『Chapter Nineteen』
『cuddles, snuggles, and an original acting strange』

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   When Bodie woke up he found himself wrapped with Klaus in between his arms asleep. He took a moment to work out where he was considering that he completely forgot about his surroundings. Though it didn't take him long to remember that he was in the Woodford's home which was enough for him to lay back down and pull Klaus more towards him. He could smell the slight tinge of blood from Klaus which was enough for Bodie to know that Klaus went for a walk and ended up feeding. He didn't care though, he ended up squeezing Klaus a little, trying his best to not wake him up, though even still, Klaus stirred awake then.

   It made Bodie tense, afraid that he just woke him up, though when Klaus didn't say anything or move, he knew that it was safe. He wondered as to how long he could get away with cuddling Klaus like this before he woke up. He knew that he could stay here for as long as he could, but he feared that Klaus would wake up and make him get out of bed which he really didn't want to do. If he could, he'd stay here until forever ends just so that he could stay like this. Being able to hold Klaus like this was something that he wished that would last.

   He watched as Klaus' shoulders moved ever so slightly with each breath, the small snores coming out of his mouth, the muscles tensing slightly before relaxing. Bodie thought that there was a chance that Klaus was dreaming, though the thought quickly vanished when Klaus turned in his sleep to his back which made Bodie move just a bit away just to make sure that Klaus wasn't too restricted in movement.

   There was always something calming about being around Klaus when he was like this, something vulnerable, something that reminded Bodie that the beauty of Klaus was always his vulnerability to things at times. He loved the peace that Klaus was in these moments, reminding him of a time that they could never go back to, but even still, even in these small moments, he was reminded that there was always that chance of having that peace if they both weren't who they were. They could go back even as the changed people that they were, leaving all of this behind—this being Klaus' anger, paranoia, need to betray, and murder, and also Bodie's need to hide secrets.

   Of course, Bodie knew that it was stupid to wish for that, knowing that no matter how much he wished, they wouldn't have that. He wished that they could, he wished so much about them having a life together away from all of this, but he knew that the pair of them wouldn't allow it, afraid that they would get hurt by each other once more. And Bodie wasn't sure if he could deal with the pain. He wasn't sure if he could deal with the pain of assuming that Klaus was already betraying him, but he tried to dismiss it because Klaus wouldn't, right?

   Who was he kidding? He knew that he was being dramatic or even overthinking everything that there can be because of Klaus. Klaus was back in his life, back to how they were because Klaus wanted to be here with him, Klaus wanted him—Klaus wanted to come back to him, and that meant everything to Bodie more than he would ever admit. And Klaus apologised to him, which was very un-like him, so that meant something, right?

   He shook his head then, he was overthinking all of this. He was overthinking this too much and if he continued then there was a chance that he would ruin all of this and that was the last thing that he wanted to do. He loved Klaus with his entire soul and the last thing that he would want to do is hurt Klaus because of his accusations. He didn't want to hurt Klaus but at the same time, his presence within Klaus' life with the secret that he held close to him was something that would hurt Klaus more than anything, and as much as he tried to not think about it too much, he knew that it would hurt a lot to even utter the words.

   Bodie felt a slap across his chest which made him jump—Bodie ended up on his back after Klaus moved—which made him look round to see how Klaus was now facing him with his eyes shut, there was a small smile on Klaus' face which made him wonder if Klaus was actually asleep anymore or not. Either way, Bodie didn't really care as much given that he ended up wrapping his hand around Klaus' arm, his thumb gently over Klaus' skin.

   "Hmm," Klaus hummed, burying his head more into the pillow, his nose against Bodie's bicep. If it wasn't clear to Bodie before but at least he knew that Klaus was awake now. "Bodie. My Bodie."

   "Good morning, K," Bodie greeted. Klaus opened his eyes then, looking up to Bodie with a smile that made Bodie's heart race just a little longer.

