"On your knees." Klaus said. "I want you to crawl."
Genevieve gave him a weird look before smirking and going down on her knees. She crawled all the way from the door to behind his desk, where he waited on his chair. This wasn't the first time they did this, every now and then they would request each other some playful things.
Genevieve reached the spot in front of her and sat between his legs, always looking at him with lustful eyes.
And he knew then, he was a sick, twisted man.
Just as she was about to undo his pants, he grabbed her by her wrists and stopped her.
"You're fired."
Genevieve gapped for a moment before snatching her hands away.
"What?!"
"You heard me. You're fired."
She got up from the floor in a swift movement.
"You can't fire me!"
"Yes I can." Klaus replied with a smirk. "You think you have some sort of hold on me, but you don't. If you're blackmailing someone, make sure whatever you have on them is powerful enough to break them. Such as the evidence I have of you stealing money from the company." He said, his hand pushing some copies he made of the reports he found at her house.
Genevieve looked at the papers with wide eyes, her face going pale.
"You… How did you…" She gapped. "You wouldn't. You can't!" She pleaded. "I would go to jail."
"Not my problem, sweetheart. But I'm feeling merciful today, so I'll make you a deal. You go to your office, gather all your bloody shit and get off my face, and I won't tell Alaric to start a trial against you."
Klaus knew he had to talk to Elijah about it at some point, but for now he just wanted to gain some time with Caroline. He knew the second Genevieve found herself in trouble; she would open her mouth and spill out about Hayley. And Klaus was okay with that, or at least with Caroline knowing. He truly believed she deserved the truth, but he wanted it to come from him, not from Genevieve, and he just wasn't ready to confess.
He could see the wheels turning in Genevieve's head as she looked hesitant and nervous.
"I'll remind you that you're in no position to negotiate. Take it or leave it."
"Fine." She said after a moment and then moved to take the reports from his desk. "I'm taking these with me." She added before walking to the door.
"Go ahead, love." Klaus said with a pleased look on his face. "I have copies all over the place anyway."
Genevieve turned her head over her shoulder and glared at him with all the hate and anger she could muster. And yet, Klaus was unaffected.
"And you couldn't let me go without humiliating me one more time?" She hissed.
"I thought I would be saving you some time by asking you to kneel, I thought you would try and beg."
"Fuck you, Klaus." Genevieve said before storming out.
.
"I checked some videos online so hiring the band was easy." Caroline said excitedly before sipping her coffee. "I got the decorations covered too. We're really close to the holidays and all the events agencies in Camille's list are booked, but my friend Stefan told me about a friend who has a small agency and their portfolio is so adorable!"
"It seems like you're doing great." Katherine commented from across the table.
"Not just that, but I'm saving a lot of money too! These parties are ridiculously expensive."
Katherine made a face.
"I guess money never was an issue." She observed.
"I know, Elijah didn't put any limit to the budget, but honest to God, I think the company has been scammed by Camille." Caroline said annoyed. "Especially if you all agree the parties were boring. The catering was already hired, but I decided to add something especial for dessert. After dinner there will be a whole table of sweet things and the coffee house where my friend Bonnie works is taking care of it, so I get to help my friend and she helps me too!"
"Well, look at you! All efficient and good friend! Is there anything you can't do?" Katherine teased.
Caroline giggled and smiled.
"God dammit!" they heard someone curse. When they looked around, the found Genevieve walking down the hall while holding a heavy box. She kept bumping into stuff and at some point she tripped and dropped the box.
Caroline rushed to help her, but the second she started picking Genevieve's things, the redheaded hissed.
"Get the fuck away from me."
Caroline was taken aback.
"Excuse me? I'm trying to help here." She said angrily.
"I don't want your help." Genevieve said while finishing putting everything back in the box. "I don't want anything from you or Klaus, ever again."
"What the hell happened?" Caroline asked confused due Genevieve's hostility.
"Klaus finally fired you." Katherine said from behind Caroline.
Caroline could tell by Katherine's voice and the way Genevieve glared at her, that Katherine was smirking.
