Chapter Seventeen

New Orleans

Present Day

The Mikaelson brothers sat across from the other glaring—Klaus more so than Elijah. Elijah was hard to read on his best day and impenetrable any other time, but Klaus could tell he was on edge. He could smell it.

"I have you figured out, Elijah," Klaus grumbles as he shifts in his seat. He glances at the table between them briefly before slapping his hand against it with finality. "You're a thief."

Elijah exhales, his shoulder relaxing in defeat. Carefully, he flips over his placard to reveal a picture of the thief in question and Klaus grins cocksurely as he throws his arms up in triumph, ending another round in, 'Guess Who?'. It was Nicky's favorite game and he subsequently forced every partygoer to play along. The courtyard erupted in cheers from the neighborhood children and Bonnie chuckled, trying not to think about how Klaus compelled every parent he could find to bring their child to the 'best birthday party ever'. The party was over the top if you asked her, but she said nothing to dissuade him. It was his first birthday with them and she would not interfere.

Once the game was over, Bonnie moved to the punch tower and grabbed a glass from the top. She was joined seconds later by Marcel who pulled a small leather journal from seemingly nowhere.

"Whatcha got there," Bonnie teased. Marcel smiled and pushed the journal towards her. It was old and dusty and a jolt of magic shot through her the moment it was in her hands but it wasn't a grimoire. The smell of leather made her feel nostalgic and oddly, she was reminded of Klaus. She skimmed the crowd and was not shocked to find him staring in her direction. She offered a smile without much thought before turning to Marcel once more.

"It belonged to a Guerrera Wolf," Marcel explained. "It's their version of a grimoire. It contains different traditions and recipes for herbs to help wolves with healing, transformations, and stuff like that. This one in particular had an interesting bit about wolf bonding that I thought you'd be interested in. It was supposed to be a gift for the twins but you can give it to them when you're ready for them to have it." Touched by his thoughtfulness, Bonnie pulled Marcel into a warm embrace.

"This is perfect, Marcel. Thank you." Since showing up on his doorstep in utter ruin, they formed an impeccable bond—one that was long overdue.

"Anything for my siblings," he grinned and Bonnie laughed, pondering how exotic their family dynamics were. She immediately opened the book and flipped through the pages, only to find that most of the text was in a language she couldn't read. There was one page in English that caught her eye—a page about werewolf pregnancies.

"Go figure," she muttered, glancing up to find that Marcel had been pulled elsewhere by Rebekah. In his place stood Klaus who peered over her shoulder curiously. Bonnie snapped the book shut but judging by the glimmer of mischief in his eyes, it was too late.

"Did you know a wolf pregnancy lasts about two months, give or take," At Bonnie's put-off expression, he grinned.

"Why would I need to know this, Niklaus?" Though she pretended to be annoyed, a part of her found humor in his playfulness. Drunk Klaus was always fun.

He shrugs before chugging the rest of his beer. His glass bottle caught the recycle bin from across the room and Bonnie fought the urge to chastise him about possibly hitting a child—his reflexes would never. "Future references, I guess," he smirks. She rolls her eyes and bumps him with her hip.

"Fuck off," she curses. He growls in response and Bonnie uses that as an excuse to flee his presence, choosing to close her side of the bond before he reads too deeply into things. Klaus watched as she scurried and followed aimlessly like a lost puppy. He waited until she was settled and comfortable with her journal before invading her space again.

"Why are you reading about wolf pregnancies?" Bonnie closed her eyes and fought the urge to chuckle at his annoyance. It was almost endearing.

"I wasn't. I flipped to a random page and your nosey ass happened to see it," she countered. "Since you're here, what does this say?" She pointed to a specific spot on the page and granted him access to a closer view. Bonnie watched him with hopeful eyes as he read through the text. When his eyebrows dipped on his forehead, she took a step closer in earnest.

"It's a recipe for a drink to speed up the birthing process. There's one where you make a tea with red raspberry leaves and another involving okra and water." Bonnie worried her bottom lip with her teeth. This journal belonged to a female wolf.

"Interesting." Klaus leaned closer and plucked the journal from her hands. "It also says something about a room," Bonnie did a double take.

"What? Where?" She cranes her neck to get a better look before remembering that she couldn't exactly read the text.

"It said to meet me in one," he says with a slow smirk. Bonnie gave a pointed look and snapped the journal shut, using it to slap him on the arm.

