a/n: this is the strangest thing i have written in a long time, and this is dedicated to alzy, because she is flawless and we make each other write stupid things at one am. love you, darling,
take me away
i want to tell the world that i've seen it —soul trippin', swim deep
In a dream world, Klaus would be holding Caroline in his strong arms and Elena would be wrapped around Damon right now, but they've both learnt the hard way that when it comes to immortality, no happy ending is guaranteed.
Along the road to this epiphany, they discover that they are both sharing a drink called loneliness and being trapped inside small-town Virginia is hardly helping them move on with their lives, so, one humid July night, when Elena whispers "Klaus, please take me away from here", he can't help but oblige.
.
First, he takes her to the French Alps and he shows her the magnificent swoop of the landscape, how the snow-capped mountains clamber to the sky and he tells her that they could climb every single one of them and never cease to stop, if they wished. Elena laughs and asks him if it's a fool proof way to cure a broken heart. He says he doesn't know, but maybe they could test it out.
"One day," Elena says, "we have the whole of eternity, after all."
"Eternity," he repeats, and he can't help but wonder who will stay by his side for the rest of time.
.
Next, they run along to Amsterdam and Elena instantly falls in love with the rows of bicycles that adorn every railing and the canals that crawl through the city centre. Klaus buys her a tulip from a street seller and presents it to her as dusk falls. She smiles shyly and accepts the gift, before asking what compelled him to buy it.
"I hope you're not forgetting that I am a gentleman, Elena Gilbert," Klaus replies, slyly.
"Never, my lord," Elena laughs, shooting him a smile that sends a shiver down his spine.
He's positive that Elena would stay in Amsterdam for the rest of her days if she could, but he reminds her that there's a whole other world out there and that they can always return, but she puts her hand in his and accepts.
.
In England, Elena seems to forget all about her love of Amsterdam. She immerses herself in the streets of London, reading history books about monarchs and gentry who all tried to make their mark on the ever-changing landscape and Klaus sketches everything he sees. They ride the tube until they can recite the stations and lines to one another, they successfully climb the lion statues in Trafalgar Square and they race each other across Hyde Park at midnight, because who is to say that they can't act like children now and again.
One night, Klaus takes Elena out for dinner and they sit out on the terrace, sipping champagne and pointing out the sights of the city to one another. Elena can't help but feel that there is something growing between them in the silken twilight, something that she can't quite name yet, but something beautiful and unexpected that will surely take them all by surprise.
"Do you still miss her?" Elena asks, much later, when the only sounds are the sirens and road traffic, echoing across this vast city.
"Sometimes," Klaus answers truthfully, "some days, I miss her so unbearably that I think every passing stranger is Caroline. Some nights she creeps into my dreams and some nights she tells me she'll be mine and others she tells me to get lost. Other days, it feels like I'm slowly moving on."
"I feel the same about Damon," she nods.
"To moving on," Klaus raises his glass to the stars and Elena follows suit, and she can't help but feel that they're toasting more than just moving on. They're toasting whatever it is that is growing between them.
They're toasting their future.
.
Klaus leads her to Prague, next and they tiptoe along St Charles' Bridge, they clamber towards the cerulean sky in the cathedral and they explore the city that was fuelled by beauty, built with it in mind. Their footsteps echo along the intricately tiled pavements and for three glorious months, they get caught up in the aureolin tainted buzz of the dynamic city centre.
"It's magnificent," Elena whispers one night, as she looks down from their hotel room, but Klaus can't help but think that it's nowhere near as magnificent as how she appears right now, fluid under the moonlight.
"Truly magnificent," Elena repeats, but this time, the square doesn't hold her attention.
It is his eyes instead.
.
Paris is their next stop, and as soon as they arrive, Klaus pulls Elena into the Louvre. Instantly, his face comes alive as he examines each painting and Elena can't help but admire his passion. As she looks at him, poring over the art, his eyes probing every brush stroke and every colour choice, she realises that he looks truly beautiful.
That night, they visit the Eiffel Tower and watch the lift as it swoops to the sky and Klaus takes her hand under the velvet sky, and her stomach turns giddily, as though it was her inching her way towards the sky.
"May I have this dance?" Klaus asks and Elena nods, and he begins to twirl her around under the indigo heavens. There is no music, but the pounding of her heart acts as a good guideline, and so they waltz under the moonlight, until they have every star's attention.
"Elena," Klaus whispers, as he pulls her closer to him and, surely, all the world is on tenterhooks about what he will utter next, "I don't feel it anymore. The loneliness."
"Me neither," Elena whispers back, as the stars above them align, "I have you."
The moonlight isn't as radiant as Klaus' smile in that moment, as he softly places a kiss upon her lips.
"Where to next?" she asks.
"Anywhere," he replies, "anywhere, with you."