"Elijah? What are you doing here so early?" Mia asked after she answered her door only to see the suited Original standing there.

He smiled down at her, "I was notified you were awake by your... robot?" He trailed off. He still wasn't fully sure about the new technology.

"Friday?" She asked with a small smile, of course the AI would call for help.

Sometimes Mia debated over the fact that the AI had a conscience. Tony told her it didn't but Friday continued to surprise her.

"I believe so, yes. May I come in?"

Mia nodded as she held the door open wider.

"Why are you awake so early?" She asked as they sat on her couch. Their knees touched slightly, sending butterflies to both their stomachs.

"It's not that early, It's only 5 am," He answered with a shrug after checking his watch.

Her eyes widened slightly, "When is early to you then?"

He grinned, "It doesn't matter the time when it comes to you, Elskan. Now tell me, what has you awake?"

Mia shrugged as she held her knees close to her chest, "Nothing," She whispered softly, unable to meet his gaze.

"I don't have to hear your heartbeat to know you're lying, Mia," He told her as his hand slowly moved to her knee, "You can tell me."

She shrugged once more, "It was just a nightmare."

"You don't sound surprised. Are these a normal occurrence?"

Mia nodded.

"What happened?"

She stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking up, "My uh- my mom sent me away when I was a kid. My whole childhood was fake, she wasn't even my real mother but when my dad left she acted out and sent me to this camp."

"I- I was six and I was surrounded by these men in uniforms pointing guns at me," She held her knees tightly against her chest, "If it wasn't for Natasha I would've died."

She felt as his arms wrapped around her shoulders before her body was pulled into his side, "When did the nightmares start?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"When Nik left. I had them before but not as often- I usually would just take some sleeping pills and they would go away but they aren't working anymore."

Elijah sighed as he held onto her. He knew why her nightmares had worsened. Being away from your soulmates for an extended period of time caused symptoms.

She had a headache while Elijah was daggered and now she was having nightmares due to Nik being away making hybrids.

"We'll figure it out, Elskan," He whispered into her hair as he rested his chin on her head.

She smiled softly at his touch, "I finally found out what that meant."

Elijah grinned, "Took you long enough."

She stared up at him, her green eyes glistening in the light of the sunrise, "Why? Why your darling?"

He breathed out deeply, "I believe we need to have a conversation when my brother gets back."

"You can't tell me now?" She asked as she held his hands that were resting on her torso.

"Unfortunately, not. If I told you when my siblings weren't here, I think I'd be daggered again."

— — —

It had been three days since Elijah helped her through her nightmare.

The Mikaelsons had stayed even closer after that. Kol, Rebekah and Elijah took turns sleeping over at her apartment and always woke her before her nightmares worsened.

They hated hearing her screams and sobs but they knew Klaus needed to make a few more hybrids before he could come back.

Said hybrid felt guiltier than ever. He knew he was the cause for her dreams but he also knew that if she was going to be with them, she would need more protection than over.

"That one and her," The man in the blue and black jacket, known as Dreykov, told a guard as he pointed to Natasha and Mia who were hiding in the back of the shipping container.

Young girls' screams filled her ears as other girls were dragged off by guards.

"Mia!" Natasha yelled as she was ripped away from the young blonde's hold. "No!"

Dreykov stood in front of the six year old as he held her face in his hands, "The Red Room is your home now."

He stood up, motioning for guards to pick her up.

Mia sobbed loudly as they threw her into a truck bed, "Natasha," She whimpered as she stared out into the dark.

"Wake up, love," She heard Rebekah shout as she was pulled into a warm set of arms. "Love!"

Mia woke with a gasp, her hands pushing away the blonde as she stood up and pointed a gun she had hidden under her mattress at the Original. "Get away from me!"

Rebekah held up her hands, "It's okay. It's just me- It's just Rebekah, love. You're safe."

The gun slipped from Mia's hands onto the ground, "Bekah?" She whimpered as her eyes moved around the room rapidly, "I- I hurt you."

