A/N: Thanks so much for reading and sorry for the long wait. :D
Klaus couldn't help but be suspicious of Caroline's excitement over playing the part of tourist at first. She'd been fighting him tooth and nail for longer than he'd thought she'd hold off that he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, to see how she was being used as the distraction for him this time. Except he couldn't seem to find the angle she was playing. Her laughter was genuine and he caught himself smiling whenever she did it, wanting to hear that sound more often. Her smiles weren't guarded; there was no uncertainty in her eyes, no worry as if she was forcing them to blossom on her face. They were there and they were bright and he couldn't take his eyes off of her when she offered up one.
It was in the way she carried herself, the lightness he had only truly glimpsed when he'd watched her from afar back in Mystic Falls. That playfulness, intrigue and light that all wrapped up together seemed to scream Caroline Forbes to him.
She'd finally talked him into an actual bus tour. He'd tried to get her to simply have him get them a chauffeur for the day. The concierge in the lobby would have been able to hook them up with someone who would be able to drive them all over, but no, she had wanted an authentic experience and had even bought a camera to document it all.
"What's the point of this kind, love? I can get you one of the newer models where you can see how the picture comes out and delete what you don't like," Klaus offered, wrinkling his nose at the older model she had bought that used rolls of film that would need to be developed before they ever knew what had been shot.
"But that's like half of the fun," she murmured, using his body to create a shadow so she could slip the film into the camera. "And when you use the digital you just keep on deleting things and retaking pictures because you think you can get a better one and you totally miss out on things."
"Says the seasoned traveler," Klaus pointed out and she clicked the compartment shut, wrinkling her nose at him.
"You can always get a digital one for yourself," she told him, holding up her camera and clicking a picture of him before he could stop her.
"If I want to capture something to memory I'll draw it when we return to the hotel at night." Klaus nodded toward the bus stop outside the shop that they needed to head to in order to start the tour she was so insistent about.
"And I'm the one who's old fashioned," she murmured, and he found he quite liked how amused she sounded in that moment as she tucked the extra film canisters into her bag. "Now I know the museums are all on this route but we are so not stopping at every museum ever. I want to see the guards. You know the ones with the hats? That aren't supposed to laugh. It's where everyone goes whenever they come to England in the movies. Or on TV."
"Then we'll be going to the Buckingham Palace which I believe is at least five stops on this monstrosity," Klaus groused, watching the double-decker red bus park and a dozen people getting on as others got off. Much simpler to get their own car and head that way.
"I want to sit up top!" Caroline grinned, grabbing his hand and showing the driver their tickets that allowed them to ride the special tour bus for the day.
"It's terribly cold outside," Klaus pointed out, but he had a feeling she was simply rolling her eyes at him like she often did while ascending the stairs and he followed after her. It wasn't that the cold would truly harm either of them, but he'd seen how full the top of the bus looked. No doubt it was where all the true tourists sat, the ones not carting around their Londoner family members who had sat on the lower level, staying out of the cold as best they could.
Caroline had already snagged them a pair of seats near where the upstairs tour guide stood, her camera out and at the ready. He paused for a moment, taking in her wide eyes and bright smile, the way she seemed to try to glance around at everything. Klaus had known simple, little Mystic Falls would never have been enough for her, not with that curious mind, not with the power he could see dying to burst free.
He'd looked into the life she had led before he'd come to town. Knew she was Miss Mystic Falls, that she planned and coordinated nearly every high school function, a number of town events as well, and was Captain of the cheer squad. She liked to be in control, thrived under the power that all of those positions gave her, and seemed to take quite well to all of the planning and details that were involved in each event.
Klaus sat down next to her, finding himself smiling as she looked over at him, her own smile seeming to grow. He rested his arm on the back of her chair as the tour guide began to ramble on about what they'd find at the next stop and he barely listened, his focus on Caroline as she listened intently. He let his hand shift toward her slightly, fingers curling into her hair, playing with it, and waited to see what she would do, waited for her to swat his hand away, to give him that glare and shift away from him.
But she only froze for the briefest moment, smiling fading for a moment before Big Ben was seen in the distance, and her attention was drawn away from him and to the clock, angling to get a picture of it.
"It's always nice to see young couples like the two of you interested in a bit of history," the older woman sitting across from them informed them and Klaus arched a brow at that, feeling Caroline stiffen a little beside him as she lowered the camera. "My William and I toured London back on our Honeymoon nearly fifty years ago. Decided to do it again for our anniversary."
