Who: Elena and Klaus What: Dinner When: The night she went to his gallery Where: Random Restaurant Status: Complete Rating: Low
Klaus wasn’t exactly sure what to make of Elena. He didn’t have the best impression of her from the dreams. She was the bratty little doppelganger that was all about sacrificing herself. He was not a fan of the goody-two-shoes act. Even if his dreamself had fallen for one of the most pure hearts he knew. He had yet to meet her other than in passing at Tyler’s birthday party. He was pretty sure she was dating Tyler or something. Fine by him. He had no desire to meet her outside of the dreams.
Elena on the other hand. He had met her by chance and he had to admit he was intrigued by her. So when she offered to repay him with dinner he gladly took her up on it, finding himself wanting to know more about the future doctor.
Klaus left his gallery later that evening arriving at the agreed upon restaurant fashionably late. He spotted Elena already at a table and made his way over to her. “Sorry to keep you waiting, love.”
** Elena couldn’t explain what it was about him. There was a mixture of gentleman and bad boy, only going by the smirks that kept flitting across his face, of course. But she was intrigued by Klaus. And there was that old addage about opposites attracting. Undoubtedly Caroline would have something to say about her choice in men but for the moment Elena was just enjoying herself.
She’d gotten to the restaurant early, shown to a table before he arrived. And she was just checking her phone for the millionth time when he arrived.
“I was just starting to worry you were standing me up,” she teased. But she was glad that wasn’t the case.
** Bad boy might not be the correct term to describe Niklaus Mikaelson. In high school, maybe, though he could also have been considered a rebel. Now, though, he surpassed bad boy status. If only Elena, or anyone really, knew all Klaus had done since his transformation. However those were secrets he kept from even his family. But he was definitely someone friends and loved ones wouldn’t approve of.
“Never,” he grinned taking a seat across from her. “I hoped you enjoyed your afternoon at Soliel et Lune.”
** A nod, Elena sliding her phone into her purse so that she could more fully focus on the man across from her. “I did. And thank you, again, for the painting. I found a place of honor for it.” In the living room where anyone who came over would be able to admire it.
“Thank you for letting me at least attempt to repay your kindness.” Elena was quite aware though that a dinner, at however nice a restaurant, wasn’t exactly on the same level.
** Kind was a word that didn’t exactly go with Klaus. He couldn’t help but smirk when hearing it. He briefly wondered if Elena dreamed. And what she thought of him if she did. He was the ‘villain’ in her story after all. Killing her aunt, attempting to kill her, slaughtering Tyler’s mom, and countless others.
“Have you?” he asked brow raised sticking on the topic of the painting. “That was fast,” he quipped. “Dare I ask where you hung it?”
** “I didn’t want it to get damaged while it sat around waiting for me to find a place,” she explained easily enough. And it would have gotten damaged. She would have tripped over it or things would have piled up around and eventually on top of it.
“It’s in the living room. I wanted to show it off.” One of the first things visitors would see after they’d been welcomed in.
** “Perhaps some day you can show it to me,” Klaus suggested with a raised brow.
But then it was on to the dinner. He opened up his menu browsing the options. “What looks good to you, love?”
** “Maybe some day I will.” She wouldn’t invite him over right away but if things continued to go well it might be inevitable.
Elena hummed softly as she looked over the menu. “I was considering the tilapia. With steamed vegetables.” Light but tasty. “And maybe a glass of wine.”
** Klaus gave a nod and a smirk at her choices. Not that the smirk ever really left his face. The waitress came buy. Klaus ordered a steak for himself, rare of coure, and a glass of chardonnay, waiting for Elena to place her order before speaking again.
“So tell me, Elena. What is it you do when you aren’t busy studying? Apart from visiting art galleries.”
** “Most of it is devoted to friends and family,” she answered. “Especially lately.” Not that whatever this was necessarily leant itself to deep emotional discussions. And yet she seemed to attract it somehow.
“My friend’s mom passed away recently, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with her, helping however I can. I know how hard it is. And I try to keep an eye on my brother.” That at least made a smile flash across her face. “He doesn’t really need me anymore but old habits die hard….older sister and all.”
