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It’s 2025 and I’m still shipping Klaroline
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Anonymous asked:
hie!! obsessed with your fic and while (patiently) waiting for updates, i have THE biggest craving for fics with the same vibes as your fic & The Wolf by yokan. for instance, fics with caroline in NOLA with lots of mikaelson family dynamics and just her being around them or being considered as a part of their family. i'm lowkey a sucker for found-family kinda tropes if its not obvious lol.
i haven't read alot of kc fics yet so honestly just hit me with any fic!! popular or underrated everything works since i'm technically very new in the fandom! :D
thankyou for the recs in advance!!
Thanks so much! Specifically NOLA fics:
After a magical accident turns Caroline into a human, she discovers that her values don't match up with her friends' like she thought they did. She discovers that some choices are permanent - and some aren't. Oneshot - complete.
Whisper To Help Me Remeber by LaLainaJ
Put down by Tristan Klaus waits. And plans. Once awakened he's thrilled to set out and get revenge. A wrinkle forms when he hears news of Caroline, and is told that she's been working for his enemies. Klaus is determined to find out why, and soon learns that something is not quite right with her. He'll fix it, whatever it takes. Uses TO characters but ignores most TO canon.
Like The Sun Shines by LaLainaJ
"Klaus finds himself blinking down at his phone for an embarrassingly long length of time while he filters his brother's usual nonsense and the pertinent information sinks into his brain. Caroline is in New Orleans." It's an average Wednesday in NOLA until it isn't.
Fallen by klarolineepiclove
Caroline Forbes was a woman with a secret. Running from a shattered past, she settles in New Orleans, determined to disappear in the crowds and chaos. When her path continually crosses with the Mikaelson family, her plans go awry. When she finds herself drawn to the charasmatic Klaus, she begins to wonder: How far can you run before the past catches up with you? AU/AH Klaroline
Break Your Promise by Fearfrost
"What can I do?" He breathed. He knew in that moment listening to her fall apart hundreds of miles away he'd do anything she asked. "Break your promise."
Wicked Schemes by willowaus
Old family secrets lead Caroline on a journey of self-discovery and into the dark underbelly of New Orleans as Klaus works to reclaim his kingdom and rebuild the family he's slowly destroyed over the centuries. A TVD/The Originals crossover.
Someone's First Choice by unpublishednovelist
How many times can Tyler put their relationship on hold, ignoring her calls and hiding in the mountains of Appalachia, before Caroline finally snaps? He's pushing her away. Who could blame her for being pushed to something else? Someone else --- A rewrite of the TVD S5E1 scene where Tyler leaves Caroline yet another stupid message about how she's not the most important thing in his life.
throw roses into the abyss by marxandangels
Throw roses into the abyss and say: Here is my thanks to the monster who didn’t succeed in swallowing me alive. Caroline goes to see Klaus in New Orleans after her mom's death, humanity free. That choice changes her life from the foundations, every single brick of it --- I think that the whole humanity switch thing is the dumbest plot device in TVD, but also the most interesting. What is humanity, really? What are the edges of it? What would it /actually/ mean to be able to turn that on and off?
Not NOLA, but the Mikaelson family dynamics are off the charts:
not for him a watery grave by MyLadyElise
He's saved her life, more than once. Doesn't she owe him the same? An alliance, a rescue, a race against time. A possibility. Hope. AU after Season 3: Before Sunset.
Persistence of Memory by perfectpro
Caroline comes to New Orleans, nervous to see Klaus after their last argument. As it turns out, she doesn't need to worry about him being angry. He doesn't remember the argument. After all, how can he when he doesn't even remember who she is?
In which Kol angers a pack of wolves with moonlight rings, his girls’ night out with Caroline is ruined, and Klaus feels particularly dagger-y.
where the heart moves stones by darkness_shows_the_stars
Caroline’s planned college experience in New York, so far away from her magic-infested hometown, keeps getting interruped because the Originals have apparently decided that her dorm room is free game. Getting away from supernatural drama was so much easier in theory.
the fate makes for a lousy poet by darknes_shows_the_stars
It is not unheard of. Soulmates born too far apart to ever meet. Caroline did her research thoroughly. It’s just rare. And for all that she’d known her entire life that her fated other half was dead long, long before she was even a gleam in her mother’s eye … it’s unfair. --- Everyone is born with a soulmate. It just so happens that a millennium divides Caroline from hers.
