Summary: One week later, when Klaus comes home to his pack, he doesn't say anything but they already know. "What's your excuse for joining her in the shower, water conservation?'" Kol snorts.
Note: This happens one week after the events in The Alpha and His Mate. Remember that before TAaHM, Caroline hated Klaus with all her guts, and his siblings don't know that she has accepted him as her mate.
The Mate and Her Alpha
You can see who loves who, for miles around. (Water Tower Town, Scotty McCreery)
When Klaus comes home to his pack, he doesn't say anything, but they already know.
It's Elijah who's asked to sign the delivery confirmation for a king panel Radcliff bed and the matching plush mattress on a sunlight-filled Monday morning. He at first frowns in confusion because he doesn't remember any of his siblings saying something about buying a new bed (albeit the furniture being of admirable taste), but the frown turns into an expression of dignified disbelief when the delivery guy hands him a copy of the transaction receipt.
Payment received from: (signed) Niklaus Mikaelson
Delivery Instructions: 525 Woodcote Place, Mystic Falls, Virginia 22040. Install in master bedroom.
"You think Nik's going to force Caroline to share a bed with him?" Kol asks curiously, hands inside his pockets as he watches the furniture guys remove the two double-sized beds that previously occupied the master bedroom, aka the room that Caroline grudgingly shares with Klaus.
Elijah shrugs. If there's one thing he can tell you about his brother's mate, it's that Caroline Forbes cannot be forced to do anything. Getting Caroline to agree to sleep in the same room as Klaus was a long and tedious battle that lasted for more than two years, and even then the decision had to be her own.
When she first arrived in Mystic Falls Klaus wanted Caroline to be quartered in his room, but she crossly refused to even entertain the idea and instead claimed the guest bedroom downstairs. Klaus whined about needing physical proximity to his mate, and three nights later when he realized that no amount of growling or yapping from his part would sway Caroline's mind he proceeded to rip the locked knob from the door with every intention of carrying his sleeping mate back into his bedroom. Caroline woke up just as Klaus was lifting her into his arms; she promptly grabbed the nearby bedside table lamp and smashed it into his head.
And so dutiful older brother slash pack beta slash occasional Dr. Phil substitute Elijah had to get into the picture again and explain to Caroline that a werewolf needs physical proximity to his mate else he'll experience turbulent emotional fits that can affect his physical and mental well-being in the long run.
"... you mean like rabies?" Caroline asked hesitantly.
Well actually it was more like depression, but Elijah just nodded because 'rabies' sounded more urgent and scary.
"I ask you to please consider, Caroline. You have my word that my brother will not hurt you. Understand that our pack cannot afford to have its alpha in such a vulnerable state..."
She relented but under the conditions that she would not sleep in the same bed as Klaus, he should never touch even one strand of her hair and he's supposed to be nowhere in sight by the time she woke up in the morning. Every night thereon, after Caroline fell asleep in the downstairs guest room Elijah would carry her to Klaus' room, pity eating his heart out every time he sees his younger brother looking longingly at his mate from his distance. It's a good twenty four months before Caroline admits that she feels bad about Elijah having to carry her to Klaus' room each night so okay, she's going to stay in Klaus' room on her own but the three conditions stay – plus she gets to use the en suite bathroom and Klaus is relegated to the loo down the hall.
Having recounted this, Elijah knows that the bed Klaus bought can only mean two things: either Klaus contracted rabies and has gone bonkers, or he has somehow managed to coax/manipulate/threaten his mate into sleeping in the same bed as he.
The eldest Mikaelson brother sighs. For all intents, the first reason seems more realistic...
…but he's keeping the faith.
-o-
It's Sage who first notices the change in their behavior. She's looking around the living room on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, trying to decide how she might redecorate the cozy little home that she shares with her Peach (Finn to everyone else) when by sheer chance her eyes wander to the view across the street just as the alpha car pulls over the Mikaelson manor's driveway.
Sage senses that something is different the moment she sees Klaus get out of the Rover, walk around to the passenger side and open the door. Caroline gets out of the car but waits for Klaus to close the door and they walk towards the house side by side.
Klaus does not say anything and neither does Caroline. They do not give each other sweet glances or romantic smiles, nor do they hold hands or show any other form of affection. But their wordless walk to the manor is enough to stun Sage. Before this day she had never seen Caroline let Klaus open the door for her; usually Caroline bolted out of the car as soon as it stopped and she would make her way into the house as quickly as possible to get away from her poor mate, who would sadly be left to trudge into the manor alone.