"I don't know what's gotten into you but cool it, Mikaelson. This is a children's function." She tucked the journal beneath her arm and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in her top. He could tell she was flustered.

"And if it wasn't?" He drapes an arm over her shoulders and nudges her closer. To his surprise, she didn't move away.

The opposite of rejection stirred in his chest.

"I still wouldn't. Now behave." She gave a gentle pop to his hand. "I was trying to find information about this bond we have." She'd been researching for several months. With each full moon, the symptoms increased and she wanted to learn more about it before acting on her urges. The need to be around him was harder to satiate. Short of climbing into his bed every night, Bonnie found herself following him around to her dismay. Since their heart-to-heart in Jackson Square, things have gotten better between them, though, she couldn't tell if it was genuine progress or the bond forcing their hands.

She noticed a change when Klaus asked for help planning the party on multiple occasions which was a rarity. He loved his credit and always wanted to take sole responsibility for any grand gesture he orchestrated. Still, it was fun going on errands with him to pick up little trinkets for the party. It was during the cake tasting that things got heated. He'd offered one too many finger-fulls of icing for Bonnie's liking and despite her better judgment, she accepted everyone.

"You couldn't have asked me?" Bonnie snapped out of her thoughts, thankful for the distraction from the rabbit hole she felt herself falling into. Though his tone was light, there was a bit of accusation there as well.

"I could, but I wanted an unbiased opinion of what's happening," For the most part, he accepted her answer. He was less guarded today than usual which Bonnie could only attribute to his celebratory mood… and the copious amounts of alcohol consumed.

Klaus motioned for the book and Bonnie released it into his care. With more seriousness than before, he flipped through the pages until he found something related to the topic at hand. He skimmed briefly, pausing to translate what was transcribed effectively.

"From what's written, there are three phases. Courting, Marking, and Mating; which is not so dissimilar to regular wolves. First, they meet one another's acquaintance, or flirt, for lack of a better word. If one wolf decides they like the other, they mark them. Usually, the more dominant wolf does this but not always. Then there is the mating which seals the deal." Bonnie pondered the information he shared and tried her best to apply it to their situation.

"Of course in our case, everything is out of order."

"There's no real order," he explained. "Each relationship is different." Bonnie couldn't tell if this bit of information was from the book or what he'd learned throughout the years. "I'm guessing the first time you mate, after you've been marked, is the last step, though. Which may explain why I can't seem to stay away from you."

"So, it's not intentional." She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"I assure you, it's very intentional." His intensity forced her to meet his gaze. She bit her lips and closed her eyes with the intent to focus, ignoring the uptick in her heart rate.

"You can't know that." Her voice dropped an octave which caused him to stir.

"We're about to cut the cake." Rebekah's voice cut in, offering a welcomed reprieve. Bonnie embraced the interruption by quickly placing distance between the two of them. It was getting increasingly harder to ignore Klaus and his advances but she'd have to try harder. Getting into bed with him would muddy the already murky waters and she couldn't have that.

-X-

Bonnie watched as Klaus stood behind the twins while everyone sang Happy Birthday. She was concerned initially, by his decision to invite a bunch of strangers and their children, but things turned out well and both Nicky and Lina made genuine friends. The look on Klaus's face could only be described as 'proud papa' as the two of them tried to beat the other on who could blow out their candles first. They each had their own sheet-sized cake and it took Bonnie all of her resolve not to control their sugar intake. It was a silly thing to worry about since no illness, unless it was supernatural, could come against them but despite it all, she was a mother.

"You should join them," Elijah's voice washed over her and brought a genuine smile to her face. She missed him more than she realized.

"I will in a minute. Right now, I'm just enjoying the view," she said with a wistful smile. Things were going better than she'd ever hoped and at least twice, she had to pinch herself to make sure this wasn't some sort of witchy fever dream.

"What do you think will happen after today?" There was an undercurrent of worry in his tone that forced her to look at him, taking a moment to admire his features. That familiar feeling of safety she felt whenever he was near encompassed her and she couldn't help the smile on her face. She hadn't been this happy in a while.

"I think you shouldn't worry about that right now. You should live in the moment and tackle tomorrow when it comes." She advised. Her tone was final but Elijah didn't look convinced. She reached out to grab his hand and Elijah ignored the spark that flared at her touch. "I know you're worried but things are looking up. Go get yourself a drink and relax." Moments passed before he took heed and did as he was advised. She took a deep breath and tried not to focus on his question. What would happen tomorrow? It was anyone's guess. Tonight, however, they'd eat, drink, and be merry until drunkenness claimed them.

