Alice might have ventured out of the woods as far as Nik and Ric’s back porch, to leave a sketch of the other werewolf on the mat by the door. Maybe.
Nik picked up the sketch, frowning at it…
Had he left it outside? But no, he didn’t draw this, this wasn’t one of his sketches. But who?
When he finally figured it out, he smiled. It wasn’t so much the sketch that surprised him, but the fact that she would leave the safety of her home to bring him a gift, something he wasn’t sure he would be able to do if he was in her place.
Thank you.
[mirror!verse]
Ittook him a long time to convince himself it was the right thing togive to him. He had started painting it months ago and back then hehad not thought about Valentine’s Day at all. It was just somethingthat he couldn’t get out of his head, an idea he had to followthrough with if he wanted to stop thinking about it.
Four
months, three days, eight hours. That was how long it had taken to
complete it and now he was sitting in the living-room, waiting for
Ric to get home from work. He was feeling weird, unsure – but he
was going to do this.
The
sound of keys at the front door pulled him out of his thoughts and he
turned off the TV, sitting up straight as he waited for Alaric to
enter the room.
“Hey,”
he said, suddenly feeling nervous. He gestured toward the corner of
the room, right next to the balcony doors.
“I made something for you. You know, for Valentine’s Day. I know it’s not really — I know it’s only tomorrow, but I’m just — I need to know what you think.”
He was too nervous to greet him properly with a kiss and a hug, instead he got off the couch and curled his hand around Alaric’s arm, dragging him toward the hidden painting.
It was a picture of Alaric’s younger self and his parents how Nik remembered them, younger, healthy. Smiling. Two photos from his cell phone combined into one, a memory of a time Nik would never forget and wanted to share. Painful, maybe, but a part of him. Of them.
“I love you.”
CW Upfront – 2010
Housewarming | Nik & Elijah
Elijah nodded once. “New Orleans is as close to home as we’ve had in a very long time. He was happy there.” A smile lit his face. He loved to talk of traveling. “Perhaps one day you will take an extended trip with your young man. I’ve been a lot of places. More places recently, actually. Travel is so much easier now.”
“I love the thrill of finding new places. It never diminishes. New Orleans was a favorite. We spent a few centuries there.” He tapped his chair arm. “France was another favored place. Rebekah enjoyed it. I should take her for a small trip there again… Let her loose on the shops in Paris…”
His eyes met Nik’s. “That was a memorable meeting, yes. I’m not angry. He did what he felt was right.”
He
couldn’t even imagine what it was like going to places on horses. Or
maybe even walk for days to reach the next village. He liked the idea
of having woods all around you, it made him think of freedom, a life
that his wolf would embrace in a way that the human part never could.
“Never
been there – and I’m not sure I’ll be doing a lot of traveling. I
hate flying, I – when Ric and I went from Mystic Falls to New York
for a weekend – it was bad. He had to distract me the entire
flight. And now, when we visit his parents, he holds my hand and I
try not to die of shame.”
Actually,
it wasn’t as bad as the first time anymore, but he would never be a
fan of it. Never.
Nik
searched Elijah’s eyes for a moment, not really understanding what
had happened between him and Alaric – but he believed him. His
brother wouldn’t hurt Ric, that much he could tell. Maybe wouldn’t
have even before he showed up to talk to him. It made him breathe a
little easier, at least there was one Mikaelson Ric would be safe
around.
“Thanks…
I… I won’t pretend I know what’s happened between you, but…
thanks.”
[all the texts :D]
send ✉ for an 2 AM text
[text; Nik]: It’s freezing. I don’t have enough blankets and I don’t want to get out of the bed to stoke the fire.
send ✘ for an unsent text
[text; Nik]: Klaus stopped by…
send ☠ for a threatening message
[text; Nik]: If you don’t bring me more of Alaric’s cookies, I will be very cross with you.
send ❤ for a lusty/loving/affectionate message
[text; Nik]: I think that you’re the very best friend I’ve ever had.
send ♣ for a drunk message
[text; Nik]: 7777777fffjlkljo
Big sister
“You’re both very, very protective…” She hid a smile about it. Obviously, it wasn’t always good protective, but when it was, she could laugh and smile about it. “Ah, well, you might be a bit nicer about it than him. The fights we’ve had…” She pointed at him, “I feel as if I should tell you to watch your language. Very odd.”
“Of course she won. I… won.” How confusing. Poor Nik. “I know the glare thing. I employ it often. The whine thing and pouting too. I’m terribly spoiled and like getting my way.”
Rebekah chewed her lip, thinking how best to answer him. “I get along as well as I can, I guess. Kol and I go back and forth between being thick as thieves and at each other’s throats. Nik and I, you call him Klaus, but he’s Nik to me, we have a very complicated relationship. It’s volatile, but still loving…” She let out a very undignified snort. “Boring. Elijah is stuffy and stoic and boring. No. Not always. And he has some very not stuffy moments, but he is the rock of the family, and I think looking after us all these years has taken a lot of the fun out of him.”
He
could tell that something between her and Klaus wasn’t as positive as
he would have liked it to be – he had just met her and already he
was feeling so incredibly protective of her just the idea that
someone might hurt her made his wolf growl threateningly. Maybe the
feeling was even more intense as it would have been if he and his
Rebekah didn’t have that strained relationship. It was like here was
finally the sister who didn’t hate him, didn’t want him gone and he
was going to make very sure they wouldn’t drift apart.
“I
have to get used to the fact that you’re older than me here. Not the
vampire thing – that’s pretty difficult to understand, but Bex –
she’s always been my little sister, you know? And you…
you’re anything but little. It’s so weird. But good-weird.”
Her
description of Elijah made him laugh out loud. He loved his brother –
both versions, even when the one in this world was still hard to
grasp – but she was right, he seemed so much older. From all his
new siblings he was definitely acting his age.
“My
Elijah, he’s… I mean, he’s always been calm, you know? But not like
him, we’ve done so many things together and yours seems like… I
don’t know, like he spends all his time inside, reading. Like he
doesn’t know what fun is anymore.”
saltzatore 