There were two bouncers on the door to the compound. Caroline had left an hour ago and somehow Kol had managed to get security on the front. She felt like hissing something at him; if he had so much as moved a finger on the preparations inside, she would have no mercy on his pathetic existence. But then, as an afterthought, she considered maybe asking him for his clearly varied contacts, which would very much help her in getting that birthday party to pristine completion.
Bonnie grabbed her hand as they stopped to stand in front of the two large, and quite scary looking men. The one on the right eyed them for a second with an inherently condescending look, and raised the small piece of paper on his hand to his face.
He almost sneered at them as he said, "Names." Like a command.
Caroline watched Bonnie roll her eyes at something, and she only sighed. Of course, this wasn't her house, and any given feeling of entitlement she might have at the moment was somewhat deranged, but she couldn't help it. Something in her brain was begging her to scream out how dare you? But she reined it in quickly.
Ignoring the ridiculousness of the situation, and with a quick press to her temple, she finally gave in, "Caroline," and after a pause, "Bonnie."
The other man on the left let out a sound that suspiciously resembled a scoff, and she glared at him before the other one stole her attention again, "Last names?"
Bonnie let out a gasp of disbelief, and then shook her head in strained amusement, "Really?"
Both men assessed them next like they'd been placed on a pedestal, and all those scrawny looking women were doing was wasting their time. One of them hummed and the other responded with a faintly mocking, "Really."
Caroline narrowed her eyes at them, and then huffed, turning around on her heels. "I'm not doing this, Bonnie," she looked both ways on the street and started to walk back to the apartment, only her friend caught her arm before she could.
"Care," she called. Caroline rolled her eyes, resigning to being dragged back to the entrance. "Just tell them your name."
She felt like, maybe she'd have felt if she hadn't had compulsion when she was underage. Trying to get into some club without an ID, having to entrap herself into some sort of equally exasperating conversation with a bouncer who had no interest in bribery. Someone who took their job way too seriously, when in reality all they were was a glorified fact checker.
Were these men aware she could reap their hearts out without blinking? And if not, should she share the knowledge? So many choices.
The slightly slumpier one on the left was smirking now, amused or too drunk of his temporary superiority. Caroline glared at him once more, whilst feeling Bonnie's hand give a squeeze to her arm pointedly. Right, so her name, as if she was dealing with bureaucracy to get inside.
"Caroline Forbes." She hissed through her teeth, and the bouncer did that incredibly annoying leaning in, as if he had to strain his ear to hear her.
"Bonnie Bennett," Came before Caroline could make a point of making this man earless if he enjoyed the theatrics so much.
The one with the piece of paper in his hand scanned the list, for what seemed like nearly a minute for such a minuscule amount of material. The end of his lip quirked, and he made a hum. His eyes were small and strangely far apart, he cleared his throat and with a rapid movement of his hand he stepped aside to move the red cord in front of the gate.
Bonnie stepped inside first, and Caroline braced herself to follow, but just before she could manage even that, an arm was blocking her way.
In the second that it took for her to take a step back and start protesting, she realized these men were human too. And she almost laughed, because if they had any sense in their heads, they surely would've realized that there was a reason most people crossed the sidewalk to avoid walking in the line of fire that was this house.
"What?" she snarled at them, finally.
"You're listed as a plus one," the one with the list said, obviously delighted. "You have to arrive with the person who's actually invited to this event."
Her eyes widened momentarily. Bonnie still waited on the other side of the threshold as she frowned at this, opening her mouth and closing it. Caroline felt herself grow dangerously annoyed, like the kind that made her snap necks just because it would grant her quiet.
"Seriously?" The man nodded. "What kind of idiot rule is that?"
A brush of his fingers over his leather jacket, and the one on the left told her, as if she was a child. "We're under strict orders, girl."
She clenched her teeth together, fighting not to put them to good use. This, as she thought she most definitely did not look like she was seventeen anymore. That term was as inaccurate as it was mildly disturbing.
Bonnie gave out a groan, crossing her arms in front of her chest in indignation. Caroline was staring deathly at the two men when she heard her friend say, "I'll go get Kol." She kept her gaze trained through this too.
"You should know," she said, "it's very sad you seem to like this job. I'm betting you weren't very popular in high school."
One of them lost his smirk and pursed his lips. A small breeze of victory for her. The other, however, just chuckled and informed her, "Prom king." She laughed.
"Sure you were," she watched as he opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped and tried to stand taller. She smirked at him.
Kol had mentioned she was Rebekah's plus one on the texts he sent her, but she had no way of knowing where Rebekah was or even if she would be here soon, or at all. Caroline did have her number, and she could call her, but for some reason, the notion of having to beg Rebekah Mikaelson to come get her into a party seemed weirdly mortifying. And she'd much rather just wait for Kol to come out here so that she could properly give him a piece of her mind.
She started tapping her foot on the floor. And the bouncers no longer seemed to be willing to acknowledge her presence. An odd way to externalize their dislike of her, she was sure.
Caroline hadn't used her compulsion since she left Mystic Falls, and she was actually proud of that fact. Because although it had always come in handy, the morals of it always tended to make her squirmish afterward. And she supposed that if she had to use her power, she would do it when it was merited. This situation did not, although robbing these men of their free will for a second or two did sound appealing.
But only because they had been rude, and condescending. Nothing more.
After a couple of minutes, about ten people in catering uniforms arrived, and they were let inside without a word. They carried large containers in silver and pottery. None of them even glanced at Caroline, and she in turn, narrowed her eyes at the bouncers.
"What? Not even a who are you? You just let them in?" Her tone was high pitched, but she was too annoyed to care. They only smirked, and turned their gazes to the front again, unaffected.
Now she was making a point of not asking Kol about his contacts, though that catering company did look nice, presentable. Then she started wondering about how long he'd had this dinner planned, or if he'd just put it all together in the morning. Something knacked at her when she recalled the Mikalesons actually had help, possibly a cook too.
Bonnie still wasn't coming back. Caroline sighed, and let her arms hang at her sides. She didn't want to be standing in heels anymore. She considered going back to change into sweatpants just to spite Kol and his sultry scheming.
"So," she started, her eyes trained on the ground, "Prom king, huh?" She caught the man nodding once, "I'm assuming you play some kind of sport then?"