-X-

It was late but the city was still bustling. Bonnie sipped from her mug as she stared down at the partygoers below. Young, wild, and free. She'd been one of them once; when she first arrived to New Orleans. That girl was forced to grow up years ago but a part of her still fought to be released. The fire never left, only now it was contained.

She could feel him approaching but she didn't flinch, not this time. Though, her heart did skip a beat in his presence; it always did. Every nerve became aware of him, and he didn't have to make a sound. His age made it impossible to detect him yet Bonnie always knew when he was close.

"Thank you, for today," Klaus began when he was in earshot. When her eyes met his, he continued. "I noticed you benched yourself on my behalf. You didn't have to but thank you all the same." Though she was slick about it, Klaus could tell that Bonnie had given him the floor so as not to steal his thunder. Today meant a lot to him and he appreciated every moment he shared with both Nik and Lina.

"No, thank you," she emphasized. "I couldn't have thrown a better party," she confessed. She could only risk small-scale parties and trips during their life 'on the run' and could see now how sheltered her children were. It upset her; especially seeing them interact with other children. There was so much they missed out on. All because of her fear.

"Next year, I want you front and center." His attempts to draw her to the center did not work. Bonnie was content with sitting on the sidelines. "They're your children too. I think we only have about a solid ten photos with the four of us," he pointed out. Bonnie sipped from her glass and chuckled.

"I look a hot ass mess in about eight of them," she teased. Klaus shook his head.

"Poppycock! You look a mess in all of them." He grinned and diverted the contents of her glass over the balcony when she tried to splash him.

"Jerk," she slurred. With more stealth than she could ever get used to, he pilfered the now-empty glass from her grasp and set it down gently on the champagne table. She did not protest, for she had lost count of how many glasses she'd consumed and knew her liver would thank her later if she quit while she was ahead.

"Seeing my family interact today made me realize how long it's been since we've all had fun together. It's been centuries." For anyone else, that would be an exaggeration but not for Klaus. She could see the longing in his eyes as he relived today's events. Bonnie smiled.

"It was nice seeing you all bond," she expressed. Elijah's question burned in the back of her mind. What happened after today? Klaus had agreed to set aside their grievances to give the twins the best birthday they could, but as the hours dwindled, her imagination began to craft any and every scenario about how tomorrow would pan out. "I've always convinced myself that I couldn't miss what I've never had when it came to my family, but I can admit that it's nice to be included in what you guys have, even if it's just by proxy." As dysfunctional as the Mikaelsons were, Bonnie always envied having someone in your corner, fighting for you for over a thousand years.

"I believe it's that form of thinking that allowed you to walk away from me so easily. You always saw yourself as an outsider in every circle you've been a part of. It's why you so willingly allowed yourself to lay down on the blade for the benefit of your friends—why you were willing to take on a maniacal hybrid with little to no experience." At this, she let out a breathy scoff.

"Someone had to do it," she quipped, attempting to lighten the moment. It didn't work.

"Yes, but no one believed it had to be them—no one but you. The problem with your 'can't miss what you've never had' philosophy is the fact that you never allow yourself to miss anything. You never allowed yourself to entertain the thought that I could be someone worthy of helping you raise our children. I know my actions helped to solidify those thoughts, but you never gave any of us a chance. And while I thank you for sharing your memories of them, they are your memories from your perspective, not mine. The emotions tied to those memories are not mine. They're all tainted with the bitterness I have from having to watch Elijah be a stand-in for a position I never should have been denied." Her instinct was to defend herself but from his tone, she could tell he wasn't being accusatory. He was stating the painfully obvious.

"But I believe today is the first of many that I was able to form a core memory with them. A memory that is my own." Bonnie smiled at that. It was a small step in the right direction but there were many more steps ahead of them. A long moment passed before he spoke again.

"Believe me when I say I'm ready to let this go. For my sanity, I need to, but it's going to take more than a few months and a bond to forget this hurt." The silence was deafening as Bonnie allowed his words to sink in before speaking. The only way through any of this was speaking their truth—no matter how many times that dead horse had to be beaten.

"I convinced myself that Klaus Mikaelson had no feelings. That he would not be affected by my absence but I have never been more wrong in my entire life." Ironically, Klaus was probably the most emotionally expressive being on the planet. When he felt wronged, everyone knew and everyone suffered because of it. "I have always seen you as the enemy, even as I was falling for you. The only human emotion I'd ever seen you portray was anger so, to me, that's all you were capable of. That's why I never considered you or your feelings in my decision-making, but I'm done apologizing. My actions will have to speak for me better than I can."

