Happy Holidays, agathons_fan!
Title: Tell Me Where You Are and I Will Follow You
Recipient: agathons_fan
Author: mihnn
Characters/Pairings: Caroline/Klaus
Spoilers: None.
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 1,461
Warnings: AU.
Summary: First impressions can always last.
Author's Notes: Thank you, Jess, for looking over this.
He sees her first covered in red and sequins. She dances happily, blonde curls bouncing around as she laughs with a wide grin. He doesn’t know what it is, but seeing her this way-this stranger-so carefree as she throws her head back and giggles, makes him smile. The corner of his lips quirk upward and he doesn’t even know it.
It’s the roaring nineteen twenties, or some such thing the future will one day say. It’s the age of rules and regulations, of prohibition and the art of smuggling cheap liquor. Klaus thinks that maybe she is an innocent, an easy target that he can easy spend some time with. She is all bright colours and laughter. Klaus feels the need to absorb every drop of her happiness for himself.
His eyes are predatory as he seeks her out. He watches her through a maze of hot, dancing bodies and smoky haze, his ears listening to the sound of her bright voice amidst drunken laughter. She sounds young and too untouched by the big, bad cruel world. He likes that about her. It has been too long since he has come across an innocent.
It takes a while for her to be alone. She is surrounded by friends, and even more by admirers. They kiss her hand, twirl her on the dance floor and whisper in her ear to make her laugh. Klaus looks on with amusement. The men wouldn’t be quite so brave if it were not for the liquor, she would not be quite so complying if it were not for her happiness in being offered a spot in a theatre production. It is all so mundane… so human. It amuses him. It makes him impatient.
When she excuses herself and steps outside the seedy bar, he decides to follow her. When a man steps out seconds after she does, his steps move quicker.
He finds her pinned against the wall, her dress ripped and a pair of sharp teeth buried in her neck. It barely takes a second for the vampire to be yanked back and have his neck snapped. As he crumples to the floor, she looks at him.
Her eyes are wide, her lips parted, and with his entire body he can hear the rapid beating of her heart. The blood pours down her neck and he aches to taste it.
But something stops him, something that shouldn’t.
He steps forward, so close that he can feel her tremble. With a pang he realises that he misses the carefree happiness that she had had in her eyes. He misses the way she laughed and ducked her head, the way her eyes sparkled with mischievousness.
With a smile, he tells her that she is not feeling well, that she feels like going home. He tells her about a brawl that happened inside and how she was injured. He does all this with a gentle hand on her neck; a hand that travels down unbidden until it lies firmly on her heart.
When her eyes clear, when he sees that same happiness again, he steps back. With a blank smile, she turns and walks away.
He can hear her heart beating a medley in her chest as she walks away.
He does not even think about drinking her blood.
*
When he sees her again, it is after three decades and she hasn’t aged a day.
He is making his way through a mundane town, one where the name is friendly and the people are a bore. He decides to stop for the ‘best pie ever’ only to look up at the same happy eyes and same blonde curls.
She is different, thinner, but she hasn’t aged a day. Part of him mourns the fact that what he thought he had prevented wasn’t prevented at all. Some time, some where, she was turned. Klaus feels ridiculously happy at the prospect.
Her voice is bright as she takes his order, giving him the list of specials with a funny and witty air. Her name is Caroline and she is loved by all those around her. He can see it in the way they tease her waitressing skills and in the way they look at her affectionately. Klaus only wants to see her drink blood.
He wonders if she had become ruthless. He wonders if she had changed.
Once the order is taken and she leaves to get him pie, he looks to his left at the middle-aged man reading his newspaper. It takes a gentle nudge for the man to look at him, and simply telling him to do so to make the man slash his wrist with the closest knife. Smiling to himself, Klaus waits, reading that same newspaper with the corner of his eye, expecting quite a show.
She appears shaken, her hands trembling as she places the plate of pie in front of him while her face is pale. She makes an excuse and dashes outside.
Klaus frowns. He did not expect that.
He finds her outside, breathing deeply with her eyes closed. It unnerves him that she passed out a good opportunity.
“I know what you are, you know.”
She sighs before she looks at him, her eyes resigned. “I know. I know what you are too.”
“Yet,” he begins cockily, “you were going to pass up the feast I prepared for you.”
She stares at him. “You did that?”
He feels the need to act smug, but her expression stops him.
