A/N: Hey everyone :) There is now a drabble series that takes place in the same universe as this fic called "Under My Roof," which chronicles Kol, Katherine, and Caroline's journey as roommates. The drabble series is not necessary to enjoy this story :)
Thank you to D, Sophie, and Wifey for betawork.
Enjoy!
-Angie

"Hello, welcome to American Airlines flight 1648 with domestic service from Portland to the Richmond International Airport. In case of an emergency…"

Klaus sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest of his first class seat. It had been three days since Caroline had been told who she was to play in her performance, and he was excited to celebrate with her when he got back.

From her use of the word 'home', he was hoping said celebration might be less platonic than he'd expected.

He'd just accepted a seltzer water from the flight attendant when he felt it. The foreign feeling of panic in his stomach gripped him like ice, and he almost felt like his lungs were collapsing.

"Sir, are you all right?" the flight attendant asked.

"Yes, just feeling a bit sick. Afraid of flying," he lied through gritted teeth, shutting his eyes.

He concentrated very hard on Caroline and managed to make out her side table, and felt his lungs burn before he lost the connection with her completely, and suddenly felt strangely empty.

She was dead.

He pulled out his phone, compelling the flight attendant to shut up without even thinking about it as he dialed Caroline's number. It rang a few times before her voice came over the line.

"Hi. You've reached Caroline. Please leave your name and number and I'll try to get back to you ASAP. Bye!"

"Caroline, I need you to call me back as soon as you get this," he said, trying to ignore that his voice almost cracked.

She couldn't be gone.

He hung up and dialed Kol, who also didn't answer.

He was about to dial the Bennett witch when his phone lit up with a number he didn't recognize. He hoped it was a ransom, or at least some sort of information about Caroline.

"Hello?"

"She's fine," Katherine said without preamble.

"What have you done?"

"It wasn't me. It was your genius brother. I came back to the apartment from class a few minutes ago and she and Kol are both dead on the floor. I saw some containers in the bathroom and I think Kol was trying to clean it and didn't realize mixing ammonia and bleach wasn't such a good idea."

"So she'll wake up?" he asked, not even registering how desperate he sounded.

"Yes. I'll stay with her."

He sighed in relief before realizing the person he was speaking with, and letting his lips curl into a smirk. "Don't tell me you've come to care for my mate, Katerina?"

There was silence on the other end of the line before Katherine spoke again. "I'm sure she'll call when she wakes up."

"Good, I'll be in transit, but please have her leave me a message." he said, before pausing, grimacing at what he was about to do. "Thank you, Katerina."

"Did my ears deceive me, or did Klaus Mikaelson–"

Klaus snarled and hung up the phone, massaging his temples. He just had to ignore the niggling fear in his gut. He didn't trust Katerina Petrova any more than he trusted his dear mother. However, both were alike in that if their personal motives matched up to yours, there was no one better to be aligned with. They were ruthless, manipulative, and alarmingly intelligent.

He'd always said Elijah had an Oedipus complex.

He took deep breaths, clutching the armrests of his seat, knowing he'd be unable to relax until he knew with complete certainty that Caroline was safe. He tried not to make indents on the plastic, knowing that it was most likely a lost cause, and made a mental note to call Rebekah at some point to see if she couldn't sweet talk Elijah into getting them a private jet.

It had only been about an hour when he felt a foreign rush of confusion and exasperation, and he smiled, content that Caroline was safe.

...until he felt the cold emptiness of her death again.

Snarling, he pulled out his cell phone, barked at the flight attendant to leave him be (to the clear disgust of the other passengers), not particularly caring if he fucked up the satellite signal for the plane. Katherine answered Caroline's phone on the first ring.

"Kol snapped her neck."

"The little chit was talking back to me, darling. Can't blame me," he heard Kol's voice float from the background, accompanied by slurping of what was probably a blood bag.

He hung up without responding and checked the time on his phone. It would be another six hours before he arrived in Richmond. He'd probably run to Whitmore rather than drive. It would be faster.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat until he felt the pleasant hum that indicated that Caroline was alive before allowing himself to relax slightly.

XXX

Caroline had been feeling anxious since she'd woken up from Kol snapping her neck, and she wasn't sure why. It had come out of nowhere. She had nothing to be particularly anxious about (besides the usual, anyway), and it took her awhile to realize that it was probably Klaus.

Which made her realize that he knew she'd died.

When she said as much to Katherine, the other girl nodded and told Caroline very bluntly that Kol was probably in very deep trouble. And really, Caroline couldn't have that. Their first rehearsal was the next day, and she wasn't about to have her performance ruined because Kol couldn't follow some simple directions.

