Gods & Monsters ✧ Elijah Mikaelson

Epilogue

Epilogue

The sun was beginning to rise by the time that Elijah and Avarice got to the house. The others were there, waiting for them on the back porch.

"Elijah, did you deal with the vamp-" Klaus started, then cut himself off and stared in silence when he saw Avarice.

"Avarice!" Hope squealed, then bounded down the steps to run and cling to her legs.

Avarice couldn't help but laugh a little, feeling her eyes begin to sting at the joyful tears that began to fill them. She still could not believe that the infant she had helped to protect was so big now.

Pin was next, embracing Avarice so tightly that she felt like she couldn't breathe. Even if she couldn't, she wouldn't have minded in the least. She hugged her friend back, and they stayed like that for what seemed like eternity before the others joined in.

They continued on like that, the others all coming down to embrace her and telling her that they missed her. Then, finally, Niklaus came down the steps with a furrowed brow.

"Did you do this?" he asked. "Did you kill them all?"

She nodded grimly, her soft smile beginning to fade. It was replaced with a surprised expressions when he dove forwards and wrapped her in a hug as tight as Aspin's. She wrapped her arms around him, knowing then that she had done the right thing.

"We'll clear out a room for you," Hayley said with a smile. "There's one le-"

"She will be staying with me," Elijah informed her, then looked back down at Avarice. "If that is all right with you."

She beamed. "Of course."

Later on in the night, after she had had a shower and gotten rid of the blood, Avarice and Elijah decided it was time to rest. They had had a lovely night of story-telling, dancing, drinking, and truly enjoying themselves for the first time in months. It could be rather overwhelming for someone who had not been happy in such a long time.

She looked out his window, where he could see everything. From the edges of the forest to the very beginning of their backyard.

"There were times when I heard you," he said from behind her. "I would hear you in the forest, and convince myself that I had not heard your voice and that it was merely a figment of my imagination. Then, the next morning we would find the bodies. And I would still tell myself that you were not here because it was easier."

"Easier?" she asked without turning to face him.

"It was easier than trying to admit that you were here, and you were not willing to see us."

She heard his footsteps, and then his fingers were on her wrist. Then they trailed up her arm, and just that simple touch made shivers run up and down her spine wildly. His fingertips stopped at her necklace, and he ran his hand over the thorn chain.

"I'm here now," she said, her voice hoarse. Her heart was racing.

"I know."

She spun around and kissed him, and the fire that seemed to always erupt between them was blazing.

She knew right then that saving the Mikaelson's would forever be the best thing she had ever done. Because in the end, they saved her too.

SIX MONTHS LATER

The water flowed down her skin, and the heat of the drops reminded her of Elijah.

She opened her eyes, deciding that her relaxing shower was over then. She stepped out and pulled on a pair of pants and one of Elijah's shirts, which he insisted she wear whenever she felt like it. He said that they looked better on her than on him.

Needless to say, Avarice disagreed entirely.

Avarice wiped at her face with a dry cloth, then took a towel and began to pat her hair dry. She looked in the mirror to see Elijah standing there, leaning against the door frame with a look of admiration on his face.

She couldn't help but always feel nervous when he looked at her like that. It made her heart race.

"I'm glad that we have not had to deal with any more enemies yet," Elijah said.

She smiled at him through the mirror. "Indeed. It has been a long while, hasn't it? It's been a pleasant few months, that is for certain."

He had a smug smile on his face. "More than pleasant, in my opinion." He was quiet for a second before continuing. "You know, now that our lives are somewhat calm, I find myself thinking of more... Serious subjects.You have always kept us safe, Avarice. Why?"

"You know why, love."

"I wish to hear you say it."

She looked at him in the mirror, wondering exactly where he was going with that. Surely he knew already.

"Because I love you. And I love your family."

He was quiet again, and then he came to move towards her. She continued to dry at her hair, then set the towel down when he spoke again.

"Avarice?"

"Hmm?" she hummed, drying her hands off a little.

"Marry me."

She blinked once or twice, then turned to face him. She saw a hopeful look in his eyes, and then she looked at his hands. He was holding a velvet box that had held the most beautiful black and ruby ring she had ever seen. When she looked back up at his eyes, it had changed to a look of desperation. He wanted her to say yes.

"Of course I will," she said, her words almost rushed as her lips seemed to pull upwards involuntarily. She wanted to say them over and over again. "Of course I will marry you."

Her heart pounded in her chest with such force and so quickly that she could hear it thumping in hear ears. Then his lips were on hers, and a need came over her far stronger than any she had ever felt before. She held onto him like he was her life line, and in a thousand ways, he was.

She wanted him more than anything else. She had admired him for a thousand years, and now she loved him. He was the only reason that she unlocked the chains she had once kept tightly around her heart. She had given her heart to him and he had done the same. Now that she had it, she was never going to let it out of her grasp.

They were both gods, and they were both monsters.

And yet, he would forever be the one thing that made her feel human.