A/N

Hi, this is my first TVD or TO story. I had intended to file this as a crossover, however, the site didn't let me. I figured more people look into the TVD archive anyway.

This fic is a slow burn, very much so. I just wanted to make it realistic, as I feel like Klaus and Caroline wouldn't give into a relationship so easily, especially when they're in the opposite side of things. There's a lot of plot in this, but hopefully it's interesting enough to make you want to stick around for more.

What you need to know:

In TVD- Caroline had the twins and will be embarking in the same kind of relationship the writers gave her on the show (ugh, Alaric) not for long though, rest assured. The heretics don't exist. The thing with the Hunter Rayna Cruz happened, Stefan did run to New Orleans for help. Elena was never bound to the sleeping spell; she took the cure, and so did Damon. I can't remember if Bonnie was alive during this, but for the sake of this story, she was. Enzo's there too. They all remained in MF.

In TO- Everything up to season three happened, except, they were able to hold down Marcel before he was able to bite them. I guess Klaus defeated his sire line angry mob, and they found a cure for Rebekah's curse.

This story unfolds two years after the events I just mentioned.

I'm sorry for the long a/n. I really hope you enjoy this.

/

I.

Countless times had Klaus Mikaelson stepped out of whatever was currently threatening both his life and his family's safety, only to think back on everything that ever gave him joy. The amusing part of the matter was that, he didn't have to reminisce for long. His mind could wander back as far as his early infant years, when both his humanity and his will to live had been intact. When he had been innocent enough to think that life would ultimately get better; that his father wouldn't live on to hate him forever. Sometimes, more often than he liked to admit, he would think of Aurora, whose sleeping corpse continued to reside in the basement of his family home. She who had held onto his heart for the better part of a millenium, and had only a few years back shown him her true psychotic colors, not that he had been very surprised by this. Then, of course, Klaus would think of his years living as the one and true king of New Orleans three hundred years ago, his family safe and intact; some awake and some with a dagger in their chest. Those were the years of glory and prosperity he liked to look back on the most, even while his world tumbled around him.

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose, as he often did when he found his reality to be exasperating. Clearing his throat and watching the day go by from the library of his home, he returned to the comfort that his own memories provided. The good ones, though scarce were more than enough to gift him relief on a couple of bad years. Taking another big gulp of his bourbon, he remembered the town of Mystic Falls, small and quaint, but not nearly big enough to hold the entirety of the Mikaelson family ever again. He had known this, and yet, he had once expected to make a home out of it, no matter all the vampires and witches that wanted them out -wanted him out. He thought of the Salvatore brothers, who were now rumored to be human. However, Klaus had never liked to be guided by hearsay and he wasn't even that interested in the matter to find out for himself. A breathy laugh escaped his lips when he recalled the doppelganger and the foolish cure. If only he could turn back time and remove himself from that whole situation; truth was, his need for hybrids hadn't been that all too important. An now that he had Hope, nothing else much mattered to him anymore.

Not the Salvatores.

Not Elena Gilbert.

Definitely not Mystic Falls.

Still, he betrayed himself by even thinking so, it wasn't half the truth. He cared very much for one person still residing there. Most likely smiling at her own daughters, relishing in the few years she had left in that town, before everyone started wondering why she didn't look a day over seventeen...why her daughters seemed to have out aged her. Just a few years, Klaus said to himself, before Caroline Forbes starts experiencing the true curse of being a vampire. How time is but a mere term, and it holds no meaning to creatures like themselves. Nevertheless, Klaus hoped more than anything, that she would be able to find a way around all that, that she could indeed have all the things she wanted, all at once.

Taking another drink from his nearly empty glass, he focused his hearing on the rest of the people that ever brought him any happiness. Elijah was talking to Haley yet again, only feet away from the other, the street coming in between them and their balconies. Klaus smirked and held the pressing need to roll his eyes. Truth be told, he had grown extremely tired of this game his brother and the mother of his child seemed to have been playing over the past three years. Jackson was dead now, but Hayley remained stubborn through it all, saying she wasn't ready to come back to the compound; Klaus knew it was more like she wasn't ready to face Elijah, or her feelings for him. He understood the grieving process, much more than he would've liked to. Camille...she had had no business in this world of constant danger and blood shed. She deserved so much better than the agony and regrets that stood with her upon her last breath. His grip on the glass tightened until it broke on his hand, making more noise than expected, but enough to draw Elijah's attention to him. Klaus tightened his jaw when he saw his brother step inside, having only excused himself with Hayley a second earlier.

"Niklaus," he started, eyeing him steadily. A questioning look headed towards him. "What is it?"

"Don't, Elijah." he warned, his temper drawing up. His little drive down memory lane and the good mood it had inspired in him, completely gone.

