Eliot

[petty_dabbler]

Well this was fucked.

Fucked.

Super fucked.

He was so mad at Aaron he could spit, but at the same time he completely understood and even sympathized. That didn't change the fact that Klaus was dead.

John went to the gallery, sure Eliot would be there. Delivering this sort of news was awful, every single time. He walked in, sun shining bright and chilly outside the window.

There was Eliot. John looked at him a long moment, realizing that this was the last time the man's life woud be okay.

"Eliot," he said calmly.

Comments

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot had just finished hanging a new painting that had just come in. He looked over to see... "Hey," he said. "John, isn't it? Didn't realize you were an art lover."

[petty_dabbler]

"No, mate," he said, calm and somber. "I'm here about Klaus. You got a place to sit down?"

[eliot_thespectacular]

Elliot set down the leveler he'd been holding, and frowned. "Klaus?" John looked so... serious. "Is he in some kind of trouble?" Pause. "Did he fall off the wagon?" Fuck, he hoped he hadn't gotten mixed up with vampires, the bad sort...

[petty_dabbler]

"Eliot, you're going to need to sit down, mate," He said, ushering the man to a bench.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Okay, now Eliot was actually worried. He sat stiffly. "What?"

[petty_dabbler]

"There was-" a murder "-an accident. Klaus is dead."

Nope. It never got easier to do this.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot just stared at him for a moment. And then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and with shaking hands dialed up Klaus. "Pick up," he whispered at the phone as his hand with the phone in it trembled.

[petty_dabbler]

John pulled Klaus's phone from his pocket.

"You're going to need to identify the body, Eliot. I'm sorry," hevsaid, handing the phone over.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"I... what?" Eliot's hand opened and his phone clattered to the ground. Then he shook his head. "No. It's a trick, it's a fucking trick."

[petty_dabbler]

"I'm sorry, son, but it's not. It's horrible, and it's true," he said, gently as he could.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot didn't believe him. He couldn't believe him. "Take me to him then," he said shakily.

[petty_dabbler]

"Give it a minute," he said.

John squatted down in front of him.

"Eliot, you know Klaus is very special. When it comes to...death. I don't want to give you false hope. Maybe...maybe when you're there he might..."

Might come back. It was a slim chance, but not impossible.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"All the more reason for you to take me to him," Eliot snapped. He had no patience for sympathy right now.

[petty_dabbler]

"My car's outside," he said. He paused just a moment, then turned to lead the way out to the beaten down wreck of a car.

Before he even climbed in, he'd lit up a new cigarette.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot grabbed one of the cigarettes out of John's pack without asking, and lit it with magic as he got into the car. It took him three tries because his hands were shaking.

[petty_dabbler]

John didn't say anything as they pulled into traffic to head for the church. He wished he had a bottle in the car. Eliot looked like he needed more than just a smoke.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot absolutely needed more than a smoke. He was glad John wasn't talking. Because for the time being Eliot had shut down.

[petty_dabbler]

John drove him to the church. The sun had set on the drive and the streetlights glowed ominously.

"Are you certain about this?" John asked a bit before they got to the church. "I can turn around."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot glanced at John with a clear what are you, stupid? look.

[petty_dabbler]

John returned his gaze, then shook his head.

"Suit yourself."

He parked near the church. Unsure if Aaron had moved him yet, he lead Eliot to the woodshed where Klaus laid comfortably. He was cold, but Aaron was right- there was no rigor. Except for the lack of a heartbeat, the man could have been sleeping.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at him... and then finally he went over, dropping to his knees, checking Klaus' pulse, listening for his breath, panic rising in his chest.

"Why is he here?" he croaked. "Why wasn't he taken to a fucking hospital?"

[petty_dabbler]

"What's a hospital going to do for him? It's not like it was a heart attack or a gunshot, Eliot. I thought you might not want him dissected," he said flatly.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot wasn't delusional. He knew that this was a dead body. And he knew that there was nothing that magic could do, not for this. And John was right, there was nothing a doctor could do either.

"So what was it then? What happened to him?"

[petty_dabbler]

"I wasn't here."

True.

"I found him like this."

Also true.

"And Aaron convinced me there may be hope. You know, considering what he's capable of."

All perfectly honest things.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Aaron.

Eliot stood up. "Where's Aaron." His voice was cold.

[petty_dabbler]

John gave him a quizzical look.

"How'm I supposed to know? Maybe he's inside. Maybe he went to buy a shroud. Gotta keep him here, just in case. Gotta know where his body is, right?"

[eliot_thespectacular]

"I want to know what happened to him," Eliot snapped.

