______

"You can punch harder than that, love," Klaus teased, his hands covered by two large gloves while Emersyn stood across from him. "Hit me."

She blew a hair away from her face, sweat beginning to bead on her skin as she breathed in heavily. They had been at this for three hours and it was beginning to annoy the Stark how invincible the man before her was.

She threw a sloppy punch at the man, only for him to block it with his padded fist. She threw another, this time hitting his side.

Klaus grinned, "There she is. Again."

Emersyn rolled her eyes. The pain in her shoulder was less present, but she felt it enough to know she would need to quit soon.

"You can hit harder than that," Klaus antagonized, looking down at her with an amused smile on his perfect face.

Perfect? No... No. I meant perfectly annoying face. Yes, his eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen but that... that doesn't mean anything.

"I wouldn't want to hurt that pretty face of yours," Emersyn teased, not knowing she was making his dead heart beat a mile a minute.

"You think I'm pretty?"

"It's an expression, Nik." Yes...

He nodded, "Oh..."

Emersyn sighed, "Fine. Yes, I think you look better than usual. But that's only because you followed my advice and grew out your hair."

"I didn't think you noticed."

"I notice everything." Not the way his heart was beating. Luckily, or atleast for Klaus, with their height difference, Emersyn couldn't see the fact that the tips of his ears were bright red.

The hybrid laughed softly, "Sure, love. Now, stop distracting me. Hit me."

She stared up at him for a moment before holding out her hand.

Klaus sent her a look of confusion. "Is it hurting again?" he asked, taking off his gloves before softly grasping her arm and turning it.

While he was distracted, Emersyn grabbed his shoulder and pulled her body upwards so her legs wrapped around his neck. Holding them tight, she waited until he fell to the ground before letting go.

Moving her legs away from his neck, she sat down beside him with a grin on her face. "I win."

Klaus coughed, rubbing his neck as he stared up at her, "What even was that?"

She shrugged, "Natasha taught me it."

He groaned, "Of course she did. I think you dislocated my neck."

"That's not possible. Besides, you're a hybrid. You'll heal."

He felt her hand on his chest, right where his heart was. His eyes widened at the touch. "What are you doing?" he asked quickly.

"Just making sure your hearts still beating. You looked like you were gonna pass out a second ago..." She paused, "I thought your heart was supposed to beat slowly. Why's it beating so fast?"

His mind blanked. No thoughts. Nothing. Out of the hundreds of languages he knew, he had not a single word in his mind.

"Nik?" Emersyn asked. "Are you having heart palpitations?"

"Um... It's because I'm a werewolf... Yeah. When I was a vampire it was slow but with my werewolf side it causes it to beat faster." It was a terrible excuse, but Emersyn seemed to have bought it.

Sitting at her desk in her lab, Emersyn spun around on her chair before stopping when she found herself facing the desk. She grabbed a pen and began scribbling down notes in one of the many notebooks spewed along the surface.

On the couch by the windows, Klaus layed down with his arm beneath his head.

"What are you working on?" he asked after a few minutes of hearing her pen scribble across the paper.

She shrugged, "I met this kid a bit ago and it looked like he needed a suit upgrade. The one he had was cool but I think I could do better. I'm a bit more experienced with nano than my father."

Klaus nodded as he sat up and watched as she worked. He watched as her hand was engulfed in a blue hologram.

"Bring up everything you have on Spiderman, Friday."

Instantly, a singular suit was brought up in the form of a hologram.

"I meant to ask you, love..."

Emersyn hummed.

"Why don't you wear a suit like your Dad's?"

She shrugged as she zoomed in on the hologram before pulling up some of her own files. "I used to. I still do, I guess. It's in my closet. But, uh... after the first time being taken by Hydra... I don't know, it made me feel claustrophobic being in such a small space."

The Stark shook her head, smiling slightly as she moved her hand through the hologram, making the arm piece attack itself to her arm, "Sorry. I don't really talk about that time of my life very often."

Klaus stood suddenly and moved to sit beside her, "It's quite alright, my love. You can tell me anything."

