Friendsgiving
AN: Wanted to get this one-shot out before the TVD episode this week, since I've had written for basically forever (The cover shot I used is from the episode, because I could not find anything with the whole gang together around a table and I have sucky Photoshop skills). This is completely AU (I haven't seen any of the new season of either TVD or TO, thank goodness), and I wrote it shortly after the end of Season 4, so it picks up from the finale with a few tweaks: Kol lives, Katherine is still a vampire, no vampire baby or anything to do with the spin-off (Kol and Elijah are MIA, Klaus has been in Mystic Falls being his usual self and Rebekah is at Whitmore), Bonnie is alive but Jeremy is dead, and Silas actually was the one buried in the safe, leaving Steroline friendship alive.
So sorry about the giant AN, but here comes this friendship one-shot! Pairings will be light, but they will have undertones of Klaroline, Kalijah, Mabekah, Delena, and Steroline friendship.
Caroline Forbes was stressing, even on her first break from college. It was the Wednesday of Thanksgiving break, and she was at the only major grocery store Mystic Falls boasted of, tucked away on the edge of town. Her cart was already overflowing with things, from a giant turkey to bags of stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes and yams, and yet she lacked at least half of the things she needed to feed the dozen people that would be coming over to her house the next day.
Thanksgiving at the Forbes household had always been a quiet affair since her parents' divorce. Their dinner had always been hurried, late at night after her mother's shift was over (the day always got busy at the police station due to drunk drivers and oven fires), until she'd finally taught herself how to make a turkey and cooked it. Even then, the day had a sort of loneliness to it, as she would have to wait hours to actually eat with her mother, watching holiday specials on TV with ill-concealed jealousy as she texted with Bonnie and Elena and listened to their complaints of being smothered at family gatherings.
This had all changed in the last couple years, of course. Last year's Thanksgiving had been overshadowed by an emotionless Stefan and Klaus fighting over control of the town. Now she suddenly found herself with the most functional family of the group. Elena had no one left to celebrate with, Matt and Tyler were orphans, and Bonnie's mother had never been that kind of parent, while Stefan and Damon had stopped celebrating Thanksgiving a long time ago.
Things had been quiet in Mystic Falls ever since they'd dropped Silas off in the quarry, but that also meant that their once tight gang had begun drifting apart without a constant threat to bind them together. Damon and Elena were off on their little honeymoon, with the brunette disappearing from their shared dorm for weekend trips (which often extended into Monday and Tuesday) almost every week. Stefan had left for Portland, meeting up with some vampire friends, but he made sure to call and check in at least once a week, while Bonnie was there but distant, still mourning Jeremy's loss. Matt had disappeared for the summer with Rebekah for a whirlwind trip around the world, and the two had surprisingly continued their odd relationship into the school year. Rebekah going to college alongside them had been a weird feeling. She was mellower than last year, her summer abroad with Matt having done wonders for her self confidence in this new century. Reluctantly, Caroline had even come to like and respect the blonde Original a bit, despite Elena's continued hatred and Bonnie's mistrust.
Her liking of Rebekah had absolutely nothing to do with her brother, of course. Klaus had hung around town after a short trip to finish his business in New Orleans, bringing back both of his brothers as well. The added Original presence in town should have heightened tensions, but with Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and Tyler gone (it was clear that the hybrid would not be coming back to her anytime soon), and Elena and Damon off on their honeymoon summer, Caroline was the only member of the Mystic Falls Scooby gang left to care. And since she'd reluctantly admitted to herself that she and Klaus were something- more than friends, yet she didn't think of him romantically in the same way he thought of her- things had gone remarkably smooth (except for that one incident with Katherine, who had somehow managed to wrangle the cure back and bargain for her freedom and had now taken up residence in Elijah's room).
Basically abandoned by her friends on the summer before college, the summer which was supposed to have been theirs to gloriously screw up and remember fondly, Caroline had found herself running into the charming hybrid a time too many for it to be coincidence. It was clear that even in a house filled with family, he was lonely, maybe just as much as she was. Without anyone's judgment to help her realize what royally bad idea it was to get closer to the hybrid, she'd slowly stopped giving him the cold shoulder and gradually let him in, confiding in him just as much as she prodded him for the humanity beneath the mask she saw too little of. Caroline knew from his words at graduation that Klaus wanted so much more from her- forever if he had his way – but she wasn't ready to give him more than friendship. It was too soon after Tyler, too close to kiddie pool Caroline that chased after Matt and the Miss Mystic Falls title to work, and Klaus gracefully accepted that, never pushing her too far out of her comfort zone, basking in the glow of being a part of her life.
