"For the lady..." Rebecca says with a smile, holding out my glass of wine for me.
"Thank you," I say, taking the glass in my hand before refocusing my gaze on the dancefloor where the last few people are still keeping up with the silly beat of the current 60's song. "You'd think they would have given up by now," I say, laughing softly as I point down to where Hailey and Elijah are dancing, attempting to keep a somewhat respectable distance between them. Rebecca smiles and moves to rest her glass on the banister of the balcony.
"You'd also think he'd have officially made a move by now, but my big brother does things in his own little way." She tells me, smiling still as her eyes linger for a sweet second on Marcel Gerard who is making quite the show of the way he's twirling around his date, her dress shifting higher up her thigh with every turn. Rebecca scoffs softly, taking another large sip of her drink.
"He's not the only one," I say with a raised brow, her glass making a soft clinking noise against her ring when she grips onto her glass tighter, eyes drawn tight to show me she's not exactly pleased with my statement.
"I don't know what you're implying, Y/N, but I'd remind you to think very carefully about what you're going to say next," She says and turns to face me, leaning forward to make sure I could hear her. "You may very well be my dearest friend and my brother may very well be completely smitten with you, but I'm not above kicking your ass." She tells me and though her words would prompt a serious tone, I catch the little smile that slips onto her lips when our eyes meet.
"I have yet to see you try, Rebecca," I offer in reply, laughing lightly as she shakes her head. "Besides," I start, taking a sip of wine before handing her my glass. "I'd have to remind you that you'd be ruining your own clothing in the process," I tell her as I move to do a slow twirl and she gasps softly, taking in the Audrey Hepburn-inspired ensemble, the black dress and gloves being something that Rebecca had kept from her time spent in the actual decade. Her shock sinks into a small grin as she looks me over, eyes lingering on the pearl necklace we brought at a secondhand boutique last week.
"You look perfectly in place," She tells me and nods towards the hallway behind us. "Maybe you could convince my brother to step out of his hole long enough to save you a dance." She says and squeezes my arm softly as she passes by me, losing the glasses on her way down the stairs where she calmly clears the last few guests from the dancefloor and out the door, waving quickly as she closes the door of the ballroom behind her.
I smile, the music seeming louder somehow now that I'm alone in here and I find myself almost drifting down the stairs. I hum to myself, dancing towards the drink table. Swaying to the rhythm as I start pilling empty platters and used plates together.
"You missed the party," I say softly, not stopping what I'm doing as I hear him still on the balcony above. "It was quite the turnout," I add, stepping back from the table to look up at him, his lips tilting into a lopsided grin when he sees me.
"My apologies, love," He shrugs eyes darkening as they slowly make their way from my lips downwards, lingering for a second on the pearls around my neck before slipping lower and lower, until he clears his throat softly, meeting my gaze in an instant. "I clearly had no idea what I'd be missing out on." He tells me, voice low as he pulls a hand through his hair.
"Maybe you should come down here and get a better look." I offer, tone matching his as I step back even more, slowly making my way to the dancefloor where he meets me in mere seconds, hands carefully resting on my waist as I move slowly to sway to the gentle melody, eyes glued to his as he lets out a soft breath.
"You are..." He starts, moving a hand to carefully take hold of mine. "Ravishing," He whispers, the sound sending an almost electric shiver down my spine as he lifts my hand to his mouth where he places a delicate kiss on my palm, not once breaking eye contact. "Tell me.." He begins, using his teeth to carefully pull the glove away, holding my bare hand tightly in his own as he leads me into a dance. "Why won't you be mine, Y/n?" He asks, holding me against him as he dips me backward slowly, carefully turning us together before pulling me up to be but inches from his face. "Why won't you let me love you?" He asks, keeping hold of my waist as he turns me around in his arms where he nimbly lifts my hand in the air, removing the other glove as he attentively traces the length of my arm until I can feel his skin against mine, the glove dropping soundlessly to the floor as I tilt my head to the side to see him.
"We're dangerous together," I tell him, carelessly letting him guide my hands to where he needs them and numbly allowing him to spin me out and then in before once again coming face to face with him. "We'd hurt each other," I say, moving with him as we move one step forward and one step back, twirling and then repeating. "You'd hurt me," I say, momentarily leaning back against him halfway through the twirl.
"I would never," He offers and pauses as well, risking the loss of the rhythm to touch my cheek and gain my attention. "I could never." He adds and I turn around in his hold.
