"It was supposed to be a one-time thing, a mistake. But, when you're a vampire, life is blood and blood binds."
Klaus texts her at the break of dawn, letting her know that he's waiting for her in the campus parking lot.
Thankfully, Bonnie is half wasted after last night's party, and Elena has been MIA since they had crossed the threshold of that frat house (doing God knows what God knows where with Damon), so sneaking out is relatively easy as she decides that she will feed their prying consciences an excuse for her disappearance later or even tomorrow.
Softly, Caroline tiptoes outside of her dorm room and carefully closes the door behind her. She knows that she should be nothing but bothered and annoyed right now, but the truth is that she cannot help but feel a certain amount of excitement at the prospect of spending a whole day alone with Klaus. A day that, she knows (it's Klaus, after all), can only go two ways—amazingly well, or down, down, down sinking faster than you can say 'Titaniiiiic!'.
When she finally reaches the parking lot and spots Klaus, her breath catches a little in her throat. He's leaning casually against the side of his car, a pair of dark sunglasses low on his nose and the usual taunting smirk on his lips. It's still early—too early if you ask her—but it's not too cold (but they're vampires, after all, so it's really not their place to say, now, is it?) and he's only wearing a far too fitting light gray Henley, which makes his shoulders and forearms look so fucking hot as he keeps his arms crossed over his chiseled—she knows—chest, the variety of necklaces around his neck begging to be pulled at so she can smash her lips onto his.
God–
–she groans in her mind. She has just barely caught a glimpse of him and she's already aching with need—fucking perfect.
"Good morning, love," he grins, straightening himself up and taking off his sunglasses so that he can take a proper look at her in her casual, black leggings and pink sweater.
"Hi," Caroline greets him back with an almost shy smile, trying to banish her far from pure, current thoughts to the back of her mind. She has a purpose today—to understand what the hell those bite marks mean and fix it—and she has no intention of letting anything (or better, anyone) get in her way.
Ever the gentleman, Klaus leads her to the passenger side of the car, a not-so-subtle hand pressing against the small of her back and leaving a burning hole in her skin as he keeps the door open for her and she settles inside on the comfortable leather seat.
It's only a second after he closes the door behind her, that he's at her left side behind the wheel, smirk ever in place.
"Ready, love?"
She rolls her eyes, fixing her seatbelt around her out of habit. "As I'll ever be," she mutters, just as he finally starts the car, shifting into reverse as he exits the empty parking lot.
Klaus chuckles, mindlessly paying attention to the road even if he would much rather look at the blonde beauty sitting by his side.
"Don't pout. You seemed to enjoy my company quite nicely the past two days," he teases, trying to sound nonchalant even if his heart is hammering in his chest at the mere memories.
Caroline scoffs. "Are you going to bring up the fact that we have slept together every second? It's not going to make me suddenly think that I feel something for you," she snaps, downplaying him as she gives him a poisonous sideways look—attack is the best form of defense, after all.
"People have sex, get over it."
He doesn't say anything back, but he doesn't have to. The way his hands tighten around the faux leather of the steering wheel until his knuckles go white, and the dangerous ticking of his clenched jaw are indication enough of the rage swirling within him.
She hit a nerve.
Good.
It almost angers Caroline how he doesn't retaliate, doesn't prove her that she's right in being afraid of him, in hating him–
–but is she afraid of him or of herself when she's around him? And does she really still hate him or only hates the way he makes her feel?
As an extremely tense silence encompasses them inside the vehicle, Caroline almost regrets her words—her and her damn mouth. (She has never been able to process what to say beforehand, one of her many personality's flaws–
–"I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing.").
She swallows.
Her feelings are her own burden, after all, and she cannot exactly fault Klaus for pushing for some answers, for some sort of confirmation of something. She knows how he feels about her, even if she likes to pretend otherwise. And even if his past actions and words hadn't been enough of a proof of that–
–"I intend to be your last."–
–then the way he kissed her and held her and looked at her, as thrust after thrust he swelled inside of her and brought her to the edge of insanity, would have made her understand loud and crystal clear. Because it didn't matter if it had been wild and frenzied and bloody, it would be far too easy to say that they had simply fucked. No, there is so much more between them that she is not willing—not able—to acknowledge just yet. He's like a billion, after all, while her life is just at its beginning, she needs more time to come to terms with this whole–whatever it is that they have between them, with a pull stronger than magnetism and feelings too overwhelming for her to bear.
When she speaks again, after a deep breath and telling herself that it's only because a ten hour journey in silence is going to feel like a freaking lifetime, her voice is almost trembling and still heavy with her latest thoughts.
"Look, I'm sorry–"
"I don't need your pity, Caroline," he interrupts her through gritted teeth, hurt evident in his hard tone, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight now that she fears he might break it.
"What?"
"You're apologizing because you think you hurt my feelings," he laughs dryly. "I'll let you know, love, that it takes a lot more than that."
Lie. He's truly hurt now and they both know it. It's weird to even just think about it because feeling hurt is such a human notion, and he's supposed to be the farthest thing from human that there is, but her words cut him deeper than a dagger through his heart, and left on the dead organ the umpteenth scar that not even his immortality can heal.
Caroline frowns. "That's not why I apologized. I was overly bitchy and it was uncalled for."
"So you're only doing it to make yourself feel better. Tomato, potato."
She huffs, feeling slightly offended, and sullenly crosses her arms over her chest. "Alright, be difficult, whatever."
"You haven't seen difficult, sweetheart. Anybody else would be with their hearts out of their chests and their heads rolling on the street had they talked to me the way you just did," he snarls.
Again, Caroline talks before thinking.
"Then why am I not?" she bites back, cringing as soon as she realizes what she has just said.
For a full moment, she closes her eyes tightly and waits for him to actually harm her in some way—because, seriously Forbes, there are only so many lines that you can cross before getting yourself killed—but she only hears him sigh and nothing happens.
