You realize belatedly that you are a terrible, atrocious friend; it's been several weeks since the last time you texted Kate. She is not happy about it— even though she is ecstatic that your sex life has taken an upward turn.

"I can't believe you slept with someone in the mafia," she says over the crackling phone connection, "Does that mean you get to join?"

"For the last time, he is not in the mafia. None of them are in the mob!"

"You won't tell me their names or what they do. Until I see definitive proof otherwise, they are in the mob."

"That doesn't mean I could be in it too."

"I'm almost positive it does."

"Women can't even be in the mafia, they're not allowed."

"I'm sure you could get them to bend the rules for you."

You snort. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. Want to go out soon? I'll even go to that ceramics class with you. You're paying, obviously. And you can't make fun of my wheel throwing."

"I actually haven't been going out much, but I'd love to. Things are a little… complicated right now, but I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Okay," Kate sighs, "Just don't ghost me again. You scared me."

You smile into the receiver. "I'll do my best. Love you."

"Love you too."

There's the soft beep of the call ending.

"Your friend, Kate, I presume?" Elijah says, making you jump.

"The very one. I would say 'good guess' but it's not much of an accomplishment when I only have one friend. And you have super hearing."

He smiles faintly.

"I suppose you're right."

"What are you up so early for?"

"I nearly always wake early. Would you like breakfast?"

"Oh. Yes please."

Elijah makes steel cut oats with cubed apple and cinnamon.

"What's all this for?" you say, shoving a heaping spoonful into your mouth.

"You provide for us often. I thought I would take the opportunity to do the same."

"Always so sweet, Elijah."

"Many others would deem me worthy of different adjectives."

"I'm sure," you say, amused, "I think Kol could come up with a few."

Elijah's mouth twists into a wry smile.

"Yes, I imagine he could. My apologies for dinner last night."

"You seemed a little… on edge."

"I often grow weary of trying to control the uncontrollable, trying to predict my siblings' actions," he admits, "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to take them into account."

"What's stopping you?"

"The risk of my family accidentally killing themselves. Or the reasonable probability that they will take away the things that I want."

You look at him, eyes dancing over his face. "What do you want?"

Elijah looks at you, exhausted and inexplicably hungry.

"I want a lot of things," he says and doesn't continue.

You shiver.

"Oh."

He smiles with teeth.

"Aside from that, I didn't want to taint our first reunion dinner in quite a while with talk of our parents."

"Elijah, it's okay. I would say that I'm no stranger to parental troubles, but yours seem a bit worse than mine."

He laughs dryly. "If your parents threaten to kill your loved ones, we would be able to help, at least."

"… Do you really think I'm in danger? I'm no one, really."

Elijah's hesitation reflects the conclusion you reached on your own.

"Our father bears no hatred towards humans: to my knowledge he has never willingly allowed human blood to touch his lips. He holds human life nearly sacred, save for those who align themselves with vampires. My mother holds no such compunctions. They will kill you to hurt us in an instant."

"… I see."

"I would apologize for dragging you into our mess, but I can't bring myself to regret meeting you," Elijah confesses. You smile wryly.

"I can't find it in me to regret it either. Have you and your siblings considered faking your deaths?"

"We have, on multiple occasions."

"I… meant that as a joke."

"Yes," Elijah says, mischievous smile flickering across his face, "I know."

"Just saying, it might be worth it to try again."

"You would have to fake your death too, I'm afraid. You're too entwined with our family."

Your eyebrows draw together. "They would come after me if you all were gone?"

Elijah hums. "Hard to say one way or another. But I'm afraid we've grown too attached to go without you for long. We would be forced to spirit you away."

It shouldn't, but a hot shiver claws up your spine. (Implications of kidnappings shouldn't make you feel warm inside.)

"Well," you say primly, spoon clinking in your bowl, "Just be glad my parents aren't homicidal sociopaths. Also that you'll never see them."

"I was so looking forward to meeting them."

"Did you mean for that to sound like a threat?"

Elijah's eyes glint an affirmative.