"Football," he deigned to answer, after a moment. Shocker.
"Ah."
Caroline figured she might as well try to strike some conversation, but apparently she had glared at them enough times to make that task close to impossible. How positively unfortunate; she started pacing instead. Counting the lines, straight and across on the sidewalk.
Up until she heard a familiar squeal. She looked up to find Rebekah, laughing as she walked past the last block to the house. Caroline let out a small sigh of relief. Truly, she would've preferred not to be invited to this dinner to begin with, but now that she had been denied access, she was determined to get inside, one way or the other.
Caroline realized, just as Rebekah was getting closer that she was clutching onto the arm of someone. And as a street light hit them a number of feet away, she saw that someone was Klaus. She swallowed, wondering if they had any idea of what was going on inside their house if they looked so unpreoccupied at the moment.
Klaus looked away from his sister and caught her gaze, he slowed his steps. She watched him take her in, and only then did she recall she was wearing a dress, one considerably shorter than the last. Caroline blinked back at them, conjuring a smile.
"Caroline." Rebekah sounded thrilled to see her. She left her brother's side and threw her arms around Caroline; she realized she was probably drunk tonight too.
"What is this?" Klaus asked her, coming the rest of the way and frowning at the men in his front door. Caroline took a breath.
"Have you checked your phones?" They didn't answer, so she assumed that meant no. "Your brother organized some kind of soirée, and now he's enabled these people with a position of power they're only too willing to exploit." The last part might've been an exaggeration, but she'd decided she didn't mind not ending in the best terms with everyone she met.
The bouncers smirked at her explanation. And both Klaus and Rebekah appeared bewildered by her words.
"What?" Klaus's brows furrowed, Caroline watched him intently for a second, thinking maybe Rebekah's drinking habits could be passed on to almost anyone.
"They're the bouncers, Nik," Rebekah clarified, but looked as caught off guard as her brother. "Did you give Kol permission-"
"No," He said, while he eyed the bouncers suspiciously. "Clearly."
She sighed, clutching Klaus' hand with hers and dragging him to the actual door. Rebekah followed with a pretty smile at the gate keepers, as if this wasn't her home and she had to convince them of her authenticity.
"They're on the list too," Caroline spat at the men with finality, "and she," pointing to Rebekah, "is the one who is actually invited to the event."
"I am?" Rebekah raised, and Caroline turned to give her a look.
The bouncers looked unimpressed, and after beat, again, "Names."
Caroline felt like she was fuming. This really was ridiculous, even for Kol. And more, it was unnecessary. She was about to tell them this, and rant for a couple of minutes too when someone else voiced her thoughts out loud, but with a far more credible conviction.
"This is ridiculous," Klaus said, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment, as if bracing himself. Then he knocked down the cord blocking their path and stepped aside for Caroline and Rebekah to enter before him.
Caroline looked back just as the bouncers grew outraged by this. She couldn't see Klaus' face from this angle, but she thought it was obvious his eyes had somewhat lit in that golden yellow, when he said, "Is there a problem?"
He closed the gate behind them, and Caroline smirked, believing he had successfully driven away Kol's petty hires. It had to be a joke, no? She couldn't possibly believe he had, with a whole-hearted intention, needed security for his dinner party, much less a list that had to be endorsed.
Maybe she could convince Elijah of refraining from giving his own brother an invitation to Rebekah's party.
"You like scaring humans too much, Nik," Rebekah told him, as they walked through their warmly lit courtyard. "You should get yourself checked."
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you," he muttered, and Caroline felt him sliding his hand to the small of her back, guiding her.
She saw the light in the dining room was on, and it inspired a sense of calm in her. Several voices came through, and she wondered if Bonnie had ever intended to come back out. Then his fingers were on her ribs and she stopped.
"You look beautiful, Caroline," Klaus said, raising his palm to her jaw gently. Her heartbeat quickened.
She had kissed him earlier, she had disregarded every piece of logic that told her to wait, and had operated on instinct alone. His eyes, blue and tender on her. She smiled when he pressed a kiss to her cheek; if only slightly relieved he had more sense than she'd possessed.
"Thank you," she practically breathed the words, placing a hand on his chest, she felt her knees quiver.
"I really don't know what this is about," Klaus looked over at the door to the dining room, where Rebekah stood, watching them. "But I feel like I have to apologize for it in advance."
She smirked at this, and then shook her head. "It's fine. Or well, no, but in any case I know it's not your fault." She pressed her lips together in thought. "It's just a meal, isn't it?"
Klaus appeared to be considering her last words in depth, as if already strategizing an exit plan for whatever went wrong inside that room. Then after a moment, he nodded, with not much assuredness in his features.
"I- I really can't be sure," he admitted, taking her hand in his once more and resuming their walk. Rebekah still waited near the door, with the trademark smirk on her face.
"Lovely," she declared, just as they walked past her. Caroline turned to give her a pointed glare, but all she found was an oddly cheerful Rebekah.
Maybe they really were drunk. Maybe not. But she didn't have the sufficient certainty to be worried about it.
When she turned back to the front, there was that table. Long, and elegant dark oak. More chairs than she remembered lined up in a perfect order. And candles in the center, in a straight formation. The lights were dimmed, and she frowned, trying to find the source. She swallowed when she found that most of the supposed guests were already there and eyeing Caroline with curiosity.
The guests, of course, being the Mikaelsons and Kol's requested sentient diversions. Which she was, too.
"Ah! Nik, you made it," Kol drawled, from the head of the table, smirking. Caroline found Bonnie's eyes by the middle, she gave her an apologetic look.
"Well, since this is my house…" Klaus wasted no time as he said this, walking around the table, pulling Caroline alongside him. "You're in my chair."
Kol looked up at his brother, who was quite intently towering over him. He grew amused, of course. Caroline just settled herself to watch from Klaus' side. She casually looked around, noting Rebekah had taken the second seat to the left of the head of the table, and she gave the empty chair beside her a pointed tap. Caroline soon sat down too.
"We're not children, Nik. You can sit wherever you like," Kol practically sang. And Caroline suppressed her tired sigh.