"You've been like this for days." Klaus smirked wickedly, clearly amused by Elijah's carefully laid words.

"I'm surprised you noticed at all, brother. What with all the cosy little talks you've been having with Hayley." He threw, almost as a challenge. Seeing how much Elijah would tolerate. But before he could truly test his older sibling's coolness, he stood, now having other things in mind. "Marcellus?"

Elijah looked away from his brother and took a moment to answer, walking towards the bar as he did so. "Still in chains, still harmless. For now."

Klaus said nothing, watching as Elijah poured himself a drink and went ahead with getting his brother a new glass. He only nodded to him as he took the beverage offered. Gulping away his feelings, he reminded himself not to ever focus on the sounds coming from the subterranean level of the house, where the dungeons were. Because if he did, he could hear Marcel's agony loud and clear, and know for sure that he was the sole cause of his torments. His, once, son and pupil, now held residence inside a binding spell, with Tunde's dager inside his chest, chains grovelling all around him. Klaus comforted himself saying that it was better than having him dead. But he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Has Freya made any progress?" he questioned Elijah, eager. His older sister had him on the outs at the moment, deciding that she didn't need his constant critics and pressure piled up into her already time-sensitive task. His rage spiked at the reminder that he seemed to have that same effect on everyone who ever entered his life.

"She thinks so," he paused, "I, however, don't happen to agree with her diagnosis."

Klaus frowned, examining Elijah's expression. He could read his brother like a book but he was afraid he wasn't even certain on what he was looking for. For one, the older Mikaelson appeared rather calm and gathered, not to say he wasn't always, but Klaus always expected to catch a glimpse of something more when anything wasn't going according to plan.

"What do you mean?" he asked, finally.

A sound distracted him, Hope was crying from the other side of the street, he gathered himself once he heard Hayley attempt to soothe her. He suppressed the smile on his face as he watched her step out into the balcony again with Hope in her arms. His smile wasn't suppressed for long though. Elijah turned around and watched the same scene Klaus did. Hayley and Hope waving at them, glee exuding all around them. "Say hi to your dad." She whispered to their daughter, knowing Klaus would listen.

Elijah looked down for a second, a glimpse of joy in his eyes. He returned his attention back to Klaus, knowing that when his brother finally learned what Freya had discovered, those rare moments of happiness with Hope would become much more scarce. So he patted his brother on the shoulder.

"It can wait, Niklaus. Go to your daughter." He urged, and Klaus nodded, leaving his half empty glass on the bar. Walking out the room at full speed, only moments later he was inside Hayley's apartment, holding onto Hope like he always did: like it would be the last time he ever got to.

/

Caroline sat still in the living room of her childhood home, relishing in the calmness that often came with nights in her household. The twins put to sleep and Alaric either in the same knocked out state, or shut off in his home office. However, tonight wasn't just any other night. A sense of nervousness came upon her as she recalled their earlier discussion. The twins, as always, the set upon topic. Yes, they needed a grounded and loving family, one which could only be achieved by an united front of their parents. Alaric seemed to think that marriage was the only way to get that.

He had confessed that he had bought a ring a couple of months ago, with the intention of popping the question when the time was right. He had almost said this to Caroline with a tone of remorse as he had shown her the frightening small velvety box. He had let it slip while they were having a fight. Caroline had gasped, letting her shock get the best of her, but hadn't said anything else. Alaric had found it in himself to stop yelling when Caroline inevitably started crying.

He had assumed it was because of Stefan that she hadn't instantly said yes. However, he couldn't have been more wrong; while Stefan would always have a part of her heart, she no longer pinned after his return, which seemed all the more impossible as the years went by. And she didn't know the reason for this. Because, a couple of years prior, none other than Klaus Mikaelson had called and told her that his family and he had gotten rid of the hunter Rayna Cruz, she had been gone for some time now. Stefan, however, had made his choice clear when he didn't even attempt to call Caroline.

Her heartbreak had been bad, almost immobilizing and Ric had watched it all. Stood by her when it seemed she was on the brink of breaking. Of switching it off again. The twins had prevented that from happening, she was a mother now and she couldn't afford to be that selfish. The same statement stood its relevance then; she couldn't get herself to make her girls grow up in a broken home, no matter the circumstances leading up to it. She knew what she had to do in order to ensure her daughters' happiness and a chance at a normal childhood, which had been robbed of them since the second they were born.

No, it wasn't Stefan Salvatore that made her unable to answer Alaric's proposal. It was her own self-doubt. A somewhat normal life with Lizzie and Josie, and of course, their father, was as close a happiness Caroline ever deemed possible. She didn't think she deserved it. After all those years of tearing out hearts and making impossible decisions, after dancing with life and death like it was nothing, she couldn't bring herself to feel worthy of a boring suburban life. Of the life she had always dreamed of as a little girl. The fact that all of those things were even up to grasp was unreal for Caroline. She was a vampire, had been so for several years now: a destroyer of life, a robber of blood and light...and she was supposed to act like being chair of the Mystic Falls beautification committee was normal?