"Yes. He did." Genevieve spat and looked back at Caroline. "You can keep him. I just hope you know you're living with the devil and he's gonna ruin you." She said taking a step closer to Caroline. "Because that's what he does, he poisons everyone around him." She added before walking to the door, bumping her shoulder hardly against Caroline's.
"What the hell just happened?" Caroline asked again.
"Nothing you should worry about." Klaus said as he appeared in the hall. "Just Genevieve throwing one of her usual fits."
"Can you blame her? You fired her right before the holidays." Katherine said crossing her arms.
"Yes well, she can now take extended vacations." Klaus replied with a shrug.
Caroline looked down while thinking about what Genevieve said. She knew Klaus wasn't exactly the nicest or most thoughtful person out there. She would often forget that, seeing how kind he was to her, but no one ever failed to point out his dark side to her. He wouldn't ruin her, right?
Klaus noticed something was wrong and placed a hand on her back.
"Something wrong, love?"
Her head snapped and she looked up at him.
"Uh?... oh! No, everything is fine…" She mumbled. "Why did you fire her anyway?"
"She didn't share the company's values." Klaus replied.
Caroline seemed to believe it, but Katherine gave Klaus a pointy look from behind Caroline's shoulder. Katherine was harder to fool.
"Alright, crazy kids, I have to go back to work. Caroline, text me if you wanna come home and borrow a dress." Katherine said before walking away.
"Borrow a dress?" Klaus asked.
"Yeah, she offered to lend me for the party. It's a black tie event and dresses are expensive."
"I see…" Klaus mumbled.
"Will Genevieve still be attending to the New Year's eve party? I assumed she would be your plus one." Caroline commented while making a huge effort to sound indifferent.
Klaus pursed his lips and shrugged.
"Doubtful. She never was my plus one to begin with anyway." He said.
"Well, if you're bringing someone else, let me know so I can add her to the guest list."
Klaus smiled softly.
"No, I'm not bringing anyone else. What about you?" He asked curiously.
"Same. I don't have a date."
"We should go together then." He suggested. "I mean, we can use the same car and save some time."
"Are you sure?" Caroline asked, trying not to get too excited about it. She felt like someone just asked her to be their senior prom date.
"Of course." Klaus replied. "I told you I would make sure we had another chance to dance together." He reminded her.
Caroline smiled and blushed lightly.
"I see you keep your promises then." She joked.
"I'm a man of my word." He said with a smirk.
.
The company closed its doors for a few days during the holidays, giving the employees a chance to spend more time with their families. Klaus and Caroline filled the penthouse with Christmas decorations and a big, spectacular Christmas tree. It was all Caroline's idea. Klaus never bothered to decorate the place since by this time of the year he would be spending most of his time with his siblings or just traveling around. He had to admit though, the place looked wonderful, it was filled with light and joy, and there was a constant smell of cookies in the air.
To his surprise, the morning of December 24th, there was no sign of Caroline anywhere. He woke up to find the penthouse empty, except for Spots. He found a little note he found on the kitchen counter with an address and the simple message "Could you please pick me up 6pm? Text me! Love, Care."
Of course he would pick her up, but that would be at the end of the day and he could feel Caroline's absence already. The penthouse wasn't the same without her there and he couldn't help but wonder where she was.
He heard a small cry and turned to see Spots sitting by the door, clearly waiting for Caroline to come back. Klaus smiled at that and took Spots' leash.
"Come on mate, we better make ourselves busy for the day."
.
By the time he parked his car, it was 5:52pm. He double checked the address in the note and realized she was at a soup kitchen. He had never been in one of those before and he wondered what Caroline could be doing there.
The place was crowded and filled with Christmas decorations. Dozens of people sat around long tables eating their hot meal while more and more people arrived. Klaus spotted Caroline behind a counter cleaning some trays. When she saw him, she smiled and waved, and Klaus had this fuzzy feeling in his stomach that made him feel like a teenager again.
"I can't believe it's 6pm already, where did time go?" She said as he walked closer to her.
"I'm a little bit early. What are you doing here?" He asked curiously.
