Klaroline AU Week Day 3: Sci-fi and Post-apocalypse
Ten years after the reckoning, Caroline isn't quite used to the new world order or Klaus's position in it. (Post S4 Canon)
She knew accepting the invitation could be a mistake, but it never occurred to her to pass up the opportunity.
The automated car he had sent for her stopped at the imposing front door, and Caroline's eyes rolled at the castle the Originals called home. Their centennial gala tradition seemed to thrive regardless of the world reckoning, and vampires always liked a party.
Caroline could hear the thrum of other guests inside, a pounding bass beating underneath; more than three hundred years since homecoming, and she still hadn't gotten used to the grandeur of a Mikaelson gathering. Careful with the delicate fabric of her dress, she shuffled out of the car with a fierce grip on her clutch.
Keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, Caroline made her way to the entrance, where wait staff promptly offered her a glass of chilled champagne. With only slight hesitation, she gratefully took a deep sip, the alcohol helping to soothe her frayed nerves.
The opulent ballroom belied the den of iniquity it really was. Despite fine jewels and haute couture, vampires far older than Caroline could guess were acting like teenagers on spring break - if teenagers were drunk on blood and lust. Humans were passed freely like toys, and more than a few couches were claimed for openly sexual displays.
She was hardly the naive girl she was in Mystic Falls, but Caroline's throat clogged with disgust at the overindulgence of it all. Even just a decade earlier, and she would have happily joined in the fun.
But then the reckoning happened.
Natural disasters destroyed half the world as they knew it, most of the human population wiped out due to a lack of resources. Vampires and witches managed to survive in greater numbers, though werewolves struggled to live long enough to pass on the gene to their children. Supernatural status soon became a commodity, for witches to trade spells of abundance or curses of famine, for vampires to willingly share the gift of immortality. None were more successful in building an empire of wealth and influence than the Original family.
Like a magnet pulling her in, Caroline glanced up to find Klaus staring at her. Suddenly, she was back in high school, wondering why the hell a thousand-year-old hybrid would be interested in a baby vampire. Time had yet to lessen their apparent effect on each other, her breath catching as he moved toward her.
Striding through the crowd with that infuriating smirk on his face, Klaus was temptation himself in a well-cut tuxedo. "You're a hard woman to find, sweetheart," he greeted, watching Caroline finish her drink in a heady gulp. Charming as ever, something about him seemed tense, calculating.
She passed the glass off to a server, needing the distraction to brace herself. Her voice was deceptively light and even, "What's twenty years between friends?" That little Tuscan villa she had left him in was underwater now, a fact she thought about from time to time.
"Quite a lot," he answered, eyes narrowing at her masked reaction, "especially given the particular events of the last ten." His fingers brushed back her hair, to trace reverently along her exposed collarbone. "Honestly, I'm surprised you managed to receive my invitation."
"You must have gone to some trouble, reaching me all the way in Nepal." Caroline swept her gaze across the room, noting the few interested looks they were getting. Rebekah had snorted in derision, only to go back to the bloody human she was feasting on; Elijah was decidedly more suspicious in his neat repose, reclined in an armchair nearby. The others were strangers to Caroline, but there was an easily explained sexual glint to their appreciative gaze. Clearing her throat, she turned back to Klaus with a curious expression. "Are you glad I came?"
His smirk softened, and his hand dropped to hers. "Dance with me," he said, already pulling her close. Though their simple sway was hardly the lustful embrace others were engaging in, it somehow felt more intimate to Caroline.
But this was the man who could flirt during a murder, and she was keenly aware of the danger he posed despite his gentle voice. "Half the world was gone, and you just disappeared, love," Klaus murmured. "For too long, I searched before I finally realized...you were either dead, or you were hiding from me."
Caroline leaned into him, oddly comforted by his implied accusation. "I forgot how good megalomania looks on you," she teased. "The all-powerful hybrid can't find little, old me."
His grip turned harsh, and the world tilted as he flashed them out of the room. Closing her eyes, Caroline dug her fingers into his shoulder and tucked her clutch between them. The air crackled in her ears when they suddenly stopped in what was obviously his bedroom. "What the hell, Klaus?"
"Do not play the innocent," he warned, his voice fierce with rage. "You were dead, for all I knew, and you joke? I took great pains to verify that the rumored blonde vampire traipsing through the Himalayas really was Caroline Forbes, and yet I can't shake the feeling you're only here for some nefarious design."
Shoving out her arms to demand some space, Caroline snarled right back in his face, "Because you're a paranoid ass!" With a huff, she straightened out her dress. "I'm sorry you were worried about me, but I was a little busy surviving a freaking apocalypse, okay?"
