Archive of Our Own

Kol slammed Elijah's laptop shut.

"I was reading that," Elijah said in a mild tone.

"There will be plenty of time to catch up on what's going on with nuclear arms," Kol said. He waved an arm around. "We're in the middle of the ocean, after all. On our very own cruise ship. It wouldn't kill you to have some fun."

"I'm concerned about the United Kingdom," Elijah said and he opened the laptop back up and turning back to his reading.

"Hey," Kol said, waving a hand in front of Elijah's face, "worst come to worst and all the humans blow each other up, we'll still be okay."

"I'd rather not have to subside on cockroaches," Elijah said dryly.

Kol dropped down on the couch next to him. "It's not like there's anything you can do right now."

"Not directly," Elijah allowed and turned back to his reading and ignoring Kol.

Kol reached over, planning to close his laptop but Elijah grabbed his wrist before he could as much as touch the plastic covering of his computer. "If you need something," he said while giving Kol a look that Kol would never admit frightened him some, "it would be more prudent of you to use your words."

Kol yanked his hand back. "Don't make it sound so serious." He looked up at the clear blue sky and was reminded of being under with his siblings not long ago. Everything was peaceful and warm. Now things were real and cold. A vampire shouldn't notice the temperature. "I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"Freya and Rebekah are swimming," Elijah said, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you joined them."

Kol faced his brother and said, "I'm asking you."

"You know me," Elijah said, granting Kol a small smile, "I'm never one for fun."

"You were with Marcel," Kol muttered.

Elijah looked confused.

"Never mind," Kol said, getting up, "I think I will join my sisters."

Elijah actually shut his computer. "Kol - "

"I know when I'm not wanted," Kol snapped as he began to storm off, "so take the same hint I did and back off."

*

Instead of joining his sisters, Kol ended up going into his room. He suddenly wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, his little niece had taken residence on his bed and was reading a book Kol wasn't familiar with.

"Oh," she said, "I didn't mean to, um. Bother you. I just wanted to be alone for awhile and since I share a room with Mom..."

"If you really wanted to be alone," Kol said, unkindly, "then you shouldn't have come into my room."

"I'm sorry," Hope said as clenched her book against her chest as she slipped off his bed. "I'll just go."

"Wait," Kol said and she turned around. The kid looked close to crying. Klaus would dagger him for nine hundred years if Kol hurt his little princess. Kol did not want Hope's tears on his conscious. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just in a bad mood."

Hesitantly, she walked over to him. She set her book on his nightstand. Then she looked straight into his eyes with such love and affection that Kol almost felt like crying himself. "Did something bad happen to you?"

"You couldn't begin to guess," Kol said.

Hope climbed back onto his bed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Kol said. He'd like to think he was above pouring his heart out to a little girl. He wished Davina was around - it had always been so easy to talk to her and nothing felt terrible when she was around.

Hope wrapped her arms around him. "Do you feel any better?"

He set a hand on one of her little arms. "You know what?" He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "I do." He stood up, gathering her into his arms, "How about we get a snack?"

"I'm not supposed to have anything before dinner," Hope whispered.

"What your Mum and Dad don't know won't hurt them," Kol said. "We're on cruise, sort of. We should enjoy ourselves."

*

Hope was digging into her chocolate cheesecake when Elijah walked into the dinning hall. He rose an eyebrow at her, "I thought your mother said no sweets before dinner."

She looked over at Kol with wide eyes.

"I insisted," Kol said. He took off a piece of the cheesecake on her plate with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. He started to lick off some stay chocolate that had gotten onto the side of his thumb but Elijah was right in front of him and grabbing his hand before he got the chance.

Elijah took out a handkerchief and wiped off his finger. Keeping his eyes on Kol, he said to Hope, "I apologize for my brother's rudeness."

"She's seven," Kol said, "I don't think she cares about my table manners."

Elijah continued to talk to Hope as if Kol hadn't said anything. "If you'll excuse us, I need to have a private conversation with Uncle Kol."

"I think I'll just go find Mom," Hope said, jumping off her chair and running out of the dinning hall.

Once the girl was out of earshot, Elijah shoved Kol down into the seat Hope was just sitting on. "Explain," Elijah said as he folded up the handkerchief and set it down on the table.