She nodded toward the man sitting next to her who looked like he was ready to fall asleep at any moment, nearly nodding off but blinking himself awake whenever the bus turned or went over some kind of bump. "Oh, we're just friends," Caroline replied, and Klaus still his movements with her hair, amused that she'd categorized them as friends with the couple. "But has it changed much since the first time you did it?"
"Some has stayed the same, some has changed. In fifty years when you do this again I doubt any of it will be the same," the woman continued as the bus stopped. "Oh, but here we are." She nudged the man. "It's our stop."
Klaus watched them leave and resumed rubbing one of her curls between his fingers. "She's right in a way. Fifty years you'll see some change, but it's coming back in a century or two that truly shows the difference," Klaus started, watching Caroline turn to look at him. "Or at least that's how it used to be. Progress occurs more rapidly nowadays that I wouldn't be surprised if the buildings we see are altered greatly in fifty years. But you'll come to see that the basics of human nature stay the same."
Caroline frowned as the bus started up again. "What do you mean?"
"The same lessons will be forgotten and relearned. War will be waged. Lives will be lost. Over the same reasons they were a thousand years ago. In general humans are a greedy, selfish species who will happily sacrifice the next person once they have a sliver of power," Klaus continued and she shook her head at that.
"Not everyone is like that. Power doesn't go to everyone's heads. Sometimes people do good things with power. Like Ghandi. Or Oprah," she countered, and Klaus wasn't sure if he found her youthful optimism to be refreshing or not.
He knew she wasn't that naive. She'd seen what power could do to some, been tortured at the hands of one she'd known as an ally, even by her own father who couldn't handle her becoming something infinitely more powerful than she had ever been. Yet she seemed to try and hold onto that optimism and that intrigued him.
"I suppose we'll see what you think in another fifty years," Klaus murmured, letting his hand drop back against the seat.
"You only get me for a year," she reminded, and while she didn't say it with any hostility, more matter of fact than anything else, Klaus found that he didn't like that reminder.
It shouldn't have bothered him like it was, causing annoyance to want to bubble over into rage. Wasn't that the plan? Have her for the year, scratch the itch she caused in him, and be done with it? And yet, the thought of her being gone after a year wasn't sitting well with him either in that moment. He did not like the uncertainty he was feeling, didn't like the emotions that was causing him to be irritated with those words.
"Did they just say that Buckingham palace is next?" Caroline murmured, almost bouncing with excitement in her seat and Klaus was jolted out of his thoughts, attention turning to the baby vampire sitting beside him. He paused, listening to what the tour guide on the floor below was saying and based on where they were on the bus line the stop for the palace should be the next one.
"Yes they did, we'll be there soon," Klaus informed her, pushing away his darker thoughts and focused on her instead. He watched her react to every new little thing, trying to remember when he'd been so captivated by life and found that he couldn't quite remember.
When Klaus had stated that he wanted to show her the Royal Mews she couldn't help but look at him funny, wondering what he was going on about. When he elaborated that it was where the Queen's vehicles were located she really hadn't wanted to go look at it at all. Was enjoying cars just something all men liked? She remembered how Matt had drooled over Stefan's car on their disastrous double date and ugh that was so not how she wanted to be enjoying this outing.
Maybe it was payback for making him take the bus. She so wouldn't put it past the Big Bad Hybrid to make her want to pay for forcing him to endure public transportation. He seemed to really enjoy compelling people to do his bidding, which she'd already known, but jeeze if she'd known she was going to have to spend some time looking at cars she seriously would have let him have the chauffer that he'd wanted.
Caroline took the headset Klaus handed her after they passed through security check. Neither of them would be wearing it as he seemed to enjoy telling her all he knew and she'd found his tales to be much more engaging than anything an electronic guide could tell her.
"Don't look so glum, love," Klaus told her, and she tried not to glare at the amusement in his voice, in the way his lips were curved up into that damn smile, the one that said he knew something she didn't. She really despised that smile. "You never know, you might even enjoy this a bit."
She seriously doubted that and offered up a pointed look that said as much as they passed through a doorway and into….stables? Her eyes widened, seeing two horses behind a wooden wall in the stable and headed straight over to them, trying not to knock down any of the children that were in the area with their families. Caroline rested her hands on the gate, grinning as she watched the animal that had always been a favorite of hers.
She'd always wanted riding lessons but that had never been a possibility and when it finally had she'd moved onto cheerleading, all of her focus heading into that. Plus she'd simply wanted to say no to her mother's kind gesture, still having blamed her for the split.