Across from her, sat Elijah, looking exceptionally bored, which surely, couldn't be, because out of all the things Kol Mikaelson was pointedly not, a bad conversationalist was one. The oldest of the original brothers gave her a curt nod in acknowledgement, and then went back to inspecting his nails. Obviously, he did not care for whatever fight was about to happen over a chair.
By Elijah's side, a spot was empty, and she supposed that was where Hayley was supposed to sit when she arrived. That, if she wasn't cunning enough to get herself out of this.
"Well, see, brother, I would like to sit here." Klaus had clasped his hands behind his back and Kol had stood from the chair, but had not given way to anything.
"This is my dinner," He pointed, with a smirk still.
"This is my house."
Caroline rolled her eyes. Yes, both were extremely good points to make, but she wondered if they could, perhaps, fast forward to the end instead of putting everyone through this. She caught Bonnie's eyes again, who was placed between the open seat and Davina. The other head of the table was empty, Davina on its left.
She bit her tongue, no longer caring about Kol and Klaus's bitter remarks to each other over a spot at the table. She leaned slightly forward and caught the sight of Freya and Vincent, discussing something in hushes.
Over the different conversations and noises coming from the kitchen, she thought she caught Marcel's name and then maybe, Elena's. But it lacked context and she couldn't quite make all the words out. Bonnie had said they would try accomplishing the ritual in two days; the clock was ticking somewhere.
After a moment or two, she came back to reality when Hayley stepped into the room from the door on the back. Caroline watched her take in the situation.
"Oh my god, you two stop it," she started pushing Kol out of the way, and he only gave in when it was clear he had been physically overpowered. Hayley had to drive him to his chair manually almost. "Unbelievable." She let under her breath several times.
Caroline smirked at this, watching Hayley settle onto her seat, and sharing a look with Elijah. Klaus had taken a hold of his, apparently, righteous spot at the table. He looked victorious, Kol looked annoyed.
Someone cleared their throat, she looked to her left to find it was Vincent Griffith, who seemed wildly uncomfortable. Maybe, she thought, she should be as well, as a guest. But she couldn't even manage that, given all she had already gone through with the Mikaelsons. Like she'd told Elijah, they'd tried to kill each other so many times, she could no longer feel out of place in their family feuds, with the clear exceptions, of course.
"So," Rebekah drawled, while checking on her hair's ends, "What's this about Kol?" She asked, with an evident disinterest.
Kol, apparently delighted of being asked this question, jumped from his slouched position on the chair. Caroline noticed the suit now, maybe her brain had decided to block it out earlier. He straightened the sleeves, and cleared his throat.
"Tonight is the night-" Davina had stood from her seat beside him, and had hurriedly pushed him down again. She smiled, unapologetic.
"Why don't we eat first?" The witch proposed, and a number of heads nodded their agreement. "And drink too, before you tell them anything." The last part she hissed at Kol in a whisper, but Caroline was paying enough attention to catch this.
Kol clapped his hands together, and recited, "Le souper."
Caroline, quite honestly, let out a huff of a laugh when a parade of waiters came out of the door on the back, all of them carrying something different. Her eyes landed on Klaus when a woman in her black and white uniform came to set a plate arrangement in front of him. He'd covered his face with his hands, grunting something intelligible out.
She let a little smile paint on her lips as she watched him react to the clearly rehearsed dancing of the waiters around the table. Setting down silverware and glasses, pouring wine and serving portions of the first course. She could read his hesitance at putting a stop to this or to just let it be.
She searched for his hand underneath the table. His eyes were on her, and they fluttered as he resigned himself for the time being. He squeezed her hand back.
After a moment, the show was over, and Elijah made a noise that effectively caught her attention. He gave them a knowing look, and then turned to his napkin, seemingly fascinated with it. Klaus rolled his eyes, Caroline just looked down with the same coy smile.
She noticed everyone else had started eating, attempting small talk in between mouthfuls, and she looked down at her soup. Something lifted off her chest when she realized Kol's definition of a dinner party did actually involve food, and not the bloody extravaganza she had made up in her head. She supposed she had Davina to account for that.
But then she knew she'd thought this too soon. Because minutes later a waiter was placing a goblet in front of Kol, ah, and the other shoe dropped as expected. It was being filled with blood from the human's wrist. She only watched with an empty look on her face.
A chorus of groans erupted around the table.
"What the fuck, Kol?" At least three people, at the same time.
"Are fucking kidding me?" Two others.
The rest was too lewd for her to even attempt to register. She decided not to, but she was sure she had followed suit with the screaming. And Kol was not impressed, he looked bored as he put his hands in the air, as if everyone would halt with the movement.
"Your moral superiority has no place here tonight," he announced. "Elijah's rules are a tyranny and-" he narrowed his eyes at something past Klaus' head. "What the fuck is that?"
She snapped her head to her right, and found a board. She blinked repeatedly, feeling like she was behind on something. Klaus had started rubbing his temples, Elijah and Hayley as well, as if they'd caught the urge from each other.
"Get that thing out of here." Kol commanded the waiter, who was pointedly still bleeding. The man did as he said without a beat of waiting. The droplets of red followed him out the door.
Out of everyone, Rebekah was the only one who had gone on eating without pause, as if she hadn't heard a thing. Bonnie was looking at the goblet on Kol's hand with a scrunched nose. The witches, it seemed, had collectively lost their appetite.
Davina smacked Kol's arm, her eyes wide. He only smirked at his wife.
"Next course: meat." He announced happily, baring out his teeth in a grin. Caroline started rubbing her temples too.
"No," Klaus shook his head. "No, this- no."
"Eloquent, as always, Nik," Rebekah muttered, finishing her soup. Caroline hid her smirk.
Klaus glared at his sister, and then turned to Elijah expressedly, who sighed. He took a sip of his wine and then, practically unbothered, asked, "Is there a point to this, brother? I assure you that whatever it is you want to confess to today, won't be cushioned by this- admittedly nice, dinner."
Caroline settled to just sit back and watch.
The youngest of the Mikaelsons only blinked as he took in Elijah's words, then, "And that was a rather verbose way of saying…"
"Talk," Hayley spat at him. He nodded, raising his glass at the hybrid for being so helpful in her translation.
It was notable that, from Caroline's side of the table, being almost all the immortals in the room, it was tense with anticipation and stress. But on the other side, with the witches, they seemed tranquil, and almost forgiving of Kol's behaviour. She thought she had not heard them shout at him earlier either. Her eyes narrowed.
