Fate
Chapter Fifteen - Home is Where the Heart is
For years now Caroline's home hasn't been Mystic Falls. Some could say that it stopped being a home after Liz Forbes passed away, but yet she tried her hardest to stick around in a place just for her friends. Now she sits on a flight taking her back to the place called home, and nothing about it feels right. Despite her insides protesting that she return to New Orleans immediately, she ignores it and proceeds to grab her bags and head towards the gate that will take her into Tel Aviv.
Standing outside in the warm air she realizes just how much she's missed this place the last month and a half. For a few minutes the blonde stands outside the airport just breathing in the familiar scents that she had grown accustomed to over the last decade living here.
A taxi takes her towards the part of the city that she'd spent most of her time in, but Caroline wasn't sure who to go to upon her return. Or if she should even make her presence known. So instead she checks into a local hotel with a private room to herself and plans to stay hidden and get the lay of the land again. As she vamps through the shadows under the morning sun she takes notice of the old estate still in ruins, but it was slowly being rebuilt by someone it appeared.
Part of the her wonders who took over as leader when Caroline disappeared, and that's also the side that thinks this was the perfect opportunity for someone to claim that she wasn't the right leader. Maybe she wasn't, but maybe this was just like most places had been over the years...a temporary resting place.
In New Orleans, Klaus paces the floors of the compound as the rest of the group watches him in fascination. "Does anyone want to place bets as to when he's going to give in and go after her?" Kol states as he takes a sip of his blood bag and ignores the light slap on his arm he earns from Ingrid. "It's a reasonable bet love, you see how mad he is going and she's only been gone for a few hours."
The hybrid stops his movements to turn and growl at his younger brother before continuing his pattern of pacing and grumbling incoherent words. "See Kol, don't poke the bear...or wolf." Ingrid crosses her arms after pointing at Klaus and then usher a protesting Kol away from the scene before he could cause any further damage.
"Dad?" Hope questions as she slowly attempts to approach him, wishing that he would follow his heart for once in his millenia long existence. Instead of getting the response she wants her father continues to ignore most attempts at having a conversation.
Finally after what seems an eternity of silence, Hayley stomps into the room and interrupts Klaus' pacing. "You need to stop this, it's doing nothing first of all." He growls at the wolf as his eyes turn their golden shade for a brief moment. Pushing Hayley out of the way, Klaus continues to do what he's done since Caroline left; pace and plot and worry. "Second of all," the she-wolf states as she puts herself in his way once more. "You need to just go after Caroline for God's sake Klaus you're in love with her and she has some sort of feelings for you. Just work it out already!"
The hybrid stops to stare at his baby momma for a few moments, "when did you become so supportive of my romantic interests? Besides I thought you and Caroline never saw eye to eye."
"We didn't, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve a shot at happiness...even if it is with Caroline Forbes. The woman you fall for could've been worse though, and this brings me to my third and final point." Hayley reaches into her back pocket and pulls out two slips of paper that she places in Klaus' hand. "Here, take these. This should get you to where Caroline is and bring you both back here. Go get the girl Klaus."
A few hours into her stay in Tel Aviv, Caroline Forbes had already noticed strange changes to the atmosphere of the city she loved. The once crowded supernatural pit stops had become vacant or were destroyed completely. More bombings is what the public is said to believe. The truth was war had breached the city walls and the different species were at odds once again - a place they hadn't been for at least 300 years.
She wanders the alleyways in the shadows observing the vampires once in her inner circle, the witches she had trusted with her life before, and the wolves that were packing their belongings and fleeing the very city their packs had called home for centuries. Something was definitely different here and the blonde couldn't quite place her finger on what the exact culprit of this change was. Instead of confronting anyone though she remains hidden, probably best that way. She'd overheard a few witches talking earlier about how they all believed Caroline was taken or killed in the bombing of the estate over a month ago...if only they knew the truth.