Her head turned slightly as she side-eyed him, "Anything?"

He nodded.

"There's lettuce in your teeth."

His eyes widened as he quickly went to grab a mirror that was strewn across a random table. Glancing into the mirror, he scowled as he looked back at the giggling Stark.

Shaking his head, he walked over to her quickly before wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up out of her chair.

"Nik!" Emersyn squealed, surprised by his hold. His arms were wrapped tightly around her stomach, her back pressed against his front as he held her above the ground. "Let me down!"

He grinned, setting his chin on her shoulder, "Not until you apologize."

She laughed, leaning her head back against his shoulder to see his smiling face. "Never!"

"Alright then. I guess you'll just have to stay up here," Klaus tsked before spinning her around so she was on his back, his arms holding the underside of her thighs.

Emersyn smiled as she buried her face into his neck, "Good. I like it up here. You're very comfortable."

The hybrid chuckled, "Comfortable? Love, you do realize I'm the most feared man on the planet?"

"You're too much like a puppy to be terrifying," she argued, "Besides, now that I have knocked you on your ass, with a bullet wound, I can't be afraid of you."

Klaus looked at her, "You will never tell anyone that."

Emersyn sent him an awkward look causing his brow to furrow, "Love, you didn't tell anyone, did you?"

When she stayed silent, he maneuvered her so that she was facing him, her legs still wrapped around his waist, although now, they were chest to chest.

"Love."

"Nik..."

"Love. Who did you tell?"

"Um... Well," she laughed awkwardly, "It's a really funny story, actually. You'll think this is hilarious... in twenty years."

He stared at her.

"You see, the thing is, Nik, your brothers... they have a connection of sorts with me..."

"A connection?"

"Yeah... well, ever since you killed me - which I'm still pissy about by the way, so don't think about doing it after I tell you this–"

"I'll think about it. Tell me the rest."

"They kinda watch just about everything I do as entertainment because I am the only person they can communicate with so they are definitely watching us right now and definitely saw you get knocked on your ass."

Klaus stared at her for a moment.

"Are you gonna kill me? If so, I do have a preference as to how–"

"I think you broke him," Kol suddenly said, appearing beside her as he poked his older brother's face.

Elijah moved toward them, "I believe Kol is right, Dear Emersyn. You broke the unbreakable."

Kol grinned, "Ooh can you tell him we saw him get a boner the first time you two hugged."

The Stark looked at him strangely, her eyes moved back to Klaus, not seeing Elijah slap Kol's shoulder, "She isn't supposed to know that, Kol."

"Oh, right," Kol coughed, "That was a joke..."

Emersyn sighed, "You two, shut up and sit in the corner."

Kol grumbled, "I will not sit in the bloody corner."

"Yes, you fucking will, you imbecile. Sit. Now."

She watched as Elijah pulled Kol over to the corner before they both took a seat on the two loveseats, Kol grumbling with every step.

"Nik? You still with me?"

He nodded, "Mhm. Sure. Yeah. Are you sure you don't have head trauma?" His hands moved up, grasping onto her jaw as he looked into her eyes, "Your pupils aren't dilated, but it could be something deeper–"

She slapped his hands away, "I don't have head trauma, dick. I'm just... cooler than most people."

"Love, you are seeing dead people. And believe me, I know they are dead. I killed them. You need a doctor."

"You need a doctor because you can't fucking hear. I am fine. No head trauma. Just normal trauma–"

Kol looked at her, "I wouldn't say normal."

"I thought I told you to shut up?"

He grumbled once again, crossing his arms as he sunk into the chair. "You're not my mom," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

She smiled, "That's what I thought."

Her eyes moved back to Klaus, seeing his confused expression, "They're here? Right now?"

Emersyn nodded.

"Bloody hell. Tell them to piss off. This is a private conversation."

She looked at Elijah and Kol, "Um... Piss off. This is a–"

"We heard, Darling. You're such a buzzkill, Nik," Kol said, rolling his eyes before both him and Elijah disappeared.

