Happy birthday! :) Thank you so much, I hope this is not too late.
There you go love. This is the longest drabble I ever did. Plus I got out of my comofrt zone in two respects - writing fluff and smut. I'm pretty happy with the result, though. :)
They hadn't spoken for half a week.
There had been an incident.
Elena and Damon had been visiting and he had almost killed Damon.
Despite her wishes. She'd dragged him off off him, completely silent and determined and sent Elena away when Klaus was still seething on the sofa, after Damon had just fled the living room. He was waiting outside for Elena, watching them as Klaus had his gaze filled with lethal intent fixed on him.
When they were gone she had screamed at him and he had screamed back because he was angry and raging and no one questioned his authority. She told him where to put his fucking authority and left the room.
They hadn't spoken since then, living beside each other like ghosts.
She knew it was hard for him. When he fought with people he fought hard, merciless, pushing them as far away as possible. He didn't with her. And she could see it in his eyes, the raging war.
He disappeared for most of the days and she did the same.
They still slept in the same bed, but instead of lying in the middle together both of them lay near the edges of the king size bed.
The longer it took, the angrier she got.
Tonight was her birthday. She forced herself not to be sad, she prepared herself for spending the day unhappy. She was able to adapt to anything. The neurotic control-freak Caroline was under control. This was just another day. She went to bed early, long before him.
She awoke because there was light in the room. He was sitting beside her on the bed, still dressed.
Something had changed. She got up on her elbows and looked up at him, suddenly awake.
He smiled down at her and then he leaned in, kissing her softly.
Relief rushed over her and although she should be angry she let it go for now, just a second.
Then he pulled back and leaned in to whisper in her hear, his hand on her shoulder. "Happy birthday, Caroline."
Her heart skipped at beat and she drew back to look at him, a small smile spreading on her face.
He looked relieved, too, licking his lips.
They didn't say anything, just looked at each other.
Then he leaned in again, kissing her more passionately now and she responded happily. His hands moved to the blanket, slowly pulling it off her while lying down beside her. She slipped in closer to him, turning in his direction and buried her hands in his hair, letting out another sigh of relief.
Oh, sweet, sweet making-up. She never thought she'd really lose him but being away from him and beside him at the same time had just been torturous.
She closed her eyes as he slid his hand under her negligee, pulling it up to her chest. Then he moved to kiss her jaw, then her throat and her neck, running one of his hands over her breasts.
She moved her hand underneath his Henley, pushing it up as well.
He sat up a little, gently pushing her to lie back again and moved his hand lower, down her stomach and between her legs.
Her breath hitched as one of her hands grabbed the edge of his Henley, clutching to it.
He smirked and she looked at him, both affection and mirth in his eyes.
Her heart beat faster. God, this man would be the death of her.
Then his hand found its way into her panties and without warning he buried a finger inside her.
She sighed again and he kissed her, running his tongue over her teeth.
His thumb started massaging her sweet spot as he added another finger and started moving.
A jolt of electricity bolted through her and she let out an involuntary moan, to which he reacted by smirking again.
He looked straight at her and somehow she couldn't look away as she felt her high building.
She noticed that she reacted very strongly tonight, it had really been too long.
He quickened his pace, leaning in to kiss and suck on a certain point on her neck, up the spot right under her ear and her earlobe. She heard him breathing.
That was her undoing and she felt the rush coming over her, blinding her for a second as he slowed down, riding her out of her high.
Then he stopped and pulled away, sitting back again but still grinning down at her warmly.
She took a deep sigh and then looked back at him.
What happened to part two?
"You should shower and get dressed, love, you can sleep in the plane," he said and got off the bed, with his usual gracefulness. Obviously amused, he left the room.
Wait – what?
After he'd packed the back into the car – and she was standing, freshly showered and dressed in a summer dress and a pair of heals, in the middle of the night. He turned towards her and then took a few steps in her direction.
His pupils dilated and she stilled. What?