There's tons more. Search through my fic rec tag in my tumblr archive if you want more fic recs, or browse my AO3 bookmarks, I've answered a few asks like this one ✨
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People always put Caroline on a pedestal like she is this pure vampire but she was NOT. She had a lot of darkness in her. A LOT. Even more than Tyler or Elena or Bonnie. She was just better at pretending and since she seems like this ray of sunshine people don't suspect it but... she was ok with killing all the originals, she was ok with killing Rebekah on s4, she was ok with Klaus killing a hybrid (Tyler's friend) she killed a few cops in season 2. She slept with Klaus even after all the horrible things he did to her and Tyler the guy she loved. She didn't care about Stefan's crimes againts humanity or him killing Enzo, she was generally not that innocent AT ALL. In my opinion Klaus saw that. He noticed and liked it and also her strength, how she could still have a good heart but use her darkness to her advantage and she inspired him. And how she was willing to put her morals aside for the people she loved. Because she was extremely loyal and he wanted to earn that loyalty. That's what he has always craved. At least in my mind.
What the writers had in mind is of no consequence.
And he knew that she wanted to keep her kids. HE WHO HADNT SEEN HER IN YEARS KNEW. When Stefan told him she was not their mother he was like ???????? Eres o te haces??? That look on his face always makes me laugh
He was like *is this bitch for real?* I mean even Damon knew but he saw her more often than Klaus and he wasn't stupid like Stefan. When Stefan said "Caroline is staying in Dallas" Damon said "I saw that coming". How sad is it that DAMON knew Caroline better than STEFAN the guy who was her boyfriend at the time and had been her best friend for years.
Anyway... thoughts on Caroline's darkness?
Reblogged morningstargirl666
Tumblr Code.
If I ever see any of you in public, the code is “I like your shoelaces”
that way we know we’re from tumblr without revealing anything
I’m just going to say this to strangers until i find a tumblr person
must keep reblogering!! Im going to be so suspicious if any one tells me this now!
Remember the answer is: I stole them from the president.
always reblog tumblr identification
good god this just crossed my dash in the year of our lord 2023
swift-of-corvids
I LIKE YOUR SHOELACES??? IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2024??
Let’s take it to 4 million, folks!
almost there!
TO 4 MILLION!!!!!!!!!
THE ORIGINAL SHOELACES POST?? ON MY DASH IN 2024??
Reblogged sometimesrosy
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not me thinking about redoing my 2015 fic of Klaus and Caroline’s daughter (from the encounter in the woods in 5x11) but kinda using the idea of a “Mikaelson Boarding School” from that one alternative universe of Lizzie’s wishes!
like imagine Hope found her bc idk she’s really powerful and recruit her into the school and then Klaroline reunion bc of it and klaus eventually finding out he has another daughter??? with the woman he loved and let go??
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Anonymous asked:
what are your top ten favorite klaroline fics?
Hello, nonnie! I see your asks have made the rounds. Really nice to see lots of rec lists circulating!
I had to give this a thought. It's very hard to come up with just 10. I could easily do a part II. 😂 But without further ado, and in no particular order, 10 of my favorite KC fics:
. The Parisian Deal by Borzoi
I honestly vary between The Parisian Deal and Paradise Lost as my favorite Borzoi fics. It depends. I think I'm in my Parisian Deal era, though. I've recced this a few times over the last few months, whenever someone's asked me for my favorites or humanity-less Caroline fics. For me, this is the best one that comes to mind. Borzoi's fics are all brilliant. I love their writing style to bits. It reads like a novel, it draws in and it grips you by the throat until the very end. This one features Klaus being called to the rescue by a desperate Salvatore clan when Caroline turns off her humanity and fucks off to Europe. Unlike her friends, Klaus doesn't threaten her, doesn't try to force her to feel; instead, he offers her a deal. And it's perfect. I love this story with my whole heart, I can't even tell you.
