Title: Precarious Rendezvous
Author: LysCat
Category: Set during season 3
Summary: This is set during season three's 'Dangerous Liaisons,' but with a twist. Elena doesn't feel comfortable meeting with Esther and makes the decision to warn one of the Originals.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to TVD or TO. Also, I have included a few quotes from the show, they obviously aren't mine either.
Author's Note: I know, another story about the ball…I just can't help myself. I know Delena and Stelena were the focus of the early seasons of the show, but I really think that Elejah could have gained more popularity if only they weren't effectively killed in the episode. Yes, I know Elena and Elijah are out of character at the end of the chapter, but I don't care. It's my story, and if they were in character, it never would have happened. Oh, and the title of this chapter, I thought it was a nice play on the words 'dangerous' and 'liaisons.'

"You know, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's blaming other people for one's short comings," Elena Gilbert sighed dramatically.

"Oh, really?" Rebekah Mikaelson scoffed. "And the dagger in my back was what? A slip?" The blonde shook her head, why did Elena have to attend the ball in the first place!? "Why are you here?"

Elena offered a weak smile. "The Gilberts were one of the founding families in Mystic Falls," she shrugged. She was expected to be there.

"Thanks for the history lesson, but I already knew that," Rebekah snarked. "I meant, why are you here with me? One would think that your watch dogs would have kept a better eye on you. It wasn't so long ago that I had your life in my hands, slowly squeezing it from you. Do you know how much I enjoyed that moment?"

Elena didn't bother to reply, knowing that the inquiry wasn't really aimed at her for a response. Instead, she held herself steady, refusing to give into the intimidation tactic that Rebekah was applying.

"Watching the light slowly fade out of your eyes…" Rebekah smirked. "The only thing that would have made it even better, was if I hadn't been interrupted."

"Look, I don't have time for this."

"Well, make time, Elena. You're the one that approached me. You're the one that stabbed me in the back. You're the one that put yourself in that situation, like you do in every situation…"

"You're right. I did…I am. I was a bitch for doing it, I won't deny it," Elena admitted flatly. She had no desire to make excuses. "I saw you as a threat and I neutralized you. You would have done the same thing for your family."

Rebekah inclined her head towards her companion as if agreeing with the last bit. However, her eyes hardened. "Maybe," she allowed. "Or maybe you allowed yourself to be talked into it." If there was one thing she knew, while there was no love lost between them, Elena wasn't brave enough to dagger her…unless she'd been coaxed into it. She'd done it to Elijah before, but again, that was because she'd been told to.

"Your mother has taken a special interest in me."

Rebekah wished she could say she was surprised, but she wasn't. "Of course she has. My mother, two of my brothers, your Salvatore boyfriends…who hasn't?"

"She invited me tonight with the intent to meet with me, she's asked for a private audience."

The revelation caused her rebuttal to die before she even opened her mouth. Rebekah had wanted nothing more than to enjoy her evening. For the first time in a millennium, she was reunited with all of her remaining brothers and mother. Was it too much to ask for one night? And as much as she wanted to ignore her meeting with Elena and return to Matt, she couldn't help the seed of doubt that had been planted by Elena's reveal. Why would Esther care anything about meeting Elena, let alone having a private conversation with her? All of her anger deflated and her shoulders dropped. "Why are you telling me this?"

"When the door was opened between the realms, your mother took advantage of it to get the necklace and she would have had no problem killing me to get it, to kill Klaus. And all of a sudden she's back and all is forgiven?" Elena asked. "I know you're not naïve enough to believe that she's forgotten everything…"

Instead of giving into the despair she felt, anger was an easier emotion to embrace…specifically in front of Elena. "Damn you, Elena."

"She's…going to do something. I don't know what…but something."

"Again, why are you telling me this?"

"I've been watched from the moment I stepped through the threshold." Okay, that may have been a lie, but she wouldn't have put it past Esther to have her watched. "Between you, Elijah and Klaus, Elijah is the only one I don't have a contentious relationship with. If I met with him…" She was sure that if she'd met with him, it would have garnered closer attention and she didn't need that. "Look, I don't know for sure that anything will happen-"

"That's right, you don't!"

"But if there is, can you really afford to ignore it when you had an opportunity to gain the ability to stop it or at least acknowledge it and come up with a counter attack?" Elena asked quietly.

Instead of accepting Elena's words, Rebekah shook her head. "Why are you doing this?" She couldn't imagine Elena's guard dogs were happy about her decision.