   "Definitely a good morning." Klaus muttered.

   Bodie smiled at that, somewhat shaking his head. He loved it when Klaus was being adorable to him—though yet again, everything that Klaus done was oddly adorable. Well, not everything, but enough of what Klaus did do was adorable. The other stuff was hot. "Did you go out last night?" Klaus gave him an odd look then. "The blood. You smell like human blood a little. I take it you went for a late-night walk?"

   "Oh," Klaus said, "yeah, I did. I just needed a moment to myself to figure stuff out."

   "Figure stuff out? Like what?"

   "Us." Klaus said. "Like if we would find a place for ourselves, so that we could move in together. If that's alright with you, I mean. I want to move in with you, so that we're not either crashing in your heretic friend's house or in a hotel room continually. Of course, that is only if you wanted to. If you don't, then that's fine."

   Bodie grinned at the thought of them sharing a place to themselves. The last time that they shared a house with one another was in New Orleans, though even then, his siblings moved in—which of course was never an issue, but they've never had a house that they could call their own without the intrusion of others. "I would very much like that. Though I would argue against designing the place with your enemies' heads and hearts across the walls."

   "Well, there goes my plans." Klaus sarcastically said. "Honestly, one of the main reasons why I wanted to move in with you. It might bring life into our home."

   "Or rats that I'll feed you because of the dead hearts."

   "I am not going on a rat diet!" Klaus sounded generally disgusted at the idea.

   "I'll make you!"

   "No!"

   "Yes!"

   "No!"

   "You wouldn't even know the difference!"

   Klaus narrowed his eyes then. "I'll know. I'll always know."

   Bodie smiled in a way that made him feel like everything was normal. He leaned over and kissed Klaus' forehead. "I love you, Klaus Mikaelson."

   Klaus tensed slightly then, though the small blush that crept across his skin was honestly an achievement in Bodie's eyes. He made the great Klaus Mikaelson blush. He was most definitely going to hold this over Klaus for as long as he can. He didn't care what Klaus would say, but he finally said that he loved Klaus to him. He wanted to for a while, he always said it in his head as if it was enough—but it was never enough.

   Bodie loved Klaus and Klaus deserved to hear it because it was true. Bodie loved Klaus like he loved the forest. Bodie loved Klaus as if it was always a need in life because to him it honestly was and Bodie just needed Klaus just to be alive. It seemed overly stupid at times just with how much he relied on Klaus for his need to live, but honestly, it was enough for him to realise that there's no one like Klaus and Klaus was all that he wanted.

   "I fucking love you," Bodie repeated. There was a part of him which wanted to cry for some reason. He loved Klaus with everything that he was, he was scared at times with how much he did love Klaus and at times he wondered whether he loved Klaus too much.

   Klaus remained tensed and red in the face like he didn't know how to process what Bodie had said which Bodie didn't mind. He knew that Klaus was one who told the people that he cared about that he loved them with actions—with wanting to protect them, for example, though even still, it was a bit of a struggle.

   They laid in silence for a moment and for a moment, Bodie thought that Klaus was going to say something in return, but he didn't. Bodie laid there for another few seconds before he then moved to get up.

   Bodie got as far as the bathroom till Klaus stopped him. Klaus cupped Bodie's face, there was this look in his eyes which made a small part of him go into a panic about what Klaus was going to do. Though the one thing which Bodie somewhat didn't expect was when Klaus gave him a quick kiss, leaning his forehead against Bodie's.

   He heard the way that Klaus swallowed. "I love you too, Bodie Erikson. Always."

   Bodie grinned once more, his arms around Klaus' waist. Klaus buried his head into Bodie's neck, hugging Bodie tightly. As much as Bodie wanted to sort himself out, he didn't want to break away from Klaus' touch, afraid that it might not happen again. He leaned his head against Klaus', his eyes half-closed, and for a moment, Bodie thought that Klaus fell asleep on his shoulder for a moment though that was quicky demolished when Klaus moved to stand back.

