Author's note: Thanks for all of your reviews! You guys are awesome! And to the guest reviewer whose bday is on the 30th – Happy early bday and I hope you like these latest Klaroline drabble bday gifts!
Prompt: "Who ate all my candy?"
"You don't find it the least bit suspicious that there's an elaborate, life-sized, gingerbread house tucked away in this forest," Klaus asked dryly, watching his brother, Kol, gorge himself on a white chocolate shutter.
Briefly pausing to lick his fingers before breaking off a large piece of another shutter, he replied, "We're Originals, Nik, there's nothing in this forest more dangerous than us. Besides, this is a spectacular white chocolate blended with a hint of Hungarian paprika. That extraordinary taste alone is worth it."
"The shutters on the other side are blended with Garam masala, or did you already scarf those down, little piggy" a new voice icily told them as an irritated woman suddenly appeared before them, clutching a broomstick and glowering at both of them. "Who ate all my candy," she asked, impatiently shoving some of her windswept blond hair back underneath her witch's hat. Pointing at Klaus, she added, "Did you eat my house too or just your friend? I can make two little piggies just as easily as one," she threatened with a fire in her blue gaze that Klaus found immensely appealing.
"Easy, love, I'm sure we can compensate you for any damage my wayward brother may have caused," Klaus said smoothly, his teasing smirk growing as he saw the way the lovely little witch's hands curled into fists, her magic shedding brief flurries of pink glitter in her anger. "I'm Klaus and this is Kol," he added, sweeping in to kiss her knuckles and letting out a surprised chuckle when some of the pink glitter petulantly stung his lips.
"Caroline," she bit out, snatching back her hand with the prettiest scowl Klaus had ever seen.
Kol noticed their exchange with glee, nudging his brother to say, "The little witch seems a bit cross, Nik. Perhaps if you offer to bring her a tasty child?"
"No thanks — they're really high in cholesterol and my doctor told me to cut back on the Hansels and Gretels in my diet," she told them with a small pout. At the brothers' gobsmacked expressions, she rolled her eyes, exclaiming, "Seriously?! Hurtful stereotypes like that are what's wrong with the supernatural community!"
Klaus glared at his brother, whose obnoxious laughter wasn't helping matters, telling the fiery witch, "Apologies, love. We'll be happy to pay for Kol's impolite snacking, if we have your word you won't turn us into pigs," he offered with a flirtatious smirk.
Caroline crossed her arms in front of her, studying them both as though judging their sincerity. Finally nodding, she told them, "Fine. But you're paying for everything Kol touched AND you're both helping with the repairs." Eyeing Klaus' hands for a moment, she told him with a wink, "I hope you're good with an icing spatula."
Prompt: "You give floss out to trick-or-treaters, don't you?"
"We have to burn my tooth," Henrik said in a voice that was so matter-of-fact, Klaus had to replay his little brother's words several times to make sure he heard him correctly. Fortunately, the waiting room at the pediatric dentist's was empty, so Klaus felt comfortable asking him, "Why would you say that?"
Shrugging, the little boy continued coloring at the table, fixing his innocent gaze on his older brother as he explained, "So the witch won't have power over me. The kids in my class said that an old witch takes your teeth and casts spells and then you're hers. So, when you lose a tooth, you have to burn it so she can't take you."
Klaus felt a chill go down his spine at Henrik's words, thinking back to several articles he read online after he moved them to the small town of Mystic Falls a few months ago. There was a series of child abductions several years ago that were never solved. The authorities had been baffled and while no arrests were made, the disappearances stopped as suddenly as they began.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the disturbing images, he patted Henrik on his shoulder and reassured him, "That's just a silly story made up to scare people. I think we should do a tradition from when I was a kid and put your baby tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy to find and leave you money."
While Henrik looked intrigued at the idea of earning pocket money, he still seemed hesitant to let go of the witch story that frightened him so much. Before he could say anything, the assistant led them back to the exam room where they were greeted by a lovely blonde wearing a traditional white doctor's coat.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Forbes, but you can call me Caroline," she told them with a warm smile, shaking both of their hands, which made Henrik's small chest puff up with pride.
Favoring her with a flirtatious smile, he said, "I'm Klaus and this is my little brother, Henrik." He admired the slight flush that came to her cheeks, and he wondered if it would be too forward to ask her out once Henrik's appointment was done.
As though realizing they had stared at each other a bit too long to be considered strictly platonic, Caroline busied herself helping Henrik into a padded exam chair painted a cheerful blue. Henrik's eyes grew round with wonder as he discovered the enormous underwater-themed mural on the ceiling. "I really like fishes and sharks are my favorite," he happily chirped, pointing at a beautifully rendered tiger shark.