A shrug as she looked to him. “What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
** That didn’t surprise Klaus at all. That Elena’s time was devoted to her friends and family, given what he knew about her from dreams. “No boyfriend?” he questioned with a raised brow.
As for his family? Well that was rather large. “I do. Four brothers and two sisters.” Technically all half siblings, Klaus being the bastard child, but he didn’t need to go in to that. While Mikael always made Klaus feel like the odd one out, like he didn’t belong, his siblings had never made him feel that way. They treated him like a full brother, which was why when he lost everything in New Orleans they were the ones he came back to.
** “Not currently.” Not that she hadn’t had boyfriends in the past but she was unattached for the moment. Had been unattached for awhile. Having been caught up in a whirlwind romance with someone who broke your trust tended to put a damper on things.
“Older or younger?” Family was sure footing for Elena. She could relate. “Jeremy, my brother, is younger. And I have a twin, Katherine. Older by two minutes and she never lets me forget it.”
** Interesting. In the dreams Elena always seemed to be involved with one Salvatore or another. He had full expected her to be dating either of them.
Katherine was her twin? Well that was, intriguing. “Three older, three younger,” Klaus replied answering her question. “What was it like growing up with a twin? I assume you two are close?”
** The age-old question. What was it like to grow up with a twin. “We’ll always be close, of course.” They were twins, after all. “But we’re not very similar. We approach things differently. I’m sure you know how that is, with so many siblings. You love them, even if they drive you crazy sometimes.”
She offered a teasing smile. Because it was true. Katherine could be blunt and selfish but she would also go to the ends of the earth for her family.
“And there was always a bit of competition when we tried to do the same things. It’s probably part of why we’re so different.”
** It was a bit odd for Klaus to hear about the two doppelgangers actually getting along. But then this wasn’t Mystic Falls. It was Orange County. Though the dynamics of his own family were pretty similar to that of the dreams there were some differences. Minor differences but differences nonetheless.
“Are you closer with your twin then? Or is that not a real thing?” Niklaus himself favored some of his siblings over others and he didn’t even have the twin excuse to fall back on.
** “Closer in that we pretty much know how the other will react,” Elena allowed. “But we don’t have that freaky twin connection that you hear about. Honestly, I’m close to both Jeremy and Katherine in different ways. Jeremy and I usually agree on things but Katherine...it must be a twin thing.” Even hearing herself say it aloud made Elena half laugh.
“Are you closer with one sibling over the rest?” Turn about was fair play after all.
** “A twin thing?” Klaus echoed, eyebrow raised clearly amused. “I thought you just said you didn’t have that?” he quipped.
“A few,” he answered honestly. It wasn’t just one sibling. He had always had a special bond with both Elijah and Rebekah. Now he lived with Freya and the two had grown quite close. In fact Freya had been the first he had reached out to all those years ago when he left his family and Orange County behind.
** “We don’t have the ability to read each other’s minds,” Elena clarified. “I don’t know where she is at any given moment. But I suppose you could say there is a twin bond. Different from the relationship I have with Jeremy.” Though that could also be the difference between brothers and sisters.
“Good. Family is important.” And she was extremely protective of the little she had left.
** Family was important. But not all family. Klaus despised his parents. Hadn’t spoken to them in years, even with being back. And as for his Aunt Dahlia? Well once he found out what she did to Freya he ripped out her heart. But his siblings? They had a bond, despite what their parents did to them, or namely him since Klaus always got the brunt of Mikael’s anger. Or maybe it was because of their parents. Either way there was an unshakable bond between the Mikaelson siblings. Always and forever.
“Depends on the family,” Klaus commented as the waitress brought over their drinks. He took a sip of his chardonnay before speaking again. “Your parents have passed?” He assumed as much with her references of her friend losing a mother and knowing what that was like. Plus he knew they were dead in the dreams and he was well aware of how much this life mirrored the dreams.
** The question caught her a bit off-guard, the pain flashing in her eyes before it was tamped back down, gaze lowering to study her drink. “A few years ago,” she nodded. “It’s why I stayed close to home. We didn’t have a big extended family so Jeremy and Katherine are all I have left, really.”