“His name is Dave. He has a wife and two children. He comes in every Friday afternoon for rhubarb pie because that was the pie his mother used to make him before she died.” She looks at him pointedly. “I won’t hurt him.”
He stares himself. He doesn’t understand her. “He’s a human.” He says the word with as much disgust as he can muster.
She juts out her chin, her expression one of defiance. “He is. I was human once. I don’t want to ever forget that.”
Finally calm, she gives him a stern look.
“You’re no longer welcome here.”
She starts to leave when he can’t hold back his laughter. “What do you live on? Animal blood?” The very thought is disgusting. He doesn’t understand how any vampire can stand it.
She stops and turns towards him. “I work part-time at the hospital, looking after coma patients.” She ducks her head in shame. “There isn’t any other way.”
Before she leaves, he grabs a hold of her, and before he can think, he makes her forget that he was there in the first place.
He rather hated the way she had looked at him.
*
Her name is still Caroline, a high school student, a social queen of Mystic Falls, and a friend to the doppelganger. He knows that she doesn’t remember him, but he can’t help but wonder…
There is still something about her. Something radiant, something innocent, regardless of what she had become. She still laughs the way she used to, eyes sparkling and shoulders shaking. He smiles without wanting to. He smiles whenever she smiles and he feels the fool for letting himself feel the way he does.
He feels the impulse to make her remember, and struggles against that same feeling just as strongly.
She fights against him, not knowing that he saved her life once. And she demands his absence to save her precious friend Elena. But he is ruthless in meeting his goals and he does not let her see his weakness, which is her.
That laugh, that smile, those eyes… She captivates him. She makes him forget his pride. She draws his attention when she is in the same room and takes it with her whenever she leaves. It is not lust that he feels for her, but something more. He wants to bury himself in her goodness, to experience the world in the way she does, with unbridled happiness.
That need is what leads him to pin her against him. It is that need that makes him kiss her. She fights him at first… and yet… There is something.
There is heat and passion and something akin to affection. And when she whimpers and pulls him closer, he feels his chest expand with happiness that he hasn’t felt in so long.
But then she pushes him away and doesn’t stay when he calls to her.
It is then that he realises that he will go through a thousand lifetimes, each one just as lonely as the last, but he will not forget Caroline. He will follow her for thousand lifetimes until she instills good in him or he instills the bad in her. Always and forever, he will be hunting her.
Recipient: agathons_fan
Author: mihnn
Characters/Pairings: Caroline/Klaus
Spoilers: None.
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 1,461
Warnings: AU.
Summary: First impressions can always last.
Author's Notes: Thank you, Jess, for looking over this.
He sees her first covered in red and sequins. She dances happily, blonde curls bouncing around as she laughs with a wide grin. He doesn’t know what it is, but seeing her this way-this stranger-so carefree as she throws her head back and giggles, makes him smile. The corner of his lips quirk upward and he doesn’t even know it.
It’s the roaring nineteen twenties, or some such thing the future will one day say. It’s the age of rules and regulations, of prohibition and the art of smuggling cheap liquor. Klaus thinks that maybe she is an innocent, an easy target that he can easy spend some time with. She is all bright colours and laughter. Klaus feels the need to absorb every drop of her happiness for himself.
His eyes are predatory as he seeks her out. He watches her through a maze of hot, dancing bodies and smoky haze, his ears listening to the sound of her bright voice amidst drunken laughter. She sounds young and too untouched by the big, bad cruel world. He likes that about her. It has been too long since he has come across an innocent.
It takes a while for her to be alone. She is surrounded by friends, and even more by admirers. They kiss her hand, twirl her on the dance floor and whisper in her ear to make her laugh. Klaus looks on with amusement. The men wouldn’t be quite so brave if it were not for the liquor, she would not be quite so complying if it were not for her happiness in being offered a spot in a theatre production. It is all so mundane… so human. It amuses him. It makes him impatient.
When she excuses herself and steps outside the seedy bar, he decides to follow her. When a man steps out seconds after she does, his steps move quicker.
He finds her pinned against the wall, her dress ripped and a pair of sharp teeth buried in her neck. It barely takes a second for the vampire to be yanked back and have his neck snapped. As he crumples to the floor, she looks at him.
Her eyes are wide, her lips parted, and with his entire body he can hear the rapid beating of her heart. The blood pours down her neck and he aches to taste it.
But something stops him, something that shouldn’t.
He steps forward, so close that he can feel her tremble. With a pang he realises that he misses the carefree happiness that she had had in her eyes. He misses the way she laughed and ducked her head, the way her eyes sparkled with mischievousness.
