Mismatched // Elijah Mikaelson

II

"Got a touch like a thorn.
'Cause the girl she's hiding horns.
She got blood cold as ice.
And a heart made of stone."

***

'Damon? What are you doing here?' Zari asked as she opened the door of her new apartment.

'I'm sorry for not undaggering your best friend,' he said while biting his lip.

Zari laughed, 'Oh please, you're not. Let's get to the real question, what do you want from me?'

'I need you to accompany me and Stefan to a dinner at the Mikaelson's.'

Zari smiled wickedly, 'That sounds terrific, you should be warned though... After all this stuff with Meredith, who's stealing Alaric's weapons to kill people and frame him, I'm most likely to drive a stake up someone's ass.'

Damon smirked, 'Yes, I know, that's why I need you there. You've got a fire inside of you that we're going to need.'

Zari raised her eyebrow, 'You do know that I might drive a stake up Stefan's ass too?'

'Yes, I am very aware of the fact that you hate him and honestly... at this point I'm not even sure I would mind.'

'Well then, I guess the only question I've got left is: Classy or Casual?'

Damon smirked, 'Classy, who knows, maybe you'll seduce Elijah or Niklaus.'

'And I wouldn't be able to do that if I went casual?'

Damon shot her a smile as he glanced at her outfit, 'No.'

'Dick,' Zari replied, 'maybe I'll reserve that stake for you.'

***

'Niklaus, our guests have arrived,' Elijah called out as he opened the door, then his gaze landed upon the beautiful girl, 'and they have brought someone with, please, see to it that we have another plate set up.'

'Damon, Stefan... Who is the lovely friend that's joined us for tonight?'

Zari smiled, 'British accent, I like it. But I'd prefer if you asked me that question, instead of pretending that the Salvatore's have to answer it for me.'

Niklaus frowned, did she know who he was? Elijah interfered before his brother could lash out, 'Of course, I apologise for my brother's manners. Who are you?'

'Za'Rijah, but Zari is alright to me,' she glanced at Niklaus, 'and I've joined this dinner, because I need to keep Damon and Stefan in check.' Damon shot her glare and Zari smiled, 'Kidding, I just really want to meet the Original family. There's been so many stories.'

'I didn't, uh, come here to eat, Klaus. In fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to, 'cause you would hear us out,' Stefan declared.

Zari sighed, 'Oh suck it up Steffie, I'm starving.' Niklaus smiled in amusement at the girl, just like Elijah and Zari sat down, 'Oh my god, this looks good.'

'I'm glad you think so, Zari. Damon... was this what you had in mind while you pulled the dagger out of my brother? To bring your lady friend here and dine with everyone?' Niklaus asked.

Zari shrugged, 'I don't know about Damon, but I can't imagine your brother wasn't glad to get out of that box. I mean, we should probably all agree that despite the fact Elijah is very handsome, he should have undaggered Rebekah.'

Elijah shot her a smile and Damon rolled his eyes, 'I thought we were leaving the anger at home, Zari.'

She took a bite from her food, 'Well, you could've undaggered my only friend in town, but ya didn't. I think I have the right to be as angry as I want.'

Elijah frowned, 'You're friends with my sister?'

'Yes well, she practically declared that from the day we met in the Mystic Grill, I had to be her friend... But sure.'

'Let's talk about Rebekah,' Stefan grinned, 'Is she still daggered, because you're to afraid to face her?'

'If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother... I've already come clean to Elijah.'

Zari snorted, 'Yeah, I'm not sure that's something to be proud of.'

Elijah smiled, yet anger flared in Niklaus's eyes. Damon quickly glanced at his brother, 'Hey, Stef, remember when you killed Dad? Might want to dial down the judgement 'till dessert.'

'Damon's right you know, wait to piss of the host after the best meal is served,' Zari concluded, 'You know, they should serve dessert first... I would have so much more free time.'

Stefan rolled his eyes, 'We're here to make a deal, Damon, doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses.'

'I'm just saying, we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself.'

'Stefan, where is the lovely Elena tonight?' Elijah asked.

'I don't know, ask Damon.'

Niklaus started laughing, 'I'm sorry, you missed so much. Ah, trouble in paradise.'

'One more word about Elena and, this dinner is over,' Stefan muttered.

Zari sighed, 'Oh come on, she's just a girl.'

Niklaus grinned, 'It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger. Is still so strong, what do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?'

Zari frowned and Elijah glanced at her, 'Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?'

'Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line,' Niklaus argued.

'Well, we're not going anywhere, Elijah. Please do tell.'

Zari elbowed Damon under his rib case, 'Seriously?'

'When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty,' Elijah began while Zari closed her eyes and started to imagine how many times she could slam her head against the table, 'Every boy of age desired to be her suitor even though she'd had a child of another man.'

Zari sighed as she sipped from her wine, 'Well, apparently men haven't changed slightly over the years. But we already knew that.'

'None loved her more than Niklaus,' Elijah finished.

'Oh, I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much,' Niklaus added.

'Wait, you both loved the same girl?' Stefan chuckled.

'You're not allowed to judge,' Zari chanted under her breath.

'Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia, and so she took her. And Klaus and I would later learn, that it was Tatia's blood we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time, Niklaus and I... grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even cam to blows. Didn't we, brother?'

'But in the end we recognised the sacred bond of family,' Niklaus answered.

Zari blinked, 'Can we go back to the part when a girl was killed because she was in the most horrifying real life love triangle?'

'Family above... all.'

'Family above all,' Niklaus said as he toasted with his brother.