A/N : I fell in love with Klaroline the minute he walked into her bedroom. I simply could not resist writing a lil' something about those two. The chronology of the canon isn't taken into account. Forgive me if Klaus is slightly OOC; it's my first time writing about him. Please review, you know I love your reviews ;)
My Vampire Heart (1/2)
Just a little change, small to say the least.
Both a little scared, neither one prepared.
- Beauty and the Beast -
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked in a feeble voice.
"On your birthday?" he said, profoundly outraged. "Do you really think that low of me?"
Her opinion of him mattered little, but to think that he disregarded even the celebration of one's life – rather, afterlife, in this case – truly offended him. Caroline would have snorted if her entire body wasn't consumed by pain. She endeavored to infuse as much venom as she could in her "Yes".
He took a step towards her, his face impassive. He was the villain in her book, the tempest in what used to be a quiet little town. He was the epitome of everything she certainly despised, and the reason why she was in this predicament. Of course, she thought that low of him.
When he extended his hand towards her, Caroline gasped and closed her eyes. Her feverish mind whispered to her that it'd be a pity if the last person she ever spoke to was Klaus. Relief took over for a second when he simply pulled the sheet away from her left shoulder. The direct contact between the wound and the seemingly freezing atmosphere of her room only heightened the pain.
He let out a sigh.
"That looks bad," he noted; his voice was laced with something close to – was it regret she heard? Could it be that the Lord Niklaus, the self-absorbed, destructive Hybrid, was genuinely apologetic? She didn't let it get to her, though, and the response that formed in her mind would have translated into "Yeah, right, you son of a bitch".
"My apologies," he continued. "It was known as collateral damage, it's nothing personal."
She glared up at him, and he thought about the meaning of his words. He did ask her boyfriend to bite her purposefully, with the afterthought of saving her to ingratiate the sheriff, her mother. Seemingly as personal as it gets. The thought of Tyler made his eyes fix on the charmbracelet she was wearing; it was a nice piece of jewelry, but nice did not quite cut it with Caroline Forbes. She deserved to be offered grand, noble jewelry to go along with her delicate cream skin. Especially on such a day.
"I love birthdays," he said simply.
She snorted, this time. Was he actually making small talk when she felt like the world was spinning and she was hotter and colder than she had ever been? "Yeah," was all she could come up with at first, but she wasn't quite satisfied. She could do better. "Aren't you, like, a billion or something?"
Okay, so that was pathetic. In her defense, she wasn't exactly at her best; the sparring match would have to be postponed. However, amusement spread over his face. He'd always known that this little blonde was fiery, and it came as no surprise that she should hold on to this quality even in agony.
"You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline," he said softly.
It was the first time he had used her name, and his thick accent made it sound like an exotic word to her own ears. Wait, was dementia starting already? There was no other explanation to account for her thinking something positive about Klaus, of all beings walking this planet.
"Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound to trivial human conventions."
She looked down a bit. Those trivial human conventions, like he so scornfully called them, were everything she had always longed for, everything she thought she needed. But he was right; she no longer belonged to the world of humans – she had even had a proper funeral to make it official.
"You're free," he said and she thought she heard something like envy in his voice.
Aren't you, she wanted to ask. What could possibly restrain him from doing anything? As for her, well, her age counter had ceased to go up, she was bullet-proof; for a moment, she had held the foolish belief that she was free. Free of a human's worst enemy: time. Foolish belief, indeed. A so-called immortal had other enemies, deadlier than time.
"No," she countered lazily. "I'm dying."
He sat on the bed with a gentleness she didn't think he was capable of. The weight of his body made the sprung mattress creak and the sound deafened her.
"And I could let you," he said. "Die. If that's what you want."
She once again noticed the way his accent made everything sound different. Almost as if the word "die", in his mouth, had a different meaning, one that was completely unrelated to the actual, terrifying concept of the end of a life.
"If you really believe your existence has no meaning," he pursued in a deep whisper.
She was thankful that he kept his voice low, because her ears just happened to be extremely sensitive, but the shivers down her spine every time he started a new sentence were making her terribly uncomfortable. The minute part of her that remained rational knew the fever was responsible for the chills; the rest of her, however, blamed them on his presence here, so close to her.
She felt exhausted, and angry at Tyler, and panicked that today would, after all, be her funeral in reality.
"I thought about it myself, once or twice, over the centuries, truth be told."
