This has been on my tumblr pg for over a year...yet never posted on ff. Oops? Enjoy & leave feedback since it's been ages since I've written or posted fanfic. I might dabble in OUAT because hello..OTP city.

xoxo,

Steph

Eventually after a few decades, she didn't possess his every thought nor was the subject to each and every piece of art he created. Mostly he dreamt of her still, in different happy moments, some real some a figment of his imagination. It took every fiber of his being to just let her be, not go after her wherever she was and convince her he should be along for the ride or that he should be her guide on what the world could truly offer.

He lost track on how many years it's been since he returned to Mystic Falls. No matter where the wind took him, this was his one and only original home, he always adapted to the new townsfolk and futuristic changes. Where her house used to be was now a three story grey and white home where a family of five inhabited. Initially he was livid to have something that was tied to her disappear like that, all he had, like so many things, was to visualize it in his mind and hope to never lose sight of it. Knowing the first time he let his guard down was in her bedroom presenting another chance at life for her.

He settled into another version of Mystic Falls quite comfortably, finding new & improved places to be comfortable in and simply exist. The Lockwood Mansion was now a place open to the public, another historic town landmark. The sprawling greenery, corners in the gardens and the small café were now places he frequented to people watch, read or sketch. Varying memories connected him to this place but most of all her. Whenever he saw a young blonde with a bright personality out in the back lawn or walking into the café he felt a leap of recognition in his chest and the sudden crashing of realization that of course it wouldn't be her.

In the back of his mind he supposed his real reason for coming back and staying this long was maybe she'll return. Get homesick and make her way back to where it all began, but that was a confession he wasn't comfortable with thinking about for too long. The Mystic Grill never changed, having been in the Donovan family for years now, the generations keeping up with it now valued the tradition and aesthetic of the local bar. He appreciated that, knowing it was yet another place he had to reflect on memories of her. He even remembered the day a few years ago when he joined the eldest Salvatore for a drink, albeit briefly since their personalities still clashed even after all this time.

Looking at the time he made a mental note of returning to his home at the edge of town in a few minutes. He made plans to relocate to the West Coast sooner rather than later. Then he remembered… 47 years seemed to be enough time, he'll come back in the future of course but after 47 years and no sightings, he had to leave home and make another one.

Gathering his belongings he decided to trek home, maybe even through the woods which was the long way around. Walking out of the Grill he stopped right in his tracks to see what was obviously a hallucination. His hallucination saw him as well because it was staring back and not moving an inch. An eternity seemed to pass in those fleeting seconds where he tried to decipher the emotion that came & went in her stare.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

It really took him longer than he would've liked to realize that this was actually happening. She was there less than 6ft away from him.

"I live here." He replied after clearing the lump from his throat. He approached her slowly, tightening his grip on the leather bound sketchbooks he had in his hands. "It's really great to see you Caroline."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at which part of his statement he didn't know. But she did it just like she used to. She even folded her arms defensively the same way. "So you live here in Mystic Falls…out of all the places in the world to live in?"

He stepped directly in front of her, relishing in the split second he saw her breath hitch and jaw clench from their proximity. "This is my home Caroline. It was once yours as well if you remember. I like to come back every so often and connect to my roots so to speak. What are you doing here love?"

"Passing through…so to speak."

"Did you travel the world?" he murmured while his eyes scanned her features, committing this fresh look to memory. He noticed her eyes light up at his question and he already knew the answer.

"Every inch of it." She boasted proudly. "Does that include all the places I said I'd take you personally?" he asked immediately.

She blushed, unable to piece together her response. "How long are you staying?" he thought out loud.

"Well. I'm not sure…I kind of wanted to see how much has changed before I make that decision."

"I can show you around if you'd like…"

She laughed and it was even better than his memory served. "Are you saying you'll be my Mystic Falls tour guide? The place I was born and raised in?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. It's not the place you think anymore…come along love."

Much to his surprise, she went along with him willingly and allowed him to lead her around town for over an hour. She asked him genuine questions and so were his answers, their conversation flowed effortlessly. They soon came to the street where her home used to be.

"Uh…the house you grew up in has since been changed." He said preemptively as they walked side by side.

"I figured…why do you know that?"

He looked over to her unable to just proclaim the truth that he thought of her always. "A lot of the homes in town have changed with the times…what's been your favorite place so far?" he added quickly.

"Idealistically I should say New York or somewhere exotic like Greece right? But I know the place I spent the most time in was France. I have a home in the south of France near Provence and I really love it there."

He could tell from the expression on her face that was now the place she felt most comfortable in and despite her wanderlust it was her Mystic Falls outside of Virginia. He also had the distant thought of how far away California or Oregon was from France, away from her. "That sounds like you".

