As always, I am super grateful for the love and support, guys!
Thank you so much my lovelies. You mean the world to me. I honestly would have given up on this story already if it weren't for you, so thank you very much!
I hope you like the chapter.
Five hours before
When Caroline woke up the next morning, she turned on her side and as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a hybrid gazing down on her.
She raised her head a bit. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Just contemplating you…" Klaus answered simply.
He could have stared at her for the rest of his life… literally –well, he would have needed some human blood at some point, but…
It was far more agreeable to gaze at the real, precious thing than to stare at his lifeless portraits of her.
She smiled at him in response.
"How is it possible for you to look so amazing in the first light of the day?" he asked.
Caroline hid her face in the pillow. "Please, I look horrible." She said after she let out a small groan.
"No." he contested and pulled some blonde locks out of her face. She removed her face from the pillow and rested the side of her face on it. She looked at his admiring blue eyes. "You look amazing." He repeated articulating each point emphasizing his point. "Though 'amazing' is probably not the adjective." He commented and she tried to bury her face in the pillow blushing. Her usually blue eyes were of a deep shade of green in the sunlight.
Klaus shook his head inwardly: this woman was so oblivious to her own charms that it almost became ridicule; it only made her all that more special. She would probably never know how truly beautiful she was to him, and the best part was her true beauty was in the inside –the same couldn't be said about him.
"But let's settle for that for now." The hybrid said.
She smiled at him. "You're not too bad-looking yourself." She somehow complimented. Truth was she found him even more attractive and handsome in the small morning. She was actually finding it pretty hard to keep her hands to herself right about now.
Her eyes stopped roaming Klaus' body and she looked back up at him. "Is that so?" he asked, his smirk getting wider with each passing second as her cheeks turned more and more crimson at her thoughts.
"Oh, you have got a thousand years to grow confident about your charm! Leave me alone!" she asserted and buried her face under her pillow.
Klaus laughed. "Ha-ha…" 'She's amazing.'
"Stop making fun of me!" she scolded and poked him –though her voice was damped by the pillow covering her head.
Klaus laughed some more; and Caroline smiled at the sound. How come she didn't hear this sound more often? And why didn't he let other people do? It was a shame really: it was a beautiful sound. She felt honored to be one of the only ones to bring it out of him. Little did she know she was the only one.
He removed the pillow from her head and she turned to look at him.
"You're adorable." He told her.
She gave him a genuine smile in response and a smile immediately crept onto his face too. He lowered his head towards her and covered her lips with his own briefly. He attempted to pull away but Caroline brought her right hand in his hair to hold him in place. She ran her tongue inside his mouth and kissed him in a perfect mixture of tenderness and roughness.
She eventually released him and Klaus opened his eyes to meet a happy hundred-megawatt smile on her face.
"What was that for?" he asked, a small smile on his face and audible in his voice as well.
"Do I need a reason?" Caroline asked back propping up on her elbow.
"Absolutely not." Klaus answered and pressed a soft kiss against the blonde's forehead; her smile spread across her mouth.
"So do you regret spending the night with me?" he inquired.
"No, it was okay." She answered and leant on her two elbows. "You have a very comfortable mattress." She said nodding.
Klaus' eyes widened and he burst out laughing. "Do I?" he asked, his amusement ringing in his voice.
"I have no idea why I said that." She admitted closing her eyes and shaking her head in embarrassment.
She opened her eyes and when she met his, her laugh just mingled with his.
"I did sleep well." She answered him honestly once her laughter was over. "I'm sorry for waking you up last night though." She told him.
"That's fine." He reassured her. "As long as you're ok…" he attempted to coax the truth from her.
She nodded. "I am." Caroline stated. "This was a nice weekend." She added. 'A great one.' She thought to herself. 'Kind of like a dream.'
"Nice enough to stay?" he asked, his anxiety showing through his features.
She looked back at him and met the worry in his eyes.
