AFTERMATH [ 2 ] | LEGACIES

N I N E T E E N

comments make me a happy woman, and make me want to post more so please comment aha :)

———•———

Previously on Aftermath...
They learned more about Landon's past, about his parents, about Seylah. They got the urn from her. Landon and Hope are finally official. The yen is hidden, no one remembers going to Malivore but Hope and Lilah. Lorelle left with Kol and Davina to give Lilah space. Matt Donovan is overjoyed that the Mikaelson's stay in Mystic Falls was brief, but he knows it won't be for long.  Not with the Mikaelson children at the Salvatore school.

Lilah's deteriorating mental health.

No one wants to talk about it with her, afraid of her breaking point. She seems exhausted most days, with bursts of productivity where she was in a good mood and happy. She stays in Roman's room for the most part, laying there instead of going to classes. Some days, she'd be in the kitchen baking things.

—

"It's stress baking," I had told Rafael when he saw down in the kitchen after curfew. I offered him cookies, and smiled softly when he said they were good.

"I just have a lot going on," I told him.

He frowned, but nodded and just ate more cookies. He leaned against the counter top I was working at, watching me in a comfortable silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. "You and I are usually good at talking about our emotions together."

I chuckled, smiling at his kindness. Rafael was such a pure soul. I had been around long enough to be able to weed good guys from the bad. I don't think I've met any guy at the Salvatore School that was a bad guy, other than maybe my own boyfriend for a moment, but that was history.

"I guess i'm just trying to pretend that I didn't overhear my boyfriend talking to Dr. Saltzman about how he needs to be careful breaking news to me about leaving."

"Leaving?"

"That's all I heard. I didn't get much of the context from behind a door."

"You and your vampire hearing," Rafael snickered. "You should talk to him. Sienna loves you."

"Yeah, vamp hearing. Blessing and a curse."

I was on my way to class when I had heard them in Alaric's office.

"Be careful," Alaric had said. "When you discuss this with Lilah."

I had stopped walking to class when my vampire hearing picked up my name.

"I know," my boyfriend's voice replied.

"Also, don't be too afraid of leaving her," Alaric had warned. Leaving me? "Lilah may be fragile right now, and I love how much you love her. It's amazing, it's exactly what Hailey would call an epic love... but this is your life, too. You should be able to go if you want to."

Leaving me? Go somewhere? Was Roman planning on leaving me?

"I know," Roman said, and I could just picture his solemn face from his tone. "But this being my life doesn't change the fact that I'm apart of hers."

"A part of it, yes. Not the whole thing."

I thought about the conversation for the rest of the day. It was one of my better days, where I found a way to get out of Roman's bed to shower, eat something and pull myself to the classes I didn't even have to attend, but did to enjoy a childhood for once.

It was all work and material I technically lived whenever I got to history class, math I hated, and English that I understood without modern translation. I had met Shakespear before, after all.

"There you are," a soft voice spoke.

Roman walked into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow to see Rafael next to me. The wolf raised his eyebrows at him in curiosity, his mouth full of cookies.

"I'll leave you guys," Rafael mumbled, grabbing a few more cookies before making his way out, him and Roman nodding at each other as they passed.

"You never came to bed," Roman said.

"Yeah, wanted to bake," I said, turning away from him and going back to rolling balls of dough.

"Babe," he said softly, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. He placed his cheek onto the top of my head. "What's wrong?"

"What were you talking to Alaric with earlier?" I asked.

He knew from my time that I had most of the story, and I just needed him to fill in the gaps.

He sighed, and tugged on my hips, turning me around to face him. He kept his hands on my hips, staring down at me with his loving eyes.

"Dr. Saltzman asked me to go help with recruiting," he said, looking away from me as he continued with the sentence.

"Oh?" I said. "And you want to go, right?"

He let go of me, unable to look at me at all. It broke my heart, knowing he was so bothered by the thought of hurting me that the conversation was paining him, too.

"I told him I wanted to—of course I'd want to, yanno? I'll be traveling, can probably go see Antoinette for a bit. I love traveling, and I feel like I should do what I can to help Dr. Saltz after he forgave me for the things I've done. Find kids that need help like I did, like we did. But being here for the amazing woman who needs me is so much more important to me."

I sighed, walking to him since he walked away from me. I stood in front of him, placing my hands on his face. He leaned into my touch, grabbing onto my wrist lovingly.

"Oh baby... Roman, you should go. I'll be fine," I said, even if I was unsure if I would be.

The thought of not having him around scared me, but that was was codependency looked like, and I needed to get back to the independent girl I once was. The strong daughter Elijah remembered me as.

"I have the twins, Hope, Ric. New Orleans. I don't want to keep you from opportunities. I know you used to always want to help with recruiting... and Alaric's giving you that opportunity. Don't decline it on my behalf. Remember, I can't die, honey."

"Doesn't mean I want you to suffer with your problems all by yourself," he said.

"You're so cute," I said, pinching his cheeks. "But you should go."

"Would we stay together if I did?" he asked.

There it was, his real fear about leaving me. I was taken aback from the question, and I realized traveling and being gone for so long could be difficult for a relationship, even if we were stable. What if he met someone while he was out there?

"Maybe what we need is a break," I said, though I didn't want to. He frowned, tears forming his his eyes. "Just for now, baby. So, in case you meet someone else, we can break up in person instead of over text, miles away. I love you, and I will never doubt you loving me. If it's meant to be us, we'll come back to each other. We have eternity together."

A tear fell anyways, and I wiped it away.

"There's a lot of things going on in my life right now," I said, trying to formulate the right words because I knew I would only get to say it right once. "And I'm blessed to say that I got through a lot of these past few years alongside you. But right now, Rom? I think we both know that I have a lot of figuring things out to do. I'll be right here when you come home. I love you, Roman Sienna."

"And I love you, Lilah Rae Mikaelson," he said, kissing my forehad and pulling me for a hug. "My first epic love."