She set aside the pain and paid close attention to him. Something that she would have identified as tears were forming in his eyes, but he was Klaus. He was as far from human as it got and it simply did not make sense that he was even physically able to cry. This acknowledgment in itself was an abomination of nature. Such a monster could not feel, could he?
He got closer, and she frowned, unable to move or to think or to speak.
"But I'll let you in on a little secret," he said, lowering his voice even further. "There's a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities and art, and music."
He fingered her bracelet again, but the gesture went unnoticed on her side. Was he trying to talk her into living? If so, why?
"Genuine beauty," he concluded, his voice vibrant with passion. "And you can have all of it," he said.
Her eyes vibrated with a tic. She was doing her very best to hold back the tears as memories rushed through her.
"You can have a thousand more birthdays," he remarked. "All you have to do is ask."
She used to have plans for the future, yes. She wanted to visit so many places – Paris, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Tokyo. She used to believe that she'd travel the world and eat weird stuff and go to music festivals during the summer – that's the Caroline he was talking to, and that's the Caroline who was struggling to accept whatever help he was visibly here to offer.
There would be a price to pay for this. She wasn't delusional enough to ignore it. But what good would it do if she refused him and died?
She couldn't bring herself to literally ask for his help, so she settled for "I don't wanna die", which was nothing but the naked truth. She didn't want to die; she didn't want his help either, but that was another matter entirely. Psycho bastard or not, his blood was literally the blessed elixir of life, so she'd take it and pay the price for it later.
The shadow of a smile passed across his face, although his features didn't move. He seemed satisfied of her choice. He rolled up his sleeve and brought his left hand under her head. He lifted her up with uncharacteristic precaution and brought his forearm to her lips.
"There you go, sweetheart," he breathed. "Have at it."
She hesitated for one second, and bit into his wrist as he rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Happy birthday, Caroline."
The recovery was not immediate. The Hybrid settled for sticking around long enough to see the light regain her topaz eyes. She was still too weak to protest, and so, after he carefully set her head back onto her pillow, he contentedly sat there, letting the mask down for a while, taking a breath from the schemes and the ulterior motives for the first time in longer than he could recall.
When Caroline's eyes open the next day, her mouth feels all furry and her lips are swollen. She refuses to face the sunrays just yet, although she can feel them peering through the curtains of her bedroom. The events from the night before are quite foggy to say the least, and she hates to start her day with a befuddled mind. And suddenly, she remembers. Her birthday turned into a funeral. Tyler and his confession of love. The lethal bite he inflicted on her. The burning pain, the chills, the dementia. And … in the middle of this, Klaus. Her savior.
No way in Hell.
She sits up and brings a hand to her neck, where the bite is still supposed to be. She already knows she won't find it, as she is feeling much better, but she refuses to believe that everything she thinks she remembers is more than a delusion.
Her hand meets smooth, unharmed skin. No more bite.
She heaves a sigh and wonders how she is going to deal with this. Her eyes fall on something she does not recognize. A velvet black box, with a white ribbon. What is it? She sets her teddy bear aside and reaches for it. Who brought it? She quickly gets her answer as she turns the small rectangle of paper.
From Klaus.
She takes a sharp breath. So, he was here last night. She would be very curious as to how exactly he charmed his way into her house, but all she can think about is that he is free to come and go as he pleases, now. She has a feeling he will use that privilege more than she'd like.
After a moment's hesitation, she decides to open the box. What bad can it do? She'll obviously return whatever it is to the sender, but curiosity has always been her biggest fault.
A bracelet. Scratch that, a beautiful bracelet. The kind of gift she has always dreamed of receiving for her eighteenth birthday. A piece of jewelry so elegant and mature that she'd wear it all the time, to convey the message to the world that she was now a woman. How did he know? She can't help herself, her sensitive fingertips brush against the jewels and her jaw drops – diamonds.
What the Hell?
She resembles an angel in every particular, from her silky blonde hair to the azure whirlpool of her eyes, and yet, her deepest nature is that of a demon. That alone should suffice to invalidate the Manichean vision of the world she used to believe in, good versus bad, but it does not. You must hate those who do you wrong, and cherish those who don't. Therefore, she must hate Tyler and cherish him, mustn't she? It's time to make a start and create her own set of beliefs, because this is simply impossible.