"I take it that you're enjoying yourself?" Klaus asked, his breath tickling her ear and she tried not to shiver at that, to ignore that slight tingle that made its way up her spine.
"I guess it's not so bad," she drawled, shrugging slightly and trying to give off an air of indifference. It didn't work too well when the horse stepped forward and oh if she just reached her hand through a little she could pet it.
"We should be able to see the royal carriages, though I'm unsure which would be out now, some of the Queen's various cars, and I do believe something called horse school," Klaus continued, and Caroline hummed. Maybe she'd been a little hasty in her assessment of his idea. "Shall we, love?"
Caroline turned toward him, hooking her arm with his as they started walking through the rest of the area. She listened to Klaus rattle off facts about the various vehicles, laughed a few times at some of his stories before they headed into the horse school and she wandered away from him, sitting to watch the trainers working with the horses.
"Is there a particular kind that your more partial to?" Klaus inquired as he sat down beside her, and Caroline arched a brow at that.
"You're not getting me a horse." Just no. So not allowed. Even if it did make her heart flutter just that tiny bit faster at the thought of it. "And I don't really know much about the different breeds or anything. I like white ones. But any other color is nice as well. The ones you had at the ball…I liked those ones too."
"They're mine actually," Klaus told her, and she glanced over at him. "Had them sent to a nearby stable with all that's happening. First I'd owned in more than a century."
"Because of what your father did to the one?" Caroline could only imagine what it was like to see a horse killed in front of her. She hadn't liked it when her father had flushed her goldfish down the toilet and he'd already been dead.
"I was on the run from Mikael, trying to be ten steps ahead of him at every turn. Having anything else to worry about was detrimental to my safety. There were times we'd have to move at a moment's notice," Klaus replied, and Caroline noted the hardness in his features as he talked about it, the tightening of his fist, the way his eyes narrowed. "The animals would have starved and I'd rather not repay loyalty with that particular type of death."
"But now he's dead so you can have those things again?" She couldn't imagine what it was like to live a life always looking over her shoulder, waiting for the striking blow to come. Especially not when it was supposed to come from someone who was supposed to love her. Her father may have tortured her and it had hurt, frightened, and upset her for a long time, but in the end she knew he wouldn't have been like Mikael was. "Or well…if Alaric wasn't all gung-ho about putting an end to everything."
"That had been the plan," Klaus replied, something almost melancholic about his voice as he rose, extending a hand to her to help her up. "I believe it's time to move on now." She hesitated for a moment, but really, what was the harm in accepting the gesture? Wouldn't she rather him being nice to her, trying out all his charming little tactics than off killing innocents or terrorizing werewolves?
"Wait, I want a picture!" She snagged the camera from her purse and Klaus held out his hand to take it as that had been what they'd done the last few times so she could be in the photos.
"No," she told him, and he frowned, no doubt ready to remind her that he didn't allow photographs. Even if she had snagged that one before he'd been able to get a word in edgewise.
Caroline spotted a woman who was keeping an eye on two kids and figured she looked trustworthy. "Excuse me, would you mind taking a picture for me?"
She grinned when the woman took her camera, laughing at the commentary on not having used one like it in years and Caroline headed back to Klaus who was watching her with a stern look. "It's okay, he always looks like this, go ahead!" Caroline assured, smiling brightly as she looked at the camera, linking her arm with Klaus' so he couldn't move out of the way.
Caroline skipped back to the woman to retrieve her camera before Klaus could reply, thanking her, before turning back to Klaus, waiting for his annoyed reprimand. It never came. Instead he nodded toward the exit. "Come along. I do believe we have the gallery to see."
She groaned at that, putting the camera back in her purse as she headed off with him toward it. "You're not allowed to steal any."
"I've already taken what I wanted from this palace years ago, Caroline," Klaus assured, or at least she thought he was trying to assure her. "But it's on our way to see the guards you keep insisting you'd like to take a picture with."
"It's like mandatory for a trip to London, okay." Or so said every TV and movie she'd ever watched.
"Of course," Klaus replied, and she pursed her lips at his amused tone.
"Oh come on and let's get your quirky little stories about queens and kings and duchesses and everything in relation to those paintings over with," Caroline murmured, shaking her head at him. "Even if I think you're exaggerating a lot of them."
"Now why would I do that?" Klaus asked, arching a brow at her as they entered the Queen's gallery.
"To try and impress the girl who's pants you're trying to get into," she replied, and he caught her arm, hand drifting down to her own, before taking it in his.
"Is that so?" he asked, and she couldn't quite read his tone or his gaze in that moment. "If that's all I wanted I'd have hardly agreed to our little deal."
