A/N: Day 23 of 25 Days of Christmas. Prompt: Stars. I think this is one of my favourites.
I very strongly recommend to listen to 'Stars Dance' by Selena Gomez [the song] while reading this.

Happy Reading!

xxx

"I can make the stars dance, light up the moon.
I can make the stars dance, if you want me to.
The sky is everywhere, so meet me under there.
I can make the stars dance, dance, dance for you, you, you." Caroline sang, her eyes closed.
She swayed her hips, completely entranced by the beat of the song. She didn't have to look at the little screen in the corner of the stage, she knew those lyrics by heart. The song was over a century old by now, and karaoke bars like these were the new vintage. Caroline liked vintage, she liked being nostalgic. When Caroline opened her eyes as she continued the song, her gaze met Klaus' and they smiled at each other as she sang. She was surprised by how easy it was, how easy being with him was.

"Klaus." Caroline said, surprised to meet him here of all places.

She left the States a few decades ago after Bonnie pushed her into leaving, telling her to live her life like a 'proper' vampire. And Caroline left, glad that she finally got out of this city, out of this life in which she pretended like she was a human girl with the perfect life. But she knew that it's been a while. She missed Bonnie, visited her on rare occasions and Bonnie was getting older, she would die soon. She used spells like most witches did, spells which allowed her to grow older than the average human being. But Bonnie's time was inevitably running out, they all knew it was.
And when Bonnie was gone, Elena would wake up. The prospect of that scared Caroline.
She grew to like her life as a traveller in Europe and Asia, she grew to like living a free life. But when Elena returned into this new world, this world where everyone moved on, she wouldn't fit into how her vampire friends and the few humans who were still alive lived their lives. She wouldn't fit in, and Caroline was scared that she would be pushed into the role of the old Caroline, back into the role of small town Caroline. She knew she didn't have to return if she didn't want to, but she felt like she'd owe her friend that much, even if she didn't want it.

"Caroline." Klaus replied, smiling when the fact that she was really there registered. He walked towards her, stood directly in front of her when he came to a stop.
"It's been a while." Caroline deadpanned, tucking an errand strand behind her ear. Her hair was short now, short and auburn red. She had it cut a few months ago and she liked the colour, brought out her eyes.
"A few decades at least. You changed your style." he replied, pointing out the obvious. Caroline snorted, she'd changed her style a long time ago, the hair being the newest addition in her transition from old to new Caroline. She knew that she'd want her blonde hair back one day, but today wasn't the day.
"I did. You look different too." Caroline pointed out, looking at the tattoos which peaked out from underneath his shirt collar.
"True. Up for a drink?" he asked, offering her his arm. Caroline tilted her head, contemplating.
She rarely thought of Klaus, tried to keep him out of her mind mostly. He promised her forever, promised her to show her the world, promised her everything, all she had to do was ask. But she never asked, never felt like asking. That was a lie, she did feel like asking. But she didn't want to seek him out and they never ran into each other. Until now.
"Sure, why not." she replied, linking her arm with his'.

"You're just as much of a sap as I am. I mean you picked this place." Caroline smiled, motioning at the very 2010s décor around them. Bars like that were vintage now, they were something old and cool and gave Caroline flashbacks and memories, depending on her mood. Today the memories were mostly good, mostly of her, Bonnie and Elena having fun, mostly of the blessed time before Klaus came and Silas came and everything went to shit.
"I did. I actually grew to appreciate the 2010s, especially the music of back then. It was meaningful compared to what the mainstream listens to today. Rebekah had me admit that Taylor Swift's songs aren't actually all that bad." Klaus replied, a slightly annoyed smile on his features.
Caroline giggled at that, holding her hand to her mouth to prevent herself from spitting out her drink.
"You listen to Taylor Swift?" she asked. She barely could believe that this was the guy who killed Jenna and made their lives hell so many years ago.
"I do. And to a lot of other pop music from back then. Kol despises me for it, he prefers rock. But the lyrics actually aren't all that bad. And they're kind of relaxing when I paint." Klaus shrugged, rolling his eyes at her barely suppressed laughter.
"It's not that funny." he said, taking a long gulp of his bourbon.
"It really is." Caroline disagreed, smirking at him.