As school had started, she'd seen less of him, but his presence was still everywhere in her life. From the mini-fridge that had been waiting in her dorm room with a red bow and no card to the bars of her favorite, expensive chocolate she would find on her pillow after a long day, to the midnight calls on the roof and artistic Snapchats (she'd taught him how to use the app, to endless laughter on her part) he'd send her in class. She'd yelled at him for the gifts, but he'd just give her that infuriating smirk and sign the card the next time, unable to stop himself from riling her up. Their friendship had evolved from argument to argument, after all, and their personalities still clashed too often for it to be anything other than tempestuous.
Which brought her to now, shopping for Thanksgiving. She'd invited over to her house the usual gang, with even Stefan flying in from Portland for the occasion, since in essence, they were each other's family after their losses the past couple years. The problem was, Matt was bringing Rebekah, and Caroline had slipped and invited Klaus, who had texted her and asked her if she would mind if his brothers tagged along as well. Unable to refuse, Caroline had agreed, but it had sent her panicking. Four Originals, the Salvatores, and two doppelgangers, sprinkled with the rest of the gang made for a volatile dinner. The chances of everyone making it to the turkey without a stabbing? Slim.
Her small house had been deemed too small to fit everyone, and Elena's had burned down, while the Original mansion had been rejected by her friends, unhappy already to be spending the holiday with their former enemies, leaving only the boardinghouse. The Salvatore mansion had thus been reluctantly decided on, with everyone vacating in time for her to cook the meal in peace before all hell broke loose in the ornate, little used Salvatore dining room. Just remembering the last dinner party they'd held in that room made her break out in nervous hives.
"Try not to burn down the house, Blondie." Damon said as he exited his house just as she was about to walk in, arms laden with different bags from the grocery store. With a mocking grin, he let the door slam shut, eliciting a huff of disapproval from her as Caroline realized that she would have to put the bags down in order to find her key and open the door.
The irritation quickly faded as the door opened again, courtesy of the younger Salvatore brother.
"Caroline?" Stefan asked, before getting an armful of blonde as his best friend flew into his arms, groceries forgotten on the Salvatore's porch.
"Stefan!" Caroline exclaimed, her face lighting up. "You're here!"
Stefan returned her infectious grin with one of his own, bending over to help her pick up the scattered bags. "I changed my flight to an earlier one after Damon told me you volunteered to cook Thanksgiving dinner."
"Hey!" Caroline cried out in mock outrage, hitting him with one of the kitchen towels as they started unpacking. "My cooking is not that bad!"
Stefan raised his eyebrows towards his best friend. "Okay so maybe I'm no Julia Child," Caroline admitted, "but I do make one mean recipe for stuffing!"
"So would you be in the market for a sous chef?" Stefan asked.
"Of course! I think I would need an hour just to figure out how to use half of these appliances anyways!" Caroline said, looking in dismay at the kitchen fixture, some of which had not been updated since the last world war.
"Don't worry, they just need a bit of coaxing," Stefan said with a smile as he grabbed aprons for the both of them from the little kitchen nook. Throwing one to his best friend, they set to work preparing and cooking the food, catching up on each other's lives from the last time they'd seen one another.
Four hours, a messy kitchen, and a stuffed turkey later, Caroline came down the stairs of the Salvatore boarding house wearing her new dress, a mint skater dress with a white small polka dot pattern and a dark grey cardigan, her hair in carefully created messy curls. She'd insisted that everyone dress up for the party, wanting her first official dinner party to feel grown-up and sophisticated. The vampire had spent days poring over color schemes and centerpieces, finally settling on a light brown/orange/maroon color set and woodsy chic look. She'd bought enough candles to turn the Salvatore dining room into a fire hazard (they'd a two for one sale for the pumpkin spice scented ones, and she just couldn't resist), giving the party a nice, warm feel which was sure to not last long as her guests began arriving.
"Wow, Care, you've outdone yourself" Stefan admired, coming back down with a maroon sweater and his usual leather jacket. Caroline rolled her eyes at the obvious violation of her dress code, and Stefan winked back, knowing that it would exasperate the blonde for the rest of the evening. Nonetheless, the blonde vampire accepted the praise and thanked the Salvatore for his help in the kitchen.