"Peach?"
Sage turns around and sees Finn holding a paper bag from the neighborhood cafe.
"I bought those little cupcakes you like so much." Finns says, holding the paper bag up.
Sage blinks blankly for about two seconds before breaking into a beam and making her way towards Finn to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a kiss.
Finn smiles back at her, though there's a funny expression on his face. "What were you looking at?"
The redhead turns to the Mikealson manor once more. Klaus and Caroline are no longer in the driveway, and for a moment she wonders if she imagined what she saw.
But Klaus' car is still there.
Sage just smiles as she looks back at Finn.
-o-
When Caroline enters the room, she immediately sees an enormous cherry wood bed occupying the space where two separate Biscayne beds used to be. She promptly stops in her tracks.
Behind her, Klaus holds his breath as he waits for her to say something. Things have infinitely been better between him and his mate since that night in Florida when she let him be her pair, but until now there are still times when he can't believe she's his. Every time his hand finds hers and she laces her fingers into his, every time his arm wraps around her waist and she snuggles a little bit closer to him, every time she looks into his eyes and smiles right before he kisses her, he wants to slap himself in the face just to make sure that he's not dreaming.
He always has this nagging feeling that she might change her mind all of a sudden and go back to hating him, but he tries to push those thoughts aside because he knows that Caroline now needs him the way he's always needed her – he can feel it in the way she kisses him back. Yet now that he's standing numbly behind his mate as she stares at the bed he bought for them without her knowing, he can't help but feel that maybe he took things a tad too fast.
His thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. He pulls the ornately carved plank of rosewood open and is greeted by the sight of his brother Elijah.
"Niklaus." The older Mikaelson says. "A word please?"
He nods, affording a quick glance at Caroline whose back is still turned to him. He closes his eyes and curses at himself inwardly – he definitely took things too fast.
He leaves the room and follows Elijah downstairs, almost entirely oblivious to his brother's detailing of significant events that happened during the entire week he spent out of town. The glass of scotch that Elijah offers him does little to calm his nerves, but he wills himself to focus because he has pack to lead and the pack's well-being should always be his priority as their alpha.
He spends the next two hours telling Elijah what he wants to be done regarding the new leader of the neighboring town's wolf pack, the news that their pack member Slater has found his mate, and the report that Bela Talbot had been seen entering the state two days before.
"Is there anything else I need be made aware of?" he asks his brother, preparing to end the dialogue.
Elijah looks at him with a straight face. "The bed you bought has been installed in the master suite as instructed."
The alpha swallows wordlessly.
"Niklaus," Elijah begins, but Klaus doesn't miss the Dr. Phil tone that his brother's voice has taken. He does not need a therapy session right now so he takes a last swig of his scotch and rises from his seat before Elijah can say anything else.
"Let's continue this discussion tomorrow, I'd like to retire to my room now." he curtly but firmly replies.
When he returns to their bedroom, it's Klaus' turn to stop and stare.
Caroline is sitting on the bed wearing a relatively conservative pair of midnight blue baby doll PJ's, her legs crossed and her hands falling to her sides to rest gingerly on the bed. She's already taken a shower and the smell of lilacs and honey tickles Klaus' nose.
"Nice bed." she tells him, making a show of running her hands over the soft cotton sheets. "But if we're going to redecorate, I want to choose all the stuff we're going to buy next, okay?"
He takes a moment to let out a single sigh of relief, then speeds into the bed and tackles her down onto the plush comfort of the pillows. She smiles as he plants a quick, chaste kiss on her lips before burying his head into the crook of her neck, his hands run along her side, from the swell of her breasts to the curve of her waist, reveling in the tempting feel of the smooth silky fabric against his fingers while his body whirs with an exhilarating buzz that almost drives him crazy. In wolf courtship behavior it's usually the male who 'decks the lair' in preparation for mating, but if Caroline wants to do that then he has no complaints.
"Why didn't you wait for me love, we could've had an interesting shower." Klaus whispers roughly, nipping at the tender flesh just below her clavicle.
