Hey guys! Here is the next installment! I'm super excited about this one, it's one of my favorites :)
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Beta'd by my lovely Gail. Love youuuu and your relentless attempts to murder me with the chapters :)
Dedicated to Sophie because I nearly gave her a heart attack this morning. Whoops :)
See ya'll at the bottom!
Wednesday afternoon came quickly enough and Caroline was waiting in her office a few minutes before having to go meet Klaus. He had sent her a text message earlier saying that he would pick her up in the Herald office, but she knew that he would never be able to get past Anna so she was planning on meeting him outside the building.
Plus, she really didn't want him to barge into her office when she was staring at pictures of him, Ansel, and Mikael.
She couldn't help it, but ever since her and Katherine's discovery last week, Klaus and his possible fathers had constantly been on her mind. Katherine had pulled some other resources and strings to get her more information and now Caroline had security reports from Mikaelson Corp from around the time Ansel "died" (possibly murdered). She spent the past few days going through reports, pictures, files, and hospital records, and all she did was end up more confused.
She was almost positive that Klaus' father was not Mikael, their blood types not adding up. But Ansel's health records, other than his death certificate and autopsy reports, were sealed. If only she could get her hands on Klaus' original birth certificate to see if it had been altered, then she would have something to go on.
Staring at the timeline on her computer, she exhaled loudly, blowing her bangs out of her face. She chewed on her bottom lip, making note of Ansel's date of hire for the Mikaelson family. Apparently, he was originally a security guard who was promoted to personal bodyguard after about 5 years, right after Finn was born into the family.
A soft knock came from her door and Caroline jumped, startled. Clearing her throat, she immediately shut her notebook.
"Yes?" she called lightly, throwing her shoulders back and pasting a fake smile on her face.
Klaus poked his head in the door, sending Caroline's pulse through the roof and a slight thankful prayer that he didn't barge in.
"Oh," she groaned, folding her hands across her chest (albeit nervously), "it's you."
Klaus grinned at her triumphantly before opening the door all the way and striding into the office.
"Did I say you could come in?" Caroline asked, tilting her head to the side. "And how did you get past Anna?"
Instead of answering, Klaus dropped into the chair across from her desk and set a Starbucks coffee cup on it, pushing it lightly towards her.
"What's this?" she asked, arching her brow at him.
"It's a drink. Maybe you've heard of it? Coffee?" he teased, smirking at her amusedly. She rolled her eyes before warily picking up the cup.
"You didn't poison it did you?" she asked cautiously, bringing the cup to her nose before sniffing it lightly.
Her mouth began to water when she smelled the delicious hazelnut scent wafting from the cup.
"Think of it as part of the peace offering," he replied, sipping from his own cup.
She looked at him suspiciously before taking a tiny sip of the drink. She moaned blissfully at the taste, her eyes rolling back in delight. Taking a bigger sip, she flushed slightly at the amusement in Klaus' eyes.
"That good, huh?" he teased and Caroline chuckled slightly, putting the cup back on her desk.
"How did you know how I took it?" she asked, running her tongue over the top of her lip to lick the tiny coffee droplets off it. She ignored the way his eyes darkened slightly as they followed the motion of her tongue.
"We've been attending press conferences for years. Anybody knows that two creams, one sugar and a shot of hazelnut instantly puts you in a good mood," he shrugged, taking another sip of his drink.
Caroline studied him curiously, slightly touched at his attention to detail about her coffee. If she didn't know what a jackass he was, she'd understand why so many women found him attractive.
Klaus was actually kind of thoughtful.
In his own, asshole way.
He's a story Caroline, she reminded herself. No need to get too friendly.
She noticed the tea bag string hanging out of his cup and nodded towards it.
"Tea?"
He nodded, letting a rare genuine smile flood across his face. "Let's try to make sure it stays in my cup this time and not my lap."
She found herself smiling back at him, the memory of their first meeting flashing before her eyes.
"No promises," she teased, causing the smile on his face to grow. Caroline caught his eye, the amusement in them causing her stomach to swoop unfamiliarly. Breaking the eye contact, she cleared her throat uncomfortably.
Good job, Care.
"So, you never told me how you got past Anna. She's under Jenna's direct instruction to never allow someone from the Star, let alone you, into the Herald's office," Caroline mused, getting up to avoid looking at Klaus again.
