A/N: This is supposedly another contribution for klarolineauweek on tumblr for All Human (Celebrities), but yes, I'm late (again), so I'm just posting this now. The prompt, as usual, was given to me by my very good friend sneakercladbrunette because she's both the angel and devil on my shoulders. Here is Klaus and Caroline as co-stars who can't seem to agree on the motivation behind their characters…until they do.
Enjoy!
xXx
CeruleanBlues
Animal
Their characters in the show hated each other, but that was fine, because so did they. Off-screen, Caroline Forbes couldn't find a more egotistical, stubborn and most maddeningly narcissistic man than Klaus Mikaelson. He was condescending to everybody on set, questioned everything the director required of him, and was always quick to point out the flaws in her performances. According to his 'expert opinion', she lacked the burning fire and passion in her eyes, which was a right fucking irony because each time she had to do a scene with him, she could think of nothing more than to mount his severed head upon any one of the walls and light it up in flames.
Physical stunts were unavoidable, unfortunately, and what she would do to have a more considerate co-star. More than a couple of times now she had found herself covered in bruises when he failed to pay just that bit of regard for her wellbeing instead of treating her like his own personal cushion.
"Don't worry, I'm here now. Are we ready?"
His posh accent grated on her nerves, and as he sauntered to position himself on the mark five feet away from her, Caroline couldn't help the way she involuntarily shuddered at the impassive look he shot her way. The scene they were about to film would be a rather unpleasant one for her, and she could already predict the long soak in the tub when she returned home.
"We're just going to run through it once first, all right?" Alaric Saltzman called out from his position behind the camera monitor. "You don't have to run yet, Caroline. We're doing blocking and dialogue."
"Got it," she nodded and waited for her cue to jog the four steps—glancing over her shoulders on her second—before colliding into Klaus. His arms held hers stiffly in an emulation of catching her fall, and half-heartedly she began reciting her lines.
"Okay, reset," Alaric announced.
"Having an off day, sweetheart?" he taunted in her ear.
Caroline scowled menacingly and tore herself from his grasp. The make-up artist fussed about her hair for a bit, ensuring that her golden curls bounced prettily when she ran. A loud cackle of laughter rang high in the air, shrill and piercing, and in her periphery, Caroline noticed Klaus blatantly flirting with an intern. Hayley, her name was, and Katherine Pierce from the wardrobe department—and Caroline's best friend—absolutely abhorred her sneaky, scheming little ass.
"She's such an attention whore, isn't she?" Rebekah, Klaus' younger sister—who coincidentally also played his sibling in the show—remarked snarkily as she walked up to the other blonde. Her arms were crossed and her eyes were aiming daggers at the brunette. "Did you know that the bitch invited herself for dinner the other day, and all the while she was making mooning faces at my brother. I swear if I wasn't there, she probably would've willingly gone down on him right there in the bloody restaurant."
Caroline scoffed. "Well, it's not as if he's discouraging her at all. Chances are, he probably wants to get into her pants almost as much as she does."
"That's revolting, and not an image I want in my head, thank you very much."
"Places!" Alaric yelled out.
The two exchanged glances before parting, and Caroline went to take her spot. She shook herself out, hoping to dispel the nervous energy and loosen her stiff muscles. If there was one thing she had learned from the months of abuse, it was that she had a better chance of leaving unscathed if she relaxed her body and focused more on breaking her falls.
"Stand by! Cameras rolling!"
Deep steady breaths.
"Action!"
His lithe frame was iron against hers, and the instant her body crashed into his, Caroline grimaced at the unforgiving impact. Even so, she didn't falter and delivered her line flawlessly with as much alarm as she could muster. Alaric called 'cut', but Klaus kept his grip tight on her arms, an unsatisfied frown upon his lush lips as his searing gaze bore down on hers.
"That was utter rubbish, Caroline," he sneered. "Is that how they teach you to act in Juilliard? I think you need a refund."
"Screw you, Klaus," she retorted, pushing him away.
"Let's reset and do one more," Alaric informed them. "It looks good so far you two, so just keep that up."
Six unsuccessful takes later, Caroline could feel a nasty bruise forming at the side of her hip. She gritted her teeth in frustration, fists clenched tight, and was a patronizing remark away from committing murder. Sure, the loss of one of the world's most eligible bachelors would devastate thousands, but at least she would be able to sleep at night without dreaming of a million and one ways to castrate him.
"What's wrong with it this time?" she griped. "Everybody thought it was perfect!"
"What's wrong with it?" Klaus parroted sarcastically, and then began ticking the points off with his fingers. "It lacked emotion, you were obviously tired, your lines were sloppy, it didn't seem like you were running for your fucking life, and I'm not convinced of the sexual tension."
