Who: Elijah, Tyler, and child!Klaus What: Getting Klaus to his brother When: Backdated to the regression plot Where: Klaus's place, Elijah's place, and everywhere in between Status: Completed Rating: Low
Klaus woke up in a strange home, all alone. He wasn’t sure how he had gotten there or even where he was. But he knew one thing for sure, his dad was going to kill him. Or at least beat the shit out of him.
Klaus fled the house quickly. He needed to find Elijah. Not that his older brother could really protect him from Mikael’s wrath, but he wasn’t about to face his father alone. The only problem was, Klaus had no idea where to find Elijah. So he just wandered through the streets, hoping he would find something or someone familiar. Perhaps even his way home, though he would have to try and sneak into Elijah’s room or something.
Tyler was still reeling from discovering that his girlfriend was now, somehow, a teenager. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that information. Was she even still his girlfriend if she was fifteen?
At the very least, he could comfort himself with the knowledge that if this followed the regular course of things, she would be her old self again in no time. Hopefully that would be sooner, rather than later.
As caught up in his own head about it as he was, it didn’t stop him from noticing the kid who looked as though he was lost. “Hey,” he said, giving a bit of a wave. “You need some help?”
Klaus never cared about the ‘don’t talk to strangers’ bull shit he learned in like kindergarten. Of course his parents never bothered to give him life lessons. So he wasn’t wary or scared when the man approached. His father was scarier than any stranger could ever be.
“I’m trying to find my house. Or at least my brother, Elijah,” Klaus replied. “But you’re too old to know him. You might know Finn.”
Even before the boy had finished talking, Tyler felt the need to help him find his house, or his brother. Elijah wasn’t a common name, but it wasn’t as if Klaus’s brother was the only person by that name. But it seemed even less likely that he’d also have a brother named Finn.
He frowned to himself. “You mean Mikaelson?” he asked, a feeling of dismay settling into his the pit of his stomach. What were the chances that Klaus had turned into a kid too?
“Yeah,” Klaus replied. “You know him?” He’d rather find Elijah than Finn. Finn would undoubtedly tell their mom. And she would of course tell his dad. Which is exactly what Klaus was trying to avoid.
“Yeah,” Tyler said, letting out a defeated sigh. Maybe kid!Klaus would be better than actual Klaus. At the very least, he’d be less blood thirsty. But it was too bad Tyler couldn’t have kid!Klaus while also having adult!Caroline. “Yeah, I know where he lives. You must be Klaus.”
“What do you mean where he lives? He lives with my parents.” Even Finn hadn’t moved out yet. If that was who the man was referring to. Which Klaus was really hoping he meant Elijah. “I could be Kol you know. Or Henrik.” He wasn’t the only little brother after all.
“He has his own place,” Tyler said, without really thinking about it. It seemed like the kind of thing Klaus should know though, and the idea of keeping something like that from him just didn’t sit with him right. “And I definitely know you’re Klaus. Let’s go.”
Klaus wanted to argue more with this Tyler person. But he was also talking to his brother over that weird network that was on his phone. He said Tyler knew where he lived so Klaus went with Tyler to his brother’s house, knocking on the door once he arrived. “Elijah! It’s me! Open up!”
He’d heard them even before the knocking, so it didn’t take very long at all for Elijah to open the door, offering Tyler something of a grateful glance.
“Thank you for delivering him safely. I won’t forget this.” Knowing how his brother had treated the boy, it would have been all too easy for Tyler to leave him on his own.
“And Niklaus, would you like to come in? We can find some way to pass the time. Perhaps call Kol?”
“Yeah, have fun explaining everything,” Tyler said with a wry smile, and before Klaus could demand Tyler take him to the real Elijah, he took off with his vampire speed.
How the fuck did the guy run off so fast? What was going on? Klaus still couldn’t believe how old his brother was. “No I don’t want to talk to Kol!” Klaus replied. “Who was that? How does he know me?!”
“That was Tyler,” Klaus answered. “He works at the art gallery. We’ve met on several occasions.” But as for the other questions, those were a bit more complicated. “How much do you remember, Niklaus?”
“What art gallery?” Why was Elijah saying it like it was something he should know about. “What do you mean? Dad yelled at me for not finishing my vegetables. I went to sleep. Woke up somewhere else and everyone got old.”
Elijah couldn’t say he was entirely surprised that his brother didn’t remember anything. But how much simpler this all would have been if he had retained his adult memories.
“It’s complicated,” he settled for saying. “You grew old too...even if you don’t remember it. And the art gallery is yours. You’re quite good, really. I can’t explain how you regressed, but I can tell you that you needn’t worry about Father.”
This was all so strange. Part of him thought Elijah was playing a prank on him. But then Elijah wasn’t exactly the pranking type. Not to mention that this man truly did look like an older version of Elijah. “I own a gallery?” Klaus replied quite pleased with himself. “But wait, why don’t I need to worry about Dad? Is he dead?” One could only hope.
“If only,” Elijah answered, guiding his brother inside. “But neither you nor I have lived with Father or Mother in quite some time so you needn’t worry about them looking for you. And I’ve gone to some pains to ensure neither realize you’re a child once more. So you shall stay with me until you are once more the proper age.”
“What was that house I woke up in? Is that my place?” He really hoped it was his house. How awesome would that be to have a place of his own? “How come I can’t stay there? I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Elijah.”
“It is yours,” his brother confirmed. “And I am absolutely confident that you can take care of yourself. This is more for my own peace of mind. I fear what might happen should Mother and Father learn you were a child once more. I would feel much better if you were close. And I like to think that my home is not a hovel, itself.”
“Fine,” Klaus agreed with a bit of a frown. “I’ll stay here. But you are going to take me to this gallery. I need to see it for myself.”
“You could at least attempt to ask.” But the response was tempered with amusement. “We can go to the gallery, Niklaus. Any other requests?”