/
Matt and Rebekah were at his place having an intimate breakfast, for once. It was true that they didn't get much intimacy at the Mikaelson mansion surrounded by all her rather prying brothers with the exception of Elijah who was the only one in that crazy family who seemed to be endowed with sensibleness, Rebekah included, with all the love Matt held for her.
"Have you thought about my offer?" Rebekah asked Matt before she brought her cup of tea to her lips.
He nodded. "I have." He responded simply.
"And…?" she pressed, her eyes intent on him.
What game was he playing at? Wasn't this decision long overdue?!
Matt shrugged. "I still don't think it's a good idea." He said.
The blonde put down her cup with some noise.
This was the fifth time since they had gotten together that Matt and Rebekah discussed this: him moving into the Mikaelson mansion. The first time was four months ago after Matt's anniversary and he had denied her saying that he didn't feel ready, that he hadn't… reached that point. After that, he promised he would think about it and let her know.
Yet, whenever she would try to get them to talk about it, he would skirt around the matter like he was afraid of getting the syphilis of something! Whether it was face to face, over the phone, or in texts, he would always find a way to avoid the subject! One could have thought he had majored in the art of skirting.
His reasons –his crazy schedule, her siblings, her having a certain tendency to be emotionally disturbed –were sounding more and more like pretexts to Rebekah and she was frankly getting sick of it. They had been together for a year after all: it was about time they took a step ahead.
"Why?" she questioned intertwining her fingers on the table. "Don't you want to wake up to my pretty face every morning?" she sweet-talked him with the outline of a smile.
He half-smiled half-laughed genuinely at her. "I would love to wake up to your BEAUTIFUL face every day." He assured her.
The beginning of a smile on Rebekah's face turned into a real, complete one. "Then what?" she inquired in a smoother voice.
"I already told you: your siblings." He answered.
She narrowed her eyes. "My siblings are completely fine with you moving in. And you are aware of that." she asserted. "So invalid reason." She concluded. "Next?"
It was Matt's turn to narrow his eyes and frown. "I am not making up excuses." He said defensive.
"Really?" she asked and shrugged looking away and making a face. "Why was I under that impression?" she rhetorically asked and finished with a fake smirk.
He cocked his head to the left. It was in those few, rare moments that he saw the resemblance between his girlfriend and her dearest brother, Klaus.
"I hardly see myself putting up with your brothers on a daily basis, Rebekah." He confided honestly.
"You could ask me to move in with you." She rightfully pointed out.
Matt heaved a sigh and looked away. But Rebekah's stare on him remained unrelenting.
"We shouldn't rush things." He eventually spoke again.
"Rush things?" she repeated, disbelieving, leaning her head forward, her brows knit together. "Matt, we have been together for over a year!" she reminded him.
"Rebekah, don't push me!" he went.
She stared at him with parted lips and with an almost disbelieving look as though she was wondering if this was a complete nightmare. Then, she brought her head back backwards nodding.
Matt looked down at the table, his look evasive: he knew he had hurt her feelings.
The blonde grabbed her purse and headed towards the door with stiff strides.
"What are you doing?" Matt asked turning around on his chair.
"Not pushing you!" she responded and slammed the door.
/
Stefan was pouring himself some coffee when Damon walked into the kitchen.
"Morning brother." Stefan greeted him.
Damon slightly narrowed his eyes. They hadn't exactly reunited in the best of ways yesterday and he had had the impression he had slightly hurt his little brother's feelings. But then again, it was their typical manner to act like nothing until an outburst got inevitable. "Morning brother." Damon greeted back.
"How'd you sleep?" Stefan asked before taking a sip of his coffee.
The older Salvatore approached the younger one. "Wonderfully well." He answered. "I missed my bed!" he commented. "I wonder if Elena does too." He muttered; however intentionally not low enough for only him to hear.
His provocation worked: Stefan slowly removed his nose from his cup to glare at him.
Damon glanced at then, turned his head and caught his brother's pointed glare. He gave him a look. "Oh goodness, I was joking!" he defended. "Learn to take a joke, Stefan." He advised rolling his eyes.
"Learn to make funny jokes, Damon." Stefan retorted pointedly and brought his coffee back to his mouth. Was he purposely trying to pick a fight?!