Eventually she makes her way to a shop in the middle of the crowded marketplace. Finding a good scarf to cover her head with she can easily blend into the crowds and observe her home from a better vantage point. Of course that peace was easily disrupted when she turns around to spot five men focused solely on her in the crowd. Putting the safety of the citizens first, Caroline shoves her way through the crowd and heads towards an abandoned alleyway nearby.
"Alright come on! I know you're following me," she states whilst gently pulling her headscarf off to rest on her shoulders neatly.
The whooshing sound can be heard in her ear as the five men appear instantly in the alley. "So I'm assuming you're with whoever is in charge of my city now?"
Silence is what greets her instead of a cocky response she'd expected. "Oh, not big talkers huh? Let me see if I can fix that." The blonde focuses herself and let's the frustration she bundles up within pour out as black smoke from her hands. It pools on the ground and slithers like a snake towards the vampires who merely stand staring her down. "What the hell…" confusion floods Caroline as the smoke reached the men and they don't seem to be affected one bit.
Before she can prepare for combat, her body meets the wall behind her as she flies through the air and leaves a dent in the concrete she hits. Standing to her feet slowly she spits out blood and wipes her mouth and faces the five again. "Guess I actually have to fight this time."
The alleyway is filled with growls, grunts, and flashes as the six vampires battle between each other and slowly the 6 become four as Caroline rips out the hearts of two vampires simultaneously. The remaining three step back in shock over the greying bodies of their friends.
Caroline can feel their anger through her intuition as they charge at her all at once. That's how she finds herself pinned to the wall by two of the vampires as the third digs his hand in her chest. He wraps his fingers tightly around her heart and squeezes causing the blonde vampire to cry out gasping. She struggles against the two that hold her down whilst trying not to get her heart ripped out in the process.
Suddenly the guy to her right disappears and his body lands a few feet away with his head missing. The remaining vampires pause to look around in fear leaving Caroline a window to free herself. She pulls the hand out from her chest and kills him while the last one standing wraps his arms around her from behind in attempt to snap Caroline's neck. His movements half as a crunching sound is heart and his heart lands a foot away from them.
"Seems you did need rescuing love," and there he stands in his blood coated glory. The accent, the dimples, the hero attitude he always had around her.
'That's where the butterflies went' Caroline thinks to herself as she stares at Klaus Mikaelson. "How - how did you even know where to find me? I never told you where I was going let alone that I've ever been here before." She crosses her arms in an attempt to be abrasive towards him. It was her armor, her shield, and her only protection against falling for the one man who could completely destroy her if she let him in.
"It wasn't hard to find you once Hope told me where you had been living for the past decade. Quite a lovely place might I add," he smirks whilst gesturing to the five bodies scattered around them. "Though I do think they could re-decorate a little."
"I had it handled Klaus. No need to act all 'knight in shining armor.'" She straightens her shirt and attempts to hide the giant blood stained hole with her scarf.
When she leaves the alley, Klaus follows her closely observing how she weaves through the city with ease. He watched in awe as she behaved the way he'd always known she could, like a queen amongst men. "So where are we going love? To your place I hope so we can pack your things."
"Oh no no no, we are so not doing this right now." She turns on her heels to point a finger in his chest while glaring at him. Their eyes meet and it's electric in the air for a mere moment before the connection breaks. "I am going to my hotel to change and then I'm getting back to work on figuring out what's happened to my city."
He chucked, "I've always thought you'd end up leading a city of supernaturals somewhere sweetheart. Although I didn't expect it to be here of all places," he laughs once more when she turns to glare at him over her shoulder.
Klaus raises his hands in mock surrender earning a scoff from Caroline, "this place is my home. These people have fought by my side for their freedom from a tyrant of a leader. And then we spend a decade rebuilding and living in peace...until Kyros came and ruined that of course."
Silence envelopes the space as they enter Caroline's hotel and retreat to her room undetected. Surprisingly, she allows Klaus inside her room and so now they stand there awkwardly. One trying to fill the silence the other trying to keep it.