She bit her lip, as she remembered, Bonnie had also been way too indulging of this whole dinner thing earlier as well. So they knew what it was, of course. She'd said Davina had told her something too.
"Okay," he cleared his throat again, and his face sobered somewhat. "I'm sure you've all noticed Davina and I haven't been on the best terms for some time now," Rebekah scoffed. "Well, we've been fighting about something, that up until a couple of days ago seemed to have no viable alternative."
Klaus and Elijah both shared the same bewildered expression, and Rebekah had finally deemed it proper to start paying attention. The room fell fully silent, waiting for Kol to continue.
"It's no secret Davina wouldn't ever turn, and I wouldn't let her either way. Then those trivialities of human life started nagging at me as well- and…" Kol paused, Caroline was stunned to recognize his disconcert. His emotion, which she'd thought he was unable to hold.
"I want to have a baby." Davina's words seemed to stun the table into stillness.
Caroline thought she had, perhaps, just imagined what she heard. But then a look at Klaus and his siblings confirmed she hadn't. The three of them looked pale beyond comparison, Hayley was staring blankly at Davina. It might've been the first time she had been in the presence of the originals gone speechless.
"What?" Rebekah croaked after a second. Silverware clattered on the table.
Kol started speaking again. "We, uhm, we thought about the cure actually, when the Salvatore entered the picture but-"
"But we wouldn't," Davina cut in, placing a hand on Bonnie's shoulder, like she was repeating a promise to her. "And then, we thought maybe go another way, if Kol can't possibly be the biological father anyway. And, after much fighting and thinking, we decided...we want to adopt."
Caroline's mouth had been left hanging slightly open in her surprise. She wasn't even sure she wanted, much less needed to be hearing this. Something else wanted her to speak up and give her opinion on the matter, which would inevitably not come out the right way but- surely someone must be having the same concerns as her?
Kol Mikaelson, a dad?
The room remained silent, and it was clear Kol and the witches were only waiting for the reactions of his siblings. Bonnie caught Caroline's gaze, then aggressively looked from her to Klaus. Right.
Once again, she was quick to get Klaus' attention by grabbing his hand under the table. His eyes flickered to her momentarily, and she offered her most genuine smile at him. Afraid too, of breaking the heavy silence with her words.
"Adopt?" Klaus finally broke the tension with his one word echo.
Kol nodded, Davina mirrored his actions after a second. Caroline pursed her lips. Analysing both their faces carefully; she recognized the need in Kol first. He was obviously not asking for any kind of permission, just endorsement, support perhaps. She felt her cheeks soften in response. And her thumb moved along Klaus' hand, hoping he would see it too.
"Well," Rebekah had stopped frowning, and only raised a brow, "do you want to adopt a human?"
Kol rolled his eyes at his sister, "Obviously."
Another pause.
"Are you on something?" Rebekah went on, Caroline suppressed her flinch. Elijah sighed across from her.
The features on Kol's face hardened instantly. Davina was pressing her palm against her forehead; she'd clearly seen this coming. Caroline squeezed Klaus' hand again, as if urging him to fix this now. He didn't.
"Oh I see," Kol cackled. "I'm just to forever remain the black sheep of the family. So then I can never do anything of remote value. No. How dare I want to do something different with my life! How dare I have the audacity to grow? No? Because it would only make you three feel like the atrocities you haven't-"
"Kol," Elijah tried to hasten with his patently calm tone. His brother only sent him a cold glare. Klaus' face was passive, not a drop of intent to interrupt this in any way.
"It's insulting, frankly," Kol continued, a twisted smile on his face, "that you were all so thrilled when Hayley got pregnant, as if Klaus here would be such a tremendously good father-"
"He is." Hayley said, and Caroline flushed when she realized she'd join the chorus of two other voices.
Kol went on as if he'd heard nothing, "-but then I have to be high for even considering and actually planning a family with the woman I love?"
Silence again, and Caroline felt a knot forming in her throat. Something very akin to pity, she thought. As Kol made pretty good points, and then he'd only been after approval from his family, which he so clearly craved.
She couldn't stop herself when she said, "I hope it works out for you," several eyes were on her, wide with surprise. "I'm sure you'll both be great parents to a very lucky kid."
Kol looked taken aback, as if Caroline had struck him in the face instead of speaking. Then he gulped, and nodded his head at her. Davina managed to quirk up a smile and said, "Thank you."
The youngest Mikaelson had sat back down on his chair, as if completely worn with the situation. Caroline met eyes with Bonnie once more, and her friend gave her a somewhat grateful curl of her lips, then she blinked at Klaus. Caroline gave him another pointed squeeze, and his fingers twitched.
Next, Klaus seemed to have gotten back to his body, he ran a hand through his face. He looked torn, and Caroline knew he was probably holding back on a lot of remarks. He took a breath, and after making sure his siblings had no intention of speaking over him, he said, "This isn't something you can just get your fill of one day, Kol. You can't wake up and decide you're no longer entertained and leave."
His brother's lips tightened into a thin line, all the way across the table, she saw the iciness in Kol's eyes. Davina spoke instead, "You don't know him anymore, Klaus. He's not the same man who spent a thousand years running with you- being daggered by you. He's changed." She glared. "The three of you are too preoccupied to see it."
Klaus raised a brow, assessing Davina as if this was the first time he'd heard her speak. He tilted his head to the side, two fingers tapping on the table. And Caroline was very intent now, on believing their side of the table, simply because she believed her side of the room had spent years protecting Klaus in the same way. Deflecting questions and signing off on his change of heart.
Maybe she had missed something, where Kol was concerned.
"Well, then," drawled Klaus, "I suppose you won't find any interference on my part. But you must be aware that for this whole ordeal to take place, Kol needs to have some type of document that states he actually exists in this age, no? And you two will have to get married, legally this time."
"Yes, we know," came Kol's clipped words. "We'll figure it out."
Klaus kept eyeing his brother intently, a moment later he looked away, his brows relaxing. As if letting everyone know he was done, that he had no other crossings to make. Caroline started chewing on the inside of her cheek; it occurred to her that perhaps something in the words he'd spared, was meant to cause some kind of reaction, and it had failed.