The Original shook her head as she slowly approached the shaking human, "You didn't hurt me. I can handle a little shove, Mia."

Mia's lip trembled as she pulled the blonde into a tight hug.

Her nightmares had only gotten worse in those three days. Kol had dealt with the worst of it when she didn't snap out of it for thirty minutes.

If he wasn't an Original, he'd be dead.

Rebekah's comforting arms held Mia close as she shushed her, "You're okay, love. You're safe," She whispered continuously as her soulmate sobbed into her shoulder.

"Nik will be home soon," Rebekah told her.

— — —

Two more days passed and Klaus was finally home. They had all gathered in the living room of the Mikaelson mansion.

"What's going on?" Mia asked as she held her knees to her chest. She had yet another nightmare not even three hours before, on the time she had killed one of her fellow Red Room assassins.

"You have to promise not to freak out," Klaus started as he sat across from her, his elbows pressing against his knees as his chin rested in the palms of his hands.

"Tell me why I'm having these nightmares," She demanded, her eyes staring into his eyes before moving to Kol's who were facing the floor along with Rebekah and Elijahs.

Elijah glanced at his brother before staring at the blonde, "Do you know what soulmates are?"

She nodded, "Everyone does, Lijah. How does that have anything to do with this?"

"Do you know what happens when soulmates are separated for long periods of time?" He continued, his deep brown eyes staring into hers.

Mia shrugged, "It varies. I know Tony and Pepper usually feel nauseous and it's reported some have been more susceptible to wounds..."

She paused as her eyes moved to Klaus, "Is that why I've been having nightmares? I- I'm mated to the dog?"

Kol's chuckle caused her eyes to move off the hybrid, "Not just the dog, darling."

"Черт возьми," The Avenger muttered under her breath.

(for fucks sake)

She breathed out deeply before standing, "I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me."

— — —

Mia had been walking for over an hour. She eventually gave up trying to 'gather her thoughts' and chose to get food.

What better way to deal with confusion than food and vodka?

She had been sitting in the back of the grill for over twenty minutes when Stefan came in followed by Damon. Both Salvatores immediately sat across from her.

She glanced up at them as she tipped her head back to take a shot of vodka before setting the small glass down on the table, "What?"

"You've gotta tell Klaus to get his hybrids out of town."

Mia scoffed as she downed another shot, "They haven't even been here for 24 hours. What could they have possibly done?"

"One of them showed up at Elena's house."

"And?"

"Well- Well he threatened her!" Damon said in an exasperated tone. "You're his friend. You can tell him to send them away."

Mia shrugged, "They haven't done anything wrong. What do you want me to do? Arrest them? I'm an Avenger, not a cop, Damon."

"You'll do it or else we'll tell everyone who you are," Stefan threatened as he glared at her.

Her eyes widened for a split second before her face went blank, "Stefan?"

"Don't, Mia. You don't really think we were ever friends? Come on, Mia. You're smarter than that. Our friendship wasn't real."

"Don't say that," She told him as he grabbed her wrist and pulled off her vervain bracelet. "No. Don't say that. It was real- It was real to me."

Stefan shook his head as he sat next to her, holding her arms tightly as he stared into her eyes, "You're going to have Klaus get rid of his hybrids. Do whatever you have to do."

A tear slipped down her cheek as she stared into his forest-green eyes, "I'll make him get rid of his hybrids. I'll do whatever it takes," She recited, not giving away that she ingested vervain as well. 

He smiled, "Good. Forget this conversation ever happened."

As the two Salvatores walked out, they didn't notice a man watching their every move with a glare set on his face.

His brown eyes moved back to the girl hiding in the corner of the booth.

Mia, he thought to himself before taking a sip of his bourbon.

He glanced at her one last time before following after the brothers who clearly needed an attitude adjustment.

— — —

When Mia got back to the mansion, it looked as though the Mikaelsons hadn't moved an inch from where they were three hours before.

