Rebekah (anoriginal) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-09-10 12:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | niklaus mikaelson, rebekah mikaelson |
Who: Rebekah and Niklaus Mikaelson
What: Airport pick up!
Where: LAX
Rating: G
Status: Complete!
Plane rides were exhausting, and thinking about how he had to readjust to timezones again had been even more exhausting, but the only thing that kept him clear-headed and awake had been the reunion with his siblings. It’d been months and his departure had, admittedly, been a little abrupt - Nik was aware of that. But he’d gotten in one of his moods where he’d been irritable with everyone, and then something came up that he couldn’t just ignore, so he took the chance and left.
The lead he received lead him to a dead end and nights where he’d drown his disappointment in European spirits, but he hadn’t been ready to waste the trip, either. There was culture and art and music in every place he’d visited. He traveled light and had taken two bags of essentials, and returned with the same two. The only difference were a few miniscule articles of clothing and he’d come back with a sketchpad full of drawings.
Bekah had been the first to respond and that relieved him more than he thought. His other siblings were, of course, missed, but his little sister had always held a separate chamber in his heart. If there was anyone he wanted to see first, it’d been her.
Nik waited outside the terminal, one hand in his pocket, the other with one of his carry-ons, and waited until he recognized two of the faces he’d miss the most.
Niklaus’ sudden departure from their lives had not pleased anyone in the family. She worked hard to make sure that they all kept in contact and saw each other, but there was just something about Nik that helped hold everything together tightly. She also knew that her husband missed his best friend despite having his brother around. And she honestly wanted Nik to spend more time with Natalia and she missed her favorite brother (yes, she had a favorite).
So, when he sent an unexpected text that he was back stateside she had jumped off the couch and screamed in excitement. It scared her child and animals for a moment, but she was quickly grabbing Natalia’s things to bring her with in the car. She sent a quick text to Stefan to explain what happened and then hurried out to the car and made her way to the airport.
Once she got closer she sent Nik a note saying she would park and go inside the airport to get him. A reunion like this wasn’t meant to be done by means of a quick hug while idling at the baggage claim doors. No, she had to park and go actually see him. It was easy to find a parking space and she removed Nat from her car seat explaining to the little girl that they were going to see Uncle Nik.
The airport wasn’t terribly busy at this moment, so she hurried along to where the baggage claim was and then looked around for his familiar face. It didn’t take her long before she made it to a place where she could see him and she felt her heart start beating fast. “Nik!” she called out loudly and lifted a hand as she moved quickly to reach him.
Nik could always pick that voice out from anywhere.
A wide grin broke the tired look on his face and the moment he laid eyes on his baby sister - with that little adorable person she’d brought with her - he finally remembered why he wanted to come home again. No point in searching for a part of his family he’d never met, a part that was never there, when he had a perfectly good family waiting for him. His father, however, had been purposefully excluded in his use of the word. ‘Family’ were his siblings, and most of the time, his mother as well.
Not that piece of shit of a man.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my baby sister,” he said, his arms enveloping Rebekah into the tightest hug he could muster. “And her little clone. Bekah, what in god’s name have you been feeding the child?”
“Well, if it isn’t my globetrotting favorite brother,” she quipped back as she stepped into his hug and returned it tightly. She had to let go of Natalia’s hand for the moment, but the little girl stayed close to her. When they parted she laughed at the comment and looked down at her daughter, “She’s two now, Nik! She’s going to be growing and she only looks bigger because you haven’t seen her in so long.”
The little girl seemed a little nervous and she moved quite close to Rebekah’s leg. It made her chuckle as she reached down and ruffled her hair, “Oh Nat, no need to be shy. This is your Uncle Nik and he’ll probably be your favorite too if he sticks around.” She gave him a playful wink at the last part.
His heart felt a little pang at Natalia’s shyness. It was to be expected, of course, but there was a small flame of hope in his heart that somehow, for some reason, she’d have some memory of him. It was expecting too much of the child, he knew.
