Klaus could sense her before she had even entered the room. The flowery scent, the confident steps and the steady but slow heartbeat that all alerted him to Caroline's presence without having to see her.
"Hey, there you are," she said somewhat exasperated, closing the door of the study behind her and coming to join him on the couch. He felt it shake under him as she practically threw herself onto it, a deep breath leaving her lungs as she did so.
"Here I am," he replied with a smirk which faded away when he looked up from the book he had reading to see her defeated posture. Shifting in his seat, he stretched an arm out along the back of the sofa so he could softly play with her hair. Not only had he learnt that it was source of comfort for her, but feeling such a luxurious material slip through his fingers over and over was soothing to him too. "Something wrong, my love?"
"I'm bored," she exclaimed suddenly, lolling her head towards him with a pout and slapping her hands against the sofa. "Like really bored. There is only so much I can do here before it begins to get repetitive."
"You are always welcome to help run this city with me. I assure you, you will be begging for a boring moment then," he suggested, smiling again when she threw him a lazy glare.
"Thank you, but I can just about handle Skye and she's actually my closest friend outside this family," Caroline turned down with a sigh, referring to one of his trusted vampires who he had originally assigned to protect and keep her safe. Though she had argued at first, refusing to have someone with her every time she went out by herself, Klaus hadn't relented. Eventually realising that it was something that he wouldn't let go, she had reluctantly gone with it. Over the years, they had become friends despite their slightly different personalities. "I just need something to do."
Pausing to let her words sink in, Klaus tried to think of what she would enjoy to do. Caroline had fit in as his queen to New Orleans pretty well but she wore the title superficially; never one to feel like she was above the rest when in his eyes, she was above them all. "Mardi Gras season is almost upon us. I know you enjoy planning that," he recalled with a raised brow but she merely scrunched up her nose adorably in discontent.
"I do, especially with Rebekah, but its still early to begin doing anything," she pointed out. Klaus couldn't argue because, if he was honest, he left Mardi Gras celebrations in full reign of Caroline and Rebekah. They knew the city best when it came to events and no one threw events and parties better than those two. Together they were unstoppable.
Watching her carefully as she pulled the book that he had been reading from his lap, he couldn't help but notice the slightly lethargic movements and the unenthusiastic way she took in the book, flipping from page to page without actually reading. A flitting moment of doubt crossed his mind and he had to think back to the last time he had seen her bounce around the house in joy, hearing her laughter or sweet melodic voice from the other side of the compound as she successfully coerced a sibling or Skye into doing something they didn't really want to. It had been a while. Apart from the time they spent together, the last time he could remember her being so enthusiastic about anything was at Christmas when she had taken over decorating once again. That was nearly 3 months earlier.
Allowing his knuckles to tenderly graze over her cheek, he sighed. "Caroline, are you not happy here?"
Her head snapped up in an instant at that, causing his hand to fall casually to her jaw."What? No! I am, honestly. I love being here, being with you. And when we have things to do, it's amazing. Or, you know, not have things to do together. But then there are lapses and, oh my god, Klaus, it's worse than Mystic Falls!"
Klaus smiled softly at her typical rambling and over dramatic hand gestures that flew around when she got enthusiastic. "My apologies, sweetheart. I didn't realise. I suppose I have been neglecting you recently, too," he conceded. There had been a few new things to take care of recently in the city, people to deal with and others to see. He had surprisingly found himself without anything to do for the past hour or so, and after finding out that Caroline has gone out for a walk, he has decided to spend some time away from business, hence the reading.
"'Neglecting'? I'm not a plant, babe," Caroline scoffed with a roll of the eyes before shrugging. "Besides, things have been hectic with that new coven suddenly appearing in town. I'm not some sort of clingy, insecure girlfriend who needs your constant attention. Anymore," she added pointedly.
"That is no excuse," Klaus told her because it truly wasn't. He had promised her many things when she chose to love and be with him but boredom was not one of those. Happiness, excitement and the world at her feet, yes. Be so bored that she'd rather be in Mystic Falls than one of the greatest cities on Earth, no. Tilting her head up with a finger under her chin, he leaned in to brush his lips over hers as an idea formulated in his mind. "Let me make it up to you."
