A/N – Ok it's been a really REALLY long time since I've posted anything so this is just me getting my toes wet before I jump head first back into Mutation and Asleep. Caroline & Elijah pairing which I have NEVER done, but I Couldn't get this idea out of my head and figured this would be a good practice run. AH (Caroline is human). Leave a review if it pleases you.
The pain I feel with the tears you cry.
The first time he sees her is in the local café, sitting alone in the corner, crying. It's a beautiful sunny day, her blonde tresses are perfectly curled, her blouse and pants impeccably pressed. But she's crying, and the tears that are making tracks down her lightly blushed cheeks seem to mar the otherwise perfect scene around him.
He frowns slightly, and his steps falter as he hesitates on his next move. For Elijah Mikaelson will forever be torn between Predator and Gentleman. And his fangs throb just under his gums as the sound of her pulse thrums in his ears, but the sight of her tears pulls against something more human inside of him; his heart. And his urge to protect and comfort quickly over powers his urge to feed and kill.
His stride is long, his steps calculated, as he maneuvers around the tables scattered throughout the coffee shop. She doesn't see him approach, too busy fumbling through her large brown leather tote. He clears his throat, and her red puffy eyes suddenly rise to where he is standing, only the table separating them. He smiles slightly, only one corner of his mouth actually tugging upwards, as he pulls a white linen handkerchief out of his inner suit jacket pocket. His arm extends outwards to the beautifully heartbroken blonde enigma that sits before him, the linen swatch hanging loosely between his index and middle finger. She sniffles before smiling up at him, a quite pathetic smile actually, but a smile none the less. And it makes an unnecessary breath get caught in his throat. And his undead heart actually jumps for a split-second when her perfectly manicured fingers brush against his as she gingerly takes the handkerchief from his hand.
"Thanks." She barely whispers and God her voice sounds like a thousand angels. He nods and smiles again, this time both corners of his mouth managing to pull upwards before he turns and walks away and wishes he could compel himself to forget the pretty blonde with tear-streaked cheeks.
It's almost winter when they meet again.
Caroline's finishing up her shift at The Grille, lugging a large bag of trash through the back door that leads to the alley way and dumpster. She only sees the back of him at first, his perfectly tailored suit bringing back memories of a handsome man with a handkerchief at the coffee shop.
He's hunched slightly and she can see long auburn hair cascading over the crook of his arm and if they weren't standing in a dingy alley way on a day where the wind feels like ice as it hits your skin she would think that she caught them in a lover's embrace.
The clamor of the large metal door startles him, causing him to straighten and turn his head slightly in the direction where the disturbance came. Caroline's eyes go wide when she spots blood dripping from his chin onto the crisp white collar of his shirt.
The bag of trash drops with a thud and she tries to scream but it gets caught somewhere in her throat. He turns back to the woman in his arms briefly, and Caroline takes the moment of distraction to try and make a run for it as he lowers the bloodied female to the ground. Her attempt to run is futile however, the handsome man in his perfectly tailored suit appearing before her in a flash, his hands firmly gripping her arms as he halts her feeble attempt of escape.
"Oh my God! I'm sorry!" she splutters, tears falling from her cerulean eyes. His face softens as he looks down at her. "I promise I won't say anything!" she vows, her whole body quaking in his hands. "Just don't hurt me," she continues, "Please don't hurt me."
"Shhh," he starts, the blood around his lips drying, staining his skin. "I won't hurt you," he says firmly, hoping he doesn't have to compel the human girl to calm down because he hates compulsion unless it's absolutely necessary. "I won't hurt you."
She's not sure why, but a tiny part of her believes the Devil in the Armani suit with a smooth British lilt, so she nods her head meekly and his grip on her loosens slightly. But her legs are still shaky from the rush of adrenaline and she ends up collapsing against him, his hands once again wrapping themselves around her firmly, almost protectively.
"Is she dead?" she asks as her eyes dart to the woman lying motionless on the pavement. He strains his hearing for a moment as he tries to detect any sign of life from the woman he made a meal of over the rapid 'thump thump' of the blonde girl's heart that screams life.
"Yes," he says simply. And she once again crumples in his grip, fresh tears staining her cheeks.
"Shhh," he hushes again, as he reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out a white linen handkerchief. "Here, take my handkerchief," he says, holding it out to her between his index and middle finger. "Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief."
She laughs then, an almost hysterical laugh that makes him look down at her curiously.
"Gone With The Wind," she says almost manically. "Creepy killer Armani suit guy is quoting freaking Rhett Butler," she finishes, her voice at an octave that she never thought she could reach.
"Elijah," he says softly, as he raises the handkerchief and gently wipes her wet cheeks and her hysteria stops for a moment when the soft linen touches her skin.
"Caroline," she breathes.
"Caroline," he tests her name over his tongue as he continues to slowly wipe her tears away. "Caroline," he says again, more sternly this time as his pupils begin to dilate, his hand moving to her chin, tilting her face upwards slightly ensuring proper eye contact. "I want you to go back inside and forget that I was ever here. You just came out to bring out the trash and catch some air. Understand?" His heart has a strange ache to it when she looks up at him blankly and nods.
"Goodbye Caroline."
And in a flash he scoops up his victim and is gone, leaving her alone in the cold alleyway with a bag of trash and a white linen handkerchief with the initials E.M. stitched in navy blue thread.