"No matter what people are talking or what the sign at the airport say, you won't know where we're going until I tell you," he said, smirking and then releasing her from the compulsion.
"What the fuck!" she screamed at him. His grin widened.
"All part of the surprise."
She snorted angrily. Seriously?"
He cocked his head to the side, making goddamn puppy at her. "Forgive me?"
She glowered at him and then strode into the car.
She loved flying. From the first day on she had loved it.
When he'd taken her to Rome – yes, seriously, actually Rome – she'd boarded a plane for the very first time. She loved the air the place had to it, all those people, the stores, an air of something else. This was a junction, a place that all kinds of people passed through every day, to get every- and anywhere in the world. She had barely been able to contain her excitement and now, after having travelled to countless places in the world with him, she still was as giddy as at the first day.
She tried not to make it too visible but when she caught his pleased gaze she knew she wasn't doing a very good job.
She didn't even try to concentrate on the destination board, she knew it was useless and somehow she didn't really want to know. This would better be a goddamn good surprise. Or the not-talking period would be extended.
She was still angry that they hadn't gotten to part two now, he was teasing her and she knew it.
When they sat in the plane and she'd already flipped through the magazine she'd bought at the airport, they started.
Amazed she stared out of the window – he'd always let her have the seat at the window. Of course they were first class and he could just have sat in front of her but he sat beside her, always.
Nobody else was in their part of the cabin and she was sure this had been his doing. Ugh. Showoff.
She watched the familiar places get smaller, humans, cars shrinking to the size of little dots until they were up in the air and she could see the horizon, the mountains. The lights of the cities. There was a cloud free sky. The cities and landscape beneath her were molding into patches of color, she could feel the power of the engines carrying them up, farther and farther up and until they had reached a constant height she didn't lean back in her seat.
She couldn't help but turn to smile at him and there was a softness in his eyes that almost made up for his bullshit.
When she woke up they were still flying and it was still night. Dizzily she took in her surroundings.
He had his arm wrapped around her and her head was resting on his chest, her hand in his.
Yawning she leaned forward, stretching her arms above her head. Oh, the beauty of first class.
He was awake, sitting in a relaxed position.
"Just three hours left, love, you can sleep a little more."
She shook her head. "No," then she thought for a moment. "I am hungry."
A knowing smirk spread on his face. "You know, I thought about that. First I considered bringing some blood bags. But then I thought – how about I give you your second present in here. It's your birthday, you should have a special kind of bouquet, don't you think?" She frowned and he rolled up the sleeve of his Henley.
Realization hit her.
"You want to bloodshare. In a plane?"
He chuckled. "Don't worry, I compelled the flight attendants while you were asleep. No one's gonna disturb us in here."
Her heartbeat sped up a beat again. Seriously.
Then he smiled and pulled her with her back against his chest, kissing her cheek softly and lifting up his wrist in front of her face. "It's not nice to reject a present, love."
She snorted but then she raised her hands to his arm and bit down gently.
When she felt the taste on her tongue, she closed her eyes, letting her vampire instinct take over.
She could never get enough of it, just like she could never get enough of him. Stupid jerk.
She felt his hand gently stroking over her hair and she relaxed into him, letting her thoughts drift off and after a while she felt herself slowly falling asleep again.
She awoke when they were landing, her eyes wide open at once.
She lifted her head off his lap and stretched herself again, her gaze fixed on the view outside the window. The sun was shining brightly and she wondered where they were.
People and places grew again and she decided that it was somewhere warm. She couldn't put her finger on it, though. She knew she'd recognize it if it wasn't for the stupid compulsion, ugh.
When they walked through the halls of the airport happiness and excitement spread in her chest again. They took a car that he had rented and her drove them through beautiful little villages until they reached the shore.
Was this the sea?
They halted and he got out, motioning for her to do the same.
There was a… bridge, leading to – a city on the water?
He closed in beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist and bowing down to her ear.
"Welcome to Venice, love," he whispered, obviously pleased with himself.
Her eyes widened as she whipped around to face him. Then, a bright smile spread on her face, her chest nearly exploding with excitement.