"I spent Christmas here last year, so this year I thought I should be here as a volunteer and give something back." She explained and Klaus looked at her astonished. She was so selfless. "I thought we would be done by now, but there's just so much people to feed."
"You were supposed to go home hours ago." Stefan said as he walked pass her, holding a big basket containing pudding cups. "We take shifts, remember?" He added.
"I know, but…"
"No buts. Go. Have dinner. Exchange presents. We're fine." He assured her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, we can manage."
Caroline smiled and nodded her head.
"Alright. Thank you Stefan. And Merry Christmas." She stood on her toes and kissed her friend's cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Care bear."
Caroline pulled her things from under the counter and put her coat on.
"See you soon!" She said walking around the counter and towards Klaus. He couldn't help himself but place his hand on Caroline's back as he walked her out and throwing Stefan a look over his shoulder.
Stefan knew what that look meant. It said "This is MY girl" all over.
"So um… How come you didn't ask Stefan to be your date for the party? Aren't you two dating?" He asked nonchalantly. Caroline gave him a funny look.
"Dating? God, no! I love the guy, but he's like a brother to me. Why did you think we were together?"
"Oh... I see…" Klaus mumbled, hiding the fact that he was incredibly relieved. "You two just seem really close."
"I thought about asking him to be my date…" Caroline said pursing her lips and then she smirked. "But your sister asked him first!" She added laughing.
Klaus wanted to groan, it seemed like one way or another Stefan would stick around. At least he didn't have to worry about him being with Caroline.
.
They had a small Christmas Eve dinner and when the clock struck midnight, Caroline made hot chocolate and they moved to the living room to exchange presents.
"Ladies first." He said picking his present for Caroline from underneath the tree and sitting on the couch next to her. It was inside a small paper bag and the second she took a peek inside she could tell what it was. The box was black and velvety and it had a silky white bow tied around it. It was clearly jewelry.
Caroline hesitated to open it, knowing whatever Klaus gave her was a hundred times –at least- more expensive that her present for him.
She untied the bow and lifted the lid. Her breath hitched when she saw the content. It was a beautiful silver bracelet with little diamonds.
"Oh Klaus, it's beautiful." She whispered in awe.
"Here, let me help you." He took the bracelet from the box and secured it around her delicate wrist.
"This must have cost you a lot, you shouldn't have." She said softly.
"Nonsense. I can afford it. Besides, this is small compared to everything you do for me. You have no idea how much my life changed since you moved in. You deserve it, sweetheart." He replied.
Caroline smiled and blushed.
"Thank you." She then got up to get Klaus' present from underneath the tree. It was a big, square box wrapped in golden paper. She was a little bit nervous about Klaus' reaction to it. She wasn't entire sure how he would take it and now, knowing he picked something particularly special for her, she felt even more nervous.
Klaus took the lid off and looked inside in surprise.
"Art supplies…" He mumbled.
"Art supplies." Caroline repeated with a nod. "I really think you should start painting and drawing again. If you have a talent then you can't hide it forever, is part of who you are."
"How are you so sure I'm talented?" He asked.
"Rebekah mentioned you were really good." Caroline said. "I understand if you think I'm crossing a line here or if you just don't like it. I just…"
"I love it." Klaus interrupted her. "It's perfect." He put the box on the coffee table and turned to hug her. "Thank you, Caroline."
She hugged him back closing her eyes.
"Merry Christmas, Klaus." She whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Caroline." He replied.
.
Elijah Mikaelson's house was freaking huge. It was a beautiful five story house built in the 19th century. The second Caroline stepped in she felt out of place. While Klaus penthouse was expensive and elegant, it was also very modern and simple. This house, however, mixed different time periods, warm colors and fireplaces in almost every room.
"We're here!" Klaus announced from the foyer while he helped Caroline with her coat. Elijah was the first to receive them.
"Merry Christmas." He said patting Klaus' back before turning to kiss Caroline's cheek.
"Merry Christas Elijah." She replied. "Thank you for letting me join you."
"You're more than welcome here."
