Disclaimer: I own neither The Vampire Diaries, nor The Originals. Nor do I own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Author's Note: I give fair warning that I have not seen The Vampire Diaries, nor do I intend to. This is just a light-hearted one-shot focussed on the Mikaelson siblings because, frankly, the way they act together, it can't have been all darkness and vengeance and bitterness and vendettas all the time. There must have been the odd occasions or dozen where they bonded together and had fun. And this was my attempt to illustrate one such time.

Grains of Sand

'Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.'

~ Michael Jordan ~

Elijah looked at the vacant expression on his brother's face and felt the familiar toxic taste of failure rising within him. It had been more than twenty-fours and nothing he had tried had worked. He'd tried being stern, failed at being understanding, had cajoled and mocked with no effect. He had tried bribery and threats and failed with fear. He was even dangerously close to trying tears but that certain spark of manliness, present in each and every man, refused to stoop to that level...yet.

The familiar tap-tap sound of heels on the floor broke his reverie and he turned with considerable and obvious relief as his golden-haired sister came to view, resplendent in her richly coloured designer dress and heels.

'Don't worry, big brother. I'll sort him out in a trick.' There was purpose in her footsteps as she entered the now foul-smelling room.

'Niklaus, you look dreadful, just so you know,' her words were acrid, her glance more so as she looked at his dishevelled figure. There was only an incomprehensible grunt in response.

'You smell even worse than you look,' she continued and Elijah could have told her that these insults were futile, bounced off of Klaus as if he were rubber, or maybe the mess around him just absorbed it, he thought with a disgusted wrinkle of his nose.

'You realise you are acting like an imbecile, don't you?' Despite her height, the blonde towered over him threateningly but Klaus didn't move his eyes an inch towards her, his focus not even remotely on her. 'Is that what you are?' She demanded, her voice increasing in volume.

She found some satisfaction in finally getting a reaction but it was hardly a desirable one. All Klaus did was grab the television remote and increased the volume of the show and god, Elijah seriously wanted to kill him right now!

'Klaus...' Rebekah's voice took on an ominous timbre and even Elijah had to fight down a certain shiver of dread, though it wasn't directed at him. Klaus remained impervious to it and Elijah's headache was getting worse now, his lips thinning further with displeasure.

'Klaus...' This time, Rebekah's voice was the pleading kind, her pout in full effect and Elijah has a snort ready for when it fails when he hears Klaus sighing and finally moving his eyes away from the TV. Something akin to indignation and jealousy uncoils itself within him and before he can control it, he has a pout to match that of his sister.

'This is ridiculous,' Rebekah says, and none of the brothers have ever managed to work out how she can manage to look adorable, even as a grown woman, at the same time as sounding petulant and a little childish. Elijah can't complain though, it's the only thing that has penetrated Klaus's clouded mind. 'You cannot spend twenty-four hours just watching TV.'

'I didn't,' Klaus weakly protests, his voice sounding horrendously gravelly from disuse. 'I took toilet breaks.'

'It's a cartoon! A cartoon children watch,' Rebekah is now flailing her arms. Elijah suspects she wants to use them for emphasis but he has a hard time biting down on the smile that threatens to spread across his face. She looks far too comical to emphasise anything.

The smile disappears altogether too soon when all she gets is a grunt in reply and Elijah's brow furrows as he imagines steam coming out of her ears and maybe a few tendrils of smoke curling around her nostrils. He wanted Klaus out of his stupor, yes, but he didn't particularly want his brother physically harmed (much) and he seems in serious danger of it.

She stomps an angry foot and yells some more but it's clear that Klaus is oblivious to it all. It isn't until she steps in front of the television and blocks Klaus' line of vision that she elicits any further reaction.

'Get out of the way,' it's now Klaus that is pouting like a child, but at least there's evidence that he isn't a zombie, Elijah thinks disgustedly.

'It's just a cartoon, Klaus. It's a stupid cartoon.' She stomps her feet and her face looks far more fierce than Klaus' ever could.

'How do you know?'

The question stops Rebekah short and she blinks in surprise, her mouth slightly open.

'Because it's just a stupid, childish cartoon,' Elijah intervenes because once in a blue moon, Klaus has logic on his side and when those rare occurrences happen, it's hard not to fall victim to it.

'How do you know,' Klaus' eyes are narrowed and his eyes are as accusatory as his words. 'Neither of you have watched it.'

'It's a cartoon about turtles,' Elijah's exasperation is dripping in every word he utters and for a moment, both of his younger siblings look at him, identical pouts on their faces.

'Bekah, give it a go,' it's Klaus' turn to apply doe eyes and his had always been the most effective.

'It sounds ridiculous and stupid!'

'Like the plot of Back to the Future?' Klaus gave her a winning smile and Elijah knew a lost cause when he saw it.

'This is about turtles,' countered Rebekah.

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtes,' Klaus said and it was easy to see that Rebekah's interest was piqued. 'And their names are... Leonardo, Donatello, Rafael and Michaelangelo.'

'Like the painters?' Elijah cursed himself for showing interest but then again...if you can't beat them, join them right?

'Yup, and they've got a Rat sensei.'

Rebekah snorts but she's already moving towards the couch and Elijah knows for certain now that she'll be joining her brother in watching the ridiculous cartoon. He's muttering about incompetent siblings and lazy brothers and futile battles all the way upstairs, and he's grumbling under his breath as he carries two blankets all the way downstairs. His eyebrow twitches as he realises that his evil masterminded brother has waited for him to arrive before starting the first episode. It twitches some more when his equally evil and weak minded sister requests ice-cream, wrapping herself in one of the blankets.

He's still grumbling as the first episode ends until Rebekah hits him with her sticky spoon and Klaus snaps at him to shut up or get out. He scowls, his grumblings now silent and inside his mind as he watches the second episode but by the third one starts, he's eating some ice-cream and watching the television, his eyes transfixed on it.

'You know this is a colossal waste of time?' Elijah asks a couple of hours later, but he makes no attempt to untangle himself from his blanket or leave the couch.

'And a massive waste of brain cells,' Rebekah agrees as she stretches before burrowing herself within her blanket.

'But it's fun,' Klaus grins. The only response he gets is a non-committal humming from his brother but it's enough as he shares a small, sly smile with Rebekah before their eyes return to the TV as the next episode starts. It's how the three Mikaelson siblings ended up wasting the best parts of three days together, but none of them would use those hours for anything else, if they were given the choice.