Damon turned his head and gave him a look. As a thought came back to his mind, he turned his body fully around towards Stefan. "What was that, yesterday?" he questioned.
"What was what?"
"That gathering with the frenemies?" he elaborated.
"The frenemies?" Stefan repeated incredulous knowing exactly who his big brother was referring to. "Didn't you sleep and spend endless nights in this very house with the blonde frenemy?" he asked mockingly.
"Those people are dangerous, Stefan, not to mention slightly older than us! They could break us in two!" the elder Salvatore reminded his little brother. "In the best of cases!" he added.
Stefan stared at his brother puzzled, his brows knit together. Was-he-serious? "Do you really think this was my idea?!" Stefan took offense.
"I don't care whose idea it was! I don't care if it was blondie's, I don't care if it was the quarterback's, and I don't care if it was Elena's very idea: you shouldn't let her around them." Damon said pointedly.
The younger man narrowed his eyes angrily at his brother. "I'm not the oppressive boyfriend." He spoke the most calmly in the world. "You are, remember?" he said and resumed with drinking his coffee.
Damon shook his head. "We will talk about this again when Elena gets a mortal bite." He said and turned to leave.
"Damon!" Stefan called when the latter reached the kitchen's door. He didn't turn around but stopped and slightly turned his head indicating that he was listening.
He began. "It seems as though you have forgotten so let me remind you: Elena is MY girlfriend, and it will stay that way. So put some ice on your protective side, will you?" he rhetorically asked. "I will not say this again."
That was clearly not a request, but rather a warning.
/
Time in Mystic Falls passed dangerously fast, yet somehow at a painfully slow pace for Elijah! Months elapsed, weeks went by, and he saw the days approach. And Katerina's absence by his side was getting less and less bearable. He was going to have to do something about that before he lost his mind.
He really didn't think he would miss her this much…; he hadn't realized she had become such a vital piece of his existence…, not before they broke all contact.
He thought about her constantly. It was turning into an obsession. Every excuse was good to take; and all this happiness around him –his little sister and Matt, his brother he had really started to think was irredeemable and Caroline, though they weren't a couple yet, but soon hopefully, not to mention Stefan and Elena, though he didn't witness their happiness very often, thank God –really wasn't helping. He was happy for all of them, he was; he just wanted to be… happy for himself. And he only knew of one feeling that could lead to happiness.
Thankfully, he still had her letters to hold onto: the ultimate proof that she thought of him as well and cared, the ultimate proof that what they had was real, genuine…, and for keeps. Elijah believed that, truly. He had to believe that for it was the only thing that kept him going.
AND his memories; he had his memories of his Katerina, of them together… memories which he valued just as much as his life.
There was a saying that pretended that loneliness saddens the heart and contents the mind. Well, in Elijah's case, presently, both his heart and mind were saddened. And only one woman could change that fact, a woman who unfortunately was a world away.
Now, he would have to change that…
He didn't only feel the want to be with Katerina, he also felt its need. He had to be with her… and he knew this feeling of void and this need would only increase in the following days; unless he did something to remedy to the situation…
/
"So what is it brother?" Klaus asked his big brother. "I believe everything is fine regarding our family business…" he said in a rather questioning matter.
"Indeed." Elijah confirmed. "Things couldn't be better."
The two brothers were in Klaus' study. Elijah had requested that they retired to talk… privately: he had something to say, or more exactly, to ask for.
"Okay." He said. "So you wanted to talk about…" Klaus waited for Elijah to complete.
"Katerina." Elijah declared.
"You can't be serious." Klaus said not even bothering to keep the irritation that the mention of the doppelganger's name aroused in him.
"Niklaus, hear me out." His older brother asked him but firmly.
See this is the exact reaction Elijah was expecting from Klaus. This is why he had waited so long to bring Katerina up. But he had reached a point where he truly couldn't live without her anymore.
Klaus shut it and canned his attitude at Elijah's unusual harshness.