"Are they gone?" Klaus asked.

"I think so."

"Since when has that been going on?"

Emersyn shrugged, "The first time I died I was able to interact with Wanda and Thor due to their powers. Eventually, I met Kol. I assume I could interact with him due to the magic in his blood, I would say that is also the reason why I can continue to see him and now Elijah."

Klaus nodded, "I must say, love, you never fail to bore me."

A smile crept onto her lips, "I try my best to keep you entertained... and not in a killing mood. It's really cold when you die. And there are no blankets."

"What a tragedy."

"I know. What kind of bullshit is that? Whoever designed it is a dick."

"I agree."

She stared at him, "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

He grinned widely, "Not at all. What would a world without blankets be? An absolute–"

"Shithole," Emersyn finished. "I'm glad you agree. Otherwise I would throw you out of the building."

"Are you guys gonna kiss or what? I'm getting tired of watching this with no action," Kol's voice suddenly spoke once again, causing Emersyn to glance down, seeing the way Klaus was holding her.

A blush formed on her cheeks, moving to her nose as she coughed, "Um... I should probably–"

He nodded, gently setting her back on the ground, his hands reluctantly pulling away from her waist, "Of course. I'll let you design your suit."

While Klaus moved back to the couch, Emersyn slapped Kol's arm. "Fuck off," she mouthed, earning a wide-toothed grin from the younger Mikaelson.

"Just kiss him already. This is the only entertainment I've got, darling."

"Leave," she mouthed once again, making sure Klaus wasn't watching her.

"He wants to kiss you. Do you not see the way he looks at you?"

She didn't look at him. Instead, her eyes moved back down to the holograms.

"I've never seen him look at anyone like that before. Usually, he looks like he's plotting a murder, most likely mine, but right now, he looks really weird."

She side-eyed him, silently asking what he meant by 'he looked really weird.'

"Oh my god, do you need me to spell it out for you? I thought you were smart. My brother, Niklaus, is in love with you, you absolute moron."

Her eyes widened slightly. Glancing back at the hybrid, she saw his head quickly turn. He had been watching her.

"See?" Kol asked, hoping she had taken the hint.

Emersyn slowly nodded, causing him to smile, "Mm, my work here is done. Can you give me a good word in? Maybe convince him to undagger me? Elijah is terrible company."

She nodded, not entirely listening to what he was saying, focusing more on the hybrid across the room, seeing the way his eyes occasionally took a quick glance in her direction, only to dart back to the wall when he saw her looking.

It was a possibility that Kol was right. Just a possibility.

Emersyn shook her head. No, that wasn't a possibility. It was impossible for someone like him to like someone like me.

Besides, he was Klaus. Very annoying, very paranoid, very pretty- very annoying Klaus.

Emersyn sat in the kitchen, her father across from her as he stood in front of the stove, a pan full of pancakes in front of him.

"What's got you thinking so hard, kid?" he asked after a moment of silence.

The younger Stark shrugged, "Nothing..."

Tony chuckled, "Sure."

"It's just... What's going to happen to the team? Now that Cap broke them out of the raft... they're considered criminals."

"They're going to lay low," Tony replied, not telling her about the burner phone he had received in the mail while she was still unconscious. "I'd assume so at least. As much as Capcicle annoys me, he is smart."

She nodded, "What if they get caught though? Wanda's just a kid– she didn't deserve that. It's not right for her to be in this mess. She should be having fun and going to college... not on the run from the government."

"They did it on their own accord, Emersyn. They did this to themselves. Wanda knew what she was getting herself into when she helped them."

"But I helped them. I helped Bucky get to the jet. What does that make me? Just because you have some pull shouldn't make me scot-free."

He stared at her, turning off the stove as he turned around to face her, "Emersyn, you are different. You're my family. I will do anything in my power to help you. And it did help that you were half dead."

Emersyn shook her head once more, "It's not right, Dad."

Tony stood silent for a moment before eventually nodding, "Alright. I'll talk to Fury. He has more pull with Ross than I do."