A shaky breath returned her to the conversation, Klaus had gone back to silently inspecting his wine. Elijah placed his napkin over the plate elegantly and turned his attention to his younger brother.
"There's repercussions in bringing a human child into this world, surely you must know that." He didn't wait for a response. "Kol...Davina, ask anyone currently sitting at this table, and they'll tell you the supernatural world is not one for kids. It certainly is not one for families."
Caroline felt like something was twisting in her stomach. The way Elijah slowly revealed his words, the truth. She gulped down the sudden bitterness in her mouth. Klaus had let go of her hand, and she fraily brought it back to her lap. She felt his fingers twisting around her wrist, and then intertwining with hers over the arm of his chair. His eyes were on Elijah.
Their kids. He was talking about their children. Hope, Josie and Lizzie. And the sting of their fragile safety.
"They know," Freya's voice, and Caroline strained her neck to catch the tiniest hint of guilt in her eyes. Her gaze was trained on Hayley, who stared back stoically.
"You weren't here when I was pregnant, Kol," Hayley started, her voice far away from her usual confident demeanor. "But Davina, you remember what it was like...you know what it's like, in this family." She flinched. "No matter how much we love them, there's just some things you can't ignore."
Davina, for once, softened her expression. Caroline might have some context on the situation, on what Hayley was referring to, but it seemed like it went deeper than she'd imagined. Magical pregnancies and all, but she hadn't had the added weight of knowing her child's last name would be Mikaelson. The witch nodded her head, and her features tightened. Hayley's words seemed to be the only she was taking into consideration.
Still, Davina said, "I remember. And I'm not ignoring anything. I know what it'll mean, but we're willing to make the hard choices."
Kol searched for his wife's hand over the table, nodding his head in agreement. "Which is why," he said, "once the spell is done and we're sure Marcel has time, we're moving out of the country." Klaus' glass parted from his lips, and his hand stilled in mid air. "Some place where the name Mikaelson doesn't leave such a bad aftertaste."
Rebekah scoffed into her glass, "Good luck with that."
There were near silent laughs around the table. Kol only raised a brow at his sister.
"Right," Klaus said, his frame still tense. "And when will that be?"
Kol didn't meet his eyes, and Caroline saw him shrug. Vincent filled in the gaps, "On Wednesday. Two days." Davina nodded.
She kept tracing his knuckles with her thumb, unsure of whether to say anything. Klaus' gaze flashed to hers for a second, and Caroline could practically feel him trying to keep himself together. She offered a small smile.
"Well," Rebekah jumped in, "I'm sorry, Kol, for what I said. I didn't mean to imply that you- well, you know. It's just, you all know how much I-" she stopped abruptly, and frowned at her plate.
Caroline looked on to the woman on her left, then down the table at Kol who had a set understanding in his face. A fading realization in the background, his fingers trailed the back of his neck. Torn about something.
Then she figured it out, given how half the people in the room seemed to replicate Kol's expression in a heartbeat. Rebekah had always wanted to be human; she'd been the one who had always been nagged by those human trivialities. The only one who'd ever had an actual longing for a boring, normal life. Her fight for the cure all those years ago had been fueled by this.
Now she didn't have Marcel by her side, who she'd begged for. And Kol had gotten ahead.
Caroline let go of Klaus' hand without a second thought in favor of scooting closer to Rebekah. And without any regard for a possible outburst or dramatic rejection on her part, she reached out to take Rebekah's hand in hers. Attempting to give warmth and comfort in a situation where she could offer her nothing more than reciprocity for her help the night before.
Rebekah only looked up, she didn't say anything. Made no move. Did nothing but keep her hand in place.
"I know, Bekah." Said Kol, run out of words.
She gave him a broken smile, and said, "I'm happy, for the both of you. You'll do great, I'm sure."
Tentative smiles, and a couple of mouthed words along the table. Caroline was suddenly struck with an unexpected thought. Elijah had said this world was not one for families, yet she didn't think so in the least. Not when sitting in this dining room, with these people.
"Well," Hayley sighed, and grinned. "Just don't let Hope grow old without meeting her cousin, yeah?"
Caroline smirked as she watched Davina reach out for her hand over the table and say, "We wouldn't dare."
The air around them was considerably less heavy, and somehow, it felt easier to breathe it too. Caroline turned to watch Klaus, who was sharing a look with his brother. The both of them remained, apparently, very unconvinced.
"Kol," called Klaus, interrupting the starting conversation on the other end of the table. "We know you'll probably refuse. You and Davina." He cleared his throat. "But whatever it is you need, if you need anything, you know you can always come back. I expect you know you can always call."
"Anything." Assured Elijah, with a curt nod of his head.
So they remained unsure with the situation, but hopefully they had caught on what Caroline had spotted earlier. A younger brother seeking acceptance, approval and support. And they'd said more than she had ever expected Klaus or Elijah to.
Across the table, Kol simply nodded, but there was a telling quirk to his mouth. He raised his goblet back at his siblings with a teasing glint in his eye. Davina had her eyes narrowed at Klaus, but then she paused, and her gaze locked with Caroline's. After a second or two, she nodded her acceptance as well.
A collective deep breath. Then Kol was clapping his hands again, and everyone regressed to either watch the dancing waiters in amusement, or shutting their eyes in distress, like Klaus. The second course was meat, as Kol had promised. But further into the dinner he restrained himself from testing his guests with whatever macabre display of nervousness he had shown earlier.
Rebekah had given her the most genuine smile Caroline had seen from her as they kept eating. Mostly, Elijah monopolized the conversation with talks of whatever had been drawn in that board his brother had removed. Caroline listened intently out of politeness, but she found herself immersed in the secret glances between Klaus, Rebekah and Hayley, who looked like they had spent a half a century too long listening to Elijah speak of strategy.
She was staining not to drift off too, when Klaus leaned into her with a knowing look and said, "See, love? I told you."
Yes, he'd told her his brother took everything too far in terms of planning. And that he shouldn't be taken at fault when he wanted a break from it, but Caroline refused to give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. Instead she asked Elijah a follow up question.
Hayley snorted, covering her lips with her wine glass. Klaus turned to her with an unimpressed glare, and she only raised her brow in a challenge.