"Because I owe Elijah." Elena shook her head. "Please, Rebekah, I…I'm over my head here." As much as she wanted to be rid of Klaus, she wasn't sure if joining forces with Esther Mikaelson was the way to go about it. While Stefan and Damon had no such qualms, Elena couldn't shake the feeling that Esther had something much larger in mind.

Making her way down the grand staircase, Elena returned to the party. She was very aware of the fact that Finn Mikaelson was at the top of the stairs, ready to intercept her if she opened her mouth to the wrong person. Her gaze flittered over the crowd below her, seeking her friends. She was sure that her decision to turn to Rebekah for help would one day come back and bite her in the ass. And there was no denying that Damon would be a particular brand of asshole about her choice, but she couldn't focus on the repercussions at that moment.

Keenly aware of the man that stood as a shadow, eagle like vision piercing her, Elena tried her best to calm her pounding heart. Before she was able to continue down to join everyone else, Rebekah rudely bumped into her. "Don't drink the champagne she put my blood in it," she warned in a barely whispered tone as the blonde began to berate her.

Cataloguing the warning, Rebekah played her part perfectly. "Seriously, Elena, I just can't get away from you!"

Scowling at the blonde, Elena pursed her lips. "Yes, I'm told that happens when someone purposely tries to bowl someone else over."

"What were you doing upstairs anyway? Party guests are to remain downstairs."

Before Elena could speak up in response, the pair were interrupted. "Rebekah, I do believe you are causing a scene," Elijah Mikaelson observed, having noticed the stares the two were receiving. "I don't think this is what mother had in mind when she announced her desire for a ball."

"Don't you ever get tired of playing the knight in shining armor?" Rebekah snarled at him. "Or maybe I'm looking at the wrong person. Maybe Elena needs to stop playing the damsel in distress…"

Instead of responding to his sister, Elijah held a hand out towards Elena. "Good evening again, Elena. I would have approached you earlier for a dance, but I didn't think your escorts would appreciate my presence. As I see you are presently unaccompanied, would you put me out of my misery and consent to a dance?" He asked, his voice taking on a charmingly dramatic tone.

"Misery, huh?" She asked, placing her hand in his. "And I am your saving grace?"

Scowling at the two of them, Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You two are disgusting."

With her small, appealing hand enveloped by his larger one, he pulled her away from his sister and towards his body. Releasing her hand, he placed a hand at her back. "My brother seems to have taken an interest in you," he spoke into her ear as casually as possible. "Finn has always separated himself from the rest of us, so imagine my surprise when he escorted you upstairs."

She felt her heart jump in her chest upon hearing about his observation. Very aware of the fact that she still held Finn's attention, Elena inclined her head. "Yes, your mother was most…anxious to meet me."

"Ah yes, my mother. I find myself in an unfamiliar situation," he admitted. "She claims to be happy about our reunion, but given our history, I am unable to ascertain the sincerity behind her words. How did you find her?"

"I…I…," she stuttered to find the words. She wanted more than anything to tell him about the meeting that she'd just come from, however, she found herself more afraid of Finn and Esther than she ever had been of the other Mikaelson siblings.

"Elena, do I need to worry about my mother's intentions?" Elijah asked in firm tone. It was obvious by his appearance that he expected nothing more than the absolute truth from her.

"No," she breathed, guilt settling upon her chest. It didn't matter that she'd alerted Rebekah, she found herself feeling remorseful for misleading Elijah. After everything that they'd been through, she felt that she owed him better. However, as much as she wanted to speak the truth, she couldn't. She'd backed herself in a corner. She could only hope that her warning to Rebekah was enough to change things.

The wait staff wove through the throng of party guests, glasses of champagne resting atop trays. Elena grabbed one, watching as Elijah did as well. Making a grand entrance, Esther stopped on the landing of the staircase, Finn only steps behind her, each holding a flute of champagne.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please," Esther said, looking down on the crowd below. "Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!

Various responses arose from the crowd in response. Unable to actually drink from her glass, Elena tried to make a show of doing so, all the while, her eyes never wavered from Elijah. Instead of the polite and easy-going man that originally greeted her on the staircase, he was cool and almost stiff. Somehow, he knew she had just lied to him and he was none too happy with her.

"Elijah, I'm not feeling very well. Can I have a raincheck on that dance?"

"Of course," he agreed formally.

"Elijah," Elena greeted as she opened her front door.

"Good morning, Elena. I do apologize for just stopping over, but I had something that I wished to discuss with you, may I come in?"

She opened the door wider for him. "What can I do for you?"

He followed her into the house. Unable to detect any other heartbeats, he opened his mouth to speak. "I admire you, Elena. You remind me of qualities I valued long before my mother turned us. It's not in your nature to be deceitful and yet when I asked about your meeting with my mother the other night, you lied to my face."

