33 | surviving over living

Hope

"You said no?"

"He drunk-proposed. What was I supposed to say?"

Pepper closed her eyes and buried her face in her palms while we hung out in Tony's office. She has been Tony's assistant for years now and I love her. We instantly became friends by making fun of Tony as our common ground. And this woman is beautiful. Though, that's to be expected when you were previously a model. Not to mention she has the brains, too. Hence, longest-standing assistant of Tony's.

"I told him not to drink anything before the proposal." She replied.

I widened my eyes at her while I sat on the desk with her on one of the chairs in front.

"You knew about this?" I asked her. I wasn't yelling, but I nearly was.

"He asked for advice and I gave him that. But typical Tony, he doesn't listen to me." Pepper said, leaning back against the chair with a frustrated sigh.

Between Tony and I, Pepper has become our doctor for those couple's therapy thing. Whenever we get into a fight, Pepper would sit us down and force us to talk about our feelings. Yeah, Tony should raise her salary for that.

"But if he had done it right, would you have said yes?" Pepper asked.

That shouldn't even be a question.

"Of course. And the public can finally stop referring to me as his goddamn niece." I said.

One-third of the population thinks that I'm his niece. The second one-third thinks I'm his sugar baby. The other one-third is convinced that I am a vampire because I have not been aging for years. Bravo to those who got it partially correct. To the ones who keep saying I'm his niece or sugar baby? Just shut up, respectfully.

"Why can't you just, I don't know, cast a spell that would make them think otherwise?" Pepper suggested.

Pepper was already in on everything supernatural after the first year she worked for Stark Industries. My family's enemies tend to strike below the belt and target the most human of all of us; namely, Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy.

Were they okay when they found out?

Pepper...No, absolutely not. She quit the job the instant she found out. It took a lot of convincing, regaining of trust, and bottles of tequila to finally get her back again. We promised that all of them will be safe from my family's enemies. I even made my own cloaking spell to prevent people from tracking them down. It's not like I can be with them every second of every day.

Rhodey and Happy, on the other hand, well, they were just ecstatic to be part of the 'gang'.

"I don't feel like brainwashing billions of people, Pepper." I responded.

Tony is world-renowned. So any news about him is also known globally, therefore, my name has also been out there for quite some time now. It was inevitable. I can't hide forever, especially when I'm in a relationship with him.

"Right." she said.

Then I felt the pocket of my jeans vibrate, my phone ringing. It's 2009 and the phones here are utterly boring–but surprisingly durable. With the amount of times I've been thrown all over the place because of fights with my phone in my pocket, the thing is still working.

"Hey there, Rhodey." I greeted.

"Where's your boyfriend? I'm gonna kill him." He said. Wow, hello to you, too.

"Not if I kill you first." I joked. "Isn't he supposed to be with you, receiving an award or something?"

I think it's called an Apogee award. I don't know what that is, but I know that it's kind of a big deal. And Tony not showing up at the award, which Rhodey is hosting, by the way, is a dick move. Though, I have my suspicions on why he bailed.

I mean, I did just turn him down on his scotch-induced proposal three hours ago.

"That's why I'm calling. He didn't show up." Rhodey said. "Hold on—"

I heard Rhodey talking to somebody in the background while Pepper asked me what's going on.

"Why, what's happening?" she asked.

I moved the phone away from me before speaking. "Your boss didn't show up to collect the award."

"Good thing he's just my boss. He's your boyfriend." Pepper commented.

Sometimes it's difficult being his girlfriend. But most of the time, I'm glad I'm with him. That doesn't mean that I don't despise some of his habits, though.

"They found Tony. He's at the casino. Do you want to do the honors of dragging him out of there or should I?" Rhodey said.

Like gambling. They shouldn't have hosted the awards in the Caesars Palace.

I like to think that our first date, instead of the casino date, was the time he rented a whole cinema to watch a movie that turned out to be supposedly non-existent at that time. Tony and I laughed when the first Harry Potter book came out in 1997.

"I'd be honored." I replied before sighing in frustration. "I'll be there in an hour. But keep guard, will you?"

"Gladly."

That was the end of our conversation. I wish I hadn't turned him down–No, in fact, I wish he hadn't drunk in broad daylight before proposing to me so that I would've said yes.

"Want to watch your boss get his ass handed to him?" I asked Pepper as I hopped off of the desk before reaching for my coat hung on the backrest of the empty chair beside Pepper.