"Contrary to popular belief, women actually do find me attractive," Klaus smirked, and she rolled her eyes.
And he's back.
"Must be blind," she shot back, causing the smirk on his face to widen.
She walked around to where he was sitting, grabbing a fresh notepad from the shelf next to his chair. "Ready?"
He stood up quickly, Caroline whirling around to grab her recorder off her desk. She accidentally smacked into his chest, his hands immediately reaching out to steady her. She found herself gripping his shoulders, noticing how extremely close his face was to hers. His firm chest felt good against her soft curves, the heat of his skin seeping through his thin dress shirt.
"Alright?" he muttered quietly, steadying her. She glanced up at him through her thick lashes, exhaling gently.
Blinking down at her, Klaus' tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip slightly. She shamelessly looked at his plump, raspberry lips and wondered briefly what they would feel like against hers. Snapping her eyes up to look anywhere but there, she met his gaze, his blue-green eyes meeting her blue ones. Biting her bottom lip softly, Caroline gently released her grip on his shoulders.
"Thanks," she whispered, steeping backwards. He nodded somewhat numbly.
"We should go," he murmured quietly, reaching to grab her coffee off the desk before turning around to leave.
She let out a huge breath, reaching for her recorder. Noticing her hands were shaking slightly, Caroline closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Story, story, story," she chanted under her breath, squeezing her hands into fists before relaxing them.
He startled her.
That was all it was.
"Ready?" he called from the hallway. She ignored the slight twist in her stomach from the sound of his voice.
Damn British accents.
"So, uh, how's Lockwood?" Klaus asked, nodding at the ring on Caroline's left hand. They were finally in a cab on the way to the museum press conference and the tension in the car was so thick that you would need a sledgehammer to cut it. She glanced down at it, fiddling at it a little with her thumb.
"He's great. I'm great. W-we are so great," she babbled, taking a sip of her coffee. He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, but didn't say anymore.
"He's been really busy lately with the Salvatore case, so I haven't been able to see him that much lately, but he told me that everything was just about wrapped up," she continued, looking out the window as she watched traffic rush by.
"The Salvatore case?" The confusion in his tone caused her to snap her gaze over to him.
"Yeah, do you know them?" she asked.
Klaus nodded, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I do. My sister dated Stefan Salvatore for the longest time. I thought that case was wrapped up weeks ago."
Caroline shook her head. "No, Tyler told me that it was still ongoing."
"That's not what I heard," Klaus replied, shrugging. "I ran into Damon Salvatore the other day and he told me it was finished."
"Well, he must be mistaken. His end might be done, but the rest of the paperwork isn't," Caroline sighed. "Tyler's been working day and night on that case. Apparently Elena Salvatore is quite a piece of work."
"Must be," Klaus mused, his tone conveying his disbelief at what she was saying.
"You think my fiancé would lie to me?" she asked. He didn't answer and she scoffed. "I'd believe him before I would believe you or any Damon Salvatore."
Klaus' jaw tightened and he just pursed his lips, looking out the window. She glared at him in annoyance and huffed as she looked out the other window.
The rest of the ride to the museum with filled with awkward silence, even the cab driver was more than happy to let them out. Klaus held the museum door open for her and she walked past him, sticking her nose up in the air haughtily.
"Sweetheart, this way," he gently took her elbow to tug her to the side, all thoughts of their disagreement seemly evaporated from his mind. She yanked her elbow back and sent him a dirty look.
"It's Caroline," she bit out and he just smirked at her. She growled in frustration, her good mood tarnished by the recent argument.
"Then lead the way," Klaus remarked, gesturing her forward with his arm. She threw her shoulders back and stalked towards the room where she assumed the press conference was taking place. Klaus followed her at a much slower pace, his gaze burning the back of her neck.
When she arrived at the room, she noticed that it was empty. There were no reporters, cameras, podiums, or chairs to be seen. She looked back to see Klaus chuckling at her, and she shot him a dirty look.
"I swear, if you lured me out here just to embarrass me, I will cut your dick off so fast that-"
"This way, love," he chuckled, gently leading her over to a room the opposite way they came. She huffed, her cheeks tingeing in embarrassment as she followed him.
"I sincerely hope you let me keep my external extremity," he whispered, almost seductively into her ear. She shivered slightly as his breath tickled her neck, causing goose bumps to pop up on her skin. "It's a very important appendage to me."
