For Good | Hale- TO/TW [8]

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As he sits at Mystic Grill, Teddy can't help but glare at his uncle. He cannot understand how Hope can sit beside him and lazily eat her fries without fury rising in her veins. Elijah stares back, meeting Teddy's glare head-on as Hope willfully ignores the battle of testosterone.

"If you're here to tell me that my dad has a heart of gold, this is probably the worst spot," Hope says as she picks up a fry. "considering that there's a plaque inside near the dartboard for some woman that he killed in a moonstone ritual."

Elijah shakes his head as his eyes move past the cousins. "Take a look at that storefront across the street with the charcoal awning." Teddy and Hope both glance at the store. Gleefully, the wolf notices his parents passing the store.

His mother pauses before it, causing his father to stop. Teddy cannot hear what they say, but he watches as his mother wraps her arms around his father before they continue through the square.

"That piece of land used to be our home," Elijah says, seeing the spark in Teddy's eyes. "Smell of it still haunts me to this day. The burning wood, the crushed flowers, the berries." Elijah lets himself look back at Hope. "Your father was incessantly painting back in those days. Mixing, searching for brighter reds, for deeper blues. Used to wake me in the middle of the night just to show me the color that he would swear he himself had invented. I remember the first time that he showed me a turquoise."

Hope lets out a chuckle as she looks back at her uncle. Teddy just clenches his jaw: he knows what's coming next—the bad memories. No story is complete without the good and the bad.

"It's also the first time I smelled blood," Elijah says, confirming Teddy's suspicion. The young adult shifts uncomfortably. "You see, when Mikael found Niklaus fashioning a paintbrush from a small branch, he took that branch." Like a ghost, Elijah brushes his fingers across his cheek. "He struck my brother across the face."

"What did you do?" Hope asks.

"Niklaus begged me to run away with him, but I told him that I would never leave Rebekah and Kol and Alexis at the mercy of Mikael." Elijah glances back at where Lexi and Derek are strolling through the town square. They are stopped beside a man playing guitar. "Alexis was quite young at the time—barely understood her magic. But old enough to get into trouble constantly. So, we stayed. And, of course, it was a mistake. We should've run away together, but Niklaus couldn't go alone. But I did swear to him I would protect him from that very day."

Teddy straightens his back suddenly, causing Elijah to pause. A dark-haired boy approaches the table with a milkshake in his hand. Setting it next to Hope, he says, "Peanut butter blast, whipped cream on the bottom. Just how you like it."

"Thanks, Landon," Hope smiles up at him. "This is my uncle and cousin."

The boy's eyes widen. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Marshall," he says, glancing at Elijah.

The Original tenses and forces a terse smile on his face.

"This is my cousin, Teddy," Hope says as Teddy nudges her arm.

The beta grins wickedly, reaching out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Landon." He can hear the human's heart beating widely in his chest as they shake hands. Hope steps on Teddy's foot, wiping the smirk off his face.

"So, Hope, you haven't been around much lately," Landon says.

"Oh, yeah, there's been stuff back at home," Hope replies awkwardly.

"Well, I was—I was hoping you'd be back." Landon scratches the back of his neck as he looks at the town square. "I mean, you're from New Orleans, right? I've always wanted to go. It's home to some of the greatest musicians of all time."