TVD/TO Oneshots

Immortality (Klaus Mikaelson)

Written for Fictober 2021 on Tumblr and requested by Anon!

Prompt: "I feel strange."

Summary: Nik and Y/N have been dating for many years, despite Y/N being human. Despite being in love with the Immortal Hybrid, Y/N never wanted the vampire life. Unfortunately, when one of the many enemies of the Mikaelsons steps in, they might not have a choice anymore.

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I groaned. My head felt floaty, and I couldn't see anything. What was going on?

I took a deep breath. My entire body burned like it was on fire, but for some reason, it wasn't particularly painful. I scrunched my eyebrows together, then realized my eyes were closed.

Oh. That's probably why I can't see, I thought.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. It took me a second, but I recognized my boyfriend's bedroom in the Mikaelson residence. The windows were letting in a little bit of sunlight, but it seemed so much brighter than usual.

"Love?" My boyfriend's soft voice came from beside me. I turned slowly to see him, Nik Mikaelson, staring at me with concern.

"Hi..." I noticed my words were a little slurred, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, reaching one hand up to run it through my hair.

"I feel strange..." I stared off into the distance for a minute, trying to put my finger on it, but when I couldn't I looked back at Nik. "What's going on? Why do I feel so weird?"

Nik didn't speak right away, and that was enough to terrify me. He only ever hesitated to answer me when it came to the really, really bad stuff.

"Nik. What's wrong?" I asked, moving to try and sit up. He quickly put his hands on my shoulders to push me back down, and I expected to slam into the bed since he was so much stronger than me, but I didn't.

He seemed weaker than normal.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked gently.

"I... I don't know..." I tried to think, and a few flashes came back. One of Nik's enemies had grabbed me. She... she'd snapped my neck.

I shot straight up in bed, and this time Nik didn't stop me. I looked at him with wild eyes, and the anguish on his face convinced me I wasn't imagining things.

"I got killed," I said. I couldn't tell if I was making a statement or asking a question. Nik stood from the chair he'd placed next to the bed and sat next to me, taking my hands in his.

"Yes. With... vampire blood in your system."

"So that... that means I'm..." I looked at Nik in horror, but he just stared right back. It couldn't be true. I'd never wanted this, never-

"You're a vampire, love."

A vampire. I'm a vampire.

Fuck.

****************

It took me a long time to be able to process my new reality, and even longer to even begin to come to terms with it. I loved Nik, and I wanted to spend my life with him, but I'd never wanted that life to be eternal.

Even worse, he knew that as well as I did. Every time he looked at me, I could see the guilt in his eyes.

The whole Mikaelson family did their best to help me adjust. At least one of them was with me 24/7, and they made a point of keeping me from killing anyone, since every other vampire they'd known killed at least one person after first being turned. Elijah helped me come to terms with things, Rebekah was the best moral support I could ask for, and Kol kept me from going crazy with all the doom and gloom in the other aspects of my life.

Nik, on the other hand, treated me like I'd shatter in an instant every time he was around me. And in his defense, after I first turned, that was true. But I was trying to adjust now, and the biggest bright spot in my new immortal life was him.

I sat in his study without him, about two weeks after I'd turned. I just stared around the room, looking at the bright light and the beautiful paintings, hearing the shifting of the people in the house and the noises out on the street. Smelling the paint drying on Nik's most recent work. All my senses were heightened now, and sometimes it sucked, but it could also be crazy cool.

I heard someone approaching the door long before they actually reached it, and I turned. A few moments later, Nik entered cautiously, giving me a small smile as he approached.

"Hello love. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay," I said, standing and taking a few steps towards him. "I've been missing you, though."

"I know. I've missed you too. I just... well... I've been aware of a cure for vampirism for a few years now. It was part of an issue with the Mystic Falls children before I met you, but... I couldn't get it. I tried everything I could, love, I truly did, but... I failed."

My heart melted, and I wanted to cry. Tears welled in my eyes, but not because he couldn't get the cure. I wanted to cry because he tried.

"I'm... I'm sorry, love, I know that cure would've meant so much to you-"

"No, Nik, that's not why I'm crying!" I said, shooting forward (accidentally at superspeed) to wrap him in a tight, tight hug. "I'm crying because it's so sweet that you tried to find it for me! Even though it would mean we wouldn't get to be immortal together anymore."

Nik seemed shocked, probably partly because I was actively crying on his shoulder, but after a second he hugged me back.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I hate this whole heightened emotions thing?" I managed to ask through my tears. Nik laughed, and so did I. It felt good to be with him again, dealing with the increasing crazy in our lives together.

"I'm so sorry that knowing me got you into this, love," he said after a minute, calmly rubbing small circles on my back. "I can keep trying to get to the cure, if you want me to."

I sighed and pulled back, just enough so I could look at my boyfriend. I wanted to make sure he knew I meant the words I said next.

"Nik, we both know I never wanted this. I can't pretend differently." Nik hung his head, but I reached out and gently lifted his chin to get him to meet my eyes again. "But... it happened. And one of the reasons we work so well is that I fight tooth and nail to look on the bright side, no matter what it takes. And right now? I've got the best bright side in the world. I've got eternity with you."

"Do you really mean that? You didn't want to be immortal when I asked, before all this mess."

"I know. If I had the choice, I would've chosen to stay human rather than make the change. But now that I have changed... now that your siblings have helped me work through it a little bit, and I've started to see some of the upsides... I don't think I want to go back. I like the idea of living with you, and not having it end."

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that," he breathed, leaning his forehead to rest against mine. I smiled.

"I feel like I have a pretty good idea." Nik huffed a laugh, then used one hand to tilt my chin up and pull me into a kiss.

Instantly, my whole body exploded with fireworks. Nik had been mostly gone since I'd been turned, which made this the first time since I'd turned that we'd kissed. I pulled back after just a few seconds and looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'm that good, am I?" he asked, amusement written all over his face. When I didn't hit him with my usual snarky retort after a few seconds, he spoke again. "It's always like that for me. Part of the heightened senses and all."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier?" I demanded. Nik laughed, then quickly pulled me back in for another kiss. I kissed him back as hard as I could, and suddenly all those cliché moments where Nik had told me he was worried about being able to hold back with me made perfect sense.

Being a vampire would never be a cakewalk. There would always be drawbacks, and the things about immortal life that originally turned me away would always be there. But with Nik by my side every step of the way, I finally felt for the first time since I'd turned that everything was going to be better than alright.