Reconstruct

Meet Me at the Tomb

            Idea Quote:

"What are you so afraid of?"
"You"

This will be a different take on when Katherine and Elijah come face to face at the tomb.

Elijah felt almost frozen as he watched from the entrance of the tomb as Katerina slowly turned towards him, her undead heart stuttering when she realized it was truly him right there in front of her. He drank in the sight of her as she stared right back at him, fear creating cracks in her carefully curated mask of indifference. Her normally voluminous hair was ratty and in tangles and her body was covered in dirt and grime. He grit his teeth at seeing her in such a state of disarray with sunken in cheeks and pain hiding in her eyes. What almost hurt him worse, was the fear.

"I see you have the good sense to be frightened of approach Katerina," he started, "I imagine you should be quite relieved that I am not my brother." he paused when she didn't relax, "What are you so afraid, darling?" he spoke, tilting his head and pulling a handkerchief from his pocket as he breached the spelled barrier that was only meant to keep her trapped inside. She was still as she leaned against the wall weakly, her eyes trained on him as he gently wiped the cloth over her face to clean the filth that had accumulated on her skin.

Her lip wobbled almost imperceptibly and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears which she hated that she couldn't hide. "You." she answered him honestly. "I'm afraid of you, Elijah." His heart screamed at him, his beautiful Katerina was standing here in front of him and she was afraid of him, not Niklaus, him. He trailed his thumb over her bottom lip and she shivered, almost flinching with every gentle touch he offered her.

Elijah clenched his jaw tightly and let out a strained breath before he squeezed his eyes shut and took another, more calming breath, his hand not leaving her cheek. She closed her eyes in a half flinch when he leaned in close to her, and she continued to stay still as stone as he placed a soft kiss to her now clean forehead. "My precious Katerina, I do not want you to fear me." He mourned, "I never have."

"I know what you do to those who cross you." she choked out slowly, "I betrayed you when I ran. You've been hunting me for five hundred years." she met his gaze fearfully as a tear managed to escape and roll down her cheek, which he dutifully wiped away with his thumb. "Would you have run if you'd known about my plans to save you with an elixir?" He asked her gently, "If I'd have promised to give you my blood and sire you myself so the ritual did not kill you?"

"I-" she tried to blink away her tears, "I-"

"You would have stayed." He finished for her and he is pleased when she nods in assent. "If you'd have only told me something, anything, I do not think I'd have run from you. I was far too deeply in love with you to ever consider such a thing." Timidly she covered his hand with her own where it had stayed on her cheek. "But you didn't Elijah, and that scared me so horribly that I could not help but run with the fear of it all, and that intense fear of an unknown death you and Klaus planned turned into fear of you, knowing what your family does to those who betray them as I had." She looked away and made to drop her hand, "Please, if I am going to die, if you're going to kills me, just make it quick, I beg that much of you Elijah. If you cared for me at all-"

"I do not intend to kill you darling." he interrupted her, catching her hand in his. "I have kept you moving for so long for your own safety while I searched for something that would draw my brother's attention or free him from his curse," he admits, "And with the new doppelganger in Mystic Falls, that shall come to pass." he smiles at her softly, "I shall inform my brother that you told me where to find her as a peace offering, seeing as you led me here, and I believe that will be sufficient enough for him to forgive and forget, so to speak." he promises and he can see the wheels turning in her head.

"I'll be free?" Her voice is a low murmur, imperceptible to human ears.

"You shall, and once your freedom is guaranteed, we shall finally be allowed our own happiness." his eyes were soft as he gazed at her, "Together." he whispered as he brushed her tangled hair behind her ear. "

When she shivered this time, he wasn't quite sure if it was once again from fear or perhaps from hopeful anticipation of their future together. "I'll come back once I've spoken to him." he steps back, "You will stay here and stay safely hidden in the meantime."

"Please- don't leave me here." she almost reached for him this time and his heart was heavy to see she was still wary. "You won't be here long." he promised, "Here are some blood bags to tide you over until I can send more." He retrieved two bags from his suit and pushed them into her hands. "I will be back for you Katerina, I promise. You won't live like this for much longer."

Her eyes followed him as he disappeared from her sight, every instinct screaming at her. She wasn't sure if she could trust the man she'd fallen deeply in love with as a human or if she should take the first chance she had to run and hide. As she slunk further back into the shadows of the tomb she sipped slowly at the blood he'd brought for her, contemplating her feelings, her instincts, and her life. Did she deserve the happiness that Elijah wanted for them? Did she still harbor the same intense feelings of love she had as a human? Could she still allow herself to act on them? Allow her heart to lead instead of her head?

There was one thing that she was certain of: if there was a way to survive, Katherine Pierce would find it and take it. After all, she was nothing if not a survivor.