"I am asking you to grant Katerina your forgiveness." Elijah expressed his wish.
Klaus huffed, but pretended to regain his composure when he caught his elder brother's serious and reproving look directed to him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was assuming you were joking." He scoffed.
Elijah closed his eyes and heaved an inaudible sigh; he reopened them. "Is there a chance that you can be serious about this for a minute?" Elijah questioned.
Klaus narrowed his eyes at him and then nodded pointedly. "Of course. Just tell me her location so we can finally end this." He asked.
"Niklaus, I know that you despise Katerina." Elijah asserted.
"True." Klaus interrupted him. "Keep going." He falsely encouraged after a second.
"I care for her, Niklaus… deeply." He confessed. "Hence my demand. You know what? Scratch that! I couldn't care less about your forgiveness; neither could Katerina for that matter. All I want is for you to let her be." He corrected himself.
He just wanted tranquility and peace of mind. He just wanted a chance at happiness with the woman of his heart. Was that really so much to ask? Elijah didn't think so. He actually couldn't think of something that should be easier.
Klaus narrowed his eyes at Elijah as though reading right through him. "You actually know where she is, don't you?" he asked.
"We're straying from the point." Elijah was vocal; he refused to go there.
"Oh no, I would say we're getting to the point." Klaus contradicted. A small moment of silence passed as the tension in the room thickened. "When will you grow up, Elijah?" he asked shaking his head slowly in disbelief. "I mean, you act all moral and superior like you're some kind of ethereal creature who's above us when in truth..." he paused and got nearer Elijah until there were only a few meters between them."…you are just a-love-sick-fool." He told him.
Elijah just stared at his little brother, his face actually showing emotion: disappointment; and defeat. "Niklaus…" he tried.
"Don't." The hybrid stopped him and walked away. "Really, Elijah?" he asked turning around to face his big brother. "Haven't you learned anything from the past?" he questioned, his brow wrinkled. "You should know better by now, Elijah."
Elijah's eyebrow had a sad rise and fall motion as he looked down at the floor. "I should, shouldn't I?" he said and looked back at his little brother.
Klaus stared at him a moment more, and in that moment, one would have sworn that he was actually rethinking his decision. "You are asking me to spare Katerina's life after she betrayed me, Elijah." He said, for some reason feeling the need to justify himself.
Elijah flashed in front of him at vampiric speed. "I am asking you to grant me something we never had." He corrected. "I am asking you to give me a chance at happiness." He paused and watched as his words sank in his brother's mind. "I am asking you to give me a chance to feel, to care… to love." He finished heartfelt.
The two brothers stared at each other dead in the eyes, one praying for his little brother's unknown kindness, the other struggling with different feelings, wondering what the best decision was.
The moment lasted what seemed an eternity to Elijah until he heard his brother break the untenable suspense by saying: "I deny you."
With that, Klaus headed for the door, without sparing his brother's fallen face a look.
He turned around one last time.
"I will have not her hunted down by midnight and that is the best I can do for you." He said and the next second, Elijah was alone in the study.
He was alone.
/
Klaus and Caroline were taking a walk in the backyard, a part of the property she had yet to see. You'd think after spending a whole weekend at the Mikaelson mansion, she'd know every last bit of the place… but she didn't; it was a mansion after all.
They were walking in a peaceful silence and Caroline was enjoying the pleasant sight of the colorful spring garden flowers, a content smile on her pretty face; that was before Klaus started talking.
"Why did you remove your hand from mine, Caroline?" he inquired.
She stopped one second then resumed with her walking.
"What?" she asked feigning innocence. 'Did you really think he would let it slip, Care?' she mentally kicked herself.
"Earlier, when I covered your hand with mine at the table…" he re-contextualized. "…you pulled away.
"Your siblings were around, Klaus." She gave him the only answer she could.
"So…"
He was acting as if he didn't get her point and he wasn't making things easier for her.
"So I told you I don't want them to know about…" she began turning around. She stumbled on the 'us' that passed through her mind. Was there even an 'us' here now? "…what's going on here." She finished gesturing at the two of them.
