AN: Hi all! Well it's been a while, but I've been inspired! This is a Caroline centric story, not AU per se, but not strictly according to the series either...read on and you'll see.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, Klaroline would be canon and life would be beautiful.
I'll Love You When You're Dead
Caroline groans.
The ballrooms get bigger and bigger upon every visit, and being lost in Klaus's personal mausoleum was not high on her list of things to do. She had to meet Elena tomorrow for brunch, and if she missed again, Elena would have her head. Never mind Elena's sweet facade, Caroline knew what that girl was capable of. And if Caroline was honest, she knows that thin string of steel is what really drew the Salvatore brothers. It was not the whole pure and holy routine they both claimed to be attracted to.
It's the third curving staircase she's passed and she's getting sick of it. She swears she's seen that vase before and all the tapestries look familiar. Klaus definitely needs a better interior designer. The gloomy décor is heavy and oppressing, and all she wants to do is to curl up with a cup of tea and laugh at the love lives of Rachel and Ross. Is that too much to ask for?
But no, she lives in a town overrun with vampires, and werewolves, and all other manner of supernatural beings. And to think that at first, she thought this town was boring. She should've ran that first day without a backward glance.
Instead, here she is, a few years and a ball later, clock ticking towards midnight in enemy territory.
She feels a shift in the wind.
Caroline spins around to face her resigned fate.
Klaus.
How did you like the party, love?
What do you want?
Can't we just talk, sweetheart?
No. We can't ever just talk. Why do you even want to talk to me?
You and me, we're alike. More than you know. I've gone a thousand years through darkness, and it's been lonely and weary. You've not even finished your first decade, and I think you know what I mean. What will eternity be like without your friends Caroline? Your human friends who will not outlive you. You and I...we're looking for company.
Whatever I'm looking for, it isn't anything you can give me.
I can give you the world. Love, you just have to give me a chance.
I'll give you a chance when you die!
Klaus chuckles. He's amused at her antics and this makes her even more angry. She starts shouting now.
Why can't you just leave me alone?!
He sobers quickly and looks at her. He cants his head and studies her eyes and it seems that he's burning a trail right into her soul. She's convinced that he's the one who invented 'soul-searching'. She looks away.
You'll come around, darling. I've got forever, after all.
She doesn't speak. She would scoff, but the air is so heavy that if she tried to cut it with a knife, it would split apart like cold butter.
A few beats later, and they hear footsteps on the stairs outside. Klaus gives her one last look.
I'll be around. I'll see you, love.
And he walks out without even offering her some closure.
It's a few decades later, cars can fly (she can't believe it either), humans live on their digital glasses and nothing's changed at all.
She sees him in Central Park of all places.
She doesn't stray out the country. Mystic Falls may have gotten too stifling small for her, but she can't bear to leave the states. If this has something to do with Klaus's promise, she refuses to acknowledge it. Elena's off traipsing about Europe with Damon. Elena's a vampire now too, but they have grown apart and now they barely talk. Bonnie's married with kids and Jeremy makes a lovely husband, she's heard. Caroline is in the big city trying to make a niche for herself in the fast paced world.
She's an event organizer now. All efficiency and smiles and deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. She didn't expect her undead life to be so normal, but she's glad it is, she thinks.
She has a job and an apartment and some work friends who like to get together with her for drinks (no, not the bloody kind). And she's content, for maybe the first time ever.
So of course, seeing a reminder of her past life is a shock. A bit like being dipped in ice water, if you will.
She sees him first.
He's standing there. His back towards her. Contemplating the Bethesda fountain. Head tilted and lost in thought, he's studying the angel with half-closed eyes.
She's entranced. Mesmerized by this reminder of her past, she thinks back and remembers the times of paranormal teenage turmoil, when melodrama was the standard, and everything was life or death. She smiles self-deprecatingly and snorts.
His hearing hasn't deteriorated, and he turns around quickly, startled, and was that a fleeting happy smile she just saw?
She's had sixty some odd years to mellow out. And so she doesn't immediately respond with anger and bitterness.
Klaus.
She says evenly, and inclines her head.
Ah, love, we meet again at last. How has life been treating you?
He's got a smile on his face. The one that she still sometimes dreams of. It's a bright smile, one that's touched with hope, and shows the promise of joy.
It's been well...I've been well. How's the life of a psychopathic monster these days?
Because she can't let him off that easily. Because at one point, he has tried to kill her and everyone she cared about.
He just smiles. A wistful smile.
Not so much a psychopathic monster anymore, sweetheart. I've been traveling. I've been looking for something.
And have you found it?
Not yet. Maybe one day, perhaps.
She nods, understanding. She's looking for something too. She's not entirely sure what, but it's something planning birthdays and anniversaries can't give her. She's grown patient though, so she'll wait.
Well, I'm sure it's not your first time in this city-
Not by a long shot. He teases laughingly.
But there's this new bar, and I don't think you've been. Do you want to...
I'd love to. What's with this change of heart, Caroline? A few decades, and you've forgiven my transgressions?
It's been a while, Klaus. I think I can allow myself to move on.
He smiles at her. Really smiles. It's a beautiful smile with dimples and pearly white teeth and her breath catches for a moment. If this moment stretched out a little longer, she thinks, she wouldn't mind at all.
It's been so long since any ties to her past has been here, here, with her, that she's itching to just drag him to a seat and start talking. She has so much to say.
She might start with how his family is doing, and then maybe she'll tell him about that last baby shower she planned, where the mother turned out to be a werewolf. She's excited, and a bit daunted, but surprisingly, very, very happy.
She hasn't yet found just what she's been looking for, all these years, but maybe being here, with Klaus, it's one step closer, to wherever it is that she's going.
Caroline, I'm glad to be here with you.
.fin.