If I didn't want you
Would I cry your name out loud
And curse it as I wander
Into this madding crowd
"Sexual tension?" she screeched. "Why on earth would there be any sexual tension between Joseph and Candice? They loathe each other!"
He took a bold step towards her. "See, love, that's where you're wrong. All that back-and-forth banters between them, all those scathing looks; they're just foreplay."
"Foreplay?" she huffed in disbelief.
"How is it that you haven't noticed, Caroline?"
"Well, I'm sorry for being too shallow to comprehend anything deeper than the contempt these two characters share between them. They are from two different ends of the spectrum, have absolutely nothing in common, and their conflicting personalities clash more often than not. They've spent eighty percent of their time trying to bite each other's heads off and the other twenty percent trying not to get killed by rabid werewolves, so excuse me if I don't automatically assume that they have feelings for each other," she spat out. "But perhaps I've missed out on something vital here that you clearly know so much about."
His eyes were narrowed, almost predatory in the way he loomed over her. "You know, it's a shame that you've chosen to dwell on all the negative aspects of their relationship—the disagreements and the hostility—because if you were to just give them a chance, you would come to realize that these two people are just equally broken individuals whom, despite their constant differences, somehow always managed to gravitate to each other in times of crisis. They've kept each other alive more times than you can count—without question—and continue to keep doing so. Have you never wondered why?"
Her mouth was suddenly very dry.
"It's because these two characters trust each other." His tone grew softer, as did his hardened features. "No matter how hard they try, they always ended up together not because they have to, but because they want to. Secretly, they rely on this skewed connection they have; they are both attracted to each other's strengths and weaknesses, the imperfections that made them who they are. He kills without remorse and she makes sure to always remind him that his actions have consequences."
"She was being his guilty conscience and a decent human being."
Another step brought his nose mere inches from hers. "So you've never felt the attraction that comes when someone who's capable of doing terrible things for some reason cares only about you?"
And if I didn't need you
Why do you run right thru my veins
Savage and so dangerous
You linger and remain
They were frozen in time, blanketed by the heavy weight of silence that enveloped the set.
"I did once," she murmured. "When I thought he was worth it, but it turns out some people can't be fixed. People who do terrible things are just terrible people."
Caroline nudged past him and stormed off, not caring if the picky actor was still unsatisfied with the footage they had.
As far as she was concerned, they were done.
He rudely barged into her trailer, swooping in with the fury of a hurricane and stood seething before her, their chests heaving in unison a hair's breadth apart. Though he towered over her, Caroline refused to let that intimidate her. Defiantly, she tilted her chin up and met his glare head-on.
"I was actually referring to Joseph and Candice, but clearly it struck a chord with you."
She swallowed the huge lump lodged in her throat and fought to keep her tears at bay. "Leave me alone, Klaus."
There was a pregnant pause as he contemplated his next words.
"You've never had to run away from me before." His voice was a low timbre rumbling like rolling thunder. "Was I—did I go too far?"
This was too much for her to deal in such a short span of time; she feared she could suffer from whiplash just by attempting to understand his mercurial mood swings. Still, it wasn't nothing she couldn't handle. She was so used to his harsh ways by now, so accustomed to the cavalier manner in which he constantly addressed her, venomous words laced with disdain, Caroline was currently confounded by his abrupt change in demeanor.
"Why do you care?" she snarled, and then thought better of it and held her palms out. "You know what, forget it. I don't have the will to argue with you anymore. Just get out of here."
"No, Caroline—"
He made to reach for her hand but she wrenched it away, reeling back and turning away to create some space between them.
"Go! I can't even look at you right now!"
"Are you—shit—are you crying?"
An uncontrollable sob broke free traitorously, and she cursed herself for allowing him to get to her like that. Her behavior was completely unprofessional and so unlike her, however, it was months now that she had to endure Klaus' own unique brand of verbal lashing, and her patience had been running thin these past few weeks, it didn't take much for it to finally snap. Still, she ought to be better than that.
Stronger.
"I—I didn't mean to—"
"Just shut up, Klaus, all right?" she snapped. "Fuck my life, no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, you continue to belittle me at every turn, and I can't think of anything that I've ever done in the beginning to offend you, but perhaps you can enlighten me on my grave oversight."
"Caroline, I wasn't—"
"Don't you dare!" She jabbed an accusatory finger into his sternum. "I'm not Candice; don't fucking treat me like I am."
