Chapter Text
“Get back here, boy” Mikael spits out. He caught Kol performing a spell, making some of the fallen leaves dance in the air. He reaches out and threw him to the ground in the middle of the woods. Kol looks up with a deep gash on his cheek that was created from a sharp fallen branch that lays behind him. He looks up at his father, tears streaming down his face and biting back a sob.
Mikael takes a step closer to him with a switch in his hand. He brought it up and swung, making another deep gash on Kol’s other cheek. Whimpering, Kol tried backing away only to be stopped by a foot smashing down on his ankle.
“ELIJA-“ Kol started yelling only to be cut off by Mikael.
“You think calling out to him will help? How pathetic can you be, needing help. No one in this family cares, haven’t you noticed? You’re just a useless, waste of space” He stared at the four year old, who now has a facial feature some would call broken.
He doesn’t mean that does he? Of course, he does, he’s apparently never wrong (that’s what mother always says at least).
Kol’s dream soon went to other places, thinking over other memories in his millennial of living. All ending with him being abandoned, daggered, or even dying – two times no less. His mind can’t contain this all at once, all the memories are somehow more painful then anyone could imagine. Being remined of all the times his siblings had clearly shown that he was worth nothing to any of them, starting when they were kids even.
Well except one, Elijah. His oldest living brother, has always cleaned him up after Mikael beat him, he taught him basically everything when he was growing up since Rebekah was born not even a year after himself. He was easily forgotten, but Elijah cared and honestly raised him if he was telling the truth.
All that went away though after they turned, having his magic stripped from him as unbearable, his connection to the earth taken away. None of his siblings had tapped into their powers yet, so they never knew how he was feeling. He loved being a warlock and poof, it was gone and instead it had been replaced with a terrible hunger, a hunger for blood.
His older brother was so set on Nik’s redemption from the start that he never gave a second look to Kol and why he was acting out in such ways, declaring in his mind there’s no hope in the world for his youngest brother.
He sprung up, gasping for air as tears are running down his face and sobs breaking their way through his usual stubbornness front. It seems as if it’s not there anymore and disappeared, because all he has right now is emotion, being reminded of his place in the family. Starting to freak out lifted his hands to his hair and started pulling hard on it, needing to keep his hands busy while his body shakes with sobs. Quickly, getting bored with pulling on his hair he moved his hands and brought his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. His nails are now clawing their way into his skin, but his mind isn’t on that. His mind is circulating how good it felt when ‘Lijah to care of him, and knew when he was sad and needed comfort. He needed that now, except he of course isn’t here, hasn’t been for him for a millennium.
What different does it make now?
Hayley, being the only other occupant in the abattoir, looks up from the book she’s been reading. Listening closer, she hears sobs and hyperventilating upstairs. She put the book down and followed the sound, ending up in front of Kol’s room. She thinks for a second if she really wants to do this. Her mind is made up when the boy’s cries grow louder. Remembering the cries of her and Klaus’ daughter before she got slaughtered by the witches rings in her ears, recalling how bad she wanted to get her daughter back but it was too late. She won’t let the immortal teenager in the room, feel the same way, some protectiveness wash over her for him.
She knocked on the door, before opening it, walking inside. She lightly gasped at the sight in font of her. Kol, shaking like a leaf and sobbing so much, it’s hard for him to breathe, mucus and tears mixed on his face. She pulls a tissue from a box haphazardly thrown on his dresser, and went over to him.
Careful, not to startle him, she slowly sat beside the shaking boy. Slowly and softly, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Feeling the touch of someone else, he rapidly turned his head toward the hybrid and widened his eyes, moving to back away.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you” She tells him softly, seeing the terrified look in his eyes.
Slowly letting up the terrified expression, one with hurt replaced it, looking up at the woman sat beside him.
“There we go. Is it okay if I touch you?” She asked, gently. Kol nodded. She brought her hand with the tissue up to his face and wiped away the mess with care in her eyes and threw the now used tissue into the small garbage bin beside the nightstand.
Taking into account that the hybrid woman is actually nice he remembered what caused everything. Whimpering, he looked up at her. He seems so much younger than being an immortal what? 17, 18-year-old?
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” She accidentally dropped the nickname. He quietly whispered something, that not even she could hear. “Can you speak a little louder for me?” She gently asked, not wanting to accidentally upset him in any way.
“’Lijah” He whimpered out louder. He’s apparently not in control of his emotions anymore, but he doesn’t care. He feels safe with Hayley, but still, he doesn’t know her that well and how she may react even though she’s been really nice so far. He wants, no needs his big brother.
