Disclaimer: not owned by me, unfortunately. A/N: Based on Julie Plec's "Stefan is nowhere near MF" and "Has a new profession" prompts and for my twitter sister, Natalie. Sorry this took me so long to finish. Based on my hypothetical 6x01/Crossover. The title is named after one of my favourite songs by Florence + the Machines.
Try a Little Tenderness
He was happy. Damon had gotten everything he'd ever wanted, and now he was gone. Stefan is teetering over the edge. There's nothing left for him in Mystic Falls.
The Salvatore Mansion is eerie without Damon, and he can't stay a minute longer, not with Elena crying in Damon's pillows every night and Caroline trying to get his help planning the next Whitemore charity event; nothing was going to take his mind off Damon, or Lexi, or Bonnie's deaths. He picked up a blood bag, crushing the packet easily between his fist in frustration.
He watched the blood seep over his hands and the droplets fall onto the cellar's earth, he felt lost. It smelled so strong, burning his nostrils and taking control of his mind - there was nobody to tell him to stop, nobody to tell him it was a bad idea, no sober coach - no big brother, no best friend, no Bonnie. The three most important people in his life were gone. What was he meant to have done?
He stepped over the empty bag, went to the garage and attached the trailer to his sports car. Elena had cried herself to sleep that night, he could hear her steady breaths mixed with a blocked nose. He tied down the Camaro, or what was left of it, and got into his car. He imagined Caroline's pissed off voice in his head, and had contemplated leaving a note, but in the end, he didn't want to be found.
He goes where he is always welcome, and to whom was another brother, for a time. Stefan is not surprised to see the New Orleans streets alive with booming music and parties, even so late at night. There's innocents taking in the view, then others with more sinister a past. He sees it in their eyes: the bloodlust taking control, and their victims disappearing into alleys and never coming out.
He used to be one of them, a ripper of Monterey. He squeezes the steering wheel, biting back tears as he thinks of Lexi and how hard she had worked trying to teach him how to control his cravings. He looks over to the passenger seat at the esky of blood bags, craving one after the other: it would be so easy to just turn it off, to join them. He parks the car and goes the rest of the way on foot.
He passes Rousseau's and watches a bar waitress empty bottles into dustbins. She takes no notice of him, a newcomer, and he takes in the coloured signs, the green shutters and recalls stories Damon had once told him of Marie Laveau, and Madame Delphine LaLaurie. He remembered Rousseau's, having been there once before, when he'd left for France as a soldier in World War Two. He had met Damon for a drink which Lexi warned him would be his last.
Stefan wondered if Damon was watching him, and then he remembered the other side had obliterated and that fact was impossible. There is a chuckle from behind him, and Stefan recognises Klaus' voice, turning around to see him.
"Stefan Salvatore," Klaus smiles. "I heard the news, terrible. Why don't you tell me all about it?"
Stefan steps away from his welcoming arms, he wants to get his point across straightaway. "I came to get away. I just need a room to rent, a garage if you can give it, and free passage without strings."
Klaus calls the waitress over, she comes with a roll of her eyes and wipes her hands on her apron. Stefan wonders who she is. Klaus introduces them both, and asks whether Camille knew of any garages. She tells him there's one, just on the outskirts of the French Quarter.
Stefan tells her he'll take it and Camille offers to show him the way. Klaus puts his hand around Stefan's neck, and whispers in his ear, like the alley has ears.
"Just letting you know, best not to advertise you're my friend. You see, there's a war coming between the different factions. The Mikaelsons against-"
"Pretty much everyone," Camille interjected, slamming his car door and admiring the leather seats.
Stefan turned his attention back to Klaus, who shrugged in agreement. "The Correa Werewolves are taking over, just be careful who you trust, and keep your head down. I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire, but do me one favour - if you hear anything, be sure to let myself or Camille know."
"Please call me Cami, Camille is so old-fashioned," she interjected.
Klaus' mobile rang, and he took it, looking grim. "Excuse me, I've got other matters to deal with."