She oversaw him clean the bathroom correctly, ignoring his muttered death threats, before sinking down on the couch to watch some television.

She was sucked into the black hole of binge-watching when she heard the front door slam open and Klaus zoomed to stop in front of her, and she felt his relief, warm in her belly. "I'm glad you're safe," he said.

"Me too."

He twitched as though he wanted to touch her, but kept himself in check, and she rolled her eyes, standing up to pull him into a hug. The reaction of her body was instant and intense. She felt the heat of him envelop her as he held her, her skin impossibly sensitive to his touch. "I'm fine," she said quietly.

She could feel his breath against her, his chest rising and falling as he inhaled her scent, and she felt an ache start in her core. She felt so safe wrapped up in his arms, and he began to play with the ends of her hair, his palm stroking her back, and she had to hold back a moan at the casual touch, feeling a stab of arousal hit her pussy. She pressed her forehead against his shoulder, her hands winding in the fabric of his shirt, gripping it tightly, and she could feel his lips curl into a smile as he rested his cheek on her head.

She could feel her nipples pebble against the fabric of her bra, and almost wanted to rock her hips against him as she felt him harden against her thigh as she shifted, groaning softly in her ear.

There was movement from the doorway, and both of them looked up to see Kol standing there, looking surprised and a bit scared. It appeared he had a right to be as Klaus was out of her arms with Kol pressed against the wall within a second.

"Klaus," Caroline shouted. "Let him go."

"He killed you," Klaus snarled.

"The first time wasn't on purpose."

"And the second?"

"He'd died a few times in a row, Klaus. He was weak and starving and I was yelling at him."

"Not an excuse."

Caroline walked up to him and gently pried his fingers away from Kol's neck, which wouldn't have worked if he hadn't let her. "Klaus, he's in the musical. I need him to be at rehearsal tomorrow."

Klaus scoffed, glaring at his brother, but obligingly stepped aside, expecting Kol to move past him. Instead, Kol stood there and gave Klaus a disgusted glare.

"I died five times in a row because your little girlfriend couldn't be bothered to tell me about the dangers of the modern world. I suffered for hours in that room, Nik. I woke up starving from it, and all you can think of is the fact that I snapped her neck when I knew she would wake up?"

Caroline could hear the undercurrent of hurt in Kol's voice, and she suddenly felt horribly guilty, not having considered the situation from Kol's point of view. He must have felt utterly helpless, not knowing what had gone wrong and simply suffocating from the chemicals repeatedly, but before either her or Klaus could speak, Kol was gone.

Caroline winced and turned to Klaus. "I feel awful."

"He'll get over it. He always does," Klaus said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked, her tone biting, making Klaus turn to her in surprise. "He just seems to want you to care about him, really. He's your brother, Klaus. Is that too much to ask?"

She felt a stab of anger, and she wasn't sure which of them it belonged to (or if it was both), but Klaus gritted his teeth, his voice low as he spoke through them. "Do not speak of things you do not understand."

She opened her mouth to respond, but he pushed on. "Do you understand how it felt to be on that plane, seven hours away, and helpless? To get a glimpse through your eyes as you suffocated? To not know what had happened to you?"

"You saw through my eyes? What does that even mean?"

"It means that my theory was correct, and that if I concentrate very hard and you are feeling intense emotions, I can get small glimpses of what's going on."

"That's invading my privacy," she said, inwardly thinking that it must have been terrifying.

He must have read her face, because his next words chilled her. "It felt like I lost a part of me I didn't know was there. I felt...empty. I hope you never have to experience it."

A thousand thoughts seemed to run through her head during that moment, but only two were overwhelmingly present.

There was some sort of part of her that could feel him. There was a hum in her body, a current running through it, and somehow she knew that it was what was making her feel whole.

When she was human, she had definitely been 'one of those girls' who thought that she needed someone else to complete her. She felt alone without someone. She'd learned since becoming a vampire that it wasn't necessarily true. She didn't need someone to feel complete. And yet, being with Klaus made her feel like she was alive. She never wanted to know what it would be like to lose that feeling-that wholeness. Now that she'd had it, she couldn't imagine it being gone.

The other thought-the realization-was that she understood why he wanted to make her an Original now. She would feel the same way in his place, she realized.

"Klaus...I…" she breathed, trailing off, unsure what to say.

He just smiled slightly, pressing his forehead against hers, his breath clouding her face, a mix of coppery blood and mint toothpaste that was strangely enticing. Or maybe it was just enticing because it was him.