"I could talk to him–"

"Not a chance. I'm not letting you anywhere near him again."

"Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore–"

"You might be an adult, Emersyn, but you are still my baby. I will not let you near that man again. So, how about you stay here and recover? Your arm still isn't fully healed. Maybe ask that Nik guy on a date. He's obviously in love with you to have stayed this long."

Her eyes widened as her face turned red. Tony smirked, "And it seems like you might feel the same."

"Not a chance," Emersyn replied with a scoff. "He's Nik... He's just Nik. He's an ass."

"Would an ass stay here for two and a half weeks, help you heal, help you eat, help you get over a certain someone... I'm not blind, sweetheart. I can see you've changed."

"Nothing's changed. I just moved on. Steve doesn't like me. He likes Sharon... and that is fine because I'm over it. It's the way things go. Nik just helped me realize how much of a dick– jerk, Steve was for doing that."

Tony nodded, still not believing her, "Sure, kiddo. So, you two... you're just friends then?"

"Just friends."

A small smile took over his lips as his eyes left hers and moved to the door, "Speak of the devil. Nik, son, we're having pasta for dinner. Plan on staying?"

Klaus grinned as he walked inside the room, slipping his boots off at the doorway before joining them at the island, "My favourite. Of course I'll stay, Mr. Stark."

Tony's hand clasped the hybrid's shoulder, "I thought I told you to stop that. It's Tony. Mr. Stark makes me feel old."

"You are old," Emersyn muttered.

"I'll put you in timeout."

"You just said I'm an adult. You can't put me in timeout."

"I'll count to three. One–"

Emersyn rolled her eyes, "Fine. I apologize for stating the obvious."

"Thank you... I think."

Klaus moved over slightly, wrapping his arm around Emersyn's shoulder, being wary of her injuries as he pulled her closer to him, "Come on, love. Play nice."

She sighed, annoyed by both men, but didn't move away. To be fair, he was very warm. That was the only reason why she stayed in his arms. The only reason...

Tony smiled at them, "Alright, lovebirds. Dinner will be ready in an hour. How about you two go down to the labs? I think that Parker kid was in there."

"Peter's here?" Emersyn asked, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"Who's Peter?" Klaus asked, a little too quickly, earning a smirk from Tony. "He's Emersyn's new friend. And yeah, I gave him an internship the other day. His aunt said he needed some time out of the house. Kind of ironic."

Before Klaus could ask anything else of the man, he was being pulled toward the elevator by a surprisingly strong Emersyn. As the elevator closed, Emersyn let go of his hand, practically bouncing on her heels.

The hybrid rubbed his shoulder, "I think you dislocated my arm."

"Oh, stop being a baby," Emersyn shushed him.

Klaus looked at his arm and saw it sitting in the wrong direction, "Love..."

"What?" she asked, still not meeting his eyes as she watched the numbers go down.

"You dislocated my arm."

She glanced over at him, about to argue, only to see his arm. "Oh... Oops. Sorry." The elevator stopped, the doors opening revealing a few labs where the younger interns worked. Since the tower closed down, Tony had decided to move all the major labs into the compound so he wouldn't have to fire all of his employees. 

Walking in, she ignored their amazed stares and moved over to an empty table. Stopping in front of it, she looked at the hybrid, "Lay down."

He glanced around the room and saw everyone watching them, "Why?"

"I'm gonna fix your arm."

"Here?"

"Yes. Or would you rather I leave it be and it heals wrong and you end up with a deformed arm."

He sighed but took a seat on the table nonetheless. Emersyn was about to grab his arm when something, or rather someone stopped her.

"Miss. Stark!" a voice called from across the room, distracting her and causing her to nudge Klaus' arm, making his situation even worse.

"Ow."

"Shut up," Emersyn told him as she turned around. "Hey, kiddo," she smiled, "How're you doing?"

Peter grinned as he walked into the lab, "Good, Miss. Stark. Are you okay? I saw those crazy guys take you. He looked like a jerk."