   Klaus didn't say anything to Bodie, though simply gave him a small smile before heading back to his room. Bodie couldn't help but grin, Klaus said it back. His Klaus said it back. He knew that it was something small, but even still, Klaus told him that he loved him, and there was something comforting to hear those words being said to him, knowing that out of anyone in the world no matter how much they went through, Klaus loved him.

   Bodie shook his head slightly then, trying to clear his mind over the fact that Klaus told him that he loved him—though Bodie knew that it was something that was going to play in his mind for quite some time—and went to the bathroom.

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   When Bodie returned after having a wash, he found Klaus waiting for him. Bodie took notice of the fact that his hair was wet and the fact that Klaus wore Bodie's clothes. It was enough for Bodie to know that Klaus used the second bathroom for a shower—given the hair—though, Bodie couldn't help but smile at the fact that Klaus was wearing his clothes.

   Klaus looked up from the book that he was reading when he realised that Bodie was in the room and smiled widely at him. Bodie returned the smile, not saying anything given that he couldn't find anything to say as a whole. Bodie had been trying to find the right words to say as a whole while he was getting himself sorted, but he couldn't think of anything of worth to say.

   He chose not to say or mention how he noticed half-way through the night, Klaus wasn't there even though he knew he fell asleep with Klaus by his side. He didn't want to bring that up just in case he was being overdramatic about something that doesn't need to be, he knew that he was overthinking the thought of Klaus not being by his side and knew that he was making a thing out of nothing.

   And as much as he wanted to mention it—mention that there could have been another reason why Klaus would take a walk just to think—he knew that it was probably nothing and a sign that he didn't trust what Klaus was saying. And he did trust Klaus, but the voice in the back of his head kept repeating the fact that Klaus wanted them to live together and have their own place and the voice kept telling Bodie that Klaus was keeping something else, keeping a detail or two out of it all.

   He didn't want to call Klaus a liar, but he didn't think that Klaus was telling him the full truth. He had to trust that maybe Klaus would tell him what he needed to know as a whole if his assumptions are true. He wanted so desperately to know whether he was being overdramatic or not, he wanted to know that his thoughts about all of this—about someone brining Cataline here—was either the truth or not. But, at the same time, he knew that it was something that he wouldn't believe even if the truth was there, but there was something about all of this which made him desperately believe that it was true.

   Klaus was in front of him now which was something that made Bodie almost jump. Klaus was giving him this odd look as if he was debating on whether or not to ask Bodie about what was going through his brain, which he knew that he wouldn't be able to answer. So, instead, Klaus pulled him downstairs where it took Bodie a minute or two to realise that the house was empty—no Elijah, no Henry, no William, which was something that generally surprised him.

   Bodie looked around. "What. . .where's everyone?" He then gave Klaus a look. "Did you threaten them all to leave?"

   Klaus rose his hands innocently by the time that they got into the kitchen. "I didn't do anything. I simply wanted it to be us two in here alone without anyone around. You've clearly been stressed over all of what's going on and honestly, we haven't had time where it was just us two or even without you overthinking about everything. So, I thought that it would be best that we be here, alone, where we could do whatever we wanted without anyone being here to drown our moods out."

   "But what about the Bargeron siblings?" Bodie asked. "There's still a chance that they'd come here and threaten us—threaten me—or even attempt to do something else."

   "Elijah and the Woodford's are sorting it out. They're gathering more intel for us to use against them." Klaus explained. There was this somewhat void in his voice when he spoke—it was rather noticeable given that Bodie knew when he was planning something and when he meant something. And this was one of those times when Bodie knew that Klaus was planning something, something to do with the Bargeron siblings that Bodie wasn't too sure on.

   "Just them?" Bodie asked. "I thought that you would have wanted to do that yourself before you strike."