"I admit I lack the specific details of your parents' actions, but I have yet to see evidence of any good deeds."

"Doesn't mean I want you murdering them," you say wryly, "I'll settle for never seeing them again."

He smiles again, bloodless.

"That can be arranged."

You swallow and change the subject.

"So, the whole lockdown thing. Is it going to be like last time where I can't leave the house? I have to say, that was not fun."

"Nothing like that. The spell placed over your previous home was a sealing spell, meant to hide your signature within your home and stop others from being able to find your location. Think of it as a wine bottle: break the seal to get to the wine, you can't reseal it like it was before. When you exited your home, it broke the spell and allowed the others to find you."

You shrink in your seat.

"I'm sorry," you say, "I know I never apologized for that. You went through a lot of trouble to keep me safe when you didn't have to. I was ungrateful, wasn't I?"

Elijah's expression softens.

"Not at all," he says, "it was cruel of me to expect you to be content with being locked inside your own home."

"It wasn't cruel; you were trying to keep me safe."

"Some could say it's cruel," he muses, "Unable to see fresh air. Even vampires without daylight rings can go outside at night. I'll have Kol's witches put up entrance wards when it comes time to do so. Mikael will not be able to get in regardless, thanks to his vampire status, but our mother has a nasty habit of possessing humans."

"Oh. Thank you."

He smiles at you, soft around the edges.

"It's no trouble."

You don't question the heat that rises along your neck.

"To be honest, I have no idea why any of you cared enough to put wards up at the beginning."

"For me, I must admit it was primarily curiosity. It has been a long time since Klaus has shown interest in someone to the point of trying to keep them a secret."

Your eyebrows furrow.

"He dropped Kol off for me to babysit a few days after meeting me. That's not really 'keeping a secret'."

Elijah laughs dryly, sliding his chair back to take your dishes to the sink. He rolls up his sleeves. You don't stop yourself from admiring the skin revealed there this time.

"I should say he attempted to keep you a secret from me, specifically. We have some history between us."

"Klaus… may have mentioned something to that effect."

He smiles wryly.

"I can trust my brother not to be too kind to my image."

"He, uh, held back a little."

"So kind of Niklaus. Can you hand me the soap?"

You get up and pluck it off the shelf.

"My family and enemies alike tend to underestimate my brother," Elijah continues, "Our enemies, in his capacity to be cruel, and our family to the extent to which he will go to get the things he wants. He showed you to Kol to show that he didn't care whether you lived or died. If he cared, Kol would kill you in an instant."

"And Kol fell for it."

"He fell for you," Elijah corrects, "He has been infatuated with you since you first met. I am unaware whether Klaus intended for it to happen or not."

"He did," you admit, "He said something similar when we were in New York."

"I would hate to know the details of what he shared about me."

You go hot, remembering exactly what Klaus said about his chivalrous brother whisking his loved ones out from under him with his guilty eyes and soft smiles.

"… He, um—"

"It is quite alright, my dear," he says, turning to look at you with his warm dark eyes and his hair falling into his face, "Niklaus and I have a…. complex relationship."

Understatement of the millennia.

"I think that characterizes any of Klaus's relationships."

He smiles wryly.

"Too right."

"… Do you know what he's doing in Romania?"

Elijah shakes his head, pressing his lips together. "I'm afraid I do not," he says, "He left a note for us, but did not specify. There is a particular cult of witches who live in the East, on the edge of the black Sea. They have helped him before with various dealings. I suspect he's gone to see them."

A small part of your unease disappears.

"Is it terrible I was kind of glad he wasn't at dinner yesterday? Just because…"

"You and my sister shared a week of debauchery?"

You hit him in the arm.

"You did not need to say it like that!"

Elijah laughs and finishes dishes, turning off the sink. He leans up against the sink to face you fully.

"It is a reasonable worry, but one you should not linger over."

Elijah looks like he wants to say more, but doesn't. Instead he just looks at you with that palpable gaze.

You swallow and don't look away.

"It's not… awkward, or anything?" you venture to ask.