"So what's under the taupe? A dead body?" Cami asked, leaning her arm against the window as Stefan turned on the ignition, and looked in the rear vision mirror at the spot Klaus had been standing in. He started driving, thankful for a place to stay, no matter how big or small.
"You could say that, it's my brother's car. I'm going to mend it," Stefan said. "Where are we going?"
"Just keep driving down Bourbon Street, I'll tell you when to turn off."
Cami directed Stefan to the garage, and when he offered to drop her back, she said not to worry, she had a friend staying nearby. She showed him where the keys were to the shop, and hoped he knew more about the machinery than she did. She said it had been abandoned for weeks and there were probably manuals in the back. She wrote down her number for him and wished him good luck.
Stefan spent the next six months, every waking hour basically, fixing Damon's Camaro. He knew it was stupid to think that his fixing it would bring Damon back, but he had to do something, and losing himself to car parts and grease was so mundane a job, that in time he had forgotten his life in Mystic Falls. He did what Klaus wanted, kept himself out of the limelight, and every now and then, fixed somebody's car if they needed it. Business was alright, not booming, and he liked the peace and quiet.
One day, after he'd finally mended the tail lights of the car and changed the upholstery, and was under the car tightening a bolt, he felt somebody kick his leg, and then Klaus offered him a beer.
"You know Damon wouldn't want you to be stuck here with me, he'd want you to move on, take care of Elena, something like that," Klaus said, he took a sip of his own beer, eyeing him closely.
"I told you, I don't want to talk about it." Stefan grunted, putting the beer down and going back under the car. He felt the car ease beneath Klaus' weight, and lowered the spanner with a sigh.
"Fine, but just so you know, a certain blond has called me a hundred times already looking for you, and if I ignore her any longer she's going to get suspicious."
Stefan sighed, he should have known Caroline would not be okay with his leaving and would do everything she could to get him back. Klaus tapped his foot impatiently, taking another sip of beer.
"I don't want to talk to you, or her, about what happened. I just want to fix this car," Stefan said.
Klaus finished his beer and tapped the car to bid him goodbye. "Suit yourself," he said, letting Stefan's frustration wash over him like it was nothing. "Get some rest, you look terrible."
That night, Stefan alternated between blood bags and alcohol to drown out the nightmares. Over the last six months he'd dreamt the same dream where he was yelling for Damon, Bonnie and Lexi to just take his hands while the veil crumbled around him, but then the earth opened up and they were swallowed inside it, never to be seen again.
Caroline dropped an overnight bag on the doorstep of the compound and pressed her finger down on the buzzer, leaving it there to repeat. She narrowed her eyes, thinning her lips and getting ready to confront the two men in her life who had let her down. Both Klaus, and Stefan had abandoned her in Mystic Falls, and Stefan should have known better. She was sure she had not imagined it, but they were growing closer, more than friends closer.
How had she not realised it sooner?
After everything that had happened between them... thinking right back to when Katherine had turned her into a vampire and Stefan had trained her to go bunny hunting, and even later on, the endless hours of talking, of getting to know each other, of dealing with the whole Delena drama, and then later, the doppelgangers, Silas, Katherine, the Augustine's, Enzo... everything, she was willing to stand by his side and help him grieve for the deaths of Bonnie, Damon and Lexi because they were best friends and that's what friends did.
"Seriously?"
They were all dealing with the deaths of their friends, and she had tried so hard to get through to Stefan, to help him move on but he had become non responsive. Worse, he hadn't offered any help with Elena, who was so depressed she was now making herself hallucinate in order to talk to Damon. It made her so sad to see her regress, just when she thought they would beat the destruction of the veil, they would bring everyone back and get to be happy, post-the travellers, post-Marcus, didn't they deserve it after all?
Caroline had left Elena in Tyler's care, having told him explicitly that if he caught Elena trying to reach Damon again, to put her in the cellar for her own safety. Matt had lost Vicki and Bonnie, and his job, since Damon had blown up the Grill with half the travellers inside. She wanted to thank him for sticking around to save her mum's life, but figured there had to be a way to bring them back, therefore she could just do it herself.