His mate rolls her eyes, playfully mumbling something about him still being banned from her bathroom before softly tapping on his stubbled jaw to prompt him to stop. He looks up at her, and she giggles girlishly as she swings her feet up into the bed, beckoning him to follow. Caroline rolls on top of him before he can even take another breath and starts to pull his shirt off, so he tries to find a comfortable position underneath her, preferably one where her body isn't pressing against his too bloody lusciously or he might take her before they even get out of their clothes. Hell, one kiss from her and already his groin is feeling unbearably strained against his pants.
His hands roam to her chest as he takes her in for another kiss, thumbs brushing teasingly against the peaks of her breasts to bring them to flush attention. She lets out a moan-y squeak and instinctively arches her body closer to his hands, making Klaus smirk into their liplock.
Dear bed, you are going to see a lot of action tonight.
-o-
It's Kol who hears a weird fussing sound coming from the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning when he comes home from Slater's sort-of stag party on Friday. He stealthily makes his way to the most important part of the house (for the resident Mikaelson foodie, anyway), lycian fangs and claws out and ready to rip apart any intruder who might present a threat against his precious stock of Matsuzaka beef (Kobe is bloody overrated, fuck that shit).
The sight that greets him, though, makes him pause uncertainly.
On the center island kitchen counter, there's an open pack of Leibniz biscuits next to a bowl of Mac and Cheese and a peeled banana. The banana isn't even half-consumed and it looks like its assailant gave up on it after two or three bites. The Mac and Cheese doesn't seem to have been favored either, seeing as the bowl appears to be full, and there is only one bitten Leibniz which wasn't finished as well.
But there's an empty pack of Oscar Meyer's Deli Roast Beef smack in the middle of the granite countertop, and a darkened figure is standing in front of the refrigerator taking something out of the freezer.
Kol is totally 'What the hell?' at first, but he eases into a relaxed stance when the sight of bouncy flaxen locks betray who the kitchen raider is.
"Caroline?"
The blonde jumps in surprise and a pack of bacon drops on the floor.
"Oh God!" Caroline exclaims. She looks utterly startled but catches her breath in relief when she sees that it's just Klaus' younger brother. "Kol! You scared me."
Kol chuckles as he walks towards her and picks up the bag of frozen pork belly strips. For the last five years Caroline has been a welcome albeit unwilling member of the Mikaelson household (she gets along fairly well with everyone , if Kol might add, except Klaus whom she utterly abhors) but this is the first time Kol has seen her getting some midnight chow and he is very amused by her choice of food.
"Are you about to cook bacon at two bloody thirty in the morning?" he teases, though he doesn't judge her for it even one bit. Hey, if the girl wants her bacon at two thirty in the morning then she has every damn right to get it at two thirty in the morning.
Caroline bites her lower lip. "Look, Kol, I know this is really weird, but..."
"But what?"
"I'm really, really, really hungry." she tells him almost desperately.
Kol cocks his head towards the direction of the kitchen counter. "Obviously. Not in the mood for chocolate biscuits, Mac and Cheese or a banana, though? Don't tell me this is some kind of Jennifer's Body thing. We're friends but I won't let you eat my guts."
Caroline cringes. "No, it's not like that, it's just..." Her eyes trail from the empty tray of deli roast beef on the center island to the pack bacon in Kol's hands.
Kol's brow furrows for a second, but then his mouth parts into a silent 'Oh' as he catches Caroline's drift.
"I have no idea why, I googled it and read something about not getting enough iron." she tries to explain.
A grin slowly spreads across the young Mikaelson's face as he walks to the fridge and returns the pack of bacon into the freezer. His brother's mate is hungry and biscuits, pasta and fruit won't do – but she chowed an entire pack of deli meat down and now wants to have a go at the bacon. Kol could be wrong, but...
He takes a pound of his beloved Matsuzaka beef from the fridge and just smiles reassuringly at the evidently confused blonde as he pulls his sleeves up mid-arm in preparation for some late-night (technically early morning) culinary effort. Fifteen minutes, some drawn butter and a dash of salt and pepper later, Kol places a very rare slab of pan-seared Matsuzaka steak in front of Caroline.
Barbie looks up at her alpha's brother, a miserably torn expression written all over her face. On one hand, the steak smells absolutely heavenly and it makes her hunger almost unbearable and Lord her stomach is just screaming at her to have at it. But on the other hand, it's... rare. As in the outer parts are charred to a good light brown with nice dark grill marks, but the center is invariably red and she can see some of the fat (and blood) dripping out, coating the meat with a shiny, dreamy glaze.
