Rewrite and extension of KC interactions during TVD 4x07. I loved the Klaroline scenes in that episode, especially Klaus showing more of his humanity to Caroline and was inspired to delve more into that. This was really intended to be a short story, but as usual, my muse had a mind of her own. I hope you enjoy.
Klaus stopped in his tracks and turned his body towards Caroline. "I never answered your question if I'd ever thought about being human."
Caroline was caught off guard. She'd assumed that particular topic of conversation had been dropped and Klaus had not the least inclination to give her an answer... not that she blamed him. Elena had briefly told her about Klaus and Elijah's past, at least the history they shared with Tatia and the despicable way she betrayed both brothers. Caroline understood why reminiscing about the good old days of being human was not an activity that Klaus liked to partake in.
"Once, I was on the track in Andes…" Klaus started. "And a hummingbird flew up to me… He just hovered there, staring at me. His tiny heart was pattering like a machine gun." He paused as the memory came to his recollection more vividly, reliving the moment.
It truly had been a singular event. The one and only time Klaus' thoughts had wandered to the possibility of leading a vulnerable, human life. Never before or after had he contemplated the thought of being a mere mortal. The notion was utterly foolish to him, hence why he mocked Rebekah whenever she expressed longing for being human. He couldn't for the life of him understand why his dear sister was so desperate to be bounded by the constraints of men and the limits of time. Then again, Rebekah hadn't grown up being despised by the man she believed to be her father and unprotected by her mother. She hadn't been betrayed by her brother and best friend. Her memories of being human were not tainted by years of unfathomable abuse.
But that one time, for a brief moment, he'd thought about what it truly meant to be human - about the importance every single day had given that it could be one's last… Human life was so fragile, constantly threatened by forces of evil and darkness, wars, natural catastrophes and illness. The next day was never guaranteed. Every moment was thus precious, to be cherished.
Encouraged by Caroline's soft smile, Klaus pursued, "And I thought what a thing. You know, to have to work that hard every day just to stay alive, to be constantly on the verge of death…"
Caroline gazed at him, listening intently to his musings, captured by his account.
"And how satisfying every day must be that it survived." Klaus brought his soulful blue eyes back to Caroline's.
Understanding dawned on her. There was something to be said about being a vampire. Caroline remembered how powerful and invincible she had felt after she turned. She no longer had to concern herself with catching the flu or suffering an injury during cheerleading practice. Almost nothing could touch her. The possibilities for her life were endless. Her life itself was - in a way - infinite. Or so she liked to believe. The truth was a single stake through her heart, and she was gone. Now, Klaus… he actually was immortal. He was The Original Hybrid, the most powerful creature on the face of the earth. She could only what a foreign concept it was for him - to have his life be threatened and have to fight to see another day.
"And that was the only time I ever thought about being human." He finished.
Caroline saw the sincerity on his face and the emotion he was unable to hide in his eyes. She knew being vulnerable did not come easy to Klaus. Yet somehow, for whatever reason, whenever she asked, he found it in himself to try. The effect she seemed to have on him never ceased to amaze her.
Moved, she raised the corners of her mouth into a warm smile. "Thank you." She simply appreciated.
As always when Caroline graced him with the lovely facial expression, Klaus couldn't help but reciprocate. Then, he regained his composure and shook his head at the absurdity of it all.
"It was a silly thought anyway."
Caroline frowned in incomprehension. "What was?"
"Being a human is not really an option for me, Caroline."
"You mean it wasn't until now…" she attempted to correct. "We know there is a cure now…"
"Which I have no interest in taking." Klaus assured, affixing his gaze to hers. "I would never contemplate it."
Klaus relished his immortality, his invincibility, his invulnerability… It defined him. He couldn't imagine ever willingly relinquishing his power. He may as well surrender his life altogether. He had managed to wrong a number of people over the centuries and had a long list of enemies who would relish the opportunity to make him pay for his iniquities.
Before Caroline's apparent confusion, he explained, "I would not last a day as a human, Caroline, not with my long list of enemies. Surely, you realize that. Truth be told, one of the main reasons why I am so eager to get ahold of that cure is to make sure your dear friends don't forcibly shove it down my throat or find some way to make me drink it without my knowledge."
