A/N: I wrote this for the Klaroline Summer Gift Exchange over on AO3 for theoriginalcheeesake.
"There's an 82% chance that if you're 16 or older, you've already met the person you'll marry."
Caroline had never heard a more disturbing statistic (yes that includes the being killed by terrorist one from Sleepless in Seattle). Caroline had lived in a small town, Mystic Falls, Virginia for most of her life. So the problem that Caroline had with this statistic was that by the time she was 16, she had never really been anywhere, and she did not ever want to entertain the idea that she would stoop to marry a Mystic Falls local when she had all of New York at her fingertips.
Don't get her wrong, there were plenty of good looking fellows in Mystic Falls – Stefan Salvatore and his dreamy hair, Damon Salvatore with his bad boy aura, Matt Donovan and his blue blue eyes and of course her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood with his gorgeous body – but they were not what she dreamed of. She dreamed of a man who would sweep her off her feet, one who would have eyes just for her, one who would not see her as the perpetual consolation prize, someone who was charming, worldly, smart, interesting, and she did not see that in any of her Mystic Falls friends.
Also wouldn't that make her life a bit of an anti-climax?
Many philosophers speak of recurring themes in one's life, but Caroline was sure that hers had a recurring person – Klaus Mikaelson.
It started simple enough, they met when they were both in Professor Shane's History 101 class, he sat next to her, made conversation as their professor was late, she took note of his hotness – his blonde curls, adorable dimples, lean body, and of course there was his accent, that would be her undoing. Their interactions in history class never expanded much from this point, he was soon surrounded by a posse of friends but never forgot to give her a polite wave or greeting when he saw her every Tuesday. She was disappointed but not surprised when he started dating one of the hottest freshmen – Tatia Petrova, soon afterwards.
In her sophomore year of college, she started dating the delectable Enzo Augustine, he was almost too good to be true – he was sexy, British and very interested in her. Part of the package of dating Enzo was his obsessive love of soccer, or 'football' as he called it, and as the supportive girlfriend that she was, she would go and support his matches, as he played for the college's team (who knew there was a college team?) but unfortunately that meant running into Klaus again, because of course another thing that the Brits had in common was they all thought they were the next David Beckham, or that guy from the Goal movies, literally those were the only soccer players Caroline knew. So many times when she was supposed to be watching Enzo her eyes would stray over to Klaus, see him running effortlessly, see how the shorts hung on him, how his jersey would just stick to him perfectly at some points, and dear lord help her when he stretched. Sometimes she was certain that she let out an appreciative sigh, hoping that Tatia, who was always a few rows in front of her, would not hear.
To be clear, this does mean to insinuate that Caroline spent most of her college years mooning over some guy who only gave her minimum acknowledgement, her romantic interest in him waned as soon as he started dating Tatia, but yet she still considered him a factor in her life that she could not explain. He was barely more that an acquaintance but every time he looked at her, every time he spoke to her, he had this weird knowingness that caused the butterflies in her stomach to go crazy and her body to tingle in a strange way that drew her to him. Although when he was out of her sight she barely thought of him, her studies, and boyfriends, and parties, and friends, occupied all that space. And so Klaus Mikaelson remained the one she could not explain.
At age 26, Caroline was extremely happy in her job. She was a journalist for a top online magazine, she had over 5000 Twitter followers and had just started a seemingly popular podcast about female historical figures. She was stable, comfortable and thought she had put all her ghosts to rest when one of them made a reappearance in her life.
Klaus swaggered through the doors of the open plan offices, with the confidence that he seemed to have perfected over the four years since she had last seen him. The receptionist swooned as he smiled at her, requesting an appointment with Andie Shaw, Caroline's Editor in Chief. Her heart fluttered, there was no way he would still remember her, they were barely acquaintances in college, not even Facebook friends.
But then…
"Caroline Forbes, it has been too long."
She feigned shock as he approached her desk, "Wow Klaus, what are you doing here?"
He smiled at her a little shyly, "I came for an interview, I've been working for a few publications for a while now, but I was hoping to take a crack at online, so I applied for the political journalist post."
Caroline was about to respond when she saw Andie approach, "That's Andie Shaw, make sure to compliment her three times, and when you speak make eye contact with her. Good luck."
He gave her an appreciative smile, as he made his way over to Andie.
Two weeks later, Andie made an announcement that a journalist called Klaus Mikaelson had received the political reporter job.