The moment was interrupted by the knocker on the door, signaling the return of Damon, Elena and Bonnie in tow. Her two best friends oohed and aahed in the right places, complementing her on her taste, while Damon simply held up two bottles of bourbon in a silent question.
"Seriously? You can't go one single meal sober?" Caroline asked, annoyed.
"I think that I will need to be very, very drunk to get through the entire meal alive, considering who you've invited." Damon shot back, finally settling on the mantel as the perfect place to stash the bottles.
"Rebekah swore that they'd all be on their best behavior, and Klaus threatened Kol with another dagger if he puts even one toe out of line." Caroline replied.
Damon scoffed. "What about the she-devil?"
"Elijah will be here to keep her in line." Caroline replied, her hostess smile still firmly in place. "So apparently you're the only loose cannon left! Don't. Ruin. This. Kay?" The blonde said, her smile tightly in place but her eyes glaring at the Salvatore.
"Just as long as no one drops any gravy onto my Persian rugs, Blondie." Damon replied, receiving a scolding glare from Elena that he responded to with a nonchalant shrug, moving towards the sitting room to catch up with his brother, who had been following all of the subtle little gestures between his former girlfriend and brother.
Elena moved away from the two, wanting to give Stefan the space he needed yet at the same time wanting to return to the easy friendship the two had always shared. With a sigh, she turned to her two best friends, smiling widely. Whatever the doppelganger had been about to say was cut off by the knocker pounding against the door impatiently.
The three friends moved together to open the door, greeting Matt excitedly. Rebekah had decided to ride with the rest of her family to the party, and their car was just pulling up the driveway. They spent a minute catching up on the porch as they waited for the Originals to climb out of the car, Caroline's friends exchanging a long look before putting on expressions that were half- polite smiles, half-grimaces.
Rebekah was the first up the porch, sauntering up to stand beside Matt, leaning over to give him a sweet kiss on the cheek. The blonde was holding what looked like a delicious pecan pie, and she proceeded to extend it towards Caroline.
"This is my first actual Thanksgiving, but even I know it is bad taste to show up to a party empty-handed." The Original said in her typical tone, leaving everyone unsure of whether she was being sarcastic or polite. Usually, Caroline had learned by watching her with Matt and actually speaking to her as a human being and not a she-devil, it was a mix of the two, but this time, Rebekah's words and accompanying tentative smile seemed genuine enough.
"This looks wonderful!" Caroline replied, accepting the pie. She wanted to go inside and put the pie next to the rest of the food, but did not trust her friends alone with greeting the rest of the Original family without it turning into a bloodbath on the Salvatore porch.
Fortunately, Elena realized her friend's dilemma without the need for words. Holding up her hands, she said, "I can take that in, Caroline, if you want."
Caroline passed the cake over with a grateful smile. "Place it next to the rest of the desserts please Elena!" She called over her shoulders as she turned to smile at Klaus and his brothers.
"Hey," she laid lamely.
"Caroline." Klaus acknowledged as Matt and the rest of his siblings followed Bonnie inside. "You look lovely sweetheart."
"Thanks." She replied, a small blush on her cheeks just like every other time he paid her one of his pointed compliments. His knowing smirk as he entered told her that his keen eyes had not missed it either. He knew the effect he had on her, ever since that moment at graduation when something imperceptible had shifted between them, and throughout their weird summer friendship, that otherworldly relationship that had sprung up between them in the lazy, slow days of summer while everyone else found their own new normal.
By the time Caroline and Klaus joined everyone else, everyone was holding a glass of sparkling cider and mixing somewhat politely, but the iciness of the room was palpable.
"My brother Elijah wished for us to offer his apologies," Kol was just announcing to the room with a twisted smirk, "but he got caught up with his lady friend and will unfortunately be late."
"Kol, stop being an ass. We're not even sitting at the table yet." Rebekah chided.
"I'm sorry, Bekah, I forget that some of us have lower standards than others." Kol shot back quickly.
"Kol is just pissed because Katerina hasn't taken him up on his offer for the last 500 years, sister." Klaus said, joining the fray.
"Katherine and Elijah?" Elena asked, turning towards Caroline.
"They've been a thing ever since Elijah got back." Caroline replied with a small shrug.
"Caroline!" Elena chided.
"Sorry! I thought you didn't want to know any details?" The blonde shot back.