"Lighten up, Elijah," Kol said, "I was just bonding with her."

"You're sending her mixed messages," Elijah said, "she's in a precarious position because we've just uprooted her from the closest thing she's had to a home for the past five years. She needs all the stability she can get - and that means rules and boundaries. Don't disregard them just because you're bored."

"Did you get that from a parenting blog?" Kol asked.

He started to stand up, but Elijah set a hand on his shoulder and kept him in place. "This isn't a joking matter."

"Does it look like I'm making jokes?" Kol tried to push Elijah away - but Elijah kept him down easily enough. He was pissed and it was fueling his strength.

Elijah leaned forward. "This is the only warning I'm giving you."

Kol was starting to get pretty pissed himself. "Or what?" He managed to dislodge Elijah's hand a few inches. "You're going to punish me like I'm a child?"

"Don't tempt me," Elijah said.

Then he backed away and walked away without another word.

*

Later that evening, Klaus burst into Kol's room, dragging Elijah behind him.

"Normally, I take joy out of watching you two fight over petty things," Klaus said. "It is not often I get to see our big brother get off his high horse to indulge in such things. However, it turns out my daughter is a sensitive child who doesn't like conflict." He pushed Elijah in front of Kol. "So I suggest you make up before I get annoyed."

Elijah stared Kol down. "All he has to do is behave and I shall hold no ill will towards him."

"If Elijah pulls the stick out of his ass, then I'll be glad to play nice," Kol said.

"I'm simply trying to do what's best for Hope," Elijah said.

"And I appreciate that," Klaus said so sincerely that Kol nearly barfed. Klaus glanced over at Kol and said, "Don't undermine me or Hayley, Kol."

"Of course you're taking his side," Kol said.

"The only side I'm taking is Hope's," Klaus said.

"It was a piece of cheesecake," Kol said, "it's not like I was teaching her how to murder a man with a wave of her hand." Speaking of which...

Elijah read his mind. "You are not teaching Hope any magic."

"It's too dangerous," Klaus added, "any one of my numerous enemies could trace her easily if she started to practice."

"You two weren't witches," Kol said, "so you don't know what it's like. The magic is part of her and denying her is as good as suffocating her."

"I'm well aware," Klaus said, "when I kill off my more pesky foes, I will allow Freya to teach her."

"Freya's good," Kol said as he walked over to Klaus, "but I was better. And I know more than just about anyone on this planet about every type of magic out there. I can show her things you two couldn't begin to imagine."

"And that's precisely the problem," Elijah said.

Kol jerked around to face Elijah, fangs dropping. "I've more than proven my loyalty to this family."

"I don't question your loyalty," Elijah said as he walked over to Kol. He set his index finger on the bottom of one of Kol's fangs and pushed it back up into his gums. "But your self-control is poor and getting worse by the day."

"She's my niece too!"

"But she is my daughter," Klaus said. He grabbed Kol and turned him around so that they were face to face. "So drop it."

"Fine," Kol said.

"Elijah," Klaus said, dismissing Kol by shoving him back down on the bed, "I trust you can overcome Kol's tendency to antagonize you for the Hope's sake."

"Of course," Elijah said.

Kol was speechless with fury as the walked out of his room.

*

The next morning, Kol ran up to his little sister, who was heading to the pool. "Bex," he called, "care to do me a favor?"

"Maybe," Rebekah said with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Distract Elijah for me, would you?"

"Oh, no," Rebekah said, "I'm not getting in the middle of your squabble with him."

"You're not getting in the middle of anything," Kol said. "I just need a break from him and his constant lurking."

"You brought it upon yourself," Rebekah said.

"You owe me," Kol said, "remember in 1677 when Elijah was miffed that you ran off with that rude peasant girl for a very fruitful night and I kept him from lecturing you by setting the village we were staying in on fire?"

Rebekah fell back into the familiar argument. "You were going to do that anyway!"

"Not for a few weeks yet," Kol said, "and you have to admit, he didn't even bother to punish you because he was too busy dealing with me."

"I suppose," Rebekah admitted, "but, you have to promise me that you aren't planning revenge."

Kol crossed his heart. "Never."

Rebekah gave him a look.

"At least not here," Kol said, "I don't want to piss off Daddy Klaus with so few escape routes."