Once she has put the bracelet back into its place, she re-ties the ribbon and tucks the card where it was before, with its annoyingly aristocratic handwriting. Fuck him and his diamonds.
"Ah," he says appreciatively. "If it isn't the lovely Miss Forbes."
He does wonder how she managed to get inside his fortress without attracting any attention from his hybrids, but then he remembers that Stefan has graciously obtained their complete removal from town. She taps her feet on the floor as a sign of her impatience. His discreet smile spreads; he was actually hoping she would come to him, although the reason for that remains a mystery. Now that she is standing here, in all of her bright beauty, the rosy shade having regained her cheeks, he finds himself taken aback. Almost.
He is Klaus and he doesn't allow bubbly blondes to take him aback.
"How can I help you, love?" he says.
The answer to that question, he already knows. She has interrogations. But something tells him she will not ask just yet. He is curious to see which reason she'll invoke for invading his still unfurnished living-room.
"You owe me an explanation," she says, her voice a little less confidant than she probably wants.
"Do I, now?" he asks lightly. "I thought you owed me something."
When she doesn't answer immediately, he turns to retrieve the kettle and two cups from the kitchen and returns before she can blink, using his supernatural speed to stop just a few inches before her.
"Forgive the mess, I am still decorating," he says. "Cup of tea?"
He offers her his most polite smile, enjoying that his proximity is making her uncomfortable. He can read her like a book; she seems to be remembering that he is, by far, stronger than her. The faint glint of anxiety in her eyes tells him that she is second-guessing her decision to come interrogate him. He is used to inspiring fear in others, but hasn't he showed her that he could be the sweetest of men?
However, Caroline doesn't falter. She resists what must be the physical urge to take a step back and quickly gets the velvet box out of her purse. Ah, he thinks, there comes the yelling.
"What's this?" she asks, holding it under his nose.
His face brightens immediately.
"I'll take a wild guess and say it is a bracelet."
She opens her mouth, probably for some witty comeback, like when he said he was a billion-years-old, but she thinks twice and takes a deep breath to get a hold of herself. She walks to the closest table and sharply drops the box.
"I don't want it."
"Is it not your taste, love?" he inquires, closing the distance between them. "I was under the impression that diamonds are a girl's best friends," he said with something like a pout.
Once again, she stops herself from answering. His guess is that she would have gone for "duh" or something equally…teenager-like. She appears to lose composure by the second, and it bothers him. For some reason.
"I believe it is fashionable to offer presents on one's birthday," he says with a shrug. "It was your birthday, hence –"
"Yeah, well, thank you, but, no, thank you," she spits. "Don't want anything from you."
Klaus looks up to her with darkening eyes and she freezes instantly. Their conversation stirred something inside of him. Although "conversation" isn't the most apt word, since he did most of the talking. He is still in the process of understanding what possessed him to tell her all these things. The plan was only to rescue her, but when he got into that room and saw her looking so fragile, and resigned to die, he felt like a few comfort words wouldn't be too much. For the first time in his life, he changed his plans. For her. Anger is slowly rising; who does she think she is, speaking to him like he is one of her classmates?
"You were not quite as adamant last night, Caroline."
Her breath comes out shallow, and she finally falters. For the fraction of a second, he catches a glimpse of the girl who held on to him as he fed her the blood that saved her life. The memory of the moment they shared is obviously as shaking for him as it is for her. Yes, shaking. That should not happen again – he won't allow it.
"I suppose your mother taught you how terribly uncivil it is to scorn a birthday present, sassy Caroline," he remarks.
"I don't want anything from you," she repeats stubbornly.
When he points out that he can take away what he has given if that's what she wants, she doesn't miss the double meaning. His anger subsides when her delicate hand retrieves the box and puts it back into her purse. For the first time since she got here, she doesn't avoid his eyes. At least three different shades of blue are shining there, and he wants to smile at her. He doesn't.
"That's more like it, love."
"I'm still not wearing it," she says as she walks out.
She leaves without asking the real question: why did he save her? It's gnawing at her.
"Giving you that bracelet is the only thing I've done in a long while that wasn't self-serving," he whispers before he can help himself.
If she hears him, she doesn't react to it. She will come back.
One of these days, after she gets out from the shower, she finds that Tyler's charmbracelet is missing. She is quite positive that she left it on her night table, but she can see only Klaus' velvet box, lying there, open. She sighs and settles for wearing the diamond bracelet, God knows why. Damn him for being able to come and go inside of her house.