Klaus ran a hand through his hair, the outward sign of his emotional distress surprising to them both. "I would have kept you safe," he insisted. "Why not come looking for me?"
"I'm here now." Caroline shrugged helplessly.
His tongue slipping across his bottom lip in agitated thought, Klaus dropped his eyes to the clutch she still held. "You know, Elijah has been tracking a so-called liberator throughout Asia," he said, almost casual. "Some vampires have reported losing their blood stocks. Never too many humans at a time, but enough to cause shortages for their leisure."
Wishing she had more champagne, Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I wouldn't have guessed, with how many human party favors you have out in the ballroom."
The silence between them was loaded as Klaus watched her carefully. "I'm not shocked you have made powerful enemies in your quest to be a good little vampire," he finally said, his steps toward her measured and powerful. "But to come after me, my family… What was your plan, love?"
Her hand shook as he slowly pried the clutch out of her grasp, plucking the vervain-wolfsbane syringe from it with a disapproving click of his tongue. "Slip the syringe to Rebekah, sow a little sibling discord to provide myself some cover and confusion to get my targets out of your human stables. Which is a gross concept, by the way."
Klaus's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Targets?"
"Yeah," Caroline scoffed, giving into the temptation of the bar cart near the bed. She poured them both a glass of scotch and took a generous sip before shrugging. "This whole 'liberator' reputation sounds great, but it's pretty disingenuous. Vampires hold ridiculous grudges, and a lot of them only care about the status of how many human blood bags they have at their mercy. They hire me to ruin their competition's day, or a witch wants a family member back, or a powerful human accidentally gets taken. Regardless of the situation, I get hired to rescue a target or three. Not only do I get paid and more than a few favors from clients, but the humans don't mind letting me take a drink before they go free."
"That's how you've survived, for ten years?" He accepted the other glass of scotch, moving to sit on the bed as Caroline looked around at the various artwork on display. "I can't imagine that's steady work."
"You're, like, the pettiest of the petty, Klaus," she pointed out honestly. "The only reason you don't need my services are because you probably have lower level vampires on permanent staff for the family."
He shrugged - she wasn't wrong. Klaus looked down again at the syringe he still held, irritation still rubbing at his veins. "And who hired you to attack us tonight?"
"That would be me." The new voice made Caroline jump, but Klaus had sensed Elijah's approach. He merely turned to where his older brother leaned in the doorway. "I used an emissary, of course, if only to see how far Miss Forbes would get in her task. A security test, if you would."
Smirking up at her, Klaus chuckled. "Don't feel bad, love, foes much older than yourself have failed against our family."
With an exaggerated pout, Caroline raised a hand to his cheek, gently stroking the stubble. "Oh, Klaus, you know I don't fail," she sighed. His smirk fell, but amusement still danced in his eyes. She glanced over her shoulder to where Elijah seemed bored by their intimate behavior. "My partner has already cleared the targets to your emissary, you should be getting confirmation any minute now. Because yes, I already knew about your plan to test me and likely feed my 'betrayal' to Klaus."
She turned back to the hybrid, who was watching her with open admiration. The little blonde distraction struck again, and he couldn't look prouder. "Still glad I came?"
Elijah's phone buzzed in his pocket, but they were lost in their own world as Klaus pulled her down to straddle his lap. "That depends." His brother made a quick escape, leaving him to breathe temptation against Caroline's lips. "How long do you intend to stay?"
Humming with delight, she leaned in, only to tease him with the barest contact. "However long it takes to make sure your human population receives the proper respect and dignity," she murmured. "If that happens quickly, I could be persuaded to stick around."
Klaus took the hint, pressing forward to kiss her. It was lingering, persuasive.
Before he could deepen it, though, she gently pulled at his hair. "I'm going to need accommodations for my partner, too," she demanded, giggling breathlessly at the small growl in his throat. "Knowing him and your family, there's a good chance Enzo will end up sleeping with Rebekah or Kol, probably both, but he should still have his own room."
"And you?" Klaus asked, his lips brushing against her own.
"I like the bar, and this bed is nice," she answered with a nip. "But we'll need to discuss color schemes for the walls and the bedding. I also want a new painting, of the villa in Tuscany." Her heart swelled in a sweet ache, begging her for a bit of courage. "I miss it sometimes, almost as much as I missed you."
His hands rose to cup her face, and Klaus took his time to place reverent kisses along her features. "Whatever you want, love, it's yours," he promised, moving her hand to cover his heart.
Tears shining in her eyes, Caroline nodded and squeezed her fingers between his. "I want it all."