"I've witnessed that many times already. I'll sit this one out." Pepper said.

Tony really does have to raise her salary.

"Clear your schedule tomorrow, birthday girl. I'll take you shopping."

—

One of the good things about being Tony's girlfriend? Private jets. The fewer people, the better. I'm not a people-person. Never have been. You can just imagine my attitude when being bombarded by journalists, reporters, and paparazzis asking me the most insane questions.

If only I can just, like Tony always say, 'abracadabra' them away. But I can't, not without exposing my nature to everyone.

"Okay, I gotta ask. Why haven't you dragged me out yet?" I already heard Tony's voice amidst the ocean of dollar-eyed people. That means I'm getting close.

And there he is. Clad in his maroon button down shirt, black pants and shoes, and red glasses, Tony was standing in front of a craps table with Happy, Rhodey and a bunch of other people I don't know.

"Because it's not my job to drag you out." Rhodey responded.

"Then whose is it?" Tony asked.

In about three seconds, he'd wish he never asked.

Rhodey simply pointed to my direction when our gazes met and Tony's eyes finally landed on me. I already saw the regret and guilt in his eyes as I approached them. Better say your prayers, Stark.

He glanced back at Rhodey and removed his glasses. The clear look of betrayal on Tony's eyes for his friend internally made me laugh in satisfaction.

"Really? You ratted me out to my girlfriend?" He accused Rhodey.

"You bailed on me." Rhodey justified.

"You ratted me out—Who are you really friends with, her or me?"

"Both of you."

"Who are you friends with longer?"

"You. But she's scarier."

"Point taken." Tony muttered before turning to me with a wide smile on his face as he made his way over to me. "Hey, baby, I'm glad you made it!"

Tony was about to hug me but I simply took a step back and crossed my arms against my chest. I arched an eyebrow at him while I watched him try to cover his ass on this one.

"In my defense, I was dragged in here." He said with his hands held up, an innocent look flashing across his face.

"Oh, really? By who?" I asked.

"Happy." Tony pointed to Happy who was behind him and standing beside Rhodey.

Not that I needed the input, but Happy quickly came to his defense.

"That's not true." Happy chimed in, holding up a finger.

I turned to look at Happy and smiled at him. "I know, Happy."

I know my Snarky well enough to know when he's using his friends as shields. But taking Happy's side on that one seems to offend Tony, causing him to flicker his betrayed gaze between him and me.

"You believe him over me?!" He exclaimed.

"Do you want another Barbados incident?" I asked, taunting him.

It was the fastest I've ever heard him surrender.

"Like I said, I dragged myself in here. I'm sorry." He said, already looking defeated.

The Barbados incident? That's a story for another time.

Tony placed his hands on my arms and pouted a little, trying to use cute and charming get away. This prick is really trying to use my own trick against me. I have to admit, he does look charming.

"Your punishment is waiting at home." I said.

When Tony hears the word 'punishment', only one thing comes into his mind. And I already know that he's thinking it right now because of the way his pleading look turned into an excited one.

"Well, let's go home, then." He said, intertwining his hand with mine before turning towards Rhodey. "Thanks for the award. Happy, let's go."

"See you later, Rhodey." I nodded at Rhodey and he waved goodbye at us.

Tony's not a gambling addict. He barely gambles but when he does, he tends to get carried away. Much like me, I guess. That's why I try to steer clear of casinos. Being with him for almost 15 years is life changing. But the real question is for better or for worse?

Don't worry. Everything is better than ever. Tony and I are better than ever. These little fights are just another of our quick banter sessions.

"You smell like lilacs." He said as we made our way towards his car, slightly swinging our hands back and forth.

"You smell like scotch." I said in return.

He pushed his lips into a thin line when we stopped at the side of the SUV, turning me around to face him.

"About that—" he was going to say something when someone interrupted our conversation. A blonde reporter. Good God, can we even take a break from you people?

"Mr. Stark! Excuse me! Mr. Stark!" said the woman as she ran towards us. Tony's guards immediately stopped her from going any further. "Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair Magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

Tony closed his eyes behind his red-tinted glasses before sighing deeply. "Hold on." He turned towards the reporter and forced a smile on his face before greeting her. "Hi. Yeah."

"It's okay?" she asked.

"Okay. Go." Tony answered.

This is where I cross my arms and eye the woman until she gets the idea. Most women don't get that and we always get to have the unwanted and unpleasant 'back-away' conversation. Like, woman, I'm standing right here and you're leaning over so much, even I can see your chest.