"...How long do you you need?" Rebekah asked.

"Just an hour or so," Kol said. He kissed her before dashing off.

*

Kol struck gold: he found Hope, alone, in what passed for a library in their yacht.

"I have something cool I want to show you," Kol said.

"I don't want to break anymore rules," Hope said. But she got up on her feet and walked over to him anyway.

"I can promise you that neither of your parents have ever forbidden you from this," Kol said.

Hope thought. Then she smiled. The sparkle in her blue eyes reminded him of Nik when he was young and ready to show Kol all the secrets of the world. "Okay."

Kol picked her up and ran to his room as fast as he could.

*

"What's that?" Hope asked as Kol took out a box from under his bed.

"There was this girl I knew named Davina," Kol said as they settled on the floor together. "She was a powerful witch." He opened the box and took out a jewel. "This belonged to her."

Hope crawled over so she could peer at it. Her eyes were wide with wonder. "It's so pretty."

Kol swallowed as he handed it to her. "Close your eyes," he said, "and focus on it."

"This is magic," Hope said. He held up her wrist that was contained by the magic-blocking bracelet. "I can't use it. And Mom doesn't want me to." She frowned at him. She looked too much like Elijah for Kol's comfort. "You promised no rule breaking."

"You won't be doing any magic," Kol said, "you're just going to be touching someone else's."

Hope looked skeptical.

"Davina is dead," Kol said so quickly that he didn't have to process the words. He brushed his finger across the jewel. "This is what's left of her magic. It's what's left of her."

"I don't know..."

"Listen," Kol said, "witches are bound to the earth in ways that no one else is. Our magic never goes away. Some witch covens capture the magic of their ancestors and reuse it." He looked at the jewel. "Davina didn't want that to happen with hers so I showed her how she could imprint her magic onto an object so they couldn't ever have hers."

He pressed the jewel into Hope's hands. "She's gone now," he said, "but I still want you to know her. And there's no better way to know a witch than to know her magic."

Hope closed her eyes tightly. "What do I do now?"

"Picture the jewel in your head," Kol said, "and imagine that you're chipping through it with a hammer. Don't try and picture what's underneath, that will come to you."

Several minutes passed in silence before Hope exclaimed, "I'm seeing it!"

"Good," Kol said. "Just keep going."

The jewel exploded into light that began to dance around Hope. She laughed and it was filled with glee. She ran her hands through the light and laughed so more. "What is it, Uncle Kol?"

"It's what she felt while she poured her magic into the jewel," Kol said. "Touch the light and you'll know exactly what was in her heart in that moment."

"It's great," Hope said, "I think she was in love." Davina had started to kiss him in between muttering the spell. Bad pronunciation, he'd scolded her between breaths. It had taken an entire day to do a spell that usually took a few minutes. It was one of Kol's favorite memories. "You should touch it too!"

"It wouldn't do anything for me," Kol said, "my magic is gone."

The light fell down and formed the jewel again. It dropped to the floor. Hope had lost her grip on Davina's magic - she was too busy hugging her uncle to keep the connection.

She buried her face in his neck. "You had that too, didn't you?" He nodded against her. "Can we get it back?"

"No," he said.

"I think she was in love with you," she tightened her hold, "I'm sorry you lost your light."

*

Kol was making Hope a sandwich in the kitchen when Freya stormed in, demanding, "What did you do?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kol said, "do you want me to cut off the crust, Hope?"

Hope nodded. Freya grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"I'm serious," she said, "I felt magic and it sure as he - " she paused, looked over at Hope, took a deep breath. "Kol, just tell me what happened."

Kol finished cutting off the crust of the sandwich, grabbed a few cookies, and set them on the plate before putting it in front of Hope. "It wasn't a big deal."

Hope grabbed one of the cookies and chirped, "I got to see Davina's light!"

Freya shook him and hissed, "Please tell me you didn't use our seven-year-old niece to contact your dead girlfriend."

Kol pushed her away, "I would never do that!"

"Then tell me what's going on," Freya said.

For a moment, Kol was struck speechless. "You actually believe me?"

"I see no reason not to hear you out," Freya said. She folded her arms and gave him a look that might have even impressed Elijah. "But it better be good."