   Klaus somewhat shrugged then. "I have other priorities. Like looking after you and putting us before anything else."

   "Who are you and what have you done with my Klaus?" Bodie joked.

   Klaus gave him some form of a smile then. "Nothing. Just think that I needed to do something for you."

   Bodie rose his eyebrow at that. "You sure that your not ill or anything?"

   Klaus scoffed at him, the smile never fading from Klaus' face. "Bodie, I wanted to do this for you. Me. And before you even consider it, no, Elijah didn't convince me or talk to me about this. This is genuine because I care about you."

   He couldn't help but grin, Bodie went to Klaus' side and what felt like the fifty time within that morning, Bodie cupped Klaus' face and placed a kiss on his boy's lips. "I really fucking like you, you know."

   "I know." Klaus mumbled.

   Bodie ended up crushing Klaus in a hug which Klaus somewhat groaned at though he returned it. Bodie didn't want to let him go, a part of him was worried just in case this was a dream—that Klaus doing this was a dream instead of chasing the rush of having people fear him. He wondered sometimes how he deserved Klaus when he was like this, Bodie wondered if there was something to be worried about when Klaus acted more like a boyfriend he knew Klaus could've been, like when they were teenagers but couldn't out of fear that Mikael would figure it out.

   But even still, Bodie was utterly grateful that Klaus done this for him. He was grateful the fact that they had the chance to do this, even if it was awkward to do outside in a world that wasn't comfortable with people liking the same gender. All he had to say was screw this world and its backwardness of thinking. He wanted to publicly declare Klaus as his boyfriend at times, though he had to worry about others throwing a fit about it. He knew that they were two of the strongest beings to walk this planet, but even they couldn't overthrow the hatred that spread through one's veins. And Bodie hated that.

   Though, Bodie supposed, he could enjoy life like this, where he had Klaus when like this to himself—like he enjoyed. As much as he wished for a time where he could declare Klaus as his boyfriend, he was more grateful for the privacy of their relationship, knowing that Klaus was only soft around him. And that was something that no one could ever see, and he prayed that it was something that only himself could see.

   Bodie just wanted this, he just wanted Klaus doing these small things for him in private, and he knew that even though he wished for the possibility for all of this to be public it would no longer be private—that Klaus doing all of these cute, almost un-Klaus like things—would be something that was almost overwhelming. Plus, he knew that there was a chance that people from Klaus' past and his own which would use their relationship to their advantage.

   Klaus ended up pulling away from Bodie's bone-crushing hug after what felt like eternity and Bodie found himself pouting. He wanted to be close to Klaus, like he always wanted to be, and even though his hug was probably starting to hurt, he just loved the comfort of Klaus' touch on his skin. He sometimes didn't know what came over him when it came to Klaus and his need to be close to him, but since he first developed his crush on Klaus, he always done it like not being around Klaus or touching him was a reason why he'd go insane.

   "You," Klaus began, "Bodie Erikson mean everything to me."

   Bodie kissed him. "Just as much as you are to me."

   The entirety of their day was just for them. Throughout the day, Klaus would hug him, kiss him, and talk to him almost openly for the first time in a while, and for a while, Bodie thought that this was everything that he could've asked for. It almost felt like a dream.

   Bodie fought everything within him to not overthink any of it, thinking that this was Klaus being a boyfriend to him after everything was happening and them being able to act like it without the fear of someone walking in on them. He tried not to think about his theory with someone—Klaus—bringing Cataline and Amis here.

   But now that he thought about it, he wanted to go into it, a part of him wanted to be straight-forward with Klaus about all of this, thinking that Klaus would be truthful with him. But no matter what—whether or not he asks—there was a chance that he could be the one to ruin their relationship out of lack of trust. But even still, all of it just seemed like something that Klaus would do, Klaus betrayed his trust before, what was stopping him now? What was stopping Klaus from breaking his trust once more just for the truth?