"Can I have it well done?"
Kol shrugs as he hands her a steak knife and a fork. "Try it first and if you really don't like it then I'll cook it longer for you."
Caroline grimaces, but she grudgingly takes the silverware from Kol and proceeds to cut into the steak. Her nose scrunches up as the first forkful touches her tongue - it feels weird and it tastes even weirder... like a disgusting kind of squishy meatiness that reminds her of the freshly butchered stuff fed to zoo lions or tigers.
But ugh she's really hungry and another bite won't hurt... just one other small bite before she asks Kol to grill it again for her.
Nik, you bloody bastard, Kol thinks, grinning to himself as he watches Caroline take in mouthful after mouthful of his culinary handiwork until the steak all but disappears. Craving for red meat is a common occurrence… among female wolves who have been marked and are to mate in the next full moon.
-o-
It's Finn who strolls into the Mikaelson manor on that lazy Saturday afternoon and stumbles upon a rather interesting scene. The need to speak to his older brother regarding the mythology of djinns sends Finn heading straight for the library, as it's usually the place where the ever so scholastic pack beta is found, engrossed in a book or two that he reads by the window on his favorite Victorian wingchair. But this is not what Finn finds when opens the door and looks into the room.
On the tufted chesterfield in the middle of the library sits Klaus, eyes trained on the yellowed pages of a small, old-fashioned hardbound that he holds in one hand. Next to him lays Caroline, curled up fast asleep with her head resting lightly on Klaus' lap. On the table in front of them is a glass of water and a tray of… are those ossenworst – as in Dutch raw sausage - slices?
Caroline stirs slightly in her slumber and turns to her side. Klaus looks at the sleeping blonde in his lap and then lays the book down, taking a moment to gently stroke her hair.
Rays of the lazy afternoon sun pass through the partly open windows and form a lake of shadow-dappled light on the rug-covered floor. Caroline's eyes slowly flutter open, but she does not jolt in alarm when her eyes fix on Klaus. She merely lets out a dreamy yawn and affords her mate a small smile when he mouths a handful of words soft enough to avert the lycian sense of sound. She then nods and closes her eyes, letting herself fall back to sleep as Klaus presses a kiss unto her forehead.
Finn just stands there in silence for a few seconds before he finally decides to close the door and walk away, unable to curb the grin that forms upon his lips.
-o-
Not everyday in Mystic Falls is a quiet one. When you live in a world where humans are as crazy if not crazier than their non-human neighbors, there's always bound to be trouble brewing somewhere – this point best proven by the fact that Supernatural is headed for Season 9 this year. Jesus. You'd think Sam and Dean would've run out of things to hunt by now.
That week had been particularly grim. A powerful witch in the sleepy town of Benson in Virginia advertently summoned the demon Samhain on Hallow's Eve, and the fiend wasted no time raising his army of the undead to wreak havoc all over the locality. Benson was a mere twenty miles from the neighboring lycian territory of Whitmore, where Rebekah now lived since being mated to Stefan Salvatore, and Klaus rushed to aid his sister's new pack before the demon could even take as much as a single step into Mystic Falls soil.
It took a grueling four days, five vampire covens, seven lycan pack reinforcements, eleven hunters, one telekinetic and two angels (well technically one, since Balthazar just stood there and watched) to bring the demon down and lock him back in hell. The destruction from the battle is not a pretty sight; three decimated neighborhoods, one burned town and almost half a thousand dead bodies were left in Samhain's wake. Months will be needed to heal wounds and years will be needed to rebuild, but for now, at the least, there is peace again.
Klaus returns to home late Thursday evening, tired, bruised, cut - yet he completely ignores Elijah's concerned queries when his older brother opens the door for him. He makes his way straight into his room, wanting nothing else but to wrap his arms around his golden cosmos, to find her safe and unharmed.
His heart drums in erratic beats when he doesn't find her in the room. He rushes to open the bathroom door and a worried crease forms on his forehead when he finds it empty as well. He blurs out to the hallway, head restlessly flicking from one direction to another, nostrils flaring in an attempt to track her scent. He's a breath away from roaring for Elijah to demand where his mate is when he finally hears a faint sound coming from the bathroom down the hall.