Next time she hears about Klaus, Stefan is planning to dump the Originals into the oceans as retaliation for Klaus allowing some of his hybrids back into town. Damon, however, opts for a sneak attack, which she thought was the safest choice until one of Klaus' minions cornered her.
She isn't trying to fight anymore; all strength has deserted her and Damon is way too busy dealing with three other attackers to register that she is about to get staked. She thinks about the last time she was about to die, and she faintly wonders what the Hell was the point of Klaus saving her if he was going to unleash his dogs on her.
The hybrid stops right in his tracks with a horrified look over his face. Caroline would use this to her advantage, but she's too intrigued to react. He has her, and Damon still hasn't ripped the heart out of his acolyte's chest, so why isn't he driving this stake through her heart? Not that she is keen on dying, but that seems like the only logical outcome of this predicament. She almost wants to ask him just what the hell he is waiting for.
"Are you – are you Caroline?" he whispers in a British accent that inevitably reminds her of Klaus'.
(She mentally slaps herself for that thought.)
She nods with a frown, a little too eager to discover the reason for this unexplainable behavior.
"What?"
"My apologies," he stammers. "Please excuse me."
Before she gets a chance to question him further, he drops the stake and flees as fast as his goddamned hybrid speed allows him. When Damon gets to her, she's still in the process of figuring out what just happened – or rather, didn't happen – so she doesn't really pay attention when he grabs her arm to help her stand.
"Ouch," he grumbles. "Your bracelet hurt me."
He rubs the inside of his wrist with a grimace, although the scratch is already gone. He doesn't miss the fact that her heart skips a beat or two. She gasps.
"What?" he all but growls.
The bracelet.
"What?" he says again.
I suppose your mother taught you how terribly uncivil it is to scorn a birthday present, sassy Caroline.
Caroline blinks rapidly and immediately regains composure, having become an expert in the art of pulling out a wonderful poker face. Given, it always comes with a pang of guilt, but this is Damon standing in front of her; he has probably told her more lies than truths. She gives him her most teasing single.
"Ouch, your bracelet hurt me," she mimics mockingly. "Stop being such a girl about it."
Luckily, he just rolls his eyes at her and starts walking. She sighs and falls into his step.
Sometimes, she'd love this sire bond thing to work for her and Damon; she wishes he could sense that she was lying so he would get angry and throw her into a dungeon so she would never be able to get near Klaus ever again.
Unfortunately, Damon isn't half the Sire to her that Klaus is to Tyler.
He didn't lie when he said offering her this bracelet had been his only unselfish action in decades.
He has decided to protect her from all the crazy schemes, now. There is something utterly disturbing about the idea of her getting caught in this war Stefan has declared on him. Besides, he did bother to save her life once, and his actions never go to waste.
That's what he tells her when she comes asking for an explanation as to the odd attitude of his hybrid.
"Not to worry, love, the fool was severely reprimanded for his blunder," he greets her as she makes her way into the living-room.
"So, what? As long as I'm wearing this, nothing can happen to me?"
"You come to no harm at my hybrids' hands," he confirms simply.
She knows how to take a cue, and so she leaves, a little more confused than she was before. She still hasn't asked the real question, and as she gets back into her car, she wonders: why did you save me?
The first time he turns up uninvited, she finds him sitting on her bed, in the exact same spot where he sat that night. She is alone in the house, since her mother is never there when she needs her, and Bonnie and Elena are busy dealing with Stefan and the coffins, so she is very proud to say that she doesn't have a heart attack at the sight of this murderer casually manipulating her teddy bear like it's the most fascinating object in the world.
She inhales deeply, preparing herself to fling some scathing remark at him, but Klaus' head immediately turns in her direction, and for one second, her heart stops beating. The green of his eyes is so intense that it's a wonder she has never noticed it before. His eyes are wide, and he seems surprised to see her there. She almost expects him to vanish, like the bad dream he is to her.
But he does not move. She decides to be casual about this, in hopes that he'll be offended by her absence of interest in him and leave. A voice inside her head tells her she's kidding herself, but it's worth a try.
"Don't you have somewhere to be, inflicting misery or evil things of the like?" she says calmly.
He gives her one of those smirks she has seen so many times on Damon; she can't help but notice that it suits him all too well, just like it does Damon. What is it with me and bad boys, anyway? When she remembers the way she used to feel about Damon, and realizes that she's just compared him to Klaus, she feels suddenly nauseous, and the sound of his deep voice isn't of any help at all.