"I would hope you'd know by now that I would never hurt you, Caroline," he says, his tone so sad that it breaks her heart a little.
She notices that his hands are not as tight on the steering wheel anymore, and so she allows herself to relax a bit against the back of her seat as well. Now, he looks almost dejected, and tired. It's such a harsh contrast from his previous anger that she is not sure what to do or say—his mood swings are impossible to predict or let alone handle, and it gives her whiplash. He gives her whiplash.
Secretly (or maybe not so secretly anymore), she enjoys it. The thrill, the excitement. He gives her something that she has never had or felt before, and it's so incredible that it makes her heart clench, because—how is she supposed to let go of something like that?
"I just don't understand why," she says eventually, her voice low even to her own vampire ears. "Why you're so different with me, of all people."
It's her most rooted doubt, her deepest fear. She's not Elena. She's not even Bonnie, a witch. She's–
–useless.
It doesn't matter how hard she tries to outgrow that feeling of never being anything enough, it's what she has been living with since she can remember and it's difficult.
She knows that she has changed terribly in the last few years, that she has matured, that she has become a better daughter, a better friend, a better person (but she isn't a person, not anymore), but the present doesn't just make the past disappear; exactly like the good things and memories can't just make the nightmares and mistakes go away.
(Is she even still talking about herself? Or is she just projecting it on Klaus?)
Blinking, she somehow wills back the tears that are threatening to form at the corners of her eyes, biting down on her trembling bottom lip.
From her peripheral vision, she can see Klaus turning to look at her, and she can't help but do the same, blue meeting blue.
It feels like an eternity before he speaks.
"I don't think you're quite ready for us to have that conversation, yet."
They keep staring into each other's eyes for a moment more, Caroline with her mouth slightly parted in an almost dazed, stunned expression. Then, Klaus simply turns his focus back on the road.
In serious need of some fresh air (vampires don't even need to breathe, but she's flustered), Caroline presses the button next to her to lower down her seat's window, letting the light, early morning breeze cool her down as she props an elbow up against the inner side of the door and rests her head on her hand.
She doesn't even know what to make of Klaus' words. It's not like him to be this cryptic about his intentions and feelings towards her, and it only makes her even more agitated. But, after all, wasn't she having those same thoughts just a couple of minutes before? She's not yet ready for this. Not completely, at least. And, had Klaus dropped on her the umpteenth compliment and promise of eternal devotion, at this time, she would have probably flipped and gone into bitchy mode all over again. No, instead, he's trying to give her the space and time–
–and how that must be killing him, a being used to just take, take, and take whatever he wants whenever he wants it–
–that he knows she desperately needs. Because he knows her. Better than she knows herself, at times. And that scares her. How could it not?
Also, he has put his heart on the line for her more than enough times already, and she supposes that he's probably reaching his boiling point by now. Rejection, after glare, after scoff. And it's not like she can blame him for that, because there is only so much that a proud man like him—or any man, really—can take.
With both parts lost in their own thoughts, the first hour and a half flies (not like there are eight and a half more to go, but it's a start).
Suddenly, Caroline's phone beeps inside her purse, signaling a new text.
With a sigh, she looks for the phone among the other many—many—things thrown inside of her bag, and checks the message.
It's Bonnie.
-Bon: Where the hell are you? And where's Elena?
The dramatic over-use of the question marks makes her crack a small smile, as she racks her brain for what to answer to her best friend. She thumbs over the screen a couple of times and sighs again, catching Klaus' attention, who turns to look at her with raised eyebrows and an inquisitive expression.
"Problems, love?"
His voice is calm and he's calling her love with that natural, light lull to his accent again—it lifts a huge weight off her chest. To her, it means 'argument forgotten'. For the moment, at least.
"Sort of," she answers, slightly shaking her head. "I didn't tell my friends I was leaving, because I thought I would have had the whole day today to think about a suitable excuse for it, but–well, I kinda forgot they could still ask via text or call me."
"Ah, I see. Can't exactly tell them you're spending the day with the big bad. Or why," he says with a bitter tone.
Caroline turns to him for a second to glare at him. "No, I can't."
Klaus shrugs, refocusing his whole attention to the road in front of them. "Well, then I'm afraid I cannot help you there, love."
She returns to her own thing as well, finally typing in a reply for Bonnie.
-Me: I don't know about Elena. I'm packed for the whole day with errands to run, sorry I didn't wake you up to tell you, it was super early when I left!
She shuts her eyes tightly, crossing her fingers and praying in her mind–
–Please, please, Bonnie, please, don't ask which errands. Don't pry, don't pry, don't pry.
Her phone beeps again, and she opens one eye at a time to look at the new text.
-Bon: It's fine, I was wasted anyway ahah. Skipping classes as well then! Will try to reach Elena. Ttyl?
Releasing a huge sigh of relief, Caroline replies.
-Me: Of course, party girl! Let me know if you find Elena. Bye!
Blocking the touchscreen of her phone, she puts it back inside her purse and finally relaxes against the back of her seat.
Klaus gives her a sideways glance. "All settled?"
She nods with a smile.
"Do you want to stop and get some breakfast, then? Did you have anything this morning?"
"Uhm, no," she blushes, feeling slightly embarrassed for not having thought about it.
"Breakfast it is, then," he concludes with a smirk that slightly alerts Caroline.
She frowns. "When you say breakfast–"
"I mean breakfast. In a restaurant. With pancakes and coffee or whatever is of your liking," he reassures her, rolling his eyes. "But if you want to sneak on a local, love, don't let me stop you."
"What, no!" she replies forcefully, outraged. She knows that he's only teasing her—he knows her better than that—but still. Mostly, her annoyance is probably due to the fact that she is starving (vampire starving), and she mentally chastises herself for not having thought of bringing along at least a blood bag. It's not like her to be so unprepared, and she blames it entirely on Klaus and the hold that he unconsciously has on the majority of her thoughts.