Running a hand through her hair she decided that it wasn't up to her to decide anymore. Her life was more complicated now. Looking around the spotless living room she had decorated herself, the answer didn't seem all that difficult anymore. Because, even when she desired otherwise, she didn't have any other choice. It was petty of her to think like this, but she couldn't help herself; being alone was all that ever frightened her anymore. Stefan was gone, Tyler too, Matt even. Alaric was there, only a few doors away, and waiting, loving her more than she could ever bring herself to love him. So she stood, leaving her drink aside, with a speech in mind, like always.

Caroline opened the door to his study, analyzing every single detail of the books hoarded all around, the alternative art pieces that he insisted were tasteful, and the various bottles of liquor standing position, everywhere it seemed. Alaric looked up, his frown didn't lessen in intensity, but she could feel his own anticipation. She listened to his heartbeat without intending to. It felt as though she was invading the privacy of his feelings, which she supposed she was. He was nervous and slightly drunk, as usual, and he had his lips pursed too. He was angry still and she could understand. Because she always did; it was her never ending job to be the sensitive one, the one who could always be accepting, in the end, at least.

"What are you doing?" she asked, attempting to break the ice, letting herself inside the room and closing the door behind her, leaning against the painted wood of it.

Alaric looked away, as if he wanted to ignore her presence altogether, but he couldn't. After all, he was in love with her, and that fact alone prevented him from ever doing just that. He sighed deeply and closed his laptop shut, relaxing his features with intent. He held a hand up in the air, bowing his head slightly and in doing so, inviting Caroline to take a seat from across himself. She did.

"I'm sorry, Caroline, for yelling. I thought...I thought I knew what your answer would be." he stated, more pained than he had ever sounded to Caroline. She took it to heart too, because even while she didn't fully reciprocate his feelings, she cared for him deeply. The truly amazing father of her twins and even more amazing partner in raising them, how could she even think twice about her response when those facts hovered around her every day?

"Ric, don't apologize. I was insensitive to react the way I did, you just caught me by surprise." She explained, expecting that those words were enough to ease the animosity between them. He nodded and a sly smirk appeared on his face.

"I know, and like I told you, I had something slightly less dramatic planned." he replied, smiling now, and Caroline found herself mirroring his expression, his affection in it too. Clearing his throat, he started speaking again. "I don't want you to feel pressured into this. Whatever your answer is, I'll respect it."

She knew he would. Caroline looked down to her trembling fingers, glad that being a vampire hadn't yet robbed her of basic human reaction. Anxious, she examined her lonely wedding finger, accessories forgotten that day, her hand looked almost naked and longing. She had once thought that she would marry Tyler one day; they would live in his ostentatious estate, dodging his mother's calls and swimming in the possibilities that the supernatural had gifted them. Tyler was human now, not even a werewolf anymore unless he dared trigger his curse yet again. And Stefan, who had also once promised her an eternity of love, now lost to her and the world, not even Damon had heard of him. She looked up, with a tear running down her cheek.

"I want to, Ric." she said, surprising even herself with the certainty of her words. Smiling up to him, she hoped he didn't need more confirmation, fearing she wouldn't be able to say it again.

Alaric raised from his seat instantly, relief going through his system, he rounded the desk and stared down at her with an everlasting grin. "Are you sure?"

A breath caught in her throat, she nodded, letting more tears leave her eyes. She stood too and quickly embraced her newly found fiancé, hiding her face on his neck. His arms held her tightly as he let out an euphoric laugh. She couldn't believe it either, but it was then that her new reality started to coax around her.

Ric pulled her tenderly off his body, and looked at her with adoring eyes, like he always did, ever since the twins were born. He reached his pants pocket and retrieved the forgotten velvety box, he opened it again, this time knowing fully well what the outcome would be. There was no need to ask the question anymore, he just pulled the ring out and slid it up Caroline's slender finger. She smiled down at it, for the new beginning it represented.

"We can still make it a June wedding." he said, his hands moving to cup her cheeks. Caroline smiled, now with dried tears marking her face, she nodded. Left speechless at what was happening. "I love you, Caroline."

They kissed, for the first time in their lifetime. She couldn't believe she was now engaged to a guy she had only kissed once, and after he had asked the question. Furthermore, she couldn't believe she would one day be married to her former high school history teacher. She shook off her thoughts as she shied away from his lips, trying not to feel miserable when she couldn't say she loved him back.

/

So, please tell me what you think. Tell me also if you think I should continue to post to this story. I really don't know if I'm nailing the vibe needed for a Klaroline fanfic.

Thanks for reading!