"How did you – how did you know?"
He chuckled.
She'd never told him she wanted to go. Actually, she'd never told him where she wanted to go at all. He'd have to earn that piece of information.
"Let's just say the doppelganger and I, we are on talking terms now. Well, were."
She couldn't bring herself to get angry at the remark about the Damon-thingy, she was just too happy. Eagerly she strode back to the car.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
He chuckled and followed her, swiftly sliding into the driver's seat.
When they entered the city they didn't park in one of the public garages, but entered a hidden, private one.
When they left the building and walked up the first canal with all the beautiful houses, a park and beautiful brides too pass it she couldn't contain herself and practically danced along the rim. The water was not exactly blue but it was beautiful. When they reach the canal grande, it was breathtaking. A modern train station, right next to a canal as wide as a river, getting smaller on its way into the city. Big, old, beautiful buildings as well as small and detailed ones. Little boats at the houses, balconies, terraces, people filling the streets. Boats as busses. And the sun, a view of the shore far ahead.
They walked on, up a hill into a small street filled with little shops. She entered every single one, bought a little of this and that, even some clothes. Klaus had them all sent to some place.
She was especially happy about a carnival mask that she had found at one of the more expensive shops. It was pastel and white, with lace and pearls and feathers.
They reached the canal grande again and found an array of painters, drawing pictures of Venice as well as portraits.
Klaus inspected every single one of them until he found one that he paid a thousand € to leave him his equipment for an hour.
"I want you to stand right there," he said, sitting down in front of the easel. "I am going to draw you."
She wanted to protest against his bossy tone but she knew this was another present.
She loved it when he painted her.
It was a different kind of contact, a different kind of situation. The way he looked at her changed, he concentrated on each detail, his eyes roaming her body from the top of her head to her feet, careful not to miss anything. She enjoyed it, his gaze held a different kind of appreciation.
And she got to watch him, too, focused and calm.
Except for his hand and his eyes moving he was frozen in place, his body relaxed yet tense.
She loved watching his chest rise and fall in even breath. After a while he switched to aquarelle colors and she couldn't wait to see his work.
When he was done he signaled for her to come see and she did so, gladly.
Once again she was puzzled by the way he was able to paint some of his pictures with a sense and understanding of beauty that was as pure as if he'd never seen a spark of evil in his life. As if he wasn't evil.
She smiled at him and he swiftly rolled it up again, fixing it with blue piece of cloth.
Then he stood up and thanked the clearly massively impressed painter and placed his hand at the small of her back, leading her down the street and leaned in to kiss her.
They ate at a small restaurant, not meant for tourists, hidden down in one of the alleys. There was a small backyard with a pond and several old trees.
They were the only guests.
She really enjoyed the cozy little place, surround by old and definitely private facades, the bird chirping over her head and the rush of the small waterfall beside her.
She had pasta and an extraordinary dessert as well as some expensive whine that was making her dizzy in the middle of the day.
"Venice used to be a juncture point, just like the airports we visited earlier," he said and he wondered how he could have such an insight into her thoughts.
"Everyone came here, traders, travelers, even people from the far east. I once went to visit China and Japan from this place on."
He continued eating, elegantly rolling the noodles up his fork.
"Of course there used to be vampires as well," he smirked. "And witches."
She was hooked.
"And how did they get along?"
He chuckled. "Well, let's say the witches had a rather strong hold of this place. I caused a little disruption whenever I came here but they quickly got it under control again. These were good times, it was a city filled with life."
She frowned. "It is now."
He shook his head. "No. It's a museum."
She let her gaze wander off vacantly.
"I wish I had seen it."
His eyes fixated on hers and she couldn't help but look back at him.
"You will see much, much more."
They visited the museums, the plazas, a cheap café in the middle of a tourist zone.
Then, when it was afternoon, her lead her to a dock, a private one.
Apparently a boat was waiting for them.
It was a yacht – of course. A white one with a spacious terrace on top of it and a few private rooms, including a bedroom, a bath and a bar.
