughtering every goddamn moron in a poodle skirt."

He smiled slightly. "The 50's were about getting back to the old fashioned morals of America. I suppose you didn't fit in too well at that time."

She frowned at him. "Watch yourself, Mikaelson."

His smile grew, and Kassandra huffed, tossing her hair back. "My favorite decade was the 80's. Good music, good movies, good fashion. I had fun in the 80's."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Her eyes widened. "You didn't like the 80's? Are you kidding me? Guns n' Roses, AC/DC, Queen, Journey- how can you not like Journey?"

"How could you like Journey?"

She frowned at him. "The movies then? You didn't like the movies? The Brat Pack? Come on, Elijah."

He rolled his eyes. "The 80's are incredibly overrated. And the fashion was horrendous."

"Says the guy who dresses like an old man," she muttered, leaning back on her heels.

Elijah frowned at her. "Just because I choose to always look my best, does not mean I dress like the elderly."

Kassandra secretly liked Elijah's suits. There was something incredibly sexy about them. He looked good in one. But still, she rolled her eyes. "Please, the only time I've seen you not wearing a suit is when you're not wearing anything."

"You never seemed to mind that either."

She smirked up at him, her hazel eyes lighting up like a predator eyeing her prey. Kassandra pounced then, landing on Elijah lightly. Her legs came around his hips, and she rested her hands on his shoulders. He was tempted to kiss her, to ravish her, to just touch her any way. The way her hair- messy and falling around her face- and her eyes- bright and wild- made her seem like an animal made her hard to resist.

Kassandra leaned back, but he kept his eyes on her. "What's your favorite decade then, old man?" she asked. "Or century even?"

Elijah thought about it. "The 1500s," he said finally.

Kassandra scoffed, pushing her hair out of her face. "Really?"

"Yes," Elijah said stubbornly, frowning at her. "All the exploration, the humans discovering that there was more to the world than they thought. The art too; Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Shakespeare. It was a wonderful century."

Kassandra smirked at him. "Shakespeare is incredibly overrated."

Elijah sighed. "You're such a child."

"You don't seem to mind," she breathed, before her lips crashed into his, pushing him back into the bed with force.

He loved her. It was all he could think about. Every touch, every kiss, every strand of hair that grazed his skin. He loved her. Everything she did, he loved her more for it. She was flawed, to a point where her flaws became her, but he loved those too. He just loved her.

He could feel it in his throat, the three words about to come out. He opened his mouth, but Kassandra pressed a finger to his lips. She smiled- actually smiled, a thing so rare- and pressed a kiss against his jaw.

"No more fighting about how boring your favorite century is and how awesome the 80's were," she teased. "Besides; I'm a lover, not a fighter."

Elijah scoffed. "Since when?"

Her skin pressed tighter against his. Her fingers ran through his hair, messing it up. She liked messing his hair up, if only to see it go completely neat minutes later. She kissed him hard, biting lightly down on his bottom lip with a smile. "Since you."

Elijah wasn't allowed time to think about any deeper meanings beneath her words. Kassandra was already undoing his pants again, brushing the fabric aside with her hands. Her hands were holding him in place by his chest. Elijah pressed his face into her bare shoulder as she settled herself on him. Then, with a groan, he entered her in a painfully slow pace.

Elijah allowed Kassandra to take control, instead opting to watch her move against him. His shirt had fallen open, revealing her breasts. Her eyes were closed, and she was biting down on her lip subconsciously as she moved her hips against his, the pace slow but hitting all the right spots.

Kassandra threw her head back, picking up speed slightly as she moved. Her hands grazed his chest, and Elijah moved his arms to wrap around her waist. He pulled her closer to him, meeting her thrusts as he did so. A groan fell from Kassandra's lips, and he kissed her neck, his fingers tracing her sides, her hips, down to her thighs. Kassandra's nails dug into the back of his neck, and Elijah didn't even flinch.

He pulled her chin down gently, so that they were eye level. Her eyes fell open slowly, and he met her gaze as he continued to enter her. He was close, and by the way her nails kept scraping his skin, she was too. Not looking away from her, Elijah increased the pace. A string of moans came from Kassandra, and he held onto her hips as she tried to meet his thrusts with her own.

He angled his hips, hoping to hit her sweet spot. He succeeded, and Kassandra swore into his shoulder as she came. Elijah continued moving in and out of her, his fingers locked in her hair, until he came too.

Catching her breath, Kassandra pressed her lips against Elijah's temple before she got off of him. She fixed her shirt before flopping back onto her stomach, her feet crossing. Elijah just watched her, breathing heavily as he did.

