Frankie felt the vaguest bit guilty as she climbed beneath Elijah's sheets, her dress abandoned in the corner and only his shirt on but she'd known really that any kind of protest would've been met with dismissal. Even if she'd tried to sleep in a guest room or insist she was fine to go back to Cami's tonight she knew Elijah would worry and that he'd frown and so instead she slipped under the sheets, secretly revelling in how like Elijah they smelt and how much that brought her comfort.

Sleep gripped her faster that night than it had for months, she tried to tell herself it was because of the liquor and the late hour but she knew really that it was being here, being back and feeling safe and at home.

Elijah didn't return to the room and when she awoke a few hours later she was gripped by a coldness that she wasn't justified to feel, reluctantly returning to sleep. She knew she had no business missing him like this, no business wishing he was here too and her stomach curled with nerves that their talk wouldn't end like she hoped.

Eventually she woke a second time, it was a little after noon and she pulled herself from the bed reluctantly. She'd still had far less sleep than she wanted but that was the unfortunate side effect of staying up past sunrise and she pulled herself up with the intention of finding clothes.

Her dress lay abandoned in the corner, and as beautiful as it was, she had no intention of returning to a ballgown so instead she found Elijah's drawers, making her way to the bottom one where she used to squirrel away a pair of jeans when she stayed often. The jeans lay there in all their balled up glory and Frankie tugged them on with delight, reaching through and pulling one of Elijah's t-shirts on top.

Padding gently from the room, Frankie made her way to the kitchen, figuring whilst she waited to find someone, she'd at least make breakfast. That was where Elijah eventually found her, sitting with a bowl of cereal, midway through a yawn.

"Hi," he said, a smile pulling at his lips when she looked up at him and grinned, "How did you sleep?"

"Good, not enough but good. Fuck I forgot how late these parties can go."

"Parties held by the Strix have a tendency to be overly indulgent," he chuckled understandingly, "Fortunately they're often so insufferable there's rarely a reason to attend them, aside from last night of course."

Frankie felt a blush tint her cheeks knowing he was referring to her specifically and so she barreled on with her questioning.

"Did you sleep at all? I'm sorry I took your bed."

Elijah smiled at her warmly, "I slept in a guest room. Fortunately thanks to Niklaus' inability to maintain relationships we've a plethora. I took you to my room because I wanted you there, so you needn't apologise. You're always welcome to stay. I like knowing that you're here and that you're alright."

Her cheeks reddened further with his kindness and so instead of replying she stuffed another spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Her phone beeped beside her again but she ignored it, she knew it was either Cami or her brother and replying to either would set off a whole other series of events that she had little interest in.

"Camille?"

"Mhm," she nodded, finishing her food and taking her bowl to the sink, "she's very invested."

"In?"

Frankie paused, she didn't want to talk about this right now. Elijah knew precisely what Cami was invested in and so instead she looked about, she knew any conversation they had in the compound if it wasn't entirely empty would easily be overheard and she had little interest in having Klaus listen in and taunt her over later.

"Is Klaus home," she asked, "Or your new sister

"It's just us."

"Okay," she nodded, her fingers were wringing together but she wanted to leave the kitchen, she wanted to say what she needed to say at least on a couch where she could curl up if he pushed her away, "Do you want to go- go talk?"

Elijah's hand held her forearm now, thumb brushing gently across it until her eyes met his, "Only if you're ready. If you're not ready we can do something else, or I can take you to Camilles."

"Let's go to your room," she said, clearing her throat and averting her eyes, "I missed your sofa."

Elijah nodded, a soft smile catching his lips as she jerked her head to indicate the way and then led them both there. They sat in silence at first, her fidgeting frantically as she steadied herself.

Frankie could feel her body tense nervously, she knew she was the one who had hurt him and she was the one here trying to apologise but she was awful at honesty like this. She was barely able to start and so instead of beginning with the explanation he deserved she began with a confession, clearing the air over the atrocity that both she and he knew she'd done.

"I did what my mum did," she said softly, guilt clawing at her.

"Hmm?" Elijah's brows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?"

She was already regretting this, regretting returning and regretting coming to see him. This was something that she knew needed to happen but she hated how it made her stomach turn and her heart pound. She felt the guilt curling and coiling in her veins, she could still remember the hurt on his face when she'd said goodbye and it burned through her.

"I just left. I know how much it hurts to be left and I still did it."

"You had a reason."

"And I'm sure she thought that too," she said sharply, guilt gnawing at her with the kindness he showed her even when she did nothing to deserve it, "it didn't stop it hurting me when she did it, did it stop you?"

Elijah frowned. He wished she wouldn't place all the blame on herself. She'd hurt him, but it hadn't been her fault, she hadn't done it with malice and he couldn't blame her for what she did only in an effort to protect herself.

He was steady, certainly, but he'd had a thousand years to control his emotions, a thousand years to experience love and to know how to process it and to know when to trust. He was more than aware that Frankie had gone through more trauma in her relationships than anyone should bear and he couldn't ever blame her when she pushed him away because of her own fears.

