A/N 1: I recently fell madly in love with Klaroline and found this fan website (Klarolinemagazine dot com) that had a list of the Ten Drabbles they'd like to see after the last few episodes of TVD because of all the angsty sadness/hotness/heartbreakingness. I've taken it as a challenge to write all ten of them and this is number one - Klaus and Caroline run into each other in the future outside of both Mystic Falls and New Orleans without meaning to. I don't really think that this one can be considered drabble (as it is over four thousand words) and it's probably really awful because I've never even tried to write anything for Klaroline and I've never dealt with writing drabble. I'm a wordy person. But this is number one in a set of ten (and I will probably rewrite this first one a different way as a bonus if people enjoy these enough) so I hope my skills at writing these characters and writing in less words will get better. It's rated M but this may not seem too M rated. I'm saving that for a few down the road.

Please read and review if you feel like it! It would be wonderful if you told me what you thought! Especially if it's saying you want more. Thank you so much in advance and I hope it's not written too horribly!

"But if happiness won't come to me, hand me the nitrous gas.

You can keep all of your oxygen, hand me the nitrous gas.

And if happiness won't live with me, I think I can live with that.

You can keep all of your oxygen, hand me the nitrous gas."

Nitrous Gas | Frightened Rabbit

Drabble # 1 (of 10) | In the Dark

Caroline loved that one moment in the movie theatre just before the film started when the whole room went soul-hauntingly black. She could sense everyone's fear then, almost hear their thoughts. The sweat that leaked through the pores in their skin smelled sweet and the blood boiling within their veins called to her like a siren's song.

She came to the theatre often. Never for a movie. Just so she could pretend for a moment that any one of the people in the room could be her next prey. Pretend she was a heartless killer. Pretend she was that-guy-she-was-never-to-think-about-ever-ever-never.

The ritual calmed her aching canines, but in that blackness, that extreme, utter darkness, the ripples of veins came out to play under her eyes and it took all her strength, the strength she'd been building for years on end, not to turn her head and sink her teeth into the person next to her's throat. No matter how well their blood sang, she couldn't become that person.

She'd bought a ticket for the first movie she saw up on the board tonight. Some fantasy flick she'd seen advertised on television. Big star, big budget, probably shitty and not worth the nearly twenty bucks it cost for a ticket. D.C. had a serious problem with making everything way too goddamned expensive.

Caroline found a seat somewhere in the middle of the gargantuan room. The chairs were cushioned and had no cup holders. They'd stopped selling drinks and snacks a couple of years ago at movie theaters because they promoted "unhealthy habits" or some crap like that. God, had the world spiraled out of control.

People milled in behind her, some sitting far down and others going way up. She tried not to look around, but she couldn't ever help herself when there was so much blood and sweat all in one room.

Some were nervous, their first dates strapped to their arms like they'd been in love forever. She liked those ones. The nervous ones. They smelled the best. Like kindness and sugar.

Others were angry. At their spouses, their bosses, the world. At the baby late at night who won't stop screaming. At the woman threatening to out their secret relationship.

Barely any were happy. She could sense one happy person in the area. They gave off an illustrious glow of sunny light and if Caroline breathed in at just the right moment, she could smell the coffee and hope. The scent made her sick.

Someone sat next to her and she automatically moved her wrist of the chair arm, instead clasping her hands in her lap. The lights dimmed and Caroline watched the screen burst to life, the trailers and random car commercials bringing excitement to the dull theatre.

Several minutes, painstaking minutes of sweat and boiling blood, past until finally the lights switched off.

Six seconds.

It always lasted for six glorious seconds.

Caroline closed her eyes.

Her brain went haywire. Her smile disintegrated.

There was a lingering scent in the air, a different one than she was used to. It wasn't human. It was dangerous. Like death had crawled into the air vents and was blowing specifically over the blonde vampire in the middle of the movie theatre.

Five seconds.

But there was something underneath the imminent threat, something familiar.