He smirks again as she eyes him warily, knowing full well that he's on a revenge mission to rile her up.
"No need to get angry, love. If you don't want to hurt or kill somebody, you can always drink from me," he suggests slyly, a dangerous glint to his eyes.
Immediately, her cheeks grow hot, heat flaring at the pit of her stomach. To try and cover up how much he has the power to affect her, she scoffs.
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen."
"It already did, love. Several times, if I remember."
"Well, it's not going to happen again until we know what the hell is going on with the creepy bite marks."
Klaus' grin widens, and he turns to look at her with a smug look. "Mmh, until. I like the sound of it. Means you want it to happen again eventually, I can work with that."
Caroline's jaw goes slack, her eyes widening as she realizes the hidden meaning of her words. That stupid, treacherous mind of hers!
"That's not what I meant!" she quickly rectifies.
"Of course not, love," he mocks her, pleased with himself.
Caroline huffs in deep annoyance. "Whatever. Believe what you want. It's not my problem if you're delusional."
Once again leaning against the side of the door, she feels eternally grateful and relieved as she notices them taking an exit towards a roadside restaurant. If there is anything that she needs right now it's some distance from Klaus, whose close proximity is doing nothing to help her reign in her urges—both her vampire and her sexual ones.
As soon as they're parked, she's out of the car, stretching her legs and arms. She checks her phone and groans when she realizes that it's barely seven.
"Come on, love. We have to hit the road again soon."
With a sigh, Caroline follows Klaus towards the cozy looking restaurant.
"Where are we exactly, now?"
"Just outside Sparta, in North Carolina," he answers with a sigh. "Still a long way to go."
Caroline is not even the littlest bit surprised anymore as Klaus opens the door for her and lets her enter first. She knows that she should not even entertain such thoughts, but she has such high expectations of men now, after Klaus. It's almost crazy to think, because he still is a ruthless killer who brings chaos and mayhem wherever he goes, but he's always so considerate towards her and such a gentleman that she can't help but admit to herself that nobody will ever even remotely compare when it comes to treating her right and making her feel special.
With her heart a bit heavier at each new revelation, Caroline excuses herself to the bathroom, while Klaus chooses a private, small table for two.
As he waits for her, he allows himself a few deep breaths, closing his eyes as he rests comfortably against the back of his booth.
When he opted for a several hour long car ride to get them to Montgomery, hoping to be able to make Caroline at least acknowledge that she felt something towards him in the long time that they would have to spend alone together, Klaus hadn't exactly considered the tempting effect that her close presence would have had on him, instead.
The enclosed space of his car was fully encompassed by her warmth, heat radiating off her body and into his in pleasurable waves. Her fruity, feminine and distinctively Caroline scent engulfed all of his senses and, no matter how hard she tried to defy him or how many times she kept repeating that she felt nothing but deep hatred towards him (their latest encounters be damned), his hybrid capabilities very well enabled him to smell the strong desire that she had for him, and the scent of her obvious arousal permeating the air between them had been driving him positively crazy the whole time. For the whole almost two hours that they had now been on the road, he had wanted nothing more than to pull the car over and claim her as his once again. It was distracting and maddening, and he didn't know how much longer he would have been able to endure such an inviting temptation—or punishment, as you will.
Having to adjust in his seat at the mere thoughts of everything that he could and would do to her, Klaus finally takes one last deep breath to calm himself down before her return from the toilets.
Two hours gone, eight still to go (not counting their stay there and then the journey back home). But he is Klaus Mikaelson, and there is nothing that he cannot handle—or so he likes to believe, anyway, his mind chiming in that there is a certain blonde who would beg to differ—and at least he is finally going to get some overdue answers.
:
:
It's four in the afternoon when Klaus and Caroline finally enter Darlene's quaint, little antique store on Monroe Street in Montgomery, Alabama.
After their swift pit stop in North Carolina, they both returned to the car somehow calmer, relishing in the very much needed breaths of fresh air, and in the food that they had consumed and that had, if only slightly, somewhat helped their blood cravings, as well as their more carnal ones.
Still, Klaus and Caroline being–well, Klaus and Caroline, the tense mood between them could never really be completely gone. So, in order to avoid, at least for some time, the umpteenth misunderstanding or unnecessary argument, Caroline opted for a quick nap to regain some energy. She had slept very little, anyway. (Not to add that being awake and vigil around Klaus when she could feel a desperate hunger for blood—more precisely, his blood, that she knew tasted better than any other—was about to make her lose her mind).
With Caroline fast asleep beside him, Klaus allowed himself to relax a bit as well. For some reason, knowing that she wasn't conscious made him feel a lot less agitated and on edge, and also allowed him to freely gaze over her soft, beautiful features, feeling a continuous tug at his heart at the memory of her lips on his and her arms around him, holding onto him like she never wanted to let go. Whatever it was going to take, he would make sure to make her his and only his, one day. He could only hope that day wasn't too far away.
Klaus woke Caroline up when they were around half an hour outside of Montgomery, so that she could reassess herself, but the rest of the journey had nonetheless been pretty quiet.
In all honesty, Caroline had about a million questions swirling around her furiously ever worrying mind–
–Who exactly was this Darlene? How powerful was she really? How did Klaus even know her? Could they believe her? And, most importantly, could they trust her?–
–but she voiced none of her concerns.
Something very unusual for her, yes, but then again, the whole situation was rather unusual on its own already. So, all she really knew about this witch was that she apparently was one of the most powerful ones Klaus had ever come across—and she didn't doubt that he had met quite a few strong witches over the centuries—and that he seemed quite sure that she would find an answer to their problem.
If she has to be completely honest with herself, calling it a problem sort of bothers her, and she cannot understand why (which bothers her even more). She just knows that it's been a long day already, and she feels like screaming or pulling her hair out, or maybe both. But at the same time, and it makes her forcefully try to swallow down the nerves that threaten to make her choke for the lack of air that she doesn't need, the more time she is spending with Klaus, the more she craves him and needs him, the more she knows that it will be terribly hard to let him go again.