"Caroline -"
She's taking a late night shower, milk-splashed skin flushed with the faintest glow of soft pink from the lukewarm beads of water that run down her naked body. Caroline hardly has time to part her lips in surprise when the fogged glass shower door suddenly opens because Klaus comes right into the bath, shirt and shoes and all, immediately pulling her towards him and taking her into his arms.
He can see the relief that washes over her face as she turns to press her body against his, standing on her toes to bring her arms around his neck as she leans in for a fervent kiss. He kisses her back hungrily, needily, his clothes soaking up water as his hands find their way to press against the small of her bare back, drawing her as close to him as humanly possible. The kiss lasts for seconds, minutes – hours, who knows – and even when the risk of asphyxiation finally breaks their lip lock, Klaus still holds her tight.
"Thank God you're back," Caroline softly says, cheek resting on the sinewy planes of her mate's chest.
Klaus presses a kiss onto the top of her head. "What are you doing here, love, is there something wrong with your bathroom?"
"No, it's just… I've missed you so much and it smells just like you in here."
His chest swells with a warmth that he's sure has nothing to do with the tepid water that continues to steam up the shower. He takes her in for another kiss, this time tangling his fingers into her hair to tilt her head up and allow him deeper access. Her bare breasts rake against the lithe fabric of his shirt, and before he even knows it his cock is already thrumming with the familiar buzz of arousal.
Caroline smiles as she pauses from their kiss, noticing the party in his pants. "Do you want to…?"
Klaus groans at himself, amused almost to disbelief at just how difficult it is for him to keep his boy down when he's around her. That she's wet and flushed and naked in front of him and actually asking if he wants it definitely isn't helping - but he doesn't want her to think that it's all lust and sex to him, so he shakes his head and wills himself to relax. He has all night and all morning and maybe all day tomorrow to show his mate how much he missed her too; right now, he just wants to feel her, just wants to know that the most important person in his life is right there with him.
"Later." He tells her, gathering her into his arms again. "Just let me hold you a while, okay?"
She nods understandingly, but then Klaus sees a glint of mischief twinkling in her blue-green eyes and Christ why is that such a fucking turn on.
"But this is really unfair, you know?" Caroline whispers to him sultrily, lowering her lashes as she lifts a finger to trace lazy circles across his chest. "I mean, you still have your clothes on and I'm all naked here."
He raises a brow, and she laughs before turning around and reaching for some soap and shampoo. "Come on, Klaus, you're in the shower. Might as well take a bath."
And the alpha smirks at that before indeed taking his clothes off because hell, he is in the shower and everything he's wearing is drenched – from his shirt to his pants to his shoes to his leather jacket. Yeah, he didn't even have the mind to take the jacket off before he barged in to hold her.
The clothes are discarded and he stands still, letting the lukewarm water splash down his body, though this does nothing to cool off the heat that blazes inside him. He likes how she reacts to him - likes how a flame so subtly lights up in her eyes when she turns back and sees his stark form; likes how her lips part slightly as she follows the trail of water that runs from his chest, down to his abs, and still lower down; likes how he picks up the change in her scent when she sees how hard she makes him just by being around.
Klaus likes how he feels her pulse quicken when he pulls her towards him, their naked bodies hot against each other's, his sense of control barely in check.
"So, love, are you going to do all the work?" he murmurs against her skin, punctuating his words with fleeting kisses on the curve between her neck and her shoulder.
She closes her eyes and he feels her shudder briefly. When she opens them again, she takes a step forward to move them away from the shower and smiles and as she places a gentle palm on his chest, beginning to lather him with soap.
Her hands slide down his lean frame, from the planes of his chest to his washboard stomach, leaving bubbly white suds on the slippery surface of his hot, damp skin. Caroline takes her time, working the soap leisurely against his body, fingertips dancing teasingly across his toned form every now and then to brush and rake at all the right places and make her mate throb for her even harder. Klaus almost lets out a hiss of agonized pleasure when he feels her soft hands wandering to his hips, spreading out the bath wash, lower and lower... close, so close.
He holds his breath when her hand finally moves to the base of his cock, a trail of soap suds trickling into his far from flaccid shaft. A low growl emanates from his throat, resounding throughout the tiled walls.