Alaric said she was too optimistic, and that wherever Damon and Bonnie had gone, he hoped they had a bar for Damon's sake. Alaric had been sworn into the new board of Whitmore College, and had left the day before to sort out his classes, now a professor, though he was glad they didn't check his references, since, he said, he hadn't actually worked as a teacher in years and maybe even the curriculum had changed, then Caroline had zoned out.
"You know there are things I tell you that I don't tell Elena?"
"Like what?"
"Like you have a bit of dirt on your cheek."
Stefan had brushed the dirt off her cheek, and smiled like a goofball, and now that's all she could see. He had been happy in that moment, and it had clicked for her. Her past relationships had fizzled out for different reasons, but with Stefan it was constant, like she could always count on him, and vice versa, and maybe that's what peeved her out the most, because Stefan hadn't even tried, he'd deliberately cut her out of his life, and that was not okay.
"Lexi left you in my care, Stefan, and I'm not going to disappoint her by giving up on you."
She gritted her teeth, remembering what she had practiced in case Klaus opened the door. She had found the Boarding House empty, his wardrobe cleared and car gone. Putting it together, including Klaus' temporary silence after leaving about fifty messages, she realised what she had to do.
Caroline tapped the screen door again with her pointer, then she yelled suddenly. "I know you're in there, Klauuuss! Open up before I rip this door down!"
When there was no answer, Caroline decided to pick the lock, but after breaking two of her hair pins, thought she should have bought them somewhere other than a two dollar shop. She plopped on the front step and put her chin into her hand, defeated and stared into the empty courtyard with a frown. Klaus would legit pee his pants, she thought, if he saw her waiting for him like this.
"There's a whole world out there waiting for you, great cities, and art, and music...genuine beauty, and you can have all of it. You can have a thousand more birthdays, all you have to do is ask."
"Hmmf," Caroline sat staring at the hanging baskets off the balconies for a minute before she decided to do something drastic. She kicked the door in, almost breaking the good heels of her new boots in the process. "Son of a b-" she heard running footsteps and held off finishing her sentence.
Klaus was standing at the other end of the hall with raised eyebrows, and blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. Great, she thought, she had probably interrupted him snacking on his new flavour of the month. She swung her bag over her shoulder and strutted inside, not bothering with the door and stopped just inches below his nose.
The last time they had been this close, Caroline had made it pretty clear what she wanted of him, this time would be no different. She raised her chin, defiantly, he did not flinch.
"Caroline," he breathed, wiping someone's blood on the back of his hand. "Why are you here?"
"You owe me a pair of new boots," she said. "And you never called me back."
"I was busy, and I'm sorry about Bonnie, and Damon-" Hearing their names still hurt, she cut him off.
"I'm looking for Stefan, who I know you're hiding from me."
Klaus sighed, running his finger down her cheek, as if checking that she weren't a figment of his imagination. She stepped back, reminding him why she was there.
"Cut the crap, Klaus, I'm not here to see the world, or whatever, I'm here to take Stefan home."
"And I will gladly tell you where he is, except that he's not in his right mind, right now. How about a drink first, then we can-"
"If you think getting me drunk is going to make me want your Hybrid D, again, then you should know, it's never happening again. It was a one-time offer which I'd like to forget."
Klaus chuckled. "You enjoyed yourself, I felt it. But for your sake, we'll leave it at that. I just need my jacket, didn't want to get it bloodier than it already is. Best to come quickly, sweetheart, I don't want anyone else in town knowing that you're here."
"Why, are you running an illegal brothel?" Caroline shot back, impressed by her own sass.
"No, I fear that was more up Kol's alley, because we're in the middle of a war, and if my enemies find out you are important to me, they will kill you, brutally, so let's get you to Stefan, so you can both get out of here as soon as possible. New Orleans is too dangerous a place for the likes of you."
"Pfff," Caroline shook her head, her blonde hair shook over her determined eyes. "You once told me I was strong, fearless and full of light. I'm not girlie little Caroline anymore, I can take care of myself."
Klaus was looking at her with admiration, again, his eyes shining, and she regretted repeating his quote to him, like it meant maybe more to him, than her own irritance.