"Elijah, I…" Her mouth closed and opened once more before she could find something to say. "How?"

"I can hear your heartbeat. It jumps when you're being dishonest with me. You lied to me at the ball."

"I'm sorry," she apologized stepping closer to him. "I never…when she asked to speak with me in private, I knew I had to do something."

"Yes, I had a long talk with my sister this morning. Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Elena shook her head. "I couldn't," she replied simply. "I knew that I had made a mistake the moment I agreed to meet her."

"Then why did you?"

"I don't need to tell you the hell that Klaus has caused in my life since before I even met him. He was responsible for Stefan leaving and turning off his humanity. I would love for someone to be able to remove him from my life," she admitted. "And with Damon and Stefan constantly reminding me what needs to be done-according to them I just…" she sighed.

"Why bother warning Rebekah in the first place?"

"I thought about what happened with Vicki when the veil was dropped and I just had a feeling that I couldn't trust anything Esther had to say. I didn't know what would happen when I sat down with her, but I wanted Rebekah to be aware in case something did happen. Despite my desire to be rid of Klaus, it shouldn't be at the expense of others. Once I was aware of Esther's plan, Rebekah devised that plan to confront me on the stairs, I couldn't tell her everything at the time, but I assume that my warning worked…" Since she knew that her blood was supposed to tie them together, she'd hoped that her warning to Rebekah stopped that from happening.

He nodded in response. They'd avoided one situation, but he had no idea as of yet how to deal with Esther…or Finn.

"You have to know that if I had any other choice, I wouldn't have lied to you," she said imploringly.

"Last night I found myself feeling betrayed by you," he admitted. "It makes no sense really, as you and I have always fallen on opposite sides of just about every situation that arises between my family and your friends. However, I felt it all the same." Bringing a hand up, he cupped her face. "Thank you, Elena. I can only imagine what your Salvatore brothers had to say."

"They aren't my anything," she clarified. "And after their recent behavior, I don't really feel like I owe them anything." Between Stefan's cool demeanor towards her and Damon's choice in bedmates, she was ready to wash her hands of them. "I'm glad I was able to help," she said as she rested a hand against the one that was currently resting on her cheek.

When Elena made no move to pull away from him, began to stroke the skin of her cheek with his thumb. Without a conscious decision, he took a step closer to her and she followed suit. They were in each other's arms and their lips were pressed together. With her body pressed against his, his physical reaction was natural. Sliding an arm around her back and up her shirt, she gasped into his mouth. Clothes were quickly discarded and his next conscious image was Elena's glorious nude body underneath his on the couch in her living room.

Reaching between their bodies, she grabbed his erection and brought it to her entrance.

Leaning further over her, he captured her lips as he slid inside of her. When she moaned into the kiss, he tore his mouth from hers and groaned. Pulling out, he thrust back inside of her, sinking slightly deeper. He continued to repeat his actions, each time sliding deeper and deeper.

Bringing her hands to his bottom, she worked in tandem with him. Each time he began to thrust inside her, she pulled his body into her. And when he finally sank fully within her she cried out.

His waves of pleasure intensified when he felt his pubic bone hit hers.

"Yes! Oh God, yes!"

Spurred on by cries of pleasure, his pace turned frantic. Their bodies strained against one another. And when he felt stomach coiling, he forced himself to stop. Leaning down, he traded long deep kisses with her.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I'm getting myself too worked up," he admitted sheepishly. When he decided to visit her, he certainly hadn't had sex in mind. He didn't even know how it started, all he knew was that he'd never wanted anyone else as much as he'd wanted her.

"Then relax, and let me move for a bit," she said. Moving her hands to his waist, she began to move her body around his cock, sliding up and down his cock- or as much as she could in their current position.

"Fuck," he cursed, not anticipating the spark of desire he'd feel because of her actions. He attempted to let her control the pace, but she was invoking too much desire within him. He found his body easily moving with hers and her hands once again settled on his bottom, pulling her into him.

"Oh…I'm going to cum. I'm sorry, I can't wait," he breathed between thrusts.

"Don't," she replied. "I'm right there with you," Elena confessed. Her body clamped around his length and she exploded. "Oh! Yes! Cum with me!" She screamed, feeling her body fill with his essence.

He continued to move through her orgasm and didn't stop until they both were spent. Leaning on top of her, he gave her another kiss, this one slower than the previous ones they'd shared.

"If that's how you say 'thank you' then feel free to say it more often."

He smiled down at her. "I'll keep that in mine for future reference," he vowed.

End