💘 fake relationship / mutual pining / dared to kiss
(this probably only sort of follows the prompt, honestly, but it was hard to imagine them (especially Elijah) in a full fake relationship scenario. Hope it's fun anyway)
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ao3
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"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" chanted an entire roomful of people. Or so it felt like, in truth, it was probably only the few that were in their immediate circle.
Elijah's arm was warm around Elena's waist, the impression of fingers sinking lightly through the thin material of her coppery evening gown and leaving her throat strangely dry as the air around them seemed to thin.
She swallowed a mouthful of champagne trying to avoid catching Elijah's gaze with the corner of her eye.
Didn't matter, she felt his eyes anyway.
She wished she could say that she wasn't sure how she'd gotten here. But that would have been a bit of a lie.
Elena had a Christmas work event gala in New Orleans so she'd shown up a few days early to spend some time with Caroline and Rebekah. It had been nice, she hadn't seen them in a few months. After, it'd been ... convenient to ask Elijah to be her date instead of scrambling for someone last minute in a city she didn't even live in.
Or instead of letting Caroline set her up with someone - the last few times had taught her better, it was almost suspicious how bland Caroline's choices for those blind date setups with Elena had become recently.
No. Elijah was the far preferable choice.
The feelings that had been quietly and quite rudely grown in the back of Elena's heart during the past few decades - since one of her best friends had married his brother and so doomed Elena to always have Elijah in the periphery of her life, - shouldn't have mattered.
And they wouldn't have if someone behind the organization of the gala wasn't clearly some kind of metaphysical soulmate to Caroline Forbes.
There were mistletoe branches hanging in multiple spots across the large event room. And Elena had thoughtlessly pulled Elijah under one when she'd noticed a plate of hors d'oeuvres that looked rather appetizing.
It was nearing the end of the evening, which meant the business part of mingling had largely been dealt with, leaving everyone on their third or fourth glass of champagne and in just the kind of mood to corner a couple caught under the mistletoe, into following the tradition.
Giving up in her avoidance Elena turned her head to look at Elijah. Mind unavoidably stuck in an old memory.
They had never talked about it. The kiss that shouldn't still be haunting Elena; the kiss that had nearly been able to touch her; the kiss that hadn't been meant for her.
Or probably hadn't been meant for her.
Once, a few years back when she'd been out drinking with his sister - both shots from glasses and blood from a few necks - Elena had finally found herself spilling the beans, and Rebekah was quite insistent in calling Elena a few different kinds of stupid.
But despite decades of opportunities Elijah had never brought up the subject. So Elena had decided that it didn't really matter.
It's possible Elena might have been wrong.
Elijah's eyes pinned Elena in place. Heat seared through her. For a moment, - less than a moment even, - Elijah looked at her like a man starving before the hunger was folded behind the more familiar walls of polite affection.
Elena mattered to Elijah. She'd always known that.
He'd never hidden that. Their friendship had grown out of mutual respect; out of verbal spars on a hundred different subjects they had gotten stuck on over the years; even out of all those old broken deals they'd forgiven each other in the very beginning.
Elena mattered to Elijah. But he was still Elijah, the man who had spent a thousand years crafting himself an image that showed only that which he wanted to let escape.
Elena knew he hadn't meant to let this escape either. He'd seen her avoidant eyes and hadn't caught the moment she'd decided to stop in that avoidance.
A realization crystallized inside Elena.
He wouldn't kiss her. Or he would do so politely against her cheek, like a gentleman.
Because he had no way to know that she wanted that look back - wanted quite a lot more, - because Elena had never opened the subject either.
She hated letting Rebekah be right but better that than-
"Kiss!" the humans around them still chanted with tipsy cheer.
Nearly thirty-five years ago Elijah had caught her by surprise by sliding his fingers over a strand of her hair and pulling her lips against his in a kiss that very nearly rattled the cage holding hostage her humanity.
Elena bit her lip and breathed in shakily. Feeling young and uncertain and- no, she wasn't nineteen anymore, goddammit, she was a vampire for longer than she'd been human.
Elena slid her hands over Elijah's shoulders, clenching her fingers against the back of Elijah's neck, and pulled him down into a kiss she hoped would rattle something loose in him.
The arm around her waist seemed to press a momentary bruise into Elena's lower back as Elijah's fingers clenched her closer against him in surprise.
Heat woke like an uncoiling dragon.
The skin of her lips gliding against Elijah's seemed to send sparks of electricity down somewhere deep within. Only the awareness of eyes and cheering stopped Elena from letting the kiss build into something too feverish.
Still, she felt Elijah whisper her name against her lips and nearly stopped caring.
He tasted like she remembered. Like burning embers; like jumping into a free-fall; like utter safety.
But better.
More permanent than something they'd stolen to keep divorced from reality.