"Does it? I remember when I told you I'd never been anywhere…I thought here would be my forever. Now I sound like the person who casually parades across European country sides." She replied shaking her head looking down at the footsteps she was taking.

She glanced towards Klaus to see him gazing at her as if he was recounting something in his mind or treading lightly over his next words. Caroline grinned and tucked her blonde waves behind her ear, "What?"

"It's just really great to see you."

"So you said."

"Where are you staying?" he asked quickly before he could change his mind.

"Just at the Inn, that's certainly upgraded which is great."

He swallowed his next question and simply nodded his response. He wanted know her all over again. They continued walking for a bit in shared silence. Klaus felt unprepared for this moment. If he had to guess when he'd see Caroline after decades of merely thinking about her he wouldn't have picked today.

"Well, we're getting farther and farther away from the place I'm staying. It's on the other side of town…"

"Your old home is right down the street."

"I don't need to see it…I'll never forget what my mom's house looked like, what's the point at looking at a brand new home sitting on where mine used to be. It's alright, thanks for this though."

Klaus knew he didn't want their time spent together to end. "Join me for a drink then, tell me about your travels."

"Uh sure…why not. We shouldn't have left the Grill in that case."

"We're not far from my home…I'd like to believe I have a better selection than the neighborhood bar." He replied, he saw her hesitation and slightly panicked internally.

"No strings. I also have a stash of blood and I can tell you're growing a bit hungry."

Caroline rolled her eyes at his intuitiveness; she relented and began walking forward silently accepting his offer. They walked the rest of the way, bypassing her old home address without a glance and journeyed to the other side of town where the Mikaelson Mansion still stood.

Klaus walked in and instantly felt more comfortable at home. He let Caroline follow him into the parlor and dropped his sketchbook and keys on a side table. Caroline picked up the sketchbook he just put down and turned open the thick front cover. At the bottom of the first page was a starting date of June 2013. She recognized it as right after her high school graduation. "How is it you still have empty pages to draw on in a book that's almost five decades old?" She walked into the parlor without looking up and before she could turn the next page, the book was snatched from her hands. Klaus immediately held it behind his back.

"I have multiple sketchbooks Caroline…this one in particular rarely comes out." With his other hand he handed her a glass of fresh blood.

"So what made today special enough for you to carry it around and be all shady with me about it?" She asked and grinned before taking a decent sized sip of the warm blood.

Before he could formulate his answer he watched her lick the corner of her lips which of course was the sweetest distraction. "Uh you said you were going to tell me about your travels…"

"No you asked me to but I believe I just asked you a question. From what I recall you display and share your work…what's with the secret sketchbook?"

Klaus cleared his throat and peered down towards his feet. Through his eyelashes he saw Caroline patiently wait for an answer taking another sip from her glass.

"If you must know, I only use it when specific inspiration strikes…"

"Like what?"

He relented and passed her the sketchbook, maybe the universe was trying to show him a sign or set up his near future. "Well the last drawings I had of you…I burned, ripped up, basically destroyed. So when I went to New Orleans after making a promise to you all those years ago…I dedicated a new place of sorts where I'd have you with me."

Caroline listened to each and every one of his words while she traded her glass for the supple leather sketchbook he handed to her. Turning past the dated page she saw a pencil sketch of her smiling in her graduation cap. The next page was done with pastels of her looking over her shoulder, an expression of peace gracing her face. The following page was a portrait framed by sunflowers. She thumbed each page, astonished at the great details as if she posed for each and every one knowing they were from memory.

Klaus clenched his jaw in anticipation. He quickly made his way to his favorite scotch in his favorite decanter to take his mind off the rash decision he just made.

"I—these are—." Caroline began. "Those are just over the years and are the only ones." He told her, lying straight to her face because he wasn't about to reveal the storage room in New Orleans of whole canvas portraits dedicated to her on a much bigger scale."

She stopped on a particular one of his favorites. Another portrait of her using only vibrant oil pastels, it was a burst of all colors that reminded him of her spirit. "I think this is my favorite." She whispered. "Tell me about it."

He felt nervous. The look in her eyes he couldn't quite decipher and with every second his subconscious was reminding him that she would be on her way again. "It's actually one of my favorites as well…I've done quite a few landscapes using that medium so I thought I'd draw you one morning."

"And?"

"Caroline, we'd be here for days if you asked me to explain these drawings…"

He watched her pick up her glass and moved to sit on the leather couch in front of him. She curled her feet up and ran her fingers through her blonde waves. He committed this image to memory for a future sketch he'd be crazy not to put on paper. "Enlighten me, I'm not going anywhere."

Klaus smiled at the smirking woman in his parlor and prayed to the heavens that this moment would last.