And that was something they both could agree on.

-X-

Elijah sat in his old room, watching as the twins re-enacted a dance they'd learned from the internet. Of the many gifts they received were the newest iPhones and immediately, they became submerged in the internet and its shenanigans. It'd been funny watching Bonnie chew his brother out about the phones, but he had to admit that as sheltered as the twins had been, it was nice seeing them get along like kids their ages should.

It'd been a couple of days since the celebrations and Klaus had yet to kick him out of the house. In the meantime, he utilized every moment he could to soak up what he assumed would be his last days seeing them.

"Oh my God, you dance like Dad," Lina groaned, annoyed at her brother's lack of rhythm. "If you don't get this right, I'm cutting you out of the video."

"Andouille," Nicky spat in French but quickly fell into sync with his sister as she started the count over. Like a good Uncle, Elijah held the pink iPhone proudly as he recorded their dance routine. Once they were done, he ended the video.

"I think you'll be happy with that one." He encouraged, though Lina had to see for herself because apparently, 'that's what uncles are supposed to say'.

"You should do one with us, Uncle 'Lijah." At this, Elijah noticeably flinched.

"Heavens, no. I'm no better than your father."

"That we can agree on," Klaus chimed in as he entered the room. "Lina, I heard you in here bad-mouthing me," he challenged. Lina mustered the most innocent smile she could.

"Mother said I mustn't lie," she said with her most posh accent while dodging Klaus's grasp. Elijah felt his cold dead heart flutter with warmth as the three of them horse-played in front of him. It was good to see his brother relaxed for once. His guilt for keeping them apart resurfaced each time he watched them interact.

"Well you tell Mother to—"

"What? Tell her what?" Bonnie's voice made everyone in the room still.

"Sweetheart! I didn't see you there!" To see his brother startled was a rare occurrence, one that Elijah relished. The twins' giggles filled the room as they rushed to ambush Bonnie with affection.

"Uh-huh," she said, her tone incredulous. Her eyes left Klaus as she hugged both children. The twins were nearly Bonnie's height and were still growing. He wondered how far they'd surpass her in height and also wondered if he'd be around to see it.

"Are you two behaving?" When both of them nodded, she gave them the same incredulous look. "Sure you are," she said dismissively. "You two get ready for bed. Mommy needs to talk with your father and Uncle 'Lijah." The two groaned but complied as they said their 'goodnights'. Bonnie was sure they'd spend the rest of their night trying to hide the lights of their cellphones but for once, she was happy for the distraction.

In Klaus's study, Elijah quickly found a seat while Bonnie poured herself a glass of scotch at the bar. Niklaus leaned against the mantle over the fireplace, sipping a beer while watching Bonnie's every move. Elijah wondered if he needed to leave to give them privacy.

"Okay gentlemen, first things first," Bonnie paused and took a large gulp from her glass. Based on her tone, Klaus could tell this was her attempt at grabbing the proverbial bull by its horns. "Klaus, I know you're ready to banish your brother to the shadow realm but I think you should reconsider. Nicky would be devastated and before you make that call I—"

"Elijah can stay," Klaus interrupted calmly. Both Bonnie and Elijah visibly balked at the revelation. Naturally suspicious of his motives, Bonnie's eyes squinted as they searched Elijah's for an explanation. Had they already discussed this? Based on his visible confusion, she could surmise that they hadn't.

"Huh?" Was all she could manage. Klaus fought the urge to grin.

"There's a southern adage that says, 'If you can 'huh', you can hear.'," he teased. When neither of them made an effort to say anything, he continued. "Let it be clear, by no means am I absolving my brother of his crimes," he began dramatically, "but it'd be remiss of me to deny his importance in my children's lives. No matter how nefarious it came to be. A move against him is a move against them. I see that now," He muttered against his beer bottle.

Bonnie blinked. "How gracious, Klaus," she said, her tone more genuine than she intended.

In burying the hatchet, Klaus discovered a sense of peace in simply enjoying being present in his children's lives and knew that peace was on borrowed time. By not fighting with his brother, he hoped to extend that time, indefinitely if need be.

"Don't make me regret this," Klaus spoke, his ever-present ire aimed at his brother. Elijah simply nodded.