. In the Backseat by Lila2
After leaving Hayley as a wolf in the Bayou and earning the hatred of his entire family, Klaus shows up with baby Hope on Caroline's doorstop. He has no idea what to do with a baby, is too proud to apologize and is in desperate search of some validation, which invariably leads her back to her (just like in 5x11). Caroline is torn between being mad at him for having a baby with freaking Hayley, and also the fact that she loves kids and there's a part of her that resents him precisely because he gets to have them, when she never will. In her own way, Caroline puts him in his place and convinces him to make amends and go home, take Hope back to her mother - but only if she comes with him on the road trip. And boy, is it worth it. 🥰 It's a fic that has the baby as a catalyst for everything, at the center of everyone's woes in different ways, but it's not about the baby, in case you're a baby fic hater. And the writing is just chef's kiss.
For a good while there, this fic was my entire fandom personality. Whenever anyone gave me a second of their time, I'd preach about the birth and death of the day. I was obsessed. Kelly is a brilliant writer, so, so, so talented. I am not kidding when I saw I wish I could write like her. And the greatest proof of that is how this fic was everything to me, in spite of not being at all my cup of tea on the tin. I don't like Supernatural, I never watched more than two episodes, and the Klaroline bit here kind of takes on a secondary role to the end of the of the world. But it's such an intense and brilliant character study on Caroline that it had my whole heart from the start. Her relationship with her BROTHERS Dean and Sam is so heartfelt, and it exposes so much of who Caroline really is as a character. The plot is INSANE and AMAZING and HUGE and it's so incredible how it ties in so seamlessly with the Mystic Falls shenanigans. And then there is Klaus! When I saw secondary, I don't mean irrelevant. I just mean there's more to the story than just their relationship. But it is still brilliantly developed. Honestly, just writing about it brings me back memories. I love it so much.
I am biased when it comes to Luiza's fics because I'm a fangirl and I have been one since day one, before we even became friends. But in the years (years 🥲 we have been here so long, friend) we have known each other, her writing has only gotten better and better. It's atmospheric and understated and it has this mindfulness about it that I can't really explain. It really feels like being in the characters' stream of thinking, you get instantly pulled into it. It evokes emotions without it ever having to be minutely described, and I think that's such an incredible talent. I wish I could write like this! And Quite Light not only brings all of those things forward, but it also brings COMPLEXITIES and MORAL QUARRELLS and it was also WRITTEN FOR ME. 😌✨ Luiza thought she was getting revenge on me by torturing Elijah, but LITTLE DID SHE KNOW I actually loved it. I went into this thinking it would be just a rom-com style story (which I love), but it's so much more. By the end I was crying real tears. 🥲 It becomes such a beautiful story about the relationship between Klaus and Elijah. Honestly brilliant.
Honestly, this fic has a very specific target audience, and that target audience is ME. I'm not even exaggerating; this is one my favorite pieces of fic ever written in the KC fandom. The way a Klarolijah fic speaks to me can be so personal. 🥺 I love the Klarolijah dynamic. I really do. But it takes a very specific balance for me to feel it. It can very easily go from me loving it, to me wanting to throttle someone. And this! THIS!! This is absolutely it. 🥲 And it's just about my favorite thing ever. This is actually three mini drabbles combined into one. Each of them is written through a different POV - Klaus', Elijah's and Caroline's. And the combination of all three, the way they tell the same story through different eyes, is just !!!!!!!!! Honestly, I don't have words. This has ✨Yokan my beloved✨ written all over it and I feel it very much. Luiza has a ridiculous talent for writing things on the spot. She got prompted to write an Elijah piece, and then a Caroline piece, and then a Klaus one, and she wrote them all in like 30 minutes on one of her mini drabbles challenge, and OH MY FUCKING GOD. I hate her for how good she is. 😭 (I don't, I love her, but I also v much envy her talent).