"I actually expected you to have a villa here." Caroline said as she entered the apartment in which Klaus lived here in Russia. It was big and beautiful and very light with all the big windows and whatnot.
"I do own one, but it's in Asia. And Elijah currently lives there, if I'm not mistaken." Klaus replied, snapping his fingers whenever they entered a new room, turning on the lights.
"Why aren't you with him and the rest of your siblings? It's a week before Christmas." Caroline pointed out, sitting down on one of the big leather couches in his atélier.
"Could ask you the same. Why aren't you with Stefan, Damon, Enzo and Bonnie? It could be her last Christmas after all." he asked instead of answering, pouring her a glass of whisky.
Caroline took the glass and took a sip, almost making a face at the burning sensation. This stuff was strong. "I asked you first." she said.
Klaus rolled his eyes but sat down across from her.
"I don't feel like seeing them. I check up on my siblings every once in a while, make sure that they're fine, visit them for a few days or weeks. But I don't keep permanent tabs on them anymore. It took me the last century, but I learned to let them go." he replied, shrugging slightly, "We didn't plan to spend Christmas together and I'm not forcing them to do so by surprising them. Elijah has a companion now and Rebekah likes her freedom."
Caroline nodded, taking another sip of her drink. "Well, like you said, Bonnie's going to die soon. When Bonnie dies Elena returns. And I don't want to be anywhere near Mystic Falls when that happens. I don't want to be Mystic Falls Caroline anymore, I left her behind a long time ago, and I'm scared that I'll return to being her when Elena comes back and everything is different. She's going to need someone, but we all moved on. I don't know how I can be there for her when I'm not the girl she used to call her best friend anymore." Caroline explained, looking past Klaus and out of the window behind him instead.
She absentmindedly swirled her drink by slightly moving her glass. "And Bonnie wants me to be the new me, she basically kicked me out of Mystic Falls. We still have contact, do Friendsgiving every few years, but it's been … less regularly over the past two decades." she elaborated. Caroline sighed as she peeled her look from the sunset behind Klaus. It painted the city in a mysterious grey light which looked like a thin fog around the skyscrapers. Her eyes met Klaus' and she was surprised to see sympathy in them.

"Merry Christmas!" Caroline said when Klaus came into the living room.
Caroline slept over that first night a week ago, in one of the spare bedrooms, and she stayed with him on an unspoken agreement. Neither of them wanted to be alone during the Holidays, even though they didn't admit it out loud. Klaus made peace with his siblings, but he still felt lonely, still felt cut off from their lives, still felt like something stood between them.
And Caroline missed her parents, missed her friends, now more than ever. But she didn't know how to face her old life anymore, she made herself forget so much and she didn't know if she wanted to remember.
"Merry Christmas, love." Klaus replied, smiling when he saw that she was baking. Caroline was currently using his mugs to cut circles out of the rolled out dough, humming Christmas tunes as she did so.
"Need any help?" Klaus asked as he walked past her, towards his coffee machine. It was an older model, but it was one which still milled beans and wasn't dependent on the bean powder like the newer machines were. He preferred beans.
"Not now. I got you a present, by the way." Caroline replied, picking up her humming as soon as she finished speaking.
"Good, I got you something as well." he replied, leaning against the counter as the machine whirred, milling the beans and producing Klaus' coffee.

"I love it." Caroline said, as she looked down at the picture in the locket Klaus got her.
The locket itself was beautiful, obviously an antique, probably worth more than everything she owned. And inside were two drawings. One of Caroline with her mom, one of herself with Bonnie and Elena. They all looked like they used to back then, her hair long, blonde and shiny, their smiles big and carefree. It was beautiful.
"May I?" Klaus asked, holding out his hand.
Caroline gave the locket to him and turned around, realising that she didn't have to hold up her hair in order for him to be able to close the necklace. She turned back around when she felt the weight of the beautifully moulded metal around her neck, catching his look, giving him a genuine smile.
Caroline flashed out of the room and returned seconds later with a neatly packaged present in her hands, giving it to Klaus as she settled back down in the couch.
He tore the paper away, revealing a little box which he opened. It revealed a necklace with three keys on it, all three different in size and shape, but they were all silver.
"Those are the keys to my flat in Paris, my flat in Cairo and my flat in Peking. I wanted to return to Egypt after my trip to Russia. You could come with me if you want to." Caroline explained, refraining herself from rambling by forcing herself to keep her mouth shut.
"I'd love to." he replied, smiling as he put on the necklace, the keys clinking as they settled against his chest.