"You have my word," Elijah said, meaning it. Klaus's eyes cut to Bonnie's and words unspoken passed between them.

"Mine as well," she agreed. She struggled to swallow the lump in her throat as she forced herself to come to grips with the fact that she had to truly let Elijah go. Their relationship was an odd one. She'd grown from outright despising him from the role he played in orchestrating her mother's death to trusting him with her life and her darkest secrets. Sighing, she nodded, "Then it's settled," she said with a voice stronger than her current emotions. "I know you're not doing this for me but thank you all the same." She said with earnest. She quickly finished her drink and placed the glass on the mantle before exiting the room.

Klaus didn't bother going after her. Everything she felt he could feel through their bond and the distress he felt made him want to tear his brother in two. He scoffed as he finished his beer and threw the bottle in the bin before it shattered in his hands.

"I have no desire to understand what happened between the two of you," Klaus gritted. Elijah, for all his merit, remained silent. Klaus struggled to remain rooted where he stood as an endless sea of emotions flooded his side of the bond. He wanted nothing more than to console Bonnie but his rage prevented him from doing so. He closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief as he was forced to endure his mate grieving her relationship with his brother.

"I would never cross that line, Brother," Elijah swore solemnly.

"I don't think you understand how much she loves you, then," Klaus gruffed. "You crossed that line the moment you promised to keep her secrets." The two of them sat in silence as Klaus deliberated his next words. "Right now she has an Elijah-sized hole in her heart." Elijah watched his brother keenly, waiting for any signs that his mood was about to shift for the worst. What he found instead was concern. Concern he'd never seen on his brother's face.

That look was quickly replaced with that stony resolve Elijah's been privy to for the last millennium. It was the look of both defeat and resolve and Elijah couldn't tell which one was about to leave his lips.

"Go," Klaus said with a jerk of his chin towards the direction Bonnie left in. "Fill it." Their eyes locked and Elijah could see the war raging inside of his brother. A war in which Elijah hoped they could lay down arms.

It pained Klaus to know that what Bonnie needed in that moment was something only his brother could provide; something that should only be provided by him. But the torment Bonnie currently experienced was one he was innately familiar with—one he wouldn't wish on anyone. Elijah reached out and gripped his brother's shoulder and gave a firm squeeze.

"Last time," he promised. For he no longer wished to be his brother's stand-in. Those days were over and it was time to finally close that chapter in his life.

-X-

Shock prevented Bonnie from hiding her tears when Elijah approached her balcony. Given the nature of their discussion, he was the last person she expected. Still, he was a welcomed sight and her chest ached a little less in his presence, even if the thought of Klaus appearing sent a small shiver of dread down her spine.

"He knows I'm here," he clarified. The ever-present worry on her face ebbed just a little. She didn't know what to say to that.

"Which means he's definitely listening," she murmured. She stood and went into her room, coming back with a small smudge stick in her hand. With a thought, the stick ignited and the smell of sage wafted in the air around them. He could break down the balcony door if he wished but she was done tip-toeing around him.

"It seems that your wishes came true," Elijah began. "Both Tyler and I remain unharmed and your family has been restored," he noted. "Well done, Miss Bennett." Elijah had his doubts. His brother's wrath knew no bounds but if any woman could bend him to her will, it was Bonnie.

"Already back to Miss Bennett, are we?" Bonnie didn't mask her sadness. Elijah said nothing, though the look on his face said it all. "Sorry, that wasn't fair."

"You must understand that to get through this, I have to compartmentalize. I don't intend to be callous," Elijah explained.

"Like you did with Marcel," she pointed out. Marcel had recounted how callous Elijah had been in efforts to save his relationship with his brother and Bonnie feared history would repeat itself.

"No, nothing like that. What I did to him was completely uncalled for and I do not wish to make the same mistake," he corrected. "My brother seems to think you've fallen for me and the best way I know how to appease him is to create distance between us. Since I cannot convince him that what we had is purely one-sided, I have to show him that I've moved on."Elijah swallowed. "Even if that isn't entirely true."

"Is that what you think? That this was one-sided? Do you believe I could spend ten years with you as my protector and not feel anything? Elijah—"

"How else would you explain Tyler?" At that, Bonnie went still. They'd never gotten a chance to address her relationship with Tyler. She'd done a good job at keeping Elijah in the dark but he found out eventually and in hindsight, it was what led to Klaus piecing everything together. She'd done to Elijah what she'd done to Klaus. Even if her intentions were not to hurt any of them, they could only see the result, and the mess she left in her wake was just that, a mess.