It doesn't take long for him to plan their getaway; the plane was ready for them within an hour and a few more quick phone calls arranged a car service and a hotel for them. Caroline packed with practiced ease in the short time that he allocated her, elation at the impromptu trip and having something to do.
He whisked her away to Rio De Janeiro, basking in her joy and awe when her eyes took in the sight of Copacabana Beach during the pre-carnival celebrations at night from their hotel suite balcony.
"I thought it could help with your Mardi Gras planning," Klaus told her, leaning against the doorjamb to watch her. Her head turned back and forth, eyeing up the entire beachfront repeatedly as the scene changed constantly with the flow of people, vehicles and everything and anything else. "What do you reckon?"
"I reckon," Caroline began before turning around with a seductive smile. Reciprocating it as she walked over to him, he shamelessly roamed his eyes from her bare feet, up her smooth legs to the hem of the short summer dress she wore before skimming up to her neckline. Before he could go any further, she had her hands on his chest and was gently pushing him back into the bedroom. Capturing her eyes, his legs hit the edge of the bed and was on his back before he knew it. It was only with her that he could let his guard down enough to allow himself be surprised. And surprise, she did. "I reckon that we've had a long day and it's time for bed. So we can take in the sights properly tomorrow." Klaus smirked at her whispered reasoning as she climbed up to straddle his lap. In all fairness, he wasn't going to argue to any extra time in bed with Caroline.
They stayed for a week, enjoying the sights, sounds and the tastes of Rio; allowing himself to be dragged from one end of the beach of the other, from club to club and bar to bar; spending the late nights and early mornings in bed, the days exploring the city and the evenings enjoying the culture of carnival. But even that wasn't enough for him. A couple of weeks of pure bliss, with Caroline all to himself had left him wanting more leading him to suffer something akin to withdrawal symptoms as he reconvened with Elijah and a select few of his top vampires, werewolves and witches to discuss and bring him up to date with what had happened whilst he was away.
It had been a tiresome few hours with no real major changes or drama occurring to occupy his attention. He had even pulled out his phone to message Caroline a couple of times, just to ask how she was doing and how the Mardi Gras planning was going. It had earned him a dismal glare from his eldest brother who sat at the other end of the table but Klaus had merely raised an eyebrow, daring him to speak up and challenge him in front of the others. To say that that had been the highlight of the meeting pretty much summed up his attitude.
Hearing his phone ring from the desk in front of him, he dismissed the daywalker that he had been talking to briefly before answering the call. "Hello, Caroline," he greeted, already feeling the tension fade away.
"Are you busy, baby? If not, then there's something I need to show you," she said excitedly, intriguing him. It had been a few days since they had gotten back to New Orleans but Klaus was proud of himself to say that the carnival mood had never left Caroline. Back to her normal bouncy self, he could barely keep up with her and Rebekah's plans for their city whenever she began sharing the details with him.
Intrigued piqued, he smiled though she couldn't see it (because how could she not know after all this time that he was never too busy for her if she asked for him?). "Where are you?" he asked, pushing himself onto his feet and heading out of the compound before he had a response.
The streets were busy with volunteers and professionals setting up all parts of the city for Mardi Gras only days away as he made his way to the corner where Caroline was waiting for him. She quickly handed her tablet and whatever decorations she had had with her to the closest volunteer before rushing over to him. Klaus could practically see the eagerness vibrate through her body.
"Hey! Come with me," she grabbed his hand as she spoke, not giving him an option to do anything otherwise. He was dragged to a desolate looking building down a road coming off Bourbon Street, and when she pulled him inside through the broken door, he frowned at the insides too. To say it was rundown would have been too high of a compliment. Gazing around the fallen wooden beams that no doubt once upon a time held up the roof that now littered the floor, to the rubble that laid beside the walls, he pursed his lips when he looked back into Caroline's animated eyes. "So?" she asked expectably, barely able to contain her glee. At what, he had no idea.