Klaus glanced up, taken aback by the extraordinary detail he found, from the vibrant orange of the fire coral to the iridescent school of fish swimming in formation. "What a marvelous creation," he commented, his artist's eye catching more and more amazing detail the longer he stared. "It looks so realistic."
"My friend Bonnie is a local artist. She can work magic with her paintbrushes," she bragged, the fondness in her tone foolishly making him wonder what it would take for her to speak of him with such warmth.
Henrik looked slightly worried as he asked Caroline, "Is she a witch?"
"Why do you ask," Caroline gently probed, setting aside her dentist tools to give him her full attention.
"Because of the old witch who used magic to cast spells on your baby teeth and then she takes you away," he told her with a slight tremor in his voice.
At the questioning glance she threw Klaus, he hastily explained, "We've only lived here a few months and some of the children in Henrik's class brought up a nonsense legend to scare him."
"I see," she nodded, telling Henrik, "Small towns like Mystic Falls take a little while to warm up to new people, and sometimes they say mean things like that scary story just to see what you'll say. I've only lived here a few years myself and when I first opened my practice, it took a bit before people became my friends. In fact, the locals still think of me as the new girl."
Henrik was persistent, a trait Klaus feared he inherited from him, as he questioned, "So you know about the evil old witch?"
"That's just a scary story. I promise evil witches don't exist here. But I know for a fact that good exists and there are people who want to make the world better for everyone," she told him in a serious voice, her blue eyes displaying a kindness that instantly had Klaus under her spell.
Henrik's voice was small and on the verge of cracking when he asked her in a hushed whisper, "Do you promise?"
Giving him a sweet smile, she held out her pinky and hooked it with the little boy's. "I promise," she told him solemnly. Klaus felt his breath hitch as he watched Caroline's tender interaction with his brother.
As though noticing the way Klaus was staring at her, she cleared her throat, turning to the x-rays on her monitor, observing, "From Henrik's x-rays, his first and second primary molars have begun to touch, which is what we'd expect in this age range. I don't see any cavities or shadows which could indicate periodontal disease; Henrik has been taking great care of his teeth." She high-fived his brother, telling him, Good job!"
As he watched Caroline give his brother a glittering gold sticker, he couldn't help but feel ridiculously pleased with himself, as though he gained the lovely dentist's approval too. "Keep brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and floss regularly." Glancing at Klaus with a twinkle in her eye, she said, "I'm expected to tell you to only eat candy every once in a while, but tonight's Halloween and I bet your big brother has an epic trick-or-treat rout planned for you. So maybe just promise me that you'll brush your teeth after every candy binge, ok?"
"You give floss out to trick-or-treaters, don't you," Klaus asked wryly.
Helping Henrik out of the chair, she rolled her eyes at Klaus, telling him, "Yes, but the floss comes in these really cute pumpkin dispensers and taste like pumpkin pie." She handed his brother a small gift bag with cartoon teeth wearing witch hats, filled with toothpaste and the pumpkin-shaped floss dispensers that Henrik immediately started playing with. Smirking at Klaus, she said, "And I bet my trick-or-treaters will enjoy theirs too."
As she walked them out, Klaus' thoughts were racing, trying to determine a clever way to ask her out without it being awkward. Be casual. Keep it light. Just say something offhandedly. Caroline smelled like peppermint toothpaste and sunshine and it had completely thrown off his game.
She surprised him when she quietly murmured, "I usually hang out at Bonnie's bar, The Anchor. Maybe I'll see you around."
"Count on it," Klaus said, feeling the tips of his ears redden at her pleased grin.
Caroline waved at them as they pulled out of the parking lot, her pleasant smile slowly changing into a vicious blade as she returned to her exam room to gaze up at the elaborate mural. Splaying her nails wide until wisps of crimson smoke swirled around the images, creating a howling vortex to another dimension. A haggard crone appeared, gasping for breath as she failed to expel the saltwater from her lungs. Rendered speechless by Caroline's magic, she sent a searing glare her way that only caused the clever blonde to chuckle in amusement.
Caroline swore, "Foolish witch, I swear by my power you will never harm another child again."
Prompt: "Shh, candy now, world-ending problems later."
Her enemy had fallen this Hallows' Eve. He just didn't know it yet. Caroline's blue eyes glittered maliciously, a hint of her wolf gold still remained as she gazed upon Elijah's broken form restrained by the barrier spell that Enzo, their pack's shaman, had placed upon the disgraced beta.