Kol grabbed an apple and began to peel it. Carefully. "I have no way to contact her, Freya." Not yet, anyway. "I have what's left of her magic. I just wanted Hope to meet her."

"Kol," Freya said. She closed her eyes and rubbed them. She walked over to Hope and knelt down. "Do you think that you can keep the magic between the three of us for a little while?"

Kol began to chop the apple into small pieces as Hope said, "I don't know. I'm not supposed to keep secrets from Mom."

"It's not a real secret," Freya said, "they'll find out. Uncle Kol and I just need to figure out the best way to explain this to everyone else."

Hope looked over to Kol, who gave her a small nod. "Okay," she said, "but please don't make me do it for very long."

Freya kissed her on the top of her head. "Thank you, sweetheart." She turned to Kol, who was popping an apple piece into his mouth. "Keep an eye on her while I fix this mess, okay?"

"Just know that I don't consider this a mess," Kol said.

"Which is why you had Rebekah distract Elijah," Freya shot as she strolled out of the dinning room, "witches have ears too, baby brother."

*

"Do you have to take a nap or something?" Kol asked once Hope was finished with her lunch.

Hope looked so much like her dad it was actually funny. "I'm seven," I'm the hybrid!, "I haven't taken a nap since I was five." She twisted around, clearly feeling guilty, "Okay, I was six. But it was a really long day."

"Good," he said as he swept her into his arms. She laughed. She was so free and young. "I think there's an arcade around here. Why don't we have some parental approved fun?"

"I don't have any money," Hope said sadly. The kid had a lot to learn, yet.

"We'll get around that," Kol told her as he walked out of the kitchen and headed to the arcade room.

Hope snuggled against him.

*

"And that," Kol said, stepping back from the Ninja Turtle machine, "is how you trick machines into thinking you paid for them."

Hope's eyes were wide and impressed. "That is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Yeah," Kol said, smug. Then he thought about what his family would do if they found out her was corrupting the baby. "But we don't have to show off to Elijah and rest of them, okay?"

"You're going to get me in so much trouble," Hope said. But she didn't sound angry or upset about it. "Let's fight. I'm sure I can beat you."

"No you can't," Kol said, "I've been playing this game for a few years now."

"I've been playing video games since before I could talk," Hope said, "Mom told me I broke three of her phones by the time I was two."

Kol did the math. Shit. She actually did have more practice. "I have vampire reflexes."

"Not gonna matter," Hope said as she began to set up the game. "If you do it too hard, you'll just break it."

"You're on," Kol said as the techno music filled the room.

*

Several hours later, Hayley found them. "Are you having fun, Hope?"

"Yes!" Hope said, rushing over to her and jumping into her arms. "I beat Uncle Kol twenty thousand times!"

"More like twenty-ish," Kol said, "and I'll have you know that I won just as often."

"Only because I let you," Hope said.

The bitch of it was is that she wasn't lying.

"That was very sweet of you," Hayley said after kissing the top of her head, "are you ready for dinner?"

Hope thought about it very seriously. "I guess. But not if we're having peas."

"Not tonight," Hayley said as she led Hope out of the arcade. Kol turned back to the Ninja Turtles machine, planning to get some practice in. "C'mon, Kol."

"You're inviting me?" Kol asked.

"You got better plans?" Hayley said. She'd grabbed his wrist and was pulling him to his family.

*

"I win!" Hope said, grabbing the crown and putting it on her head, "I'm the Pretty Pretty Princess!"

"It seems you did," Klaus said as he took off the plastic green earring he was wearing.

"This game isn't fair," Kol said, "it's all about luck."

"You're just cross that you can't influence it in your direction," Rebekah said.

"Wait," Freya said, looking up from the plants she was sorting, "did you use your magic to cheat when you were a kid?"

"All the time," Rebekah said.

"That's not true," Kol said, "when Mother found out I was misusing magic she took a switch to me. I learned my lesson and started to play fair."

"You just became sneakier," Klaus said, amused.

Kol didn't deny it.

Rebekah, who was sitting next to Hope, grabbed her by the hips and leaned in. "Did you cheat like your Uncle Kol did?"

"No!" Hope said and Rebekah started to tickle her, "cheating is wrong," she said, between giggles. "'Sides, I'm not supposed to do magic."