He seized her wrist in his strong hold and gave it a sharp yank. She slammed into him, so unlike the numerous times she had earlier on, and just as she was protesting the sudden movement, his lips came crushing down onto hers so possessively, a delicious shiver ran down her spine all the way to her toes. One hand took her by the waist, pressing her flushed up against his front, the other entangled in her silky tresses, and instinctively, she arched into him.
And if I didn't want you
Would I arrive outside your door
Bent but still unbroken babe
Crying out for more
Never before had she experienced such overwhelming passion from a man, as though he was determined to drown himself in her essence; never knew such intoxicating masculinity in a single soul. His kisses were ardent, mouth slanting relentlessly over hers, groaning as he swallowed her gasping sighs. She clung onto his favorite black Henley, fingers curled tightly around the soft fabric, and surrendered to his fervent ministrations. It was only when a modicum of awareness swam back to the surface did she fully grasp the reality of their actions.
"No, stop!" Mustering every last vestiges of strength she still held, Caroline forcefully shoved him off her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Making a point," he growled, eyes blazing.
"And what point is that?"
"The point that you failed to see between our characters, Caroline. Between us."
Surging forward, he cupped the nape of her neck and greedily helped himself to another sampling of her lips. Their mouths fused hungrily, molding and parting; his tongue prodding at her entrance until she succumbed to his persistent coaxing and willingly admitted him in. At the first brush of their palates, Caroline moaned. Swirling and laving, he mapped her inner crevices with meticulous swipes, and she all but melted in his arms.
I'm an animal – yeah baby
In a midnight summer heat
I slay my prey and lay my body
Down at your blessed feet
He traced her curves with desperate hands, chasing them down her sides and running up the line of her spine until the barriers became too cumbersome and he snuck them underneath her top for the contact he impatiently seek. She released a whimper against his jaw, her fingers twisting in his blonde strands as he nibbled and sucked a path across her collarbone, and then he was pawing at her clothes.
They couldn't rid themselves of the offending layers fast enough. Shoes were haphazardly tossed aside; her camisole was discarded on the floor, his shirt somewhere in the sink, and Caroline had barely stepped out of her trousers when Klaus lifted her up and plopped her down on the couch. He settled between her legs, arms braced on either side of her head as he hovered above her, his breathing labored and his expression unreadable. She peered up at him, this infuriating man before her, and longed to unravel everything that made him so guarded, to carefully break down all of his walls piece by piece and strip him bare, because the man right there, now intently studying her as though she was the answer to the world's best kept secret, wasn't the same man heckling her moments earlier.
"You're a right fucking idiot, Klaus Mikaelson."
You got the power baby
And I'm your trusted queen
Give me the stars, give me the sun
And all that lies between
His responding smirk was positively devilish.
"I know."
He kissed her with renewed vigor, his pelvis grinding down onto hers, and Caroline stifled a cry as she felt his hardened bulge—separated by a thin layer of cotton and lace—press sinfully against her heated core. She latched onto him, keeping him there as her nails left crescent-shaped welts deep into his pale flesh, feeling uncharacteristically satisfied when he hissed in pain.
"Just so you know, I still hate you," she husked, nipping at his shoulder.
Chuckling against the sensitive spot below her jaw, Klaus caught the strap of her bra between his teeth and slowly tugged it down the length of her arm. "Whatever keeps you happy, love," he drawled, and in one swift wrench, he freed her breasts from their straining confinements. His eyes devoured those creamy mounds for a brief period, before flickering up to meet her darkened ones. Then, very languidly, his mouth descended on a rosy nipple.
"Klaus!" she cried out at the onslaught of arousal that coursed through her veins when he begin suckling. "Oh, God…"
I'm an animal for you
When he was sufficiently fulfilled, he started the exquisite torment all over again on its twin. Caroline moaned when he added in a subtle rocking motion, providing ample friction to ease just a bit of that ache between her thighs. She was certain that her panties were soaked through, and there was a pretty good chance that someone might walk in on them, but any semblance of decency she had left flew right out the window when Klaus shifted the last remaining scrap of fabric aside and dipped a finger into her slickened folds.
"Fuck, you're dripping wet, sweetheart," he grated out, deftly circling her pearly bud with his thumb as she writhed and keened beneath him.
A loud rapping at the door startled her into a yelp and Klaus stiffened, both their heads simultaneously whipping towards the source of the rude interruption.
"Caroline, are you in there?" Tyler Lockwood's voice permeated through the thin walls. "Alaric needs you on set. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I am," she replied somewhat breathlessly. "I'll be there in a sec."
"Have you seen Klaus anywhere? I can't find him."
The man in question arched an eyebrow, an amused grin playing upon his plump lips, silently daring her to reveal the truth to their assistant director as he slowly began inching a slender digit into her sleek harbor.
"No, no," she choked out. "Haven't seen him."