Realization clicks in her mind as to what he’s saying. “Elijah’s not here right now” She softly whispers, feeling bad for him.
He whimpers again and the tears start again, not as much as last time but they’re still falling down. “I’m sorry, Kol. I’m so sorry” She whispers and on instinct she pulls him towards where she’s leaning against the headboard and wrapped her arms around him. One of her hands starting to play with his hair.
Noticing the safe environment, Kol feels different, not a bad different but a good one. He doesn’t need to worry about any problem that’s most likely going down with his family and instead, he feels…he feels small.
He nuzzled his head into her left shoulder and not long after, brings his thumb up to his mouth and starts sucking it.
Watching as Kol deeply breathes in and out, fast asleep and sucking on his thumb, Hayley tries not to audibly ‘aww’ at his child-like actions. He looks so cute like this – all snuggled up in her arms. Except slowly she removes her right arm and slides her phone out of her pocket. Unlocking her phone, she quickly texted Elijah to get back to the house, since they have a small situation at the moment, but not to worry. (At least she hopes they don’t have to).
He texted her back, saying he’s on his way.
She sets her phone down and wraps her arm back around the boy, cuddled up on her. Though before, she reached in front and took hold of a soft navy blanket and set it around the two of them. It emits a quiet whine from Kol, but he settles down shortly after.
As Elijah stepped into the abattoir, he called out for Hayley. The hybrid whispered, “Upstairs”, not wanting to wake Kol. His vamp hearing picking up on the whisper, Elijah headed upstairs and while going down the hallway, saw Kol’s door wide open with Hayley sitting on his bed and holding something.
As he stepped inside he realized that ‘something’ is his little brother, sucking his thumb and nuzzled into Hayley’s shoulder. He gives her a questioning look. She nodded her head, indicating for him to sit down, listening he sat down on the bed in front of the two.
They sit in silence, watching Kol, until Elijah starts to whisper, not wanting to wake him. Kol gets barely any sleep as it is anyways.
“What happened?” He asked, never seeing his brother like this in a very long time – since they were children. “I think he was having a breakdown or a panic attack. I heard him and wanted to make sure he was okay. When I came up here, he looked so vulnerable and didn’t understand that I was helping at first. Elijah, he looked so scared and when he finished hyperventilating he called for you and I felt so bad, telling him you weren’t here. When he settled down in my arms like this, I texted you, not knowing what to do” She whispered back, explaining all the while playing with Kol’s hair.
Taking in all that information, Elijah goes over to Hayley and sits beside her on the right and wraps an arm around her and Kol. “I’ve got to say, I have never seen this happen before. Not since he was seven and when Mikael found out, he beat him so badly, I was scared for his life” Elijah shared.
Hayley looks at him, lips parted, and concern etched on her face before her eyesight travels back to the boy wrapped in her arms. “Did he maybe re-hatch a memory and for comfort his mind went to what he remembers to be a safe environment?” She wonders.
“I suppose that may be what happened here” Elijah thought about everything Hayley explained that happened to him and it did sound somewhat familiar of how he recalled what would happen a millennial ago.
“I feel so bad for him. I know I don’t exactly know him that well, but when I saw him crying I immediately got protective over him. He looked like he was a little kid and didn’t understand what was going on” she told her husband.
Before he can respond, Kol starts fidgeting around and opens his eyes. He removes his thumb from his mouth, balling it up into a fist and rubbing his eyes with it. His mind is still foggy and feels small, but it feels good and not an intrusion. He’s felt the same thing before over the centuries when he had been alone but instead it would feel horrible and wanting- no needing something or someone else. Now what’s different is that instead of it being like an intrusion, it feels warm and fuzzy.
Taking in his surroundings, he looks up at Hayley and notices there’s someone sitting beside her. Glancing at them, he registers that it’s Elijah. He whimpers, remembering how she told him that his big brother wasn’t here before. He’s here now though.
He sit’s up and reaches out for him. “’Lijah” He get’s out of his mouth before tears start falling down his face again, emotions taking control of him.
Elijah softly brings the crying boy into his arms with Hayley’s help and holds him tight. Kol nuzzles into his big brother’s chest, feeling more protected than he was already. Elijah rubs one of his hands up and down his baby brothers back, just like he used to do, letting him know he’s here.
He turns his head after a while to face Hayley and starts talking, “Say ‘Lijah no’ here.” He slurs out a little in a quiet voice. “I did, but as soon as I could, I called him and look, he’s here now, Sweetheart” she says and leans down, pressing a small kiss to the top of his head. He giggles quietly at the form of comfort, liking how it felt and brought his thumb back up to his mouth.