"But there are some things the bracelet can't control," Freya said, going into lecture mode.

"But she can't control where she wants her luck to go without focus," Kol said before Freya could bore up the place. He pulled Hope from Rebekah's arms. "So I'm afraid our little niece won fair and square."

"Let's play again!" Hope said and began to set up the game before anyone could answer. She was eying Elijah, clearly hoping he'd join her.

"Remind me to get you real jewels for this game," Klaus said as he leaned over to press a kiss on Hope's forehead.

Hope's eyes widened, "That would make it the best board game ever."

Hayley walked into the common room, holding a tray of drinks for everyone. "Don't spoil her, Klaus."

"She is my daughter, and I shall spoil her all that I wish," Klaus said.

"Take Bekah's place, Elijah," Kol said and Rebekah stuck her tongue out at him. Hope was watching Elijah very carefully. "Unless you're too good for plastic jewelry."

Without looking up from his computer, Elijah said, "Let Hayley or Freya have a chance."

Look at her, you idiot, Kol thought. It was hard not to put himself in Hope's place. Maybe he should teach her how to kill a man with a wave of her hand. A lecture from Elijah was better than silence from Elijah.

"I have an idea," Hope said as Kol pulled her into a hug. "Maybe we should play a different game." She turned to her mother, who was settling down on the ground next to Klaus, "One we can all play together."

"That's a good idea," Hayley said, "get the supplies for Pictionary."

Hope rushed out of the room.

"We should have two teams of three," Kol said, as he eyed his oldest brother, "with Elijah being the judge."

"But he doesn't know anything about art," Klaus complained.

"You'd cheat so that Hope's team would win every round," Rebekah pointed out.

"I'd just be making sure she has a healthy amount of self-esteem," Klaus said and dunked as Rebekah threw a handful of plastic earrings in his general direction.

*

Kol was taking off his shirt when Freya barged into his room, Hayley and Klaus right behind her.

"Goody," he said, tossing his shirt on the bed. It wasn't very satisfying without Elijah giving him a dirty look for poor manners. Still, it was his room and he'd do what he liked. And he liked to be shirtless.

"Sit, please," Freya said.

Hayley walked over to the desk and planted herself on it. Kol dropped down on his bed. Klaus folded his arms and stared at Freya.

"Must you be so obstinate?" Freya said.

"Yes," Klaus said.

"I'd let it go if I were you. He's not going to listen to you," Kol advised, which made Klaus lips twitch into a smug smirk.

"Fine," Freya said as she deliberately turned away from Klaus and toward Hayley, "Kol discovered something when he was spending time with Hope this morning."

Klaus turned to face Kol, eyes like a hawk. "There better be a good reason for keeping this from me."

"Freya is being dramatic," Kol said and he did a good job at pretending he wasn't terrified of Niklaus Mikaelson, "I was simply teaching her some magical theory."

"I was trying to help!" Freya said as Klaus said, "I recall telling you to stay out of Hope's magical education."

"There are plenty of good reasons to lie to Nik," Kol told Freya, "about his daughter is not one of them." To Klaus, he said, "Elijah decided and you agreed. Excuse me for not acting as if he's the final attributer to everything involving our family."

Klaus was about to explode, but Hayley rushed over to him and set a hand on his shoulder. "I want to hear what Kol has to say." Klaus was about to retort, but she set a finger on his lips. Then she turned to Kol. "You started practicing as a child, right?"

"Since before I could speak," Kol said.

"That was a glorious time in my life," Klaus muttered.

"I've spoken to a lot of witches over the past five years," Hayley said, "and outside of New Orleans and a few covens, most children don't have access to their magic. It's usually not triggered into adolescence." She looked over to Freya, "the Mikaelson's are not from New Orleans and you were never part of a coven, much less one with practicing children."

"I had no control over my magic as a child," Freya said, "nor did Finn, our aunt or mother. Rebekah hadn't even tapped into hers before our mother turned her into a vampire." She looked over to Kol, mouth twitching into a grin, "Kol was an anomaly."

"Just like Hope," Hayley said, "no offense, Freya, but I think Kol might actually be a better teacher for her."

Taste in men aside, Kol decided that Hayley was a woman of great wisdom.