Caroline was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected such an unload from Klaus. Nonetheless, she had to admit every word he spoke was true. Unwilling to deal with the guilt that was sure to overcome her if she dwelled on her involvement in her friends' plan to kill the blonde hybrid, Caroline pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She felt horrible enough that she was currently deceiving him by pretending she and Tyler were broken up.
"Well, that makes sense." She reasoned, arching an eyebrow, when something suddenly occurred to her. Tyler… "You do realize others might have caught that, right?"
"It did dawn on me, yes." Klaus smiled, before leaning in and whispering close to her ear. "It wasn't a secret, Caroline."
A shiver of pleasure ran down the length of her spine as his breath ghosted across her neck, and Caroline futilely prayed Klaus was none the wiser. His knowing smirk when he pulled away made it clear that he wasn't.
Caroline rolled her eyes and resumed walking with Klaus by her side. 'As if it could have escaped his notice' she thought to herself. As powerful as vampires were, it certainly was a shame that they couldn't control their body's physical reactions. It was even more shameful that Klaus Mikaelson had an effect on her at all.
She let out a deliberately loud exhale, and Klaus burst out laughing. He slowly shook his head. He adored her.
"So what about you?" He asked after a brief moment of them walking in silence.
"What about me?" She repeated, confused.
"You never answered my question… Do you ever miss being human?" Klaus inquired. She cast him a quick glance but otherwise said nothing. He nodded. Fine, he wouldn't press. "I don't believe you do." That didn't mean he would refrain from stating his opinion.
Caught off guard, Caroline slightly turned her body towards Klaus and threw him a look of surprise. "Is that so?" She asked, equal parts amused and intrigued.
"That is so." Klaus confirmed and abruptly stopped walking. He waited for Caroline to notice and stop in her tracks as well. His piercing blue eyes bore into hers before he pursued, "I think you prefer who you are now to the girl you once were. You like being strong. Ageless. Fearless."
Klaus narrowed the gap between them, somewhat invading her personal space and getting a little too close for Caroline's comfort, but the young vampire resisted the urge to take a step backwards. She maintained her composure, refusing to swallow the lump in her throat, unwilling to have any reaction or show any emotion to his very accurate analysis.
"Don't you see?" Klaus asked with a slow shake of his head. It baffled him how it escaped her. It was so obvious. "We're the same, Caroline."
Only Caroline did see it. All too well. She found herself in Klaus in more ways than one. She too had been a child who felt unloved by one of her parents and literally invisible to the other. She too had experienced the utmost contempt and hatred of a father. She too knew what it was like to try so hard and still be left starving for affection. She too knew what it was like to never be the chosen one.
Klaus had hurt and wronged her friends in a thousand different ways. Elena, Stefan, Damon, Tyler… They all were fully within their rights to despise him and to plot his death. She understood that. But in spite of her best efforts, Caroline understood Klaus too. She understood the deep-rooted insecurities that drove his every decision. His desire to build an army of hybrids. A legion of creatures whose allegiance he would never have to question, who would be undeniably loyal to him, who would not hesitate to put their life on the line to protect him and his family, and who would never abandon his side like so many people had over the centuries. Underneath it all was love. His entire life had been a quest for unconditional love and loyalty. He had simply been led to believe that the essence of who he was wasn't enough to secure that. She wished she didn't, and she tried not to, but Caroline carried that same fear in her heart every day. The truth was Klaus was a reflection of everything Caroline hated about herself. Staring at him was like looking into a mirror. They were the same.
Instead of admitting that, she held his gaze defiantly and spoke, "There may be parts of us that are similar, but we are more different than we are alike."
Klaus noticeably swallowed a lump in his throat. "I see." To his credit, he managed to keep his voice steady.
"No, you don't." Caroline contested, taking a step forward as he took one backwards. "And you won't… Not here." She said pointedly.
He may be fine opening up to her, sharing his personal thoughts about humanity, and discussing how alike they were for anyone with a heightened sense of hearing to enjoy, but she was not. Perhaps, Klaus simply didn't care what any vampire or hybrid around them thought about him. In fact, that was very likely. Unfortunately, Caroline wasn't quite there yet. Those people were her friends, her family -and their opinion mattered to her. She wasn't about to openly declare that she and Klaus had some sort of connection, especially when she was acutely aware of Tyler's eyes on them.