Caroline bites her lip for a second as if to contemplate on her next move. Oh she could just go down on her knees and grab him and tug at him and have at it, he'd love that as much as she will. But at the same time…
She grins to herself and lets a finger nail experimentally rake against the pearlescent sheen capping the tip of her mate's cock. Klaus draws in broken breath, deep and long and almost tortured, holding back a smile as he braces himself for more. He can feel Caroline's hand ghost along his length, fingers lithe and graceful against his rigid –
Her hand moves back up to his chest.
"Christ, Caroline." Klaus groans, his hand finding hers and holding it to pause from lathering more soap unto his pecs. That is so not where she should be soaping him.
She giggles childishly, the cute little elven bully. She's made for his seduction, she knows that perfectly well – and always takes full advantage of it.
"What?" she pipes innocently. "You're the one who said you just want to cuddle."
And Klaus wants to slap himself with a surfboard or something because hell, he can't argue with that.
"If you change your mind, though," she says, abruptly pressing into him, dragging her soft, naked body against the soapy slickness of his, "just tell me and I'll –"
And she doesn't even get to finish what she wants to say because Klaus can't take any more teasing. The alpha instinctively grabs at her hips, using his lycian strength to push the two of them against the wall. Oh for the want of one swift, hard thrust – or many of those, for that matter.
Caroline's body tenses, lips curling into a smile as she waits for him to take her. Klaus' lips hover upon her own, so close she can almost taste them, so close she can smell the faint scent of bromeliad pine lingering on his skin. (Olivier Creed, how will the world ever thank you for making Aventus.) A hand slides upward to knead her breast while his head poises over her heat-slicked entrance. Caroline moans in encouragement, wrapping her arms around Klaus' neck. She tries to grind into him and take his cock in, but the hand that stays in her hip keeps itself pressed firmly down on her pelvis, forcing her to remain in place.
"Not in the hallway bathroom, love." Klaus mouths against her ear, grappling for self-control himself. "Elijah's never going to let us live it down."
"Where do you suggest we take this then?" she turns to reply, with a sweltering lick to his lower lip.
"Is this a good time to lift my banishment from your bathroom?"
Klaus finds out the answer ten minutes later when he finally sinks himself into his mate, his eyes rolling back as she rocks her hips against his, driving bolts of pleasure along his wildly pulsing length while he thrusts himself in and out of her drenched heat.
Yes.
-o-
Rebekah's the only person who has enough guts to say something.
"Have you claimed her?" she asks Klaus, tilting her head in an I'm-not-gonna-stop-till-you-answer-so-you-better-s tart-talking-bitch kind of stare. She's in town visiting the family with Stefan and their adorable two-year old boy, both father and son currently busy in the kitchen decorating tea cakes with Auntie Care for this afternoon's snack. Apparently Bekah hugged Caroline when they arrived and smelled Aventus on her, which got Werewolf Barbie doing a double take since only one person in the Mikaelson household wears that scent.
Klaus scoffs, rolling his eyes at his charming little sister. It's not like he's ashamed to be with Caroline – but he'd really rather that they keep things to themselves for now. She's scorned him ever since he got her to join his pack (granted threatening to destroy her hometown wasn't the best way to make an introduction in the first place) and both wolf and human tongues will be wagging if they're suddenly oh-so-lovey-dovey after five years of this weird uncommon explosive 'relationship'. He doesn't want Caroline to have to deal with that right now, especially when it's only two weeks until the next full moon and she has to decide whether to be turned or stay human when he claims her as his mate.
Kol grins as he leisurely eases back onto the sofa, waiting for the alpha's answer. Finn and Sage exchange clandestine smiles between knowing glances, and Elijah himself closes Garcia-Marquez' Autumn of the Patriarch in favor of lacing his fingers together and looking expectantly at his blond-haired brother.
Klaus promptly glares at all of them and banks on his trusty usual method of defense: grumping his way out of inquisition.
"I don't know what you're talking about." he huffs at Bekah.
"Out of curiosity, what made you buy a new bed?" inquires Elijah.
"I've tired of the old one."
"And why is there fifty pounds of ossenworst in the fridge?" Finn squeezes in.
"Waitrose had a bulk promo, I saved myself thirty dollars."
"Why does she smell like your Aventus?" Bekah demands.
"How should I know if she just sprayed on the wrong bottle or she -"
"What's your excuse for joining her in the shower, water conservation?" Kol snorts.
It's a full five seconds of dead silence and faces frozen in shock that follows. Klaus' eyes are wide as saucers and he looks as if he'll strangle Kol any moment. How did the cad even know…?
