Chapter 39: It Was Always About Love

                                    

                                          
A/N: I wrote this back in September so I really have no (real) excuse for the skipped month but here it is now! Short one, sawry! 
~Elijah POV~
The next morning, Elijah had awoken early, slipping out of bed and taking care to not wake up Hayley, before heading to his study. Solitude was a rarity in their household—especially now that they were all under one roof—so Elijah had taken to reading in the mornings before making breakfast. It was the only peace he got all day.
So when his brother stormed in, his heavy sigh was heard world over.
"Why are you interfering in my relationship?" Asked Klaus.
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard you last night," he continued, narrowing his eyes into a glare. "I saw you last night."
He put down his book, knowing there was to be no morning read today. "I was comforting her."
"By telling her she shouldn't be with me?"
Elijah didn't have to try hard to understand his brother's perspective. Had roles been reversed, and Klaus had advised Hayley not to stay, he too would have found it hard to accept. Yet Elijah could not regret his words, as he had spoken the truth, hard as it was.
"Niklaus, Fiore is a part of this family whether you are in it or not."
"So?"
"So, I will stand beside her even if she stands against you," Elijah said, getting to his feet in the face of his brother's horrified scowl. "I will not carelessly push her into your arms. I can only ask her to do what is right for her."
"Hm."
Klaus had averted his gaze, but Elijah clutched his shoulder and looked him in the eye as he spoke his next words, "And hope that you show her that's who you are."
In a rare moment of vulnerability, said his brother, "I have tried Elijah. But I just keep failing. You all talk of how much I have changed, but with her all I see is how much I am the same as I have always been. Unworthy of her. In spite of how much I want to be with her, how much I want to love her, she knows she deserves better, and I cannot convince her that is not true. I am at a loss."
Elijah only smiled. "Niklaus you are so afraid of your baser instincts that you are forgetting some of them are there for a reason. You know Fiore better than anyone, so if you want her back then you know what to do."
Klaus allowed the words to register, taking a moment to fully absorb them, before turning to his brother with a solidified nod of his head. Elijah reciprocated before his eyes caught the clock and realised it was about time for him to get in the kitchen.
"If you'll excuse me, I have quite a few mouths to feed."
And so Elijah left his study, his morning solitary time depleted, but he would at least still have some time to cook on his own. It was certainly stressful catering to a house of this magnitude, but it was a simple way for him to show his love—without having to actually interact with any of them.
"Hey."
He stopped in his tracks at the sound of Grace's voice. He wasn't sure if he was more surprised that she was up at this hour, or by the fact she was talking to him.
"Good morning Grace," he said, filled with hesitation.
"My dad wasn't the only one listening to you guys last night," she confessed.
He huffed a laugh. "Does anyone in this house respect privacy?"
"Well maybe if you were more honest I wouldn't have to eavesdrop."