"You've been called the Da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?" Chrstine asked with the recorder held up in between them.

"Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint." He answered, unfazed.

Throughout the years of watching him go through different kinds of interviews, I saw him get more comfortable and confident in answering. Take this one for example.

"And what do you say to your other nicknames?" She asked. "The Merchant of Death."

I simply crossed my arms as I leaned back on the SUV, watching the exchange between Tony and Christine. The way Christine said the last nickname was rather hostile. As if she was trying to get a reaction from him. But like I said, Tony's already experienced in these.

"That's not bad." He just said, dismissing the topic. "Let me guess, Berkeley?"

"Brown, actually."

"Well, Ms. Brown. It's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals." Tony answered.

Years in the spotlight can make you learn things.

"You rehearse much?" Christine asked. At this point, the woman is just starting to look rather annoyed knowing that her ploy to try and take down Tony–not to mention her hidden agenda to also sleep with him–is crumbling to pieces with only the use of Tony's assertive words.

The two of them just kept on and on, Christine asking more questions and Tony answering them with no problem. I've partially tuned them out until her latest question struck a nerve in me.

"You ever lose an hour of sleep your whole life?" she asked.

Now, this might just be my Mikaelson genes overthinking the situation, but I think she's flirting with him. Was that her approach? Come off as some venomous reporter determined to take him down and also use that same approach to try and get him to bed?

Not gonna lie, that's a good approach. I mean, Tony did fall for my rather unkind ways.

"See this woman right here?" Tony briefly pointed to me, causing Christine to shift her gaze. I simply placed a sarcastic smile on my lips as Tony continued. "She's the love of my life, and if you don't walk away in three seconds, she'll bring out her claws and scratch those flirty eyes of yours."

Christine furrowed her eyebrows while scanning me. This woman really stared at me from head to toe. I might really scratch her eyes out just for that.

"Isn't she 25?" She asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm 36."

"You don't look 36."

"That's because I'm a tribrid. Part witch, part werewolf, part vampire. Therefore, I don't age." I said. I do that a lot. Because apparently, the idea is too bizarre to be taken seriously. I then looked over to Tony. "Honey, the three seconds are over, right?"

"Yes, honey." Tony answered.

I glanced back at Christine with the same impassive expression on my face ever since the age conversation came up. "Get lost or get clawed."

The last thing Christine did was glare at me before turning around and walking away, taking her little voice recorder with her. Out of all the reporters and journalists I've seen Tony encounter, this one has a lot more nerve. If she wasn't targeting Tony and hitting on him, I would've actually liked her.

"Have I told you how much I love it when you scare them off like that?" Tony said while he opened the door of the backseat for us.

"Yeah, over and over again." I simply answered before climbing inside the car, Tony following after.

Happy climbed in the driver's seat of the car and saw him glance at us through the rear mirror, checking in. I gave him a wink, causing him to smile. He already knows what that means. It means I'll be giving his friend a hard time the entire ride home.

The SUV finally drove away from where we were just in time for Tony to start explaining again after removing his glasses.

"Look, about what happened earlier, when I...you know—" I cut Tony off when I took it upon himself to finish his sentence.

"Proposed to me while drunk and almost fell flat on your face when you tried to kneel?" I said.

Yes, that happened. I had to catch him myself or else he would've had a very noticeable difference on his nose area by now. I just don't understand why he would plan such an important thing and sabotage it himself. He might not be aware that it would go wrong if he did it drunk, but I doubt it. He's smart.

"Yes." Tony just said.

"You drunk-proposed to her?!" Happy exclaimed, flickering his gaze between us and the road ahead of us.

I saw how Tony's gaze shifted from loving to murderous when he turned to glare at Happy. It only took Happy a few seconds before he gestured that he'll back off. Happy is precious, I love having him around. I would've wondered how he's been friends with Tony for so long given his attitude, but throughout the years, I've learned that he contributes the same ridiculousness in their friendship as much as Tony does.

"As I was saying," Tony looked back at me and held both my hands in his. "I'm sorry. I know I ruined it. I was just so nervous and paranoid about you saying no—"

"Tony—"

"See, this is the third time I've been cut off and it's starting to hurt my feelings." He suddenly said.

It took everything in me not to laugh. He looked so desperate to stay serious because God knows how difficult that is for the humorous Tony Stark. I simply pushed my lips into a thin line and nodded for him to continue.

