Veronika sat at her dressing table finishing the final touches on her make up, tonight was the opening night for the Swan Lake at the Garnier Palasis, knowing full well that the play was a favourite of her's, Klaus had cunningly sent Stefan to convince her to let him take her as Veronika wasn't biting Stefan's head off every time she spoke to him like she was doing with Klaus'. Putting down the make up brush Veronika sighed, despite the fun she had with her friends it just didn't' feel like her birthday and she would much rather just stay in her room for the rest of the night with a bottle of wine. However Klaus was rather adamant that they go the go to the performance. "You look sensational, not that I don't think that your not always beautiful…"

Looking at the mirror in front of her Veronika could see Klaus standing in the doorway watching her. "I'd forgotten how nice you scrub up, when you put in some effort. You actually look like a gentleman for once Niklaus." Veronika replied as she eyed him clean shaven and neat haired self, dressed in a traditional tuxedo. God he was even more handsome than usual but she certainly wasn't going to tell him that."

"I have something for you. A gift. To go with your exquisite earrings and the final touch to your outfit." Klaus said as he made his way over to Veronika with a large velvet square box and moments later he opened it and carefully placed a necklace with a large amount of diamonds on it around her neck. "Happy birthday Veronika."

"It's a Harry Winston, it's beautiful but Klaus what have I said about the extravagant gifts…" Veronika murmured as she fingered the wreath necklace that was now around her neck.

"You only turn five hundred and thirty nine once." Klaus told her.

Veronika slowly turned around on her stool so she could face Klaus properly, she was very confused now as her emotions were now all over place and she despite this overwhelming beautiful gift she had to remind herself that she was still made with him. Harry Winston or no Harry Winston she was very much pissed with Klaus. "You tell me that every year Niklaus…"

"And I'll keep doing so, now if you just take my hand we'll be on our way Ms. Petrova…"

Over five hundred years ago Klaus held out his hand to Veronika in a similar manner and she wasn't sure whether or not she could go with him but in the end she took his hand and tonight she did it again. Allowing herself to trust him despite knowing full well that she shouldn't Veronika went to the ballet with Klaus and had fun, she allowed herself to forget everything and just enjoy being out with Klaus in public especially when he was looking at her the way he was. She kept catching him look at her with this soft look in his eye and then he would just smile at her. Two hours and fourteen five minutes later, the two of them were strolling hand in hand down the streets of Paris until they arrived at a very familiar location. The one place in Paris that would always belong to the two of them; The Louvre. "Klaus, what are we doing here?" Veronika questioned.

"Your birthday present." Klaus simply replied.

"Birthday present! What are you talking about? You gave me this beautiful necklace already…" Veronika began until she stopped and her eyes darted over to the building near them and her eyes widened in shock. "Please tell me your not going to do what I think your going to do Niklaus, I already told you that I don't want you to steal me the Mona Lisa."

"And I heard you Veronika, the necklace isn't your birthday present it was just a small trinket but anyway, I figured that this would be a good place to give you your real birthday present despite the fact that your birthday is now over." Klaus explained as he went into his jacket pocket and pulled something out and put it into Veronika's had.

Veronika looked at the warm yet rather round and very gold object in her hand and with a weary glace at Klaus she opened it. "It's a compass…"

"Yes it is."

"I don't get it Klaus. It's broken compass with several cracks on it's face." Veronika pointed out and Klaus just continued to smile, clearly he knew something she didn't and he was rather enjoying that which only frustrated her further.

"That is the point."

"I'm failing to see what is so funny or your point as this compass doesn't even point north!" Veronika retorted, it seemed like Klaus was intentionally trying to provoke her, which was rather annoying as Veronika couldn't do anything about it as Klaus was now practically invincible.

"That's because it's not pointing north Ms. Petrova, it's pointing to you." Klaus announced.

Veronika didn't understand and so she narrowed her eyes at Klaus "Excuse me."

"I take you for granted, I don't spend enough time with you, at times I don't give you the respect that you truly deserve especially when I lose my temper. I send you away for months and years at a time and put myself ahead of you despite everything that you've done and do for me. That's what the cracks represent. My flaws. I see them now and I know I'm not prefect but I want to work on that because you deserve better than that Veronika and yet you choose to love me. That's why the arrow is pointing to you, so you'll always know that there is no other woman I will ever want except for you. I will always come back to you, Veronika Petrova my Little Petrova…" Klaus revealed.

"Niklaus, I-I don't know what to say, you didn't have to do any of this…" Veronika slowly said as her eyes softened, as she was very much overwhelmed. This was pretty much out the last thing that had been expected. Truth be told she didn't think Klaus could be capable of something so sweet.

"These last two months I've been looking for werewolves, one in particular who should lead me to the rest of his pack." Klaus said and Veronika's eyes widened in shock again. "That's why I had to send you away, it wasn't because I didn't want you with me; I did it because I need you to be safe. If any of them were to hurt you I'd have to kill them all despite the fact my blood could heal you. The promise I made about killing anyone who ever laid a hand on you still stands so you must see why I had to keep you away because I need them if I want to turn them into hybrids.

"You could have told me this. I would have understood." Veronika said as took a step closer to Klaus, now she felt incredibly bad because Klaus was just trying to protect her but she, like most times took it the wrong way. She needed to work on this insecurity thing as it was starting to bug her now.

"I know you would have sweetheart but I just couldn't' take that risk, you know how much your safety means to me Nica."

"And Stefan Salvatore's means so little to you." Veronika quipped.

"Compared to you? Yes it does." Klaus replied as he stroked his thumb against Veronika's cheek and wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her in so close that the heat from their bodies was radiating off each others.

"Five hundred years and you still drive me crazy, do you know that?" Veronika quietly said as she looked at Klaus and into those eyes of his which still made her knees go weak after all this time, whenever he looked at her especially when he looked at her the way he was now.

"Likewise…"

Veronika couldn't help but laugh, the two of them together were a serious and dysfunctional mess. Terrible when things were bad but that never seemed to matter when they had their good days like how this one was finally turning out as and then they were brilliant. "I don't mean it in a good way."

"I know, neither did I." Klaus replied with that ever familiar smirk on his face, they were teasing each other in the playful way that was so natural to them. They would always claim that they drove the other crazy but they both knew that there was no way they could live without the other – well they could but the idea of it was incomprehensible to them. They were two screwed up people who just happened to fit perfectly together, some of the time…

"I don't want you to send me away ever again Niklaus." Veronika quietly said and diverted her eyes away from Klaus' because of the whole insecurity thing yet again, she hated him seeing her so weak. There he was the he big bad and all mighty powerful hybrid and there was Veronika, the Little Petrova vampire who was plagued with bouts of jealousy and insecurity. You could see the big differences.

"I wasn't planning to, I'm afraid I miss you too much when I do sweetheart..." Klaus replied as he looked at Veronika before leaning down to kiss her in a kiss that sent shivers down her spine and Veronika had to try her hardest not to cry, but it wasn't because she was angry or sad. It was because she was so overwhelming happy, Klaus may not be in love with her but all this was like his way of saying that he did love her in his own weird way. He didn't have to say those three words to her because the two of them there at the Louvre, their special place and everything else he had done for her today was good enough for now.