That's when Caroline saw a little kid peeking behind Elijah's legs. She smiled and bent down to look at him better.
"Hey there." She said smiling. "What's your name?"
The kid hid his face shyly against his father's leg.
"His name is Henrik. He's a little bit shy." Elijah said while patting his son's head. "Go say hi to your uncle Nik."
Henrik took a few steps and Klaus quickly picked him up.
"Hello mate." Klaus cooed. "Did you get a lot of Christmas presents?" Henrik nodded. "Good. This is my friend Caroline." He said and Henrik rested his head on Klaus' shoulder. "Can you say hi?"
It took him a few seconds but eventually Henrik let out a small "hi".
Caroline smiled widely.
"Hello Henrik. It's nice to meet you." She replied slowly.
Henrik hid his face again, making the grownups laugh.
"He's adorable." Caroline said.
"Wait until you meet his sister." Elijah chuckled.
"His sister?"
"Yeah, Freya. She's a firecracker." Klaus replied. "Complete opposite from Henrik."
"Please, come in, Katerina is in the kitchen finishing the details and Rebekah is helping set the table." Elijah said, leading them further into the house.
Caroline decided to help Katherine in the kitchen. Dinner was almost done, so they just finished with the salads and setting the table. There were ten sits around the table, a lot more than Caroline expected.
Just like Klaus predicted, Freya made her presence known the second she stepped in. She liked Caroline right away and asked her all kinds of things.
"Desert is here!" A voice called out before a young man walked into the kitchen holding a paper bag. He looked a lot like Elijah, but a few years younger.
"Please tell me you got exactly what I asked." Katherine said annoyed.
"I get the wrong ice cream flavor once and you never let me hear the end of it." The young man mumbled.
"Caroline, this is my brother Kol. I don't think you two have met yet." Rebekah said. In that moment Kol turned and fixed his eyes on Caroline before giving her his best smile.
"No, we haven't." Caroline said to Rebekah before turning back to Kol. "It's nice to meet you."
He walked to her and took her hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, love." He said before kissing her knuckles. "I heard a lot about you but truly, words couldn't describe how beautiful you are."
Caroline blinked in surprise and glanced at Rebekah.
"Kol, you'll scare her away." Rebekah said to her brother. "Don't listen to him, Care. He's a flirt but he's harmless."
"Of course I'm harmless, I'm a gentleman!" Kol said feigning offence.
"What's going on?" Klaus asked as he stepped into the kitchen right in time to see Caroline snatching her hand from Kol's grip.
"Kol is hitting on everything that moves." Katherine said. "Again."
Klaus' face dropped.
"Kol…" He growled.
"What? I didn't do anything…" Kol said innocently. He turned back to Caroline and opened his mouth to say something, but Caroline's head turned. Something tugged her jeans and made her look down.
It was Freya, clearly trying to get Caroline's attention.
"You look a lot like my Barbie." The little girl commented.
"I couldn't agree more." Caroline heard Kol whisper.
"You wanna play?" Freya asked and Caroline nodded her head, relieved for the change of subject. She took the small hand Freya offered and together they walked out the kitchen.
"Tasty little thing." Kol said as he watched Caroline walk away.
Klaus glared at him. Luckily Elijah, the voice of reason, spoke first.
"Kol, please try not to make our guest uncomfortable."
"Why would she be uncomfortable?" Kol said, and pretty much everyone in the room rolled their eyes.
.
When dinner was ready, Katherine walked to the playroom looking for her kids. She found both of them tucked against Caroline's sides while she read them a book, Freya's dolls forgotten on the floor. Katherine leaned on the doorframe while listening.
"Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he punished his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had used up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.
As money was tight, he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve he saw that the child had used all of the expensive gold paper to decorate one shoebox she had put under the Christmas tree. He also was concerned about where she had gotten money to buy what was in the shoebox.
Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!"
As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, now regretting how he had punished her.
But when he opened the shoebox, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady," he said harshly, "when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside the package!"
The little girl looked up at him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full."
The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.
Each of us has been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
The end."
