This was originally posted on ao3, but I wanted to post this here too in case anyone missed it! Dedicated to the lovely Hasi ( hasigoody) over on Twitter, as a gift for the KC Vacation Gift Exchange. I hope you enjoy this darling, and I hope you don't mind a dash of Kol with your Klaroline! Big thanks to Belle (missingstars89) for bouncing around a few ideas for me when I was stuck!
Thunderstruck
Klaus Mikaelson liked to think he was in control of his life. As an artist who owned his own gallery in New Orleans, he was no stranger to planning out each day of his life as precisely as the deft strokes of his paintings. Not to say that he didn't enjoy the occasional and inevitable curveball thrown his way, but he liked to be prepared for any scenario life threw him at him. And by this point, he had made it an art form.
But for all his controlling tendencies, he never saw her coming.
He was sitting at his favorite bar, Rosseau's, in one of the more dimly-lit booths, waiting for Kol to show his face. His younger brother had the irritating habit of being fashionably late, and as the minutes ticked by Klaus felt his annoyance grow. Didn't Kol understand the term "punctual"?
He drummed his fingers on the table absently, already planning on giving his younger brother a piece of his mind when the bastard finally showed. Mercifully, the bar was having a slow night, with only a few dozen patrons murmuring in low tones that were oddly relaxing. Camille, one of the more pleasant bartenders, stopped by with his usual glass of bourbon and a smile, which he politely returned before taking a swig. The alcohol burned down his throat, the familiar feeling releasing a bit of the tension in his shoulders.
His gaze was drawn from the clock behind him on the wall when he heard the rustling of someone sliding in the booth across from him.
"It's about time-" Klaus turned around, and froze, his cutting remark dying in his throat.
This was most definitely not Kol sitting across from him.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I'm late! You must be Nick. I'm Caroline, it's so nice to meet you!"
Curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a winning smile worthy of a pageant queen met his own confused expression. Caught completely off-guard, Klaus acted automatically, shaking her proffered hand. "It's Klaus, actually," he found himself replying, a slow smile spreading across his face. He had no idea who this Caroline was, but he was not about to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
"Klaus," she repeated, a slight frown creasing her brows. "I'm sorry, Katherine must have mixed your name up or something when she found your profile on the website."
"Katherine?"
"My best friend," Caroline explained. "She's the one who encouraged me to do the whole online-dating thing in the first place. To be completely honest, she's the one who's been managing my profile, as I've been so busy at my new job I haven't had time to do it much-and trust me, if you can pass Katherine's screening then you are definitely a normal decent person, she has a knack for picking out the crazies-"
Amid the blonde's-Caroline's-rambing, a light bulb went off in Klaus's head. An online dating website, the fact that she had just spotted the lone man in the corner booth clearly waiting for someone... it seemed as if Caroline was here on a blind date, and had unwittingly thought him to be said blind date. That meant her real date was here somewhere, probably wondering whether she stood him up.
Klaus was about to tell her as much, but she had apparently just asked him a question, and was now looking at him expectantly. "Sorry, love, what was that again?"
"I said, you aren't a serial-killer, are you?"
He chuckled. "I might be many things, Caroline, but I can promise you I'm not a serial-killer."
Caroline laughed. "Great, we'll get along just fine then. Have you eaten yet? I'm starving."
Klaus opened his mouth to reply, but she had already flagged down Camille. He looked on in helpless amusement as she ordered her food and a vodka cranberry.
When she focused her attention back on him, he was prepared to deliver his explanation that he really wasn't her blind date. But she beat him to it, a scrutinizing look on her face. "So...don't take this the wrong way, but you are definitely not what I was expecting."
"Oh? How so, love?"
She arched a teasing brow. "The name's Caroline-and I don't know, you're just so...so-"
"So unbelievably handsome? I concur." He smirked as her mouth fell open in protest.
"No!" She shook her head, letting out a breathless laugh, and Klaus could see a hint of a blush gracing her cheeks. "That's not what I meant-not that you're not handsome, of course," she hastened to clarify. "It's just that I was expecting someone more along the lines of a douchebag fratboy, which you clearly aren't." She gestured to him with one hand to emphasize her point.