"I was nervous that you'd say no. I have not been the best boyfriend lately given all the work I've been doing, I know that. Plus, I haven't gotten your family's blessing yet because I have a feeling that they would kill me if I replace your surname with mine." He explained.

One of the reasons why it took this long for us to even discuss the possibility of marriage is because of my family. With a family as dangerous and conflicted as mine, I barely have enough time outside of it. For the past fifteen years, I have done nothing but protect everyone that I love from our enemies. I don't think there's been a year that we haven't had an encounter with them. And that's my fault because my name is out there for the world to see. They know where to look.

In addition to that, we have been trying to figure out where Aunt Freya is. It's hard when their cloaking spell is done by a thousand-year-old witch with the power of a first-born Mikaelson in her possession.

I guess we were so busy trying to stay alive that we forgot how to live.

"First of all, I defied time and space to be with you. I would be crazy to say no. Second, my family loves you." I said. Well, love might be a little exaggerated.

"They tolerate me. Gigantic difference." Tony responded.

I smiled. "They approve of you. Besides, I can hyphen."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows as he looked away. "Hope Andrea Mikaelson-Stark? Quite a mouthful, don't you think?"

"I think it sounds good." I said and shrugged my shoulders.

Then, as if he had just snapped back to reality, he looked back at me with wide eyes and his lips starting to tug into an excited smile.

"So, you're saying yes?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No."

With that, his child-like excitement dropped before glaring at me. Sometimes, I just enjoy teasing him as much as he enjoys teasing me. "Seriously?"

"You proposed to me drunk the first time. Do you really think you can redeem yourself by proposing to me for the second time at the back of a car?" I asked him.

He narrowed his eyes at me, considering what I just said. He then sighed and leaned back on the seat before intertwining his hand with mine.

"You're right. But I will do it so romantically that even Nikky will cry." He said.

Dad will no doubt strangle the life out of him if he ever hears Tony call him that.

—

In another timeline, a classic Mikaelson family dinner wouldn't have a complete silver cutlery without the white oak dagger. In this timeline, however, while everyone is still very much undaggered, we are still not spared from the constant banters that lead to either threatening words being exchanged or tables flipping upside down.

That's why Tony begged me to exclude him from the dinners as much as possible. Which is also why it is the perfect punishment.

"So, where's my punishment?" Tony asked, a turned-on smile playing on his lips as we made our way inside the house.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his body as we slightly swayed just near the front doorway. He looked so excited for someone who's getting punished. And I understand that. He has a different kind of punishment in mind. But I'm more interested in seeing face when he realizes that he thought wrong.

And that came earlier than expected.

"Here we are!" Uncle Kol's voice echoed in the living room and the smile on Tony's face immediately dropped with his eyes closing and his head lowering. The sheer disappointment in his face was so evident, I almost chuckled out loud. It came faster than I thought.

"You've got to be kidding me." He muttered under his breath before looking towards the living room and saw my Uncle Kol amusedly smiling at us with an unopened champagne bottle in hand.

"Come on, you disgusting love birds. Elijah ordered dinner from our favorite restaurant. We didn't want to cook because we didn't want to recreate the Thanksgiving fiasco." He said while Tony and I walked to the living room and approached him. "I'll behave. Can't say the same for the others, though. So, let's not get our hopes up."

Tony simply gave a forced, tight-lipped smile before Uncle Kol turned around and left us to go to the dining room with the champagne. I glanced over at Tony and I found the unamused look and frown he was shooting at me. All of this was worth it.

"This isn't the punishment I had in mind." Tony stated.

"I know. But it's much more fun this way." I said before tiptoeing to plant a quick kiss on his lips before dragging him towards the dining room.

—

Last night certainly did the job in punishing Tony. Though, it wasn't much of a dinner considering we didn't even get to sit down. Apparently, the whole family could not be bothered to stay civil before the dinner even began. So we ended up just sending everyone home to take their knife throwing games somewhere else.

Tony almost had a knife thrown at his face. But I trained him, so he ducked out in time. But the way he paled at that moment just made me think that the punishment was a little too harsh.

"Happy birthday!" I greeted Pepper when she got to the house.

I engulfed her with a tight hug before pulling away. Why is she here exactly? I told her to clear her schedule for today. That means no doing any work for Tony.

"Thanks, Andrea." She replied when we pulled away.

"Why are you here?" I asked. We were supposed to meet somewhere else to take her shopping and other things that friends are supposed to do...Yeah, I'm not good at planning things. I'm a horrible friend.