Four seconds.

Whatever it was, it was blocking everything else. The strangest perfume, clouding her nostrils, assaulting them. Her head was going fuzzy. Her belly was pinching.

Three seconds.

The body next to her spilled some candy. It was loud and bouncy: skittles, maybe M&Ms.

Caroline's pulse started to twitch.

Two seconds.

Nothing was working right. Not inside her body. Not outside. She'd stopped breathing, thinking, moving. Her heart was squeezing itself dry.

One second.

Her breath came out in one whoosh of a syllable, "Klaus."

A bomb of light exploded in front of her eyes as the film started up.

An action sequence with guns and loud bangs, scraping feet, screaming women, spaceships, aliens, monsters. Caroline blinked, finally. Her eyes were dry, but a wet streak (it must be a tear) hit her lip. Salty. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, letting the curls bounce and flow down her bare shoulders.

She didn't dare turn her head. Both men either side of her seemed intent on watching the film, their large bodies blocking most of her view.

Her head struggled to come up with a plan. She needed to get out of there, to escape from the temptation. From death itself.

In frustration, she turned her head and faced the man on her right. "Could you move, please?" She asked, not bothering to be sweet. He smirked at her, moving his legs back to allow her room for escape. Caroline stood up quick, grabbing her purse and starting her walk. Something grabbed her hand back. She whipped around, a growl bubbling in her throat.

"What do I get?" The burly man asked. He smelled like smoke and booze.

Caroline yanked her hand back. "You get two seconds to stop looking at me before I rip your fucking head off." He turned around with a frightened huff, but Caroline couldn't find it in herself to be pleased with the amount of strength in her voice.

She clambered over feet, tripping a little bit, and scrambled toward the exit. Her mind had taken to remembering everything about the last encounter she had with him. The tense air that surrounded them as he swore he'd never bother her again. That sensation of drowning as she looked in his eyes that had darkened considerably with lust. The shakiness in her as she spoke, telling him at last what she wanted; telling herself for the first time, admitting to herself, that he was what she wanted.

Knowing that she was never going to see him again - he didn't seem like the type to turn back on his word, especially with her - unlocked something inside of her. And then she had pounced. And it had felt so good, so uncharacteristically mind-blowing. Literally, she thought her head was going to explode with all the goodness.

Bark scraping against her back, Klaus' own fingers dancing along her body like he wanted to commit every dip of her skin to memory, the smirks he gave whenever he'd elicit some obscenity from her tongue.

The clean up had been the worst part. Not awkward, but heated. Like they were angry at each other.

He hadn't even spared her a glance as he ran away, quick as a lighter running high on gasoline.

The red glowing exit sign, her saving grace, met her with open arms and she slammed out of the theatre, running ever so slightly through the crowds of people bustling to get to their boring, overpriced movie.

Outside it was warm, summer approaching the city life of D.C. fast. A gentle breeze blew past Caroline and she tried to find a quick route to get home, swiveling her head left and right before deciding a path that would help her move at her superhuman speed without being noticed by the prying eyes of politicians and people who thought they knew too much about the world.

Feet ready to go, traffic lights blinking red orange green, horns blaring, cell phone arguments, flipping off, cursing, kisses, shouts, screams. Murderers, rapists, hackers, thieves, their victims all scrambling inside of Caroline when she felt him.

Him.

Caroline stayed perfectly still, the thrumming of her heart and the rushing of blood inside her veins the only things moving. Every bit of her was telling her, shouting at her, to turn around and face him. The aching in her belly, her core, it was practically pulling her around on its own. But she fought against it. She had to. It took her whole brain, the thing scientists believed weren't being used to their full power, to not look at him.

He was bad. He was evil. He was everything that was wrong in the world, in her world.

And she knew that if she had even the slightest glimpse of his face, his dimpled, scruffy face, she'd be putty in his hands. And he'd be an all too willing sculptor.

"Hello, love."

