HOW SWEET IT IS
Inspired by the song How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by James Taylor. An odd song choice for this pair but the lyrics just get me every time.
How sweet it is to be loved by you. How sweet it is to be loved by you.
I needed the shelter of someone's arms and there you were.
Caroline Forbes couldn't lie. When she rocked up to New Orleans, she was a complete and utter mess. Everybody she truly loved had long been dead and her humanity had been turned off for a little too long now. She liked to think she'd conducted some kind of personal intervention. The vampire she was with her humanity off would have disgusted her friends and family- well, maybe not Damon.
"Well, isn't this a surprise?" Klaus asked from the balcony above Caroline's head. She looked up slowly and saw Klaus Mikaelson leaning over the railing, peering at her. Within moments, he stood before her, "hello, love."
"Klaus," she whispered, little more than a breathe. The heartache conveyed in her voice made the teasing smile fall from Klaus' lips.
"What is the matter, sweetheart?" he asked, brushing the backs of his fingers along her cheek slowly.
"I've lost myself," she replied, "I need you to help me."
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were.
Klaus was the first one to admit that his family was complicated. Elijah acted all high and mighty. Kol was a wily little sod. Freya was a pain in his neck. As for Rebekah... well, Rebekah was Rebekah. He loved his family deeply, but they drove him insane.
"After a particularly heated argument with Kol, Klaus stormed through the mansion, smashing and destroying whatever ever he could as he went. He burst through the doors to his bedroom. The clattered against the wall either side.
"What is it now?" Caroline asked without looking up from her book. She sat, curled up in one of the two armchairs, reading by the fire. "Freya? You two are due a spat."
"Kol," Klaus hissed as the bedroom doors swung shut behind him. He crossed the room and took a seat on the edge of his bed. Caroline closed her book with a sigh of understanding and crossed the room in a heartbeat to stand infront of Klaus.
"I know how infuriating he can be sometimes," Caroline mumbled, stepping forward to stand in between Klaus' legs. His head fell forward and came to rest against her stomach. One of Caroline's hands nestled in his curls. "But he's your brother, don't forget that."
"How can I when he seems determined to spend eternity getting on my last nerve," Klaus groaned.
"You love them though," Caroline reminded him. Klaus lifted his head and looked up at her. Over the years, she'd begun to understand the strange bond that the Mikaelson's shared. Few people ever did. In return, his siblings came to except Caroline as a member of their family, and treated her as such- arguments and all. The Mikaelson's may have a millennia or so on Caroline, but she could really give it to them. It's what Klaus loved about her. The fights got ugly, but she never shied away from the challenge.
With sweet love and devotion, deeply touching my emotion,
I want to stop and thank you baby.
It was the little moments, the private moments that Caroline enjoyed the most. Sure, the PDA was great but that wasn't the Klaus that she knew best. Yes, he was charming and demanding and a tease, just like everybody else saw. But he was so much more. He was gentle and caring and kind. A part of Caroline felt as though that was the only part of Klaus reserved for her and only her.
"Caroline," Klaus whispered, rousing Caroline from her sleep, "it's raining, love."
New Orleans in the rain was Caroline's favourite. Never to be in it, but to watch it. The streets were usually so busy and so full of life, but when the rain came, the city was still and the streets were silent. Caroline remained lying on her stomach with her arms tucked in to her body. The sensation of Klaus' fingertips running down her bare spine forced a smile to creep onto her lips.
"I love the rain," she whispered as Klaus' fingers continued their trail.
"I know," Klaus whispered, "that's why I woke you."
They spent the day locked away in Klaus' bedroom with only themselves, his art supplies, her books and a few bottles of decent bourbon to keep them company. The rain didn't stop, Caroline thought it was only getting heavier. As Caroline turned the page of her book, Klaus stood and walked to the balcony doors.
"Klaus no!" she exclaimed as he threw open the doors. He stepped out into the rain wearing only his jeans. If Caroline didn't know better, she would worry that he would catch a cold. Thankfully she knew better.
"Come on, love," Klaus called teasingly, "what are you afraid of?"
Sighing, Caroline set her book down and walked towards the doors of the balcony. She was only wearing a sweatshirt that she'd found in Klaus' closet. Not the perfect atire for a night in the rain.
"You're insane," Caroline laughed as Klaus pulled her outisde, "completely insane!"
"That is not the first time I've been told that," Klaus smirked. "Dance with me."
"There's no music," Caroline argued even though her body gave her away. She allowed Klaus to slip his arm around her waist and pull her closer. She allowed him to guide her own arm onto his shoulder. She allowed him to take her hand. And then they were dancing in the rain. "I kind of love you, you know?"