She struggled to breathe as her lungs deflated.

"When did I become so problematic?" She asked no one in particular.

"We never stood a chance and I knew what I was getting myself into," he tried to appease.

"Still, you didn't deserve this. Neither of you did." She fiddled with the smudge stick. Elijah sat still, watching her fidget in silence.

"Do you understand how captivating you are? For a woman of your caliber to ask me, of all people, for help in her hour of need? Do you know what that does to a man like me? I was putty in your hands before I even walked into that diner. I've watched you be everything to everyone so when the Bonnie Bennett I envisioned— this all-mighty woman who didn't need saving— when that Bonnie willfully submitted to me and allowed me to care for her when no one else could…" His voice trailed off as his mind became trapped in the memory of the moment he found her. He smiled as he remembered the look in her eyes as she begged him to keep her secret. "It was too intoxicating to resist. Your fire captured me and I willingly allowed myself to be engulfed by your flames."

"Klaus is no fool. He knows us better than we know ourselves and denying what we both know we feel for each other only makes him angrier. He knows why I selfishly kept you to myself and away from him. As long as you needed me, I would be there for you, and over time I cared less about what it would do to him when he found out. And even with the knowledge of how deep my treachery has scarred him, I still can't say that I regret it. Every moment with you was my absolute pleasure and if I'm forced to grieve what will never be for the rest of my existence, then it's a better fate than I could ever dream would come of this."

His words left her reeling and bereft of words. Unable to hold his gaze, she stood and turned away from her, focusing on the tourists below them rather than the air she struggled to find after he so elegantly expressed himself to her. How did he expect her to let him go when he was so beautifully gifted at waxing poetics?

She turned to face Elijah whose gaze never left her and as he stared at her, studying her every move, she was suddenly enviable of Elena and Katherine's selfishness.

"How could I not love you when you say shit like that?" Her lame joke produced a smile from him and it warmed Bonnie's heart. How ironic was it that the most powerful beings on Earth were the weak links in each other's chains?

"One of the first things he asked me was if I was in love with you," she spoke, forcing herself not to look away from him. "And it's unfair to admit this to you now, but I was. Even though I told him I wasn't. But like you said, he knew I was lying. I did such a great job justifying everything I've done that I also convinced myself what we had was one-sided." She sighed and set the smudge stick down where it could burn freely.

"I used you to replace Klaus and Tyler to replace you both and that was wrong but it was also real." She never believed it was even possible to love two people at once, let alone three. She'd silently judged all of her friends as they hopped from brother to brother, lover to enemy, but now she understood. "I don't even know how it's possible with this bond but I did love you, Elijah. I still do," she confessed as she was suddenly flooded with emotions.

Her confession stopped his dead heart. It relieved him to hear that it wasn't all in his head, though it pained him that he'd have to let it all go. The tears in Bonnie's eyes sparkled in the light of the gas lanterns above them. They could verbally deny it for the rest of eternity but the feelings they had for one another couldn't be faked, nor could it be hidden. If this is what outsiders saw anytime she looked at him then he could understand his brother's ire even more.

"Le cœur veut ce qu'il ne peut avoir, et dans ce désir, nous trouvons à la fois notre plus grande joie et notre plus profonde tristesse." he muttered while swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Yes it does, but what I want more than anything right now is for you to be free. I know ten years is like ten days for you but I don't want you to spend another day on me or any of my drama. You've sacrificed everything for us and I can never thank you enough." Elijah nodded and stood to his feet. If it was possible to never leave this balcony, he wouldn't. He'd live in this moment forever. Bonnie closed her eyes as he leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Maybe in another life, we'll find each other but until then, we'll always have Paris."

"Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment. Chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie," she muttered in French as a tear fell as she mourned the closing of a ten-year chapter. "I'll carry you always," she whispered as a gust of wind engulfed him, signaling his departure.

When she was sure he was long gone, she submerged the smudge stick in the box of soil she kept on the small table and exited the balcony. Though her heart was heavily burdened, she felt free from the closure their talk provided. If she knew Elijah, he'd need a moment to herself and she was okay with that.

Without fail, Klaus was standing outside of her door, waiting for her to emerge. She watched as he glanced behind her for signs of her brother but before he could utter a word, she beat him to it.

"Fuck off, Nik," she growled, before turning the corner and disappearing.

Niklaus grinned.

A/N: Thanks for reading!