She'd bet on the latter.

"I know."

She took a deep breath, feeling the shiver go through her body. "Klaus...I didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't have a right to be angry. I just don't want you to fight with your family. They're important to you, and it really was an accident."

"I know," he said again.

She bit her lip, thinking about what she was about to do, what she was about to admit, and she saw his eyes darken, his hands seeming to instinctively tighten on her waist. Her core tightened with arousal almost painfully, and she wasn't sure how to say it so that it came out how she wanted it to.

But whether she said it perfectly or not, he had to know. It was floating in the air between them, and she could tell that he could feel her body stiffen as she took a deep breath, her body quivering at the tight softness of his grip, his body so near to hers.

"I think you were right," she said quietly.

He frowned, almost instinctively moving closer to her. "About what, love?"

"I would hate that feeling."

His lips curled into a wicked smile, so different from his previous expression, and her undead heart seemed to thump in her chest as she could almost feel the phantom brush of them against her neck, the imaginary kiss making another, harsher stab of arousal hit her. "What feeling?"

"Losing my mate," she whispered.

Suddenly, everything seemed to calm around her, a calming breath whooshing out of her as her body stopped vibrating with need.

"What's happening?"

"You finally accepted it. The mating. The bond isn't trying to push us together anymore."

"That's what that was?" she asked, remaining in his arms, completely comfortable with their contact.

He nodded. "If you think of it as a sentient spell, which it really isn't, it was trying to tempt us together in hopes that you would accept the bond."

"So...I'm not going to be uncomfortably...aroused whenever you're around?" she asked, half relieved and half disappointed.

He smirked. "That depends. Would you like to be?"

She scoffed. "It was pretty inconvenient, to be honest."

He shrugged. "I liked it. I liked watching the effect it had on you."

"Of course you did," she mumbled, moaning as his hands slipped under her blouse to stroke her back. "Klaus, what are you doing?"

"Touching you," he said, as though it should be obvious. "Do you want me to stop?"

She bit her lip as the arousal she'd let go came back with full force, the intensity shaking through her body. "No," she said quietly, her eyelids fluttering shut.

"What do you want, love?"

She cracked one eye open, glaring at him. "Are you serious right now?"

"I told you that you would have to come to me the first time. It's your choice."

"I don't remember that."

"I do. I believe my exact words were that you would spread your legs for me and beg me for it."

She snorted rather inelegantly. "Yeah, fat chance. Is this where you tell me I have to submit?"

His lips curled into a small smile. "In a manner of speaking, yes. I am the alpha male, love."

"Does that make me the alpha female?"

"Yes."

"So why do I have to submit to you? Why can't it be the other way around?" she asked, genuinely curious.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that really what you want, Caroline? Do you want to make me beg? To ride my cock and make me desperate for you?"

She felt her face heat as he spoke in her ear, and she felt foreign pictures filling her mind, and realized it was Klaus's imagination of her riding him, her eyes black, fangs jutted out, and she rubbed her thighs together.

"Or do you want this?"

A very different set of images flooded into her mind. Him taking her from behind while she screamed into a pillow. Her on her knees, his cock in her mouth while he pressed her head down lightly, murmuring the most delicious things. Him pinning her wrists above her head while she begged for him, her legs around his waist. She felt her breath catch, her pussy clenching around nothing.

"I think you've found your answer," he said quietly, his voice husky.

She didn't answer verbally, instead gripping the front of his shirt and pulling him down for a heated kiss.

He wound his fingers into her hair, the other hand pulling her flush against him by the small of her back, his lips moving with hers as he thrust his tongue into her mouth.

She moaned, her hands fisting his shirt, and he sped them to her bedroom, pushing her onto the bed. She responded by pulling him down so that he was lying on top of her, her legs wrapped around his waist, grinding her core against the prominent bulge in his jeans.

He pulled back to lick and suck at her neck, and she moaned loudly, a stab of arousal hitting her core, making him smile against her skin. "Shh," he mumbled. "Don't want neighbors to overhear you beg, do you?"

She moaned again, more softly this time, when he stroked her abdomen, his palms running up her skin to cup her breasts through her bra under her shirt, brushing his thumbs against her nipples, which were pebbled against the fabric.

"Klaus…"

He roughly pressed his lips against hers again, quieting her, and she reached down to rub him through the fabric of his jeans, making him groan against her mouth.

She started to unzip his jeans, but he grabbed her hand and pinned it to the mattress. "Patience. Spread your legs, lift your hips."

