Oceans by idkxwriting (ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN)

CHAPTER 5

Elijah was surprised to find an envelope addressed to him, the handwriting extraordinarily familiar.

It had been almost a month since they had said goodbye. Niklaus has orchestrated the barrier spell, leveraging Davina into reversing a complicated spell so Y/N would get her emotions back.

He had said he was doing it for Elijah, but his motives were always selfish. When it came down to it, he had been tired of watching his older brother mope. Elijah's heartache had bored him.

It hadn't worked though, at least not in the way Elijah had hoped. Y/N remembered it all, but while time was the one thing he had, it was also dragging on excruciatingly slow.

It didn't help that Christmas was right around the corner.

Nothing like the holidays to remind someone they were alone.

"What's that?" Hayley asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

He stared at Y/N's handwriting, tracing his fingertips along his name and address. "It's from Y/N."

"Open it!" Hope shouted excitedly.

He smiled at his niece before patting her on the head.

"Hope, baby, let's give Uncle Elijah a moment. Come on," Hayley said, taking her hand and leading her towards the kitchen. "I think your Dad has some beignets for you."

"I miss Y/N," she said quietly, glancing up at her mom.

Hayley nodded and enticed her with the promise of going to visit her studio the next time they were out.

"I miss her too," Elijah said to himself.

He turned the envelope over in his fingers before heading to his study.

He opened the letter carefully and found an invitation inside with a bright blue post-it note attached to the front.

Elijah,

I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. I know these past few weeks haven't been easy for either of us, but I think it's what I needed.

I hope to see you there...

xx Y/N

The invitation was for a gallery opening, just three days before Christmas.

He smiled softly at the prospect of seeing her, his chest feeling lighter than it had in months as hope began to seep in.

*****

Y/N locked up as the last guests for the evening shuffled out. She turned back to the now empty showroom, shutting off the main lights so only the soft glow of the white Christmas lights in the windows illuminated the room.

She sighed and walked through the gallery, her heels echoing off the wooden floor. The show had been a success, she had sold the majority of her paintings. Klaus had made an appearance, and even he had been impressed with her talent.

She should have felt pride, but she only felt emptiness. She moved to the back section, her favorite series still hanging on the wall. They had been sold to an anonymous buyer, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't sad to see them go.

Three paintings hung side by side, stolen moments from her life. His jaw line as his mouth pressed to her neck. His hand on her hip. Her fingertips tracing his lips. The paintings had been well received, and while she had worried they had been too private, she was applauded on her honesty, the way she had captured such raw emotion - the way she had created an intense love on a canvas. Abstract images of memories, fragments of her intimate time with Elijah.

Elijah, who hadn't shown.

Perhaps she had taken too much time.

"While your work deserves to be seen, I hope you did not point these particular pieces out to Niklaus," his voice startled her.

She turned, beaming. "These pieces were the hit of the evening, I think everyone who attended saw them," she blushed.

He walked past her, studying the paintings. "Then I'll have to compel everyone to forget they've seen any piece of you that belongs to me," he teased.

She scoffed. "Belongs to you?" She raised an eyebrow in defiance.

He turned and faced her, his hand in his pocket, looking every bit calm and confident. "I'm referring to the paintings, of course." When she furrowed her brows he elaborated. "I bought them."

She laughed. God, he had missed that. "Of course you did," she chuckled.

He dropped the playful banter, his expression one of awe as he took her in. She looked good, beautiful as ever. She looked happy. "How are you?" He asked quietly.

She turned toward the paintings. "I'm good," she replied. "Mostly good."

"Mostly?"

She shrugged. "Well, I've been working hard," she gestured toward the showroom at her numerous pieces, then towards herself. "Finding myself and all that."

"And what did you find?"

Her eyes met his. "That I'm okay. That I can do this on my own."

He nodded, his jaw tightening. He wanted nothing more than her happiness, even if that meant a life that didn't include him.

"But I also found that when I think of something funny, or I've had a bad day, or a ridiculously successful gallery opening," she continued, taking a step towards him. "When I crawl into bed at the end of the night and when I wake up in the morning," another step. "I found I want to share those moments. With you."

She froze, waiting for his reply, but he said nothing.

"None of this means anything without you, Elijah, and I'm sorry I walked away from us. I love you, and I miss you," she paused, the silence deafening. "Please say something?"

He looked down and shook his head. For a moment her heart sank to her stomach, but when he looked back up his eyes were tearing up and he was smiling.

"Say it again," he whispered.

She smiled. "I love you, Elijah."

She barely got the words out before she was pulled into his arms and his mouth was on hers. He kissed her as though he needed her to breathe, and she clung to him.

When they parted, panting for air, Y/N couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. It was the most she had smiled in months.

He stared down at her, his eyes almost black, an endless dark abyss that she would forever lose herself in.

She blushed under his gaze.

"I love you, Y/N," he pecked her mouth softly, his thumb coming up to trace her bottom lip.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, leaning up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his ear. "Elijah, take me home."