"Was he this cocky in college?" Caroline asked her friend Marcel as they sat in their office cafeteria during lunch.
Marcel swallowed the piece of sandwich he was chewing and responded, "Who?"
"Klaus, of course."
"Oh," Marcel took another bite, "I don't think he's cocky, I think he just knows that he's good at his job and he wants to prove himself. Andie loves him."
"I can see so," Caroline muttered as she watched Andie erupt into giggles at something Klaus said as she leaned on his desk, "She's so obvious."
"Oh god, not again Caroline," Marcel said exasperated.
"Whhaaat?
"You're crushing on Mikaelson again," he said confidently.
"I am not," she retorted, "Okay I will admit that he's always had that ability to make me adult swoon, and he's definitely gotten hotter, and he's always so charming to me, and this whole bad boy appeal that he picked up over the last couple of years isn't helping matters. But I've never even had a proper conversation with the guy. A few polite small talks does not a crush make."
Andie's office was very simple for someone who lived such a luxurious life. There was no photographs of family, her desk was impeccably tidy, and everything was either black or white. Caroline nervously started inspecting her fingernails, one was only ever called into Andie's office if it was something serious, something she could not put in an email.
And as she listened to Andie completing her phone call, she wondered what she could have possibly done wrong to warrant this summons, and when Klaus Mikaelson graced the seat next to her, her curiosity got the better of her as she peered at him questionly. He just shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at Andie who was putting down the receiver as she completed her call.
"So you two must be wondering why I called you in here," Andie said to them.
They nodded.
"Well I have just received a tip off, that Senator Saltzman will be staying at the Four Seasons this weekend with his mistress. Most news outlets don't even know he will be in the city. We need to be the one to break the news about the who his mistress is, apparently whoever she is is heavily influencing his policy changes."
Caroline nodded along, wondering what this has to do with her.
As if reading her mind, Andie carried on, "This is the part where you two come in, the hotel is being extremely strict with security and they keep thwarting our plans, so the top brass have decided to give us some money to get this scoop, and so I need you guys to go undercover, sort of."
"Undercover? As hotel employees?" Caroline asked.
"Not exactly, you two will be Spencer and Rosalind Fitzgerald, an English earl and his American wife, who are honeymooning at the Four Seasons, in the suite next to Senator Saltzman. But this is no holiday treat for the two of you, you will keep you eyes and ears peeled for the slightest bit of activity in the next suite, and you will carry your camera phones with you at all times and better make sure that you get a picture of the mistress."
Klaus cleared his throat, "Why us?"
"You two are my most efficient employees at the moment, both are good at investigative reporting, both have a keen interest in politics, and I know for certain that you will get the job done, whatever it takes. You see, because management has shelled out money for us to get this scoop we need to make sure that we get it, and you two are my best bet."
"So details? Do we provide our own clothes? Am I supposed to have an accent? By what time do we need to have checked in?" Caroline asked, already taking out a notepad to begin prepping.
"You can speak to my assistant Rose about times and logistics, you don't need an accent, luckily Klaus here has his sorted. The two of you just need to work on a back story together, and then otherwise you're good to go."
Caroline nodded nervously as Andie ushered them out of her office.
"So according to the itinerary that Rose gave me, Senator Saltzman should be checking in at around 8pm, so that gives us at least two hours to work out a plan," Caroline said as she paced across their suite.
It was difficult for her to fathom that she would be staying in this opulent place, that could probably fit two of her apartments in, with the Klaus Mikaelson. She didn't know if she should be more anxious for the article or because it was just her and him and a huge bed (and a hot tub).
"Just relax, love, we just need to work out the basics, where we met, where we got married, and furthermore if we get stuck we can just be disgusting," Klaus responding as he reclined on the bed.
"Be disgusting?" She stopped pacing and stared at him.
"Have you ever seen a couple on honeymoon?" he replied, "They always all lovestruck and all over each other, they are a nightmare to be around. We can just default to that if things get too awkward. Trust me, it would make the person asking us questions disappear fast."
Caroline nodded in agreement, that sounded like a plan.
"However," Klaus carried on, "I do think we need to think about how we are going to up the stakes with this assignment."
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.
"A picture of the mistress will get us clicks on the article, a name will make us legends," he said proudly.
