A/N: So this is a two-shot that was intended for the Klaroline AU week but got delayed. Here is however the first part. I hope you like it.
Inspired by the quote:
¨¨Life asked Death "Why do people love me, but hate you?"
Death responded "Because you are a beautiful lie, and I'm a painful truth." ¨¨
Many thanks to Anastasia Dreams for her patience and for still editing my stories.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my sassy personality and vivid imagination
Information: In this story Caroline is depicted as the essence of Life and Klaus as the essence of Death. They are the personifications of Life and Death either in human form or Godly essence or energies or simply as ideas and parts of creation.
The story shows snippets of their interactions through time in no specific chronological order.
Genre: All genres included. Humor, horror, drama, crack, tragedy, supernatural etc etc.
Warnings: Since this story includes Death there might be/are triggering elements in some parts.
.
.
.
Life and Death
Part I
.
.
.
- Life asked Death "Why do people love me, but hate you?" Death responded "Because you are a beautiful lie, and I'm a painful truth."
Caroline folded her arms in front of her chest and pouted.
Klaus smiled teasingly and almost fondly at her.
"I disagree!"
"One of history's greatest infamies," Klaus mocked pretending to agree with her outrage as he drank his vintage wine slowly and moved an ebony chess piece on the board.
"Are you making fun of me?" Caroline groused out furiously noticing the subtle irony in his jest.
Klaus tried to stifle his laughter.
"No of course not," he refused and his chest moved up and down as he tried not to laugh at the impertinence and the indignation reflected in the emerald shade of her eyes.
"It's not funny! That quote makes no sense!" Caroline insisted petulantly.
Klaus rose a challenging eyebrow at her.
"Of course you would this so sweetheart. However, it does not make it any less the truth," he provoked, enjoying her irritability and ire.
Caroline's eyes shone brighter and the fire in them fueled the Cosmos to erupt around them in a convulsing motion, breaking into stars and light.
Klaus breathed in the new life contentedly. Her fury always brought forth more for him to devour.
"Are you calling me a liar?" Caroline asked him, locking her eyes with his in an unwavering gaze that invited competition. The never-ending kind they had participated in for ages. The kind that never stopped igniting itself over and over again.
Klaus smile was wicked as he reached for her hand above the board before she could make her move. Time stilled in balance. Nothing moved. Nothing was born and nothing died.
"The most beautiful of them all," his reply was veiled in honesty and mockery. It travelled as a suggestive whisper that surged waves of temptation between them, growing even more so when Klaus turned her hand and kissed the inside of her palm gently. He breathed her in, sucking the aura she emanated hungrily. "Genuine beauty," he purred over her skin.
Caroline's cheeks blushed for a moment before she jerked her hand away; the last thing she needed was her desire to create another universal anomaly.
She gave him a decisive nod, refusing to submit to his manipulation and games and leaned back in her chair to look at the chess pieces with sharp eyes. If it was challenge he craved, then so be it.
It didn't take long. Ideas came to life and with them Caroline's lips curved to a mischievous smirk.
Klaus narrowed his eyes in suspicion when she moved her ivory chess piece, knocking one of his down and giving him a victorious smile.
"Checkmate," she declared with pride and Klaus' previous enjoyment turned to sourness.
He hated losing. In reality, over time, one way or another, he always won. And yet, Caroline had a way of defying him every chance she got. Their little dance twirling through it all. Through the ages and chaos and time and space, ever since existence's creation, and so it would continue until he would claim even her.
If only he ever could. For if there was something he had learned, it was that nothing in this universe –except him- was more resilient than Caroline. More than life itself.
Caroline gave him an incredulous look.
"You can't be serious right now," she exclaimed, looking at him suspiciously.
Klaus smiled at her surprise and next to them the horse became agitated. No living thing could see them in this plane of existence but his presence always brought forth a sense of foreboding to all living creatures. Caroline stepped ahead and patted the horse letting her aura calm it down and settle down its senses. Everything in the farm seemed to become livelier after her entrance in the gates but Klaus had to come and ruin it for her.
"Is it so hard to believe that I fancy you?" he asked her genuinely intrigued by her answer and Caroline looked at him seriously before she shook her head.
