Summary: Klaus gets a goddamn F.R.I.E.N.D.S. quote when he's three years old. Soulmates AH/AU.

Rating: General/SFW

Klaus gets a goddamn F.R.I.E.N.D.S. quote when he's three years old.

"Gum would be perfection."

He doesn't know that it's a quote until after he meets her, though.

Klaus is out to eat with Rebekah, Freya, and Lucy, Freya and Lucien's daughter. She's the oldest of his, as Kol and Henrik call them, niblings. Freya met Lucien long before Finn met Sage, and none of his other siblings have children.

Rebekah is complaining about Enzo again – apparently, he's spending too much time with Damon, not enough with her – between bites of the veggie pizza he knows she hates.

"What's so good about Damon anyway? All I see when I look at him is an immature, childish baby."

Klaus mocks, "all I see is a baby, baby bay-bee."

She picks an olive off and throws it at him. He cringes and flinches away from the nasty thing.

Lucy does what he can only describe as a guffaw. Even Freya smiles.

"Shut up!" Rebekah mutely screeches (for once mindful of her surroundings), causing Klaus to roll his eyes.

Lucy backs him up. "Aunt Rebekah, you did use three words that all meant pretty much the same thing." She smiles innocently at her only aunt. She has the act down pat, blinking her eyes cutely behind her glasses and twirling a finger in her ponytail like your average Betty Cooper.

Rebekah sneers back, much gentler than when she does it to he and their brothers. Lucy can play innocent, but Rebekah made the game, and she'll always win. She turns to Freya, deciding it's better to go to the source. "Make your daughter uphold the Woman Code."

Freya just shrugs. "She's her own person, she can defend who she wants."

Klaus grins at his baby sister triumphantly.

She scowls. "Anyway, let's focus on someone else's love life. Nik? How's the girlfriend?"

"I think we all know I don't have a girlfriend." He taps his foot impatiently, knowing exactly what she's doing.

She opens her mouth to, no doubt, make fun of him. Rebekah loves him, he knows that, but she also loves making people feel stupid.

However, she doesn't get a word out before a loud, distressed noise comes from a few tables away. Lucy jumps, while Klaus immediately turns around.

There's a beautiful blonde girl at the table he thinks is the one where the scream came from. She's panting, waving her hands at her tongue.

Hsi first thought of someone getting hurt leaves for the realization that no, this girl is just eating the marketed "Most Spicy Chicken Wings EVER". She grabs the milk and gurgles it down. The girls' companion laughs at her. Lucy, behind him, giggles.

"And that, honey, is why you don't get into eating competitions," Freya teaches. Lucy nods sagely.

Klaus turns back around. Luckily, Rebekah has forgotten – or rather, decided to forget – about what they were talking about, and starts a conversation about Lucy's grades.

He's paying attention, he really is, but the girl walks by, and he can't help himself.

He pulls out a stick of gum, and stands just as she comes by their table. "Would you like some gum after that spectacle?" It's not as nice as it should be, but she's looking him in the eyes, and he can barely get the words out, for some reason.

She laughs breathily and nods excitedly. "Gum would be perfection." Her tone isn't at all sarcastic. That isn't at all what he's thinking about though – no, he's much more concerned about the fact that she said his words. The words he'd always figured would be sarcastic. Huh.

"Um, excuse me if I'm incorrect but – "

"We are soulmates, right? You said my words." She smiles defiantly at him, clearly not having time for his hesitance. He nods, more than a little speechless. "Great! Great. I'm Caroline."

"Klaus."

Rebekah pops up over his shoulder. "And I'm Rebekah. You two are the most awkward people I've ever met. Nik, just ask her out on a date and put us all out of our misery." Klaus scowls at her, and starts to ask Caroline out but gets interrupted.

The girl behind Caroline raises an eyebrow. "You said your name is Klaus, right? So why'd she call you Nik?"

Rebekah rolls her eyes. "Because his name is Niklaus, and as his sister, I can call him whatever I want. Including embarrassing."

"Okay! Caroline, would you like to go out on a date? To get to know each other better?"

Caroline shares a look with her friend, then says, "let's go right now."

They smile at each other and walk out, leaving behind their companions. As soon as they're out from under the watchful eye of his family and her friend, the conversation comes easily.

Klaus is hooked already.