He'd let the stuff she'd bought be delivered here.
On the side of the boat the words Mardi Grasse were written. She laughed.
"Mardi Grasse?"
He smirked, handing her a glass filled with bourbon. "It seemed appropriate. Now, love, how about you relax on deck while I get you your next present."
She raised her eyebrows but then complied.
She lay down on a lounger, balancing the drink in her hands as she felt him start the engine. They were going somewhere, away from the city. Eagerly she watched it grow smaller and smaller while the water grew more and more. They were heading towards a set of islands. There seemed to be an infinite amount of them around and she concentrated on memorizing the way they took as she sipped on her drink and enjoyed the afternoon sun on her skin.
Too bad she couldn't get a tan.
When they arrived it was already sunset and they stopped and put it on a small dock.
He left the drivers cabinet with a wide smile on his face.
"This has been mine for quite some time now. Now it's yours as well."
Her jaw literally fell while her eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
An arrogant expression covered his face as he raised his eyebrows.
She lightly punched him on his chest as she laughed. "You fucking showoff."
He chuckled as well and she pulled him in for a quick, intense kiss, leaving him flushed and breathless when she abruptly pulled back, gave him a teasing smirk and then ran off to collect her bags.
There was a house on the island, very old but obviously kept in shape. It was spacious, beautiful and with large windows. When she'd taken the chance to unpack her things in the beautiful bedroom and large bathroom with a view of a small beach down at the shore they ate on the terrace that made the one in the restaurant seem crowded and small. They had cheese, olives, an array of little dips and bread as well as expensive champagne.
Their thing, right, alcohol.
She snorted at the thought.
"We can go see the beach if you want to. Or you could wait till tomorrow," he suggested while she leaned back in her chair.
She thought for a moment.
"No. Tomorrow. I'm still waiting for another birthday present over here."
He raised his eyebrows, giving her a suggestive look.
"Right, love, I almost forgot about that."
She cocked her head to the side, feigning to be offended.
"I will not kill Damon at the birthday party you have planned for the weekend."
She snorted. "How about: You will not kill Damon. Ever."
He rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his drink. Then his face hardened.
"You know why I want to. And additionally to that there is his bloody attitude – he makes it really difficult for me to not rip his heart right out of his chest."
She crossed her arms.
"Well, I'm not speaking to you unless you promise not to."
He stilled, frowning at her. She could see the anger boil up in his eyes. But then he closed them and took a deep breath. "Alright, it is your birthday after all."
She downed the rest of her drink, smiling and then rose to her feet.
"I'm gonna take a shower now."
He smiled, his expression softening. "Meet me in the living room."
She raised her eyebrows, then turned on her heals and headed inside.
This had gone better than expected.
When she came down to the living room in the negligee she'd bought today he was waiting for her with soft music playing in the background.
He raised his eyebrows at the sight, guiding his eyes to take in the sight. She did the same. Apparently he'd changed into another shirt, hanging loosely on his shoulders.
She knew what he was up to, so she stepped in front of him and held out her hands to dance and he took them and guided one on his shoulder, taking the other one in his while placing his free hand on her waist.
"This is really cheesy, you know," she joked, as they started moving.
"You like it cheesy," he replied, pulling her a little closer.
He leaned in and whispered into her ear, they were dancing close now.
"You like to think of yourself as some sort of fairy tale princess, some sort of Cinderella. Now tell me love, did I make your dreams come true?"
She shivered, but then drew back, giving him a challenging look.
"Actually, I think I'm more of a Mulan. But you are definitely the beast."
He chuckled.
She squinted her eyes, raising her eyebrows.
"And actually, all Disney-princess dreams aside, right now," she accentuated the words, her smirk spreading. "right now I'd really be content with just fucking."
Surprise spread on his face but only for a moment until he crashed down his mouth onto hers, his fingers finding the way under the hem of her dress, squeezing her bottom.
She ran her hand up under his shirt, over his chest and he groaned at the contact.