"You are everything I am not Klaus. You could even become the end of me given the time," she muttered and turned her attention back to the horse that surely now felt rejuvenated by her immortal and unseen touch.
Klaus laughed, sending waves of anxiety in ripples all around them, making clouds gather and flowers wither meters away from where they stood.
"You are more resilient than you give yourself credit for, sweetheart," he said.
Caroline tossed her head back.
The started circling each other slowly.
"I don't need you to tell me what I am and I am not," she fired back, making him bow down apologetically and then come closer to her.
"Without you I would not exist," he drawled.
Caroline looked at him intently.
"and without me you would hardly matter so much to all the mortals you have grown to love over time sweetheart," he reminded her.
Caroline did not deny the truth of his words.
Klaus seized the opportunity and carefully approached her closer and Caroline scanned his every step carefully.
"We create the perfect balance you and I. We are the same," he claimed.
Caroline stood opposite to him, taking in all his vibrations that killed parts of her, only for those part to be reborn, filling her with desires of light and darkness. Of all the harshness and the genuine beauty that ran in her veins and all the inevitability that surged in his bloodstream.
Two sides of the same coin.
Caroline opened her mouth to say something when she noticed the longing in Klaus' eyes. This time however he was not looking at her. He was looking at the horse. She frowned at first and then she understood. Klaus could not touch the animal. It would die. The only connection Klaus could have was with inanimate things and even those would in time become obsolete in his hands. Klaus could touch only dying creatures and even bring them comfort with his touch. Not because it would be a healing one but because it would finally relieve their pain.
And yet there was another connection that could tolerate his energy. One that was always and solely intertwined with his. One that only would bring balance.
She smiled at him and she reached down for his hand. Klaus was startled by her movement. She led his hand towards the horse. Klaus' eyes widened and he tried to pull his hand back.
"It is not his time yet," he murmured.
Caroline smiled at the twinge of fear and anxiety she detected in his tone. Klaus usually relished in claiming his toll but now he seemed awkward and bashful even.
Who would have thought Death had a heart and loved animals?
"He won't die," Caroline reassured him and Klaus relaxed a bit as she placed her warm palm on the top of his cold hand. She helped him flatten his fingers over the horse. The animal became agitated by his touch. Klaus instinctively tried to pull his hand back but Caroline intertwined her fingers with his and Klaus stilled. Her energy counteracted his and soon enough the beautiful horse relaxed and breathed evenly. Their connected touch became a caress and the horse uttered a neigh in content and Klaus beamed in bewilderment. Together they patted the horse and Klaus' lips curved to a boyish smile full of pleasant curves and dimples. Time stopped and Caroline was taken aback by the sheer awe she saw in his face and for the first time she realized that maybe he was right and they were not so different after all.
Caroline was at first surprised to discover that Klaus actually liked art. He did not only like it. He could also create it. He enjoyed poetry and literature and he was intrigued by the progress of science even though in many cases it meant that life would be prolonged and he would have to wait longer before he could collect his claim.
And yet Caroline also came to realize that Klaus was patient. He could wait for what would in the end become his. Everything turned to ash and got lost in memories over time and Klaus knew this all too well. He could take his time but in the end he always won. This is what he would tell her every time he tried to woo her.
And he was unrelenting in his efforts to charm her and get her to give him a chance and get to know him better. To get to know who he was and not what he was.
And Caroline also realized that the same counted for her. In essence everyone wanted her and loved her. But everyone also never realized who she truly was. Everyone took her for granted and never realized that she could be more cruel and painful and unforgiving than Death.
Klaus wanted to get to know for her hopes and dreams despite her hunger for life and creation. He wanted to get to understand her better and get an insight into her inspirations. He was also persistent. And so in time she eventually learned more things from him too.
Caroline also noticed that Klaus liked music and food. Which was another surprise for her. She always took certain things for granted but the same could not be said for Klaus, no matter how ironic this seemed.
Right now, he stood in front of a painting in the Hermitage museum. He observed in the dark the strokes and colors. He always preferred empty spaces while she wanted to feed on the aura of life.
She approached him and stood next to him. Her light enveloping his darkness and his blackness engulfing her bright shades.
"The technique here is exquisite," he commented.