I spent a solid few minutes here thinking about which of Hannah's fics I wanted to list, because she has this huge catalogue and I've basically read all of them and have gushed over almost every single one over the years. But even though there are others that could easily be in my top 10, I always end of going back to This is a Harvest. I remember when I first read it, I closed the tab at the end and was just… Done. Not in a 'I can't stand this story/ship/fandom anymore', but in a 'this is the fic to end all fics' kind of way. And it's not so much about the style or the writing, which are both stunning, but the way the story is told. It's a canon divergence that spans over years and I felt it in my heart that this was where the story could've gone. The choices they could've made. The way Caroline's story could and should have ended. And I was satisfied. I started writing and reading KC fanfiction after TO was over because I was so indignant about the way the show ended, so unhappy that I needed to give it my own spin, and read other folks doing the same, and when I read this story I felt like I had achieved that. This is it, I can put this to rest.
Obviously, I was way too deep by then that I couldn't really abandon the fandom (even though, just between us here, I kind of wish I could), but for a whole week or two, I was at peace. This fic gave me peace. That's it.
"But Yokan, how would you like to see Klaus' part in Legacies play out?" Like this. Exactly like this. This story accepts the finale we were dealt in The Originals, and then makes something absolutely amazing with it. I love the premise, I love the mythology involved, I love how unique this take is, and I love how even though it's poignant and bittersweet, it still packs up everything about Kc that made me love this ship so much. Caroline has been in Europe for years trying to find a way to help her daughters with their Gemini situation, and then she ends up stumbling across something else entirely. While she thought the thing she most wanted to see on a brief stint on the Other Side would be Gemini witches, her heart betrays her by taking her to who she really misses the most.
. it takes a while to settle down by theviolonist
This story is so old school it was written before Steroline. It's about Tyler. But we all know who Caroline ends up marrying, so in my heart, this is really what happens before Caroline marries Stefan. And honestly, it works just as well. This story is a punch to your stomach, but it is PERFECTION in 8k words. It's hot, it's bittersweet, it's SO in character. Caroline's denial, telling herself that Klaus is there to see her because he still ones revenge on Tyler, when it becomes very obvious, very fast, as it always does on the show, that it's never about Tyler, it's all about her. UGH. Honestly, brilliant. (third fic on this list with a The National reference on the title, I SENSE A PATTERN).
I had never in my life read a genie!AU, and simply could not wrap my mind around anything of the sort that wouldn't be extreme crack!fic. Imagine my surprise upon reading this story. It's bittersweet in the best possible way. At the same time it's endearing and adorable (and so very IC) to watch Caroline fumbling for a fair and non-insane way to handle Klaus, the genie Katherine accidentally gifted her with (and who just happens to look incredibly alluring), it's so very poignant to read Klaus' POV. He's Klaus in the way that he's suspicious and dismissive and kind of snobbish, really, but he's resigned to his fate. This is a Klaus who has been broken by years of enslavement as this prop who's there exclusively to serve others. Every time he mentions one of his past masters, you just get that stab - and so does Caroline. Laine is one of the most prolific and talented KC writers ever, and I have read and enjoyed so, so many of her fics, but this definitely has a special place in my heart.
This is an ensemble story that has Klaroline at heart, but that gives every other character a moment to shine. And shine they do! Everyone gets their own side stories, and absolutely loved following every single one of them. Lottie made me care for characters I hate in canon, like Katherine and Kol. Even Stefan and Elena had my heart here. This fic is a journey, full of ups and downs, and it has such a satisfying end. It's also incredibly original in its setting and tone, which I think it's one of Lottie's greatest talents. It's very are for historical fics to be set in the 60s, and not only did Lottie choose this very particular time, but she also did such a remarkable job incorporating the decades' aspects into the story. Not just the fashion, and the music, and Woodstocky vibes, but the social and political unrest as well. This is a story with LAYERS, my friends, and it's incredible. I could totally see this being a TV show or a movie tbh. It's that good.
