A.N.: Started as a tumblr drabble that got a little out of hand. Needed an outlet after those Klaroline scenes. HAWT!
Anyway, enjoy! Review if you wish. :)
Just a simple one shot.

They both stepped from the car as if they'd just returned from a week long holiday. In reality, Klaus and Rebekah were just coming from Mystic Falls.

Now, in Elijah's memory, there were only a handful of times he could remember his siblings returning in a positive mood. One occasion that stood out was the night and few days after Niklaus arrived back in New Orleans after that graduation ceremony a few months back. Elijah remembered well his brother's state: he was uncharacteristically cheerful, more merciful than ever before, and he spent any down time he had in the studio, smiling to himself when he stood back to admire the work. From the few glimpses inside the room he got, Elijah saw he was still trying to properly capture Caroline.

And Rebekah. She'd spent the entire summer on a world tour with that quarterback. She called home every few days so Elijah wouldn't worry, and every time she did, she gushed for an hour about how kind the boy was or how beautiful their night had been – thankfully sparing details. He could not recall a time when his little sister was so blissfully happy. Far be it from him to object simply because that happiness was with a human.

So Elijah did not find it overly strange that they were smiling and pleasant upon their return. No doubt the effects of their visit - and likely interaction with the objects of their respective affections – would dwindle before the end of the week. Too bad really, he quite enjoyed the honeymoon period when they all got along.

The end of the week came and went 14 years ago. Aside from the necessary engagements of "war" and to remain in power, Klaus remained in good spirits. He was merciful more often than not, and he was as beloved as Henry V, the warrior king. When necessary, Niklaus fought alongside his men, and in times of peace – whether days or months – he learned and exercised compassion Elijah had his reservations when he first noted the change, but that part of his heart which had long desired for Niklus to find his salvation leapt with joy at his transformation.

When Hayley had the child, Niklaus declared Elijah was to be his true father. As you were to me, brother. When Henry was 7, NIklaus revealed to him that he was in fact his birth father. Although Henry was confused as to why he was Uncle Nik, Niklaus assured him it was best for the boy to have parents who loved each other as much as they loved him and though he loved him as a son, he could never truly love Hayley – not as Elijah did.

Their lives were set, their family chosen, and their security ensured. A full year had passed with little more than squabbles between supernatural houses. Niklaus did not merely rule, he watched over the Quarter. He'd not gone soft by any stretch, but his judgment was calculated and fair.

He'd finally earned the respect he'd always simply taken.

Elijah couldn't say what was different about that morning but something in the way Niklaus sat on the stairwell in the courtyard made him pause. Curiosity getting the better of him, Elijah decided to bite the metaphorical bullet and just ask.

"Niklaus, please do not take this the wrong way, but will there be a steep drop to this agreeable mood of yours?" Elijah studied his brother's face carefully as he worked on yet another page of his sketchbook. Niklaus paused for a breath but did not respond. "You've never been this docile for more than a decade, so I'd appreciate a warning if you're about to snap."

A smirk pulled at the corners of his lips. "Well, that depends, dear brother," Klaus replied, unmoving except to lift his gaze to Elijah. "Is there something you've neglected to tell me?"

"No, but I am curious," Elijah answered as he sat down next to his brother, steepling his fingers. He waited for Niklaus to tear his attention from his sketch entirely before asking, "What, pray tell, is the source of this optimism? I must say I prefer this…choler to the ill-tempered hothead you once were."

A full smile graced his brother's face and for a moment he was lost in his own thoughts. Then the moment dragged on. And on..

"Niklaus?"

His head snapped back up, pulled from his reverie. After yet another moment, he seemed to make a decision and his next words were spoken in a tone so soft and hopeful, Elijah might have swon it did not come from Niklaus himself.

"She loves me," he said simply.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. He wasn't aware of Niklaus taking an interest in anyone, let alone the other way around. "Who? I've not seen you court anyone in 10 years."

Niklaus smiled again, but this one had a hint of triumph in it. Then he whispered, somewhat reverently, "Caroline."

"Niklaus, I…I don't know what to say. That's wonderful." He clapped a hand on his shoulder and added, "But…how do you know this?"

The sketchbook was set aside – with a half-finished drawing of the woman in question – and he retrieved his phone from his pocket. He then dialed his voicemail and handed the phone to Elijah. The message was from yesterday.

"Hi…uh..Klaus? Its Caroline…Caroline Forbes? I don't even know if you check your voicemail, but…um, I just…Come on, Forbes. Spit it out," Elijah recognized the second voice as Stefan Salvatore. Glancing at Niklaus, he saw a smile still on his face. The longer it stayed there, the less it seemed out of place. A long sigh in the recording brought his attention back.

"So I'm almost finished school! Again…I am soon to be Dr Caroline Forbes M.D., PhD… and I've been looking for a hospital where I can do my residency and, um…Charity Hospital in –" the pause was long enough that Elijah thought maybe the message was over, but she continued rather rapidly, "- in New Orleans has really been fighting for me and it's kinda been my dream to work at a hospital like that for a while now and, uh, I know that…well I know New Orleans is like, 'your town' so I just – ugh!"