"It's because you think with it all the time," Caroline shot back, smiling a fake charming smile at him. Instead of being offended, he just grinned back at her. They entered the room where the press conference was being held, flashing their press passes at the person checking the door. Caroline mentally smacked herself for not noticing the buzz of people standing around outside earlier instead of walking to the complete opposite side of the museum.
Placing his hand on the small of her back, he lead her over to a table of fellow journalists, some Caroline had worked with before, and some new faces. They talked with them briefly before the press conference director came out and Klaus led her to their seats.
The press conference was held by the museum director, an older lady by the name Ayana. She was announcing the opening of a new wing in the museum, one that would feature just Chicago's own artists. The older woman spent a few minutes discussing the wing and its pending opening before asking for questions. When scrawling down notes in her journal, Caroline noticed Klaus in the corner of her eye. He wasn't taking any notes and she didn't see a recorder or anything.
He was fucked if he thought she was going to give any notes to him she thought, haughtily to herself.
Sooner than later, the press conference was over and she was putting away her stuff, making sure that her recorder was off and her notes packed carefully into her purse. Klaus was uncharacteristically patient when waiting for her, taking her gingerly by the arm over to the reporters who were crowding Ayana for an interview.
"Ayana!" Klaus called to her, the older woman's eye widening in recognition.
"Niklaus Mikaelson, is that you?" the older lady laughed, pushing past the journalists to pull the British journalist into a hug.
Caroline caught his eye over the woman's shoulder, mouthing "Niklaus?" at him with a grin. He shot her a glare, causing her to giggle before he detached himself from the older woman.
"Son, where have you been? How is the family?" Ayana questioned, Caroline turning away to roll her eyes.
How many people does this family know?
They conversed quietly, Ayana taking a motherly approach to Klaus, fussing over him and his clothes. Caroline peeked down at her phone, starting to begin to think that this was about to turn into another Marcel incident. She looked at Ayana, wondering exactly how close the woman was to the Mikaelson family. She could always look into her too.
"And who is this?" Ayana's voice cut into her thoughts, noticing the older woman nodding towards her with kind eyes.
Caroline smiled, offering her hand. "Caroline Forbes from the Chicago Herald."
"Yes, this is the woman I was telling you about," Klaus cut in, placing his hand on her lower back. She sent him an alarmed look, almost afraid to ask what he had said about her.
"Ah yes! The reporter! Klaus has told me all about you," Ayana smiled.
"All good things I hope," Caroline chuckled weakly, wishing desperately she could elbow Klaus right into his smug smirk.
"Oh, many good things," Ayana said kindly. "He's always raving about your opinion pieces in the Herald."
"He is?" she asked, wrinkling her forehead in confusion. She glanced over at Klaus to see him shrugging with a sheepish smile.
"Indeed. What do you say, Caroline? Would you like an interview?" Ayana asked.
She looked over at Klaus and he was nodding encouragingly, motioning towards Ayana. "Go ahead, love. I'll wait."
"It's Caroline," she murmured, somewhat teasingly. "But thanks."
She sent him a brilliant smile, his lips turning up at the sight. She could hardly believe her luck as Ayana tugged her back over to the seats for the interview, grinning all the way.
"I don't know whether to slap you for scaring me or thank you," Caroline exclaimed after she and Klaus waved by to Ayana outside the museum.
"I'll settle for a thank you," Klaus smirked. "You can use your mouth to thank me any time."
Caroline wrinkled her nose at him adorably. "You are disgusting. Normally I would indeed slap you for that, but, currently, I don't hate you."
"You don't?" Klaus' expression brightened considerably.
"Nope," she turned back to him with a smile. "But don't expect any promises for any other days."
"I'll take it," he grinned. She found herself smiling back stupidly, forgetting that she was quasi-enemies with him for half a second. Klaus opened his mouth to speak and the ringing of her phone cut him off.
"Shit, sorry. It's a text," Caroline fumbled in her bag, locating the annoying device.
Biting her lip, she read the message from Tyler canceling their dinner date plans downtown due to a paperwork overhaul and would you hate me if I missed our breakfast date in the morning too? Her stomach sank at the message, but her irritation at Tyler grew.
"Bad news?" Klaus interrupted her train of thought and she blinked up at him confusedly. "You're glaring at your phone."
