"Mom, I miss your cooking like, every day. The caterers at the school are okay, but…" Lizzie raved as she shoveled in bites of cassoulet.
"Oh, this is so much better than the mush they feed us at school," Josie agreed as she swallowed the perfect forkful of pork, duck, and white beans.
"Actually, Klaus made it," Caroline announced with a smile. Klaus looked up from his plate with a sideways grin as the table of Saltzman's glanced his way.
"I have a fondness for French food. After all, I was known as the King of New Orleans," he chuckled softly.
"You make it better than Aunt Freya," Hope commented after a sip of water.
"Well, I've had centuries to perfect my version," the hybrid said with a wink. Caroline was pleased with how this evening, that she'd stressed over for days, was going well. Ric wasn't saying much, just taking long sips of bourbon, but she figured it could be worse.
"Wait, so how old are you exactly?" Lizzie inquired. Josie elbowed her in the side, whispering that it was likely a rude question.
"Someone should have been paying attention during your Origins of Vampirism class," Alaric stated. He stared ahead at Klaus, who sat at the opposite head of the table.
"We didn't really keep track of years back then, but I was born sometime around 980 A.D.," Klaus explained.
"So, he's basically ancient," Caroline said with a laugh.
"Wait, were you alive during Roman Empire? Because that would be so cool!" Josie asked.
"No, I'm afraid that was before even my time," Klaus chuckled. "We were Vikings, who traveled over to the new world, right here to Mystic Falls actually," he explained.
"Dad, you should ask Mr. Mikaelson to do a special assembly, like Bonnie sometimes used to do. I bet some of the textbooks you and Dorian wrote are missing some details. Plus, it'd be super cool to hear the stories told first-hand," Josie rambled excitedly to Alaric.
"You just want to get out of chemistry of magic," Lizzie mumbled.
"So? It'd still be cool," Josie replied innocently.
"I'm sure Mr. Mikaelson has a lot going on, you know, with his new house and recent move to Mystic Falls," Alaric said in dismissal. Caroline sipped her water silently, knowing that Ric wasn't giving Klaus a fair chance. He was being rude on purpose, perhaps to make Klaus snap.
"I wouldn't want to embarrass Hope anyway," Klaus said with forced lightness. Hope's eyes caught her father's glance and she smiled a silent 'thank you'.
"Who has room for pie?" Caroline said brightly, filling the lull in the conversation with her bubbly charm.
"So, this is the library. Well, my dad usually uses this to house his paintings," Hope was explaining. She'd been prompted by all three parental figures to give the Saltzman twins a tour of the house.
"Nice," Josie said sweetly. Lizzie had yet to say much of anything, just looking around with a neutral expression. Hope found it a bit irritating, but she ignored it.
"That's basically it…" Hope said once they entered the hallway that lead to the main living space.
Before the girls made it to the living room, Lizzie grabbed Hope's arm.
"Look, I know we haven't always gotten along," she began.
"More like never," Hope added quietly.
"-but if my mom and your dad are going to stay together, which I personally totally support because they're like couple goals, we should make an effort to get along." Lizzie glanced away from Hope's eyes as she finished speaking.
"Lizzie's right. Why don't we start over?" Josie chimed in.
"I-I'd like that, I think," Hope said with a small smile.
With a nod, Lizzie led them back out into the living room, where someone had lit a fire and Ric, Caroline, and Klaus were seated on, talking quietly. Alaric noticed the trio first.
"You girls getting along?"
"Of course, Daddy. We were on our best behavior," Lizzie said with an air of sarcasm. Ric rolled his eyes.
"Your house is really nice," Josie said, looking pointedly at Klaus.
"I can't take the credit. Your mother did most of the decorations, and what was already here was picked out by my sister Rebekah," Klaus explained with his crooked smile.
"Well, girls. Ready to get going?" Alaric said, standing.
The twins went to the front closet to put their coats back on as Ric stood awkwardly in front of his daughter's adoptive mother, his brightest student, and her ancient father.
"It's been a pleasure. Come back around anytime," Klaus announced with his typical Mikaelson charm. He and Ric shook hands.
"See, it wasn't so bad, was it?" Caroline asked, standing to give Ric a goodbye hug.
"No. I think you quelled my fears," Ric said shortly, looking over Caroline's blonde curls to make eye contact with Klaus. "See you on Monday," he said to Hope and Caroline.
"Bye Hope. Nice to meet you Mr. Mikaelson!" the twins said in their eerie twin unison that they sometimes did.
"See ya," Hope said with a wave.
"Ric just texted me and said that the girls and Hope bonded," Caroline told Klaus as they got ready for bed. "I knew they just needed a push."
"I think I'd call it more of a truce," Klaus corrected. Caroline raised her eyebrows. "I was listening," he chuckled while pointing at his ears. "They decided to start over because we are so couple goals' and the three of them know they're going to be seeing each other around a lot more now." Caroline erupted in laughter at Klaus impression of a teenage girl's voice.
"I'll take 'a truce' over enemies," Caroline finally said.
"Don't discount the power of enemies, Caroline. That's where we started, wasn't it?" he pointed out with amusement.
"Touché."