Tear Apart, Torn Apart

Astra was pouring over some of the grimoires that Jonas had showed her while he tended to his son, allowing her to look over the many spells that were held inside. Some were ones that she knew about and had seen others use, but there were a few ones that peaked her attention when she read through them and their purpose. She had only just finished reading through a truth spell when she heard the elevator down the hallway arrive on their floor, causing her to look up toward the door expectedly. She could barely hear the person's footsteps so she knew exactly who it was that was coming down the hallway. She wasn't surprised at all when Elijah stepped through the door, the condition of his hands however, did.

"Please tell me you didn't ruin my car interior?" She asked as she slammed the book closed on the table top, standing to her full height. She couldn't see much blood on his hands, so he had wiped most off in a hurry, but the smell still lingered.

"Your precious car is safe, no need to worry," Elijah assured as he walked toward her, rolling down the sleeves of his metallic grey shirt.

"Who'd you kill?" She asked easily, knowing full well that that was the exact reason that his hands were covered in blood. Elijah tipped his head ever so slightly to the side at her question, but the cynical archaic smile that touched his lips told her everything.

"Elena Gilbert was looking for Klaus, wanting to give herself up. She was able to get in touch with some men that were desperate for his approval and protection and they were foolish enough not to tell anyone about her. I killed them before they were able to tell anyone of the doppelgänger's existence." Astra met his eyes and could see that there was something hidden within them. She raised an eyebrow expectedly, waiting for him to continue.

Jonas stepped into the room at that moment, coming from down the hall where Luka's room resided. Astra looked over to him while Elijah moved over to look out the window, down to the streets of the town. Some of the street lights shown into the nearly dark room, reflecting his face off of the window pane.

"Where is Luka?"

Jonas shared a small glance with Astra, who was frowning at the mention of Luka. "Sleeping."

"Your shadow spell was successful," Elijah praised, or as close to a praise as that man could get. Astra sat herself on the edge of the table as she watched the two men carefully, also wanting to know what else might have happened while he was away. "I was able to track that girl, however I did have a little run in with one of the brothers that killed me." Astra felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of the Salvatore but forced herself to repress her feelings. She knew which one he must have meant, hence the fact that a name was not spoken.

"I assume he didn't live to tell about it," Jonas caused calmly, although both vampires could hear the hint of malice in his tone.

"Actually I spared him," Elijah admitted, looking into the glass and back toward Astra's reflection, meeting her eyes through her mirror image. "He'd die before he let anything happen to her—they both would. She'll be kept safe."

"For now," Jonas agreed, looking away from Elijah again.

"That's just what we need her to be," Astra said quietly, looking away from Elijah's reflection and toward Jonas, "Safe."

Departing from the warlocks apartment quickly and quietly, Elijah gave Astra back her keys to allow her to drive back to the manor on her own. She didn't say a word on the way back, nor did the Original in the passenger seat, but they both knew that they needed to talk a few things over before the continued on with their job. It was full night by the time they got back to Astra's home, the headlights of her car lighting up the house through the windows.

"Is what you said true?" Astra asked quietly as soon as the car was in park, never letting her eyes stray from the house's front door. "That he would die for her?"

"It is in the past, Astra-"

"But it's my past, Elijah. You are the one that told me never to let go of it, because it was at that moment that I would lose myself. How can I do this, face him as the enemy, with the past that I have with him?" Glaring hard at the door of the house, she turned the car off violently and removed herself from the small space, the interior that she loved seeming to crush her.

Elijah was out and around the car in a second, standing in front of her and stopping the car door before she broke it with the force with which she had tried to close it. Allowing it to close more gently, he pulled Astra away from the vehicle—knowing she would hate herself later if it came to harm—and took her hand in his. Astra could barely comprehend the fact that her ring finger suddenly felt heavier before she looked down at the two new pieces of jewellery that adorned it. One was a silver banded ring with a violet stone sitting atop it and three smaller diamonds on either side, the waxing moon's light reflecting off the surface. It looked like an amethyst, though she knew that could not be it, and she knew that she had never seen it before so it must have been new. The second was the wedding ring that she had found. Looking down at Elijah's left hand, she saw that he too was wearing his old golden ring on his fourth finger, freshly polished.

"Elijah-"

"I'm not telling you to let go of your past, Astraea, I'm telling you to live in the present."

For the first time in almost 160 years, Astra felt like crying. The car keys fell from her hand when she suddenly felt completely exhausted, ready to give up. Elijah caught the car keys and was holding Astra on her feet easily, letting her have a moment to compose herself. He was surprised that she had lasted so long without letting her emotions get the better of her. Unlocking the door with the set of keys in his hand and helping Astra toward the living room, he was pleased to see that Jessica had lit a fire in the main room before she left for the night.

Astra refused to look at him at that point, but he could hear the small sobs that she tried to hide and he could smell the salt of her tears. Moving away from her for a minute to get two glasses of blood wine from the kitchen, he made sure to listen carefully for any kind of reaction from her. She would talk with him about the Salvatore, he knew that she would. But she wouldn't ask him to spare the male, which was common knowledge to any that knew of her and Damon's prior engagement.

She started as soon as he placed the glass beside the chair that she was in, her tear glistened eyes looking up to the fireplace.

"I'm not going to abandon this just because of Damon, I promise you that," She started quietly; her voice firm even with her tears still falling. "But I can't kill him, I know that if I am faced with a situation what I have to kill him, I won't be able to."