She took another measured step towards him. "Walk with me?"
Ever the gentleman, Klaus offered his arm for her to take, a hint of a smirk appearing at the edge of his lips. He was trying but failing to keep his hope at bay that her previous dismissal had more to do with a desire to maintain appearances for her friends' sake than a genuine belief that they didn't share an understanding.
Caroline led them down a nice sheltered path. Once she felt they were out supernatural hearing range and beyond the reach of anyone's curiosity, she turned to him and declared. "I don't."
Klaus' expression remained patient as he looked at Caroline and waited for her to elaborate.
She took a deep breath and did. "I don't miss being human. I don't miss being weak, insignificant, invisible…" her voice trailed off and she looked down.
"I cannot imagine you were ever invisible, Caroline, or insignificant." The notion was absolutely absurd to Klaus. Then again, he knew much too well that there was nothing rational about insecurities.
His reply conjured up a smile on her face, but it hardly reached her eyes. "Well, I certainly felt that way." Was all she could manage in a voice so low Klaus would not have heard her if not for his keen hearing.
"I'm sorry." He offered.
And perhaps it was the unusual soft, raspy quality of his voice or perhaps, it was the emotion and sincerity she detected, but his words brought her eyes back to him. As their gazes locked, the tumult of emotion Caroline saw in Klaus' blue orbits left her disarmed.
"I can only imagine what you would have thought of me if you'd met me back then." She wondered out loud.
Klaus didn't hesitate a second before answering. "I would have thought that you are beautiful… strong… and full of light." He paused to emphasize every qualifier.
Tears welled up in her eyes and a lump threatened to form in her throat at the familiarity of his words. The memories of the ball the Mikaelsons threw in Mystic Falls after all being reunited with their mother, Esther, rushed back to her mind. Their housewarming party of sorts. She remembered the first dance she danced with Klaus, how oddly touched she had been when he had expressed his condolences about her father, her surprise when he opened up to her about his father slaying his favorite horse. Klaus saving her life – although he had been the one to indirectly put in danger – on her birthday may have started it all, but it was on the night of the Mikaelson ball that they had truly established a connection. A regrettably enduring connection.
True to form, Caroline pushed down the feelings Klaus stirred inside her and refused to accept his compliment for what it was. "Please." Caroline shook her head and rolled her eyes before lowering them to the ground. "You wouldn't have even noticed me."
Only Klaus would not allow her to dismiss his words so easily. Not this time. Not when he could sense how much she needed to believe him. He took a couple steps forward and closed the distance between them. He tentatively reached out to touch her and she sucked in a breath as he lifted her chin with his index finger, raising her eyes back to him.
"It would be impossible not to notice you, Caroline."
And she wasn't sure whether it was due to the softness of his voice or his hot breath mingling with hers, but Caroline felt her heart skip a beat as his words swept over her like a caress.
Emboldened by Caroline's physical reaction, Klaus moved even closer to her and tenderly stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Your aura would hover over me, harangue me until I did." He declared with a smile.
Caroline slightly tilted her face and searched his eyes for any sign of deception. Finding none, she broke into a grin of her own. Those were probably the kindest, soul-warming words anyone had ever spoken to her… And they'd come from Klaus…
She placed her hand on top of his and held it over her cheek for a moment before gently bringing it down. Klaus' eyes hardened at her gesture and just like that, the stoic expression he typically reserved for the world was back in place. Prepared to face her rejection, he moved to take a step back when she tightened her hold on his hand, keeping him in place. He gazed back up at her and was met with the most radiant smile.
"Thank you." Caroline acknowledged simply.
She released his hand to wrap her arms around his shoulders, drawing him into a warm, grateful embrace. Although caught off guard, Klaus instinctively returned Caroline's hug. Overwhelmed by her sweet, natural scent, he tightened his grip on her ever so slightly and buried his face into her neck to inhale the essence of Caroline. All Klaus could think as he held her was that he'd never felt more at peace.
Thank you for reading. Please share your thoughts with me.