"I admire your courage, but I'd prefer it if you kept your distance from the French Quarter."
"Fine," Caroline said, and she felt Klaus' hand move toward the middle of her back. "Any further south and I will kill you," she said in warning.
"Whatever you say, love," Klaus smirked.
They found Stefan asleep on a makeshift mattress of greasy blankets with a mechanic's manual for a pillow. Caroline was shocked to see he had spent six months sleeping on a bed this uncomfortable, and punched Klaus in the shoulder for not being a more supportive friend.
"Hey, I gave him what he wanted, a place to fix Damon's car, the rest was up to him."
"Wow, and what if it had been me, huh? Would you have found me a bed?" Klaus' eyes glinted. "Don't answer that," she hissed, rolling her eyes and bending down on her knees to wake Stefan.
Klaus leaned back against the wall, watching and rubbing his arm, which would have healed straight away, he was just trying to rile her up, as usual. She ignored him, shaking Stefan's shoulder, and hoping to God, he was nothing like Tyler, who would pretend to be asleep just to scare the crap out of her for a laugh. His delayed reaction however had worried Klaus, and he was now feeling his pulse with a glum expression. He exchanged a frantic look with Caroline, and bit into his wrist, shoving it into Stefan's mouth.
"He's been bitten by a Correa. Come on," he growled. "Drink!"
Caroline pulled down Stefan's collar to see a werewolf bite worse than hers, taking shape around Stefan's throat, and she grabbed Stefan's hand for support, hoping they weren't too late.
"He's not drinking!" Klaus said, shoving his wrist against Stefan's mouth, again and again like it was going to help. "I'm going to kill whoever did this."
Caroline tried to think, blinking back tears. She shoved Klaus aside, pressing her ear against Stefan's chest and hearing his faint heart beat. "He's alive, just let me try something."
Klaus moved his wrist which had begun to heal, the blood leaving small rivers down his arms.
Caroline had remembered watching Bonnie doing CPR once as a lifeguard, and she pinched Stefan's nose, taking a huge breath and opened his mouth to blow air into his lungs. Klaus was silent, watching her work, and she pumped her hands just below his ribcage, when she felt breath against her cheeks and heard Stefan rasp her name, she told him to drink Klaus' blood.
Klaus had bitten his hand and let the blood dribble into Stefan's open mouth, it didn't take long for the bite to heal, and Caroline realised now they were both indebted to Klaus for saving their lives.
"That was some magic trick, sweetheart," Klaus murmured as Stefan rubbed his healed neck, and sat up groggily. Caroline told him she had learnt it from Bonnie, and she smiled, telling herself she would have been proud of her. "How are you feeling, mate?"
Stefan looked back at them with a frown. "Like crap, I thought I told you not to give in to blondes?"
Klaus helped Stefan to his feet, and Caroline supported him, her lips tingling still from their contact.
"Like you're one to say anything! Guess we're not getting rid of this one, she just saved your life, mate."
Klaus took Stefan's left side and they went outside to stand by Damon's Camaro which still needed a bit of work. Caroline left Stefan's side to run her finger's over the new panelling and she looked over at him sadly, and then to Klaus. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying, and Stefan walked over to her and held her tight.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice trembling.
Caroline cried into his shoulder and hugged him back, never wanting to let go. Stefan kissed the top of her head, and she listened to his steady breaths in relief. She wanted to tell him how much she had missed him, and how never to do that to her again, and that if he wanted, she would stay in New Orleans as long as he wanted, but they shouldn't abandon their friends, they needed to find a way to get Bonnie and Damon back from the other side, but she was rudely interrupted by Klaus, whose long arms smashed into them in a giant bear hug.
"Get off," Stefan was definitely back to his old self. Caroline started laughing and couldn't stop, and Klaus was left to wrestle Stefan to the ground, where they lay staring up at the stars like brothers.
A/N: Oh my god, I think I'm going to cry - I love these idjits and their friendship, they just mean the world to me. I tried to only focus on Klefaroline and not get too carried away with other characters, so I hope it's ok. Please review!