Kol walked over to his brother. "Nik," he said, reaching out to touch his shoulder, "do you remember the first time you fed as a vampire?"

"This better be going somewhere," Klaus said. He didn't sound angry but he was tense and Kol knew if he wasn't careful, he'd punish Kol first and ask questions never.

"That moment of ecstasy was nothing compared how a witch is supposed to feel when practicing. The bloodlust vampires have has nothing on magic." Klaus was looking and listening and, for once, Kol felt like he was being seen as a capable adult instead of a troublemaking child. "I know you want to protect her, Nik, but denying her access to part of herself is only going hurt her in the long run."

"It's better than being dead," Freya said.

Hayley dropped down on Kol's bed and confessed, "She heals insects and takes away the hunger of stray cats. She heated an entire neighborhood that lost its electricity during a snow storm last year. Once, she helped Mary see Jackson on a Halloween while she was still in diapers. I kept her from learning spells but Kol's right. This is part of her." Klaus walked over and sat down next to her. He squeezed her shoulder. "She cares so much. I hate shutting her down when she's helping people."

"And we'll help her get in touch with it," Freya said. She looked around the room and Kol knew she was sensing that she was losing. She clenched her jaw and said, "After we've taken down Klaus' most pesky foes. The bracelet needs to stay on."

"And I didn't ask her to take it off," Kol snapped. Freya looked like she was going to respond but Kol didn't let her. "I love that little girl. Do you think I would knowingly put her in danger?"

Freya shocked Kol by smiling at him. "No." She strode across the room and pulled him into a hug. "I'm just feeling a little overprotective." Kol closed his eyes and rested his head into her neck. "I'm truly sorry for doubting you."

Kol forced himself to detangle himself from her before walking over to Klaus. He knelt down and looked up at him. "Let me do this for our family. For Hope."

Klaus absently brushed his fingers through Kol's hair. The fondness in his eyes reminded Kol of all the reasons he could never bring himself to completely hate him. "If you can convince Rebekah and Elijah that Hope will benefit from your tutelage, you have my blessing."

Kol stood up and folded his arms. Klaus was grinning up at him like he'd just figured out a fresh new way to kill someone who had wronged him. "You are a sadistic bastard."

Klaus' grin didn't fade. "It would be best if our family was in complete agreement."

Hayley shoved him. Klaus let her and laughed as he fell down on Kol's bed. "I'd forgotten how much of an ass you could be."

"Don't blame me for your penchant for delusional selective memory, love," Klaus said.

"He's right," Freya said, shooting Klaus nasty look that only made Klaus grin harder, "but he's doing it in the wrong way."

Kol found himself smiling despite himself. "Good thing I have plenty of practice being related to our siblings, dear sister. I think I can get them on board."

*

Rebekah was lazing by the pool reading a book. It looked a lot like the book Hope had left in his room.

Kol sat down next to her. "Aren't you a little old for The Baby-Sitter's Club?"

"Hayley used to read them as a kid and bought the entire collection for Hope," Rebekah said, "Hope's obsessed with Claudia. I plan to recreate her wardrobe once we've gotten off this boat."

"Stacy has better taste," Kol said as he laid on his back. He turned around to give his sister a smile, "But I suppose Claudia outfits are more interesting."

"If I'm too old for these books, what does that make you?" Rebekah asked.

"Bored out of my mind," Kol said. Then, more honestly, he said, "Hope left one of the books in my room and I wasted half an hour of my endless life giving it a go."

"If you have opinions about the characters, than it wasn't a waste," Rebekah said.

Kol grabbed the book out of her hand and tossed it aside. He wrestled Rebekah into the pool and dunked when she splashed him. Then he blurred into the pool and snuck up behind her. "I guess you could call Stacy my waifu."

"I really should have shut down 4chan years ago." Rebekah and Kol turned around in unison. Elijah was sitting down on the beach chair Rebekah had been resting on, holding Hope's book that Kol had tossed aside. "Don't let me catch you on there again, Kol."

"And what about Bex?" Kol asked, "she's the one who sent me there in the first place."

Rebekah dunked him into the water and dodged the splash of water he directed in her area. The brat lied through her teeth, "Kol is grossly misrepresenting the facts, Elijah."

"Enlighten me," Elijah said, folding his arms and looking Very Disappointed in both of them, "please."