"Maybe I should give daddy a box filled with kisses." Freya said.
"But we already have a present for daddy. Mommy gave us a tie for him, remember?" Henrik said.
"Well, you don't need a box and wrapping paper to give someone a kiss. Why don't you just grab him and kiss him all over his face? I'm sure he'll love that." Caroline said.
"Yeah, let's do that!" Henrik said. Both kids got up and ran out of the room calling out for their father.
Caroline chuckled and got up too.
"Elijah won't know what hit him." Katherine said.
"They're really good kids." Caroline commented.
"Thanks, I made them." Katherine joked and they laughed. "Come on, dinner is served. We're just waiting for my in-laws."
Caroline followed Katherine to the dining room, suddenly feeling nervous. She was about to meet Klaus parents. She didn't know how to feel, knowing that Mikael wasn't really Klaus' father and he loved making Klaus feel bad about it. She also knew there was a lot of tension inside the family so she hoped this dinner would go smoothly, for the kids' sake. Besides, it's Christmas, it's supposed to be joyful.
Just as she reached the dining room, Kol stepped between her and Katherine, stopping her by the door.
"Well, look at that! We're both under the mistletoe." He said looking up. Indeed, there was mistletoe hanging above the door.
When he started leaning, she put a hand on his chest and stopped him.
"You get any closer and I'll kick you so hard, even your grandkids will feel it." She whispered lowly.
Kol blinked surprised.
"Wow… feisty… I like."
Klaus noticed his brother standing underneath the mistletoe with Caroline and he decided to interrupt.
"Come on mate, go help Elijah light the fireplace. He would do it himself but his kids just randomly decided to tackle him and kiss him." He said while pushing Kol away from Caroline.
"But… Nik!" Kol protested.
"Go!" Klaus insisted.
Caroline giggled at the thought of Elijah being pinned down to the floor by two loving kids. Klaus turned to her and smiled softly.
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
She smiled back and nodded.
"Yes. It's been years since I had such a nice Christmas dinner. I'm glad I'm here."
Klaus looked at her for a moment before placing his arm around her shoulders.
"I'm glad you're here too, love."
Esther and Mikael Mikaelson arrived shortly after that. They barely paid any attention to Caroline and she was grateful for that.
Everyone sat around the table and started eating. Kol tried sitting next to Caroline, but Klaus pretty much pulled the chair away and gave him a deadly glare, silently telling him to sit somewhere else. That's when Esther seemed to pick up on the new face at the table.
"It's nice to see Niklaus finally bring a girl home." She said.
Caroline and Klaus looked at each other in silence.
"I thought his girlfriend she was a redhead." Mikael commented. Elijah chocked on the wine he was currently sipping and Kol laughed.
"Actually, I'm Klaus' roommate." She corrected. Katherine glanced at Klaus and saw the disappointment in his face. She knew there was a lot more going on between those two.
"Oh, I see." Esther said.
"I don't see why Niklaus would have a roommate. Can't you pay your own bills, boy?" He asked Klaus with disdain. Caroline looked down and saw Klaus' hand turning white as he tightened his fork. She quickly placed her hand on top of it and felt him relax under her touch.
"Oh no! That's not it." Caroline said. "I just needed a place to stay and he offered the guest room. He's very generous." She explained and caught a glimpse of a smile on Klaus' face.
Mikael seemed very interested in what Caroline was saying. He sat straighter on his chair, his hands under his chin. He looked like a villain in a James Bond movie.
"You're doing charity now, son?" He asked. "Impressive." He added sarcastically.
Caroline was taken aback. She didn't know how to respond at that. But she realized she didn't have to. Mikael wasn't worth it.
"Caroline is also an employee at the company." Elijah said. "She's been really helpful and she's also planning the New Year's Eve party."
"That's lovely!" Esther said. Mikael lost interest in the conversation right away and started focusing on his food again.
"Remember that year when one of the clients got wasted and tried to sing?" Kol asked looking around the table.
"Oh yes, my ears are still in recovery." Rebekah replied rubbing her temple.
"That was quite the event." Elijah commented.
