Too young, too fragile (Klaus Mikaelson ff)

Chapter 11

The next week they started Henrik's homeschooling. Elijah wasn't sure at first if Klaus would be able to do it on his own, but knew Henrik couldn't stay in the school any longer. After Jo's suggestion they took him to be evaluated for autism and he got diagnosed with Level 2 autism, pragmatic communication disorder and severe disability of intellectual development. It meant a tremendous challenge for them, first they fought at the school to get him an IEP with no success, so homeschooling was the last resort, but Elijah kept looking for SPED schools.

Niklaus got up early and arranged the things he wanted to go through with Henrik. It was some light math and letter tracing, nothing much because Klaus didn't know what Henrik has stable knowledge in.

-Mornin' - said the brunette yawning as he entered the room

-Good morning Rik, so first I have some math and reading for us. Which one would you like to start with? - he placed the few tasks on the table

-Letter tracing? Really?

-You said you have difficulty with non-runic writing so I figured we can just start all over and then it will go well.

-Okay... Let's start with math then.

-Math it is. I gathered four tasks for you. Look through them and choose the first one.

Henrik did and Klaus explained to him without asking if he understood the task, which made Henrik feel calm and they finished quickly with everything. Klaus proved to be a good teacher to his brother. By noon all the math and reading was finished and Klaus felt Henrik had really gotten a grip on the material.

They took a break, and Klaus prepared a simple lunch for them both. As they sat at the table, Henrik looked at Klaus with a small smile.

-Thanks, Nik. I never thought you'd be such a good teacher- Henrik admitted.

Klaus chuckled, ruffling Henrik's hair.

-Well, I have my moments. Besides, you're my little brother. I'd do anything for you.

The days went by, and homeschooling became a routine. Klaus was patient and understanding, adapting his teaching methods to Henrik's needs. They incorporated creative activities into the learning process, like drawing runes for math problems or turning reading into a storytelling session. Henrik's progress was noticeable, and Elijah couldn't help but be proud of both his brothers and decided to give up on looking for schools, just for the time being as everything seemed to work out.

-So... - Henrik started shyly - are you going out on a date with Caroline later?

-How did you...? It's not a date! Okay... Maybe, just MAYBE it's a date.

-Haha! I knew. What will you do? You have to be very romantic, because she is nice.

-Don't worry about that, I made a really good plan bro.

-Tell me about it, you're not the romantic type. Maybe we should ask Bex if she can help you.

-Thanks for your trust. I can handle it on my own.

-So?

-So what?

-What did you plan?

-Fine... I planned a picnic for her. I made her favorite cake yesterday and I'm going to make some fried chicken with veggies for the main meal. I was thinking about making strawberry daiquiri but I still have to figure out how to keep it at the right temperature. I charged the laptop and downloaded some girly movies as per Becca's request and chose the right place where we could see the sunset, about ten minutes after the movie ended.