"He has moved on, Astra, you don't need to pine over him for the rest of your eternity. It is time that you, also, move on."

"To who? You?" Astra asked, looking up to him then.

They had flirted and kissed shamelessly for some time, allowing the of share affection with each other, but they had never actually moved to share a relationship of any kind. They had the kind of relationship that one would call 'friends with benefits'. She would be lying is she said that she hadn't thought about starting something with Elijah, since she had been with him her nearly entire vampiric existence. It had been his blood that changed her, he had been there to protect her for so long. The only time that she had ever left Elijah's side was in the early seventeenth century, where she met Damon just over one hundred years later. But Elijah had once more found a way to save her from herself.

Elijah didn't say anything to her question and she knew that he wouldn't answer her any time soon. Letting out a soft sigh, she pulled herself to her feet and picked up the glass he had brought her. Leaning over the chair that he sat in, she placed a careful kiss to his forehead, letting her lips linger for a moment longer than usual, before she pulled away to head up to her room for a long bath.

Elijah kept an ear on her the entire time she was in her bath from where he had moved to his bedroom, looking out from the windows to the dark night. He was glad not to hear her start crying again while she was in the bath, knowing that she was allowing herself to calm down and sort through her emotions again. While she was still in her bath and resting, Elijah let himself into her room and moved to stand out on her balcony after he himself had washed—removing the remaining blood—and dressed in more comfortable clothing.

When Astra finally stepped out of the bathroom wearing a pair of shorts and a small tank top that had come from their last residence, she moved out to stand with him on the balcony. She noticed immediately that he was wearing one of her favourite shirts of his, a dark cotton t-shirt that she fell in love with the feel of. Neither thought twice as Elijah pulled her over to the lone chair on the balcony, Astra falling to sit on his lap in the process, letting themselves relax. Astra's hand moved up to stroke at his hair gently, the damp, silky strands sliding through her fingers.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I'm better now," Astra whispered against his temple, her other hand stroking along his chest, the smooth feel of the shirt beneath her fingertips allowing her to come to peace.

"We can call it our first marital fight," Elijah remarked with a teasing lilt to his tone. Astra help back a laugh as she shook her head in amusement, moving her nose to his hair so she could smell the soap that he used. It smelt almost like mild cologne—it suited him well.

"Are you going to try and hide me from them forever, Elijah?" Astra asked calmly, leaning her head against his own and closing her eyes. Elijah made a small humming sound of thought as he wrapped an arm securely around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"I am debating on a plan," The Original admitted, his thumb stroking softly along her back gently.

"Oh?"

"Should I show you as my wife to them, as we planned, or have you appear out of the blue, like you have never met me or the warlocks before," Elijah considered calmly, his thumb never ceasing its movement along her back. Astra pondered on his words, still stoking her fingers through his silky hair as she thought.

"How about…if they kill you again, or at least try, I pretend that you were compelling me and try to gain their trust? Win win, right?" She asked, looking down at him with a raised eyebrow in question.

"I must go into town tomorrow and make…arrangements with Mrs. Lockwood, and in the meantime I need you to chase down a rumour for me. About the werewolves," Elijah said calmly, changing the subject fluently.

"Are the Lockwood's the ones that could be werewolves?"

"From the fathers gene, yes," Elijah confirmed, his hand rising to run his fingers through her damp hair. "But apparently there is a group of them hanging around the woods and I can't have them damaging my plans. You know what a bite from one of them could do to the vampires in this town."

"You almost sound worried for them," Astra teased, moving from sitting across his lap to face him more fully.

"They are the ones protecting the Gilbert, and so I must do my best to prevent them from dying just yet. I will withhold my grudge against them for my death until this is done and over with," Elijah explained, his hand stroking down Astra's cheek. She hummed in approval as she leaned into the touch, her lips lifting into a smile.

When she opened her eyes again, Elijah was pleased to see how clear the amethyst had become. "Anything in particular that you want me to do?"

"Just watch them, there has been no need to remove them, yet."

"Yet, yet, yet, you're going to kill a lot of people when this is over and done with, aren't you?" Astra teased, her lips ghosting against his as she spoke. Elijah growled in mock annoyance as his hands gripped her sides, lifting up and adjusting her to sit straddling his lap. She draped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead against his, her lips just out of reached. "It's so sexy, when you're all badass and threatening."

"Sexy, hm?" Elijah smirked cynically, his hands gripping her hips tightly, causing her to smirk right back at him.

"Oh, yea," she answered, her fingers ghosting along his lips as she lingered just beyond reach, "Especially when you get really protective and possessive." She could see as Elijah eyes darkened at her words, causing her smirk to widen. He gripped her wrists and pulled her hands away from his lips, looking her dead in the eye, his look just daring her to challenge him. A millisecond before his lips claimed hers in an aggressive and powerful kiss, he growled out one word that shot chills through Astra's body.

"Mine."

Oh, the emotion.

Of the people who read this story, who also watches the show? If you watch the show, have you seen the newest promo for 3X13? If you seen the newest promo, holy fucking shit Elijah hair is short!Those that haven't seen it, go to youtube and type in TVD promo 3X13 - Bringing Out The Dead. It's awesome, and you get a good view of Elijah. I think he's rather sexy with short hair ;)