She wasn't prepared for his voice. Or his choice of words. He sounded gruff and excited, but pleasantly surprised.

And that was all it took to snap her brain in half. She turned, expecting to see a smirk and bright eyes. What met her, though, was the most sexually fueled scowl her head had ever had to take in. They stared at each other for what felt like a millennium, but was closer to seconds in reality.

Finding her voice, Caroline tried to calm her nerves, "Klaus."

A small smirk played at his lips and Caroline had a hard time dragging her eyes away from it. "Again with the name. I'm beginning to think you missed me."

In years past, the arrogance and suggestiveness in his voice would have turned Caroline off. Or at least she'd tell herself it turned her off. Now, it'd been thirty years and she realised that yes, she had in fact missed this man.

Stubbornness proved futile as he stepped closer, Caroline could now feel his breath washing over face, blowing at her hair, attacking her mind. She inhaled discreetly and her eyes nearly fluttered shut when she caught a stronger whiff of what had plagued her in the theatre. Pine needles, desire, and man. All Klaus.

He bent his head forward a bit, gauging her reaction. She could see a fire starting behind his eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, absentmindedly giving him a better view of her chest.

His mouth quirked up into a wolfish grin.

Something, something brought on by the childish glint in his eye, broke Caroline out of her stupor and the next thing she knew, because her mind was not working well enough to proofread her own actions, her hand slapped hard across Klaus' face.

Unprepared for the violent attack, Klaus yelped and Caroline faintly noticed a few people's heads turned to watch the outbreak of entertainment unfolding before their very bodies. Klaus stood with one hand rubbing at his reddening cheek. Soothing her own aching hand, Caroline stared up at him like she was twice his size.

Klaus laughed sheepishly and shook his head. Caroline bit back a sigh and an eye role.

"Okay, look," he said through random spurts of chuckling. Caroline started tapping her foot, burying the temptation deep within her. "I have to be honest here. I wasn't looking for you."

Caroline scoffed. "Why do I find that so hard to believe?"

"Because you like to think you know me," he answered calmly.

"No, I don't think. I one hundred percent know you, Niklaus. Always popping up when least expected, toying with the poor heart of your long lost lover."

"Just happen to be in town, love. Had no intention of running into you ever again."

"Ever?" Caroline asked, failing to keep the helplessness out of her tone.

"I promised I'd stay away, didn't I?" Klaus' face had warmed considerably, the red mark fading fast from his cheek.

Suddenly, looking at him was too much. His bright eyes, the curly locks atop his head, the smooth muscle poking through the fabric of his shirt. It brought on too many painful memories. He was the bad guy. Not the good guy. The devil, not the angel. Hades himself, ruler of the underworld.

So why was she having such a hard time convincing herself of that? Was it because when they'd slept together thirty years ago, when he slid into her and she gasped and cried out his name in shock and want and something so similar to love, she'd felt some connection to him? Like a telepathic link between them telling her that he was more of an angel to her than the angels were to God himself?

Caroline turned away, wrapping her arms around her waist, and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Are you angry with me, love?" He asked and she shook her head, letting her chin connect with her chest. "Are you angry with me, Caroline?" He was behind her now, whispering secret messages in her ear, filling her head with lust and an itching to spend the rest of her life with him. She shook her head again.

"Then why the long face?"

She scraped her chin just slightly, opening up her neck so she could glance at him over her shoulder. "You."

"Me," he agreed, less slyly than he could have.

Her body shifted more, half facing him now. "Why should I believe you?"

"Do you really want me to go even if I had been searching for you?"

Caroline took those few extra steps to get right in front of him and braced the palms of her hands on the softness of his grey t-shirt. She shook her head again.

..1..

She believed he hadn't been looking for her. He didn't even know where she lived. Maybe he was lying, but Caroline meant it when she said she knew him. He wouldn't lie to her like that.

They didn't speak as they rushed to her apartment near the outskirts of the city, remaining completely silent as their shoes squeaked wetly along the steps of the apartment building. His hand didn't try to close around hers and she refused to spare him anymore glances.