"Well, I was just gonna remind the boss he's going to Afghanistan." She said.

"Oh, don't worry, he's going." I told her. Tony told me that he was going to do a weapon demonstration in Afghanistan later today so he'll be gone for a while.

"His flight was scheduled an hour and a half ago. Rhodey's been waiting ever since." Pepper said.

Crap.

I stared at Pepper for a little while longer, processing the fact that Tony once again made everything difficult for everyone. I pushed my lips into a thin line and exhaled through my nose before stepping aside and clearing the way for Pepper to tell Tony herself.

I listened in on their conversation and it was a whole five minutes of Tony trying to get away with being as tardy as ever. I can only imagine Pepper's frustration in that whole five minutes. Poor Pepper, having to deal with her boss on her birthday. I should get her out of there.

"Pepper, let's go." I said as soon as I entered Tony's workshop.

I saw the look of relief in Pepper's face when she turned to me, mouthing a 'thank you' while she walked towards me. I could only smile at her before Tony spoke.

"Wait, hold on. Where are you two going? I wanna come." Tony childishly said.

"Sorry, girls only. And you should be halfway across the world by now, remember?" I retorted before grabbing Pepper's hand and tugged her out of there.

"You're mean girls!" Tony shouted from downstairs when we'd almost reached the top of the stairs.

As much as I'll miss Tony for the day, I can't stop him from working nor can he stop me from giving Pepper a well-deserved girls' day with me and Aunt Rebekah. We know how tiring men can be.

"Auntie Bex and I will take you to this spa parlor she goes to." I said.

I immediately witnessed how Pepper's face lit up at the thought of spending the entire day just relaxing. Now that I think about it, I almost smiled widely myself. One whole day with complete serenity and relaxation. Now that's something I never thought any of us would have.

"If Tony doesn't marry you, I will." Pepper said.

"Well, then, Tony has a competition." I teased before getting into the SUV with some of the guards in the vehicle behind us. Tony never lets me go anywhere without guards, especially when going to public places since a lot of people tend to surround me and Pepper for answers about Tony Stark.

So much for 'girls only'.

—

"I'm so glad we did this." Auntie Bex said. "My brothers have been a pain in the behind."

"When are they not?" Pepper retorted.

She's right. My dad and uncles are a lot to handle.

We already finished shopping and relaxing, so we're now at the locker room of the spa parlor, gathering our things. Aunt Rebekah mostly did the shopping for me because she knows what looks good on me more than myself. These shopping sprees are making me miss Lizzie. I hope she's doing okay. I have a lot to make up for what I did to her.

I've been here for fifteen years. How long is it there, three seconds? They wouldn't even notice that I'm in a different timeline.

"Why is my brother calling you?" Aunt Rebekah asked.

I looked over to them and saw the name 'Finn' flash on the screen of her phone. That's Uncle Finn, right?

"Nothing." Pepper said before declining the call.

Auntie Bex and I shared a glance with an eyebrow arched. We could not help but smile. The way Pepper was dismissing the topic was so suspicious that ideas are starting to form in our minds.

"Okay..." Auntie Bex trailed off, an entertained smile still playing on her lips, making me laugh and shake my head before my own phone started to ring.

"It's Rhodey." I told them before accepting the call. We were already on our way out of the spa parlor which is also inside the mall. "We just had a very relaxing day. Don't stress me out." I joked.

"Where are you?" Rhodey asked.

I looked around. "At the mall with Auntie Bex and Pepper."

The guards have already surrounded us once again after stepping out of the spa parlor. If only Aunt Rebekah and I can just use our abilities openly so we don't have guards following us around.

"So you're in a public place?" He asked. Now that's kind of a ridiculous question. When is the mall ever not public?

"Yes, very much. Why?" I responded.

I heard him sigh deeply as if preparing himself for what he's about to say...or thinking how to prepare me.

"Okay. I'm going to tell you something, so promise me you won't turn everyone into stone there." Rhodey stated. Turn everyone into stone?

"I'm a tribrid, not Medusa." I replied. "What is it?"

Aunt Rebekah and Pepper were already looking at me confused. But I'm sure one of them is already listening in on our conversation.

"There's been an attack here and Tony has been abducted."

I should've left the mall when I had the chance. I should've distanced myself from the very fragile humans in this place the moment Rhodey's tone became worrying.

"What?" I muttered, already feeling the magic inside me vibrate uncontrollably away from their places.