"That's what they always say," I say and move my hands to his shoulders where I lead him into the same steps as earlier. "They always promise me forever," He holds my waist delicately. "They never mean it," I tell him, his eyes darkening as he tries to read my emotions.
"I am not them, my love," His eyebrows knit together as he looks me over. "I will gladly give you forever and always and whatever comes after that. I love you. I burn for you," He announces simply and I let out a shaky breath. "Can you truly say that you don't feel the same? Tell me you don't feel anything at all for me?" He asks, voice raw as he waits for a reply and I shake my head, dropping my hands to the side when he suddenly released me from his hold, looking to the sky as he shakes his head as well.
"Klaus," I begin, pulling at the pearls to release the necklace from my neck, it along with the very obvious tension in the room makes me feel like I'm suffocating. "I do feel the same. I feel everything and more, but it doesn't change the fact that I can't do this. I can't possibly give you the power to hurt me." I drop the pearls to the floor as I fold my arms around me, the playlist coming to an abrupt stop when the slow song ends.
"I understand," He says after a moment, looking around the room, eyes scattering through the mess of dirty glasses and plates and coats that were left behind. "We should probably allow the staff to clean this place," He tells me and forces a slight smile when our eyes meet. "Give me a moment to retrieve your things from upstairs and I'll walk you home."
"You don't have to do that," I say, guilt filling my heart as I see the hurt in his eyes that he couldn't possibly hide from me even if he had attempted to do so.
"I know," He says, picking up the fallen gloves and carefully handing them to me. "I want to." He says, giving me a soft wink before walking up the stairs.
I let out a shaky breath as I pick up the pearls as well, folding them into the gloves to keep them safe and before my mind could even process the thought, I'm walking up the stairs, following the sound of his heartbeat that leads me to the room he spent the night in hiding away from the guests.
I use my foot to carefully push open the slightly ajar door, Klaus's silhouette visible at the end of the room where he pushes handfuls of paintbrushes into cups of water as an overturned painting rests against the dresser.
"I couldn't leave them uncleaned," He informs me, my own heartbeat probably giving me away. "I got distracted downstairs is all, completely slipped my mind."
"It's okay," I say and he looks at me quickly to nod before going back to his brushes and I walk to the center of the room, pulling at the string to turn on the light and get a better view of everything. "You were painting?" I ask, now noticing not just the one canvas, but a whole collection of them, all scattered and resting against multiple pieces of furniture.
"I felt remarkably inspired." He comments shyly and I smile.
"By what?" I ask, mindfully reaching to turn around the largest of the canvases, the one I saw first and I can't prevent the audible gasp that leaves my lips when I see the beautiful medley of colors that he's somehow managed to create my face with.
"You." He answers absentmindedly, shrugging slightly as he waves my coat and purse in the air to show me that he's found it amongst everything in here. I smile, bending down to take it all in, every brushstroke and color, every piece of himself that he used to create every stroke of me.
"This is beautiful, Klaus." I laugh softly, holding the hand with the gloves to my heart as a sudden rush of emotions run through me.
"The painting is only as beautiful as the muse who inspired it," He comments simply, looking at me sweetly. "I don't think I could ever verbally explain how much you mean to me, how much I care, how much you've changed me purely my existing. I don't think I could ever completely fathom how remarkable you are and how extremely lucky I am that by some strange twist of faith I've been lucky enough to know you," He laughs softly as well, smiling sheepishly as he catches my gaze. "I want to live my life with you, and I'd wait however long it takes for you to feel the same."
"Forever?" I ask, standing up and placing the gloves onto the dresser beside me. He nods.
"And always." He adds and I smile, the dreadful and fearful feeling in my stomach slowly dissolving.
"What about just one more minute?" I ask and he tilts his head, smiling as I slowly make my way towards him, pausing only for a second before cupping his face in mine. "Thirty seconds," I say and he holds onto my arms. "Ten seconds," I whisper, his forehead against mine. I breathe out slowly, nodding when our eyes meet, silently asking for permission before his lips delicately meet mine. My entire body filling with butterflies as he pulls away and I smile. "Let's get married..." I say and his chest vibrates lightly as a happy laugh fills the air, pulling back slightly just to see me.
"Are you sure?" He asks carefully and I nod, pulling him closer to me again.
"I am yours, Niklaus Mikealson. Forever and always."
"And whatever comes after that."