By the time they ate dessert, and a couple more things had been snapped around and screamed between the siblings, Klaus had somehow managed to convince Elijah of giving her a long and very detailed picture of the socio-economic changes in Europe since the 1800s. Hayley and Rebekah had nearly choked in their attempt not to laugh by the end of it.
Once Vincent had politely excused himself and slid away from the room, the other began considering to follow. Not that it hadn't been an unsurprisingly entertaining dinner, but it had also been remarkably exhausting. And Caroline tried to make Bonnie look her way without making too much of a fuzz. Her friend was immersed in conversation with Freya.
"Well, I'm done," said Rebekah, her voice and her face had gone back to her usual coolness. She stood from the table and Caroline watched as everyone else took it as their cue to leave their chairs as well.
Klaus offered his hand to help her up and she took it. Not that she needed any help, she just wanted to keep her hand in his. She watched as Davina, Freya and Bonnie talked in a circle just at the frame of the door.
"I would've apologized twice before we walked in if I'd known, I promise." He said, with a smirk. She shook her head.
"I told you, it's fine. I'm-"
"So it's off then?" She heard Kol's voice nearer than she had anticipated. His question made her panic, and she turned to see it was indeed directed at her.
She felt Klaus' fingers twitch in her palm.
The attention she received this time, even when she'd had the eyes of the Mikaelsons glued to her several times over the years, made her cheeks heat up. Caroline felt the flush overwhelm her. It was like she could see a glowing sharpness appear from their eyes to her left hand, like a laser only she was able to note.
She looked down at her hand, she'd been giving Klaus her right one all evening. There was the distinct lack of a ring. On a whim, she'd taken it off in her room back at the apartment.
It was like they all had paused entirely. She couldn't help the way she pushed her hand behind her back, hiding it from their astonishment. Rebekah's eyes were wide, Hayley and Elijah had halted so suddenly, they were unnaturally pushed together. Kol stood beside his sister, he regarded the silence with a cringe, and then quickly turned on his heels to leave.
"Uh-" she tried, but only had the nerve to look down. "It's…"
"None of our business." Rebekah finished for her, curling her lips to a faint smile. She gave her a wink before she left the room as well.
When Caroline finally looked up to Klaus, Hayley and Elijah had left too. His lips were pursed, and his jaw was tense. His eyes were trained on their clasped hands. After a second, he let go.
With all her might, she tried not to make it mean anything that she couldn't be certain of.
She cleared her throat, and searched for his eyes intently. He blinked at her, but otherwise made no move speak or to show any reaction he might've had.
"I should go," she said, slowly, when it became clear he wasn't intending on talking.
Klaus nodded once. Caroline inhaled deeply and then started walking away. She got so far as the fountain when she noticed, he had followed her out the dining room door. Bonnie had stayed back, talking with Freya, though it distinctively looked more like arguing than anything else. Now, she thought maybe Kol's dinner served more in the way of bringing up unresolved issues than it did astonish them with his news.
Klaus looked tense, her eyes wandered all over his face. She felt like her chest somehow was heavier to lift with each breath. Right, she had to explain. She had to come up with a reason. His face said it all: he was more confused than anything.
Caroline sighed, unsure of what to do or if she should move. The blue of his eyes was only dark under the lack of lighting. The lamp posts in the courtyard had been extinguished of their purpose. She could barely distinguish the colors from this angle, and something about it made her anxious. Perhaps, it was that she'd come to so heavily rely on what his gaze told her that his words could never.
She pressed her lips together thinly, and resolved on driving her earlier goal to completion. In her explanation, she could either manage to worry him more, or take something off his shoulders. She remembered she'd only wanted to make this easier for him; help him in any way she could.
"The ring-"
The way he shook his head made her stop, and then one of his hands was on her forearm, touching it lightly as if it were a break and not her limb. "You don't have to explain anything, love."
He seemed...pained. And she wasn't sure of the reason. She had taken her ring off for dinner, paraded around his family with her bare fingers- and he didn't want an explanation. In fact, his features were practically begging her not to. Caroline couldn't wrap her head around the why fast enough.
The words that followed left her like a flood, and she had no control over them, "I took it off to- to do the dishes. I forgot about it." She paused, checking his reaction, but he remained stoic, "That's all, Klaus."
After a moment, filled with silence inside their small bubble of company, he nodded. However, he never showed an ounce of relief, or anger, or any other emotion for that matter. It dawned upon her that it had been a grave mistake to take off that ring just because she had felt it right to do so.
She had to stop kissing him on a whim because she felt it fitting as well.
Klaus was so obviously not dealing with it the way she thought he would. And she thought, rather than give up on the race, she might just try to give him command for once and follow his lead. She'd thought that because she was the one trapped in another relationship that she'd get to set the beat, but she hadn't considered Klaus might not like it, or think it too fast, too forward.
And in truth, the thought hadn't crossed her mind at all. Or if it did, she hadn't found it realistic in the least. Because in the past, all he'd been was...that. Too fast, too forward, too self assured.
"Right," he muttered, letting his brows furrow in consideration. "It's alright, Caroline. Like I said, you don't need to give me any explanations."
She nodded now. His hand had left her arm; he'd retracted. She breathed in and out, "Are you mad?"
His eyes were suddenly on hers again, and she felt like some part of her light -their light- had been given back to her. She almost smiled, like it was a reflex of hers to do so. But she found he was studying her, and something shrank inside. She waited.
Klaus straightened impossibly more so, and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes never leaving hers, "No, no, why would you think that?"
She thought, maybe, if she didn't know him so well, she might've found herself assured by his words. But of course, she had picked up on his tells. Not that he was, by any means, subtle.
"What Kol said...I know he didn't mean ill by it but, well," she winced. "I could tell you hadn't noticed, Klaus. And I know you hate feeling like this."
He gave a faint snort, like he couldn't help it from coming out. Then his face sobered back, and he raised a brow at her. "Feeling like what?"
Caroline considered any other word in her vocabulary, but at last, she didn't think any other would apply. "Exposed."
Even though she couldn't quite make up his eyes in the darkness, there still was a shift in the air. Like the warmth he'd so consistently given her since they started talking disappeared into a chill. Like before, before everything. Her breath caught in her lungs.
"I'm not angry, Caroline," he said, after a beat, "not at you, at least. Everyone else yes, but not you."