Caroline hummed.
"So much art devoted to you," she noticed impressed.
Klaus smirked.
"It seems that you and I tend to inspire people,' he said.
She nodded.
Shades and colors became a blur and a swirl around them and Caroline laughed. Happiness twinkled in her eyes. She loved to dance and surprisingly Klaus was a great dancer. He had been observing humans for centuries and he enjoyed sonnets and waltz music and he really surprised her with how gracefully he could move.
Of course, occasionally both of them would take human form but even wrapped inside bones and marrow their touch could overwhelm humans if it became too intense or prolonged. Klaus' touch would eventually wear down any mortal and even cause them to shudder and break into deadly skin color, leading them to an early coffin. Even her touch could overcharge humans.
But they could touch each other. They could move together in harmony and always in sync. The world seemed to also enjoy their union, becoming more serene and balanced.
Klaus' hold was steady and they moved slowly at first and with faster and faster steps. Klaus spun Caroline around at the melodic symphony of Strauss's Blue Danube. The world seemed to shift and Caroline felt his hand on her waist tighten as she clutched his hand.
"You are a great dancer," Klaus praised her.
Caroline smiled at him.
The wide skirt of Caroline's gown swirled around her like a puff of smoke and Klaus led her deeper into the ballroom.
"You are not so bad yourself," Caroline said,
Klaus smiled back at her. "Admit it love. We were always meant to dance, me and you…we have always been-"
"Intertwined," she finished for him.
One way or another, they always ended up arguing. Their arguments could bring down civilizations. Caroline's emotions could create new life, shuttering the old, evolution giving place to the sudden painful eruption of stars and life. Klaus many times out of spite, ruined her creations in order to show her his power. The chain would continue as death would follow birth and rebirth would come after death. A game where nature would be trapped at every turn and bow down to their wills. Both of them able to create catastrophic events.
Caroline still mourned her dinosaurs which Klaus took from her. Klaus hated how Earth was overpopulated by inferior creatures who believed they could defy him and Caroline always seemed to be taking their side.
Selfish, greedy, Caroline who never wavered, changing her ways and form, adjusting and preserving, but never changing her true colors. She burned and never rested despite all of her knowledge and even her deep understanding of what he needed to do. All the things he had to do for her. Should he not exist, she would not either. The natural order of the universe demanded them both.
But right now, Caroline was being irrational while also trying to contain the damage of an epidemic Klaus seemed to enjoy. What she hated even more was the fact that it was sprouted by her part and Klaus only got to harvest the result.
"You could at least be a little bit more lenient," she accused him, agitated.
Klaus features turned to a sardonic mask.
"You are impossible," she yelled at him, gesturing wildly.
"For the thousandth time I don't assist terrorists!" Klaus shouted, frustrated.
"You just let them have their way!" she blamed him.
Klaus cursed under his lips. She was so headstrong and obstinate.
"It is not my fault humans are such idiots that they keep killing each other!" Klaus shrugged.
Caroline growled. "Don't force me to step in," she challenged him.
Klaus' mood changed. "Stay out of this," he warned her.
Caroline snorted.
"Why don't you mind your own business, Caroline?" he pressed.
Caroline pushed her hands against her waist. "I am!"
"You are not!"
"I am!"
"Why don't you go to create some puppies? That always seem to make you feel better," Klaus proposed.
Caroline glowered at him. "Do not patronize me!" she snapped, pointing a warning finger at him.
"I am patronizing you? You are the one that tried to create immortals!" he roared, his fury coming forth. Caroline said nothing making him even angrier.
"Honestly Caroline. I am tired of all the religions you created by your 'miracles' and experiments," he protested.
Caroline shrugged carelessly.
"Even you can't defy the natural order Caroline," Klaus sternly opposed her.
Caroline pressed her lips. "Which you happen to remember only when it is convenient for you," Caroline shouted, fury blazing in her eyes.
Klaus glared at her. "Well love, maybe I am just evil and I can't help myself," he shrugged even though they both knew he was lying. He was not evil. He was only inevitable. This was his nature. And that was always hers. To stand against him. To fight him. To defy him.
Caroline sighed and shook her head.
"I am not going to do this with you right now," she mumbled angrily.