"I don't think I understand what you're referring towards," Klaus told her, squinting slightly even though the sunlight that shone into the building in patches through the broken roof was enough for them to see even without the supernatural senses. A small nagging at the back of his brain was urging him to grab her and get them out of there; there was far too much loose wood laying around and hanging up for him to account for and he had spent the better part of their time together ensuring her safety. But he kept an eye out for the most likely danger (a piece of the railing from what he assumed had been a balcony back in the 20s by the looks of it) to make sure he could still get to her before it hurt her.
"Ok, so I know it's a bit of a mess-" she began, faltering slightly when he scoffed in disbelief.
"Sweetheart, a mess would be our bedroom back in Rio. This is a catastrophe," he cut her off with a wave of the hand to sum up the building they were in. It didn't deter her, however, and he could see the fire light back up again behind her blue eyes and a clap of the hands.
"Yeah, but that's the beauty of it!" Klaus opened his mouth to argue that point as well but Caroline cut him off before he could get a word out. "Let me explain before you shoot it down, ok?"
"Go ahead," he reluctantly gave in and crossed his arms. She beamed back at him and turned around to face away as she began to explain.
"I'm thinking a club. Like, there could be a bar there and a stage there," she gestured to the middle of the room with one hand and then to the far side with another to indicate where she meant. "Redo the balconies to make it safer, and everything else obviously. It needs a lot of work but it could be my project. Hire people to reconstruct it safely and then set it up," she finished, spinning around to face him again with a hopeful look. "Well?"
"It sounds like a lot of work," he admitted after a pause, not wanting to write off the idea completely. It wasn't something that he had imagined Caroline taking a liking to or ever wanting to do. But her enthusiasm was hard to deny, and if he could make her happy by entertaining the idea for a while, then he would. Though that didn't mean he didn't have his reservations.
"That's the point! I needed something to do, something more in this city and more for this city, and this can be it. I've already looked into business management courses at Tulane and if I can get admission, which I will, I could start in a month," she told him and Klaus had to admit that the amount of effort she had already put into it was impressive. He knew she was a planner, and was great at it, but a business woman? That was a role she had yet to fulfil.
"And this place? It's up for sale?" he asked, looking around subtly, trying to imagine it done up in a way that only she would he able to.
Caroline nodded. "I already contacted the realtor and she said no one else has shown any interest."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," he muttered with a sigh because seriously (yes, he had picked up on her vocabulary involuntarily), there was no reason for anyone to want this derelict place. No one other than his darling Caroline. But then again, she had a knack for wanting things that no one else did and turning them into a better version of what they were. He had no doubt that she could do it to the place too.
"It's perfect! I came about it by chance, looking for anything new for Mardi Gras this year. I don't know how I haven't noticed it before. I guess we never really come this way. I know there are a few clubs around and then there's Rousseau's, but there's nothing on this side," she babbled on in the way she usually did when she got overly excited. Klaus could do nothing but smile along as her contagious mood caught on. "Anyway, the realtor said I could meet with her in about an hour to discuss things and it should be a quick process. I don't know how much they're asking for, but whatever it is, I'm sure I can make this place work enough to make a profit," she added pointedly to which he had to shake his head because out of everything she had to worry about, that should have been at the bottom of the list. For him it was, at least. A thousand plus years of having the gift of compulsion to get what he wanted left no use for the wealth they had accumulated. It was only recently since Caroline had come into his life had he began relying in it on more occasions simply because of her morals.
"You know money isn't an issue, Caroline. If you're sure about it, then go ahead," he shrugged, watching as her eyes lit up and widen in what he suspected was joy in response to his statement.
"Seriously?" she asked, stepping up to him slowly. He dropped his arms to reach out to her once she was close enough, never being able to resist the allure of having her so close to him.
"Who am I to stop you, hmm, my love? Besides, you do seem to have it all figured out," Klaus said, brushing her hair back from her shoulders as he smoothed his hands down her arms before resting on her hips. Caroline linked her arms around his neck loosely and he felt her fingers slowly begin to play with his hair. Though he'd never admit it (and something told him he would never have to), the simple loving gesture brought comfort to him as well.
"This is going to be awesome. It's going to take a while, a long while, but it'll so be worth it. Plus then I can do what I do best and organise events in here too," she told him matter-of-factly, pressing her lips to his in between the sentences before pulling back to look at him in full confidence, "I'm going to turn this place into the hottest joint in town. Just wait and see."