Summary: After Klaus's death, Caroline builds a connection to the most unlikely person, his brother Kol Mikaelson. **Tik Tok Inspired Story**
Word Count outside of Author Notes (Full Story): 15,632 words.
Warning: Story Contains Angst, Character Death's, Grief/Mourning.
A/N: Hey Everyone :) This is my first fanfiction for the TVD & TO fandoms, hopefully the first of many to come, but we'll see lol. I 1000% love Caroline & Klaus, they belong together, no one can tell me any different, they deserved a better ending then what they got, they are soulmates, I will never forgive the writers for not allowing them a happy ending. But as much as I love Klaroline, I do have a bit of an obsession with rare couples, and because of this obsession I've written this fanfiction featuring Caroline and Kol. Who I also wholeheartedly support together lmfao, I honestly just think Caroline fits well with any of the Mikaelson's.
I got the idea for this story from a couple of Tik Tok's I watched a few months back, I unfortunely don't remember which accounts posted them, but they had the same basic concept that eventually Caroline and Kol would be the only ones left out of all the characters we've been introduced to in these fandoms. That sad fact has been stuck in my head since I watched the Tik Tok's, so I decided to write a fanfiction story inspired by that. At the very least Kol and Caroline would still have each other, or this is what I tell myself to keep from having a complete meltdown lol because I know they're not exactly besties in the shows or even interact that much with each other, which honestly is a crime in and of itself, the writers of the shows could have done better than that.
So a couple things to know before reading this story. The story does take large time jumps and it's not exactly canon compliant either, truthfully I haven't watched "The Originals" past half of the first season so if things in this story are not exactly what they were in the show it's because I haven't watched the show (the fact that I know how it ends makes me not want to watch it, the whole plot doesn't sit well with me), plus it's fanfiction so it doesn't have to follow a play by play of the shows lol. I also haven't watched "Legacies" and unlike "The Originals" I have no plans to watch this show, ever, from what I've seen in commercials and Tik Tok's, it's not all that good.
Also this story is pretty short and sweet, it's already completed, with 5 chapters in total, the chapters just need to go through a few editing stages before I post them but it is finished. In this story Caroline does know she loves Klaus, she's not being stubborn about it, obviously it's too late for anything to come from that but it's an important point to the story to know that she does love him. For those of you who might be questioning Stefan's role in my story, he is not a vital part of Caroline's thoughts, that's a hard NOPE for me, in my head they did have a little dating stunt but it didn't end well because why would it, they are literally just friends, no chemistry, they should have never gotten together, that plotline was ridiculous. The way I have Caroline think in this story, I make it pretty obvious that she's never been married to Stefan, he was just another failed love story in her book, nothing more, nothing less.
This story has an accompanying Photo Collage that can be viewed through my account on Archive Of Our Own as well as through my Tumblr Account, both are under the same username (HunnyDreams42).
Now without further ado,
Hope you guys enjoy :)
Chapter One: Stray Souls
The tears flowed slowly from Caroline's eyes, blurring her vision, she was tempted to reach up to wipe the slow trekking water drops away but she had her hands firmly clamped together on her lap, clenched between her legs, she didn't want to move them from their position, least someone in the room turn their attention to her. Since taking her seat on the comfortable elaborately decorated red couch she had refused to make eye contact with anyone, choosing instead to look down at her fidgeting hands. The silence that somehow resonated in the room was deafening, no one was talking, the only sounds in the room were heavy breathing and delicate wails. Caroline couldn't find it in herself to peer around the room only to be confronted with a grieving family well she also got swallowed within her own grief.
Klaus was gone.
That fact still hadn't set in fully yet, almost like it was play pretend, she was half expecting Klaus to walk into the room with a full lipped grin ready to take his chances wooing her, so confident that this might be the time she finally gave into him. That situation would never play out though, they weren't playing some childish game of make belief, Klaus was dead, his days of trying to get her to acknowledge their connection were over.
Maybe in another life, another world, her cruel reality was another Caroline's play pretend, maybe in that world Klaus only faked his death, or maybe they were able to figure out how to save him. In that life the other Caroline finally collected on his promise of being her last love, that Caroline was probably sitting in her exact spot, not grieving, not trying to swallow down tears she felt like she had no right to shed, the other Caroline was probably watching the entrance of the room with anticipation, eagerness, waiting for Klaus to play out the scenario of walking into the room. The other Caroline would be admitting to herself what Klaus meant to her, just like she was, the key difference was that the other world Caroline would have the opportunity to tell Klaus, an opportunity that wasn't an option for her.
