You Don't Know What I'd Do For You (Love you like oxygen)

nineteen

*A/N* Hello! Welcome back! Sorry that this took so long again, I had zero motivation for this lmao. But, here is the next chapter, please enjoy! Let me know if there is anything that you would like me to include in the trigger warnings, otherwise, there aren't really any for this one. This chapter is based off of season 1, episode 15 of the Originals, although slightly altered, but its Klaus' story to Cami of 1919.

In Elijah's Mind

It took a while, to let it sink in, for them to realize what exactly had happened. This wasn't an ordeal that had spanned over a day like the one they had just gotten their brother out of. No, this had been years. Years of them searching endlessly, paralyzed in place with the overwhelming places to look or all the mountains of evidence that pointed to their brother having run away, or, much worse, died. And then all the years after they had given up, moved on with their lives, he had still been there.

It was suddenly much clearer, what exactly had happened all those decades ago. They could practically pinpoint the exact moment that it had all gone wrong, where they could have stopped the dominoes from landing as they did. And that was the worst part, knowing how differently it could have gone, knowing exactly how much extra time they could have had with their dear older brother, knowing all the things that he could have been there for.

Flashback

Elijah POV

There weren't many good days, most of our days we spent either dealing with Klaus or dealing with Mikael. But there had been no sightings of our father in weeks, which was both unnerving and reassuring at the same time. This was supposed to be a good day, carefree, to just enjoy ourselves.

Rebekah was overjoyed, Klaus was finally allowing her to spend time with Marcel, supervised as it was. The second she had heard of an opera play coming to town, she had immediately compelled tickets and had been brimming with excitement for the past week. I don't know how we would ever get by without her, somehow, she never lost that giggly, bubbly, childish side of herself. I loved her dearly because of it.

I was getting ready for the evening, adjusting my suit, finally knowing that this would not be a time where I would feel out of place in my attire. Taking a deep breath, I stopped myself, like I always did, filling my lungs but not allowing the satisfying exhale and droop of my shoulders. I wished I could relax, desperately, but that wasn't my privilege to have, and I could live with that.

Suddenly, I heard an all too familiar pattern of footsteps behind me. They were rushed, barely perceptible when paired with the overwhelming speed of an Original vampire made to hunt vampires, but I could still tell. Whirling around and snapping into a defensive position, analyzing the room for an escape route, for a way to run and protect Niklaus and Rebekah, but all I could do was distract him for as long as possible.

"You..." I hesitated, but didn't let my guard down for a second.

"It's alright, son," Mikael said, in a mockingly gentle tone, "I just want to talk."

I resisted the urge to just lunge at him right then and there, I couldn't beat him in a simple brawl, I reminded myself, I had to play the game. Stepping forward, I eased my posture into a deceivingly more relaxed one. Lure him in, I thought to myself. "You mercilessly hunt us for centuries," I started, taking a step towards him with each sentence, "you laid waste to half of Europe, and now you... you simply wish to talk."

"It was your bastard brother I hunted, not you, never you," he returned, and it would have seemed endearing, but the cruelty never left his eyes.

It continued on like that, exchanging fake lines back and forth, dancing towards and around each other. His words were meaningless, things that both of us knew weren't even remotely true, but I knew this game. The rules were familiar, the steps were the same. This was a nostalgic dance, a deadly tango, ready to explode any second in a flash of fangs and vampiric speed as we both waited for the other to engage first. Simply feign sympathy and manipulate around in a circle, we were good at it by now. Well, of course we were, we were vampires after all, that was just how the world spun around.

"I came here to give you a chance," he finally finished, "to help me put down that welp for good."

That was when it happened, the last tick on the timer of the bomb, the explosion. I burst forward towards him with as much force as I could manage. We clashed together, whirling around, dodging and dealing blows as we whipped through the room. Of course, he gained the upper hand, even another Original was not nearly an equal match for him. I was sent flying upwards and through the air, smashing into a wall and then falling to the ground amidst the crumbling drywall.

"Do you really not know me?" I huffed out, slowly making my back to my feet to face him again, "You think I could or would believe anything that you say? If you honestly think that I would betray my own brother for you... you are a fool without equal."

I stayed where I was as he started to step towards me again, drowning out whatever arrogant, self-entitled insanity he was spewing. My exit was cut off, I was cornered, trapped. There was a sharp, cold feeling that ran through me as the Beast nagged at the back of my mind, but I refused him. Even as Mikael rushed forward towards me, White Oak stake in hand, and as we collided yet again, I reminded myself firmly, that I would rather it be me.

It's better that it be me than Niklaus. It's better it be me than Kol. It's better it be me than Rebekah. It's better me than Marcel. Better me than even Finn. It's better that it be me, a thousand times over, rather than it be any one of them.

I caught both the stake in his hand as well as the rest of his upper body. As much as I could, I kept them as far from me as possible while he rammed me back against the wall. The stake was positioned directly over my heart, both of us pushing into the other. Slowly but surely, I was losing ground, the pointed, wooden tip being forced towards me until it was directly against my chest.

It was an odd feeling, that I might die, that perhaps these were my last moments. And I would have spent them alone with the person that I hated most in all the world. My siblings would have no idea, they would still be waiting for me to join them in their booth as the play started. But even stranger than the thought was the feeling, somehow feeling weirdly calm rather than panicked, slowly accepting rather than struggling. My eyes met his and for a second that lasted a lifetime, I just looked deep into those blue eyes, the eyes that I so hated, saw myself reflected back in them.

His rough voice, so close, brought me back into awareness, "Stand with me, or fall with him," Mikael said, shoving the stake further against me, and I could feel his hand against mine as we both held the weapon.

Taking a brief inhale, I tightened my grip around the White Oak, I struggled forward yet again, because no matter how tempting it was, I could never know peace. "I will always... choose him," I shouted, forcing the stake down to his side.

For a moment, he looked almost unsure, questioning, somehow... almost... sorry. But, after a moment, his gaze turned mockingly pitiful and then cold and uncaring all over again, "Fine," he said, suddenly breaking off a piece of wood from the cracked wall and stabbing it into my chest, piercing my heart.

He looked at me for a moment as I choked on the blood that flooded my lungs and red spilled down my chest. Then, he turned on his heel and left, not sparing a backwards glance as I slowly crumpled to the ground once again. The only thing I could manage, a conscious decision or perhaps just an instinct, was to send a last jolt of magic to Niklaus. Maybe he wouldn't even notice it, maybe he would continue on and enjoy the night unknowing that Mikael was awaiting him, but it was a last, dying effort. I didn't know much more after that.

*A/N* Alright, this is long enough so I think I'm going to let you guys have this one for now. I'm going to make the next chapter into kind of a part 2 type thing to continue the scene. Otherwise it's just going to be super long and why have one chapter when you can have two? Again, so sorry that it took forever, I will not take a break again, I promise, it's just too tempting for me to abandon this work and I am desperately trying to avoid that. The good news is that the next chapter is pretty much already written so that should be up pretty quick. In any case, see you next time, I hope that you enjoyed!

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