The bell above their heads chimes lightly, and as she looks up at it, Caroline's eyes notice what looks like a dream-catcher hanging from the door as well.
Her step falters and she feels like she's suffocating, like the place is just too hot, too small, and too freaking brown.
"Come on, love," Klaus whispers just above her ear, and, suddenly, she feels him resting a reassuring hand on the small of her back (she hates to admit it, but the gesture does soothe her somehow), willing her to move forward.
There's a blonde girl working behind the counter, her head down and a pencil between her teeth. She doesn't really look any older than Caroline herself is, so she doubts that's Darlene, but you can never really know with witches, can you?
Klaus dryly clears his throat, catching by surprise the girl, who jumps slightly, bringing a hand up to feel her racing heart. She opens her mouth, an apology for her distracted behavior on the tip of her tongue, but, as soon as her eyes meet Klaus', she freezes. Caroline notices her gaze shifting towards the door, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly—she looks scared, but not like she's trying to figure out how to escape, just confused, almost as if something didn't quite work as it should have.
It's obvious that she knows that they're vampires, and she looks so young that it makes Caroline's heart clench painfully inside of her chest. She's a second away from reassuring her that she does not need to be afraid of them, when the long, deep red curtains behind the counter suddenly flow open.
"Amia," a dark-skinned woman says sternly, appearing from behind the young girl with a menacing look aimed solely at Klaus, who's grinning smugly, his hand still on her back.
"Go upstairs," she orders the girl, who doesn't question her, but simply takes her things and jogs up the flight of stairs at the side of the shop which Caroline didn't notice before.
Once the girl is completely out of hearing distance, Klaus finally speaks, his tone a mixture of arrogance and disdain, which is mirrored by the look on the woman's otherwise impassive face.
"Such a pleasure to see you again, dear Darlene."
So, that's Darlene—well, she had kinda figured.
The witch scoffs. "I'm afraid I can't say the same about you, Hybrid."
"Oh, you hurt my feelings."
"We both know you don't have any of those."
Klaus' gaze hardens, and Caroline swears that his hand presses even more firmly against her back now.
"Moving on—I believe you had told me you could help me."
"I told you I would try," she corrects him with a cold stare. "But I also told you that I would need your girl, too, for it."
Caroline snorts before she can help herself, now feeling both pairs of eyes on her, because—seriously.
First—she is not his girl, thank you very much. And second—what is she, freaking invisible?
Darlene arches a perfect eyebrow at her as she regards her with an almost impressed look.
"Feisty little human blood bag," she comments, almost casually, and it makes Caroline want to gag.
"I'm not–"
"She is the girl," Klaus replies before she can. "I'm a bit disappointed honestly, sweetheart. Your powers seem to be failing you, if you couldn't even realize that she's a vampire," he taunts her with a dangerous grin.
But the childish jab goes unheard, Darlene's widened eyes fixed on Caroline.
"You shouldn't have been able to come in," is all the witch manages to say.
Klaus rolls his eyes, not looking fazed in the slightest. "She doesn't need an invitation if the place is owned by another supernatural being."
"I know the likes of you, don't you think I'd take precautionary measures? No vampire, or werewolf, or even witch, can cross that threshold if, first, I don't allow them in."
The pieces click together. "Oh. That's what the dream-catcher is for!" Caroline adds with a smile, turning to look up at Klaus and then towards the door, pleased with herself.
Darlene regards her with an interested but wary look. "You're quick. But that still doesn't explain how you managed to cross my door."
Caroline shrugs, starting to feel agitated under the witch's hard and scrutinizing gaze. Instinctively, she moves closer to Klaus, fitting perfectly at his side as his arm wraps completely around her waist, holding her protectively against him.
Eventually, after what feels like a lifetime, Darlene turns on her heels, throwing them a quick–
–"Follow me."–
–before again disappearing behind the curtains.
Caroline hesitates slightly, but Klaus' presence so near is calming and reassuring—he's the biggest bad to ever roam this Earth and she knows that he won't let anything happen to her—and so after a moment they move together around the wooden counter and into the other, hidden room behind the long, red silk.
She's not sure what she actually expected to find, but scattered boxes and piled up books definitely isn't it.
"Uhm, Klaus, are you–" she looks up at him questioningly, not needing to finish her sentence.
"Don't worry, love," he smiles. "Like I said, I promise you she's the best. She's a Bennett, actually," he adds after a moment, looking down at her almost hesitantly.
"Oh."
And oh, indeed.
"Is she... ?" she trails off, but he knows what she's asking—is she related to Bonnie?
"Probably. They all are, somehow, really. Witches stick together," he says almost jokingly, with a light chuckle. "Or they used to, anyway."
Nodding, Caroline refocuses her attention on Darlene, who's attentively scanning through an old-looking book propped up on a dark, wooden lectern right in the middle of the room.
"What is she even looking for?" she whispers, leaning more towards Klaus.
"Unbinding spells," Darlene's deep voice answers her, instead of Klaus' familiar tone, making Caroline jump slightly.
The witch raises her head for a second, a smirk on her lips. "I'm a witch, not deaf."
Caroline scowls, hastily crossing her arms over her chest as she always does when she's feeling offended. "To unbind what?"
"You and the hybrid," she answers matter-of-factly with a deep sigh. "The fact that you... exchanged blood, in a compromising position,"—Caroline flushes deep red in less than an instant at the words—"obviously tethered you two together somehow."
Clearing her throat and fighting off the embarrassment (Klaus is grinning widely next to her—that asshole), she asks again. "But if it only depends on the–uhm, blood thing, shouldn't it all get back to normal on its own? Once the other's blood is out of our system?"