Rebekah gave him a look. He returned it. They moved together. Caught off guard, Elijah ended up completely dunked in the water. Elijah's immaculate suit was drenched and his hair looked like a drowned cat. He spit out the water that caught in his mouth in their general direction. "I highly suggest that you both run."

Neither of them needed to be told twice.

-

"You have my blessing," Rebekah said as she dried her hair with a towel, "about teaching Hope." She shrugged at the expression she saw on Kol's face. "I've been talking to Hayley and I think she's right that you might the best person to understand what she's going through and help her figure it out."

"What's the catch?" Kol asked.

"There isn't one," Rebekah dropped down next to Kol, who was sitting by the pool with, soaking his legs in the water. "I took care of Hope for the first year of her life. I've never seen anything like it, but I think it's only because you're older than me." She was looking off into the distance. "Mother used to say that you'd be the death of her. I thought it was because you were such a brat. My short stint as a mum proved me wrong."

"In your defense," Kol said, "I was one."

"She could do things no baby should be able to do," Rebekah said. Looks like the conversation was going to stay serious. "Sometimes I didn't know if it'd save her or kill her."

Kol pulled her into a side hug. As a general rule, Kol tried not to think about his parents. The bad memories were terrible. But the good ones were too much for him to handle.

"It's who she is," Rebekah continued, "it's who you are." She looked at him. "It's not secret why I want to be human. What about you?"

"A human life with Davina," Kol said, "where we were both witches was the one thing I wanted to give her the most. Or at least I'd like to figure out where my magic went after I'd turned into a vampire."

His little sister lanced her fingers around his as they watched the sunset.

-

"I don't think Uncle Elijah likes me," Hope said.

They were lying on his bed together. She's been pretending to read Goodbye Stacy, Goodbye! while Kol actually read The Fire at Mary Anne's House.

"There's no one else on this earth he loves more than you, darling," Kol said.

"That doesn't mean he likes me," Hope said. She dropped her book and folded her knees to her chest. "Mom told me he could play any instrument in the world, but his favorite was the piano. When I was exploring the yacht I found a keyboard. I asked him if he would teach me but he said I should paint with Dad instead."

She was actually crying. A few years ago, Kol might have used Hope's pain to poke a wedge between Elijah and Klaus. One of them would pick him to be the favorite brother, at least for a little while. Until Klaus decided it was time to punish Kol and Elijah held him down while Nik shoved a dagger in his heart.

Kol pulled her in his lap. "Your Mum's in love with Elijah, god knows why. So she might have given you the impression he's the smart one. He is, in fact, the stupidest one."

Hope was looking at him with, well, hope. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, my little bunny rabbit," Kol said. It was not lost on him that her favorite toy was a gift from Elijah. "This is a extremely stupid misunderstanding and I'm going to fix it. I'll make sure you're the next Mozart and that he'll be your teacher."

Hope made a little face. "He's boring. I want to be Lady Gaga."

Kol knew what he was doing for her sixteenth birthday. She's get to be a pop star for at least a day, the hell if she could carry a tune or not. But, first, he needed to strangle his oldest living brother.

-

Kol barged into Elijah's room.

"That was locked," Elijah pointed out. He was back on his laptop. Maybe he was trying to stop nuclear weapons from spreading, Kol didn't care.

"I don't care," Kol said, tossing the doorknob on the ground. It dented the floor. Good. It'd drive Elijah batty and he deserved to be driven batty.

"Is this your way of persuading me that you're the best candidate to teach Hope magic?" Elijah shut his laptop and set it aside, "points for creativity, but I'm even less convinced than before."

Years ago, that remark would have completely derailed Kol. Okay, a week ago. But that was before he'd seen his darling little niece crying.

"Do you remember when I introduced Marcel to the theater?" Kol asked.

Elijah stood up. He walked, with deliberation. Kol was taller and they were equally strong, but he still took a step back. Elijah bent over and picked up the doorknob. "Are you telling me that you've decided not to teach Hope magic, after all? Because you are making an excellent case for it."

Kol continued, "Marcel thought you hung the moon. I hadn't seen you smile so much since our dear parents murdered us. Nik got jealous. I had some extremely unethical fun. The two of you shoved me in a coffin again. When I wake back up, you and Marcel can barely stand each other."