Elijah understood that every fear she had was rooted in experience and he knew that there wasn't a single core relationship that she had that came without trauma.

"You are not your mother," he frowned, tugging her hand into his and pulling it to place a gentle kiss on her palm, "You can't hold yourself to that, you're a great deal better than her, than everyone I know and everyone I've ever met."

She wished he wouldn't be so kind to her, that he wouldn't placate her even as she tried to confess her sins. She didn't deserve his kindness, she hurt him over and over and he still forgave her.

"It was fucked up what I did."

"I'm not angry at you," he promised, "I understand and I was never angry with you."

Taking a deep breath, Frankie felt the courage build in her ever so slightly.

She could do this, if she pressed herself properly she could get it all out and she could tell him the truth. At least then they could move on. If he understood then she could allow his kindness, but she needed first for him to know why she'd done it. She needed him to know that she hadn't done it to hurt him, that the fact that she'd ever caused him pan of any kind her her almost as much.

Pressing forwards with a frown she took a breath, in this short window where it felt like her tongue wasn't so ties she needed to get everything she could out and open.

"Let me say this first before you're kind to me," she said quickly, "I have to say something even though I don't want to and if you help me I'll never be able to get it out."

Elijah was concerned. He could hear how fast her heart was racing and how screwed up in anguish her face was and he wanted to do anything he could do calm her down. She couldn't look at him either and he wanted to reach out and pull her eyes to his, remind her that he was there and as long as she let him he always would.

Frankie continued though her eyes were focused on their hands, "I'm not good at saying things that matter. Like if I say it, it makes it real. If it's real things will be different and I don't want you to know because it's all too much."

"Oh," Elijah said, taken aback slightly, his face falling and his eyebrows furrowing seriously. His hands involuntarily released hers though he fiddled with his sleeves to distract himself from their loss.

He wondered now if the night before he'd taken the wrong view of things, looked into her actions a little too deeply and expected a little too much. Perhaps their time apart hadn't been spent the same way and that while he'd been missing her, she'd been moving on. It was possible too he considered that the guilt she seemed to be feeling wasn't only for the way she'd run like he'd thought, but because she'd moved on and it was clear he hadn't.

He regretted everything now, that when they'd hugged the evening before he hadn't held on longer, that he hadn't pulled her into an embrace throughout the night and instead had allowed her her space.

"No," Frankie grabbed his hand again, her fingers circling tight. Her eyes were on his now, almost frantic over his reaction, "No not like that. I'm not good at saying how I feel because it makes it real and if it's real I can lose it. I dont want to say it out loud because I can't lose it, you."

Oh.

"It's been real all along whether you say it or not," Elijah said gently as his eyes softened, coaxing her along while his free hand rose and pushed the hair back from her face, "that's why I was never bothered that you didn't say it."

His hand across her face was warm and his thumb rubbed gently across her cheek, brushing the corner of her lips and then up to her brow bone. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, committing the feel to memory before she opened them and continued with a deep breath.

"If I didn't care about you it would be easier, everything would be easier. If I don't care about someone I could talk forever about them, but when I care it's like I can't say a word, it's like I forget how to really talk. I do care about you Elijah. Even after all this time I really care about you and it's like I don't want anyone to know or else they'll take you away. I care so much that it scares me."

"I'm not going anywhere. I care about you Frankie and I need you to know that no one will take me away nor will I leave you if you don't want me to."

It felt as though her heart was going to burst.

Frankie had dragged him back and forth all this time and still he took her side and still he comforted her. She knew without a shadow of doubt that she more than just cared for Elijah, she knew he meant more to her than almost anyone.

There was only one person Frankie had ever cared for like this and that ended so terribly that feeling this way terrified her.

"I know, I know that. I know you always say you won't leave but thats not what I mean. Mitch wasn't always cruel like when you met him. I loved him, I thought I really loved him and I thought he really loved me too. And I know you're not the same, but sometimes I still get scared that if I get too close to you things will shift and it'll be it was with like with him. You mean so much to me, but I'm scared it won't always be the same and I feel like if I say the truth it'll be real and once it's real it'll change.

I think it felt easier for me to push you away while you were still good and kind than to let it happen in case things turned bad because at least then I'd get to keep all my nice memories. I know you're not like him but sometimes I don't know how to make myself believe it. Elijah, if I lost you like that it would do more than just break my heart, I don't know how I could keep going."

The irony of the fact that in order to protect herself from losing Elijah she felt the need to run from him didn't elude her but it was something that the more she'd thought about him the more she'd realised was true. She hadn't done it consciously, it was like every part of her soul screamed that she should run because if she ran he couldn't and if she left while it was good it would never turn bad.

She'd run because she needed to be with her brother but she'd stayed away because she was scared of how Elijah made her feel. Sometimes Elijah didn't feel real, he was too good to her and too understanding and she always felt as though she was waiting for it to turn.

