A/N: My very first klaroline fic. I highly suggest you not get used to this. Perhaps once the final season of The Originals starts airing I'll feel inspired again, but rn I'm not overwhelmed w/ motivation to write them. They're a big OTP for me, but if you're subbed to me already, you know where my muse lies for the most part. Still, I hope you enjoy this! It begins immediately following their final scene in 4x23 and could prob easily be a deleted scene, but for the sake of Caroline remaining 100% faithful to Tyler, we'll call it canon divergent.
*Written for the Klaroline Valentine's Day Exchange on tumblr/AO3. My giftee was Ashleighxx (on AO3).
*Many thanks to my awesome beta, sendtherain, who quit TVD after s2 and so hadn't the slightest context for these two. Bless her.
*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.
...
The perfect temperature of the early June evening sparkled across her senses as she let Klaus guide her onto the field and away from the still-stationed chairs echoing the day's prior events. There was something about his jacket-covered arm looped through her bare one that created a river of goosebumps all over her skin.
Tyler could come back. He could come back.
For months she'd been crushed that the boy she loved couldn't be in the same city as her simply because the all-powerful Klaus Mikaelson didn't wish to see them together, because he wanted to be with her. But Klaus was fully aware she'd never forgive him outright killing Tyler Lockwood. And he was right. So, he opted for the next best thing. Out of sight, out of mind.
But now he was giving her boyfriend back to her. He had saved her, Damon – of all people, and the rest of her friends today. He had been planning on coming anyway. Received her invitation that she'd sent off as quickly as possible before she second-guessed herself.
It was just that when Silas appeared to her looking like Klaus and said all those things…
I never meant to go without saying goodbye.
I've tried to stop thinking about you, and I can't.
What are you afraid of?
Well, at the very least she wanted that goodbye.
Following that conversation had been a very violent encounter. Throughout it all, she couldn't help wishing the real Klaus was there. Because he'd put a stop to it. No one would hurt her as long as he was around. The only one who was allowed to hurt her was him, and he always followed up by healing her, as psychotic as that was.
She found herself not minding it now.
"Thanks for coming today," she said, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
"I wouldn't miss Caroline Forbes' graduation," he said, mock-shocked at her insinuation.
She laughed. "Well, you kinda almost did."
"I think I made up for it by saving your life."
"All of our lives," she reminded.
"Only because you insisted."
She smiled to herself.
"You know, I have to commend Bonnie for turning Silas into stone. That bloody bastard was annoying."
She laughed again. "To put it mildly."
"Did any of you ever find out what his true face was?"
She shook her head. "We'll probably never know."
"Maybe that's for the best."
"Maybe."
"It was probably unsettling seeing him as all of you."
"And you," she blurted before she could stop herself.
He turned and looked at her. "And me?"
"Uh…" She shook her head, trying to brush it aside. "Yeah. Shortly after you left, he came around, trying to find out where Bonnie was so he could stop the spell. He showed up to me…as you."
"And to me as you." He came to a stop, then a slow smirk spread across his face. "That's interesting."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't get any ideas, Klaus. I'm a taken woman, remember?"
"How could I forget? I just gave my permission."
"I don't need your-"
He raised his eyebrows, and she relented.
"What did he say to you?" A thought occurred to him, and he sobered up, his eyes going dark. "Did he hurt you?"
Her gaze flickered away.
"Caroline."
"I'm still here, aren't I?"
He held his tongue until his emotions were back under control.
"What did he say?" he asked, calmer now.
She sighed. He really wasn't going to let this go, and she supposed she should tell him. After everything he did for her today, she did feel she owed him something.
"He said that he – you – never meant to leave without saying goodbye," she said. Which was true.
"That's all?" he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.
She held her breath before proceeding.
"There were a few other things…" She trailed off, but his silence informed her loud and clear she wasn't getting away without telling him at least a little more. "He said that…that he'd tried to stop thinking about me, but he couldn't."
Klaus came to a stop. "You are pretty unforgettable."
She stopped too and turned to look at him.
"But then I never tried to forget you in the first place."