Nik dropped his bags to the ground and crouched down at Natalia’s level, the grin softening into a more tender smile. “Hello there, little one. Been awhile. It’s Uncle Nik. And I was your favorite the last time, yes.” He held his hand out to her. He’d wait for her to come to him. “Bekah, she looks more and more like you the older she gets. Just as spoiled, I bet.”
“That’s only because Uncle Kol is a weird man and buys her way too many toys. Mommy and Daddy aren’t as bad as he is when it comes to spoiling her. And it doesn’t help that Mom sees something cute at the store, buys it, and then just has to stop by our house to drop it off and expects her to wear it the next time we go over,” she honestly didn’t mind the spoiling because it was the first child in their entire family, but if it continued when she was older and it got out of hand she would put a stop to it.
Natalia eventually came around and reached out to play with his hand, “I’ve been teaching her to say your name. She’s basically got everyone’s names down. She’ll probably start babbling in the car when she’s warmed up to you. And did you seriously come back with only two suitcases? I’m assuming one of them isn’t full of designer shoes for me, which is super depressing.”
“Traveling is an expensive adventure. I did the whole backpacking thing and slept wherever someone would take me. Fell asleep in a park once or twice,” he admitted with a nonchalant shrug. Natalia had captured most of his attention and when she came around, his face lit up. He wished he’d gotten her some sort of little toy from a place he’d visited it. Kids tended to warm up more easily when a gift was offered. It only meant that he had to take the little girl shopping. Surely then, he’d win her heart. “May I get a hug from you, oh tiny human? If you do, we’ll take you shopping for a new toy. Did your mean ol’ parents buy you a castle yet? We’ll get you one of those.’
“Oh my god. You’re just as bad as Kol right now,” Rebekah groaned with a playful eyeroll. She couldn’t help but watch as Nat moved a little away from her mother and towards Nik. Maybe she was finally starting to realize that this person was family and Rebekah was pretty good at helping push Nat to do things. The two of them finally were able to come together in a hug and Rebekah grabbed her cell phone to take a picture, “You two are adorable.”
Once Natalia came into his arms, Nik didn’t fully plan to let her go, either. He stood up, bouncing her with him and zeroed in on her stomach to tickle playfully. “Aren’t we? Since you have Stefan whipped, figured this one could be my new partner in crime.” He gave the little girl a sweet kiss on the cheek. “We must make up for lost times now. You have a babysitter at your disposal, little sister. Use me wisely.”
Having her favorite brother home with her daughter was one of the best moments of her life. Sure he had been around Nat earlier in her life, but he had been missing for a while and now Nat was at an age where she could really form a good relationship with him. She took a few more pictures before leaning in to gently kiss her daughter’s cheek, “You can take her and her poopy diapers. We’re going to start potty training soon, I think. So, you definitely get to be a babysitter, mwhaha.”
“No. That’s your job. Parents get to deal with the difficult things. Us uncles get to bathe in the glory that we will never have to discipline her and she’ll always love us, because we’ll give her whatever she wants.” His phone was blowing up with messages, but right now he decidedly ignored them. It was his siblings - and Stefan - no doubt, and he’d get back to the rest of them once they were settled into the car. Still carrying her, Nik used his free hand to pick up his bags. “Lead the way.”
He wasn’t about to remind Rebekah she’d forgotten to punch him, either.
“Oh god. You’ll have to discipline her at some point, I’m sure. She’s bound to be a brat around you at least once and you better not let her walk all over you at that point,” she fixed him with a look before grinning. She knew Natalia had every single uncle wrapped around her finger and she was excited for the day when they began having their own children. But for now this beautiful child was the holy grail for the Mikaelson family. She grabbed one of his bags away from him and started to walk back towards where she was parked, “So, have you told Mom and Dad yet?”
“No,” Nik said very simply, this time straight-faced as their parents were mentioned. His relationship with his ‘father’ was no secret - the man wasn’t even his biological father, and he had no fond memories of him that would ever bound him to that title. He got along a little more with his mother, but even then their relationship was strained. Part of him always blamed her for the way the bastard had treated him and it was a grudge he couldn’t shake. Not even after all these years.
