A/N: Hi friends, I'm here with a one-shot feelings because i really need more caroline single mom fics so i wrote a drabble. I'll make a series out of it and expand on klaroline's relationship. This is for Jay and Alyssa for putting up with me and my demands. Love you guys. I hope y'all enjoy it.
Get What You Need
Part One
The noise is loud and intrusive.
He's got one paintbrush in his mouth while another one is held midair above the canvas at the ready, when laughter spills into his apartment and breaks his concentration. It's bubbling and so carefree, the only kind that comes from an infant. It's followed by another, softer laugh that sounds older and more refined.
The smile that appears on his lips is foreign and is soon wiped away.
He stares back at his unfinished piece of work, the ringing of laughter finally dying down, and he begins to finish the commissioned piece. However, the moment he presses his fine tipped paintbrush to canvas, the laughing begins again and his hand veers right instead of left leaving a smudge of black paint.
At this point his ager spikes. He's spent months working on this piece, his inspiration coming and going as if on a whim and he was paid too much money to simply give up. No, he's Niklaus Mikaelson, popular modern artist that doesn't simply give up because his muse decides to take a vacation.
He's been having trouble with this piece for some time and had finally gotten somewhere on it within the past few days. He wasn't prone to breaks when he was on a work binge, hated breaking the mood he had set, and suddenly this child that couldn't stop laughing was causing him trouble.
The laughter continued and he was curious as to how the child was still alive. Was it breathing? There were no breaks, just continuous giggles that flowed together and seemingly getting louder.
Klaus quickly wiped his hands clean before pushing his chair back, anger and curiosity peaked.
The sight that greeted him the moment he opened his door was unexpected. A young woman with wild blonde hair was standing just off the elevator, close to the door just beside his own. The stroller was placed in front of her, a bouncing baby clapping softly and laughing.
The woman was digging through her purse, undoubtedly trying to find her keys, but her hair kept falling down and around her face. So she would shake her head, trying to right the fallen pieces, but when that didn't work she angrily removed one hand from her purse and pushed it away.
The child seemed to find the annoyance of her mother amusing, most likely from the mother's over exaggerated movements and the flying about of both her hair and the sleeves of her baggy sweater.
Klaus felt the anger slowly dissipate as he stepped out into the hall. He kept his distance, watching as his new neighbor struggled about and the child laughed uncontrollably. He tried studied the woman, noticed her curves and the blonde hair but couldn't see past the mangled curls she fought to get out of her view. The child was easier, being directly in his line of sight, and was a small chubby, little girl with a pink headband in her thin hair.
The woman growled at another failed attempt of skimming through her bag and looked up at the baby, "do you find this funny?"
The child only responded in laughter, causing Klaus' to chuckle himself. The woman turned around so fast he was sure she would hurt herself, but she leveled him with a glare so intense he felt himself retreat a step back towards his own door.
"May I help you?" She questioned, her voice a contrast between annoyed and surprised, unlike tone she had used seconds before.
He hardened immediately at the tone, not liking the way he was being spoken to. "Yes, actually you can. Would it be possible to keep the noise down? I'm trying to work on a very expensive project and the loud noise is very distracting."
"I'll do my best," she returned before digging into her bag. The child had quieted, her gaze turning from her mother up to him and he almost felt drawn to the little girl, her big eyes seemingly drawing him in. But the trance was broken when her mother pulled loose her keys which were tangled within a set of headphones.
He returned to his apartment, slightly happy with the silence and almost saddened that the child had disappeared along with her infectious laughter.
Klaus returned to his painting, sitting down on his previously vacated chair and studied his work. The dark theme suddenly wasn't appetizing and he found himself drawn towards the sketch pad sitting on his coffee table. He was feeling inspiration for something other than commissioned work.
A few hours later, there was a knock on the door. Klaus rose from the couch, placing his sketch book down on the coffee table in front of him, and went to open the door. The woman from earlier, his next door neighbor, was standing on the other side, baby on her hip.
"Hi," she said weakly, giving a little half wave. "I'm really sorry about earlier, I'm so used to the noise that sometimes I forget how loud she can be. I didn't mean to disturb you or your work."
He saw how sorry she was, her frown apparent and not quite fitting with the rest of her sunny appearance. Klaus shook his head and smiled unable to stay mad with his new neighbor, "It's fine, you managed to give me a much deserved break from work."
Caroline nodded, brightening up significantly. "Good, good, I'm glad."
The two stood there for an awkward filled moment, both staring at the other. Klaus raised his eyebrows in question, "is there anything I can help you with?"
"Oh, yes! So I just moved in a few days ago and the internet guys still haven't come to set it up yet, I was wondering if I could borrow your computer? It's really important for work. See I sent in my designs earlier but there seems to be some confusion about materials or something? I just got this long text from my assistant saying that it's going be cotton not silk, and cotton would so not go with one of my designs-"
Klaus laughed, cutting off her speech, "You can use my computer."
"Oh thank God," she breathed out.
He nodded, stepping back. "On one condition." The woman raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. "Your name."