"You never told me how that happened. You never told me a lot of things actually, like how you discovered you were immortal similarly to my siblings and I."
"The first question is simple. Kyros warned me for years that he was coming back and I never knew who he was, let alone believed him. By the time I did it was too late, my best friend was murdered in front of me. The home I had build with my blood, sweat, and tears crumbled as bombs were set off throughout it. Many people died that day...including me." Caroline pauses looking up to see the man staring at her with such compassion she could burst from the seams of her being.
"I'm sorry...Caroline."
"What's done is done now. Anyways your second question is a much longer story that's a lot more complicated."
Klaus smiles and plops down onto the neatly made bed, "we've got time love. You might as well tell me about your life while we're here together." He smirks when she scoffs and rolls her eyes to his remarks.
"Fine, but if I tell you the story there will be no interrupting."
An hour later the two immortals were walking the streets of Tel Aviv chatting about their last few decades apart. They remained unnoticed for the most part, save for a few that recognized their fallen queen had returned. During those moments when Caroline had stopped to speak to those that stopped her, Klaus would stand back in admiration. He got to witness her in her true element where she had gotten so comfortable in the past several years. This was who Caroline Forbes had become in their time apart.
So lost in his thoughts, the hybrid doesn't notice that Caroline's wandered off ahead in the street and she's now calling for him to catch up with her. "I haven't been here in many many years," Klaus states as his eyes peer around at the decorative sights in the marketplace area. "It never has lost its charm though, but to many it's just a tourist stop or not even recognized."
"Yeah, the only reason I found this place was because of a flight that got delayed one day when I was heading to Tokyo." She pauses as she thinks of the irony of her statement, and in the moment the both of them mentally recall Klaus' words. 'I'll take you. Rome, Paris, Tokyo.' An almost awkward silence fills them for a few moments as they reminisce on the easier days.
After several minutes of quietly walking the streets she finally speaks up again. "I got your letters," she nervously bites her bottom lip wondering what his reaction would be. "I mean I never got the nerve to actually open them over the years so they were just put in a box. I was just so focused on forgetting my old life and starting over…"
"I never thought you'd actually get them. I had hoped...but I just kept sending them to that last known address every year on the off chance that you'd find them someday." Klaus' voice is filled with wonder as he realizes that even if she hadn't read the letter she'd kept them all these years.
Caroline chuckles softly to herself shaking her head slightly causing her loose blonde hair to move in rhythm with her. The hybrid raises a brow at her questioning what she's laughing at, "it's just funny that the one day out of almost twenty years of letters that I decide to open one my home ends up bombed. For just a few minutes I blamed the irony of it all on you," the pair laugh lightly at the thought of his letters causing all of this.
"I'm sorry all of this has happened to you love."
"Don't be Klaus, it's not your fault...it's no one's fault really. Not even Katherine's for turning me way back when. Sooner or later I would've been brought into the supernatural world because of who I am," she pauses and laughs a little more loudly this time. "A freaking doppelgänger, like seriously the universe couldn't pick anything more interesting and different? Damon once said if he heard the word doppelgänger one more time he'd have to actually learn how to spell it."
Klaus walks beside her admiring the way she remembers and recalls her past with such nostalgia, but not in a sorrowful way. He clasps his hands behind his back as he moves through the crowds and continues to let her share little tidbits of her life with him.
"Why did you never reach out to your friends," he finally questions her later in the day when they're sitting down at a restaurant for a late lunch.
She cocks her head to the side for a moment as she thinks over her answer, "honestly I don't really know. Part of it must be because when my mom died Mystic Falls became nothing but a holding cell that I was ready to leave...but I couldn't because everyone I cared for wanted to stay. When Elena was cursed, everyone just sort of scattered from there and I knew it was my time to leave too."
"That doesn't answer my question though love." His smile is lopsided as he examines her expression for a minute and then she brushes off the question completely…'some other time then,' he thinks to himself.
