While watching Original Sin for the fifty badillionth time I had a klaroline moment, and because I am obsessed, I wanted to write it out.
I do apologize for the spelling mistakes before, when I reread it some didn't even make sense. But I've finished it now, I hope you will enjoy. :)
Klaus Mikaelson, the head of a coffee company, had lost it all. He spent his time holed up in his room, not taking any visitors. Not even Elijah. Not even Cami. She had insisted she could help him, but she had no idea what the problem had been. When she had been waiting on Caroline hand and foot, she had not noticed the looks passed between him and his new wife. Learning Caroline had been meant only as a bearer of children, and hearing he did not care to be in love, she had dismissed the competition for the man's heart.
She hadn't watched Caroline and him, slowly falling in love. Hadn't known they'd spent many countless nights making love. She'd been the inspiration behind many parties, the reason he was kinder to his compatriots, and had ceased beating his servants.
But Camille had seen it immediately when Caroline had left one afternoon, not coming back. And with investigation he'd learned she had been known as Meredith to all but him. She was a con woman, and never left her victims alive.
Why had he been left alive?
He tried to follow her trail, but she'd left no such thing. She'd been a ghost who'd stolen all from him. Now he wasn't entirely sure she'd been more than a figment of his imagination.
Drinking became a good idea. The days turned into months without her by his side, and the months turned him drunk and insane.
Until he went out of his room to get a cup of coffee with his head mistress that thought she was making headway. He just thought being sober would give him a clearer plan.
A plan to kill her. Then the ache would go away.
One of his businessmen he'd sent out had come back and told him she had stopped in Spain. Not much else, but he booked a flight there the next hour, and refused to listen to anything anyone had to say on the matter. His business was already down the drain. Without Caroline by his side he didn't think his life would carry on for much longer. Although without knowing where she was he was basically taking a vacation.
Klaus went into a restaurant and the waiter told him all the restaurant provided. Food, drink, music, women. The beautiful women the waiters had gestured to were not in his peripheral vision as he scanned the place, the moment he entered. But he just wanted food. And made the mistake of telling the waiter he had no need of company, because he had a wife. The waiter left him without a word and he was stuck there, watching people go by until he could get a menu.
"If I got my coffee before I got ready, I would be very happy, it would change the day." He overhead. Carefully he turned and looked behind him.
There she was.
"I would be very happy...it would change the day." He'd heard those words one of the first days they were married, before they had consummated their marriage. Caroline had come in with coffee and made it before him, pouring in creamer although he took it black. When she'd handed it to him it tasted wonderful. He'd started taking creamer in his coffee from then on.
The same waiter came by, menu in hand. Klaus caught his wrist before the man passed.
"Excuse me; I thought I saw someone I know." He began. He gestured towards Caroline.
"The blonde woman on the arm of the rich man?" The waiter asked. Klaus nodded, faking innocence. If he showed his jealousy the waiter would scurry off. "That is Miss Meredith, fiancé of Count Jirah."
"F-fiancé?" He replied, surprised.
"Yes sir, have you not heard the news? Jirah has swept the young lady off of her feet." The waiter replied, acting as if he cherished the upcoming union. Klaus felt an urge to put his hands around the man's neck.
"Thank you very much sir, I'll take another minute to decide." Klaus replied, gritting his teeth. The waiter left, oblivious to the sudden change in body language, and after deliberating how he'd depart, Klaus did so, going to his room to get his gun.
He learned what room Caroline was staying in and was thankful the clerk did not include the Count's name in the information given. Caroline was living there alone. Possibly. He knocked at the door to the room and held his gun inside his jacket. If Caroline was inside he'd merely point it at her, she wouldn't protest. But no one answered. When he opened the door, he made sure no one was around, and then hid in the closet. Caroline and Count Jirah came to the room not five minutes later. He gritted his teeth as Jirah ran his hands over his wife. Caroline seemed uninterested though. She talked about his finances until Jirah decided the next morning she would be more agreeable. He left without complaint from his fiancé and Klaus waited another few minutes until Caroline was dressed for bed, and reading under the covers.
The doors to her closet opened and she did not notice until he appeared at the foot of her bed.
Luckily she didn't scream, regardless of the gun she saw at his side. She merely jumped with a small gasp, her eyes locked on his.
"It's only me, Caroline." Klaus greeted with a growl. "You haven't forgotten me, have you?" He mocked her. Caroline's glare reached him and he went around to the side of her bed. "What is that you're reading?" He asked
"Just something to quiet my mind." She replied in the same low tone he was using.
"Mm, quieting the mind." Klaus mused, turning away. "Is that what the men in your life are for? Quieting the mind, until you have drained every last penny from their pretty bank accounts..." He came back to her and gripped her chin tightly in his hand. "Is that what Count Jirah is for?" Caroline looked at him.
"Jirah, yes. You...no." She replied.
"Heh. Liar..." Klaus said, throwing her chin away, walking around her bed. He raised his hand and pointed the gun at her. Caroline sat up, staring him point-blank in the eye.
"You're here to kill me." She noted.
"That I am." He agreed, and walked closer to her. Her eyes never left his.
"Alright, do it." She replied. Klaus by her bedside, she turned to him. "You know where to aim. Your money's gone."
"Gone." Klaus said with a grin "Just like any notion that you were ever my wife."
"I am still your wife." Caroline replied calmly.
