Klaroline - "Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it. My love."
Requested by anon.
"I have a confession to make," Caroline whispered into Klaus' ear as she came up behind him. He looked over his shoulder with a faux irritated glance, making her smile brightly.
"Is it that you invited the Ripper without telling me?" he growled lowly, though their voices would have been lost among the live musicians Rebekah had hired (hopefully) for the annual Mikaelson pre-Mardi Gras ball.
"No. Its not a confession if you already know it," she scoffed in a tone that indicated he should know that fact.
"Yes, I'm sure the whole of Bourbon Street heard your greetings," Klaus grumbled, referring to her high pitched squealing as she had run to hug her best friend, before turning back to where people danced, laughed and drank in the room before them. He had chosen the bar at the side as the perfect place to observe the city's elite which he had invited. Catching Stefan lead his sister onto the dance floor when the tempo slowed down, he sighed and turned to face her, smiling lovingly at her typical sunny expression. "Pray tell, Caroline; what is your confession?"
"You look so handsome tonight," she told him, a hand reaching out to smooth down the lapel of his dark suit jacket. Pursing his lips, she raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"
"That's it?" he asked, tone deflated as if he was expecting something much more interesting.
"Geez, Klaus. You could at least pretend to be happy with my compliment," Caroline said sarcastically, propping her hand on her hip and rolling her eyes under her smokey-eyes makeup.
"Sweetheart, you already told me I looked handsome tonight. Right after I told you how breathtaking you looked," he reminded her, a sly smirk breaking out as he took in her floor length coral dress with a corset bodice and silk lined skirt. 'Breathtaking' didn't do her justice; she was a vision he would commemorate with a painting the following day, he was sure.
"Wouldn't hurt you to say it again," Caroline huffed under her breath and breaking Klaus out of his thoughts.
"What was that?" he asked in amusement, inclining his head to the side in curiosity though his supernatural hearing had picked it up.
"Nothing, nothing," she brushed off with a wave of a hand before holding it out to him. "Dance with me."
It was more of a demand than a question, but Klaus was never one to deny her anything. Grabbing hold of her proffered hand, he bent slightly over it and lifted it to his lips for a chaste kiss to the back. "As the lady wishes," he replied, throwing her a seductive wink as she grinned back before leading her onto the dance floor. "You do look absolutely ravishing tonight, Caroline."
"Thank you," she replied earnestly as he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her to him, all the while clutching her other hand to his chest where she had rested it over his heart. He almost sighed in content at the feeling of her free hand playing with the curls on his nape after she had looped her arm around his neck. "My confession was how I'm falling madly in love with you."
"I thought it confession was something I didn't already know?" he replied after a beat, arching an eyebrow in a show of nonchalance when he knew very well she could feel his undead heart beating just that tad bit faster at her words. Seeing her open her mouth to begin to chastise him (he could already predict her behaviour at times), he soften his tone to add, "I love you, Caroline, with everything I am and everything I have."
Tilting her head to allow her blonde curls tumble over her shoulder, she smiled adoringly at him. "Must be quite a lot then, huh? Because you are sort of a bigwig around here, and you do have a whole city to your name," she stated matter-of-factly though he could hear some anxiousness to the words.
"Hmm, something like that, yes," Klaus replied with a soft smile in response to hers; hoping he could strive off her apprehension by downplaying his true feelings (which were actually more than 'quite a lot'), though considering she had been the first to accuse him of being in love with her many years ago, he was sure she already knew how far gone he was.
There was a beat of silence between them where they continued to dance in time with the music with a practiced ease that only came after dancing with the same partner over the years. He could practically hear her mind turning, a ghost of the smile that was previous gracing her lips portraying her mental distress.
Caroline sighed and met his eyes with a sad smile and a brush over the back of his neck. "I wish I had the same to give to you," she finally admitted, taking him back by her words of longing.
"Do you remember the first thing I said to you the night you turned up in New Orleans? After you asked if my offer of being your last love still stood?" he instantly asked her, holding her tighter until she was pressed against him in a manner he was sure was not acceptable at a formal gathering like their ball.
She blinked for a second as she recalled their first conversation in his great city. "'Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it'," she repeated airily, a smile of relief appearing on her lips as it had done that very day, before tagging on, "'My love'."
Chuckling at her delayed completion of his request, he kissed her forehead tenderly before catching her eyes. "And that is all I will ever ask from you."