Caroline wouldn't ever be able to come knocking at Klaus's door of her own accord like he predicted so many years ago, ready to take on the love of a thousand-year-old man that frightened her in the best of ways. A big part of her always knew that she would eventually end up with Klaus, it was a scary concept in the beginning, when Caroline couldn't fully differentiate between Klaus the man from Klaus the Hybrid. In time, being away from him, living her life in ways she had thought she wanted, that fear of the Hybrid being her last love faded away. Somewhere between raising her daughters and running a school for the supernatural, Caroline finally admitted to herself what she's subconsciously known all along, she loved Klaus. In that admittance she deducted she would one day show up knocking on Klaus's door, the only problem was that she had made the mistake of thinking she had all the time in the world to come knocking, Klaus was the big bad wolf, he was formidable and indestructible, he was supposed to live another thousand years and then some, but he didn't.
It felt cheap in a way to say his death wasn't in vain, like they were in a low budget action movie using a bad line meant to sound cool, but Klaus's death did have a purpose, he hadn't left this world for no reason. He died to protect his daughter, he died so Hope could live, so she could have a full wonderous life ahead of her, Caroline couldn't have been prouder that the man she encountered in Mystic Falls far differed from the one who gave his life for his daughter. She's always known he was capable of love, he showed her that much in his gestures along with his words but even Caroline couldn't have predicted the change within Klaus that came from having a child. It made him better, it put his world into perceptive, it gave him that unconditional love and loyalty he desperately sought after. Moreover she was happy he got to experience that before he died, he got to experience what it was to love and be loved in return with pure intentions, with no expectations coming from that love.
A shuffling shadow in the corner of her eye brought Caroline's focus to Rebekah, who much like Caroline had tears running down her cheeks, unlike Caroline who stifled her crying, Rebekah didn't bother to. Ignoring the urge to look away, she stayed studying the youngest Mikaelson. She's never been on the best of terms with Rebekah, their personalities clashed in the worse ways possible because of their similarities, despite not being Caroline's favorite person, it did hurt to see Rebekah in pain. She's been by Klaus's side longer than any of his other siblings, she's not only losing her favorite older brother, Rebekah was losing her person, as possessive as Klaus was, it was to keep him baby sister within his protection, Rebekah was grieving for more than just the loss of a brother.
To add insult to injury the family was also grieving for another Mikaelson brother, Elijah had died along with Klaus, going out in a blaze of glory with his brother. Caroline can't imagine what they must be going through, she really was only grieving Klaus, she didn't know Elijah well enough to be upset over his sacrifice. His death was sad of course but she didn't personally feel that sadness in her heart as she did for Klaus. The left over Mikaelson's were feeling that sadness though, they were grieving two people who they loved, two people who have been there for the last thousand years, two people who were meant to be here for a thousand more.
Growing uncomfortable with watching Rebekah display open emotions that she's never seen in the other blonde, Caroline moved her eyes away, racking up the courage inside of her she examined the room, she paused on the Mikaelson sibling she knew the least about, Freya, the lost sister Klaus never knew he had until he came to New Orleans. The other woman had similar features to Rebekah and Klaus, short dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, red lips that drew people in. Caroline watched as Freya titled her head up, she lightly fanned her eyes with her hand, blinking rapidly to hold off the tears Rebekah let flow freely, trying in vain to be the rock their family needed in this moment, the strong one, the oldest. Caroline felt sympathy for Freya, she was new to this family, she was promised an "Always and Forever" that was cut short, unlike the rest of the siblings who had hundreds of years behind that promise, enough to make it real, Freya only had a crumb of that before it was taken from her.
Unable to stop her curiosity, Caroline observed Hope next, the beautiful daughter that was a perfect mixture of Hayley and Klaus, she had long red tinted brunette hair, Klaus's blue eyes, Hayley's pouty lips, she was a living doll all wrapped up in one big pretty bow. Hope was young, just a couple years older than the twins but she had more wariness in her eyes then the twins would ever have in theirs, her life hadn't been an easy one since the day she was born. Hope was full on sobbing, heart wrenching sounds that pinched Caroline's ears, her motherly side told her to go hug Hope, to comfort her, to offer support, the more logical part of herself stopped her from doing that. She didn't know Hope like that, she only met her briefly when the twins were introduced to her to remove The Hollow, Caroline wanted to get to know her of course, she was Klaus's daughter, there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to talk to her, laugh with her, that would have to wait though, it wasn't the time for that.