Reblogged rosedforbes
kitanaforbesmikealson-deactivat
Anonymous asked:
Hi! I was wondering if you had any Klaroline fic recs?
Hey, anon! 💞 Sorry I took so long! I’ll just number them out as I go because I’m just weird like that. 😂 Some of these aren’t finished but I really like the stories and would love to give them to you. Also, my explanations are awful.
1. Wicked Schemes by Willowaus.
This is one of the first Klaroline stories I’ve ever read and it really holds a place in my heart. 😌 It took me like… a week to finish it. I don’t wanna spoil all of it, but what I can say is Caroline became the best version of herself. Yes, she did lose some people on the way, but she did become a stronger, more powerful person. It felt like she was free to be herself versus when in the show. As for Klaus, he got his queen and Caroline taught him to be a better leader. My favorite part is when Elena confronts Caroline about her relationship with Klaus and Caroline calls Elena out on her bs with Damon. Also, if you like Hayley and the baby plot, then this ain’t for you. I’m going to reread this starting today.
2. Time & Time Again by lostinmysticfalls.
I thought it was going to be a full on time travel fic, but it was actually a time loop one! And the time loops were actually interesting! Sometimes, they would take place during the Klaroline scenes from the show and sometimes they would be different scenarios. My favorite part is when Caroline is thrown into another time loop where she’s hiding in some abandoned building and Klaus comes to get her. They were on the run from Alaric and they were in New York. Caroline asks him to tell her everything that happened(because she obviously doesn’t know, this is a time loop) and he explains her that even though they were on the run, they were happy with each other. I love this story so much. Now I want to reread it. 😭 I didn’t really care for the ending, but it left me satisfied. Cause in the end, they did end up together.
3. Their Nightly Ritual by bellamywinchester.
This fic is basically Care sharing phone calls with Klaus. I think they talked, every night? I can’t remember, but after a lot of denial about her own wants, Caroline finally calls him in the end to tell him to come back to Mystic Falls. In other words, they run away together. 😂 This happens after they sleep together, Honey Bon/Damon’s deaths, and Tyler telling Caroline that he wants her back. This is how I thought Care would finally leave Mystic Falls and put her needs before everyone else’s.
4. Bloodlines by Winged Lady Collete.
This story wasn’t finished by the writer, but it’s hella interesting to read. It begins with some necklace arriving in a package sent to Caroline and as soon as she touches it, it for some reason, makes her sick. And for Caroline’s safety, they have to go to New Orleans.
5. The Wide and Open Road by Biana Delacroix.
Klaus and Caroline are on a road trip.
6. All That You Are by LittleMissMariss.
Caroline is cursed by Esther. It’s like a sleeping beauty thing.
7. Between Heaven & Hell by lostinmysticfalls.
Klaus and Care bear are trapped on a magical island. I honestly believe that we need more stories with them trapped on an island.
8. Burn Holes In Your Skin by elisabethjj
Silas curses Caroline and the curse is very… strange. 😳
9. I’ve Always Belonged To You by littlebird14.
As someone hates Caroline’s pregnancy and the baby plot in TO, I made an exception for this fic. Alaric is dead and Caroline leaves Mystic Falls for New Orleans because the children are draining her magic. The Originals generously help Caroline with her situation and in the end, she and Klaus raise the children together.
10. The Devil’s Backbone by Willowaus.
It has Kol in it and he’s fucking hilarious. Also, Silas shows off his potential as a villain.
11. Endlessly by slstmaraudersjple.
Caroline is cursed by a witch. She can’t remember who Klaus is or his siblings. But it is a soulmate fic.
These are long fics that I finished. Do want drabbles too? Because I can do that!
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kitanaforbesmikealson-deactivat
Klaroline Time Travel fic recs
This is for the anonymous that asked me for it. 💞 I think I’ll put some links under them because I don’t know how tumblr works. Some of these I haven’t finished reading. I might spoil too much.