"Hope." I heard Auntie Bex call. When I looked, I saw the look on her face. She heard it. She was worried. About Tony? About me? Maybe both?

"Andrea, we don't know where he is. Can you find him?" Rhodey asked.

I could feel my throat drying up as I stood there, hands trembling. I shook my head.

"No. No witch can. I made sure of that with the cloaking spell I placed on each and every one of you." I replied.

No. Not again. This cannot be happening again. We couldn't get into my mom in time because of the stupid cloaking spell I did. I didn't intend for this to happen again. I did it for a different reason. I was trying to hide them from our enemies. I just wanted them to be safe. I just wanted him to be safe.

"Can you undo it?" He asked.

"Ms. Mikaelson?" The guard called for me.

I looked at him for a moment and saw that he was checking up on me. After all, his job is to make sure that I'm okay.

"Not without his blood." I said.

He's abducted. Is this another one of our enemies? Did another one of them come for Tony?

"Andrea, you're the most powerful person I know. I also know that Tony is the most important person in your life right now. So, if you know something that could get him back, please do it." He said.

I closed my eyes, scouring my brain for any ideas that would help us. Any loophole that could help Tony. But with my anxiety heightening every sense I have, including my magic, I'm bound to lose control. And I lost a little when I got the sudden change of emotion after figuring out one loophole.

A wave of blue force erupted out of me, not impactful enough to push any of the people away like I accidentally did to Tony back then, but enough to shatter glasses and lightbulbs nearby.

"Hey, what's going on?" Rhodey asked.

My breathing slowly steadied from its frantic pace before I let out a shaky sigh and spoke.

"I have an idea." I breathed. "I'll text you the details."

With that, I hung up.

"Andrea." Pepper called and I looked at her only to see the worried expression on her face as she roamed her eyes around us.

And I understood that because right now, everyone is looking at us. I take it that my little outburst was not discreet at all. I could see phones being held up, recording me. People whispering, backing away, looking threatened.

This was the kind of publicity that I was trying to avoid.

"What do we do?" Aunt Rebekah asked.

Fifteen years. That's still impressive work hiding my true nature from the world for fifteen years when I'm basically always being shown off in front of everyone. I know that at some point, the truth will come out. I don't know how that will affect this timeline, or the people alone, or me, but I'm intensely hoping that it's not as bad as my mind is constantly telling me.

"We don't have time for damage control. We have a rescue mission." I told both of them.

I took one last glance around me, absorbed the confused, curious, and frightened looks on their faces as I swallowed hard.

I turned to the guards and gestured for them to start walking to the exit with us. I looked down on my phone and went through my contacts, finding a certain name to ask for his help. Given my knowledge of the future of my family from my original timeline, I know a lot of my family's secrets.

"My darling niece. If this is about last night, I wholeheartedly blame Finn." Uncle Kol said on the other line.

"Of course he does." I heard Aunt Rebekah say.

"It's not about last night." I replied while we continued to march out of the mall, feeling the gazes of everyone we pass fixated on us. "Uncle Kol, I need your help. Somebody took Tony."

"What?"

"Someone took him and I can't do a locator spell on him because of the cloaking spell I did."

"And you can't undo the cloaking spell without his blood." Being a former witch, Uncle Kol understands me the most when it comes to magic since Aunt Freya is still nowhere to be found. "How can I help?"

I stopped. My family is already dysfunctional enough as it is, if Aunt Rebekah hears what I'm about to say, I just know that things would be more problematic in the house of the Mikaelsons.

I turned around to look at Auntie Bex and Pepper. "Auntie Bex, can you make sure that Pepper gets to the car safely? I just need to check on something. I'll be right behind you."

Aunt Rebekah nodded and accompanied Pepper out of the mall, bringing some of the guards with them while the rest remained with me. I watched and waited for Aunt Rebekah to be far enough before I spoke again.

"I know that you used to plan on making a dagger that would work on my dad in 1914." I told him.

There was a long silence on the other line. His future self from the other timeline told me that as one of the many times my dad daggered him.

"Does Nik know?" He asked. "Because that was before. I don't plan on—"

"No, I know. I just...I need you to teach me how to do it."

"You want me to teach you how to create a dagger that would work on your father?"

Not exactly.

"I want you to teach me how to create one that would work on me."

Like I said, always surviving, never living.

—

Might have a lot of typos because I was just typing everything that came into my mind non-stop.

But hey, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Let me know what you think so far.