"Hum-hum." Klaus did. "And what exactly…" he started getting closer to Caroline. He anchored his blue gaze in hers. "…is going on here?" The hybrid questioned.
The look he was giving her was so damn intense and relentless Caroline wouldn't have been able to look away with all the good-will in the world. However, she didn't know what to answer to that: she had no idea what was going on here…
Klaus made another step towards her; they would collide if he kept on like that. "What am I to you, Caroline?" he asked in a raw, seductive small voice, his eyes never leaving hers as though he was trying to read the answer there.
The blonde lightly shrugged. "Someone I like." She tried. She knew very well that wouldn't do it, she knew him well enough now: he wanted an actual answer.
"In one word." He demanded. Boyfriend. That's what he wanted to hear. Why wouldn't she say it?
He could the effect he had on her… physically. However, emotionally… he had no clue; and it was driving him insane! He had to know that they were two in this!
Caroline swallowed with difficulty. She turned around and moved away from him bringing her hands to her face. She blew wind onto her face with her left hand. She was having a hard time breathing now.
She sighed. "Oh why is it so important to you that we go public?" she asked still showing him her back.
"Why is it so important to you that we don't?!" he asked in return.
Truth be told, Klaus could care less about 'going public' or whatever. Whether his siblings or her friends knew was a detail to him. What he didn't understand was why she was so intent on nobody knowing. It made him question her commitment in this, her commitment to him… not that she ever promised him anything, what was part of the problem.
What the hell was going on in her mind?! Was he investing himself in this for nothing? Had everything been for… nothing?
"Caroline." Klaus called and turned the blonde around to him a bit roughly. "What are we doing here?" he asked again. "Do you want to be with me?"
His voice was devoid of any emotion, but his face not quite. The emotions that flashed through his eyes and darkened the hybrid's features just made Caroline want to cry. She felt something deep down in her chest react to the heartrending sight before her and a lump starting to form in her throat.
She opened her mouth once, then twice and then a third time; but she didn't manage to get any sound out so she eventually snapped it shut.
Klaus nodded slowly as though saying 'I got it'.
He took a step backwards; and in a flash, he disappeared from Caroline's sight, not quite fast enough for her to miss the hurt in his perfect blue eyes though.
She blinked and looked down at the ground feeling terrible… among a lot of other things.
/
"Where is Stefan?" Elena asked entering the living room in a casual outfit. She was wearing a white tunic and a faded blue pair of jeans. She looked amazing as always. She really hadn't changed from the last time Damon had seen her; she was just like he remembered her. Then again, she turned soon after his departure so…
"Out." The elder Salvatore said.
Elena frowned in surprise and incomprehension. "Out?" she asked. "That's weird. He never leaves without saying goodbye." She was saying that to herself.
"You guys married?" he inquired sardonically.
Elena looked at Damon and was tempted to throw a plate in a face for a couple of seconds; but she decided otherwise and summoned a fake smile instead. "That's a brilliant suggestion!" she exclaimed widening her eyes, teasing him. "Will you please walk me down the altar, Damon?"
Okay, now, she was pushing him. But it's not like he wasn't asking for it, hadn't been asking for it.
He glowered at her then, scoffed and resumed with drinking his scotch.
The raven-haired woman giggled softly and turned around to head back upstairs happy with herself. Hopefully, that would be enough for him to get it. But, just in case…
"Damon." She called turning back to him and he looked at her. "In case that wasn't enough to mark my point, I am done playing these games with you, I am done letting you get to me, do you understand?" she marked a pause and let her words sank in. "You tore Stefan and I apart once… It's not happening again." She asserted. "I'm not saying our breakup was on you, it was on me." She clarified. "But you had your fair share in it, Damon, you will admit that." She said and he brazenly held her gaze.
"Lose the attitude, Damon… And be the guy who was once my friend." she asked causing a sudden change in his look.
He stared at her with an emotion that only she could recognize and Elena knew right then that her message had been delivered.
She ignored the tug at her chest that his hurt regard gave her and exited the room.