"I hate this," Caroline sighed, "It feels so wrong, didn't you watch Monica Lewinsky's TED Talk?"
"Well we knew what we signed up for when we became journalists - sex scandals and crime."
"Yes, but I'm a lifestyle journalist, I write human interest stories, I don't go about ruining people's lives, breaking up families."
"Maybe think of this as a human interest piece - yes yes I know that's a stretch - you are getting to know this woman who could be helping to improve the policies in the Senate. Plus you are not the one breaking up a family, the man who decides to cheat on his wife despite knowing that he is a public figure and could be spotted is the one breaking up his own family."
Caroline sighed again, "I suppose you're right, let's work on our back story, have you heard the story about the actress from My So-Called Life who is now a countess?"
At 8pm they were standing in the hallway searching for Caroline's nonexistent earring when they heard the elevator at the end of the hall 'ding' signaling the arrival of the Senator. They saw him walk with a bell boy, and a few other hotel staff, who were obviously checking to make sure that the Senator had his privacy.
Without warning, Klaus pushed Caroline up against the wall of the passage, as the Senator and his entourage approached. Caroline looked up at him questioningly and before she knew it, his lips had descended onto hers.
Shoving him off her did not even occur to her as her arms went up to circle around his neck and pull him closer to her. She could feel him grinning against her mouth, before his tongue coaxed her mouth open, and then they were making out against the wall, his body pressed against hers, her leg slowly creeping up his waist, his hand on her thigh. And before they knew it, Senator Saltzman, the bellboy and the hotel manager were inside the neighboring room.
Klaus pulled away from her, stared at her for a second too long, and then opened the door to their room and gestured for her to go inside.
"So she did not arrive with him, he was smart enough to make sure that if anyone found out about his little field trip they would be able to find out his checking in time and so he made sure she did not check in with him. So this means we have to be extra vigilant to make sure we see her."
Caroline did not respond immediately, her hand still on her lips.
"Why did you kiss me? We had the whole earring cover."
Klaus ran his fingers through his hair, "I panicked, the earring thing seemed a little like a journalist trick, I figured if we were kissing they wouldn't bother us."
"Well I suppose it worked," Caroline said as she sat down on the bed, "They seemed more like they wanted to avoid us than anything else."
Klaus chuckled, "I suppose it was a little selfish as well, I've been wanting to kiss you since I was 16, I could not miss out on the opportunity."
"Since you were 16? You didn't even know me then…" Caroline asked, confused.
Klaus ran his hand down his face, "Oh god this is embarrassing, but when I was 16, we took a family trip to visit a cousin on my mom's side in the States. Perhaps you know him, Matthew Donovan?"
Caroline stared at him, her mouth agape.
"Well it was around New Years, and I went with him to a party at some kid called Tyler Lockwood's house, while I was there this beautiful girl walked in and I was transfixed," Klaus carried on, "I made a concerted effort to talk to her and I discovered that she was even more interesting and smart and funny that I could ever imagine."
"That was you! You were the mysterious British guy?" Caroline responded, "But you just disappeared, what happened to you?"
"Well, my dear old cousin Matthew took me aside and said I really needed to stop flirting with you because Tyler Lockwood had 'dibs' on you and he didn't like that I was 'scamming on his girl', that one did not have a very strong vocabulary."
"I regret it now though," Klaus said, "I suppose being an idiotic 16-year-old I simply stood down because some brainless jock told me to, I should have known there is no way for one person to have dibs on another. Even more so if I knew then that I would see you again sporadically for ten years and not have the opportunity again."
Caroline smiled at him, "No need to berate yourself, it probably would not have come to much, you went back to England, and I dated Tyler for two years after that night. Although at college, you could have made your move…"
Klaus laughed, "That first day in Professor Shane's class I was going to, I swear, but I think I chickened out, I thought too much time had past. I figured I would get to know you, but then Tatia happened, and you started dating Enzo, and the timing was just never right."
Caroline nodded, somehow she had come to the same conclusion.
The actual uncovering of the sex scandal miraculously took very little effort. For all his meticulousness in preparing for his rendez-vous, Senator Saltzman did not take pains to make sure his affair was hidden when he was actually partaking in it.
Klaus and Caroline discovered that the balcony of their suite was right next door to the Saltzman's balcony and one extremely passionate evening, the two got a handful of pictures - not only of the mistress but also of the couple embracing.