There the message really did cut off, but when Elijah went to hand it back, NIklaus waved a hand and said, "There's one more."

Sure enough, after the strange, bipolar computer woman stopped talking, the next message began – with Stefan's voice.

" – what you told me and I am gonna keep calling until you say it to him…oh, shit, it's recording, here...Stefan! You – okay, uh, Klaus? Right. So. I've been thinking a lot about…well you and your promises and…those plans I told you about that day in the woods – you know the one, I won't specify –" judging by the sudden blush on his brother's cheeks, Elijah was grateful for that. "Well, I've fulfilled most of them. And being with Stefan all this time – NOT with with him, I just mean living and, uh going to school together – it's helped me figure out who I am, the kind of person, or…vampire, I really want to be. And more often lately,, when I think about my future, about the people I see in it…I keep seeing your stupid face in my head and I just thought that, I don't know…I'd let you know? That sounds stupid…and, um – wow, your answering machine doesn't have a time limit? Really? Okay, um…I wanted to tell you that I see it. I know what you did, what you're doing…and I wanted to say…thank you. For…for wanting to be worthy of…of my love, and I wanted you to know your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I guess I'll um, I'll probably see you soon…if that's okay! I mean I know its been a while, and if I'm completely off base just…tell me quickly and put me out of my misery. Anyway…thank you for keeping your promise, but…I think I've had enough time. Sorry you had to wait so long for it to sink in that…you saved me too. So…yeah. I'll see you…bye, Klaus."

Elijah's eyes shot to his brother who was looking out, focusing on nothing, but still had a small, bemused smile on his face. Without looking at him, he held out his hand and Elijah deposited his phone.

"It was all for her," Niklaus whispered. "Every life I spared, every treaty I negotiated, every time I put my name toward peace; it was really hers. At least at first." He turned his gaze to his big brother. "The man I am today is so much because of Caroline, but over the years, I found I wanted it for myself as well. A thousand years of anger and distrust have tired me. I found peace for a single day, and I've craved it ever since." Niklaus retrieved the sketchbook and rose from the stairs, walking to the sitting area on the other side of the patio. Elijah followed slowly, processing everything Niklaus was saying.

Neither of them spoke as Niklaus simply stood and stared at the picture he was creating. The picture of the woman he loves. The woman who seems finally ready to love him in return.

"And I was wrong about one thing, Elijah," he said.

"Just one?" Elijah said jokingly, which earned an equally joking death glare from his brother. Giving a short chuckle, Elijah conceded with a nod.

"Every king does not need an heir. This King…this King just needs his Queen."

Elijah was about to reply when he sensed a presence at the front gate. The scent was unfamiliar, but nonthreatening and he couldn't exactly place why.

Suddenly, NIklaus drew in a breath and then laughed causing Elijah to look back at him puzzled. Instead of answering the look, he walked toward the gate, saying, "Perfect timing, my love. We were just talking about you." That's when Elijah caught sight of who was waiting just outside.

Caroline.

"Stefan made me come right here," she said defensively. "Really this is all much more dramatic than I think it needed to be."

Niklaus had unlocked the grate and was opening the door when he said, "You're probably right."

Caroline stepped into the entryway timidly and caught sight of Elijah. She gave him a quick wave before looking around her. Really, he was surprised she'd noticed him at all, what with his brother standing right next to her, grinning like a fool. The whole scene was too…adorable.

"So! Caroline," Niklaus said, getting her attention back. Unfortunately, once he had it, he was suddenly speechless. Amused, Elijah folded his arms behind him and allowed himself to become simply an observer of the two people standing somewhat awkwardly in the foyer.

Finally, Niklaus managed to find his words.

"Welcome home," he said.

Caroline laughed and looked up at the ceiling. "You're ridiculous, you know that, Klaus?"

Now was his turn to chuckle, the easy sound bringing Elijah's eyebrows into his forehead and Caroline's gaze back to his face.

"I've been told, yes," was his answer.

They continued to smile at each other, drinking in the sight, until Elijah cleared his throat. Two pairs of eyes shot to him and he said, "I think I'll go see if Henry is up and about yet. Excuse me, Caroline."

"It's good to see you, Elijah," she replied quickly as he turned back to the stairs. He nodded in response and she looked over at Niklaus who was smiling at his brother gratefully.

Elijah ascended the staircase quickly, but when he turned to go down the corridor, he caught sight of the couple downstairs and paused.

Caroline had stepped forward, closing the space between them. After a long sigh, she wrapped her arms around Klaus' shoulders at the same time as his encircled her waist. Elijah's hearing picked up a brief exchange of "I missed you"s before he continued down the hall.

Just after Elijah was out of sight, Klaus tightened his hold around Caroline's waist, picked her up and proceeded to spin her in circles as she giggled and yelled at him to release her.

"Klaus!" she squealed. "Let me go!"

He promptly put her down, pressed his lips to her forehead, leaned back to look at her and answered, "Never."