Klaus laughed. His laughter an uncomfortable unpleasant sound. "Sure love. Go run back to your apes," he mocked.
Caroline stomped down her foot. "This is why I created evolution!" she bit out, peeved.
"Yes and you must be so proud with how human evolution is making species go extinct and is slowly killing all kinds of life on this planet. Are you still sure you don't want me to interfere? I would be doing you a favor," he drawled, giving Caroline a condescending smile that made her seethe.
"Of course you would not like people. But rest assured, the feeling is mutual. Well, Klaus…At least people still like me," she reminded him with spite before she disappeared in thin air leaving him behind.
"I might not be a people person but everyone is traditionally more curious about me than you," he muttered childishly in the void she left behind, knowing all too well that Caroline's stubbornness would not subdue for centuries to come.
He ran his fingers through his hair. He was sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that he would not see her again for a quite some time. Maybe if he gave a few more decades to her inferior playthings she would be less unreasonable?
Klaus walked into the hospital corridors with certain steps. He looked around and following the stench of a dying aura. He entered a room and noticed the pale man who lay on the bed. Dripping liquid was slowly falling in the IV that was connected to the vein in the fragile hand. The rhythmic bleep from the EKG showed how the man still hung on to life but just barely. It was not enough. He was already half way gone.
Klaus reached down, ready to touch the man when he breathed in her scent. It flowed around him like a swirl of smoke. A breath of fresh air. She grabbed his wrist before he could touch the man on the table.
Klaus slowly rose up his eyes and first saw the beautiful golden threads before his gaze followed her sensuous lips and the high cheekbones landing to her bright eyes. He seemed mesmerized for a moment before his eyes hardened.
"No," he strictly said.
Caroline's stared at him with determination. "You can't have him!" she hissed.
Klaus tried to pull his hand from her grip and they struggled as always.
Her power a match for his own.
The stared at each other and their wills fought. Klaus jerked his hand but Caroline did not let go. Instead she was yanked forward and Klaus wrapped his free hand around her waist, trapping her body against his.
"This is what you keep saying every time," he objected, letting his annoyance and frustration become obvious.
"He is too young," Caroline argued.
He did not seem to care. "If not today, I will still take him," Klaus said unemotionally.
Caroline's eyes gleamed with conviction.
"He is mine now," she fought back.
Klaus pressed his lips. Caroline was always very avaricious over her possessions. It was part of what made her indomitable.
"For now. For such a fleeting time," Klaus challenged and tried to push his fingers towards the twenty-five-year-old man. Caroline's grip became steel around his wrist and immobilized him.
Klaus laughed at her antics and nodded. Caroline narrowed her eyes suspiciously as he moved back and looked at the man on the table and then Klaus raised his hands in the air in mock surrender.
But Caroline saw the predatory glint in his eyes and felt the chill draping her skin, making her shiver. Klaus came closer and instinctively she grabbed the man's hand, becoming his lifeline. The man's heartbeat rose and Klaus smirked sarcastically.
"You somehow want to pretend you are superior but you are no better than me. We are equals love. Never forget this," Klaus purred and his finger skimmed the line of her jaw.
"Don't do this," Caroline muttered as realization dawned on her and Klaus smiled. There was nothing humane in this smile. It was all destiny and fate. It was the very end he brought. It was his true colors.
"You don't get to win this Caroline," he said and his lips covered hers rendering her powerless to him.
She was part of him and he was part of her. This was something he was not going to allow her to forget.
Klaus let go, leaving her stunned and Caroline' felt tears in her eyes. She had saved the man on the table but the scales had to become balanced.
She closed her eyes when Klaus entered the children's wing of the hospital.
The poor animal writhed on the ground. Such a majestic creature to have such an untimely death. Its equine eyes reflected fear but most of all pain. Klaus sighed as a feeling he ever rarely felt engulfed him. It was sorrow. It was heartache.
Klaus carried his feet forward slowly as if they weighted more than he could move. The horse uttered a neigh that was more of a high pitched whimper of instant panic and unbound anxiety. Klaus black coat swirled around him as he crouched down in front of the horse. He remained still, watching the brown beauty lying on the blanket of dirt in the stable. He allowed himself to take form through shadow and smoke and as he did clouds gathered in the sky and mist rose. He waited until the environment adjusted to his presence and soon enough the horse calmed down.