She pulled back slowly, like it hurt, eyes opening in a dazed blink - when had she closed them? - but as soon as gravity realigned she met Elijah's eyes straight on.
His fingers were still pressing indents into the back of her dress. Elena wasn't sure she'd be able to escape the hold in just this instant, - his muscles locked into stone, - not that she wanted to escape, in fact something within her seemed to purr in satisfaction at the clear effect Elena's kiss had managed to leave on Elijah.
There was a question in his dark eyes, one she could suddenly read as easily as one did their favorite book.
In answer Elena moved her thumb over the heated skin of his lower lip, cleaning away her lipstick without looking away.
bestie what Taylor Swift albums do you associate with the Mikaelsons?
hi queen !!! ily ty for the ask <333
Elijah -> Folklore. He's emo, he's pretentious, he forces you to open a dictionary, he's my favourite. It's all there. He too, would love to be taken to the lakes where all the poets went to die.
Rebekah -> Lover, she's confusing, she's inconsistent, she can't pick a vibe and she's deeply delulu. Sorry no slander to Lover or Bekah but,,, (also a bit of evermore because I know Tolerate it was on repeat for our girl)
Klaus -> Evermore, he's pretentious, he makes you open a dictionary and he's not as impressive as his older brother (folklore),,, before you cancel me I adore evermore guys I promise.
Kol -> Reputation, he's vengeful, he's a simp, he's dramatic. The boy is committed to bing in his rep era.
Finn -> Fearless, I have no justification, I just feel like he'd vibe to it. Fresh out of the coffin bopping to Hey Stephen.
Freya -> 1989, she's cool, she's serving, and I feel like freya would be a, casual, radio hit swiftie at most.
so in the white vault, there's an episode where Rosa says "this wine is already a few years old and this is not the kind that ages well, so drink up." and Walter says "this wine certainly smells. robust."
do you have any thoughts on what kind of wine that would be?
most red wines are supposed to age well, but roses don't and most whites aren't known for it. my bet would be that it isn't a rose just by virtue of it. well. being in svalsbard and rose being associated more with warm weather and refreshing temperatures.
my best bet would be that the wine was an oaky chardonnay. this guess comes from 1. oaky chardonnays tend to be buttery and have more of a rich and warm feeling than any other white wine, which is something that i'd want to have in a place like svalsbard. 2. oaky chardonnay is known to age a lot more poorly than unoaked chardonnay, which is a lot more similar in taste to sauvingon blanc, which gives me the idea that in general acidic, drier whites age better. 3. oaky chardonnays have a robust smell to start with, so i think that any spoiling would make it smell VERY strongly. i've poured out my fair share of expired wine, seltzer and beer in my day and let me say. the ones that didn't have much of a smell to start with turned over but weren't as pungent as the ones with more of a smell.
tune into disregardcanon dot tumblr dot com for more liquor store employee opinions, lol
What made you ship it?
Their chemistry in season 2. That’s literally why. I just remember seeing Elijah and Elena on screen together, specifically in 2x19, and thinking “Shit, this is great chemistry.” Whenever I want to rewatch Elejah scenes, this is the episode I go to. I feel like this episode is Elejah at its best. Elena is so hungry for information and Elijah’s more than willing to drip-feed it to her. Elijah’s so hungry for her to be honest with him and come back to him—and she does, because honesty is Elena’s core character trait (she is not compassionate), especially when 1) information is on the line and 2) she can benefit from keeping her word. (Also, Elena is not a horrible person despite me seemingly claiming she is by stating those two points. Elena is emotionally intelligent.)
I feel like Elijah really challenges Elena intellectually. My favourite iteration of Elena is when she manipulates people to get information so she can get ahead. To me, that’s her power—and her greatest strength. And I feel like Elijah, while being old, is someone who can be manipulated because of the fact that he has a history with her ancestors and the fact that he is someone who I personally view needs to save damsels. I also feel like Elijah is easy to manipulate simply because he does have good intentions and trusts people.
I like the power play and the imbalance, and how Elena, despite being human, is actually the one with power in their relationship. She has just as much power as he does. (I personally believe she has intellectual and emotional power, plus being an identical duplicate of the ancestors he has fallen in love with who have defined Elijah as a man, while Elijah has intellectual and physical power.)
What are your favorite things about the ship?
Everything I said above. I feel like Elijah is so emotionally stunted and out of touch with his emotions to the point where Elena is someone who can bring those emotions forward, be empathetic to his own issues (i.e. his trust issues, his difficult relationship with his siblings, and even the toxic relationship he has with his siblings), and also challenge him to stop being so stoic and unemotional. I feel like Elena is so physically stunted because she’s human that he encourages her to use her wits rather than her physicality. Their first meeting is literally Elena manipulating him and using the power she has (her emotional and intellectual power) over him. I really like the fact that Elena wasn’t afraid to play her ace despite not knowing how he’d react, which was knowing where Katherine was and the moonstone.