"Technically. I suppose the situation is different for you due to the fact that he's also half wolf. Actual werewolves cannot bite their mates, for obvious reasons. While vampires find biting exhilarating and exciting, especially during sex, for wolves it's nothing more than another weapon. It remains, though, the most efficient marking ritual, and wolves are all about marking their territory... so, mixing the vampire and wolf characteristics is like having someone who's both possessive and has the tools and the possibility to claim what he wants as his own. It's quite effective, I'd say."
There's a small pause, and then–
"So, basically, he claimed me?" Caroline asks indignantly, her voice raising a few octaves.
Darlene actually laughs, her eyes still busy reading through her grimoire.
"Kind of. Things such as mates do not really exist, the wolves' procedures are... complicated to explain. But you're a vampire, so we just need to make sure your body can get rid of his blood because, as of now, it's somehow bound to yours. You'll be fine."
Caroline grumbles, looking utterly unconvinced. "I just don't understand why me. I mean, certainly it's something that you had tried before?" she asks, now looking at Klaus.
This time, he's the one tensing, looking a mixture between sheepish and agitated.
"Right?" she presses, frowning, and Klaus' apologetic smile is enough of an answer for her.
"Ugh, seriously?" she cries out, dramatically widening her arms at her sides with a scolding look on her face.
In all honesty, she's trying really, really hard not to think at how massively important this little piece of news is. Bloodsharing between two vampires is much more than what Darlene has said, it's not just 'exhilarating and exciting', it's intimate, and special. And not that Caroline didn't know it before as well, but she thought–.
It's one thing that Klaus is the only one she's ever even thought of doing something like that with, because—really—she's been a vampire for just a little over two years and has been dating a human and then a werewolf slash hybrid-without-the-wolf-venom-cure-in-his-blood during that time. But Klaus. He is over a thousand years old, and the fact that she's the only one he has ever bloodshared with has her stomach clenching in both excitement and nerves. She feels set on fire, and like the only thing that could make her feel any better is him, more of him, closer, for longer. But she can't have it—him. She's done enough damage as it is, already.
"Can you two leave your lovers quarrels for later?" Darlene interrupts her line of thought, her eyebrows arched as she motions for them to gather around the lectern, each one on one side of her.
"I'll need some drops of your blood," she shows them two needles.
Caroline takes one begrudgingly, flinching slightly as she punctures her forefinger. She lets a couple drops of her blood fall onto a small bowl placed in front of them, then looks at Klaus as he does the same regarding her with an amused expression.
"What?" she snaps, defensively.
"Nothing, love," he smirks teasingly. "But I have to say, you're quite the constant surprise—a vampire squeamish at the sight of her own blood?"
She glares at him, then turns towards Darlene, who's pouring some other purple liquid down with their blood.
"What's that?"
"Essence of hydrangeas. It's a symbol of endurance, and it will make sure your two bloods don't mix together during the spell so that we can unbind them inside of your bodies, as well."
"Will it also make the bites disappear?"
"Of course. It's all connected, darling. Like I said, the bite is a sign of ownership, it depends on the presence of his blood inside your system and vice versa; it will only be there as long as his blood is."
"But why? I mean, when two normal vampires bite each other, don't the marks just disappear right after? So shouldn't ours disappear as soon as we're not connected anymore?"
Darlene sighs. "Yes, but, right now, your blood and his blood are morphing together. It's like it's only one type of blood, instead of two. That's also why you were able to enter the shop regardless of my protection spell, because it's based on blood and it allowed his blood inside, which at the moment is the very same as yours. Once we unbind you, you'll be able to cleanse yourself of his blood and he will do the same with yours. It's not something I had ever seen before, so maybe it might take a few hours for the bites to disappear instead of only a couple of seconds, but they most definitely will."
The witch's tone rings with finality, and, casting one last wary look towards Klaus, Caroline eventually nods, a somewhat dejected sigh escaping her lips. She knows that there's nothing that either of them can do at the moment except for trusting Darlene, anyway, so might as well get on with it as quickly as they possibly can.
Taking a deep breath, Darlene closes her eyes, taking Caroline's hand in one of hers and Klaus' in the others.
"Do we–?"
"Yes. I'm going to need to dig in some of your energy for this spell," Darlene explains before Caroline can finish her question. "So, please, take each other's hand."
Although she knows that it's not the right moment to (if there is any right moment at all, to feel this way—any way—towards Klaus), she can't help the increasing fluttering of her heart against her ribcage as Klaus encloses her small hand in his. It's like every single nerve of her palm and finger is suddenly vibrating, and she feels a shudder going up her arm and through her whole body at this simplest of touches. Almost instinctively—because it's not even a second after their hands have touched—he laces his fingers in between hers, and it just feels too intimate but also all kinds of right at the same time, which terrifies her.
But she—well, not really her, but still—has a spell to focus on right now, and nothing can go wrong.
For good measure (but, honestly—mostly because it's the only way that she can think of to not keep on staring at Klaus), she closes her eyes as well, and, after hearing him sighing almost wistfully, she knows that Klaus has done the same.
Finally sensing that everything is in place, Darlene starts chanting.
"Da mihi virtutem, o spiritus, ut separaret hos duos sanguines et has duas animas. Obsecro, separate hos duos sanguines et has duas animas."
Caroline winces as the spot on her neck where she knows the bite is starts burning. In that same instant, Klaus slightly squeezes her hand and the gesture reassures her, because she knows that it's his way of letting her know to not get scared or worried because he's feeling it too.
"Obsecro, separate hos duos sanguines et has duas animas. Separate!"
Darlene's chanting gets louder and somehow more aggressive, her hands almost crushing theirs as her nails dig into their skin. Caroline clenches her eyes shut even tighter, and grips Klaus' hand harder in hers as the burning feeling on her neck intensifies.
She wants to ask if something is wrong, because it definitely feels like it is, or simply rip her hand away from Darlene's, but her grasp is too strong and too scorching and she's not sure whether that would actually help or if it would just make matters even worse.