"Disappointed, are we?"
"More like surprised," Caroline said honestly. "I usually get set up on dates with total womanizers or creepy losers, and so far you seem well-adjusted."
"I suppose you'll have to be the judge of that, sweetheart," Klaus quipped lightly.
"What is with the little endearments? Something you picked up on in the motherland?"
"London, to be precise," he confirmed with a grin. "We Brits have a certain fondness for the fairer sex."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Sure you do. So, why did you move across the pond? Change of scene?"
"Partly. I wanted to paint, and to run my own gallery, and New Orleans was just the place to start out as a struggling artist. I've lived here for the past decade or so, although I do frequently visit my siblings in London."
"Where else have you been? Do you like, go to other places for inspiration, or something?"
"Mostly around Europe, yes. I was recently in Holland-the tulips are in season, and I had a commission for a landscape."
"Wow. It must be great to travel," she said wistfully.
"Yes." He frowned at her tone. "Haven't you traveled before?"
She sighed. "I've never really been anywhere," she confessed. "But I've always wanted to go to Paris. I have a super-detailed itinerary all mapped out and everything, but I've never really had the time to go." Her face lit up while she spoke, and Klaus suddenly thought that he had never seen a more beautiful sight.
"I'll take you."
"Excuse me?"
"Wherever you want. Paris, Rome, Tokyo. I can show you all of their wonderful secrets, their beauty…" His gaze roved over her body with slow deliberation. "Their passion."
She watched him carefully, fully aware of his insinuation, if the disbelieving arch of her brow and the flushed skin of her cheeks were any indication. "I hardly know you."
"Isn't that why we're here? To get to know each other?" Klaus asked innocently. There was something about this Caroline that instantly drew him in, made him want to know more of her.
"Yeah, but-"
"Come on, Caroline. Talk to me. Get to know me more." He pinned her with a provoking stare. "I dare you."
The light of challenge flashed in her eyes. "Fine. But no more epic declarations," she warned him teasingly. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, or I might hold you to them."
His eyes gleamed with a decided intensity. "I never go back on my promises, Caroline. You can be sure of that."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to get in my pants."
Her blunt remark caught him momentarily by surprise, but he recovered quickly. "Well," he said slowly, deliberately, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about how lovely you would look spread out on the sheets, naked and flushed, all warm and ready for me." He noted with pleasure the widening of her eyes, the telltale clenching of her fists that told him she was affected by him, her blue eyes staring at him with that dark glint of arousal. "But as much as I'm tempted to seduce you into my bed, Caroline, surely by now you know I'm nothing like those 'douchebag frat boys' you're used to dealing with. Consequently, I am well able to control my sexual urges."
He held her stare for a moment. Caroline then looked away, and promptly scoffed at him; but he merely continued to smile at her. "Now, enough about me," he went on, leaning infinitesimally closer to her. "I want to talk about you."
"What about me, exactly?"
Klaus stroked his chin, considering her. "Your hopes, your dreams….everything you want in life."
"You really don't want to hear those. I'm not all that interesting."
"That's where you're wrong, love. I've known you all of ten minutes and I can already tell you are the most fascinating creature in the room."
"You're very charming, I'll give you that." Her eyes twinkled at him. "But I give you fair warning-I'm too smart to be seduced by you."
"And that's precisely why I like you."
The touch of his hand on her cheek startled her as much as it did him. He dropped his hand quickly, the contact burning through him.
Clearing her throat, Caroline tucked a curl behind her ear. "Well, now that we've got that cleared up, I have some questions for you." She rummaged around in her purse, pulling out a slip of paper with neat handwriting sprawled across the page.
"You wrote them down?" Klaus asked, amused.
"I like to be prepared."
"I hardly think this is fair, love. I've already told you a bit about me, but I know next to nothing about you."
"OK, fine," Caroline shoved the paper back into her purse, clasping her hands together on the table. "Ask away."
"Occupation?"
"Interior designer."
"Place of birth?"
"Mystic Falls, Virgina, putting the 'small' in small town since 1864. Are you sure this isn't an interrogation?"