"No you're not." He growled. "I waited for my wife to come back to me. For months on end. You know what I ended up doing?" He walked away from her to the foot of the bed, pacing back and forth. "I stayed in my room for the past eighteen months, Caroline. I waited for some sign you might've come back. All I received was silence."
"I would've come back-" Caroline protested. Klaus looked at her.
"If what?!" He roared
"If I thought you'd take me back." She replied. "I missed you too." Tears streamed down her face and he sighed in defeat. "I didn't think you'd take me back, Klaus, so I ran. I didn't know...until someone came here and saw me, and then ran off." She said. Klaus gave her a look.
"You knew it was one of my men?" He asked.
"Yes. But I still thought even if you knew where I was..."
"That I would never forgive you for humiliating me? Yes, you're quite right about that." Klaus replied. Such lies had never been uttered from his mouth. He immediately cast down his eyes, refusing to apologize. Caroline blinked at him.
"I was going to say, even if you knew where I was you wouldn't come for me. You wouldn't try to contact me, because you thought I didn't want you anymore." She said quietly.
Instantly his heart ached. How could he stay angry at his beautiful wife while she sobbed before him, knowing he was the reason for her tears? Yelling in frustration, he stalked the room, coming in fast and pointing the gun at her head again.
"This conning job is all I've ever known." She sobbed. "It's all I have to survive on. But then I met you. I didn't want to take your money, I didn't want to deceive but you…"
"WHY NOT?!" He thundered, gun shaking in his hand, the tip against her skull.
"Because! Damn it I was falling in love with my own husband." She replied, regaining her breath. He grabbed her hair and flung her from the bed, the sheets flying in all different directions, Caroline falling to her knees, her head bowed. Klaus went to his knees before her and grabbed her shoulders.
"WHORE! LIAR! THIEF!" Klaus thundered.
"YES! YES YES?!" She screamed back in anger
"CAN'T YOU SEE? I CANNOT BREATHE WITHOUT YOU! I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT YOU! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?! CAN'T YOU SEE HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU" Klaus roared. His anger dissipated like fog. His anxiety lessened, his mind cleared. He'd hurt her. He hurt Caroline.
"I'm sorry!" She cried, tears falling again. He scooted closer to her and gently picked her chin up with one finger, looking in her eyes. She had a look of defiance in her eye, just as she always did. Defiance and acceptance. He looked her over, making sure he hadn't left bruises, combing through her hair and burying his hand in it, kissing her head and embracing her. Caroline held onto him as well, letting her silent tears flow until enough kisses had made her forget why she had been crying.
It didn't take long for them to remember eachother by every inch. As if eighteen months hadn't passed between them.
The morning came and Klaus was swaddled under the Spanish cotton blankets, Caroline behind him. She had her chin buried in his neck, leaving little pecks along his skin, smiling as he turned to her.
"Will Jirah return this morning?" Klaus murmured, turning and embracing her, burying his face in her neck. Caroline grinned.
"Of course he will, he's under the impression we're engaged." She replied. Klaus pulled back and Caroline's expression turned to concern, her smile fading slightly.
"If I hadn't come, would you have married him as well?" Klaus asked. She gave him a look.
"Klaus, I said I do this to survive. I would have married him, but I would never have loved him. He is beneath me." She replied.
"He certainly hopes to be." He grumbled.
"Don't be jealous. When he comes today, I'll set him straight. He'll walk off, tail between his legs, and you and I will be home free." Caroline said. Klaus nodded silently. Caroline studied him and kissed his cheek. His eyes lifted to hers and she kissed the corner of his mouth. Klaus pulled her in again and they began to kiss more, almost hiding under the covers, until a knock came to the door. Klaus turned toward the door and glared at it, as if that would drive Jirah away.
"It's Jirah, my angel. Are you awake? Don't hurry. It gives me the greatest pleasure to wait outside your door. Unless of course, you were to let me in." He greeted in a sultry manner. Klaus ground his jaw and glanced at Caroline, who was slightly annoyed. Klaus leapt from the bed, and walked to the door, having not drawn anything across his hips, he opened the door with a curt tug and found Count Jirah on his knee, having been staring through the keyhole. Jirah's jaw dropped.
"Good morning." Klaus greeted with a smug smile. Jirah looked away, his eyes wide and couldn't move for a moment.
"You are not dressed, sir" Jirah stammered, wavering in his stance.
"No, it appears I'm not." Klaus replied, then leaning toward the man. "I am engaged in private function. A function for which clothes are more of a hindrance than a help." He stood upright again and Jirah found his footing. "But none of that, please, come in." Klaus said, gesturing into the room.
"No sir, are you mad?!" Jirah exclaimed.
"Mad? No. I am merely curious as to your business at my wife's door." Klaus growled. Count Jirah's blanched expression turned to sadness. He relished in the small light in those beady eyes snuffing out like a candle.
"Wife?...Did you say….wife?" Jirah asked in a small voice. Caroline came to stand before Jirah as well, and Klaus thanked whatever god there was she didn't feel the need to be naked before him. Jirah's deadened eyes pierced through Caroline's and she smiled innocently at him.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir." Jirah said, turning back to Klaus, whose dark expression hadn't wavered. "I didn't know." He added in a hurt tone. Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes. Jirah left them, shaking slightly, and Klaus turned to Caroline who was hanging on his shoulder.
"You see?" Klaus said to her. Caroline gave him a look. "The past is gone. The future is ours to shape." Caroline smiled and he closed the door.