It was hard to tell if the flash Kol saw in his eyes was anger or regret. Both maybe. "Get to the point, Kol."

"I'm not going to let you make the same mistake with Hope!" Kol snapped.

Elijah was so offended that Kol almost laughed. "You aren't going to let me?"

"Tatia's kid, you were practically her father. You were doting on her daughter before Tatia figured out that she'd need to make the first move if she was going to get anywhere with you. Hayley, if you're listening, yes, that's a hint."

"You're on very thin ice," Elijah said. He was pointing, just like their mother used to do when Kol was literally on thin ice. It happened every winter, but Kol never listened. Until Elijah stepped in.

"And we can't forget how you still treat us like we're children," Kol said, "you practically raised half your siblings and you never bitch about it despite the fact that maybe you should." Now Kol was the doing the pointing. "So when the little girl that you named asks you to teach her how to play the keyboard, you teach her! You don't even have the excuse that going over the basics with a newbie because is dull as dirt because you live for that type of thing."

"Are you done?" Elijah asked.

"No!" Kol said, he grabbed Elijah and yanked him down the hall. "She's not the reason the evil Niklaus Mikaelson is finally going to be redeemed of his many sins. She's a little girl." He yanked open his door and tossed the doorknob in the ocean, "Now teach her to be Lady Gaga and play tea party with her, god knows you want to."

Elijah and Hope were staring at each other, very awkwardly.

"Figure it out, Elijah," Kol snapped before zooming over kitchen. He needed strong booze.

-

Kol was a little bit tipsy when Klaus joined him. "Elijah has developed a daily routine for my daughter. He found a ridiculously detailed template online. Every single minute of her life is planned out for the next year. It includes only three hours on weekdays for me. I blame you."

Ether Elijah worked supernaturally fast or was had been secretly plotting her days already. And then instead of say hello to his niece, he martyred himself. Both were equally likely. It was the second option.

"How much do you want to dagger me?" Kol asked.

Klaus took the bottle of wine out of Kol's hand and took a long drink. "Not at all. I haven't seen her so happy since we got on this godforsaken boat. And, to no one's surprise, she is a gifted musician on top a one-in-a-lifetime artist."

Kol opened another bottle of wine. This time, he decided to pour it in a wine glass. Klaus yanked it away.

"Hey!"

"She's in the arcade room waiting for you, Elijah penciled you in for an hour," Klaus said, "I'd rather wait she hits double digits before she sees you drunk."

-

"Can you show me Davina again?" Hope asked as soon as Kol walked into the game room. She was holding up a sheet of paper that laid out her day. Typed in a clean font was '1pm-2pm: Hope-Kol magic lessons."

"You know it," Kol said, picking her up before rushing her over to his room.

-

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Kol turned away from the Ninja Turtles game. He was getting in some practice. He was determined to get a win off of Hope that wasn't a pity victory. He was very surprised to see Elijah standing in the doorway. He was more surprised that he seemed to be waiting for Kol's answer.

"You want to play arcade games with me?" Kol asked.

"It's recently come to my attention that my priorities have not been ideal as of late," Elijah said.

"I was talking about Hope," Kol said. He couldn't stand to look in Elijah's eyes.

"You mentioned wanting to spend time with me," Elijah said, "I thought it would be prudent to take you up on that offer."

There was something in Kol's throat. He motioned for Elijah to join him by the game arcade machine. "Have you ever played a video game in your life?"

"No," Elijah said.

"You live a sad, sad life," Kol said. Elijah got the game to load up without money. "Where did you learn to do that? Are you lying to me?"

"I'm the one who taught you the basic mechanics that make up this," Elijah paused. Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle had a slice of pizza in one hand and kusarigama in the other. "He was always my favorite." There was a twinkle in his eye. "Reminded me of a brother of mine."

Kol stared. "What do you know about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

"More than I ever cared to," Elijah said, "they were difficult to avoid in the 1980s."

"Well, Leonardo," Kol said, "you're about become even more acquainted with this franchise. Between the two of us, one of has to have the skill to beat Hope."

Kol showed Elijah how to use the controllers and explained the vocabulary of the game play. Elijah was listening carefully, absorbing everything Kol had to say.