   It had been a few hours now, they spent most of the day in each other's company, and at some point, Bodie went completely silent, too interested in his own thoughts about Klaus betraying his trust. A part of him assumed that this must be payback for Bodie killing one of them and still refusing to tell him about it for so long, but even still, was a thousand years too long for Bodie's trust to be broken just because he lacked control in his other form.

   "Bodie," Klaus called, his foot rubbing Bodie's crouch then—the pair of them were at opposite ends of the sofa, spread out with their legs all intertwined with one another. "You're too quiet, I'm concerned."

   Bodie couldn't take it anymore, he knew that it was stupid, that what he was about to ask was something that could potentially ruin everything, but he had to know. "Klaus, please be completely honest with me." Klaus swung his legs round so that his feet touched the ground. "Did you bring Amis and Cataline here? Did you call them here just to get the truth out of me because you knew that you couldn't get it out of me now?"

   Klaus gave him a look as if he was hurt over the accusation which Bodie was worried for. "No, Bodie. I didn't."

   Something within Bodie took over, he didn't know what it was, but he felt rageful. "Bullshit. Amis mentioned that he had a bad run in with another Original and there's only two people that I can think of which can have that kind of impression. You and Kol. But given that you dagger Kol for decades when you please, I know that it could have been you. And it's ironic that they decided to come two months after you tried to pull the same shit with me about finding out what I've been hiding from you. And, you know, its weird just as a whole that they—out of all people—know that I've been hiding something, in fact they're just as eager as you are to find out about it."

   "Enough." Klaus said, rising to his feet.

   "No," Bodie argued. "You will answer my question, truthfully. Only you, Elijah, Henry, and William are the ones that know that I'm hiding something and only you are capable of going so far out of your way to find out something that you desperately want to know. You are one of the only people—other than Elijah, but I know that Elijah wouldn't go there—that would bring people from my past to stress me out enough that I might just confess my truth. Plus, you know that if you done this, you'd be breaking one of the conditions that I laid down before I took you back."

   "Enough!" Klaus aggressively snapped. It was harsh enough that it made Bodie jump, but he tried to act as if he didn't, he didn't even take notice of the way that Klaus' features briefly clamed due to the way that Bodie jumped though he still was pissed.

   Bodie stood up then, his jaw clenching. "You know, I almost believed that all of this was true, that all of this was real—your apology, your love for me—but I can see that it was all an act for you to get what you wanted. You don't care if this hurt me, you don't care that the reason why I'm keeping this secret from you is to protect you, you don't care. You never cared." He turned to face the door, his shoes were at the door where he left them ages ago.

   "No, please." Klaus called.

   Bodie briefly stopped. "Klaus, I can't do this anymore. I can't do this with you—your anger, your rage, your need to betray me. I thought we could be what we were, but you're clearly blinded by your need to break my trust to see that you're driving me away."

   "You dare walk out of that door and the next time I see you, I will drive a white oak stake through your heart!" Klaus threatened.

   That was enough for Bodie as a whole. The same cycle. Always the same. "You've hurt me enough that the white oak stake would be a blessing in disguise." He turned to Klaus slightly then, seeing the anger and upset clearly written in his face. "Goodbye, my love."

   Bodie turned back to the door, slipping his shoes on then tuning to open the door. However, the one thing that he didn't expect was the way that Klaus slammed his back against the wall, sticking a dagger in his heart. He looked between both Klaus and the dagger, his heart sinking with disappointment, a single tear rolling down his cheek. He was surprised and disappointed that Klaus would do this to him. Though it didn't surprise him that Klaus would step over the line by daggering him.

   His world went black and the only thing that he felt was complete and utter heartbreak. He didn't know what else he expected—it was Klaus, a Klaus that he probably pissed off.

