A/N: Hello there! This is a little fic I wrote after the events of 5x11, and something I've been meaning to post for a while but hadn't quite gotten round to doing. I hope you enjoy it! :D
The man huffed impatiently.
"I'm getting real tired of your games," he said, pressing the wooden stake deeper into her flesh. "Where. Is. He."
Caroline lifted her gaze to meet his. "Bite me," she hissed.
Her captor chuckled darkly. His patience was wearing thin, and it was only a matter of time until it ran out completely. Then she would pay.
"All in good time. Right now I need you to tell me where your friend Klaus is hiding."
This time it was Caroline's turn to laugh. She hadn't seen or heard from the hybrid since their little tryst in the woods. Since the day he'd promised to leave her and never look back.
"Klaus doesn't hide. Especially not from the likes of you." She tugged once more against the vervain rope that bound her hands together, and had to refrain from crying out loud. Truth be told, this man didn't scare her - she'd endured far worse pain. That's not to say she enjoyed being kidnapped and hung from the ceiling like some kind of butchered animal, however. She had some dignity.
"Y'know," said the man, his voice laced with malice. "As fun as this has been, I think you've outlived your usefulness." He bared his fangs and grinned."But first, a drink."
Caroline felt sick. She flashed her own fangs in retaliation, hating how helpless she felt. Becoming a vampire was meant to end her days as a blood bag. She was done being used.
"Well aren't you a feisty little thing," he snickered, a finger trailing just under her breast bone. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you." The man leaned in close, and she could feel his breathe heavy on her cheek. "By the end of this, I'll have you begging for me to kill you." With a sharp tug he yanked out the wood lodged into her, and this time she doesn't hold back her cry. Pain is all she feels. Pain is all she is.
Suddenly there's a sickening pop as one of her captor's arms is pulled out of its socket and twisted behind his back. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that last part," Klaus growled from behind the man. "What was it you said about begging?"
There were dark spots dancing in Caroline's vision, her body focussing all its energy on repairing the gaping wound in her stomach. Through the darkness, the hybrid appeared almost ethereal, like some sort of avenging angel.
"Klaus," she croaked out, and his eyes flickered to her, softening as he took in her pained expression. When he turned his gaze back to her captor however, it was cold as steel.
"Clearly you have a death wish, otherwise you wouldn't have touched her." He shot his hand through the man's back to encircle his heart and revelled in the strangled noise he made.
"Please," Caroline's captor urged, clawing desperately at his chest. "I had no idea she meant anything to you."
Klaus cocked his head to the side as if weighing the man's words. "Well, now you do," he stated simply before tearing out his heart. He was at Caroline's side in an instant.
"It's okay, love, I've got you," he murmured into her curls. One hand was under legs, while the other made quick work of the vervain rope. He barely felt the burn of its touch. Then, with that hand supporting her body, he carried her off into the night.
When Caroline opened her eyes she was in bed. Her own bed, to be exact, yet the room felt different, smaller somehow. Looking across the room she saw Klaus, propped up in a chair with his eyes shut. The sight was comforting. She watched him from her pillow, noticing how, even in sleep, his posture remained poised, as if awaiting an attack.
Sensing her consciousness, Klaus looked up, and was met by curious blue eyes. Caroline felt a blush creeping in from being caught staring, yet was still unable to look away. Blue locked onto blue, until finally Klaus stood, walking over to sit at the edge of the mattress. The whole situation reminded Caroline of a time, too long ago to matter, where the hybrid had sat in that exact spot. He had saved her life then as he had saved her life now, only this time Caroline understood why. That didn't mean she was any less surprised.
"You promised," was all she said, her thoughts travelling back to the last time they'd seen each other. Her honesty for his departure, that was the deal they'd made.
"I did," he said, with a nod of his head. He cupped her cheek with a calloused hand, and she almost leaned into it. Almost. "But some promises are meant to be broken." Klaus had been willing to leave Caroline behind, along with his heart, and wait for her to come to him. As hard as that had been - especially considering the glorious memories she had left him with - he had been intent on keeping his promise. That is, until he had been given word of Caroline's disappearance through Stefan. Then his promise had been forgotten, his mind immediately fearing the worst.
Caroline sat up with a shuffle, the hybrid's hand falling to rest between them. She looked at it, then laced her fingers through his, and smiled softly. "Thank you. For saving my life. Again." She frowned. "This is kind of becoming a regular thing isn't it?"