"Then what do you want?" she couldn't help but ask, waiting for the usual song and dance from him.
Klaus didn't reply though and she didn't quite know how to take the way he was assessing her as if he wasn't quite sure what it was he wanted from her either. That made everything just that tiny bit more dangerous. Wanting her for her body she could handle. That was easy enough to bat away, to counter-move against. Anything else and she wasn't sure how to change her game plan.
He still hadn't said anything, still looking her over with that damn gaze, and she couldn't help but feel like he was able to read her mind. "Let's go look at the paintings, hmm?" he finally said, gesturing toward where everyone else was and Caroline nodded, having a feeling she didn't really want to know exactly what had been going on in his head in that moment.
With how perfect the day had been Caroline had been finding it difficult not to laugh at his stories, to not smile back when he smiled at her. She found herself genuinely interested in what Klaus had to say, wondered what it might have been like to live back in the times he was speaking of. Even the gorier stories that garnered an eye roll or a scoff or a scrunching of the nose from her she couldn't discount were intriguing to here.
She found herself remembering only for a moment here or there about why she was even with him and those little reminders were pushed out of her mind just as quickly as Klaus pointed her attention to something else he thought she might enjoy. And he was usually spot on about her interests, but how couldn't he be? Hadn't she told him all of those a few weeks back when she'd been playing the little distraction part?
He'd seen to be genuinely interested then before everything had gone to hell. He'd known about her being Miss Mystic Falls and Caroline couldn't help but wonder what else he might know about her, wondered why he'd taken such an interest to learn what he did. She was just a baby vampire who happened to be friends with Elena, his prized doppelganger, who was the girlfriend of his first successful hybrid. Caroline didn't understand the interest he had in her, how he'd so easily accepted her deal, didn't get why he'd looked at her the way he did when he saved her in that hallway, the way he looked at her sometimes now.
It was playing with her head and after having been screwed over by Damon she'd been on her guard a whole lot more, wasn't going to accept things as they seemed to be, especially not from vampires that were older than her. That knew how to play a game she'd thought she'd mastered but was realizing she'd only really gotten her toes wet in.
She wasn't going to let anyone use and abuse her again; no one else got to play with her mind and then discard her as if she was nothing. Not even a thousand year old Hybrid that could kill her with his pinky. Probably.
So she tried to keep that guard up—hadn't she told him that she was too smart to be seduced?—but she couldn't help that she enjoyed his company, that for a split second here and there she forgot she was with the enemy.
"How about a bite to eat?" Klaus asked, breaking her from her reverie, and continued at her wary look, unsure which kind of bite he was referring to. "I happen to know a decent French bistro nearby that I think you might enjoy."
Caroline nodded, relaxing a little when she realized he wasn't meaning to try the whole getting her to feed from someone again. "I don't think I've ever had French food before. Aside from like maybe baguettes but like Mystic Fall's grocer baguettes so I don't know if those count." She so wasn't counting them.
"This is as close to authentic as you'll get before we venture to France," Klaus informed her, motioning for her to turn into the alleyway. "We'll see how well your high school classes did in teaching it to you when we're there."
She wrinkled her nose at that, knowing it probably wouldn't be that great. French class at school was a whole bunch of conjugating verbs and the amount of actual practicing the language seemed to be slim. "I think we might want to work on it before we ever step foot in that country."
He smiled at that, why she wasn't quite sure, but he seemed to appreciate what she had said and it confused her, wondering why her wanting to work on something with him would elicit the happiness she saw in his body language.
And then just like that everything went to hell.
Maybe they'd looked like easy targets, walking through the alleyway to get between the two streets, but how the guy pointing the gun at them didn't notice the dangerous vibes coming off from Klaus two seconds after looking at them was beyond Caroline. He didn't get a chance to say anything, gun up, clicking the safety off and Caroline watched as Klaus flashed at the man, ripping the gun away before tearing into the man's neck with his teeth.
It all happened in such a blur that Caroline hadn't been able to do a thing, Klaus feeding to cause terror more than anything before he snapped the man's neck, dropping the now dead body to the ground. He turned to look back at her, blood smearing his lips, eyes hinted with that yellow, and she just stared at him noting the splatter on his shirt.
"Seems we'll need to make a quick stop at the hotel before having dinner," Klaus informed her, already turning on his heel to head off in that direction.
Caroline glanced at the body for a moment before heading off after him.
How could she have possibly started to forget that he was a monster?
And what did it say about her that she could feel her own fangs trying to drop, aching to break free?