"Especially because he dedicated it to Cassy, when his wife's name is actually Susan." Katherine told Caroline, making her laugh. Everyone started laughing and soon enough they started sharing other stories. Caroline was relieved when she stopped being the center of attention.
.
The dinner finished smoothly… mostly. Esther had a thing for gossip, something Caroline didn't share, and Mikael would throw some spiteful comment every now and then, but other than that, the dinner went great.
They were the first to leave after the dinner, while everyone else stayed longer to help with the table and the dishes. Except Kol. He stayed only to play with his niece and nephew.
Caroline ended up walking up and down a long hall where the walls were covered in photos. They were mostly of Freya and Henrik, either alone, together or with their parents. But there were also some other pictures of the Mikaelson siblings. She felt nostalgic then, having no photos to hang on her wall. She only had a few pictures of her mom, tucked safely in that same old backpack she had when she moved in with Klaus.
There was one particular picture of Katherine holding Freya that made Caroline's heart break. They looked so happy, she wished she could have that too.
"Are you ready to go, love?" Klaus asked as he walked towards her. "They're announcing a big snowstorm so the sooner we leave, the saver the ride home will be." He said before stopping by her side. She quickly wiped a tear from her cheek with her hand and nodded her head.
"Yeah, just let me get my coat." She replied, but Klaus stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"Caroline, what's wrong?" He asked concerned.
Caroline glanced at the wall before looking down.
"Just took a trip down memory lane. I guess holidays make me nostalgic."
Klaus looked at the wall and realized what was going on.
"Oh Caroline. I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He said pulling her into his arms. The stood there for a few minutes, just hugging each other. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed as his hand stroked her hair.
Caroline wanted her mom there, but that wasn't going to happen. She realized that she still had something to be grateful for. Her mom was gone but she wasn't entirely alone.
Then she heard Klaus chuckling lightly. She lifted her head and looked at him.
"What is it?"
He smirked and looked up.
"Mistletoe." He said simply before looking down at her. "Are you going to kick me so hard even my grandkids will feel it?" He asked, his arm still securely wrapped around her waist.
Caroline looked into his eyes for a moment before glancing down to his lips.
"Uh… no…" She whispered. Klaus' lips twitched into a small smile.
Slowly, hesitantly even, Klaus leaned closer to her. Caroline moved her hands from around Klaus' shoulders to his neck, slowly leading him towards her.
When their lips first touched, it was soft and chaste, but Klaus then tilted his head further to the side and deepened the kiss. Caroline opened her mouth and it was suddenly invaded by Klaus' warm tongue. Her hands moved up his neck to his cheeks and then to his hair, pulling him impossibly closer. Klaus did the same by wrapping his arm tighter around her waist, his other hand resting between her shoulder blades and pressing her against his chest.
When they ran out of air and broke the kiss, Klaus rested his forehead against hers and smiled.
"Merry Christmas love." He whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Klaus." She said back.
.
"The kids are finally asleep." Elijah said while stepping into the bedroom he shared with his wife. "It was a hard task, they had so much sugar today." He added while sitting on the bed to kick his shoes off.
"They deserved it, they behaved all day." Katherine said.
"Today was a good day, wasn't it? I'd say dinner was a success, which we can't always say when father is around." Elijah lamented.
"Oh I'd say it was more than a success…" Katherine said secretively. Elijah turned and looked at her curiously. "Klaus and Caroline kissed!" She said beaming.
"They did?" Elijah asked surprised.
"Yes! Finally! I told you those two needed a little nudge!"
Elijah sat there processing this new information and then nodded his head.
"Good. I like her. Klaus has been happier ever since he met her."
"I like her too, your brother needs someone like her. She's also great with the kids." Katherine commented.
"So this was your plan all along when you put all those mistletoes around the house, uh?"
Katherine smirked.
"You bet! Speaking of mistletoes…" She lifted her hand and held the mistletoe above their heads. Elijah laughed and leaned to kiss his wife.
.
AN: Sooooo what did you think about that kiss? Don't forget to leave a review!