There weren't many things in the world that Niklaus Mikaelson truly cherished. His siblings perhaps. The rare moments of peace that found their way into his life. And then there was you. To say that he'd been taken with you the first time he saw you was an understatement. You were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Even to this day, he had never encountered your equal. You took his breath away and he'd spent the last five hundred years trying to reclaim it.

He leaned against the side of a building and watched as you wove through the booths at your local farmers' market. You'd purchased some honey and a bouquet of flowers, but seemed to be simply enjoying the warm spring morning. He shouldn't be here. He knew it hadn't been nearly long enough since his last visit but he couldn't help it. Just the sight of you soothed some of the chaos in his mind.

The two of you had wasted no time getting married all those years ago and spent every moment of the following six decades together. And then Mikael tracked him down. Unable to stand the thought of you being in danger, Klaus set you up in a home and compelled away any memory of him. When he could no longer stand being separated from you, he returned to your side. You had been furious with him when he removed the compulsion, so angry with the time lost. But your safety was more important. So, the cycle repeated itself over and over again for centuries.

And now, Mikael was gone, but there was always another threat, another enemy that would use you against him. As you walked away from the stalls to head to your small home, he stepped out from the shadow of the building. You nearly ran into him and glanced up with that sweet soft smile. "Sorry. I didn't see you there."

"It's all right, love." His voice nearly broke and he cleared his throat. "Remember me."

***

It was late the next afternoon when Elijah found Klaus sitting in his study with a half-empty bottle of bourbon. Elijah sat in a chair across from his younger brother and pursed his lips. "You've foregone the glass I see. Is it safe to assume that you've been to see Y/N?"

"You always were the smart one, brother. If that's all I'd like to go back to drowning myself in expensive bourbon."

Elijah sighed. "Why do you continue to do this to yourself, Niklaus? Y/N is more than capable of taking care of herself. Besides, if you brought her home with all of us, she'd hardly have to, would she? Why force the both of you to suffer when it is unnecessary?"

Klaus took another long swallow from the bottle. "She's hardly suffering when she doesn't remember I exist. And I will bear what I must to keep her safe."

Before Elijah could respond, a knock sounded at the front door. He stood and straightened his suitcoat. "I need to get that. Everyone else is gone. Rest assured we will be continuing this conversation."

Klaus huffed. "I so look forward to it."

Elijah hurried to the door, his lips twisted in irritation. It seemed his brother and he just continued to rehash the same conversation. There was a point when he understood keeping you hidden, but those days had long passed. Mikael was dead and you were over five hundred years old. You would be a formidable opponent on your own and near unbeatable with the Originals backing you up. He couldn't help but wonder if there was another reason why Niklaus insisted on keeping you away.

Elijah opened the door with a tight smile, ready to greet their visitor. Words escaped him completely when he found none other than you on the porch.

"Hello, Elijah," you said.

When he just continued to gape, you continued. "This place just kind of announces that you're up to no good, does it not? Surely you could have found something a little less cliché." You stepped past him and into the house. "Where is my husband?"

"Y/N, how are you here?" he finally managed to ask. He shut the door as he studied you with dark eyes.

"I outsmarted him this time. I've spent more time alone in this marriage than I've spent with him and I'm tired of it. Now, where is he?"

He gestured with his hand and placed the other on your back to steer you through the house to Niklaus's study. "You have a visitor, brother," Elijah announced as you arrived.

Klaus didn't turn, didn't even acknowledge your presence.

"Niklaus?" Elijah prompted.

"Not now, Elijah. Can't you see I'm busy?" He turned to look at his brother as he said the last and his voice faded away. The bottle was placed on the table as he rose to his feet. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he took you in. "How did you find me?"

You were vaguely aware of Elijah leaving the room and shutting the door as you crossed your arms over your chest. "I put a tracker in your pocket, Nik. It wasn't that difficult."

He closed the distance between you in several long strides. "You shouldn't even know I exist. What are you doing here?"

"I left myself a note the last time you visited. It was a reminder to drink vervain every day. Compulsion won't work on me."

He raked his hands through his hair. "You can't do this, Y/N. What I do...I do what I do to keep you safe. They'll use you against me."

You sighed and lowered your arms. "Who will, Nik? Who is out to get you this time?"

"I'm not paranoid, sweetheart. People really do try to be rid of me on a fairly regular basis, you know."

He started to pace the floor and you simply followed his movements with your eyes. "You have thought the universe against you since the moment we met. And hell, maybe they are after you, but they'll just have to come after me, too. I'm not leaving this time, Nik. You can't make me forget about you and I'm not leaving. My place is here with you."

"And if I say no?" He kept his back turned toward you and you could see the muscles in his back tense up.

"It's not your choice this time."

He looked at you over his shoulder. "And if I insist?"

You fought back the tears that threatened to flood your eyes. "Then I'm gone for good."

In a flash he was back in front of you, mere inches between you. "You can't be serious."

"Are you willing to risk it? I'm tired of being alone, Nik. I may not have remembered you, but I sure as hell felt your absence. Please don't make me be alone anymore." Your voice broke toward the end. Hopefully, he saw things your way because you didn't think you had the strength to actually follow through on your threat. You'd spent too long loving him to give up on him now.

Nik pulled you to him and wrapped his arms tightly around you as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head. "All right, love. No more games. No more separation. To be honest, it was getting harder to leave you every time."

"Your visits were becoming more frequent. I think that's why I left myself the note. It was time." You rested your head against his chest and let him hold you. For five hundred years you moved from city to city, house to house and for the first time in a long time, you were home. And home was where you intended to stay.