"Oh," she muttered. "It's just Tyler. Looks like he has to work late tonight."
Klaus nodded, pressing his lips together in a thin line as he thrust his hands into his pocket. Caroline awkwardly shoved her phone back into her bag, hitching it back on to her shoulder.
"Would you mind joining me for dinner?" Klaus asked suddenly.
Caroline blinked at him, her stomach swooping at the rare, genuine look in his eyes. He looked almost nervous, like he was scared of his invitation getting rejected. She weighed her options in her head. On one hand, getting free food at a possible swanky place while possibly pumping him for information about his family. Downside was that it would be with Klaus. On the other hand, she could just go home, get in her comfy sweats, work on her article and eat takeout Thai food.
She was surprised by what option sounded more appealing.
"Sure."
"Italian okay?" he asked, licking his bottom lip somewhat nervously. She subconsciously watched the motion of his tongue, shaking her head when she realized it.
"Italian is my favorite," she answered, looking down at her feet. A grin grew across his face.
"I know."
Caroline looked around the fancy Italian restaurant, the dim lighting causing an almost romantic atmosphere inside the building. She looked over at her dinner companion, the handsome Brit furrowing his brow at the menu.
She could do this.
It's just Klaus.
Who was surprisingly the most charming version of himself right now.
She couldn't help but feel a little guilty though. She had accepted his dinner offer with less than honorable intentions. Whilst she was there for the free food that he had offered, she was also hoping to gather some intel about him and his family.
Which is why she was currently trying to smuggle her recorder under her napkin.
"Do you know what you want?"
His smooth voice cut into her thoughts and Caroline nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise.
"I'm sorry, what?" She gasped, grabbing at her chest. He smirked at her in amusement as he nodded towards her menu.
"Find anything?"
She scanned down the menu quickly, picking out the first thing she recognized. "The uh, baked lasagna."
"Excellent choice," he murmured. "It's an old homemade recipe from the cook's grandmother."
"Do you take all your dates here?" Caroline quipped, almost teasingly.
He peeked at her over his menu and winked. "Just all the pretty ones."
Caroline flushed and inwardly chastised herself for being affected by him. "Good thing this isn't a date then."
There was a pause and Caroline thought he didn't hear her and then- "Yes, good thing."
She tried to ignore how resigned his voice seemed to sound.
The waiter eventually came and took their order, dropping off the wine that Klaus had requested when they were seated. Once the wine was poured and the silence was deafening, Caroline snuck a peek down at her napkin to make sure that her recorder was well-hidden and turned on.
Looking up, she found Klaus staring at her curiously and for a minute her heart pounded erratically thinking she'd be caught. But then their eyes met and he smiled slightly.
"You know I won't bite, sweetheart," Klaus chuckled, taking a sip of his wine. Caroline smiled meekly before reaching for her own.
"What makes you say that?" she asked, taking her own sip. The bittersweet wine flavor bursted on her tongue and filled her senses, spreading warmth throughout her body.
God, he really knew his wines.
Klaus shrugged, leaning forward on the table on his elbows. "You just seem nervous."
"I'm not," Caroline snapped back quickly, inwardly cringing at how shrill her voice sounded. Klaus raised his eyebrows at her and she automatically took another gulp of wine.
"I just...I'm curious," Caroline began. "You've spent the past few years being the biggest jerk-off to me. And now you're acting...perfect, which is so beyond annoying that I can't even look at you."
Klaus chuckled, obviously inwardly pleased at himself. "I have my reasons."
"Reasons for being nice or for being annoying?"
"I wouldn't say annoying per se," he began, Caroline cutting him off with a look. He pursed his lips into a wry smile and shrugged.
"Okay fine, I haven't been that great to you," Klaus conceded.
"That's a bit of an understatement," Caroline shot back, smiling slightly at the sheepish look on his face.
"I can't help that I'm competitive, love. It comes with the big family."
"It's Caroline," she reminded him. Her stomach flipped over when he mentioned his family. Maybe this was him giving her an unintentional hint to talk about his family.
"Big family, huh?" she continued, inadvertently glancing down at her napkin-covered recorder.
Klaus took another sip of his drink, nodding as he swallowed. "Two parents, six children."
"Wow," Caroline played dumb. "Must have been a house full."