"Instead of us falling we're flying in love,
nothing's forever because we are just
stardust." Caroline sang, her gaze on Klaus'.
She stepped off stage when the melody to the song ended, walking towards Klaus. They both liked being nostalgic, they both fell in love with the little karaoke bar down the street form Caroline's apartment. They've spent over a month together by now, a little more than a week in Cairo. They didn't do anything so far, didn't even kiss. They just spent time talking, listening to Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Zella Day, to all the music Caroline loved before she left her old life and the people in it behind.

"Kiss me." Caroline whispered.
They were sleeping in one bed in Cairo, she didn't have any spare bedrooms, but she didn't mind him. She liked having him there, she liked not feeling lonely, not anymore.
Klaus smiled at her as he propped himself up on his elbow. They had been lying next to each other, looking at each other as they listened to the sounds of the city at night through the half-open window. He stroked over he cheek softly, his hand lingering as he leaned in. The kiss was light and soft, everything that Caroline needed right now. But not what she wanted.
She entangled her hand in his hair, pulling him closer, the press of their lips turning harsher, their lips' movement more frantic. She parted her lips, inviting him in, and he eagerly accepted, their tongues entangling in a dance. But they didn't fight for dominance. She knew he was stronger due to his age, he knew she was stronger because of her spirit, they were equals.
They lost themselves in each other, in soft strokes of tongues against each other, in fabric ripping and soft skin meeting its cool equal, in hands exploring soft curves and sharp angles, in gasps and moans being absorbed by the others parted lips.
Caroline's sharp blue eyes met his' when he trailed kisses down her body, leaving her shivering underneath him. His lips barely touched her skin, yet every kiss of his' set off fireworks inside of her, leaving her burning for him. When his lips finally found her clit, Caroline whimpered, one hand in her hair as her breath caught. He continued his ministrations by softly massaging her clit with his tongue, and it was bliss. But it wasn't enough, not enough to chase away the emptiness.
"Klaus." she whimpered, her eyes closed. He hummed against her, causing her to inhale sharply at the sensation.
"Nik, I need you." she finally got out, opening her eyes to catch his look.
He looked at her, now in an upright position, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn't quite place.
"Now." she added, reminding him of what they were in the middle of doing. He smirked down at her as he entered her with one finger, his thumb rubbing her clit as he did so. He added another finger and another one when she was ready, stretching her as she gasped and writhed underneath him, falling apart beneath his fingers. He stopped and stroked his member when she was about to fall over the edge.
"Claim me." Caroline moaned.
She spread her legs even further as she felt the head of his cock against her, prodding at her entrance. He slowly slid into her, allowing her adjust to his size, pausing every now and then. When he was settled inside of her, he slowly started moving, adjusting his angle every few thrusts until he hit her G-spot. She completely fell apart underneath him, underneath his hot stare, underneath his hands which still stroked her body, which explored her every curve, underneath his lips which caught hers in a fiery kiss as she wrapped her legs around him.
"Beautiful." he whispered in between kisses, his rhythm getting sloppier with every thrust.
"Yours." she gasped as his lips were on her neck, leaving love bites as he trailed kisses along her collar bones.
"Mine." he growled before he caught her lips in another kiss, thrusting hard, once twice, and then she came. She lost her self in bliss, barely noticing that Klaus' body grew taut against hers, that he followed her into ecstasy.

It was easy to be with Klaus, easier than facing Bonnie's death and Elena's return, easier than facing Damon and Stefan, easier than facing Enzo or the twins or anything that happened before she got out of that town. It was easier, but she had to face them eventually, was forced to do so by her escape personally, was forced to do so by Klaus. And when she did, she had him at her side. When she faced them, she took him with her, claiming that he was now part of her, part of the new Caroline in this strange new world.