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   Klaus wasn't sure how long he was sitting in the basement of the Woodford's home staring at Bodie's body in the coffin that he once made for Bodie so long ago, he thought that he would never have to use Bodie's coffin at all, but Bodie was getting too close to the truth that he was right. Klaus just didn't want to admit it. He knew that he should've just told Bodie the truth, but he didn't want to loose any part of Bodie's trust that he knew that he already lost.

   Klaus knew that the minute that he decided to pull the dagger out of Bodie's heart, Bodie would leave him. And he didn't want that, he didn't want Bodie to leave him. He knew that Bodie wasn't under the same vow as his siblings, so he knew that there was a chance that Bodie would leave him and never return. He needed Bodie by his side, he wanted Bodie by his side, if he didn't have his Bodie by his side he would feel like he's going insane.

   As much as Klaus wanted to undo what he did, he knew that the damage was done. He knew that the minute he—or someone else—un-daggered Bodie, Bodie would leave him, and that was just something that he couldn't have.

   "Niklaus," he heard Elijah call from upstairs.

   Klaus hesitantly rose to his feet, looking at Bodie's coffin, knowing that he would have to leave Bodie here alone, and went upstairs to greet his brother. He gave Bodie's coffin one last look wondering if what he did was something that was for the greater good. At least with his siblings, he knew that they wouldn't leave his side, but he knew that Bodie left him when he had the chance.

   When he made his way back to the living room, he took notice of his brother standing there with a look of confusion along with the Woodford brothers who were equally confused. Klaus didn't know what to say to any of them, he didn't even know where to begin. How would he tell them that he daggered Bodie just because he figured all of it out and that he couldn't afford to lose Bodie?

   "Where's Bodie?" Will asked.

   Henry smirked then. "Did you scare him off, Klaus? Is that why he's disappeared?"

   Elijah then stood forward, the all-knowing big brother thinking that he might know what happened. "Is he. . .did you?"

   Klaus nodded. "He knew too much. . .I had to."

   Henry and William's faces dropped from teasing to shock—which Klaus somewhat expected considering, he knew how close the pair of them were to Bodie, it was one of his biggest concerns about recruiting the pair of them to join into what Klaus wanted to do, but they proved themselves useful. Now, Klaus worried that they'd go back on all of this just because he decided to dagger Bodie.

   "You didn't. . ." Henry muttered with disbelief. He and Will shared a look with one another as if they knew something that he didn't—which honestly ticked Klaus off about what they knew compared to what Klaus didn't.

   "You knew that he'd find out," Will said. "We told you that he would've. You should've been honest with him from the start."

   Klaus' jaw clenched then. "If I had told him, then Bodie would have left me. And I—"

   "—Couldn't have that?" Henry finished. Anger was clear in his voice, as was the slight earthquake that Henry started to cause. "Because your far too obsessed with having everyone close to you that you don't see that it's affecting those same people you keep close. Bodie trusted you, fuck, he trusted us, and yet you drag both me and Will into this just to betray the one person that you know unconditionally loves you!"

   Klaus gave Henry a glare as Will stayed by his brother's side as if to try and calm him down. Elijah—however—stayed by Klaus' side whether it was for comfort or to hold him back, Klaus wasn't too sure on. He just felt numb, he felt like he just stabbed himself because of what he done to Bodie. He didn't know what to do or think, a part of him just wanted to rip someone's head off—preferably Henry's but he knew that he couldn't because he had to think of Bodie.

   Fuck. He fucked himself over in more ways than he's assumed that he would for all of this. He ruined his chance of Bodie coming back into his life, he ruined his chance of having witches by his side that would live long enough to help him break his curse. He ruined everything because of his need to find out the thing that Bodie was hiding from him. He knew that he should've listened to Bodie and waited until all of his siblings were un-daggered, but he didn't want to wait given the amount of times that he would wake up with Bodie jerking in his sleep.