Klaus waved his hand lazily. "Semantics. Favorite high school memory?"
She hesitated the barest second before answering. "Winning the Miss Mystic Falls pageant junior year."
"You were a beauty queen?" Klaus's gaze travelled down her body, drinking in the sight of her once more.
"Yes." Her chin tilted up proudly.
"Did you have to model in a bikini?" He peeked up at her from beneath lowered lashes.
"No, you pervert!" Caroline laughed at him, swatting his arm lightly. "But I did get to dress up in period costume for the Founder's Day parade. The costume was ridiculously hot and sweaty though. I can't say I felt very queenly at the time. And corsets are extremely overrated."
Klaus couldn't deny that the image of Caroline in a corset was most enticing. "I'm sure you looked as beautiful then as you do now," he murmured sincerely. His hand seemed to move of its own accord as it reached across the table and grasped hers, pressing a swift kiss atop her fingers.
Caroline blushed, her eyes darkening ever so slightly. She leaned in a bit closer, and he nearly groaned at the sight of her tongue darting out to wet her lower lip.
He had the most overwhelming urge to suck that lovely pink lip into his mouth.
The tension that had been steadily increasing between them ratcheted higher, and Klaus had almost made up his mind to kiss her right then and there.
"Well, well. Look what we have here." A mischievous voice sounded from behind them.
"Kol," Klaus growled at the untimely interruption, frowning as his brother sauntered up to their booth. "I see you've finally decided to grace us with your presence."
Caroline choked on her drink, recognition in her eyes. "Kol? What are you doing here?"
Klaus's gaze snapped back to her, his brow furrowed in confusion. "You know Kol?"
Kol waved at Caroline, his smirk widening. "Ah, Caroline, darling, I see you've finally met Nik. I do hope you've been on your best behavior, brother. Caroline normally doesn't take well to men with over-inflated egos."
"Kol," Klaus hissed warningly, at the same time Caroline squeaked, "Brother?"
She rounded on Klaus. "Kol is your brother?!"
"A truth I would rather not acknowledge, yet here we are," Klaus sighed exasperatedly. Trust his mischievous younger sibling to interfere with his life. Not much had changed over the years, it seemed.
"So rude to me, Nik, and after all the trouble I went through to set this lovely evening up for you." Kol put a hand over his heart, looking mock-affronted.
"You what?"
"You planned this?" Klaus was torn between smacking Kol on the head in fury and clapping him on the back in gratitude.
"Of course I did. Well, Katherine helped a bit. She was responsible for getting Caroline here while I had to force you to show up." Reaching out, Kol snatched Klaus's glass of bourbon and helped himself to a generous swig.
"Katherine is in on this with you? Ugh, why am I not surprised," Caroline groaned, crossing her arms and glaring at Kol.
"Now Caroline, darling, don't give me that dreadful glare, I was only trying to help. Lord knows the both of you needed a push in your extremely lacking love lives-"
Klaus made a move towards Kol, intent on violence, when Caroline laid a hand on his arm, surprisingly calm. "Go away, Kol, before I tell Bonnie about your secret obsession with Justin Bieber."
Kol narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh, I would. So I suggest you kindly get out and leave us alone, or risk becoming a laughingstock in the eyes of your crush," Caroline declared, deadly serious.
Klaus felt a burst of pride in his chest, and was completely unable to refrain from smirking at his brother.
Kol looked her up and down, clearly weighing his options, looking for any chinks in her armor. Caroline, however, remained firm.
"Fine," he grunted, shooting a sour look at Klaus's muffled snicker. "And shut up, Nik, or I'll tell Caroline about your nude modeling days."
"Kol!"
"Oops, my tongue slipped. Make good choices, children," he said mockingly, clapping Klaus on the back and blowing Caroline a kiss. Winking slyly, he strode off, calling over his shoulder, "And I expect your first-born named after me in gratitude!"
They both groaned out loud, catching each other's eyes as they did so. Caroline giggled, and Klaus found his smile growing at her mirth.
"Ugh, I cannot believe you're related to that," Caroline shook her head.