Elena risked a glance up at him, trying to offer a smile. “I’m sorry this got so serious.” It was hardly the right discussion for whatever this was. A first date of sorts.
** Klaus caught the pain that flickered in her eyes. Even if it was brief. He would personally be thrilled if Esther and Mikael died, but he knew his relationship with his parents wasn’t exactly the norm. “I’m sure they appreciated it,” was all he said. It was clear to him that Elena didn’t want to spend too much time on the topic.
“Don’t worry about it, love,” he replied with another sip of his drink. “How would we get to know one another if we avoided anything serious.” Granted he was personally wasn’t giving much information about his life or his family away but that wasn’t the point.
** A fair point, Elena supposed. But it hadn’t completely escaped her notice that they were focusing rather heavily on her. “And yet I feel like you’re getting to know me much better than I am you,” she answered, one eyebrow lifting as she sipped her own glass of wine.
“Which I suppose means I need to step up here.” She leaned forward slightly. “What do you do? When you’re not running your gallery or painting? What other interests or hobbies do you have?”
** “That’s it, love,” Klaus replied. He was certain she wouldn’t be interested in his other hobbies, mainly killing and or compelling people for fun. Or just for the hell of it really. But that was something even his family didn’t know. “Art not enough for you?”
** “It’s enough for you, so that’s all that matters, right?” He shouldn’t overly care what people thought. Not that Elena really believed he cared.
“But you already know so much about me, I’m just trying to even the playing field. You said you had six siblings. Brothers, sisters, what are their names? Who are you closest to?”
** Elena was right. Klaus really didn’t care what people thought of him. Well perhaps his siblings. But even with them he didn’t let their opinions change how he lived his life.
“Let’s see,” he said taking a sip of his wine. “There’s Freya, Finn, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol and Henrik.” Klaus wasn’t one to give up too much information but his siblings names were harmless. Besides the Mikaelsons were somewhat of a well known family with Mikael being a senator and Esther being a socialite. If Elena truly wanted to learn his siblings name it wouldn’t be that difficult to find. “Freya and I share a house.” Which was as close as Elena was going to get to Klaus admitting which of his siblings he was the closest with.
** That much was obvious. “I miss living with Jeremy sometimes,” she admitted, taking another sip of her own wine. “But I think he’s rather relieved not to have a big sister hanging over his every move.” Eyes twinkled. “Now he has a fiancée to do that.”
“But there must be other things we can talk about besides family.” Not that she didn’t love her own, but spending an evening with a handsome man, talking about her brother was not exactly why she’d asked him out.
“Since you’re an artist and I know almost nothing about it, where would you suggest I start my art education? Any movements or favorite painters you’d recommend?” Or maybe she could ask him to be her tutor.
** Jeremy was engaged? That was something Klaus was unaware of. Not that he paid too much attention to the young man. Or anyone he shared dreams with really other than his family.
Ah art. That was something Klaus could talk about for hours. “I’ve always been partial to Impressionism,” he replied. Though there wasn’t much art that he didn’t like. But if he had to pick a favorite, it was Impressionism. It was the style he used himself most to the time as well. “Of course there are the classics like Monet and Cezanne. But if you want someone more modern there’s Eduardo Cardozo, Fran Lightman Gibson, and Mark Daly. I have some of their works in my gallery.”
** “So I’ll just have to keep stopping by?” Elena questioned lightly. “And draw on your vast knowledge so I can continue my education.” She would be okay with that, assuming he was. She definitely did not want to be that girl. The psycho stalker.
“Once a month, knowing my schedule.”
** “Only once a month?” Klaus quipped smirk back on his face, clearly flirting with her. “I suppose I can settle for that.”
** “If you want to see me more, you only have to ask,” she returned.
** “Well, love,” Klaus began. “If you really want to learn about art, the more you come by the better.”
** “And here I hoped that you might wish to see me.” And not focus quite so much on her supposed education. The food arrived and Elena couldn’t help but smile across the table as she took a bite of her meal. She was enjoying this. The restaurant, the company, the flirtation…
“But perhaps I will stop by more often.”
** “That as well,” he quipped again digging into his own food. “I look forward to it.” But for now he would just enjoy the meal he was sharing with her.