I don’t particularly like them when Elena is a vampire because Elijah is emotionally involved with my girl, Katherine, at that point in Elena’s life (which I have So Many Opinions About), and I feel like Elena becoming a vampire not only loses Elena’s agency and fire as a character, but the narrative went all out in making her a 2.0. and poor copy of Katherine. Human Elena has fight and bite in her, and I feel like she’s Elena at her best. She knows the best way to manipulate Elijah is to not pretend to be Katherine. She knows she just has to be herself.
And because I’ve spoken a lot about manipulation in their relationship, I really like how mature Elijah is. I feel like Elijah/Elena is very similar to Stefan/Elena where Elijah will honour Elena’s decisions (as long as she articulates her intentions to him as he’s paranoid (and sometimes not justifiably) and someone with immense trust issues) and Elena has great compassion for him. I feel like Elijah/Elena is Elena at her best as a woman; she’s very mature in that dynamic. She’s unafraid while Elijah, a control freak, begins to allow himself to trust someone else’s word for a change.
I also enjoy the fact that Elena is happy to see Elijah in season 3 even though I highly disregard anything beyond season 2 for them because Elena was not emotionally intelligent (this girl should understand the nuances of her relationship and have known the cost of losing Elijah’s trust was not worth siding with Esther, who she doesn’t fucking know because she didn’t do her goddamn research! #NotMyElenaGilbert).
Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?
This is how I see Elijah’s character: he is someone who falls in love with the idea of women who are damsels. Elijah has a hero complex. It’s very obvious to me when it comes to Hayley/Elijah (more so in their relationship) and Katherine/Elijah (especially his resentment towards her), and it’s even prevalent in Elena/Elijah. I don’t think Elijah has a healthy relationship with love (or relationships). I’ve gone on meta rambles about this on my Tumblr before, but simply put: Klaus has always needed Elijah to be in that hero role when they were younger and dealing with Mikael, and Elijah found purpose and identity in being Klaus’ protector. He still goes out of his way to protect Klaus, even when he’s at heads with him. Elijah falls for women who need to be saved because he needs to be the saviour, and Elena is one of those people who needs to be saved.
I also personally feel like the ship cannot exist outside of Katherine/Elijah (and even Tatia/Elijah). Similar to her relationships with the Salvatores, the shadow of Katherine looms heavily over them. Elena is Elijah’s third chance with his first love, Tatia. Elena is also Elijah’s chance at rescuing Katerina (who saved herself, something that he believes is punishable because she didn’t allow him to be her hero). Elena needs saving because, as a human, she is physically the weakest on the board (...even as a vampire, which I ignore because, again, #NotMyElenaGilbert).
I do believe that there is a level of projection on Elijah’s part on Elena where he needs to save the doppelganger. He couldn’t save Tatia and, to him, he couldn’t save Katerina. I believe his relationship with Elena will always contain that shadow. (No relationship truly can be rid of it if they have a relationship with one of her ancestors tbh.) I personally find this fascinating because it requires a deconstruction of Elijah as a person where he stops seeing Elena as a comparison to Tatia and Katerina and merely sees her as herself, which would take a long time and him getting to know who Elena is. The fact that in 2x19 he expected her to be like Katerina who ran away and rightfully didn’t trust him (and even like Tatia, even though she left him because, you know, he killed her) is a very obvious tell to me that he is projecting Katerina onto Elena. He’s surprised she keeps her word and comes back. That’s Katerina Projection right there. Initially, he does not see Elena as Elena.
Elena does lose her identity at times with Elijah because of his projection of Tatia and Katerina onto her. I personally love it because I feel like that after season 2, season 3 should’ve been a deconstruction of who Elena Gilbert is (and also praising her for being a Gilbert, since fandom seems to like the “You have the Petrova fire” line which, imo, is wrongfully lauded as this great line when, in reality, it actually takes away all of Elena’s agency. I have a rant about that one for another day). Being a Gilbert is Elena’s identity, a proud identity and one that should be celebrated and cherished, and we never deconstruct it. It would’ve been fascinating to deconstruct it with Elijah who knows both Tatia and Katerina. I think he, like Stefan, would’ve given Elena that space to go through those personal motions (after a lot of self-work on his end as he’s more damaged than Stefan and isn’t as compassionate and giving as Stefan).
Elena will never have a healthy relationship with any man who knew or was in love with Tatia or Katerina. I love that shit. (I personally don’t believe fandom understands or acknowledges that Elena wasn’t initially courted for Elena but she was courted because of Katherine. It adds a fucked up element to all of her relationships. Embrace it!)