"So what's it been like living under the same roof as Hayley and Elijah? That must be a little awkward considering she's Hope's mom and Elijah is well Elijah."
"I will admit at first it was a little strange, but everyone could tell the two shared a deep connection that couldn't be denied. They went through some rough times in the beginning, and part of that is due to my own stubbornness."
"You stubborn? Never!" Caroline bursts into a fit of giggles when Klaus scowls at her for her comment, but not even the big bad hybrid could contain his laughter when he was around her.
Hours later after touring the city and sharing about their lives in recent times, Klaus and Caroline find themselves sitting alone on one of the many rooftops in the city. They enjoy a nice dinner watching the sun as it begins to set in the sky and continue their chatting over random things that seemed to bring joy to their short time in the city.
"So Hope is there looking at Hayley and Elijah wondering what she just walked in on," Klaus finishes his statement about a story from when Hope was younger.
"No! That poor girl must be scarred for life now," the blonde laughs taking another sip of her wine that they'd bought earlier. "Thank goodness she didn't see anything worse."
"It could've been a lot worse, and the two lovestruck idiots didn't have the sense to use their hearing. That problem has been resolved though and there is a knocking policy in the house now." The wide smile on Klaus' face can't be missed and Caroline sits there for a minute fascinated by the happiness he clearly felt.
"She brings you joy," the blonde states. It wasn't a question as no one could deny that after hearing him talk about Hope.
He nods his head agreeing to her statement, "yeah it was a little rough at first with my mother and aunt returning and everyone attempting to kill her. Once we got past that of course it had been pretty much smooth sailing. Although I will admit when boys started becoming attractive to her I almost had a heart attack...and I've never even experienced that."
"Yes teenagers will definitely give you many of those." Caroline pauses for a minute thinking over Hope, Bonnie's kids, and even Matt's little one. She wondered if she'd remained human how her life would've played out to this point. Maybe she would have a daughter or a son - maybe two kids by now like Bonnie.
"I know that look," the original chimes in as he sets down his wine glass to get Caroline's attention. "Rebekah has made that same face several times over the years. You were thinking about your life if you had children and a family of your own." The sad smile on his lips can't be missed, but they both choose to ignore it.
She sighs, "yeah sometimes I wish things had been different. If they weren't though I never would have met all the amazing people I know and my life wouldn't be as extravagant as it is. Human me would've hated that 'small town life.'
The two sit in silence for several long minutes basking in the beautiful sunset that was approaching soon. Finally Caroline releases a soft sigh and hangs her head down a little. "I didn't contact my friends because I wanted to erase everything about that life."
Klaus turns his attention to her for a moment wondering what exactly she meant. "Love," he starts to speak but the blonde quickly shuts him up raising her hand to stop him.
"Let me finish first." Caroline sighs again and attempts to shake the weird feeling off of her, 'pull it together Forbes,' she thinks to herself before continuing to speak. "When my mom died, I spent the next forty eight hours trying to distract myself from the inevitable grief that was waiting for me. So instead I flipped the humanity switch off and went on a rampage for a few weeks." Caroline pauses for a moment taking in the hybrids expression as he recalls hearing the story of how his favorite blonde full of light had turning off her humanity.
In all honesty, when Klaus had heard about this years ago part of him wanted to drop everything and head for Mystic Falls to make things right for Caroline. Then he remembered that blasted promise he made to her before their hours spent in the woods. Now as the infamous original hybrid looks into the eyes of a woman he once called 'full of light,' he still sees that light, but it's dimly lit now compared to decades ago when she was still so young.