"Mix in the paparazzi because of Mikaelson Corp and then you have a zoo," Klaus joked, causing Caroline to giggle at the visual.
"So, paparazzi then. Must have been insane growing up," Caroline started, very aware of how her hands shook when she lifted her wineglass to her lips. She lifted her other hand up and touched the napkin covering the recorder nonchalantly, relieved it was still on.
Klaus studied her with an unreadable gaze. His eyes had darkened considerably since they began discussing his family, but now they were a deep stormy blue.
"Yes, my parents had to get a few bodyguards," he continued, cocking his head to look at her somewhat thoughtfully.
Caroline nodded, pressing her lips together in a thin line. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. Almost like he was just waiting for her to drop a bomb on him. His eyes had a strange glint to them, and then he glanced down at the napkin where the recorder was.
Fuck.
He knew.
Caroline was at a loss for words, the unreadable look in Klaus' eyes starting to become clearer.
He was angry.
Pissed.
"You know," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
Klaus glared at her, reaching across the table and yanking the napkin off the recorder. Her face flushed and her heart dropped.
"Of course I know," he snapped, his eyes glittering with anger.
"Napkin over the recorder," he muttered, almost to himself. "I invented that trick."
Caroline winced as he balled up the napkin, throwing it down on the table. "What's the story?"
She shook her head, reaching for the recorder and switching it off. This wasn't something she would want to remember.
"Caroline, what is the story?" he repeated tersely. She was almost sad he didn't call her by one of his annoying pet names.
"It's you," she answered hollowly. "Jenna wants to expose Mikaelson Corp to get the paper publicity."
Klaus growled under his breath, Caroline rubbing an unsteady hand down her face, wishing she could crawl under the table and live there forever.
"A tabloid article," Klaus muttered. "I expected better from you."
Caroline hated that he was right. She had expected better things from herself too.
"What did you find out?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
"I-I don't think you want to know," she muttered, glancing down at her hands. She felt a firm finger lifting her chin up, the touch sending a warm shock down her body. She met Klaus' gaze. His eyes were angered, but there was something else there.
It was hurt.
She wet her dry lips with her tongue, wishing Klaus was distracted by that and not glaring at her like she killed his puppy.
"There is a possibility that Mikael might not be your birth father," she confessed, noting that Klaus' eyes darkened. "I think he may have killed Ansel Erikson too. Ansel being-"
"My father," Klaus interrupted. "He is."
Caroline gaped at Klaus with wide, shocked eyes.
"You knew?"
Klaus chuckled sardonically, looking at her with disdainful eyes. "You think a man like Mikael would claim something that isn't his? Caroline, I've known since I was in elementary school."
"Who else knows?" Caroline asked, his eyes getting darker by her curious question.
"My entire immediate family. Who knows at the paper?"
"Just Katherine," Caroline muttered, casting her gaze down to her hands.
Klaus nodded curtly, his jaw tight with tension.
"Why doesn't the public know?" Caroline asked meekly, scrunching her face in confusion.
"No need to break up the happy home my mother had so lovingly crafted," Klaus replied, the sarcasm dripping off his lips.
"I'm sorry," Caroline whispered.
Klaus leaned in across the table, his dark gaze penetrating through her chest. "For getting caught or for my family?"
"Both," she whispered, shrugging slightly. Her stomach was twisting in knots because of the hurtful expression on his face. "This story wasn't my idea."
"But you still went through with it," Klaus shot back. "Even though it would compromise everything that you would have worked for."
Caroline didn't reply, his words resonating through her. "Jenna-"
"Who the hell cares about Jenna?" Klaus bellowed. "This is about you!"
"Why do you care so much about what I do?" she asked quietly, her voice hitching at the way he just seemed to slump in his chair at her question.
"I'm not hungry anymore," he muttered quietly. "I need to go."
"Klaus-"
He stood up, tossing a couple of hundred dollar bills on the table.
"Enjoy dinner, it's on me," he bit out, whirling around to leave.
She looked down at her hands, blinking rapidly at the onset of tears that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Why did he care about what she did?
Better yet, why did it bother her so much that she had hurt him?
Let's play, did you spot the canon lines? :) Please review and tell me what all you guys thought! I love reviews, they make my world go round!
Also, check out my new drabble series Baby Talk if you're in the mood for some mindless fluff :)
Until Next Time
Kaitlyn (find me at she-walked-away on tumblr)