"Yeah but when the she-devil moves in next door, a heads up would be nice, Blondie." Damon replied for his girlfriend, putting his arm around Elena's waist as he knocked back his second glass of bourbon of the night.
"Oh Damon, I'm so glad that after 150 years that is the most creative insult you have to throw at me" Katherine said, sweeping into the room, Elijah close behind her in his typical tailored suit.
"I'm going to need another bottle for this" Damon muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Caroline.
"I think it's time for us to take seats, isn't it?" Caroline said brightly, stepping in before Katherine and Damon got into one of their usual brawls.
The blonde vampire led everybody into the dining room, making sure that everyone sat at their careful chosen proper place- no exceptions. She had one head of the table, with Stefan and Bonnie on either side. On the other side of Stefan she had Rebekah, Matt, Katherine and Klaus at the other head of the table, with Elijah, Kol, Damon, and Elena sitting on that side. Despite protests from various people (and by people she meant Damon) to move seats away from the Originals, Caroline brooked no arguments and forced everyone to sit down.
"Alright, so in my family we've always had a tradition of going around the table and saying what we're thankful for before my dad brought out the turkey, so after the year we've had, I think we should go around and say what we're thankful for, to remind each other of the positives despite all the bad." Caroline said.
Ignoring the various looks of skepticism around the table (and Klaus's gaze-why did she think having him across from her was a good idea? There was no escaping his laughing eyes now.) she smiled brightly and continued, "I'll start! This year, I'm thankful for my mom, and for the wonderful friends- old, new, and in-between- that have become my family, and that's a bond that neither time nor distance will break. To you guys!" Caroline said.
"I'm thankful for my brother and having a friend as wonderful as Caroline." Stefan said, turning to wink at his best friend with one of his familiar grins.
Rebekah gave Matt a long look and small smile before speaking, "I'm thankful for finally having my chance to fall in love, and to Matt, for being everything I could want." Turning a wry grin towards her favorite brother she added, "And to my crazy brothers, for trying to be a family again."
Kol raised a glass and drank to that with a contented smile and a shrug (apparently being called crazy was a compliment), but everyone's attention was focused on Matt. "I'm thankful for my friends, for being the family I never had, and to Rebekah, for showing me the world and for Rome" He finished, turning a loaded glance towards Rebekah, which she seemed to understand, since she twined her fingers with his on the table.
"I'm thankful that I only have to be here for a couple more hours, Elijah, and that I'm not my dull as dishwater doppelganger. Cheers!" Katherine said, knocking back some of the bourbon she'd stolen from Damon's stash as everyone else rolled their eyes, and Elijah softly called her name.
"What? I thought we were saying what we were thankful for, not being nice." Katherine said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Elijah merely smiled at her patiently.
"I'm thankful for being an all-powerful, immortal hybrid." Klaus said with a smirk towards Caroline, who rolled her eyes.
"Be serious for once, Klaus." She said.
"I'm completely serious, love." He shot back.
"And there's nothing else you're thankful for? Not for having your family, or friends, or even not being a completely psychotic serial killer anymore?" Caroline prodded, earning several snorts from her friends, which she quelled with another of her patented glares.
"Nothing really comes to mind, Caroline." Klaus said after considering it for a minute, wanting to see how far he could push the blonde. Caroline scoffed at him, but let him rest, while his siblings shared long-suffering looks.
"I give thanks for my siblings, Katerina, and peace after long years of running." Elijah said simply.
"Booze, 21st century women with no morals, and no dagger in my chest." Kol said lazily, earning a sharp look from Elijah on his side.
"I'm thankful that the love of my life finally chose me," Damon said, ignoring the momentary dark shadow that crossed Stefan's face, "but I'm not thankful to have my home invaded by Barbie Klaus, King Dick, Stuffed Suit, and Papa Hybrid over here."
Three Original glares were directed at Damon. Kol had given a small shrug, admitting that there was probably some truth to his nickname. "I will snap your neck and every bone in your back if you ever dare call me that again." Growled Klaus.
"Please. As if Blondie would let you ruin her Thanksgiving." Damon shot back, taking another drink.
"Actually, you're the only one ruining Thanksgiving, Damon." Stefan replied. "And Caroline really has no reason to stop Klaus when it comes to you, hm?"
"Sure, now the hybrid is the good guy," Damon muttered, but let the matter go.