/
After her little spat with her… whatever Klaus was to her at the moment, Caroline spent some time in her room lay down on her bed wondering what to do, trying to get her head and her heart to agree, in vain. Then, when she reached the point where she just couldn't think straight anymore, she got up and went out: she needed to talk to someone, someone impartial, someone who had no ties whatsoever in this whole mess and could help her make a rational decision.
She considered for a second to just go knock at Rebekah's door considering she was the closest geographically but then it occurred to Caroline that she was Klaus' sister so… there was that.
Her first thought was actually to talk to Elena but then there was the latter's slight repulsion to Klaus which was understandable but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. Besides, she was probably busy enough trying to keep the testosterone in the Salvatore Boarding House to a minimum level; she didn't need her issues on the back of her own. If the Damon she knew was still the same, Caroline couldn't even imagine the current tension in that house: she preferred to stay away from there for the time being.
That is why she ended up at Bonnie's door, the heart heavy and the mind overloaded. Clearly she had forgotten that Bonnie currently had her own fair share of drama in her life.
"I'm sorry, Bon, I had completely forgotten that you have two men of your own to deal with right now." Caroline said obviously amused by the witch's situation.
"It is not funny, Caroline!" Bonnie scolded.
"Oh, it kind of is." The blonde objected. It was fun indeed.
"Caroline!" Bonnie reprimanded again, her forehead wrinkled, before bursting out laughing too. "This is not funny." She repeated after having calmed down, light amusement still dancing in her voice.
Caroline lightly shrugged and made a face her eyebrows having a rise and fall motion in slight disagreement.
"Anyway, you came here to talk about you and Klaus, not about Jeremy and I or Kol and I." Bonnie reminded the blonde. "So you and Klaus kissed and now, you don't agree about going steady?" she summed up.
"Well, the issue isn't so much going steady than going public." Caroline corrected. "I don't understand why Klaus cares so much about telling his siblings. She said.
"I don't think he does." Bonnie replied and Caroline frowned in confusion so she elaborated. "Cares about his siblings being aware of the two of you." She said and her friend listened intently as she went ahead. "He probably just needs to be reassured as to the existence of a 'two of you'. What he's waiting for is commitment, Caroline." she told her. "Can you give that to him?" she questioned searching for the blonde's eyes.
Caroline slowly shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know." She said and lowered her head into her hands. She held her hair nervously. "Urghh!" she let out angrily, at herself mostly. She was so confused, and she hated it. She liked to have her thoughts straight, she liked to know where she was headed and have everything planned out. And she certainly hadn't planned this… any of it!
She heaved a sigh and looked back up at the witch. "I don't think so." She admitted.
"Why?" Bonnie questioned. "Aren't you the one who initiated the kiss in the first place?" she asked pointedly.
"I… am." She responded hesitantly.
Bonnie raised her shoulders. "So what were you thinking?" she questioned getting confused.
Caroline pointed at her friend. "Excellent question." She commented. "I guess I… wasn't." she responded. "I acted on an impulse. It wasn't planned." She explained.
"Do you regret it?"
Bonnie's questions were simple and they might seem pointless but clearly, Caroline was confused with her feelings right now so she was just trying to help out her friend figuring them out.
"No, of course not."
"Would you do it again?"
"Yes." Caroline responded with assurance.
The witch nodded. "Then what exactly is stopping you from giving Klaus the reassurance he needs?" she tried to understand. The thing was Caroline herself didn't understand a thing about the whole thing.
"Bonnie, I'm supposed to leave in a week. What's the point in…"
"Whoa. Wait." The witch cut her off. "You're still thinking about leaving?" she questioned, surprise dripping from her voice.
"Yes." Caroline responded pointedly raising her shoulders. Bonnie raised her brows at her and she actually took a minute to think about it. She looked away at the void. "No." she let out and Bonnie made a face.
The blonde heaved a sigh and lowered her head in her hands once again. What was she going to do?
What are you going to, Caroline indeed? Haha.
Let me know your thoughts.
Till next time, you precious human beings.