Caroline's not sure if there would ever be time for that actually, Klaus wasn't here anymore, he was gone, it was painful to acknowledge but her connection to this family died with him. She didn't know any of them that well, the only one she could claim to know anything about was Rebekah, at that Caroline only knew superficial/basic level things, nothing that put her on a personal level with The Original. She couldn't get it out of her head though that she had expected to call the whole of the Mikaelson's family one day. The insistence that she would have one day found her way to Klaus was overpowering, in the other world this was Caroline's family, the other Caroline had the time to make them such, the connection that binded her to them didn't die.
The people that pulled Caroline's attention after she looked away from Hope were complete strangers, she knew their names were Marcel, Keelin, and Davina. She wasn't told much about them, Marcel was Klaus's adoptive son that he had some problems with when he had first come back to New Orleans, problems that were solved long ago. Judging from the way he positioned himself next to Rebekah, Caroline had also concluded Marcel had some type of love thing with Rebekah, she was still unclear on the details of how that came about. He was mourning his adoptive father, he was hurting like the rest of them, so Caroline found it sweet that he was trying to be strong for Rebekah, he was trying not to let his grief take over him so he could console Rebekah's.
Keelin was married to Freya, the beautiful dark-skinned woman was another person Caroline didn't know anything about, nothing beyond a fact or two, insignificant minor things that any stranger would be able to figure out. The gorgeous brunette with a doll like nose was Davina, a New Orleans witch who at some point got chosen for some sacrifice that Marcel saved her from, Caroline didn't get all the details of what had occurred from then to now but she knew Davina was with Kol, the last Mikaelson brother Caroline knew even less about then Elijah. Both women appeared sad for their partners loss, they stayed near them, offering support with their presence, but it was clear that they had no real grief themselves beyond sympathy for someone else's loss, they were there as a comfort to Freya and Kol.
Thinking of the last Mikaelson brother had Caroline's gaze wandering to him, he was the last person in the room that her eyes hadn't yet sought out to observe. She was mildly surprised to see him looking back at her, staring at her, studying her just as she had just done to his family. She couldn't read his facial expressions; his eyes were narrowed on her, pinching at the corners as he watched her, they weren't unkind though. She thought maybe he was wondering why she was there with them; this was a personal moment between family, maybe he was thinking she had no place here among them. If he was thinking that, he might have been right, she couldn't bring herself to leave though, not without properly saying goodbye to Klaus first. The problem that remained was, she had no clue how she was meant to say goodbye with no body, no burial, no service, and no closure on what if's and maybe's that were missed for hers and Klaus's future.
Alaric had taken the twins hours ago to their hotel room to pack, by now they would be back in Mystic Falls unpacking their luggage's, getting ready to go back to their normal day to day routines, wondering where she was. Caroline was meant to follow them not long after it was announced that Klaus was gone for good. Instead of going back to the hotel room to pack her belongings, she had stayed seated on the red couch, she didn't even think her actions through, what implications they were making to her family in Mystic Falls or to the family gathered around her, she just knew in her heart that it had felt wrong to leave after that dreaded announcement.
"I can't-I need to-I'm sorry." Caroline blinked at Kol, unaware of how long she sat there staring at him, the silence of the room was broken by Rebekah, her shoulders were heavily shaking, the near silent carful crying she was doing before was gone, replaced by ear crushing sobs. Rebekah let out a particularly loud cry, getting up from her seat on another couch, she bolted from the room, Marcel had followed right behind her, struggling to catch up to the blonde that was sprinting away as fast as she could. Caroline couldn't blame her, the room was suffocating with grief, it was practically choking all of them, she was tempted to bolt from the room too. She glanced at Kol again once Rebekah was out of sight, his eyes were still on her, she doesn't think they left her when she had broken eye contact with him. It aggravated Caroline that she couldn't read him, she liked to think she was a people person, that she could decipher people's personalities, thoughts, and looks within a few minutes of being in their company, Kol was impossible to get a read on though, his face was too stoic, his body language too impassive.