"How on earth do you know Kol, anyway?" Klaus asked. He was rather impressed that Kol had kept Caroline a secret from him for this long. Kol was a notoriously bad at keeping secrets.
Caroline sipped daintily on her cocktail. "We actually met at a party in college. He hit on my best friend-like seriously, he would not shut up and leave us alone-and I ended up shoving him in the frathouse pool after telling him off. For some reason beyond all logic, he took that as a sign of truce, and we've been friends ever since." She glanced up at him. "And how do you know Katherine?"
"I call her Katerina, actually-mostly to get on her nerves," Klaus chuckled. "I only met her a couple of times, in the past month or so, but she's currently see my elder brother Elijah. She works as his secretary."
"Oh my God-her mystery man is your other brother?" Caroline gasped, setting her drink down. "I've been hounding her forever about who she was sneaking out to see, but she refused to spill. Ugh, I'm going to kill her and Kol both for keeping that from me!" She ran her hands through her hair in frustration.
"They do seem to delight in messing with you."
"You can say that again," Caroline agreed, annoyance creeping into her tone before she suddenly paused. "By the way," she remarked casually, looking him up and down with interest, "nude modeling? Really?"
Klaus steepled his fingers, his brow arching. "That's classified information, love. Only accessible past the third date."
"Oh, so this is a date now?"
"Would you like it to be, Caroline?"
They locked eyes, and he hoped that she noticed the earnestness in his gaze. This woman intrigued him like no other before, and he wanted her. He wanted her friendship, her passion, her intelligence-and Klaus always got what he wanted, in the end.
He felt his body still, suspended in time as he waited for her answer, his breath stilling in his lungs.
She tilted her head, considering him; then a slow sunshine smile spread over her face, and she nodded. "Yes."
A few hours later, Klaus watched as Caroline fumbled with her keys outside her apartment. She unlocked the door, and turned around to face him. "I had a nice time tonight, Klaus."
"The feeling is mutual, Caroline." He couldn't resist moving in closer, the warmth between them a heady rush in his veins. He took her hand in his, tracing patterns on her skin with his thumb.
Her breath hitched, and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Well, as this is a date after all, may I kiss the lady goodnight?"
A brief pause. Caroline looked down, catching her bottom lip between her teeth, before she finally looked at him, and nodded once.
Leaning in close, he made to brush his lips across her cheek, when she suddenly turned, their lips meeting softly. He shuddered, inhaling her warm lavender scent as his hands automatically wrapped around her waist, their bodies flush against each other. She angled her head, her lips pressing more firmly against his, one hand threaded in his curls and the other caressing the scruff of his jaw.
All too soon, she pulled away, her eyes wide and lips swollen. He immediately felt the loss of her warmth, wanting her back in his arms, but released her from his grip, dropping his arms to his sides.
"So…" Caroline cleared her throat. "That was-"
"Intoxicating?" he murmured, leaning in once more. "I agree. We should do it again. Numerous times."
A breathy laugh escaped her lips, her hands sliding up to settle on his chest. "Don't get me wrong, I am all for a repeat, but I don't want to rush things. I mean, we literally just met. Like three hours ago. No offence, but how do I even know that you're the relationship type?"
"Ah, I see. You need some reassurance." Klaus tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Allow me to give it to you then." He kissed her neck, before moving his lips close to her ear. "I fancy you, Caroline, and I have absolutely no intention of tiring of your company. In fact," he breathed, his hands settling on her hips, "I intend to unravel every inch of you, learn all your quirks, discover the things that make you tick-every last detail." His lips brushed her ear, delighting in her little shiver. "I want to know all of you, Caroline. I'm a patient man, and I'm not going anywhere."
Pulling back slightly, Caroline watched him with a dark intensity shining in her blue eyes.
"Take a chance, Caroline," he said quietly into the night air.
Suddenly, without warning, the blonde pressed her lips to his. "Alright. I'm in."
Elated, he beamed at her, their foreheads touching. "Good," he breathed, and kissed her once more.
Song: Thunderstruck by Owl City (ft. Sarah Russell)
There is the slightest possibility of a sequel...let me know in the reviews if you'd be interested! Until next time :)