[petty_dabbler]

"You'll have to wait for Aaron unless you want me to make something up," he said, pulling out another cigarette.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Did you miss the part where I just asked you where he is?"

Eliot knelt down next to Klaus again, and took one of his hands. His skin was cold. Like ice. He wasn't there.

It wasn't Klaus. Klaus was dead.

He dropped the hand abruptly.

[petty_dabbler]

Yeah...he hated delivering this sort of news. And he certainly wasn't a font of comfort.

He ducked out to smoke and called Fin. Not a text, a call to get him to come get his boy.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot sat down on the floor against the bench, head bowed and spinning as Klaus' body just lay there still above him.

[prince_of_nymphs]

News of Klaus' passing hit hard, knocking the wind out of him for a moment, and the fae sat on his bead for several minutes before taking a calming breath and starting to dress.

Eliot needed him, he could wrestle with his own grief later.

It didn't take long to get to Aaron's church, and Fin eventually made his way around back to find John.

"Where's Eliot?" he asked softly.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot was in the exact same position he'd been in for a while ago. Sitting on the floor underneath the bench where Klaus' body lay. He heard someone come in, but it was still several seconds before he looked up and saw Fin.

He winced and looked away. Seeing the expression on Fin's face made it seem even more real.

[prince_of_nymphs]

The fae couldn't help but look at Klaus' body. Pale, empty- Gone... It made his heart ache in a way he wasn't sure he could put into words. He and Klaus had their issues, but he did love the man. They were family, even if Klaus hated to think of them that way, they had a bond.

Pulling his gaze from those empty eyes, he looked at Eliot. Instinct said he should get the man off the floor and out of there- But telling Eliot to leave the side of the man he loved just felt too cruel. So instead he moved to sit beside him, silent as he reached for his hand and squeezed.

After all, what could he say? Sorry wasn't enough, and anything else would feel hollow when confronted with such raw, emotional pain.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot was quiet for over a minute. Staring at the wall in front of them. And then finally spoke. "What the fuck do I do now?"

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I don't know," Fin said honestly. "There's no guidebook for this, Eliot."

He knew what he needed to not do- And that was fall into bad habits. That wouldn't fix anything. If Fin had any say, he'd take Eliot home, get him a hot meal, and babysit him through this.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"I need a drink," mumbled Eliot

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Let me take you home, Eliot," Fin said quietly. "I'll beg us a ride off John, or... I can call a car," he offered.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"But... should I... shouldn't I do something...?" Eliot started to turn his head to look at the body... but then stopped himself just in time.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"John thinks... Look, Klaus isn't just some normal guy, and if John thinks there's a chance he might yet come back, I trust him," Fin said softly.

He wasn't sure he believed that, but right now he was willing to let John do his thing if it meant he could focus fully on looking after Eliot.

If Klaus didn't make it back, then- Well, they'd cross that bridge later.

He could see a blanket in the corner, it looked handknit, and the fae got up to fetch it, covering Klaus as though he was just resting, then shrugging off his coat and folding it neatly beneath the man's head like a pillow.

...It felt mad to make a corpse comfortable, but if fae could be reborn, who was he to say men couldn't claw their way back from death?

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Then I can't just... should I just leave him here?" Eliot's voice started to break, as if the numbness was on the verge of devolving into tears.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Eliot," Fin said gently. "I think you're in shock, and I'd like to get you home and maybe get something warm in you. Tea, soup... I dunno. What I do know is that I think Klaus would want you to be taken care of, no matter his fate."

He just didn't think letting Eliot sit in a room with the body of his lover could possibly be good for the man.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Mostly what Eliot wanted in him right now was whatever was going to make him lose touch with reality.

After a long moment, he nodded. Partly because he trusted Fin. And partly because he didn't feel capable of making any decisions himself.

[prince_of_nymphs]

The fae offered his hand.

He wanted to say it would be okay, that it was all going to be fine- But he had no way of knowing and didn't want to lie to the other man.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot took his hand and got shakily to his feet. He didn't look back at the body. Because that's all it was - a body. Klaus wasn't in there.

"Thank you, Fin," he said softly. John's kindness at grated at him, but he didn't react the same way to Fin.

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin guided him along, looking over at John once they were outside.

[petty_dabbler]

"Ready to go?" John asked. He'd just been loitering. He knew his place in this sort of situation.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot looked at John for a moment and then said, "Tell Aaron that if he had something to do with this, he's going to be very sorry."

Without waiting for a response, he just opened the backseat of the car and got in.

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin watched Eliot climb into the car, giving John a curious look.

Was Aaron actually involved in this? He knew better than to ask while Eliot was there, and after a beat got in the car as well.