She doesn't have much time to ponder over that anyway, because suddenly all she feels is an intense force propelling her backwards, her hands leaving first Darlene's and then Klaus' grip as her neck literally starts feeling like it's on fire all over and a terrified, pitched scream leaves her lungs, so high that it leaves her throat aching.
A single but roaring cry of pain coming from Klaus mixes with hers, and she opens her eyes to see him leaning against the far wall. Their eyes meet and Caroline unconsciously brings a hand up to her neck, barely holding back her tears as she feels the ever-present patched skin of the bite mark.
Klaus rushes to her in an instant.
"Caroline, are you okay?" he asks, worry evident in his tone and in the frantic way in which he checks over her, looking for possible injuries. She hadn't even noticed, but, apparently, she had fallen to the ground, because—she realizes—she's currently crumpled on the floor with Klaus kneeled in front of her.
Swallowing, she can only manage a small nod, but Klaus picks up on her uncertainty.
"Are you sure?" he asks again, serious, his hands coming up to cup her face, making it impossible for her to avoid his gaze and therefore lie to him.
"I'm okay. I promise."
With a nod, he finally seems to believe her, but he's still cautious and gentle—but if she has to be honest, when isn't he ever with her?—as he helps her get up, his arms immediately going around her waist to keep her steady and firmly against him.
Once he's sure that she's okay and able to stay up on her own, though, Klaus quickly flashes towards Darlene, his hand around her throat in an instant as he forcefully slams her against the opposite wall.
"Klaus!" Caroline gasps at the unexpected and sudden act of violence, immediately taking a hesitant step forward.
"What did you do?" Klaus snarls at the witch, who's now struggling to breathe. From Darlene's previous confidence and apparent lack of fear towards Klaus, Caroline doesn't doubt that she could have easily taken him down, but she had just performed a very strength-consuming spell, which definitely turns the tables in Klaus' favor.
"No–thing," she barely chokes out, her hands going to Klaus' one around her neck, uselessly trying to pry it away.
"Why don't I believe you?" he growls again, his grip tightening as his eyes menacingly flash yellow, his fangs elongating behind his lips.
"I—didn't do–didn't do anything," she repeats between harsh taken breaths, gasping for air. "There was something blocking me."
His eyes go thinner, a sharp stare appearing on his face. After a very long moment, he releases Darlene's neck, urging her to explain. "What do you mean?"
The witch massages her neck, warily walking around him back towards her still open grimoire.
"I'm not sure. I just couldn't dig into enough power to see the spell through."
"Why?" Caroline is the one to ask this time, a worried frown taking over her soft features.
"I'm not sure. At first I thought it might be the spirits but blood bonds are rare and dangerous, even they know that that's too much of a gamble."
"Wait—what? Dangerous?" Caroline shrieks with wide eyes. "You said we would be fine. That I would be fine."
"Because I thought that I would be able to unbind you. And not really dangerous, just... weird, unpredictable."
"Define unpredictable?" Caroline presses in a mixture of worry and annoyance.
Darlene sighs. "Look, I don't know. I've never dealt with any. And even if I had, yours is different, stronger."
"So what should we do?" Caroline asks hopelessly after a long pause, looking behind Darlene towards Klaus, who has a severe look on his face.
It's again Darlene who answers, however. "I don't want you to freak out, because, honestly, you seem like a girl who freaks out pretty easily,"—Caroline glares at her—"but I don't like this so I'll look into it the best I can. But it might take some time," she finishes, casting a wary look towards Klaus, because, if there is anything that he hates above everything else (and, let's be honest, there are way too many things that he hates, period) is being kept waiting.
The hybrid's jaw clenches in barely contained anger at the witch's failure, mixed with a maybe slightly irrational worry that—he knows—comes from the fact that he's not the only one involved in this situation. No. It potentially puts Caroline—his Caroline—at risk too, and he can't stand it. Because there are too many people he has loved and lost for his own foolishness already–
–"Will you bring me to see the wolves, Nik?"—"Henrik... it's dangerous."—"Please, Nik."
"Whatever do you mean, Kol?"—"Don't pretend like you're not in on it. Your obsession to find the cure clearly trumps any sibling loyalty you once felt."–
–and he won't add Caroline to that list, he just won't. He can't let that happen, not again. He's not willing to lose her, not ever. Waiting, he will do, but he couldn't be able to live another second knowing that her light had been permanently extinguished from this world, even more so if it were for something that he felt so hugely responsible for.
He takes a step forward towards Darlene.
"Perhaps, all you need is some motivation," he says with a grin as sharp as the blade of a knife but much more threatening. "Lovely young girl who greeted us earlier."
"Klaus–" Caroline hesitates in a low voice.
"Don't you dare threaten her, Hybrid," Darlene warns him, pure hatred in her cold eyes. "Not if you want my help."
Klaus laughs, but it's dry and terrifying. "I don't think you're in any position to make demands, witch."
"Maybe not. But you know you won't find a more powerful witch than me, and I won't work through fear and blackmail," Darlene bravely stands her ground, looking him straight in the eyes.
There's a long pause, during which Caroline's heart feels like it's going to explode out of her chest at any moment because of the tension settling in the room, but, finally, Klaus smirks again.
"Very well, then. But you better find a solution to this, or failing me will be the last thing you will do before watching me kill your girl and then beg me to end your miserable life as well."
With no other words, Klaus struts towards Caroline, taking her hand in his and pulling her with him as he leaves.
:
:
"Are we going to talk about it at all?" Caroline snaps, eventually, unable to take the silent treatment any longer.
They have been driving in utter silence—and it's dreadful, seriously, like, the worst experience of Caroline's life, which is saying a lot because she has died, for Pete's sake, and that's not a pretty experience, now, is it?—for three hours now and there are only so many black cars they drive by that Caroline can count to occupy her time before she goes completely crazy.