“Been talking to everyone else while I waited. Everyone’s here, except Elijah.” He eyed his sister. “Last I heard, him and Katherine were frolicking off into their honeymoon phase. Kol tells me she broke his heart.” He was about to slip in a curse word or two, but he was holding a toddler. He definitely didn’t want Natalia parroting the words ‘bitch’ and ‘cunt’ back at him.
If Rebekah knew that he managed to hold back a few curse words then she would be incredibly impressed, “Yeaaaaah, they broke up. I think that’s why he kind of disappeared as well. I’ve been having to put up with Katherine when Elena and Damon were getting married. But I don’t really have to deal with it now, which is quite nice. I’m staying as far away from that harpy as I possible can.” She really shouldn’t hate Katherine, but for Stefan’s sake she just couldn’t stand her.
As they stepped onto an escalator to go upstairs she reached over and grabbed his hand. She gave it a squeeze and smiled, “I’m really glad you’re back, Nik. I’ve been seriously missing you and I know Stefan has as well.”
How lovely. Well, if Nik crossed paths with the bitch, he’d certainly have quite a few things to say. It was Elijah’s decision and they had warned him about it, and even though Elijah was the eldest, Nik was still fiercely protective.
But he broke away from nasty thoughts when she squeezed his hand, and he returned the squeeze just as tightly. “It’s good to be back. Someone’s got to make sure you’re all in line,” he said, smirking. “You owe me updates on everything. Pictures as well. And videos, should you have it. Stefan told me this little one was the flower girl for Damon’s wedding.”
“And don’t worry, there’s a ton of pictures on my cell phone that I can show you. Hell, Facebook could show you a lot of things too,” she was slightly addicted to her facebook and updated it constantly with photos of Nat. It was mainly for her other siblings and her mother who wanted photos all the time and it was easier to do it there than to send a mass text all the time, “And she was the cutest flower girl ever.”
Once at the top of the escalators she lead the way into the parking garage and the walk over to her car, “We’ll have to have a big sibling dinner now that you’re back. You just missed the Labor Day BBQ.”
Nik was talented at multi-tasking - playing with Natalia by light tickles and little pokes, walking and making sure he didn’t trip over anything or bump into anyone, and still managing a conversation with his sister. “As long as we keep it as siblings.” No full-blown family dinners. It would most likely end in disaster. “And hopefully my return will draw Elijah out. Wherever he is. Hasn’t even responded to any of my texts. How hurtful.”
“It will definitely be siblings. And significant others, of course. I think basically everyone is dating someone except for you and Elijah. How the times have changed,” she teased him before spotting her car in the distance. She grabbed her car keys and pushed the button to pop open the trunk, “You’ll be harassed by everyone until we have a sibling dinner anyway. Might as well get planning now.”
“Kol confessed he’s about to pop the question to Tatia,” Nik said, helping strap Natalia in the backseat for Rebekah. Since she’d been all too kind with his luggage, apparently. “Not sure if that was supposed to be a secret, and if you didn’t know, don’t say anything. He just texted me about it. I would have betrayed his brotherly trust. But dinner is a fantastic idea. I’ll be the drunk, of course.”
“Oh, I already knew. I like Tatia a lot despite her looking like Elena and Katherine. It’s still a little strange to me, but she’s a very sweet girl,” she explained as she finished buckling Nat up in her car seat. Once that was done she opened up Nik’s door for him and then went around to her side. Once everyone was seated she started it up and made her way out of the airport parking lot, “What’s the first thing you want to do now that you’re back? Do you want In N Out or anything?”
Nik had been making funny faces at Nat from the rear mirror until Rebekah spoke. "Quiet night with you three. Stefan included in that, of course. I'll deal with the rampant sibling mayhem sometime tomorrow. You're the first I wanted to see," he admitted, buckling himself in before he forgot.
He had a favorite as well. Rebekah was it. Everyone knew that.
That earned a big smile and she leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. A quiet night sounded perfect to her. It would give her and Stefan the chance to reconnect and catch up with their favorite Mikaelson. It would be like when she and Stefan first started dating and they all went out together initially to break the awkwardness before she and Stefan really started to date. And now everything was right in the world and Niklaus Mikaelson was back in the States. Things were going to get very interesting.