He never had any friends and for most of his existence he never wanted to have any.
Truth to be told, no one wanted to befriend an entity that brought the end. Almost everyone feared him and no one ever embraced even the idea of him. And yet there were times when out of all of Caroline's creations some of her sired did not reject his presence. Everything at first felt a sense of alarm and trepidation when he approached, even through the invisible barrier, but throughout the ages and his memories, there were times when creatures like the one before him did not fear him. And that was enough. It calmed him. It allowed him to feel serene and to feel even welcomed. To not feel utterly alone.
This horse had been his only friend for the past years. The only creature to which Klaus talked to and shared his secrets. Klaus had realized that eternity could only be counted and appreciated by these moments. Moments that always ended too soon. Moments like these.
He knew that he had to say goodbye and put an end to the suffering unfolding in front of him but as he reached to touch the velvety nose of the horse his hand trembled and his eyes burned. He refused to cry over something as insignificant as the loss of a creature whose time in the universe made no difference to the grand design of all things. And yet, he could not help but feel regret for what he was about to do.
This kind of emotion flooding him could only be described as weakness. As nothing but an affliction but his fingers shook and curled into a fist.
Klaus lowered his head and took in a deep breath. He had longed for a long time to be able to touch living creatures in his true form for more than a few seconds and to be able to fulfill his desires. Desires that were not only ideas and art and music. Desires that would bring understanding and warmth and a connection. But the only moment he could do that was the moment when his object of affection was meant to perish.
He knew he was stalling and he felt his lip quivering. Rage filled him. Unspoken denial of all the things he refused to feel or even acknowledge. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. All these human emotions did not belong to him. So why did he feel them?
He took a sharp intake of breath when he felt Caroline's hand squeeze his shoulder.
"Don't let him suffer anymore," she told him, stepping back from her inherent need to attach herself to every living thing for as long as possible. But right now, Caroline was giving him this. This small token of understanding.
"Am I the evil no one can shake Caroline?" Klaus mumbled and tightly gripped her hand resting on his shoulder, wanting to lean into her comforting touch.
"You are not evil Klaus," she assured him, seeing the good in him, "Only unavoidable," she reminded him and knelt down beside him.
Klaus turned his head to face her and Caroline gave him a warm smile. Maybe it was her that was evil in the end. For bringing genesis with an expiration date and for not feeling any shame for doing so.
Caroline gave Klaus an encouraging nod and stood by his side letting him bask in her aura. She rested her forehead against his and cupped his cheek with her free hand as Klaus interlaced his fingers with hers on his shoulder.
Caroline got up and detangled her hand from his. She knew that this was a moment in which Klaus wanted his privacy. She knew there were times when even Death could mourn the loss of life and this was something Klaus had to do on his own.
She walked away, making sure to cast away the clouds from the sky and let the sun shine through and generate warmth and life to the scenery in the horizon and to all around the dying horse. She did not want these last moments for Klaus to be filled with darkness.
It was only when her form was devoured by the distant shapes that Klaus allowed a tear to fall down his cheek.
He gulped down air but then smiled when he finally allowed his hand to gently caress the soft snout of the horse, allowing him to weave his emotions into a farewell.
"Goodbye my friend."
The horse sighed and snuggled closer to Klaus' touch contently as its last breath left it.
Klaus' quiet chuckle broke the monotony of the bustling noise from the nearby tables and the falling rain hitting the window next to them.
Caroline inhaled the smell of the fresh brewed coffee in front of her.
Klaus threw the newspaper on the table and Caroline looked beyond the window of the small Parisian café. The autumn view of the city was spectacular, especially as it was reflected in the drops of rain sliding on the outside of the glass, catching in their depths rainbow colors. Caroline always loved the sight of the Eiffel Tower and the grey skies above it. She enjoyed the buildings and the buzz and the elegance of Paris and she loved watching and studying people and humanity. It was part of her nature. To see, admire, adapt and evolve. To grow. To live.
"Oh look at that. Your pets discovered the God particle," Klaus snorted and took a swig of his coffee. His sardonic gaze was still focused on the title of the paper.