"There's nothing we have to talk about, Caroline," he answers curtly, but she still notices the way his hands tighten around the steering wheel in anger, and how he uses her name instead of the usual term of endearment he reserves for her. It makes her dead heart drop a little inside her chest. It shouldn't, but it does.
She scoffs. "Oh, really? What about the fact that you basically chained me to you? You must be over the moon, since that's what you've been trying to do for the past two years anyway."
Klaus grinds his teeth together in frustration. "I didn't do anything. It takes two to tango, love," he taunts her.
"But it's your fault we ended up in this predicament!"
"Oh, is it? Enlighten me, please."
"Yes, it is. Because you're a–," she huffs. "A hybrid. Part wolf and whatever. Didn't you hear what Darlene said?"
He lets out a dry chuckle, staring ahead of him at the road with emotionless eyes. "I've heard what the witch said quite clearly, love. It's all my fault because I'm a freak of nature, I apologize for the inconvenience."
Caroline sighs, closing her eyes for a moment. "That's not what I meant."
She feels—not quite sorry—but something, nonetheless, towards Klaus. To this day, she still doesn't know much about how he had been as a human, back in the days, before everything got too complicated and turned him into the person that he is today, apart from what Elena had told her years ago about his family. But, whether his methods had been right or wrong (definitely wrong), all that he has ever tried to do since arriving in Mystic Falls had simply been surrounding himself of people that he could trust and that wouldn't leave him, which was something that she could relate to, on some, less twisted, level. All of her life, she has always been the backup, the second choice, that one girl everybody would grow tired of eventually, once they had found someone better to spend their time with. And it didn't matter how many committees she was the head of, or how many parties she threw, or how many younger girls followed her around wishing to enter her good graces to be part of the cheerleading squad—she was still, essentially, alone. Nobody—not her dad, not Matt, not Tyler—ever stuck around. Because she was just too high-maintenance, or too loud, or too demanding. Everybody always seemed to be able to move on from her without a second thought, while she was left picking up the pieces of her life, time after time, trying to put everything back together, even if, every time, there was one more piece missing that she would never get back.
—"Do you ever feel like... there's not a person in the world, who loves you?"—
"That's not what I meant," she repeats, more forcefully this time. "But–I mean, you said you had never... you know, before."
"Bloodshared?" he says for her, a small, smug smile making its way to his lips despite everything. "I hadn't. And, for the record, I didn't just mean after I finally became a hybrid. I meant, ever."
He doesn't know why he says that, when, really, he could have lied about it (the bond was created only because he's part werewolf now, after all), to maintain some of his dignity, but he wanted her to know, just how much she means—how much he loves her, he means—to him.
"Oh," Caroline nods, almost absentmindedly, biting down on her bottom lip. "Then why did you..." she trails off.
Klaus sighs. "Do you really have to ask?"
"Since it put me in danger," she replies a bit too angrily, and, again, his hold on the steering wheel tightens until his hands are almost shaking and his knuckles become white.
"I mean, so much for caring about me, mmh? Your bite is fatal to me, but you just did it," she snaps.
"If I recall correctly, love, you encouraged me to bite you. You wanted it," he reminds her with a snarl. He knows that she's partly right, because, hell, he does blame himself, but he won't have her put it like he had just taken advantage of her and forced her into it, because it's far from the truth, and they both know it.
"Because I thought you knew what you were doing!" she retorts angrily, raising her voice inside the small space of the car that they're confined into.
"So what, you're angry at me?" he mocks, chuckling darkly.
"And disappointed."
Klaus' jaw ticks dangerously and his teeth grind together again, fury evident in his tense stance.
"You should be flattered," he snarls, and her answering scoff only fuels his anger even more, making him say things he's not sure he means to—he has bared his heart to her enough times, already—before he can actually even think about it.
"You know what bloodsharing means for vampires, how intimate it is, and yet," he laughs dryly, hurt. "Instead of making you realize how important you must be to me, you just accuse me, because it's something that I've only ever wanted to do with you? Is there anything right that I could ever do in your eyes, Caroline?" he asks, his voice going slightly softer, lower, making her heart clench at how genuine and vulnerable he sounds. "Because if you're just hell-bent on hating me forever, then, please, tell me now."
There's a long pause, during which Klaus just awaits for the rejection to come, instead Caroline's face is a mask of indifference, her arms folded across her chest and eyes set on the road in front of them.
Finally, she speaks.
"Pull over."
"What?"
"Pull over."
"Caroline, I'm not leaving you here."—he doesn't care if this is her decision, and she finally just realized that she wants to stay as far away from him as she possibly can for the rest of her life, he's not just going to leave her alone in the middle of nowhere, vampire or not.
"I said—pull over!" she almost screams it this time, looking at him with a determined glint in her eyes. Eventually, he sighs and does as she asks.
He has less than a second to briefly close his eyes and take a deep breath, opening his mouth to convince her, and then—Caroline is on him in an instant, straddling him, her mouth crashing down onto his, making him gasp. She takes advantage of that and quickly pushes her tongue past his lips, rolling it against his teeth before meeting it with his own, her fingers gripping at the light curls at the nape of his neck to angle his head and make the kiss as deep as she can. Instinctively, Klaus brings his hands on her hips, steadying her as she moves her hips against his, stealing a guttural groan from his throat.
With a gasp, he draws back, but Caroline doesn't relent, nibbling at his jaw and then down his neck, biting with her human teeth.
"Caroline–" he pants, almost unconsciously bending his neck to the side to give her a better access. "You don't really want this."
He's not even sure why he says it—because Lord knows he wants it—but he knows that she's still partly mad at him and too worried about their current problematic situation to be thinking clearly right now. They have had enough angry sex, and he wants more from her.
"Believe me, I do," she answers against his skin with a raspy voice that has him harden even more.
She must sense that he's about to protest once more so she adds—"I want you"—and again covers his mouth with her own, her hands going to his belt and quickly undoing it, pulling at his jeans. It's all Klaus can do to slightly lift his hips so that she can push them down, together with his boxers.