"I know, love," Klaus nodded, Caroline laughed as a raindrops dripped from the tip of his nose, his hair and his ears, "I know."
I want to stop and thank you baby.
How sweet it is to be loved by you. How sweet it is to be loved by you.
It may have been around the 13th Century when Klaus truly gave up all hope of finding companionship. The last place he thought he'd find any was Mystic Falls. And even then it took decades. Long, agonising decades. But it was all worth it in the end. To see Caroline walking around New Orleans as if she'd lived there for centuries, falling perfectly into her role as his Queen. He would never admit it to anybody but he'd began to wonder if Caroline ever would turn up at his door. He'd never been more thankful for anything than when she did.
I close my eyes at night wondering where would I be without you in my life.
Klaus enjoyed the freedom of not being tied to trivial human conventions. But there was one convention he was all too willing to uphold. Marriage. With one long, unnecessary night left, Klaus began to dwell on the past and became hopeful for the future. He sat up and awake in their bed. The clock read 3.30am. Caroline slept peacefully beside him. He needed to get some things off of his chest.
"Caroline," he whispered, running his fingertips across her forehead to smooth back the strands of hair that had fallen, "Caroline?"
"Mmm?" she mumbled, "getting cold feet?"
"Never," she smirked.
"What's the matter then?" she asked as her eyes fluttered open.
"I've been thinking..." Klaus mumbled, "wondering where we'd both be if our paths hadn't crossed."
"Really?" she sighed, "the night before we get married."
"My mind wanders," he answered simply, "I think we know where you'd be. But what about me?"
"It doesn't matter," she told him, "because our paths did cross."
"I know that," he nodded, "I'm trying to tell you that... that I've never been so happy or content as I am right now. I enjoyed the chase for you but neither of us were ready back then."
"No, we weren't," Caroline agreed, "and we're all the better for it now."
Everything I did was just a bore, everywhere I went it seems I'd been there before.
They fought like cat and dog sometimes. They were both stubborn as hell and unwilling to be dominated by the other. The fights were explosive but it kept things interesting. Their relationship wasn't toxic but it was nowhere near a walk in the park. They butted heads but it only made them stronger.
"Klaus!" she yelled, "we are not in the 11th century anymore. I hate to break it to you but you do not own me."
"You are my wife, Caroline," he roared, "my wife."
"Yes," Caroline hissed, "a partnership. As equals."
"Love," he began.
""Do not 'love' me, Klaus Mikaelson," Caroline spat, "I have been pushed down and been second best before. But not now, not ever again. I think you need to understand that before we can go any further."
"We're married, Caroline, how much further can we-" he regretted his sarcastic remark as he watched Caroline walk out of the courtyard and disappear into the crowds.
Sometimes the fights got physical.
Caroline battered his chest with her fists. Tears streamed down her face but he did not react. He did not raise a hand to her.
"Why do you keep doing terrible things, Klaus?" Caroline sobbed, "why can't you let other people see what I see, huh?"
"For better or for worse, Caroline," Klaus reminded her, "you knew what you were getting yourself into. This is the worse part, love."
"I know," Caroline sighed, finally giving up her assault against her husband, "I accepted you a long time ago, Klaus. But that doesn't mean I have to approve of what you do. I will not bend my morals."
But you brighten up for me all of my days with a love so sweet in so many ways,
I want to stop and thank you baby,
I just want to stop and thank you How sweet it is to be loved by you, feels so fine.
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
It broke Klaus' spirit to see other people making Caroline as happy as he wished he could make her. First it was Tyler and then it was Stefan. When they were both dead, it was countless, nameless and faceless men she met on her travels. When one simple look from her had the ability to change his day for the better, he couldn't understand how feelings so strong couldn't be reciprocated. Then she came to him, a more mature vampire and a more splendid woman. She forgave him for all of his sins, as nobody else had been able to do.
You were better for me than I was for myself,
there's you and there ain't nobody else,
I want to stop and thank you baby.
For the longest time, Caroline denied and pushed away her feelings. She was too in her own head, too afraid of what other people would think of her. But it hit her many years after her friends had died, Elena loved Damon, Stefan had loved Katherine, Matt loved Rebekah. They'd all done terrible things, unspeakable things. So why wasn't she able to love Klaus? Everybody else was just a roadblock to realising that. Klaus was her soulmate, no matter what he had done in the past.
I just want to stop and thank you baby, yes I do, how sweet it is to be loved by you.
How sweet it is to be loved by you.
Feels so fine, how sweet it is to be loved by you.
Just like jelly baby, oh yeah, how sweet it is to be loved by you.
Just like honey to the bee, babe, how sweet it is to be loved by you.
AN: any requests are welcome, whether it be a song, scene or scenario, I'll try to do my best.