"I should go check on her." Freya voiced absently, her eyes weren't focused on anything in particular, she sounded as if she were stating what she thought she should do rather then what she actually would prefer to do. Freya was holding on by the edges, anyone could see that.
"No, you go lay down with Hope, I'll check on Rebekah." Keelin told her rubbing Freya's shoulders with firm movements, she helped Freya stand, gently pushing her in Hope's direction, who also seemed to be getting by on a thin piece of thread. The small gathering dispersing was Caroline's clue to move ahead her agenda, she stopped Klaus's sister before she could leave the room.
"If it's alright with you Freya, I would like to visit Klaus's room before I leave?" Caroline stood from the couch; asking permission to go into Klaus's room felt strange, like asking permission from someone who wasn't allowed to give it except she didn't want to wander through their property without approval. It was time for her to go, they weren't telling her to leave, all things considered the Mikaelson's had actually been welcoming of her presence there although Caroline couldn't help but feel she overstayed her welcome into their home, they needed to mourn as a family together. She might have been a part of this family in her imagined up fictional other world with the other Caroline however in this world, the real world, she didn't belong here, it was time for her to leave, she just had one more thing to do in order to leave, she had to visit Klaus's bedroom.
"Of course Caroline." Freya nodded in understanding, what she understood perplexed Caroline, how could Freya understand something that not even she has yet. When Freya suddenly hugged her, Caroline stiffed, not expecting Klaus's sister to part with such a warm gesture, after a beat she raised her arms to hug Freya back. After letting Freya go she nodded to the other occupants in the room, taking her leave immediately afterwards, Kol's eyes burned holes into the back of her head as she walked away.
She stood in front of Klaus's king-sized bed, her legs pressed up against the side of the perfectly made bed, altogether his room was incredibly dark, giving a humorous impression of a villain layer he could escape to, without the light coming through the windows she wouldn't be able to see anything at all. Despite the shadowed effect the room had, it was exactly the kind of room she pictured Klaus in, it was broody, mysterious, and filled with art. A nice, elegant room, somewhere she could picture him lounging about, sketch book in hand, a fancy cup of blood on the nightstand.
Though the room wasn't far off of what she had expected in terms of décor, it felt empty, there was no life, no charm. Caroline was reluctant to admit to herself what she had expected to gain from coming into his room before she left. The room smelled like him, a mixture of smoke, leather, and citrus, an odd combination of scents that fit effortlessly to him, it was a beautiful room regardless of its overuse of dark colors. Yet there was nothing she felt inside of herself being here, it was just a room, Klaus wasn't here ready to make promises, love declarations, and playfully bicker with her, he wasn't here to tell her he would see her again, he wasn't here to offer closure.
"Not quite what you were expecting Darling?" Caroline jumped away from the bed when Kol spoke from behind her, all she was doing was standing there, taking the room in with its lack of expectations fulfilled, she wasn't doing anything wrong but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. Kol made her feel like she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Excuse me?" She moved around the bed to the other side, inching closer the door, trying not to make it obvious that she was trying to get in vicinity of the exit, she kept Kol within her line of sight. Kol was a wild card, he was infamous for his crazy antics, recklessness, rash impulses, and unhinged behavior, he never put thought into the things he did, he just did them, unconcerned with the possible consequences. Klaus had loved his little brother, Caroline never doubted that, but even he had warned her of Kol's mischievous ways that often times ended bad for the other party involved. She remembered him fondly telling her of Kol's misbehavior through the thousand years they had together, but that fondness was tinged in caution meant for her to get the hint not to interact with his brother.
"Nik's bedroom, it's a little too Count Dracula for my taste," he followed her movements with steps of his own, smirking playfully at her, enjoying her aversion to staying in the room with him, she wasn't fooling anyone with her slow show of moving towards the door, "but he's always been a bit of a drama queen like that." He chuckled with affection, recalling something of his brother that he found both entertaining and annoying.
"Yeah," she agreed, Klaus was overly dramatic for a thousand-year-old hybrid, he had a temper that was unmatched but a flare for the dramatics like no one else Caroline had every met in her life, besides maybe herself, that part of Klaus was amusing yet charming, she never knew what to anticipate with him.
"I don't even know what I was expecting to see or find to be honest." She said to Kol, she had stopped trying to get closer to the door, she wasn't being as sneaky with it as she first thought, there was no point in making Kol think she was attempting to enact a game of cat and mouse.