With a smile, he tells her that she is not feeling well, that she feels like going home. He tells her about a brawl that happened inside and how she was injured. He does all this with a gentle hand on her neck; a hand that travels down unbidden until it lies firmly on her heart.
When her eyes clear, when he sees that same happiness again, he steps back. With a blank smile, she turns and walks away.
He can hear her heart beating a medley in her chest as she walks away.
He does not even think about drinking her blood.
*
When he sees her again, it is after three decades and she hasn’t aged a day.
He is making his way through a mundane town, one where the name is friendly and the people are a bore. He decides to stop for the ‘best pie ever’ only to look up at the same happy eyes and same blonde curls.
She is different, thinner, but she hasn’t aged a day. Part of him mourns the fact that what he thought he had prevented wasn’t prevented at all. Some time, some where, she was turned. Klaus feels ridiculously happy at the prospect.
Her voice is bright as she takes his order, giving him the list of specials with a funny and witty air. Her name is Caroline and she is loved by all those around her. He can see it in the way they tease her waitressing skills and in the way they look at her affectionately. Klaus only wants to see her drink blood.
He wonders if she had become ruthless. He wonders if she had changed.
Once the order is taken and she leaves to get him pie, he looks to his left at the middle-aged man reading his newspaper. It takes a gentle nudge for the man to look at him, and simply telling him to do so to make the man slash his wrist with the closest knife. Smiling to himself, Klaus waits, reading that same newspaper with the corner of his eye, expecting quite a show.
She appears shaken, her hands trembling as she places the plate of pie in front of him while her face is pale. She makes an excuse and dashes outside.
Klaus frowns. He did not expect that.
He finds her outside, breathing deeply with her eyes closed. It unnerves him that she passed out a good opportunity.
“I know what you are, you know.”
She sighs before she looks at him, her eyes resigned. “I know. I know what you are too.”
“Yet,” he begins cockily, “you were going to pass up the feast I prepared for you.”
She stares at him. “You did that?”
He feels the need to act smug, but her expression stops him.
“His name is Dave. He has a wife and two children. He comes in every Friday afternoon for rhubarb pie because that was the pie his mother used to make him before she died.” She looks at him pointedly. “I won’t hurt him.”
He stares himself. He doesn’t understand her. “He’s a human.” He says the word with as much disgust as he can muster.
She juts out her chin, her expression one of defiance. “He is. I was human once. I don’t want to ever forget that.”
Finally calm, she gives him a stern look.
“You’re no longer welcome here.”
She starts to leave when he can’t hold back his laughter. “What do you live on? Animal blood?” The very thought is disgusting. He doesn’t understand how any vampire can stand it.
She stops and turns towards him. “I work part-time at the hospital, looking after coma patients.” She ducks her head in shame. “There isn’t any other way.”
Before she leaves, he grabs a hold of her, and before he can think, he makes her forget that he was there in the first place.
He rather hated the way she had looked at him.
*
Her name is still Caroline, a high school student, a social queen of Mystic Falls, and a friend to the doppelganger. He knows that she doesn’t remember him, but he can’t help but wonder…
There is still something about her. Something radiant, something innocent, regardless of what she had become. She still laughs the way she used to, eyes sparkling and shoulders shaking. He smiles without wanting to. He smiles whenever she smiles and he feels the fool for letting himself feel the way he does.
He feels the impulse to make her remember, and struggles against that same feeling just as strongly.
She fights against him, not knowing that he saved her life once. And she demands his absence to save her precious friend Elena. But he is ruthless in meeting his goals and he does not let her see his weakness, which is her.
That laugh, that smile, those eyes… She captivates him. She makes him forget his pride. She draws his attention when she is in the same room and takes it with her whenever she leaves. It is not lust that he feels for her, but something more. He wants to bury himself in her goodness, to experience the world in the way she does, with unbridled happiness.
That need is what leads him to pin her against him. It is that need that makes him kiss her. She fights him at first… and yet… There is something.
There is heat and passion and something akin to affection. And when she whimpers and pulls him closer, he feels his chest expand with happiness that he hasn’t felt in so long.
But then she pushes him away and doesn’t stay when he calls to her.
It is then that he realises that he will go through a thousand lifetimes, each one just as lonely as the last, but he will not forget Caroline. He will follow her for thousand lifetimes until she instills good in him or he instills the bad in her. Always and forever, he will be hunting her.