Elijah laughs dryly. "We've been through too much as a family to be ashamed of our desires. The only intimidating factor could be the others' jealousies. You are surprisingly adept at handling them."

"I do my best."

"You do more than that. Few could tolerate being the rope in a six way tug of war."

"Six ways?"

Elijah lips twitch, but doesn't explain.

"What did you plan on doing for the rest of the day?" you ask, ignoring the way Elijah's eyes glitter.

"I have some work. I was hoping to keep you company."

"Can you work with a movie on?"

He can, you find out. You get to continue your classic movie monster marathon with Nosferatu. Elijah looks up from his padfolio every once in a while to watch along.

"This is like a five minute closeup of a cat."

"Yes," Elijah muses, "Humans have always loved those creatures, it seems."

"Maybe I should get one. Or a rabbit."

He looks up, eyes twinkling.

"Have you not enough responsibility already taking care of us?"

He's joking, but you hum anyway.

"I don't know. I feel bored sometimes. Part of me misses going to work and having a set routine, even if it was draining me at the end. I'm still not used to having so much… time."

"I have found myself struggling at times as well."

"I'd imagine," you say dryly and turn your attention back to Nosferatu. It's not nearly as good as the 1932 The Mummy, which is already a low bar. Elijah seems contented enough as he flips through his papers, your attention catching on his slender fingers and strong forearms and— oh, he's looking at you. You flush and look resolutely at the screen.

You see his smile out of the corner of your eye.

"I saw you haven't changed much in the guest room," Elijah says, "Do you like my interior design quite that much?"

"You know you're good, don't be humble. I liked everything you did with the place. I just spend the least amount of time in the guest room, so I just left it as is."

"In retrospect, I should have invested in a better mattress."

Your eyebrows knit together.

"Oh no! Were you uncomfortable?"

"Not as such; I am just unaccustomed to very soft mattresses. I try to accommodate my siblings preferences whenever possible at the detriment to my own."

"You have to think of yourself sometimes, Elijah."

"Yes," he says, looking at you with terrible intent, "I suppose I should."

You shiver and feel so full of whatever is burning inside of you that you feel you might die.

(You remember at the beginning when you thought the Mikaelsons would kill you. You haven't changed your mind except perhaps the manner of departure.)

You finish Nosferatu and The Invisible Man soon after. Elijah finishes up his work and you somehow end up with your head in his lap, him stroking your hair. His thumb catches the back of your neck.

"Do you only watch movies from previous decades?" Elijah asks when The Invisible Man ends. The credits roll to dramatic music.

"I'm catching up on everything from the beginning of film. Kol inspired me."

"A worthy goal. Did he ever tell you we met Louis le Prince?"

You shift around to look up at him incredulously.

"Are you serious?" you demand, "Are there any famous historical figures you haven't met?"

"I'm afraid I never had to chance to meet Percy Shelley as I was in the Americas for most of his life. I did, however, manage to meet his widow."

"You met Mary Shelley?"

Elijah just looks at you, amused.

"I'm guessing you're fond of her."

Fucking vampires.

"You're the worst."

"So I have heard before," he murmurs, smile creasing the lines around his eyes. You can see just how long and dark his eyelashes are from this angle. Elijah winds his hand in your hair and gently tugs.

"I've been using the desk, by the way," you blurt out, "I never got a chance to thank you for it."

"It was a delight. I'm glad you're liking it. Where did you put it?"

You reluctantly leave Elijah's embrace to show him how you have it set up in the corner across from your bed.

"I'm keeping some of my pottery stuff in it right now. I don't really have a ton of reason to write now that I'm done with school."

He hums, rapping his knuckles against the solid wood.

"I'm glad you're finding use for it."

"I am too."

"Wh—"

You cut him off as you drag him down to your level by his shirt collar to kiss him bruisingly hard. You're not sure if it's vampire speed that makes Elijah respond so quickly or the pressing of his own latent desire, but you're pinned against the wall before you can breathe.