She could feel his arousal up against her and she smirked again.
He was probably pretty worked up, having lasted all through the day.
She giggled as she pulled his shirt above his head and an instant later her negligee, too, pooled at her feet.
He broke the kiss, both their breaths heavy, looking at her intently, now with untamed lust in his eyes. "I'm taking you to the bedroom."
And before she could protest – if she had wanted to – she was tossed on the king size bed, almost as big as they had at home. She felt his weight above her and she arched her back to get closer as she felt his mouth attack her neck again, his hands roaming her body. She sighed in ecstasy and he ripped off her panties. Fortunately not her favorite ones (she'd been planning for the night).
Her hands found their way to unbuckle his pants and then she slid down both them and his boxers. He tossed them off the bed, apparently having gotten rid of his shoes and his socks before.
Then he was above her again, his hand between her legs and she moaned.
He slid down, kissing her chest, her breasts, taking one nipple after another between his teeth while his fingers found their way inside her again. She knew what he was about to do when he went down farther, leaving a trail of kisses down to her stomach.
"No," she said. "Just get on with it already."
But he just looked up and smirked at her, his hand spread on her stomach to hold her down. "This is your birthday, love. Don't be ungrateful." And then her legs were on his shoulders and when she felt his mouth descend upon her, her breath caught in her throat and she arched up her back again, against his hand holding her in place.
Okay. Change of plans.
Her eyes fluttered as he worked her with both his fingers and his tongue, licking, nipping until she felt herself climbing another high again, way too quickly.
As it washed over her she let out a strangled moan and lost herself in the bliss for a moment.
When she opened her eyes he was hovering above her again, smirking but there was an urgency in his eyes that turned her on beyond believe.
"If you're gonna tease me anymore, I'm gonna punch you," she said and she saw a feral glint in his eyes.
Then, suddenly, he was inside her and they moaned in unison. She placed her hands on his chest and around his neck as he started moving, closing her eyes.
"No," he groaned. "Look at me, Caroline."
She smirked and kept her eyes closed.
He stopped in his motions and leaned in closer, his hand playing with her hair, the other massaging her breast as he whispered in her ear. "Look at me."
She smirked, but complied and instantly he started moving again, faster now.
Their eyes met and she shivered at the intensity of his gaze.
She raised her legs, clasping them behind his back and both of them moaned at the new angle. She moved against him, meeting him with every thrust as he switched between quick and hard and slow and deep.
He kissed her again and soon the movement of their mouths mirrored the motions of their hips.
Then he leant back, placing one of her legs on his shoulder and smirked at her again, driving into her from the new angle and her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head as her hand grasped onto his arm to anchor herself.
His hand found hers beside her head and he laced his fingers with hers as he slowly built both their climaxes again.
She looked at him and she saw primal need and intense, burning affection in his eyes.
He increased his pace and she heard both him and herself releasing a series of little moans and noises until a particular groan of his sent her tumbling over the edge again.
He followed in almost the same instant and both of them shook against each other until he collapsed on top of her, keeping his weight on his arms, both of them spent.
Then he rolled of her, pulling her into an embrace with one hand and covering them with the blanket with the other.
He placed a small kiss on her forehead and then pulled in to whisper in her ear.
"I love you,"
She sighed. She had never said it back. Not yet.
They were still in the beginning of their relationship and she was not about to. Even now.
And he was fine with that, every time. She never detected any amount of disappointment or sadness in his eyes after he said it, just adoration, even now as she pulled back to kiss him, cuddling into him farther. The cool fabric of the blanket against her skin felt good as their legs tangled up underneath it.
"This was an amazing birthday, the best I ever had, actually," she said as she rested her head on the pillow beside his, smiling softly.
He smiled, a genuine one, free of every hint of mirth.
"Sleep now. If you want to, tomorrow can be just as beautiful."
She took that as a cue and closed her eyes, her smile growing.
Then she yawned. She was really tired. It had been a long day.
She fell asleep as she felt his hands caress her back.