He smirked when she did so, letting him pull her jeans down her legs and bunch them up on the end of the bed.

He hooked a finger around her thong, tugging it down to her knees and running a finger lightly along her slit. She moaned, instinctively spreading her legs a bit farther and winding her fingers into the sheets as he pushed a finger in, and then another, pumping them in and out slowly.

She raised her hips to meet the thrusts of his fingers, and couldn't help the gasps and moans that came from her, filling the room.

"Do you like that?" he asked as he curled his fingers slightly, making her moan and nod.

"Tell me."

"Yes. Harder, Klaus."

He slowed his fingers in response and she wriggled against him, trying to rock her hips against his fingers. "Klaus…"

He brushed his thumb lightly over her clit and she moaned, her orgasm building much more quickly as he seemed to instinctively know all of her sweet spots.

"Fuck, you're loud," he mumbled, leaning down to bite her ear harshly, running his tongue along the shell of it, making her hips jerk.

"Sorry…?" she half-asked, panting as he continued to rub her clit, his erection very noticeable against her bare thigh until he shifted to loom higher above her, pulling his fingers away and tearing her thong off, letting the fabric fall to the floor before wedging one of his thighs between hers, not stopping the movements of his thumb against her clit, and she gasped loudly as she rubbed herself against the rough fabric of his jeans.

"I like it when you scream for me," he said simply, his voice low and rough.

Pressing his thigh against her pussy, he tore her blouse and bra off easily, cupping her breasts in his hands and tweaking her nipples roughly, making her moan again.

"Do you want me to make you come, Caroline?"

"Yes," she gasped, lost in a haze of his burning touch on her skin, quivering at the pleasure of it.

"All you have to do is ask," he whispered.

"Please."

"Not good enough. Beg for me to make you come while you rut against my thigh like a bitch in heat."

She let out a soft whimper at his words, rolling her hips and fisting the sheets so hard her knuckles turned white. She'd never felt this desperately close before, even in the woods. Her skin was damp with sweat and her core was empty and aching with need, and Klaus just smirked from above her, probably enjoying the way her face must be twisting as she tried to make herself come without needing to beg.

She gave up soon enough, her voice dropping to a soft whimper. "Klaus, please…"

"What happened to screaming for me, love?"

She shook her head, panting as he raked his fingernails down her hips, pressing his thigh against her more roughly.

"Scream for me," he ordered.

"Klaus," she moaned, still keeping her voice as quiet as possible, mindful of their neighbors (and who knew if Katherine and Kol were home).

"Scream."

She shook her head, moving her hips frantically against her thigh, which he responded to by pressing her hips roughly into the mattress, stilling their movements. "Don't you want me to fuck you, Caroline? To shove my cock into your pussy and make you come around me? To flip you over and shove your face into the pillows and claim you from behind?"

"Yes," she gasped, abandoning the goal of being quiet. "Yes, please."

"Louder."

"Please, Klaus," she moaned, her whimpers and gasps soon filling the room as he freed his erection, tugged her legs apart, and buried himself in her, moving one hand to pin her wrists above her head, the other tweaking her nipple while he moved down to nibble her neck.

"Do you like it when I whisper filthy words in your ear, love?" he asked against her skin, darting out his tongue to taste it.

"Yes," she panted. "Klaus, I'm so close, please."

He moved faster, his balls slapping against her skin as he grabbed her calves, tugging her to him so that her legs were spread wide and her hips at an angle so that he could drive into her more deeply, and she could see him smiling wickedly as she screamed his name repeatedly, writhing under him.

"Come," he demanded, squeezing his palms around her skin. "Come for me."

She clenched around him hard, swearing under her breath as he fucked her through her orgasm, rapidly approaching his own. "I'm going to try something," he warned, his eyes turning yellow as his fangs dropped.

He waited until she nodded, her face damp with sweat, before burying his fangs in her neck, drinking from her and spilling inside her. He pulled back, her blood on his lips, and licked them, keeping eye contact with her, making her shiver.

"I need your blood," she whispered.

He studied her face for a second before brushing aside her hair, stroking the spot where he'd bitten her, two small scars on her neck from the puncture wound. He smirked.

"No, love. You don't."

A/N: Thanks for reading. How do we feel about how the mate bond is progressing? What do we think about the progression (or lack thereof) in Kol and Klaus's relationship. Any predictions about the quest to find the doppelganger? Do we think anything will change now that Caroline has accepted the bond? Tell me your thoughts! :D
Hugs!
-Angie