With a groan, he closes his eyes and surrenders, helpless against her–
–and when isn't he, after all? What is he, if not constantly at her mercy?
She takes a firm hold of his already very erect member, teasing him as she expertly fingers its tip.
"Caroline–" he says, again, but this time it's a warning.
Laughing, albeit obviously rather breathlessly, she makes quick work of her leggings, pushing them down her legs, her panties quickly joining them.
Klaus circles her waist with one arm, possessively pulling her flush against him, his other hand losing itself in her hair, gently caressing her neck and pressing her head towards his as he retakes her lips, their tongues meeting once again just as she suddenly sinks herself down onto him, eliciting the umpteenth contented groan from the hybrid.
She sets a demanding pace, lifting her hips up away from his and then back down again, time after time after time, the resounding slap of their skins coming together the only noise, mixed with their pants and moans, inside the small, confined space of the car, parked in the dark on the side of a deserted road.
It becomes too much too quickly, so she disconnects their lips with a strangled sob, hiding her face into his neck as her arms circle around it to bring him closer. In response, Klaus rids her of her sweater and then wraps both of his arms around her small waist, his hands immediately going underneath her tank top to meet the delightful warmth of her skin against his. He picks up the tempo, as well, bringing his hips up into hers with force and purpose.
After a few more thrusts, she comes with his name on her lips, keeping on frantically gyrating her hips against his to coax and ride out his own, sweet release, which arrives a moment later.
They stay like that, wrapped up into each other, for a few minutes, both breathless, panting against the other's heated skin.
After a while, Caroline finally raises her head and then her hips, just slightly, looking almost shy as she leans towards her seat again, but Klaus is having none of that.
Instead, he tightens his hold on her and brings her back into him, smirking. "Don't think I am done with you yet, sweetheart."
With a flick of his wrist, he pushes the passenger seat all the way down and then swiftly but graciously rolls them over onto it, his already again growing, hardening length never leaving the wet warmth of her sheath.
She wraps her legs around him, effortlessly, her ankles linking together as the heels of her feet dig into his back.
Klaus takes a moment to gently caress down her nose with his own, their gazes locking together, burning, digging through until they reach the other's bared soul.
Unexpectedly, he raises to his knees above her, her legs sliding down around his ass, and then gives a deep, hard thrust, immediately making Caroline cry out in sheer pleasure at the sensation of him so deep and big inside of her and his body completely nestled between her parted thighs. He stays like that for a long moment, watching her panting with want beneath him, her eyes closed and her skin flushed from her cleavage all the way up to her cheeks. Feeling a rush of possessiveness spread through his whole body, he withdraws all the way out of her until only the tip of his member is still lingering at her entrance. She tries to raise her hips up against his to take him in again, but he roughly pins her hips down with his hands, taking one more second to admire her before slamming all the way into her again.
Wanting to see all of her, he quickly tears off her top, ripping it down the middle, and then her bra as his hands immediately go to her now bared, plump breasts. He lies down on top of her again, setting a punishing pace—a hard pinch on her nipples for every harsh word that she has ever screamed at him, a thrust for every time she has made him feel used or rejected.
"Kla–" she croaks out, breathlessly, his name remaining stuck in her throat.
He places a hand on the supple, milky white skin of her right thigh, bringing her leg up, bent atop of his shoulder, the new position allowing him to go even deeper inside of her.
"Please," she begs, and seeing her body trashing wildly beneath his makes him growl and grow even larger inside the wet confines of her pulsing heat.
He shakes his head, bringing his free hand to the side of her face, his thumb caressing her closed eyelids, successfully coaxing her into opening her eyes, hooded with lust.
"Tell me that you don't hate me, Caroline," he grinds out, his stare trapping hers as he pushes deeply inside of her to make his point.
Pushing his pelvis into hers hotly and desperately, but without any actual movement, he repeats, demandingly—"Tell me."—because he needs to hear it, he needs to know that there's still hope for them.
There's a long moment before she surrenders, when all they can hear is the breath leaving their lungs in pants, and the frantic beating of their dead hearts inside their chests. It's weird, because they feel much more connected than the simple joining of their bodies, for the first time since they have first shared blood, and they wonder if that's it—the forming, strengthening bond that the witch had meant.
"I don't hate you," she finally admits with a moan as he picks up the tempo again, finally giving into her needs—their needs—his hand finding her swollen clit and playing with the electrified bundle of nerves on ready alert there.
They're both nuzzling against the other's neck, and the call for blood is strong—stronger, too much stronger, than it should be—but, somehow, they resist, instead focusing on the pressure of their body coming together thrust after thrust.
Finally, with a relieved cry, Caroline comes, sucking on his neck with her blunt teeth and certainly leaving a noticeable mark there. Klaus lets go as well after a few more strokes, groaning against her burning skin.
He slightly lifts his hips to withdraw from her, but still remains lying above her body, leaving a trail of tender kisses from her jaw to her temple, their legs tangling together and her arms sliding around his neck to keep him pressed against her.
There's an intimacy there that has been missing in both of their previous times together, but instead of feeling scary it feels safe, which is, in itself, even more frightening for both of them. Too many problems are unresolved between them, questions pending over their heads, the possible dangers of their blood bond.
It seems that they're both having the same thoughts, because they tilt their heads towards each other at the same time, their eyes locking together with a pull stronger than gravity.
"We should probably find some food. It's late and we still have a lot of road ahead," Klaus speaks in a low voice, reluctantly breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them.
Caroline nods slowly, mindlessly, her gaze dancing between his eyes and his lips. Using her arms, still wrapped around his neck, she brings him down to her again and kisses him, slowly and wetly.
Immediately, Klaus feels himself stir again, answering her kisses as he pushes his tongue between her parted lips.
Lazily, she wraps her legs around him more tightly, whispering as she feels him again hard against her belly—"Later."