He stood near the doorway of her bedroom, cautious to be this close to her. Eight months. The air thick with electricity. Air still, no inhaling, no exhaling.
"Caroline," it was the first word he said to her in eight months. He meant to call, really. But she was angry. He knew she wouldn't want to hear from him. Not now. Not when she was still naively blaming him for Tyler's sudden departure.
"Klaus." She mocked the restrained tone he was using. A roll of her eyes. A click of her tongue. With a lithe step she was off the edge of her bed and in front of his face within a fraction of a second. "I assume this visit is to take back your word from the night of my graduation. You can't intend to be my last when you are out to destroy my happiness, now can you?" Her voice was testing. Her allegation hanging thick in the air like the mugginess of a July rain shower. She averted her gaze quickly, staring over his shoulder into the faintness of the dim kitchen light. She knew this accusation was ridiculous. She knew what she wanted. What she has wanted for eight months. But he has to know, has to figure it out. She will not admit to falling prey to Klaus Mikaelson.
His sapphire eyes darkened before realizing the game she was playing. Cat and mouse. Pretentious accusations. Ridiculous all together. Everything clicked at once. Of course she wasn't in love with Tyler. It was him. He knew she would never admit to such fervent feelings for him so instead he turned the tables and stated "you aren't in love with Tyler. Tyler is far from your mind; otherwise I wouldn't be in your presence right now, Caroline. You would have asked me to leave town as soon as my prior business was acquitted." a wide eyed look, allocated in surprise, appeared on her face, confirming any suspicions. "You are fretful to admit that a heart as pure as yours is drawn to a heart as dark as mine."
Blush creeping up her neck, she turned to face him. "Seriously? After eight months of no communication from you AT ALL, you think you can come and stand in my bedroom doorway and make allegations that I am, I don't know, obsessed with you or something?"
Smirk tugging at his mouth, he licked his lips, "No, love. Not allegations, just whole truths, that you know as well as I do." Mouth slightly agape and corners turned down she gave him an incredulous look.
Suddenly turning serious, his voice dripping with gallantry and strength, he addressed the real issue at hand "Caroline, you have rightfully stated time and time again that I am in love with you. For once will you just step out of the way of your own pride and admit that there is an undeniable mutual attraction between the two of us?"
"Klaus, don't… not now." Her voice was heightened. Nervous. Her eyes darting around the room, insistent upon avoiding his gaze. She knew every single word falling from his mouth was true. Dropping to the floorboards with weight as heavy as the feeling in her chest for the last eight months. She had been fighting this attraction relentlessly for a long while now. Longer than she cared to admit, and it was starting to wear on her.
His face a pure mask of attentiveness, his eyes never leaving her face "you are lying to me, Caroline. To your friends. To yourself. Adamantly resilient against acknowledging how alike we are. Always insistent upon denying the fact that you want to be with me just as much as I want to be with you. It must be exhausting really." It is. So tired of fighting him. So tired of denying this.
Breath catching in her throat. Her eyes were finally still. Fixated on his face. "I don't know what you want me to say, Klaus. That every claim you made just now was true? That I have missed you these past eight months? That I am indeed lying to everyone, including myself? That I love you? There is nothing that can be done. It's all pointless." Exhaustion apparent on her face. Uneasy for indirectly admitting that she was in love with him. Oh, but she was. For far longer than eight months, but she wouldn't tell him that.
Eyes twinkling like a small childs on Christmas morning, "you can come back with me to New Orleans. I love you, this should be reason enough in itself." The way he said 'I love you', it was like he could swallow her whole in that moment.
A slight scoff slipped from her mouth, "I'm supposed to just drop my life here in Mystic Falls? College, friends, family? Leave it all behind, for what exactly?"
"A life of grace and power. Art. Love. There are so many things awaiting you outside of this town, Caroline. Let me show them to you. Everything beautiful has brought you to mind these past few months: the art, the culture. It's all so rich and certainly to your liking. Come with me, love." His voice was beginning to take on a pleading tone. How he must love her.
She stepped closer. And closer. And cloer. Heartbeats in sync. Breath mingled from lack of distance, unbroken eye contact. Eight months of separation. Anguish. Contempt. Heartache. Forgiveness. Slowly her hands moved to his chest, planted firmly on the planes, ready to push herself backward. Away. Distance, she needed distance. Eight months of missed snarky remarks and crooked smirks. Love, you aren't going to push away. She already knew before the thought entered and exited her mind. She wouldn't dare move an inch away from him. Not to have him disappear again. Hands reaching to the sides of her face stroking her cheeks, eyelids, temples, and lips. Memorizing everything. Every detail. His eyes as wide as a doe's. He was vulnerable with her. Not in a weak sense, though. No, never weak. He loved her. More than anyone. They were equal, something Klaus has never known. He wouldn't let Caroline be any less than equal. Consumed by his presence, she leaned forward and rested her forehead to his right shoulder. Her soft exhales causing a ripple of air to fall over his collarbones again and again and again. Eyes closed, he leaned forward into the left side of her neck and placed a soft kiss over her pulse point.
She smelled of the mid-summer air just before a thunderstorm. Sandalwood. Coffee.
Every thunderstorm that passed through while he was in New Orleans, every burning candle, and every cup of coffee he brewed, Caroline was with him. He lingered for a moment, relishing in the divine moment.
A sharp intake of breath. Sighs perfuming his collarbones, she looked up to meet his gaze. His pupils, dilated black holes of affection.
He pressed a tentative finger to her cheekbone "you are—" Lovely. Strong. Radiant. Mine. "everything."
"I know what I am to you" her voice was a full octave higher with desire to be nearer to him. Before she thought on it any longer she moved her mouth feverishly to his. Tongues dancing back and forth. Hands over skin. Breathing beginning to become labored. His clothes and his skin drenched in the scent of bourbon and an embering fire. Things so distinctly Klaus. She moved closer, if even possible, and that's when she placed the taste in his mouth. On his tongue. On his teeth. Metallic. Blood. Death. She wasn't repulsed. She didn't pull back. Instead she allowed her animalistic instincts to take over; the whites of her eyes turning crimson, black veins dancing beneath the surface, fangs protruding through gums.
Slightly disorientated Klaus withdrew. His mouth slightly ajar, he took in her appearance. "Beautiful." The word fell from his mouth, barely above a whisper. They stood that way for a long while. His fingers moving along the black veins just beneath her eyes. He brought his mouth back to hers with cautiousness, awaiting rejection. He was always rejected. But she loved him, so instead he found her warm lips meeting his once again. Kissing her slated skin. Realizing he had been starving for far too long.
Finally he pulled back. He had to know. Had to press the issue one last time. Please, please, please. "Caroline-"
All traces of uncertainty fully vanishing from her face. "Okay. I'll go"
There was nothing left to say. No words could match the happiness, adoration, and power he felt.
King and Queen, they would rule.