Lavender Haze

Chapter 6

Looking to change the subject quickly, I stand and walk to his chair, moving around the back of it and looking over his shoulder at whatever he was drawing.

Hope.

He had been drawing her this whole time and none of us had even noticed.

I drape my arms gently around his neck from behind him and lean my head forward to place a small yet firm kiss in his hair, moving down further so my chin is resting on his right shoulder.

I'm not sure why it feels comfortable to do this, we were never like this before, but somehow it just feels right. After all this time Klaus remains one of the very few people in this world who really understands and knows me and I him.

Klaus folds away his sketch pad and pencils and sighs.

"We should go say goodnight to our girls." I whisper and he nods.

"Yes. Yes we should."

Klaus' POV

"Come in." Hope says from the other side of the door when I knock. I walk in to find her crawling into bed, still wearing that Blink 182 hoodie.

"Hey Dad." She pauses. "God, that feels so weird to say again."

I laugh before looking at the hoodie again, I'm not sure why it's caught my eye so much but there's a scent wafting off it that isn't her's. A boy's scent.

"When did you start listening to punk rock?" I finally ask.

"Huh?"

"Your hoodie." I elaborate.

"Oh." Hope looks down at the clothing item. "Um I don't really. It's a friend's."

I nod and sit down on the edge of her bed, grabbing the stuffed bunny from beside her. The poor thing looks rather old now.

"Which friend?"

"We're still talking about the hoodie?"

"I'm just curious, that's all."

Hope sighs. "His name's Landon. You've sort of met him actually, the night before you died. We were hanging out in the square that night."

Dancing, I remember. They were dancing in the square that night.

"I see." I reply, and look back down at the rabbit. "You have a boy, who's a friend-"

"I have a lot of friends who are boys, Dad." She interrupts.

"That you're wearing his hoodie and used to dance with in the square-"

"That was one time." She cuts me off again.

"And you're being awfully cagey with your information." I finish, looking up at her. She doesn't reply, just looks at me wondering what I'll say next. But I can't hurt her the way I did Rebekah for so long. I sigh, pushing my emotions aside. "You don't have to tell me." I place Bunny back beside her and go to stand up. "I just wanted to say goodnight."

"No, it's fine. I-I can tell you."

I stop and sit back down.

"Landon's my boyfriend." She says quickly, like ripping off a bandaid.

I sigh and close my eyes, trying to control my reaction as best I can. I want my daughter to be able to talk to me, not keep secrets about major things in her life because she fears my reaction.

"I see." I manage to get out through gritted teeth, opening my eyes again. "And how long has this boy been your boyfriend?"

"Almost two years." She murmurs.

"Two years?!" I almost choke on the air in my lungs.

"Well yes, we started dating in March 2029 but I did spend around three months in a hell dimension and everyone completely forgot I existed so we ended up spending five months apart which means really we've only been together for like... sixteen months. Does that make you feel any better?" She explains quickly I stare at her completely dumbfounded.

"No! No, that does not make me feel any better, Love! Hell dimension? Wh- Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it. Malivore's dead now anyway."

"What? What do you mean no one remembered you?"

"Malivore like... consumed people and wiped all memory of them from the collective conscience of anyone that had ever met them, I guess. Look i-it doesn't matter, okay? Malivore's not the point. The point is that Landon's a really good guy and I think you'd really like him and I really love him and so I would like to ask you very nicely to please not murder him Daddy?"

Love. She loves him - or she thinks she does. Either way, it's not like I've ever even been in a real two year long relationship in over a thousand years of life so I can't really judge.

"Of course not." I reply.

"Promise?"

"I promise I will not murder your boy, Sweetheart. But that promise has terms and conditions for if he ever hurts you."

Hope rolls her eyes. "Good enough." She sighs as she sinks further down into her bed and I bring the covers up to her shoulders to tuck her in like I did when she was just a little girl.

"I'm really, really, glad you're back, Dad." Hope whispers, grabbing Bunny from beside her and cuddling him to her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Love." I whisper back. "More than you'll ever know." Hope closes her eyes and begins to try and go to sleep.

"Night, Dad."

"Goodnight, Littlest Wolf." I murmur in reply, kissing her head and standing to take my leave, taking one last look at her from the doorway before turning the lights out and closing the door behind me.

I sigh and lean my back against the door for a moment, closing my eyes.

"No! Please no!" Screams, crying. Whips cracking on backs.

Henrik being torn apart. Marcellus' heart being ripped from his chest. Flames crackling as Hayley's skin melted in the sun.

"Boy." Mikael.

Cry after cry.

I shudder, opening my eyes and walking back down the hall.