She blinked, and she felt herself frowning. She could see and quite frankly understand he'd be mad at most who'd attended that dinner party. Kol had dropped a bomb on his family, and she knew he wasn't on the best terms with all his siblings. Still, she was certain there was a part of him that was lying.
He wasn't that good of a pretender.
Elijah had seeked her out to neutralize Klaus' temper. Kol had invited her tonight to be his distraction. Hayley taunted them both about it, because she knew it would never get a rise out of Klaus in her presence. Everyone knew she was some kind of weakness to him. A weakness that could be exploited even in the most innocent of instances, even in the name of a joke, an observation made lightly.
And she'd told herself that she did not want to be his rein. She did not want to be used against him, or in any given case be used as a shield from him or his responses. Caroline had promised to herself, in a way, that she wanted to be a real part of his life.
That entailed he could be angry at her. Annoyed. Exasperated. Weary. Tired. Done. She just wanted to be there. In whatever way he'd let her, or was ready for. So she licked her lips and then nodded her head.
"Then you're bothered," she insisted, and he inhaled sharply. "With me."
She could hear his teeth clenching, then his jaw relaxing. "I'm not- I'm-"
"Tell me." Like the last push.
He took a step toward her, but she saw it had been near unconsciously. His eyes were elsewhere, and he looked distressed. Caroline started nagging at her lip, waiting there, fully expecting a lash out of some sort.
After a minute of his quiet inside battling, he said, "I don't know. I couldn't care less about a ring on your finger, Caroline, honestly." He swallowed, and for once, she could feel the full fire of his eyes on her. "But you do. And it served a purpose- it does. It does."
Her frown deepened. She registered a hollow feeling in her stomach, like it was sinking inwards. "A purpose?"
"Yes. It meant keeping you at arm's length."
She narrowed her eyes at nothing. More questions came to pester her mind in a second. She felt she had missed something, surely, because what kind of frail distance had they been engaging in that she was not aware of? They'd kissed, repeatedly, she'd kissed him. Just this morning.
A thin laugh escape her throat, "Klaus, what-"
He shook his head, and his hand settled on her arm again. Stopping her once more.
"The ring, love," he started slowly, looking away again. "It gave- gives you an out. It reminds me that- that if you ever took it off, because of me, then you'd immediately be in danger."
"Why?" She asked, instantly. His logic seemed familiar, but she couldn't be sure she had fully grasped it yet.
"I've been selfish. I wasn't supposed to get close you, to remember you." His grip on her arm tightened, and instead of flinching back, all she did was come closer. "Everyone I've ever cared for like I care for you, Caroline, has gotten hurt, died, because of who I am, because they dared to care for me too. And I've always been too selfish to stop them."
Caroline felt like something had shattered in her chest, she felt like her ribs were pressing her. Her lips had tensed. She reached for his other hand with hers, and clasped it tightly, bringing it to her chin.
"You're not- you don't need to worry about me-"
He didn't let her finish. "I got scared, Caroline, when I didn't see the ring. I wasn't prepared for it." They'd gotten closer, so now she could see the blue of his gaze, staring intently into hers. "But no, I'm not mad at you."
She felt as if she'd gotten into a trance with his words. He was scared for her. Because somehow, he thought he'd be the cause of her demise in the hypothetical future. And normally she wouldn't stand for it. But she saw it in his eyes, and she felt it in the way his fingers grabbed at her skin: he believed this to be true, unalterable.
She'd only wanted to be real for him, but she hadn't realized how much she already was.
Caroline blinked, and forced herself out of her head. She brought their intertwined hands to her lips, and lightly pressed a kiss to his knuckles. He looked terrified, as if she'd driven him into a wall and he had no escape, no way to get her safe.
There were a lot of things she wanted to tell him. Like, she was right there, with him, and that in her heart she knew she wasn't going anywhere. That she was not fragile, and that she didn't need his protection or merited his caution. That he'd ventured himself so far away from logic, he could no longer see reason.
But she knew him better than that. And so, only nodded her head in understanding. Then she let his hand go, and the one on her arm fell as well.
"I only took it off to do the dishes, I promise."
And he let go of a breath that could've only spoken of relief.
/
Klaus found it futile to attempt sleeping that night. Instead, he tried to occupy himself with painting. The blank canvases in his study were all staring. In his head, they were daring him to try to achieve some sort of comfort. Try to delude himself further into a fake sense of normalcy and safety.
He knew he didn't have it. The óleo was heavy in his pallette. The colors mixed after five to six stirs of his paintbrush. A dark green, and a color purple that should've been red to begin with.
He started brushing across the canvas. His thoughts were elsewhere. His hand had a mind of its own. Suddenly it was like he wasn't there anymore. As if he had stepped out of his body to watch this angry man paint whatever his heart commanded.
He swallowed. The smell of the paint did to him what it never had, it made him feel sick. He didn't move; he inhaled deeply once more. This man he was watching was angry, furious and resigned. Klaus was certain, he did not feel that way.
He couldn't.
His younger brother would flee the country, and abandon his family in favour of creating one of his own. He wasn't hurt, no, if anything he knew it was overdue. And Kol, for all his faults, deserved to feel happiness the way Klaus knew a child would inspire. His brother deserved to have the freedom he had stolen from him for centuries at a time. He had a right to grow, as he'd said, to change.
The brush cracked on his hand, his fingers were stained with purple. With blood. On the walls. He threw it away, and grabbed another. Klaus breathed in deep.
Elijah had always been the level-headed of the two. He who people went to for understanding and reasoning; Klaus would've said the same, this world was no place for a kid. Yet he remembered his insistence when he'd first told Klaus that Hayley was pregnant. He'd wanted a chance, a new beginning. They all had.
They'd been selfish.
Hayley was all too perfectly aware of what it meant to keep Hope in this house, in this town and near her father. They had the history to bring out a large precedent if they had to. Still, she stayed, after betrayals, daggers and curses. She and Hope stayed because Hayley knew this was their family and their home.
And the time for leaving had run out. Klaus did his best everyday to make sure they would never recent this fact.
He still woke up some days with the overwhelming terror that Hope would want nothing to do with him when she grew up. Because of who he was and what he'd done and his unforgettable shortcomings when it came to his redemption. It was true, he wouldn't consider himself the same monster he had been before his daughter was born, but the scars and the mask remained to be used at his convenience.