The mistress' name took a little bit of extra work. Caroline befriended her over cocktails at the bar, Klaus sneaked a peek at her name on her luggage, some Google searches later, they found out that she was Isobel Flemming, a former flame of the Senator, who now worked as a Political Professor at Georgetown.
Once their article was written, edited, uploaded and sent to Andie, they had a celebratory drink. Caroline still felt the deep pangs of guilt over their exposé but Klaus was right, that was a career path that she signed up for.
"God, I was obsessed with you after that New Years party," she slurred out, the empty bottle of champagne lying on the expensive rug. Klaus was busy pouring from a new bottle.
"Obsessed?" He chuckled.
"Yes, but like I didn't even know your name, and I felt so dumb because I thought you clearly weren't interested in me because you just left, without even a goodbye. I didn't even think to try and find out who you were because I was so embarrassed."
"Let's chalk that entire experience down to the fact, that we were both obviously young and ridiculous," he suggested.
"And now?"
He lifted up his eyebrow, "Now?"
"What will our excuse be for why now is not the right time? We're in the same place, no partners, no immaturity. Is our timing right now?"
Klaus searched her face before he took her hand and pulled her towards him. This time there was no surprise, or shock, she knew what was happening, where this was going, so when his lips met hers, she welcomed his kiss. She allowed his tongue to tangle with hers, she tasted him over and over again. It was difficult to describe why his kiss was different to the men that she had kissed before - perhaps it was his technique, or the taste of him, but something just felt right with Klaus.
His hands moved to the straps of her sundress as hers went to the zip of his jeans, their movements hasty as they undressed each other. There seemed to be a non-verbal agreement between them that the next time they would slow, but this time they needed to just feel each other, experience what they both had been craving for too long.
Caroline had fantasized about being with Klaus many times, but her own fictionalized version did not even come close to the real thing. His naked body draped across hers on the luxurious bed, which just the night before seemed too large for both of them and now seemed too small for all they planned to do.
His mouth moved down her body, from her lips to her neck to her breasts. He sighed appreciatively before he took a peaked nipple into his mouth, and then she was the one sighing and moaning as he simultaneously began rubbing her through her lace panties, playing her body like a finely tuned harp.
His fingers moved furiously as he made quick work of removing her underwear, his thumb finding her clit, as he guided her towards her peak and she came while his name over and over. He smiled proudly as he waited for her to come down from her high, licking his fingers, savoring the taste of her.
Her breath caught in her throat again as she watched his eyes trace across every part of her body as if she was a piece of art. Her hand gripped his bicep as she whispered, "Condom?"
He blinked twice as if he was in a daze before he got off the bed, fished his pants off the floor and took a condom out of his wallet. "Luckily I always carry an emergency one," he muttered as he climbed up her body again and started to resume kissing her.
He seemed to be enjoying himself, but the fact that she could feel him hard against her thigh was distracting Caroline, and honestly she was so turned on by her first orgasm that all she wanted now was to know what it felt like to finally have Klaus Mikaelson inside of her.
She broke the kiss, and whispered to him, "Klaus, please, I need you now."
He closed his eyes for a second before he repositioned himself at her entrance. They made eye contact as he entered her slowly and he allowed her to get accustomed to his size before he filled her to the hilt.
When he began to move painfully slowly, she thought she would lose her mind. The pleasure of that came with feeling every inch of him moving inside of her was beyond reason. Her body rocked as his thrusts became harder and more erratic, until she felt her walls shaking, and her second orgasm reverberating throughout her body. He carried on thrusting until he came as well, and he collapsed on top of her, before rolling over onto the pillow next to her.
"God, we were idiots," he muttered, "We could have been doing that for ten years."
"Were you so good ten years ago?" She responded with a smirk.
"Sweetheart, I was always this good."
Perhaps it took them ten years.
Or ten years, three months, 5 days, a history class, a few soccer matches, a job and a sex scandal, but strangely the statistic became a prophecy.
Caroline Forbes would adamantly deny being the type of person that lived their life by statistics and logistics, but she had to admit the statistic was becoming a lot more attractive.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
As always thanks so much to my amazing reviewers - especially blueberry55, . , JuseaPeterson, SweetyK, chillwithJyl, klaroline4everlove, Angelikah, thicksexxualtension, jessnicole, A.C. Winter, and all the guests who left reviews even though it's been so long. I really appreciate all the encouragement.