"Perhaps you were expecting to see Nik?" Caroline flinched away from him, from that truth; she didn't like that Kol could read her that well, especially not when she didn't have the advantage of being able to do the same to him. They didn't have that much interaction in Mystic Falls before he died all those years ago, he couldn't possibly know what was going through her head because he knew her that well, but she also couldn't be that transparent right?
"I did actually come here for a reason," he went on as if he hadn't revealed anything to her about her unrealistic expectations, he ignored her flinch, Caroline couldn't stop the step back that she took when he took one forward, getting closer to her, "I have something for you."
"For me?" She questioned with suspicion, she couldn't think of anything that Kol would have that she would want, or even why he would give her something to begin with. They didn't know each other enough to be giving things to one another; this was the most they've ever spoken to each other.
From his jacket pocket Kol pulled out a shiny object that sparkled when it hit the light. Caroline didn't recognize what it was at first, Kol's long fingers were covering it too much, but when he held it out to her, Caroline stopped breathing in disbelief. It was her bracelet; the diamond one Klaus had gifted her along with a blue ball gown she kept hidden in a box in the back of her closet. The same bracelet she had thrown at his face when he seemed more content to want to buy her loyalty and adoration rather than earn it at his family's ball. Leaving the Mikaelson ball that day Caroline hadn't bothered to question what had happened to the pretty bracelet, what Klaus had done with it, it wasn't until much later when she was shredding another one of his gifts did she wonder what he done with the bracelet, if he gave it to someone else, scraped it, trashed it, or if he had saved it, positive that one day he would get the chance to place it back on her wrist. She had been tempted at that shredding party to call Klaus to ask him what had happened to the bracelet, it seemed once she had thought about the bracelet it sent off some signal in her head, her wrist has felt oddly bare since then. Caroline had her answer right in front her now, Klaus had kept the bracelet, and somehow it found its way into Kol's possession.
"Nik asked me to give this to you before you left." He explained noticing her confused expression, Caroline still hadn't moved from where she was standing, she made no attempt to take the bracelet from Kol's outstretched hand in spite of wanting to. She didn't deserve to have that bracelet again, she had no right to throw it at Klaus's face the way she had, she had no right to miss it, and she definitely had no right to accept it back.
"Come now Darling, it won't bite you." Kol teased, he must have got tired of waiting for her to grab it from him because he moved faster than her eyes could track to stand directly in front of her, picking up her hand more gently then she thought he was capable of, he fastened the bracelet onto her wrist with a quick movement. He didn't let go of her hand once he put the bracelet on, instead he chose to trace the diamonds on it.
"Always and Forever." Kol whispered to her, staring down at his hands cradling her own, it was said so quietly, like they were sharing some secret in Klaus's dark room that no one else was allowed to be privy to.
"What?" She softly mumbled back, afraid to break the bizarre tension that had overtaken the room, she nearly raised her free hand to Kol's chest but she refrained herself from doing that before the oddness of the room got even stranger with that gesture. It was scary to think that she wasn't sure her act would have been to push him away from her or to feel his warmth beneath her palm.
"It's what he asked me to tell you when I gave you the bracelet, Always and Forever." He said to her in normal volume, shaking his head a little bit, breaking himself and Caroline out of the spell they accidently tumbled into. She jumped back from him, moving further into the room, away from his position close to the door, she held her wrist where the bracelet sat, the weight of it was comforting.
"Thank you," Kol silently nodded to her, he gave her a final look, lingering on her bracelet before he nodded once more and left the room, leaving Caroline alone again to take in her surroundings.
She had gotten the promise she came here for, even with Klaus gone he still somehow managed to leave her speechless. He still managed to outdo anyone who's ever showed interest for her attention before. She had come to Klaus's room seeking some type of closure, she supposes she found a semblance of it.
Always and Forever.
A/N: No one can tell me that Caroline and Kol wouldn't have had some major tension between them if they were given more then a minor connection to each other lol
Hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to drop a review :)
***ANSWERS TO REVIEWS***
To DarylDixon'sLover: Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked this first chapter :)
To Shadow: Merci beaucoup d'avoir commenté :) J'adore les couples insolites en général, Kol et Caroline font partie de mes couples préférés. Ils seraient si bien ensemble. J'ai hâte d'en poster d'autres pour que tout le monde lise lol. Au fait, j'ai utilisé Google Translate, donc je suis désolé si quelque chose est difficile à lire.