"What?" Rebekah flaps dumbfoundedly. Sage bites her lip as she tries to keep herself from grinning, Finn mumbles something incoherent before sighing tiredly and Elijah throws Kol a glare as he sharply reprimands "Kol, your indecorousness is a disgrace."
Kol brushes the reactions off with a laugh. "Come on Nik, we all know you finally got her to be your mate, we just want to know how. Fifty bucks says you blackmailed some hag to brew up witchy-juju to make Caroline give in to you."
A cough is heard behind Klaus, and the entire family turns to see Stefan and Caroline standing by the door to the kitchen. Stefan wordlessly raises a brow as he stares back at the Mikaelson brood while Caroline just calmly continues to carry baby Ian.
"You're here, good." Rebekah says, sending a warning look at Klaus' direction before turning to her brother's mate. "Caroline, mind enlightening us about you and my git of a brother? I heard he's somehow managed to reel himself into your favor; what did he threaten you with this time?"
Caroline glances at Klaus, who heaves a breath of helpless exasperation. She then smiles sheepishly at Rebekah before giving Ian back to Stefan and taking a seat next to her mate. They don't kiss, she doesn't rest her head on his shoulder and they don't even hold hands, but there's something about the way Klaus looks at her and the way Caroline looks back at him that tells every soul in the room that there is something real and genuine between the two of them.
"I can't explain it either," Caroline shares, the bashful smile never leaving her lips. "But... I don't know. I just woke up one day and realized that he has really cute dimples."
Finn bursts out laughing.
-o-
It's Klaus who finds her sitting on the steps leading to the front porch one cool Sunday evening, blue eyes trained upon the twinkling stars illuminating the darkened nighttime skies. The pensive expression painted on his mate's face does not escape his attention, so he heads over to her and sits one step above her, wrapping his arms around her form. She presses her back against his wonderfully warm chest, closing her eyes as he kisses her hair.
"Why do you love me?"
She's not sure why she's asking that question, not sure what she wants to hear for an answer. She's his mate – some omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient force in this world destined so – but how does he even know that she's the one? What if she's just some human girl he fancied and his real werewolf mate is still somewhere out there, waiting to cross paths with him and –
A puzzled smile forms upon his lips. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know. What if I'm not really your mate? What if I'm just some distraction and your real mate is… like, some brunette werewolf who's in New Orleans right now partying with witches and vampires? What if you meet her one day and you feel that werewolf connection and jump into bed with her and have little werewolf babies and - "
"Caroline, love," Klaus cuts in with a wolfish grin. "I would've jumped into bed with you the moment I first saw you on that bar in Lawrence singing Eternal Flame to Sam Winchester's unbearably faulty guitars. But you smashed a beer bottle on my head, if your memory needs refreshing."
She can't help but laugh. "Well you were a total stranger and you tried to kiss me!"
"Because I felt so strongly for you and everything inside me was screaming for you and I was literally all about you. And I've never felt that way for anyone, not before you and not after you."
Her laughter fades and she pauses to look at the waxing moon, shuffling her feet uncertainly. He hugs her tighter and she leans back unto him, her head resting on the curve of his shoulder.
"I don't know why I love you. But I feel it, Caroline, and I know it. I wanted to be with you even when you pushed me away and I would never want to be with anyone else now that you feel the same way I do for you. I love you more than the force of a thousand burning stars, and the day I stop feeling for you is the day I draw my last breath."
He takes her hand, his fingers lacing with hers, and an inexplicable warmth floods her chest. Klaus' eyes bore right into hers, earnestness reflected in the placid pools of sky blue.
Whatever it was that destined them to be mates – the universe, God, nature – maybe it knew what it was doing after all.
"Do you feel it, love? Do you feel what I feel for you?"
Caroline smiles, squeezing her mate's hand. She does.
And she feels the same way.
A/N:
1. You know the drill. :) erica-dreams-in-colour at tumblr for gif's, manips and previews, and she. dreams. in. colour at FFN for my multi-chapter fics. Links are in my profile page. :)
2. I edited this like 50 times because I was going back and forth whether I should make this slightly smutty or super smutty, and I ended up going with slightly smutty. No worries though 'cause I have two super smutty story ideas waiting to be written out – including a oneshot that features a very embarrassed Stefan. If it's Klaroline smut, why is Stefan embarrassed? You tell me. :)