talkingklaroline asked: Drabble request please: "I should have turned my back you ages ago!"
"And now I suppose you'll tell me yet again how you should have turned your back on me ages ago?"
Elijah heard the shout as neared the stairs. He sighed deeply and started toward his brother's art room, ready to break up another fight between his siblings.
"It's a bit too late for that now."
The almost bitter reply did not come from his sister. The voice was vaguely familiar, though he couldn't really place it. Unable to ignore his curiosity, he continued on toward the argument while listening in.
"Somewhere between digging an imaginary splinter out of your back and that damn graduation gift, I crossed a line and now I couldn't turn my back on you if I wanted to."
There was a heavy silence that followed that statement, during which Elijah came to the room they were standing in. Though he made no move to hide himself, they were too focused on each other to notice him. Looking at the young woman, it dawned on him who she was. Caroline Forbes –one of Elena Gilbert's friends. He could recall his brother dancing with her at their family ball, but he had no idea that they had any kind of a relationship beyond that.
"Whatever else is going on between us, we are friends and I can't let my friend tear himself apart and destroy everything he has. You can't ask me to do that. It hurts too much."
He could see the anguish on both their faces as his brother nearly stumbled toward Caroline. Klaus's hands grasped the sides of her face as he leaned his forehead against hers. Elijah felt a twinge of guilt for witnessing this intensely personal moment, but it wasn't enough to make him leave.
"What would you have me do, Caroline? Should I leave everything, let them all win? Tell me what you want from me. Do you want me to walk away from it all, to lose them all? I'll be alone."
Caroline's hands jerked up and she clutched onto his shoulders. When she answered, though, her voice was determined and strong.
"The tighter you hold on to all of them, to all of this, the quicker it will slip through your hands. If they all abandon you when you let go, then they're not worth holding onto so tight anyway. And if they do, you're not going to be alone. I will still be here."
Elijah heard his brother's quickly indrawn breath and saw his body rock slightly, though he never let go of his hold on Caroline.
"I meant what I said, Klaus. I crossed a line at some point. I came here because I was told you needed me, and now I don't think I could leave, not even if you tried to make me. We can do this, but you have to let me help you."
Instead of answering, Klaus leaned in for a kiss that looked almost savage from where Elijah stood. Finally, that twinge of guilt became too much for him to ignore, and he turned and silently headed to his room.
He should have been feeling joy. After all, a loosing of his brother's hold would mean he was free to go. He would have no more obligation to try and make amends for the sins he had committed against his brother so very long ago. Klaus would no longer need him.
But he didn't feel joy at all; instead the thought of being free left him unsettled. What was he going to do?