"Ross? Yeah, he is a jerk. But I'm fine." Her eyes turned down to Klaus, "Oh, this is Nik, by the way. Nik, this is Peter."

The hybrid's eyes looked at the teenager that looked no older than fifteen. So that was Peter... He was just a kid... No reason to be jealous.

"Hello," he spoke reluctantly.

Peter smiled widely, "Nice to meet you, Sir. Woah, what happened to your arm? That's crazy."

Emersyn chuckled as she watched Klaus' face form a look of annoyance as his eyes turned to her, "She broke it."

"Cool."

She smiled suddenly as an idea formed in her mind, "Peter, have you ever fixed a dislocated arm?"

"No."

"Wanna give it a go?"

"Wait, love, I don't think this is a good idea–"

"Nonsense," Emersyn shook her head, "This is a place of learning. You just happen to be the guinea pig. Alright, Pete, grab his wrist..."

She trailed off, sending an innocent smile at the hybrid, "You'll be fine, Nik." Her eyes moved back to Peter, "Pull it nice and steady and you'll feel it go back into place."

"I don't know, Miss. Stark. I've never done this..."

She grinned, "Don't worry, kiddo. He heals. We can do this as many times as you need."

"No, we can't–"

Emersyn sent a glare at the hybrid causing him to shut up immediately, though the look of annoyance stayed clear on his face.

Without warning, Peter pulled hard on the hybrid's wrist, feeling his shoulder go back into place immediately as the hybrid grunted.

The Stark grinned widely, pride flowing through her as she high fived Peter, "You did it, kid."

Peter smiled, "That was so cool!"

"Ow."

"Oh, shut it, Nik. You've been through worse."

"You're so mean to me."

"You usually deserve it."

Peter looked between the pair, "I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Miss. Stark."

The pair's eyes widened, both sputtering with blushes on their faces while Peter laughed, "Oh? Was it supposed to be a secret? It's obvious you two like each ot–"

"We are not dating," Emersyn said quickly, "Like I would ever date him."

Klaus rolled his eyes as he sat up on the table, "You'd love to be courted by me and you know it, love."

"Bullshit. I'd rather jump off a bridge."

Peter held an awkward look on his face, "Oh, well it seems Mr. Stark is calling me... Gotta go!"

"Wait–" Emersyn yelled but he was already gone. "Damn it. Now I'm stuck with you."

"I thought you liked me, love."

"I do," Emersyn replied, turning around to see the man, "But only when I get to punch you in the face."

"So charming. It's a wonder as to how you are still single."

She smiled, "It's by choice, trust me."

His head tilted slightly as he sent her a teasing grin, "Is it though?"

"You want me to go on a date?" she questioned.

"I'd love that."

"Alright," she spun on her heel, "Anthony? Are you–" Before she could finish her question, a hand was placed over her lips before she was carried out of the lab.

She rolled her eyes as the doors closed, leaving them alone once again. "Yonre fuskc a shuvcbh skik."

Klaus looked down at her, "What was that? I can't seem to hear you."

Her eyes met his, anger present in hers. His hand was still pressed tightly to her face. Jackass.

"Oh, can you not speak? What a predicament you are in... If only you had been a little nicer."

He looked at her once again, his lips curving upward, "I suppose I could be convinced... What do you say, love? A date? With me?"

"Ird kneher fogh onas dahate wif grew."

"I'd take that as a yes. Let's see, we can't go tonight of course, your father is making dinner. Perhaps tomorrow night... Yes, that will work."

"Hngo."

Klaus smiled at her, "What did you say? That you're so absolutely invigorated to have the chance to go on a date with me?"

He ignored her mumbles once again as the elevator beeped, letting them off at the training floor. Klaus nudged her toward the bags of sand that hung from the ceiling, "Go on. Have at it. I'll be..." he trailed off, seeing her glare, "Hiding from you, I see."

Before Emersyn could fight him on his decision, he had disappeared. "Bastard," she muttered under her breath, but a smile was fighting to appear on her lips as she turned to the boxing bag.