Blonde hair flipped up around her face as she threw her head back and laughed, full and hearty. A little chuckle came from her side, the child looking up at her mother. She calmed and looked up at him, blue eyes sparkling. "Caroline Forbes."
"And the little one?"
"Hannah," she replied, looking down adoringly at the baby.
Klaus stepped back from the doorway, holding the door open for the two. "Welcome."
Caroline followed in behind him, nervous and chewing her bottom lip. "Wow, your apartment is beautiful," she noted, "And so well decorated."
He chuckled at the comment, following her gaze as she studied his living room and work space. "Thank you but I think all the credit goes to my sister."
"Well she did a good job and she has good taste," Caroline responded, her eyes sweeping across to the open kitchen and finally landing on his eyes.
"I'll let her know," he said, leading her farther into the apartment and down the hall. "You can use the computer in my office."
Caroline nodded, following after him as he maneuvered through the apartment and lead her into his office. She stared up at the walls of books that lined the far wall and then moved to the large wooden desk in the middle. "Wow, she murmured, her gaze on the intricate carvings of the desk.
Klaus shrugged it off. "The computer should be fired up, you're welcome to it for as long as you'd like."
He moved to exit the office but a hand shot out and clasped his forearm, halting him in his place. "Thank you so much, for this."
"It's not a problem," he said before exiting the room.
He heard her move around the room, the scraping of the chair being pulled out and the humming of the computer being brought back to life. It probably wasn't wise to leave her alone in a room of his things but what harm could she really do? It was a woman and a baby.
Klaus retreated back into the living room to where his current piece of work was sitting. He hadn't touched it in hours and was finding the dark colours suddenly offsetting and depressing. He carefully removed it from the easel and set it aside on a white cloth and propped it against the wall.
He grabbed a blank canvas and removed a few bright water colours from his supply and set them down on the desk beside him. He enjoyed painting in the living room, finding the floor to ceiling window off to the side gave off natural light and a beautiful view.
He sat down in front of the blank canvas, picking up a paintbrush and began to work, feeling a sudden influx of inspiration settling down. His hand moved on its own, light blue being stroked across the white. He quickly added in more colour, his hand moving across the page in broad strokes.
He was torn from his work when a loud crash came from his office, followed by a wail and crying. Caroline ran out quickly, bouncing Hannah and holding her close while rubbing her back. Her eyes were frantic, "I'm so sorry, Hannah just reached out and grabbed it while I wasn't paying attention."
Klaus slowly put down his paintbrush and rose from his chair. "What happened?"
He followed Caroline back into the office and she pointed down at the shards of glass behind the desk. "I'm so sorry, I can replace it, I have the money! She just likes to get her hands on everything and stick them in her mouth. I guess it was too big for her and slipped out of her hands. I should have been paying more attention-"
"Its fine, Caroline," he interrupted, unsure how long she could go on for. "It was only a paper weight my sister brought me back from her latest trip in Milan."
"Oh, god," she groaned.
Klaus laughed, he should have been mad but the look on her face and the regret she held with her rambling explanation, he could only find amusement. "It's fine, she honestly goes there every year for fashion week."
Caroline slowly nodded, still bouncing as Hannah slowly calmed down and was only snuffing. Her head rested against her mother's shoulder, her hand clinging to Caroline's shirt. Her eyes slowly fluttered closed and she drifted off to sleep. "I should go put her down, thank you so much for your hospitality and I'm sorry about the little figurine we broke."
Klaus smiled at the little girl who had fallen asleep, admiring the peacefulness of her expression. She was all chubby cheeks and pouting lips, simply adorable. "It's what neighbors are for, right?" He shrugged, leading them out towards the living room and front door.
"Right," she nodded, giving him a small smile. Her eyes averted to something over his shoulder, before flicking back to him. "Is that what you were working on earlier today?"
He looked back to the new piece, all bright colours and the opposite of his previous work, "No, it's something new I felt inspired to try."
Caroline chewed on her lip, her gaze studying his work. "It's really good."
"Thank you," he supplied, following as she moved herself to the front door and opened it.
"Again, thank you for the hospitality and I'm sorry about earlier both in the hall and your office. So if you ever need anything just holler, I owe you."
"Okay, Caroline," he chuckled, seeing the two out. Klaus stood just outside the door, watching as Caroline struggled to grab her key from her pocket, lightly jerking Hannah around but the little girl didn't move or even wake.
When she finally got her door unlocked, she gave him a wave and smile. He watched her stop halfway inside her door before peaking back out, "I never got your name."
She was right, he thought back and he never introduced himself. "My apologies, it's Niklaus Mikaelson."
"Niklaus," she murmered, echoing him.
He smiled, "just Klaus will do."
Caroline nodded once, "Klaus," testing the name out on her tongue. "I like it." She gave him a smile, "I guess I'll be seeing you around Klaus."
He chuckled quietly under his breath, "I guess so, Caroline."
She gave another quick wave before returning inside her apartment. He stepped back into his own, feeling lighter and possibly happier than he did the day before. He was sure the woman and child that just moved in next door was bound to shake up his life and Klaus didn't think he would have any problem with that.
A/N: So what'd you think? Want more?