"I have cleared my schedule for you, as you can see," he informs politely. "I figured it was time you and I had a little chat."
"What more do you want from me? I'm wearing your goddamned bracelet," she says through her teeth, holding her wrist up as proof.
"And it does look breathtaking on you, sweetheart," he said. "But in this case, you want something from me."
"As if."
"Don't you wish to know why I saved you?"
His question silences her. She was not expecting that, at all. She was not expecting to find him in her bedroom waiting for her; not when all she wanted was a quiet evening all alone to deal with the mess of things with Tyler, and think about the advice she'd give Elena about this whole "I'm in love with both Salvatores" situation. But – does she wish to know why he saved her? Hell, yes. She's just not sure she is ready for the answer, yet.
"I can put two and two together, thank you very much," she snaps. "Tyler the sired hybrid is no longer a slave of the moon, so you're in the Mayor's good books. She and my mom practically run this town, so – "
"Ah, yes," he concedes. "Liz' support is a truly valuable asset."
She cringes internally at him calling her mother by her first name, and faintly wonders if he's been paying visits to her, too. The answer frightens her so much that she doesn't ask, and she internally screams at the top of her lungs because there are so many answers that she's afraid of, when it comes to him.
He shifts the weight of his body, gesturing for her to go to bed as she was visibly planning to, and she snorts, her pretty features distorted by outrage. Rebekah used to have this exact same reaction whenever he tried to boss her around, back in their long-lost human days; he would ask – rather, strongly suggest – her to do something, she'd ignore him and then he'd give her "the look". It always resulted in her pouting, folding her arms across her chest stubbornly, and … doing what she had been told.
And so he settles for giving Caroline "the look". Staying perfectly motionless, he simply looks up to her with an intensity that hits her unexpectedly; almost as if his eyes had the power to move the weight of her body and direct it to the bed. Almost as if his eyes were acting like a magnet on her, or setting her on fire. He doesn't miss that her heart rate goes up. It might be from the anger. The words This is my room and I'll go to bed if I want to, when I fucking want to are metaphorically written all over her face, but a smile surfaces at the corner of his lips when she falls over on the bed, all pouty and frowning.
There is something disturbing about the situation they are in; she, a baby vampire, being tucked in by one of the Originals. Although there is still a respectable distance between their two bodies, they are very well aware of the sparks flying, and the way they quickly glance when the other isn't looking.
Caroline brings the sheet up to her chin, although the gesture lets him know that he once again has the upper hand. Using this information to his advantage, he extends his arm and she watches as his fingers tentatively brush against her cheek. He's very careful and she's not even sure that there is an actual contact of skins, but she surely feels like there is. More sparks. Once he is positive that she won't snap his hand away, his palm comes to rest in the hollow of her neck, where Tyler bit her. She cringes a little at the memory and when she finally meets his eyes, what she sees there frightens her more than anything, as his thumb draws circles on her skin, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
"What are you –," she starts.
"So," he interrupts weakly. "According to you, I did this with the sole purpose of getting Liz to support me?"
"Yes," she says firmly, almost encouraging him to contradict her.
"How wrong can you be, pretty Caroline," he says, shaking his head in disapproval. "How wrong, indeed."
Caroline averts her gaze. So, there is another reason for her miraculous recovery. She can't say that she is surprised; there is something about the way this ancient one looks at her that makes her believe she has some sort of value in his eyes. The nature of that value, she is not quite prepared to acknowledge. And there is also this warm hand against her skin that's making it hard to focus.
"It's getting late," she says shortly. "I have school tomorrow."
Klaus pauses and the coldness of her voice makes him remove his hand from her neck. She folds her arms across her chest and stubbornly looks away from him, trying to conceal the tears of emotion forming in her eyes. He can smell them though, and he wonders just what he has said that moved her to this extent. Does she truly believe that she is completely worthless?
"Tomorrow's Friday," he whispers. "I may come by tomorrow, then."
She distinctly hears the question mark he didn't put at the end of his sentence. His persistant politeness is exasperating. It makes it seem like she has the power to keep him out, which she knows she doesn't.
"Surprise me," she snorts.
He laughs silently and elegantly hops off the bed.
"I absolutely never back out of a challenge," he says. "You're in for a treat, Miss Forbes."
tbc ...