"They want to unlock the mysteries of life," Caroline laughed, watching with fascination the people walking up and down the streets under open umbrellas. Life went on. Technology was part of it and Caroline loved the rise of civilization as much as Klaus relished their fall. But there was something so indomitable at seeing how despite evolution, human nature never changed. People still walked down the roads and the streets and the paths. Repeating the same mirage over and over again. A constant flow so fleeting and fragile and yet so resilient and repetitive.
"Well, our ancestors created the Big Bang," Klaus interrupted her thoughts, gaining her full attention.
She turned around to meet his teasing voice and her eyes snapped up to his face. Klaus slowly wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making her grimace as salacious thoughts erupted in her mind.
She blew some strands of hair out of her face with a stymied huff that added to Klaus amusement. He always loved to push her buttons and Caroline pressed her lips together, refusing to give in to him and yet failing miserably. She tried to stop the bubbling giggle from escaping her lips but soon enough the flowers bloomed on the table and she could not help but laugh at his boyish look, his dimples and how they became more pronounced after hearing her laughter.
"Oh God! You are so creepy!" she bit out, unable to hide the mirth from her tone and Klaus beamed at her and his hand reached for the flowers. He did not touch them but made sure to contain their bloom. If not, soon enough this place would turn into a jungle, would even turn Paris into a tropical rainforest if left unchecked.
"God?" Klaus knowingly dared.
Caroline rolled her eyes. She focused on the flowers and how Klaus swirled his hand around their petals, manipulating their aura as if they were a musical instrument for him to skillfully play.
"Shut up you know what I mean," she mumbled and took a sip from her coffee.
Klaus' chuckle rose, creating a chain of events that would start from their table and would end in funerals.
He was livid! He wanted to scream and his temper made the clouds above them disintegrate into a storm, ready to ravage with wind and lighting everything around them.
"You can't keep bringing people back from the dead!" Klaus yelled at Caroline.
She gave him an innocent look that was hardly apologetic.
"Come on, it was only twenty minutes," she mumbled and could not help but smile as the young woman hugged her husband after the scare he gave her. The paramedics next to them were in awe by what they had witnessed, but none the less, they immediately surged into action, transporting the man from the helicopter to the gurney, running on the slippery hospital landing towards the door that lead to the elevators in the hospital.
Klaus was tempted to use a lightning strike on them but Caroline kept a close eye on him.
"That's it! I need to go on vacation," Klaus grumbled with so much rage it turned the sky black as he watched the commotion move away from him. Water poured from the skies in an unrelenting downpour that seemed to thrive in Caroline's presence.
Caroline tried not to laugh. She really tried but she burst out laughing.
Klaus gave her his most lethal glare and when it came from him that said a lot.
"Don't be ridiculous Klaus. Death does not take a leave of absence," Caroline said in-between giggles and Klaus took a threating step at her before he disappeared. Caroline shook her head at his dramatic exit and dissolved with the rain, tracing and following his vibrations. From the hospital roof of Germany, she landed on the crowded streets of sunny NYC, trying to reach for Klaus stealthily between the shadows. Souls kept materializing and disappearing with every step throughout the dimensional gaps, making Caroline huff in annoyance for having to chase him.
"Don't be so dramatic," Caroline muttered as she ran after him, "Look I am sorry-" she started as she caught up with him and walked by his side with fast strides but Klaus only growled. In response he touched the first man that passed by him. The man coughed and his eyes rolled back before he fell down.
And then chaos.
People all around him yelled and tried to help the unknown man. Some of them tried to give him first aid; others called for a doctor and another called for an ambulance. Klaus casually kept walking ahead.
"Seriously?" Caroline yelled at him, gesturing back at the dying man who slowly and so very painful breathing his last on the pavement.
"Don't blame me, love! He was a heavy smoker," Klaus shrugged and his effrontery made Caroline furious.
She gave a glare full of daggers and turned around to go help the man but Klaus gave her a warning look and eventually she relented with a sigh.
"Fine," she muttered, knowing she had already pushed Klaus' limits today.
The man behind them died and Caroline walked next to Klaus among the noise and the colors of New York City.
TBC