"Son of a bitch," he swore. "Never mind then, thanks, Care."
Klaus slanted his gaze. "Care?"
"Jealousy is unbecoming, Klaus."
He buried a second finger to join his first, and all traces of mirth vanished as her hips flew off the couch from the unexpected intrusion. There was a wicked glint in his eyes as he pumped, the leisurely pace almost excruciating in her wound-up state. She tried to match his dexterous strokes with frantic swivels of her hips, sought to speed up her release, but Klaus was having none of that. He cruelly pulled out just as she was teetering on the edge of a climax, and in retaliation for his sadism, Caroline harshly bit down on his bottom lip.
I'm an animal for you
"Ow, fuck!" he winced. "That wasn't very nice."
She roughly palmed him over the thin pair of boxer briefs, feeling his manhood jump at her touch.
"Finish me off, Klaus," she harshly demanded. "Now!"
He didn't take too kindly to her tone and snatched her hands away, keeping them bound above her head and pinned her in place. Of course he would be exerting dominance; his ego knew no bounds, but he would be a fool to think that she would cower before him. With narrowed eyes, she glowered right back, squirming beneath him in hopes of relieving some of the tension. Klaus was allowing none of that and stilled her movements with a quick thrust.
"Shit, don't fucking tease me."
His triumphant grin was dangerous. "Ask nicely, Caroline."
She contemplated just taking what she wanted from him and being done with it, only because she knew that he was teaching her a lesson; one that she didn't want to learn from, but his steady gaze held a hint of warning, that any of her attempts at persuading him otherwise would be futile.
"Take me," she whispered. "Please."
Wordlessly, with his striking blue-green eyes still locked onto hers, he peeled the lace fabric down the length of her legs. She felt him shift, the weight lifting off her pelvis for a brief moment, but then he was back, his engorged erection full, swollen and proud against the apex between her thighs, and before she could think to beg, he sank into her, filling her so completely, Caroline couldn't remember ever feeling so whole. Her legs parted to accommodate more of him, encasing his length until he was sheathed to the hilt. His muscles were pulled taut, his jaws were clenched, and she wanted to say something—anything—but then he was moving, driving in and out of her in a punishing pace.
"Oh, God…" she rasped incoherently, already half-delirious with all that he was inflicting on her. "Oh, God, Klaus…"
"Shhh…" he muttered, his words coming out strained between hitches of breath. "You need to be quiet, sweetheart. Don't want the entire set knowing that you're being thoroughly fucked by me, do you?"
"I'm sure you'll just tell them that we were working on our sexual tension," she retorted.
I'm an animal for you
His only response was to speed up in his ministrations, doubling up on the force as he pounded into her with wild abandon. The furor became too much too soon; she was too close to the precipice, but she couldn't think of wanting anything more than to fall over and surrender herself to the blinding oblivion. Her cries of pleasure filled the trailer, his inarticulate grunts turning almost primal, and Caroline was sure that half the state was now privy to their scandalous activities, but she couldn't find it in her to care, especially not when he was hitting places she didn't knew existed.
"Klaus," she panted. "Klaus, fuck…I'm close…"
He released one of her wrists in favor of swiping his thumb over the little nub between her legs. Fireworks exploded behind her eyelids as her entire body quaked, rich expletives tumbling from her tongue in varying levels of volume. A couple of pumps later, Klaus was chasing his own brand of ecstasy, enunciating her name in choked syllables as he emptied himself inside of her.
When the silvery fog cleared and their hearts stopped racing, it suddenly became apparent what had transpired between them, and she froze. A million conflicting thoughts ricocheted in her head, uncertainties that stemmed from her adolescent years came hurtling back to the surface, and she wondered if perhaps he was regretting it already.
"Caroline? Love?"
Should she feign sleep?
"Sweetheart, if you don't start talking to me, my masculinity is going to feel a little hurt."
She cocked an eye open. "Your masculinity?" she scoffed.
The corner of his lips twitched into that trademark smirk. "Believe it or not, I'm a rather sensitive lad."
"Excuse me while I barf," she snorted.
"Have I successfully convinced you, then?"
Her brows furrowed, a frown upon her lips. "Convinced me of what?"
"Our sexual tension."
She hummed, visibly contented.
"Oh, yeah, definitely."
A/N: The end! Yes, I used Joseph and Candice as their on-screen characters, just like how I used them as characters in a story in Friday Night, because maybe I'm pure evil and I just couldn't help myself. If you do have any prompts, you guys, don't hesitate to PM me or drop a review and I'll do my best to see what can be done. Cheers!
Song used: "Animal" by The Heathens feat. Elizabeth Gillies