No awkwardness, just trepidation. Caroline assumed that thirty years didn't mean much when you'd been alive for over a thousand, but to her, thirty years meant so much. She'd seen the people she loved fall victim to disease and drugs and alcohol and time. Her poor heart held the weight of a thousand lifetimes, while Klaus' bore the world of a thousand broken lies.

Her rusty handle clicked when the door to her apartment opened and she trailed inside, expecting Klaus to follow. Then she laughed. A rueful thing. Klaus smiled at her.

"Right, how could I forget. I don't make it a point to invite many vampires over. You may come in, Klaus." But he wouldn't move. "I said you can come in, Klaus. Don't be shy. I don't bite."

Bracing his hands on the doorjamb, Klaus looked her over. "Oh, I have the scars to prove that you bite, Caroline."

A little jolt of pleasure washed over her as she remembered when he'd asked her, begged her really, to sink her fangs into his shoulder that time in the woods. She blushed, walking over to him and placing a hand on his cheek. The warmth of his skin surprised her and she allowed a little bit of her ice to melt away.

"You can come in, Klaus," she whispered.

He bowed his head into her touch and closed his eyes. "I know I can, love. Caroline," he corrected himself, his lips brushing her palm with every word. "But I'm afraid I'll never want to leave if I allow myself to step over this threshold."

Pain. He was in pain. She saw it engulfing him in flames of torture. The final straw. The last puzzle piece. Check mate. Game, set, match.

Caroline's inhibitions flew out the door behind Klaus and she leaned in, stopping just short of reaching his lips, willing for him to open his eyes. As if he could read her mind, which she wouldn't doubt he could, she saw his darkening irises watch her carefully. And then she took the plunge, her entire body giving up and giving in to every sensation, every memory, every flirty word and glance, every touch, kiss, loving embrace.

They staggered back and Caroline heard her door slam as she tripped over something and landed on her sofa. Their kiss didn't break as he started ripping at her clothes, tearing her shirt off the same way he had against a tree thirty years ago, only this time with more zealous and need and hurt. Her bra went next, then her flimsy skirt and underwear. She tore at his clothing and it ripped to the floor, a pile forming of all their lost clothes and apprehension.

A thumb flicked her nipple and she arched her back into Klaus' touch, his mouth moving down her neck and allowing her to release a whimper. He smiled against the smoothness of her collarbone and she scraped her fingernails up his back, blood tickling down and pooling at the waist of his jeans. He shivered, continuing to pay attention to her chest while Caroline numbly tried to get his jeans off. She got the belt off and the pants halfway down before she heard Klaus growl and step away from her for a second before he was back, naked.

Sex was easy if Caroline didn't think about it. If all it was was two consenting adults trying to get something pleasurable out of the horrid world they just barely survived in. There was a bit of a connection, a spark of something, and then it was over. She'd tumble with her partner, whoever he happened to be, before they picked up their things and never saw each other again. Sex was easy. Unless it was with Klaus.

Foreplay had been their thing back in the woods, she remembered it vividly. The way his fingers scraped up her thigh, landing in a pool of want. How he'd pushed those same fingers up and up until she was screaming so loud the birds in the trees whistled away. Then he'd started to play with her breasts, lathering them in his saliva, leaving his mark on her. He laughed every time she jerked her head and she smiled at him then, letting him have his fun until she could get her hands on him. He'd been less willing to let her take control, but he'd submitted soon enough, joking about being the lamest alpha male on the planet.

Now, though, nothing was playful. It was all angst ridden and humorless and needy. He had her writhing at his touch before he even got to her aching core.

This wasn't sex.

It wasn't sex when he climbed over her, not when he looked her in the eye and said so many things without moving his lips, or when he bit his chapped bottom lip, holding her hip with one hand and himself with the other, and braced himself at her entrance. It wasn't just sex when Klaus cried out 'I'm sorry' and Caroline heard his plea for forgiveness, for everything; for torturing her and her friends, for breaking her and Tyler up, for loving her without knowing how because he'd always viewed love as this killing machine much deadlier than even himself, for sweeping her up inside of him and holding her captive.