Klaus chuckled. "Hopefully this is the last time you're put in harm's way. Though knowing the company you keep, I highly doubt it." His eyes are sombre when they meet hers again. "I am so sorry your connection to me has endangered you. I had no intention of my enemies becoming yours." He pressed his lips against her knuckles, and she took in a shaky breath.
"Well, you are the biggest bad out there - I'm fairly certain being on your team is the safest I'll ever be."
He smirked, his dimples deepening. Caroline's eyes fell to his upturned lips, immediately revisiting their previous journey across every inch of her skin. The thought sent a shiver up her spine. Stop it, she scolded, forcing herself to keep her gaze fixed instead on her hand in his. How strange it was, to hold Klaus' hand, after she had watched him use it to tear out a man's heart. She knew she should feel some sort of revulsion or at least a sense of wariness holding the hand of a murderer, but all she felt was warmth from the intimate gesture. After all, was she not a killer herself?
She lifted her eyes and caught him also looking down at their interlocked fingers. When he lifted his head, there was a softness behind his icy gaze. Her hand had given him hope. Hope that perhaps their woodland encounter had meant more to Caroline than she led him to believe. Hope that he was not alone in this feeling of longing.
"Caroline..." he started, but her lips we're on his. Klaus sat frozen, but not for long, as her mouth moved languidly over his. One hand reached up to cup her face, while the other slid around to her neck, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Her own hands were in his hair, raking gently through his curls, each tug eliciting a small groan from the hybrid. It was all becoming too much, and when her lips began to travel across the line of his jaw, he summoned as much willpower as he could to draw back.
Her eyes fluttered open, blue eyes giving way to confusion and the smallest tinge of rejection. Then he stood, putting as much distance between them as possible in the small room. "Caroline," he repeated, his voice lower this time.
She blinked up at him. "What? I thought you wanted me to kiss you." Her arms crossed against her chest, defensive. He sighed. How could she not understand?
"I do, love. You know that, just as I know you want to kiss me too." She huffed at his presumptions, and his lips quirked up in amusement. "But I don't want to just kiss you, Caroline. I don't even want to have sex with you-"
"Charming," she said, with a roll of her eyes, and he chuckled.
"Let me finish. What I want, sweetheart, is to love you. Not from afar or in secret, but with everything I am." He edged closer, but remained standing, eyeing the bed warily. "I've spent so long trying to convince myself I was unaffected by you, and for a time, I actually believed it. But then I'd remember the sound of your voice or the feel of your lips and it'd all come rushing back. What I want.." His gaze dropped to the floor in a gesture that displayed the most vulnerability she'd ever seen from Klaus. When he looked back up, his eyes were almost pleading. "...is for you to love me."
There was a finality to his tone that both frightened and excited Caroline. She had known what he wanted; she had always known what he wanted, but... "Klaus, I can't jus-"
"I know." He sat back on the bed and smoothed a hand across her cheek. "I know." His voice was soft and low and not all what Caroline needed to be thinking about as he minimalised to distance between them. "You aren't ready to give me what I want, love. Loathe as I am to admit it, you were right the last time we saw each other. You have plans, and a future, and things that you want - things that I can't offer you. At least, not yet." A small smile graced his lips. "I meant what I said the day of your graduation." He brushed his lips against her forehead, the ghost of a kiss. "I intend to be your last love. But until then, I can't see you. Or touch you. Or have you expect me to move on, because you're always there in the back of my mind no matter how hard I fight it." He stood again, running a hand through his hair and then down his face, defeated.
Caroline hadn't said a word as he spoke, choosing instead to silently watch as he confessed his feelings.
Now, however, it was her turn.
"Its true," she started, and he looked over to her expectantly. "My plans don't involve you. All I've ever wanted was a normal, human life and being a vampire isn't going to change that. Sure I won't get to have kids, or a permanent home, or someone to grow old with, but I can still go to college. I can still live." She paused, and he nodded before speaking.
"I understand." And he did. He truly did. She wanted ordinary, and he could never give that to her, try as he might. In truth, he didn't want to give that to her - a wonderful woman deserved a wonderful life, and he would give it to her. In time. "I'm a man of my word," he said, edging towards the door, "but I will always come back for you, Caroline. Always."
And then he was gone.
Wasn't quite sure how to end it, but I think it finishes well there - what do you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know! :)