Elijah kisses you with none of his reservation from the rooftop; none of the hesitation inherent in his decision-making since the beginning. He kisses you like he wants to own you; like you're already his. (He does, and you are.)

His eyes gleam dark when he pulls away.

"Oh, my dear," he murmurs, brushing your cheek, "You have no idea what you're getting into."

"I know exactly what I'm getting into, Elijah."

He hums— you've never thought of a hum as lascivious before.

"We'll see."

Elijah lets you push him onto the bed, lets you fall forward and crawl on top of him to kiss him better. He's just too tall, you realize with no small amount of irritation. It makes it hard to reach him, but you can't find it in yourself to care much anymore when he takes you by your waist and presses you into him in slow grinding motions. You gasp into his mouth.

"Slow down," Elijah says, amused, "We have time."

"No, we don't."

"It is yet to be evening, my dear," he murmurs and sits you upright on his lap, sitting up properly to hold you, one large hard splayed along your spine and shoulder blade and your thighs resting, pinned open by his. You shift impatiently and realize it's difficult to move in this position, too little leverage afforded to you to do anything other than squirm.

"Now," Elijah says, eyes glittering, "Let's see what we have here."

He undoes your shirt, button by button until he can see all of you. Your thighs are kept achingly open with absolutely nothing touching you where you need it.

"Elijah," you rasp. He hums and traces the soft skin under one of your breasts. You arch into his touch.

"Are you still averse to vampire blood?"

You wrinkle your eyebrows.

"Not like I used to be. Why?"

His eyes trace down your neck.

"I'm afraid it's my own jealousy. I cannot stand to see another's marks on you."

You flush with something like shame that also travels low and settles in your stomach. (Odd.) You bite your lip.

"You can fix it. If you want."

Elijah pierces you with shimmering eyes, bites the thumb of his free hand, and unhurriedly presses it on your tongue. You taste iron and salt. Familiar frantic energy races in your veins.

"There," Elijah says, still holding your jaw effortlessly open, saliva pooling in your mouth, "That's better. Nearly good as new."

You let out a wordless warble, unable to speak, and roll your hips in frustration. Gently, Elijah removes his obstruction and you finally swallow.

"You're too good for us," he says, "You could do so much better."

"Stop acting like I don't have agency," you say, looking down into the eyes of your bitterly melancholic vampire, "I'll tell you if you do something I don't like. Now touch me."

"If you insist."

Elijah flips up your skirt and brushes his thumb gently against your clit through your underwear: thin fabric barely inhibiting the feeling. You let out a soft cry as he pets you softly, heat welling inside you with no room to escape: no valve to let the steam out.

"'Lijah— I want to—"

"Is that so?" he questions, "It's rather soon, but I've never been able to resist you."

He rubs hard quick circles until you shudder in completion, staining the thin fabric, thighs trembling in the stretch around his lap. You can see the hard line of his cock in his pants, the thirst in his eyes. He doesn't stop touching you. Roaming hands tease you until you can't take it anymore.

You feel like you might die if he stops.

(You don't die, but you come close when Elijah opens you up, wet and dripping with your own desire; desperate in your want. You nearly die again when he enters you, his forehead falling against yours, and when he comes inside you again and again and again until you're warm and wet inside and you can hold no more.)

"You are an awakening," Elijah rasps when he's inside you once again and it's nearly morning, "The only thing stopping me from claiming you before this was Niklaus."

You let out a cry when he fucks you softly, pressing gentle kisses along your spine.

"Now that he's had you, you are ours forever, I'm afraid. Even if you leave, part of you will always be bonded to us. It has been a millennia since we have gotten along to this extent: united in our desire for you."

Part of you thinks it's cruel of Elijah to be able to speak so readily when you're struggling to think at all.

"We love you more than you know," he says and all beginnings of thoughts fly back out of your head.

"I—"

"I know."

He fucks you until you start to droop and he takes you in his arms to fall asleep together with your head resting on his shoulder, his hand around your pulse point.

We will get more Elijah action next chapter but I hope you enjoyed part 1!