This was something so much more. Not mating, not intercourse, not even passionately driven lovemaking.

It was hatred, abandonment, need, overwhelming want, thirst, taking, giving. It was coming home after being away for too long. It was tears of love dripping onto her face and splashing with her own salty weeping.

Klaus stayed above her the whole time, keeping his eyes locked on hers, as he moved and moved and moved. She smoothed her hands everywhere. His back, his chest, his stupid beaded necklaces he never seemed to take off. She landed her fingers in his hair and tugged him down so her lips could meet his. He gave into her relentless mouth and gurgled some lost words of devotion as he continued rocking in and out of her, coming almost all the way out before plunging deep.

Her cries died in his throat and when he reached between her thighs to help her along, she sunk her teeth into his bottom lip and didn't miss the way he looked at her like he'd never seen such beauty, such hope, before. Caroline tasted his blood pouring into her mouth, the sweetness landing on her tastebuds. It awakened some feral beast inside of her and she released his mouth and instead sunk her fangs into the same exact spot she had three decades ago.

That was when it all ended. When it all came to a rumbling, rolling halt. The minute her sharp teeth pinched the sensitive skin of his scars, he collapsed over her as she jerked beneath him, still lapping at his blood, letting him literally fuel her lifeline.

When she'd stopped shaking and when he'd stopped panting, when they realised what they'd done and who with, they separated. Not awkwardly, but sadly. Like it was finally all over.

They got dressed in silence. She needed new clothes and on a whim grabbed the shirt she'd stolen from him when they'd slept together the last time. Pulling it over her head, she tried to prepare herself for what came next.

Klaus was sitting on her sofa clad in only boxers, observing a few of the photographs she'd kept lying around. He was fiddling with something in his hand and Caroline slowly seated herself next to him.

"Caroline," he said quietly, as if he was afraid his voice would break if he spoke too loudly. The way he sang out her name sent a new wave of longing (dare she say love) through her and she settled her cheek on his shoulder, watching him study the random picture of her and Bonnie from when they'd last seen each other twenty one years ago.

Without looking at her, Klaus pulled her arm into his lap and began trailing lazy circles up and down her skin. Goosebumps followed his fiery trail until he got to her hand. He pressed something into it, something worn and old. He released her hand and she took a breath before opening up the slip of paper he'd given her. It was her, of course. A much more breathtaking version of herself. The her that was seen through the eyes of someone who was deeply entranced with her.

Caroline Forbes, lying on her bed in an old and oversized Henley long-sleeved shirt, clutching the fabric to her nose. Eyes closed, the look of elation playing on her face. A moment captured in time.

"I came to your window before I left to keep up my end of the bargain after that little escapade in the woods. And there you were, lying in my stolen shirt as if you'd never before worn such a magnificent piece of clothing. I wanted to tap on the window, say something witty and wonderful before I left, just to leave my mark or something," he told her, a nostalgia creeping into his words. "But you looked peaceful and content. You looked lovely," he took her hands again, gently settling them in his lap and forcing her to look at him. She saw the pain of a thousand years, a thousand deaths, in his stare. "You looked like you were in love. But you'd told me the only way you'd ever want me was if I was to leave and never come back. My poor manly brain was awfully confused because right here," he motioned to the picture, "you were definitely in love."

"I was," Caroline croaked, falling into Klaus' arms. He wrapped them protectively around her. "And I've spent years trying not to be in love . . ." she trailed off, silent sobs wracking her body.

"With me," he finished and she moved her head 'yes' against his chest. "What now?" He asked, running a hand through her golden hair.

"Now," she began against his bare chest, "you let me sleep in your arms."