"Anyways after that whole incident Elena took the cure and then was cursed...which you know about from Stefan I'm sure. So we all sort of went our separate ways. Then Stefan and I broke up a few years after we left Mystic Falls - again I'm sure you've heard that whole story already. When I came here to Tel Aviv I knew something was special about this place, and so I decided to stay. But then I walked into a warzone instead of a peaceful and quiet existence. I knew once I got involved in this war that I'd have to cut ties with people I cared about, and so I visited Matt and Bonnie for the last time, and then my phone calls turned into texts and then that became emails until eventually they heard about me through Tyler or someone to know I was still alive." Caroline pauses once more fidgeting with her fingers as she stares down at her hands. "I told myself for years that I backed away for their safety, for everyone's safety. In reality I left them because I was tired of being me, of being known and in contact with everything that once made me Caroline Forbes the baby vampire...even you had that effect at the time. I was ready to step into this new life here and they only needed to see me as the strong invincible woman...not the young forever 17 year old vampire."
Silence meets her for a few minutes, and she welcomes it briefly knowing that he's actually processing what she said. "So you cut ties, hid pictures, had mail sent to a different address in another country, and put my letters away unopened in a box." Caroline nods in response to his words that made a lot more sense coming from him than they would anyone else. "There were many lifetimes that I no longer wanted to be known as Klaus Mikaelson...many of those were instances when Mikael had hunted us down and forced my family to abandon a place we'd grown to care for."
The two share yet another long moment of silence...it was beginning to become their new thing, and Caroline couldn't tell if she liked the fact that she was so comfortable in silence around Klaus or if she should be telling herself to run. "I know you're supposed to be the bad guy. The big bad Klaus Mikaelson, and everyone that knows you or knows of you should tremble in fear at the sound of your name, but I'm not afraid anymore Klaus. Yes you've hurt so many people I cared about when I was younger, but when I did finally leave and cut those ties I realized that those lines we once drew between good and evil - us and you - became so blurry. So much so that I can't tell the difference anymore between you being a bad guy and the right guy." She nervously runs her fingers through her hair, "what I'm trying to say is Klaus you're not the villain of my story."
In an instant before either of them could process or think through their next move, their lips meet in a moment of passion. Fire ignites between them as every fiber of their bodies tingle at the connection. Caroline finally giving into what she longs for and wants without caring for others opinions, and Klaus savouring what could be his only kiss for a while with the blonde vampire he'd completely fallen for. His hands reach up to cut her cheeks as one entangles in her hair attempting to pull her as close as possible. Their lips continue to meet over and over and their tongues battle for dominance that both of them crave to have. When they break apart both of them are breathless. Klaus' eyes shine as they gaze at Caroline's slightly swollen and pink lips and her mused hair.
They stare for a few seconds taking in the last few minutes of their rooftop experience as the sun gives the last of its light to the city that day. Klaus stares in astonishment at the woman he never believed would care for him in return, let alone return physical affection in that way. "Caroline I want to say that no matter my behavior over the years I have always wanted to do what I could to put you first...in my own twisted and skewed ways that is." He pauses staring once more at every detail of her face, a beauty he couldn't compare to anyone he'd ever experienced in his millenia of life. "I wrote you letters every year because I knew if I intruded on your life any further that it would be too soon and too much. Somewhere deep down I knew you'd come back into my life, but I had to let you fly first."
"I'm done flying Klaus," the words leave her lips before she can process them and immediately she knows that's what she truly means. "Let's go home."
Here is chapter 15! Right in time for thanksgiving weekend too. As I promised Klaroline is finally here! This chapter needed to be solely focused on Klaus and Caroline so we could accomplish all of that dialogue and plot building, but just because things ended all mushy here doesn't mean smooth sailing. They've still got to defeat a major evil called Kyros and find out more about this whole Fate reincarnates thing, but from here on out there will be more building of the Klaroline romance because the goal is to get them to HEA at some point...and I won't say if that will be in this story or the sequel (which is in the works btw).
anyways thank you all so much for reading this story so far, for favoriting/following and leaving sweet reviews. I am thankful for an awesome fandom this holiday season!
Please continue to follow/favorite and review...hopefully I will be back with another chapter over the next week or so.
Always and forever :)