And if the other one wasn't too much: Elijah and and Rebekah for 3, 8, 9
(for this Ask Game)
Elijah Mikaelson:
3) …if I have an OTP for them.
Really, Emma?
Well, okay, this might come as a bit of a shock, but it's... Elena Gilbert.
8) …a headcanon I have about this character.
I'm not answering that. The last time I answered that, I got pushed headlong into writing a fic about how Elijah wrote drafts of his letter to Elena, and I'm already currently 8k down that rabbit hole with no clear end in sight. I'm not falling for that again.
9) …which of their relationships I would have cultivated more if it were up to me (both romantic and platonic).
I mean. The one with Elena, obviously. But that's the shipper in me.
On the platonic front, I was actually more interested in Elijah's relationship with Rebekah than the one with Klaus. So probably that one.
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Rebekah Mikaelson:
3) …if I have an OTP for them.
Back when I was watching s1 of The Originals, it was Rebekah/Hayley.
Now, after writing so much of them in She's Come Undone and Set Free I've kinda played myself. Because it's definitely Bonbekah.
8) …a headcanon I have about this character.
Not sure how much this really counts as a headcanon. But.
The show kept trying to convince me that Rebekah would have been miserable as a human and that she didn't REALLY know what she wanted.
But I think that she did. I'd actually argue that she was the one who consistently came up with the best reasons for why she wanted to be human again. And that she might actually have been the only one for whom that was even true.
Also, she would have been SUCH a cool witch (Bonbekah witchy power couple, anyone?)
9) …which of their relationships I would have cultivated more if it were up to me (both romantic and platonic).
I really, really wanted her to get pulled into a real friendship with Elena.
And yeah, with my new Bonbekah glasses, I would have replaced her TVD crush on Matt with a crush on Bonnie. Bonnie is way more interesting than Matt, and Rebekah is way cooler than Jeremy. It would have been GLORIOUS.
(sorry if it's annoying to read as screenshots but this was easier while I'm on my phone)
(ignore the grammar, it's a draft)
(also you can't see it here but the fic will include Elejah and probably Klaroline, it will also probably be very AU future stuff because I'm not sure I have the willpower to do all the research necessary to keep it canon (I never did finish watching TVD after s4)).
(though I'm a bit iffy on whether this one will feel too much like She's Come Undone and Set Free to be any fun to read?)
For TVD: 1, 6, 8, 17....20. For elejah, 3, 7, 9, *10*, 14.
(for this Ask Game)
TVD:
1) ...the moment in the story that I started shipping my OTP from this world.
Riiiiiiight about here:
During their very first negotiation. Where Elena somehow pulled a winning hand despite no good cards.
The immediate tension and character chemistry didn't exactly hurt either.
6) ...which is my favorite platonic or familial relationship in this world.
It's hard to land on a specific one, because I liked quite a few. But ultimately, the one that SHOULD have always been the heart of the show.
This show would have been way stronger if they'd allowed it's heart to be Barolena instead of the question of which brother Elena picks.
8) ...a quote from it that means a lot to me.
Damn. IDK. *goes on a TVD quote hunt* *finds something* *snorts*
“I have four hundred years on you, little boy. I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking and you know it.”
- Pearl (to Damon)
Hey, Anna's mom... do it as a treat for all of us?
17) ...the world-building aspect of the story I have the greatest admiration for.
I liked the history of the supernatural creatures and how much interaction between them shaped the events of that world. The way the existence of werewolves was, in a way, the reason for the creation of vampires. The way, when you get far enough back, it always all came back to witches.
It ended up very muddied and too complicated in the end. But I have to admit that it was very interesting before they fell too deep down the rabbit hole of the Next Biggest Bad.
20) ...exactly how little or how much headspace this fandom takes up in my brain at any given point.
*takes a look at the fact she's got 34 fanworks in the TVD section of AO3* I don't wanna talk about it.
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Elejah:
3) ...if there's a scene involving them that makes me uncomfortable.
They're my OTP, so I don't think so?
7) ...the scene that I like to point to as proof that they're perfect for each other.
Really, it's the culmination of every single scene they've ever shared. But I guess this one works as one good example.
Because they've always understood one another, they both fundamentally work on the same principle. They will do whatever it takes to keep the people they love safe. It's both their best and their most treacherous characteristic.
And I guess I find the idea of a universe where they shared those people instead of having them be at war really fascinating. Imagine the BAMF potential alone.
9) ...what my ideal endgame for them is.
I think I wrote it, it's She's Come Undone and Set Free.
10) ...rate the level of stupid they reach in their pining.
Oh my GOD.
1000/10
To borrow the words of the famous Rebekah Mikaelson:
14) ...which tropes I think describe them the best.
Not all are technically tropes... but they should be:
Soulmated Adversaries to Friends to Lovers
Love at First Stab
Mirror Characters