Immediately, he fell back against the sofa, pulling her with two arms on to his chest, placing his hands against the small of her back as she rested her head right over the erratic beating of his heart. She could feel it, pounding against her ear, telling her that he loved her too. That this could work.

"A hummingbird," she whispered sleepily.

"Mm?"

"Your heart, it's beating a hummingbird's. Pattering on like a machine gun," she repeated his words from way too long ago like he had just said them. He had gone still beneath her and a part of her wondered if he'd fallen asleep. She felt safer admitting the next part if he weren't conscious to hear it. "You make me want to live, Klaus. You make me wish we were constantly on the verge of death, satisfied daily that we'd made it out okay. Truly, I used to think being human was mundane. And then I missed it when I became a vampire. And then, slowly, I started understanding how amazing never having to worry about death was. But then everyone started dying around me, they started leaving. And I was hit so hard with the realsitaion that living forever hurt so much more than never knowing if I was going to wake up when I fell asleep at night. You make me want to be human."

She whispered all these things to him, soaking her words through the pores in his skin, letting her warm breath and sadness soothe him. She knew he was awake, but she didn't care. It didn't matter anyway.

"Stay," she murmured, sleep ripping at her violently as she struggled to keep her eyes open, struggled to remember everything about how it felt to kiss him, touch him, taste him. It was futile, the struggle with sleep. It captured her quite like Klaus, dragging her to the depths of weird dreams and loneliness.

..1..

A stream of light woke her up. She rubbed her face tiredly as she sat up on the sofa, looking around for any signs of last night. Her clothes had been as neatly folded as they could have been, draped over the back of a chair. She stood, her legs wobbly from her activities yesterday, and made her way to the kitchen table where a piece of paper flapping in the wind being let in by an open window caught her attention.

Of course it was a sketch of her, asleep. Peaceful and alone.

Printed at the bottom, in Klaus' haunting script:

Humanity would be worth it with you by my side, Caroline.

Love,

Klaus.

She turned the page over, feeling foolish for asking him to stay. More words, more love notes, were scrawled on the back. She knew he wouldn't. He was too prideful.

The door blew open just as her eyes scanned the rest of Klaus' empty promises.

I've just nipped out to grab you some breakfast, love. I was thinking we could go out today. The zoo, perhaps? I hear it's wonderful.

Caroline looked up and saw the arrogant smirk planted firmly on his perfect face.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" She asked rhetorically. He just nodded and motioned for her to sit down.

"You thought I'd abandoned you." He handed her a bagel. Sesame seed with honey almond cream cheese. Her favourite.

She scowled at him. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Caroline, dear, I'm a changed man," he placed a hand on his chest and smiled.

"The zoo sounds great, Klaus."

"I think you can start calling me Nik now, love." He said through a mouthful of food.

She raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Oh, why?"

"Well, I deem you worthy of calling me that," he said.

"And why's that exactly?" She challenged.

"You love me. You're in love with me," he murmured like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Caroline caught her breath and smiled a little teasing smile. "Is that so? How do you know claim to know a thing like that, Mr. Mikaelson?"

She was caught off guard by the intensity in his eyes as he stared at her, swallowing his food and placing a gentle hand over hers. "Because," he said soothingly. "I'm so helplessly in love with you, I don't think I could survive if you didn't feel the same way."

Coughing, Caroline felt her stomach do a million somersaults. "Well then, the zoo sounds great. . .Nik."

A/N 2: Ahh! The cheese! It burns!

Well, that was an experience. I tried to keep up with how I thought it'd be after they split in 5x11 and then hadn't seen each other for thirty years. So, you know, all stubborn and angst-ridden.

"Nitrous Gas" is one hell of a sad song, but I think that it's a good listen. Go check out Frightened Rabbit (and especially that song). I imagine that being the song that would fit with the semi-sexy scene. And the whole story (Forget About the Sunshine) is a line in an All-American Rejects song "Sunshine."

One down, nine to go! Thank you all for reading!

-LoveIsATemple