   He just wanted to help, he just wanted to help the person that he cared for the most, but he ruined all of that because of his need to help Bodie. Bodie who said that he didn't want his help, Bodie who said that he would want to tell all of them when Klaus decided to un-dagger all of them. Maybe Klaus should've un-daggered all of them for a brief moment just so that he would find comfort in knowing the secret that gives Bodie nightmares.

   "I—I thought it best to dagger him so that I would be able to properly plan what I would need to do going forward." Klaus said.

   Henry—who was being restrained by Will—gave him a harsh look. "Planning to run away? It might be best to do as such, given that you would've put Bodie in one of his moods just for this. He trusted you and you fucking ruined it for something fucking stupid." He threw Will over his shoulder and went out of the house going god knows where, and frankly Klaus didn't care. He needed time to think.

   "Your free to do what you like," Klaus said to Will. "I don't have any use of you no more."

   "Given that you've not only upset my brother but taken one of the only other people I'm close to—that and the fact that your both in my house—I have no where else to go," Will told. "I might as well stay with the pair of you. You both could need the help of a witch—you know, if you have struggles with getting to places you can't or even, finding people that you want to find. Or objects. I could be more of use to you, Klaus, than anything else. For instance, if you wanted me to, I could scower Bodie's brain to see if I could find anything of use."

   Klaus shook his head. "As much as I would love to do that, I would rather Bodie tell me that of which bothers him, himself. It's best if it comes from him."

   "Even if you've lost his trust?" Elijah asked. "We all know that Bodie's trust for you can be temperamental, what makes you think that he would be willing to tell you about what he's been hiding?"

   Klaus shrugged. "He will, I hope that he will, even if I have lost his trust. Bodie always comes back over time. I have faith that he will."

   "And if the Dagger doesn't work on him like your siblings?" Will asked. "He is a Hybrid even if he still needs to trigger it, what makes you think that it has the same affect?"

   "It has for the past three hours." Klaus said. In all honesty, he hadn't thought about that, he wasn't too sure if the daggers would work on Bodie as a whole, but surely they would if Bodie hadn't triggered his curse. He was sure that the daggers worked on Bodie if anything Bodie's state just proves it. He would know if Bodie triggered his curse, he would have told Klaus by now if he has. He knew that Bodie would have told him about his curse being triggered?

   Though then that turned into a much bigger thing of wondering how Bodie managed to live for as long as they have without triggering his curse. Klaus wondered if that was what Bodie was keeping from him as if Bodie doesn't want him to find out about it. Klaus wouldn't be angry about Bodie triggering his curse, he'd be upset that it took Bodie this long to tell him, but he wouldn't be angry. Would he be jealous? Yes. But not angry. He would love for Bodie to be who he was without having to go through what he's been trying to undo for years.

   "What's the plan you have in mind for how we'll deal with the Bargeron siblings?" Elijah asked. It was only then that Klaus realised that it was just him and his brother in the room.

   "I'm not too sure, I suppose we'll keep them around for when I un-dagger Bodie, just in case Bodie isn't in a sharing mood." Klaus suggested. "I'll keep Bodie daggered for five years, see if he'll understand how far I am willing to go just to get what I need out of him."

   "And if he doesn't? If he acts out?" Elijah asked. "You know that he can have the same temper as you, possibly worse. You saw his anger when you compelled the Woodford's, and now you've convinced the only two people—outside us—that he feels comfortable with to play a role in all of this. You brought the Bargeron siblings here with the aid of the Woodford's, you've isolated Bodie from all of this rather than letting him do it on his own terms."

   Klaus groaned then. "What else was I going to do? I want to help Bodie, he's clearly struggling under the weight of his secret, I was merely trying to help!"

   "At what cost?" Elijah asked. "At what cost? Breaking his trust isn't something that would help?"

   Klaus clenched his jaw. "It's too late to back out of the plan now, Elijah. If you had the issues since we started, you could have said something before. We're following through with this current plan, and we might as well even if I loose Bodie's trust in me for the rest of time."