"Klaus…"
"I even – I even – called you. Told you about-"
"Your favorite place in the world." She smiled a little. His eyes fixed on hers, happily surprised. "I know. I listened."
"My message was far more enjoyable than yours."
"We were having a crisis!" She tossed her hands about, laughing. "Which, again, I'm very happy you fixed."
His gaze was soft and sincere when her laughter subsided.
"You were right, you know. I am in love with you."
Her heart melted, butterflies fluttering wildly inside her, but she tried not to appear moved by the statement.
"Klaus…"
"I won't interfere anymore though, I promise. If you leave Tyler-"
"Klaus!" She smacked him.
He laughed, backing away slightly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I couldn't help it!"
She shook her head and bit her lip, her mind swimming.
"You never can."
Silence lingered again. Their eyes fixed on each other, no one else remotely nearby, Klaus asked permission in the most un-Klaus-like manner.
"Would it be all right…if I kissed you, Caroline?"
Her eyes widened. She could hardly believe the request. He had just informed her that Tyler was welcome to come back home without fear of being slaughtered the moment he stepped into town, and here he was… The nerve of this guy!
But also… her heart was racing.
"You…" She cleared her throat. "You already kissed me, Klaus. Back on the field." She avoided his gaze, but she could sense him smiling. She hated how flustered she suddenly was.
"Ah, but that wasn't a real kiss."
Her eyes flickered up to his. "Klaus…"
"I know what I said," he said, reading her mind. "Tyler is still allowed to come back, and I will make no direct action to come between the two of you."
What do you call this?! She wanted to shout.
"If you let me kiss you, I'll make you forget. It'll be as if it never happened. The only one who will remember it is me. So, if Tyler were to suspect something…which obviously he would never, you can answer honestly that nothing ever happened, because to you nothing would have."
She folded her arms against the smooth material of her dress.
"You sound awfully sure that I even want to kiss you."
"Maybe you owe it to me." He shrugged.
She gawked. "I do not-"
"After today?"
Her mouth hung open for a long while, but then it snapped shut and she blew out so much air in a huff that several of the light-colored locks framing her face flew about.
"One kiss," she said finally, holding up one finger for emphasis. "Just in and out, and you're done."
He smiled slowly. "As long as it's a real one."
She said nothing, just waited, her heart racing, her blood pounding through her veins, all those dreams she'd denied, those thoughts she kept buried, the satisfaction she felt when she was around him, the frustration…it had all led to this moment.
God, she didn't want to forget.
Klaus' hands came to cup her face as he took one step to close the distance between them. He watched her as she watched him, frozen in time and throwing all her denial to the wind for this one exception. If she was to forget, she would forget doing that too.
He started to lower her head, and she closed her eyes. When she felt his breath near her face, she gasped, and he swallowed it as his lips covered hers. Soft, warm, welcoming. He didn't pull away for the longest time, and she found her arms draped around his neck before he did.
And then his lips had left her, and she knew it was coming. Any second now he'd be out of range and staring into her eyes with a memory to replace this one.
"No," she said, and pulled him back to her, latching her lips onto his, deepening the kiss far more than he had done, thrilling in how his arms wrapped around her back, and shoving her fingers into his hair as she pushed her tongue into his mouth.
She pulled away first, and they were both panting when she did.
She didn't step out of range. She didn't push him away or accuse of him anything or deny what had happened. She didn't say what it meant either, but she would not deny him what had happened in this moment.
And when she met his eyes, breathing recovered, she said, "Don't make me forget."
His emotions were written all over his face, a million of them running into each other and creating all sort of chaos.
But then his hand cupped her cheek. He looked adoringly, breathlessly down at her, and before she knew it, they were in front of her house, and she was alone.
She looked around, her brow furrowed as a spoken memory worked its way into her mind.
"You will forget this kiss. You will forget our whole conversation after we walked off the field. After that, I walked you home, and then I left."
Caroline blinked, shook her head and walked inside the house.
From a distance, Klaus watched, a regretful yet satisfied smile on his face.
"Goodbye, Caroline."
...
A/N: Can you tell I also ship delena? I didn't even realize I made a parallel to the delena memory erasure till just now. XD