She awkwardly stood against the wall, "Hey..."

They all turned simultaneously to look at her.

"You came back," Rebekah whispered. After the first hour passed, they had thought she might have run for the hills.

Mia nodded, "The Grill ran out of good vodka so..." Her eyes were on the floor as she spoke, analyzing every speck of dirt on her beat-up red converse.

She slowly moved back to the couch and sat down, still keeping her distance from the vampires, "So... Soulmates, huh? Bit of a dick move not telling me."

Now it was their turn to stare at their shoes awkwardly.

Elijah was the first to look up at her, "We knew how you felt about soulmates. We didn't want you to leave us due to prior experiences."

"We've waited a millennium for you, love. And now that we finally have you, we couldn't risk it."

Mia stared at them for a moment before nodding, "I won't run- but I need some time... Oh and uh Stefan tried to compel me to get your hybrids out of town. That might be a future issue for you."

"He tried to compel you?" Kol asked, his voice filled with anger.

She nodded once more, "Stefan's been a bit of a dick lately... I'm gonna go home."

Klaus was the first to stand, "May I take you? It's getting dark out."

"Alright."

— — —

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you," He told her as they walked inside her apartment. The car ride had been silent other than when Mia thanked him for opening the door for her.

Mia nodded as she closed her bedroom door before walking back out in a pair of sweatpants and a black form-fitted t-shirt. "I get it."

"You do?" Klaus asked, his eyes wide as he watched her.

"You clearly have abandonment issues. You've been waiting for this 'soulmate' for a thousand years, I get wanting to ensure keeping her- me around."

"How do you feel about all of this?"

"I'm..." She paused before speaking up once more, "Scared. Are you really sure I'm your soulmate? How can you even tell?"

He motioned for her to sit beside him, "Vampires feel it stronger than humans but it is very possible for humans to feel it. You, however, are very good at ignoring the signals. When you first met us, you felt safe, right?"

She nodded.

"And you trusted us, love. You felt the pull, it was dull but it was there. When Elijah was daggered, you had headaches. When I was away, you had nightmares. It's all tied to the bond."

"What do you feel?"

"It's hard to explain. We feel the same pull but it's magnified. We can hardly stand being away from you. Your scent- It's different from any other. It's not addicting, it's comforting."

"That's why you're always sticking your nose in my neck when we hug?" She asked jokingly.

He chuckled, "Yes. Truth be told, you make me feel safe, love. Just being in the same room as you puts me at ease."

"And that's why you're so worried when I go on missions- and so jealous of Bucky."

He almost growled at the other Avenger's name. "You're never kissing him again."

She chuckled, "Oh? Are you controlling me now, doggy?"

Mia smiled as she watched his face morph from confidence to what appeared to be shyness, "You alright there, Nik? Cat got your tongue?"

The hybrid blushed slightly, "Elijah is arranging a dinner with the Salvatores tomorrow night. Will you come?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Do I have to? Peter's been asking for a movie night and I keep blowing him off."

"We'd all like it if you'd come. You could even invite Peter- I think we'd all enjoy meeting the master behind the finger paintings on your fridge."

The Avenger chuckled, "I'll ask him if he's free."

"So you'll come?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes... What are you going to do with the hybrids?"

"They aren't leaving. My only reason for making them was to help keep you safe, I will not send them away."

Mia nodded, "That's why you've been so hell bent on making them? It wasn't because you felt lonely."

"I could never feel lonely when I have you by my side, Deyja. If the Salvatores do not like it, we will bleed the vervain out of their systems and compel them to like it."

She wasn't even surprised by his words. She had gotten used to his threats long ago. "What if they try to hurt you?"

His hands met hers, "Love, they couldn't even if they tried. Besides, the only way they can hurt us is by hurting you and they will never get the chance."

"Can you," She paused. She wasn't sure if she should ask but in the end, chose to ignore her worries, "Can you stay tonight?"

He smiled softly, "I'd love nothing more."