The King had to come out and reign from time to time, and it was best he kept them at hand.
The óleo was heavy on the canvas now. If he kept piling it up it would tear. He would have to start over, and he couldn't be sure he could recreate the colors just right. His hand had a mind of its own. Klaus kept watching as the man ruined his painting because he had no sense of when to stop.
He'd overdone himself.
The green of her dress, in curls crafted around the fabric of his painting. It became tainted with purple. He blinked at it as he took a step back. He'd forgotten to turn the lights on. His stomach turned with the next whiff of the chemicals coming from every corner of his studio.
If she had ever been less smart, less grounded and ever said yes. If she'd done that, all she would've known was the nightmares he no longer considered as such. If she'd thrown everything out the window then and had come with him, she'd be as broken as he was now. She would've known what it was that brought his family all together again and see the real rawness of their words and actions. She would not theorize it and rationalize it, and for some strange reason find it so appealing she no longer hid the affection in her eyes.
If Caroline knew every single detail and read every footnote in their story, she would've run back home already. And he wasn't going to profit from her shortness in sight. Klaus felt as if he were tricking her with his own lack of self control.
At last, the canvas broke. And he realized he'd spent possibly hours in meaningless work. It was the middle of the night; apparently his siblings had had a rather successful evening, as they'd all gone to sleep as soon as the gate was locked.
He had two days. Caroline had taken off her ring, and all he'd managed to feel at the sight, was an odd variation of despair. And this, no magnitude of assurances would change. And even when he had tried his best to warn her, she had met him at every step and understood. As if she had heard it all before; as if this was nothing she couldn't solve.
He let his brush fall to the floor. The paint on his fingers was dry. The smell wasn't so bad anymore. He could move, he no longer had to watch the sad man break over himself. Klaus left the room.
He dragged his feet up the stairs, and found the glimmer of Hope's nightlight through the silk drapes of the nursery. He remembered Hayley crying over the crib. It was factual, families weren't made for this. Yet they'd strained theirs for years on end, never thinking they could- that they had to stop.
Kol was going away. Despite his wife's promises, Klaus was fairly certain they'd go a possible lifetime without seeing each other again. It was strange, the way the notion used to be dismissed with a flicker, now it stuck to the back of his head, burning like lead on his nerves.
He slowly cracked open the door to Hope's room. Her auburn red tendrils sprawled across her pink pillow. Her face was nuzzled against her wolf stuffed animal. She slept, unaware still of everything she needed to be shielded against.
Klaus sat on the rocking chair beside the door connecting to Hayley's room. He took a breath, as if he'd been wondering why to take the following until he'd laid eyes on his daughter again. All of this, it was for her. And perhaps all of it would be worth it in the end. Even the parts he dreaded most.
Klaus shut his eyes, and leaned on the back of the chair. A lot of things had yet to be determined. He had two days; a clock was ticking somewhere.
He couldn't ask her to stay past the full moon. They'd made an agreement. If everything went according to plan, Marcel would remain alive and dormant, linked to Klaus' immortality and power until they found a way to save him. Caroline would go back to Mystic Falls with her friends in tow. He couldn't ask her to stay; she had a life waiting for her still.
No matter if she took her ring off to do dishes or not.
He heard weight shifting on the floorboards, and opened his eyes. Hayley was leaning on the frame of the door, silently watching their daughter sleep, with her arms folded on her chest.
"Couldn't sleep?" She whispered, her eyes still on Hope.
"No."
"What is it?"
Klaus ran his fingers through his jaw, and then tried to swallow the knot in his throat. His eyelids felt heavy. Hayley finally shifted her attention to him, and waited.
"Kol's not coming back." He said. Blinking at the floor, the nightlight on the corner shifted from warm yellow to soft lilac.
"He's not." Hayley nodded, and her fingers tightened on the fabric over her arms. "Elijah thinks so too."
There was a pause. Klaus had had to mourn his brother twice now. He'd gone on years moving from city to city with his casket, knowing his brother hated him, but that he was safe. He was under control, somehow. Kol would leave in two days, Klaus would have to mourn him again, knowing he wasn't dead, but that he just didn't want to be a part of this anymore.
"It's for the best," she continued, "you know that."
"I do," he agreed. "Still, we have a thousand years behind us, and just now I find it would be nice to have more time. Fix it."
Hayley didn't say anything, she just nodded once. He appreciated, she did know when to stop. Hope shifted on the bed, and rolled over. They stared for a moment longer. Maybe Hope would forget she ever had an uncle Kol as she did with Marcel. Her age came with the advantage that it was probable she would forget most of this, up until she had to be reminded.
"About Caroline," he started, and Hayley's eyes were instantly back on him. "She insisted, she wanted you to agree with whatever happens with her memories of the library. Of Freya."
Hayley went still momentarily, then she frowned and her lips pursed. She wore a ridiculously large cardigan, and her hands got lost in the sleeves around her torso.
"Oh," she paused, "I thought- well, what do you want to do?"
Klaus sighed, and put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. He raised a brow at Hayley. "I told her I trust her."
Her head tilted left, and she pressed against the frame of the door. She nodded. "Elijah knows. I honestly thought you'd leave things alone. I thought it was settled that she didn't need to be compelled. So...if you trust her, then I do too."
The colors used to destroy that painting downstairs, the green of the dress in his dreams. The blood slithering through the marble, shining purple. Hayley was considering him still, as if he'd suddenly done something beyond her comprehension.
He wanted Caroline to stay. He couldn't afford to be selfish anymore, when there were signs everywhere begging him not to. When that dinner had all but left him no choice but to stop ignoring why he'd been avoiding her when she first got here.
"I told her I trust her." He repeated, knowing very well it was in no way an answer.
"I know, but-" she muttered, still studying him, as if this was the very first time she had laid eyes on Klaus. "What are you going to tell her?"
/
Hi everyone! Happy New Year!
Please nobody be mad at me for this chapter, it's part of the process. Klaus has externalized something, at least. It's a journey and he never makes it any easier on himself if he can help it. So yeah, it's just that. I hope you enjoyed it. As always thank you for you wonderful comments, they give me life.
Thanks for reading :))