As the words tumbled from her lips Elijah's grip on her hand tightened while his other hand fell to her leg. She could barely breathe as his fingers swiped back and forth, always comforting her as she pressed the confession from her lips.

She paused at last, looking down at her hands that were trying to curl into fists, for a moment so focused on her pounding heart she almost missed Elijah's reply.

"I wouldn't ever hurt you," he promised again, "God I'd do anything in the world to take back every ounce of pain you've ever endured."

"I know," she said softly, "I really do. I promise you I believe you but sometimes it's like I start running before my head gets a chance to figure out why and I just get scared of being in too deep. That's why I went after my brother without saying anything, it was like I couldn't even think properly. I just knew I had to get to Ric and at the thought of telling you I was fucking terrified you'd turn on me like he would have and that I'd lose this you who's always been good to me."

"Your brother is important to you, I get that. I wouldn't want to-"

"You're important to me too though," she cut him off, "Elijah you're important to me and I'm sorry I didn't get that. I fucking missed you. I left and I thought I'd forget about you, that I'd get over whatever stupid crush I'd developed but I couldn't. Instead I spent every fucking day thinking about you, I nearly turned around a dozen times when I heard what you were going through and it ripped me to pieces that I wasn't there for you."

"I'm important?" he teased, his eyebrow raised as a smirk crept onto his face.

Normally at Elijah being the one to tease her she'd play into it, tease him back or pretend to argue against it but she didn't have the energy now, instead she only wanted to reassure him the way he always reassured her. She still felt guilty for what she'd done to push him away and she needed him to know she was sorry, she needed him to know that she was all in for as long as he was.

"You are," she nodded, "You're more important than almost anyone."

"I missed you," he replied kindly, "I missed being with you quite a lot."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's alright."

Now Frankie had gotten everything she needed to say out she couldn't stop her honesty bubbling from her lips. She cared about him more than anything and she needed him to know. She still wasn't sure whether she believed that he truly cared too but she needed him and she knew now she'd fight to stay beside him no matter what it took.

"I like you Elijah, like more than probably anyone else I've ever known. I feel like I'm myself when I'm with you, I've never felt so like me, I just feel so happy when I'm around you. You're too fucking good to me and sometimes I feel like it's all a trick, I don't get how I ended up with someone who's so nice to me."

"Oh my sweet," he said softly, his hand on her cheek as he swiped the tears that she hadn't realised were gathering at her eyes.

"I really care about you Elijah."

"I care about you too," he nodded, pressing a kiss to her temple, "so much."

"I want to stay," she said softly, coughing quickly to clear her throat and then brushing the remaining tears from her eyes as she steadied herself, "in New Orleans I mean."

Frankie hadn't come here with that as her intention but the moment she said it she knew it was true. She didn't want to leave, she didn't want to go back to Mystic Falls and live her life as Alaric's little sister and she didn't want to leave and not be by Elijah. Things were better when they were together, she was stronger and she felt happier and now she was sure that so long as he would take her she'd follow him almost anywhere.

She wondered vaguely how well all her friends knew her, if Cami and Klaus and Alaric knew this would be the outcome when she was back together with Elijah, that neither would want the other to leave. Perhaps their pressing had been for her own good, pushing her limits allowed her to fall into something that made her happy again.

Elijah actually grinned, an eyebrow arching in surprise as he studied her face hoping for truth, "Is that so?"

"Uh huh," she nodded, "My work's mostly freelance now so I can move wherever and Cam said I could crash with her until I found a place if I wanted."

"You have a place."

"Oh," Frankie smiled and her hand rose to his cheek, "Maybe one day but I think right now it's probably too soon to like move-"

"No," he chucked, "Well, yes of course if you wanted to move in you're always welcome. But uh, no, I compelled your landlord after you left, your apartment is still yours. There may be a layer of dust but I do believe that Klaus has our cleaners visit every other week."

"You compelled my landlord for a year?"

"Niklaus did it for the first month actually," he said honestly, enjoying the surprise on her face, "Then I went by to make sure nothing had been moved and simply strengthened the compulsion."

"Bloody hell," she laughed, "The poor guy."

"I made sure he was compensated."

"Jeez," Frankie rolled her eyes, "Well, thank you."

"Always," he laughed, "I didn't want you to lose any of your possessions."

Already she felt at home, full of love with her chest burning in delight at his care and his kindness.

She remembered now how she'd felt wrapped up in his arms before they slept, the feeling of safety and how at ease she was with someone she trusted so implicitly. Frankie could remember thinking how nothing felt better than those moment before they drifted off together. How she'd fall asleep to a kiss just as she drifted off, or to the feeling of his fingers circling her gently, his touch always reminding her he was there.

When they sat in silence together she was reminded that nothing made her feel more content than just existing beside him. He had an ability to make anything feel easy, to always make her feel safe and to always show her he cared.

That was how she felt now, her chest burned with love, she felt loved. She could feel every fear that had gripped her for months settling, the anxiety settling more with each moment.