"I'm grateful to have friends that would go to any lengths for me, endangering their own lives in the process." Elena said, grabbing Bonnie's hand and shooting Caroline a warm look.
"I'm also grateful for the people who are still here." Bonnie finished.
"Great! I'll go get the turkey!" Caroline said, jumping up excitedly.
That turned out to be a bad idea. By the time Caroline returned to the dining room, arms laden with the giant turkey she and Stefan had cooked and precariously balancing a carving knife, the tense politeness had spiraled into outright hostility. Damon had stabbed Kol with his knife after the Original dropped a glob of gravy onto his carpet, and Kol had retaliated by tackling Damon and hitting him over the head with one of the hidden bottles of bourbon, embedding the shards of glass into his head. At the same time, a three way catfight had started between Rebekah, Katherine, and Elena, all three yelling at each other across the table and occasionally throwing silverware at each other (so far, only Katherine had been able to land anything, a well-placed fork in Elena's shoulder), despite Elijah's and Matt's efforts to calm down their girlfriends. Stefan was trying to break apart Damon's fight, while surprisingly, Bonnie and Klaus were quietly eating the appetizers on the table, not concerning themselves with the antics of the others.
"Pass the salt, witch" Klaus asked as he dodged another bottle thrown by the two on the ground, nodding his thanks as Bonnie lifted up the shaker with her powers and set it down next to his elbow.
"ENOUGH!" Caroline yelled, slamming the turkey down on the table. Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the irritated cheerleader.
"You two!" She said, pointing to Kol and Damon. "Get up and stop acting like children! You're older than some European countries, so damn well act like it! Or at least, not like five year olds!" The blonde corrected herself, knowing both the vampires to be incorrigible. "Apologize, now."
Neither of the two made any move to do so, choosing instead to brush off the debris from their fight. "I said apologize!" Caroline repeated in her meanest, most authoritative voice.
"Shouldn't have stabbed you with a fork." Mumbled Damon.
"Shouldn't have tried to rip out your intestines at the dinner table. Lijah says that needs to wait until after dessert when in company." Kol said at the same time.
Caroline shook her head at the lame apologies, knowing that that would be the best she would ever get from the two miscreants. "Good. Now sit down, and shut up."
Sighing, she turned to her friend, "Elena, apologize for calling Katherine a manipulating whore, Katherine apologize for killing Elena's brother and then reminding her of it, and Rebekah apologize for whatever you did to get in the middle of this."
The three vampires reluctantly did as Caroline asked, not daring to contradict her when that particular murderous glint appeared in her eyes (Katherine, who had never witnessed Caroline Forbes in control freak mode before, couldn't help but notice how much like Klaus the blonde sounded).
"Now, who wants to help me carve the turkey?"
When Caroline finally got home, exhausted from cleaning up the mess left behind in the Salvatore dining room with only Stefan's help and then setting up the couch for the Salvatore to sleep on (he still felt too awkward around Damon and Elena to sleep at the boarding house), and then making sure that everything was set for when her mom got home (they'd had a mini-Thanksgiving of their own in the morning before she'd left, but she'd made sure to get some pumpkin pie to leave in the fridge to cheer up the sheriff when she got home), the vampire almost fell straight onto the bed. Only at the last minute did she notice the little felt box with a neat bow tied on top of it.
Recognizing the style, she warily opened it. A piece of paper laid inside, tied in a neat cylinder, with a single charm resting on the velvet bottom. It was a turkey, with the year and "1" inscribed on the back. Sighing, she opened his note. It had a drawing of her, calling the party to order while holding on to the giant turkey she'd cooked. Below it, Klaus's angular writing said:
"Caroline-
May this be the first of many memories. You were glorious tonight, truly a queen. My offer still stands, if you ever feel ready to take me up on it and see the world.
Klaus
P.S. I lied today. There is one thing I'm grateful for, and that's you, love. Thank you for taking a
and getting to know me, thank you for being my first friend.
Caroline felt a warmth reading his words, knowing that when she'd said she was thankful for her friends, that had included him as well. Getting up, she added the charm the little box and the drawing to her nightstand drawer, where she still kept his first drawing within easy reach, to remind herself of all the possibilities the world had to offer. Someday.
Maybe it would be sooner than she thought.
AN: So I should have probably been working on the update for Always and Forever, but instead I edited this… priorities I guess. Don't worry, that's coming up! Please let me know your thoughts through a review!
(And follow me on tumblr! Rosabella98 there as well )