Years ago, she'd run afoul of the powerful Mikaelson pack when she'd been a roaming omega, snacking on a delicious buck that had crossed her path. She hadn't known she was on their territory until Elijah suddenly appeared, his biting, ugly words about her lowly omega status bothering her more than she cared to admit. Not one to mince words, Caroline snarled, startling the standoffish beta by lashing out with her claws, slicing just underneath his jawline. "That was a warning. You won't get another," she swore.
"What a fierce little wolf you are," a new voice commented, as an attractive, dimpled stranger stepped into the clearing, the heat in his gaze surprising her with its intensity. And that was how she'd met Klaus, ruthless alpha of the infamous Mikaeslon pack. Despite the irksome way her heart began to race in his presence, she'd every intention of moving on with her travels, but instead Klaus had enticed her to extend her stay.
While Elijah had learned his lesson and didn't outwardly challenge Caroline again, she often caught him scowling at her while running a finger along the scar her claws had left behind. The underlying animosity of the beta complicated her stay with the pack, but she paid no mind as she expected to be leaving soon. But then she and Klaus realized they were mates.
Caroline had settled into her duties nicely as the alpha's mate, and while she stayed busy, she still noticed Elijah's unusual behavior. At first, she'd attributed it to his distaste of her humble pedigree; however, she'd traveled to the shadowy corners of the world and knew something about expression magics — and she realized Elijah now carried that familiar dark stench. Their pack beta, Klaus' brother, for fuck's sake, had betrayed them all and had sided with their worst enemies, Qetsiyah and her coven.
Convincing her mate of his brother's treachery had been a heartbreaking ordeal, but their bond gave them the strength to acknowledge what needed to be done. Klaus trusted her implicitly and she fought by his side under the blue moon when Elijah attempted to sacrifice their pack elders in a blood ritual to free the coven's desolate god, Silas. Qetsiyah used her magic to bind Klaus in chains, and it tore Caroline's soul when she realized as his second, her first duty was to protect the pack.
And that meant battling Elijah. She unleashed her white wolf, sinking her powerful jaws into Elijah's forearm as she pulled him from the coven's fire-laden circle. Always so arrogant, he never believed in her power and the look of surprise on his face as he failed to throw her off of him was a memory she planned to treasure for years to come. When he stupidly tried to punch her in the face, Caroline lashed out with her fangs, cleanly severing one of his fingers as he attempted to transition into his wolf.
She spat out his claw, making note where her trophy fell, even as she continued to pin him to the forest floor with her superior strength while Enzo began his spell to keep Elijah in stasis before his trial. Qetsiyah's coven retreated once they lost Elijah, and Klaus had managed to free himself before Caroline reached him. They embraced, reaching out with their heightened senses to carefully catalogue each other's injuries.
Once the stress of the battle dissipated, their bond settled once more and Caroline welcomed the calming influence of his wolf. As his mate, she felt a duty to be his steady, reassuring source of strength as well, so she immediately jumped into a strategy session with him, quietly discussing their options and pulling in various pack sentinels on the trek back to their lands.
However, once they were home and Klaus left her briefly to contact their allies within regional packs, Caroline's wolf was restless, so she wandered into their enormous kitchen before finally succumbing to her desire to see her fallen enemy once again.
Which is why she found herself in the dungeon, stress-eating Halloween candy while toying with Elijah's freshly cleaned claw she'd ripped off. She intended to add it to a necklace she wore that contained all of her important battle trophies, including her first kill. She'd just settled more comfortably into the chaise she'd commandeered from one of the living rooms when Klaus' familiar scent surrounded her.
He sat next to her, rubbing the stubble along his jaw as he stared blankly at his brother's unconscious form. "All this time — it was Elijah who betrayed our pack."
"Yup," Caroline agreed, tearing open another package of caramel M&Ms and snacking on a handful.
"He aligned himself with Qetsiyah's coven and actively worked to free Silas," Klaus continued, running his fingers through his messy curls in exasperation.
Rummaging around the overflowing candy bowls, her eyes lit up with excitement as she found Ghirardelli chocolate pumpkin squares. Offering him one while quickly stashing the rest behind her back, she nodded, "And he was totally obvious about it."
"Caroline," Klaus growled irritably, "If Silas walks the earth again, the best-case scenario is triggering a violent war among the supernatural factions and at worst, causing the apocalypse."
Caroline leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose, purposely leaving a chocolate smear behind. "We hashed all of these details out with our pack sentinels on the way back from the battlefield. Let our people celebrate this initial victory. Nothing further is being decided tonight." As he opened his mouth to disagree, she kissed his cheek and firmly told him, "Shh, candy now, world-ending problems later."