He loved her. God, did he love her.

~SYH~

"You're late."

Kassandra rolled her eyes as she hopped up onto the barstool, resting her elbows on the bar. Across from her, Ruby frowned at her.

"I prefer to say I'm fashionably late," she said to the witch, smirking.

"Fashionable or not, you're still late," Ruby said, wiping a glass clean.

She shrugged. "Does it really matter? We all know the only reason I even show up to my shift sometimes is because I'm bored," she reminded her friend.

"And, let me guess, the original you've been shacking up with has been keeping you pretty busy." Ruby smirked.

"More like I've been keeping him busy," Kassandra said, smirking back. "If I had it my way, that man would never wear pants again."

"Too much information, Kass," Ruby complained, nose wrinkled. "I feel like you need boundaries when it comes to talking about your sex life."

"Why go through the trouble of setting up boundaries when I'm just going to blatantly ignore them?" Kassandra retorted.

Ruby was going to respond, when Kassandra's phone vibrated, interrupting their conversation. She checked the caller ID and smiled subconsciously before answering. "Miss me already?"

"You're an absolute slob."

"And you're an anal retentive neat freak," Kassandra replied. "I like to think that we complement each other nicely."

"Are you aware of how many suits I've lost, because they go missing in the black hole that is your apartment?" Elijah complained, and she heard the sound of the clutter on her floor getting pushed aside as he looked for his clothes.

"You know, if you wore normal clothes you probably wouldn't lose them as often. Less pieces to find." Kassandra smirked to herself, at the thought of Elijah wearing jeans and a t-shirt. It was a very unnerving thought, like a dog walking on its hind legs.

"Or you could actually use a hanger for once in your life," he retorted.

"Was there actually a point to this phone call outside of pointing out my messiness?" Kassandra asked, not that she minded.

"There is," Elijah said. "I want to know what you did with my shirt. I have an appointment with another witch in Brooklyn and I can't leave without it."

"I think I left it on the floor in the bathroom," she said, and Elijah sighed. She rolled her eyes at him. "They're just wrinkles, Elijah. You'll survive."

He didn't seem surprised that she knew what he was thinking. "I suppose I will."

"Drama queen," she muttered.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to," she teased.

Kassandra knew he rolled his eyes. "How long will you be with Ruby?" he asked her, changing the subject.

"I'm not sure," she said, frowning. "Why? You need backup?"

"Maybe. Will you be able to meet me at a warehouse on the corner of Lawrence and 5th in Brooklyn around three?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be able to pull that off."

"Alright, see you then."

"See you."

"And Kassandra…" Elijah paused, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah?"

"Never- never mind. See you then."

She frowned when Elijah hung up on her. She was still frowning when she turned around to face Ruby, who was grinning.

"What's up with you?" she muttered, putting her phone back in her jacket.

"Nothing," Ruby said lightly, still grinning. "Just wondering when the wedding was and why I wasn't invited."

She rolled her eyes at her friend. "Whatever, Ruby."

"Come on, Kass!" She exclaimed. "You two practically live together. You spend most of your time together. You bicker like husband and wife. You're so married."

"I don't even have the energy to have this conversation with you for the hundredth time," Kassandra said, sitting up.

"I just- I think you should know that I approve of Elijah," Ruby said suddenly, seriously. "No matter what you two are, I approve of him. So whether you want to fuck him or marry him or have his babies or whatever, I think you should keep him around. He's a good man, Kass, and a good influence on you. Maybe he's dragging some drama into your life, but you're happy. And that's good enough for me."

Kassandra fidgeted. "How do you know he makes me happy?" she muttered.

"You smiled when you saw that he was the one calling you," Ruby pointed out. "You didn't smirk, you smiled. You never smile."

"I smile," she argued. "I'm not a robot, Ruby."

"All I'm saying is that I like him. I just thought you should know," Ruby said simply, before picking her rag up again. "Now, don't you have a husband to go meet in Brooklyn?"

Kassandra rolled her eyes but hesitated. "You okay with me leaving?"

"Yeah, it's not like you were going to do much besides distract me," Ruby said, shrugging. "I'll call you later tonight, okay?"

"Sounds good," Kassandra said, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Oh, and Kass?" Ruby called, making Kassandra pause.

"Yeah?"

"If you ever get married and I'm not your Maid Of Honor, I'll kill you in your sleep," she said lightly.

Kassandra rolled her eyes and walked out of the bar. But she didn't doubt for a second that Ruby was being serious.

~SYH~

A/N: hoped you all enjoyed this fluffy chapter before things heat up.

Review!

~Abby :)