Caroline travels back to when the Mikealsons were human:
1. Fixing Mistakes by clairegeek
Okay, but the first chapter was weird as hell. No joke. There were these two protectors or guardians or something watching Klaus and Care getting buck wild in the woods from some guardian afterlife or something. 🫣 It was so awkward. And they were talking to Esther about restoring the balance and they wanted to send Caroline back into time. So they sent Caroline back to when the Mikealson family were humans. I don’t remember much but Caroline and Henrik having a good friendship. And the fact that Klaus kept the ring that he gave Caroline. I never finished it. 🤷♀️
2. Truth Beyond Legend by AidensQueen
Same as the ones before. This is similar to the other ones but Caroline became an Original. I never finished it but it was interesting. I would recommend.
3. Wild Season by em.matheson
Caroline shouldn’t have jumped into the water.
4. A Journey to Love by mysticgirl125
There’s Stebekah in this too.
5. Turn Back Time by Ripslayer
6. The Sun and Moon, An Immortal Dance by Bright-Skies-Toni
This was interesting, but the ending left me confused. I never read the sequel though.
Time Loop:
7. Time & Time Again by lostinmysticfalls
This one is honestly my favorite. I don’t know if I would call it a time travel fic. It’s mostly just Caroline having to live out time loops of Klaroline scenes and even scenarios that could have happened. One of my favorites is when Caroline finds herself hiding in an abandoned building. She and Klaus were on the run from Alaric, I think? So, Klaus came to save her and they walked back to their hotel. Caroline asked Klaus to tell her everything that happened over the years. He explained to her that even though they were on the run, they were happy. This time loop took place in New York. I wish the New York time loop and this book was longer because it was different from what I usually read and I enjoyed it. I didn’t like the ending. But yeah, this one is still my favorite. I want to read another time loop Klaroline story similar to this. 😫
Just Normal ones:
8. Louder Than Thunder by khaleesiofthewolves
I never finished reading it because it was just so confusing to me. But the conversation Caroline had with the MF gang, and how she called them out on their hypocrisy was spot on. This is what I expected to hear from Caroline in the show. She should have held her friends accountable for playing a part in Kol’s death and the vampire genocide. Just because you didn’t personally know those vampire’s does not mean that they deserved to die for their selfish gains. Caroline should have stuck to her morals and called them out on their hypocrisy. Period. I haven’t read in a while so my opinion might be wrong, but that’s the only thing that I remember.
9. She Deserves Better by Crazygirl 92
What more can I say… Caroline Forbes deserves better. Caroline pretty much changed everything that went wrong in the series. Silas, vampire genocide, and I’m pretty sure she changed other things that happened to her. I never got to the part about Kai, the Gemini coven, and if she became pregnant or not.
Yeah, I spoiled most of these.
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Tagged by the lovely @morningstargirl666 to post an older fic. I was in doubt of what to put here, so decided to go with a snippet of Pendulum because I'm currently working on it, and it's technically maybe my oldest fic. First version of it was written for a different fandom, even before I was into KC. 🤷♀️
Tagging @definedareasofuncertainty, @howlingmoonrise, @livingdeadblondequeen, @austennerdita2533 and anyone else who might want to! Consider yourselves tagged.
---
It's 9:47 in the morning when Caroline boards the train.
Klaus watches from his seat, his lips involuntarily curling into a smile. He knows the reason behind Caroline's panting and slightly disheveled appearance - flushed cheeks, damp clothes, wind-tousled hair - is that there are exactly two minutes and 26 seconds before the train is scheduled to depart. She was running late, almost missed it. She is always late. That is one of the things that never changes.
He can't tell how long it's been since the last time he was here, not in a way that an ordinary mind might be able to grasp. Days and months and years are too little a scale for Klaus. Months and years get blurred together so easily; it's impossible to keep track. He prefers to count in lifetimes. Makes more sense.
It's been fifteen lifetimes since he last watched this exact scene unfold before him, but the details of it remain crisp and clear, like it was just yesterday. It's been burned into his mind with excruciating precision. He recalls the little twitch of irritation on Caroline's lips, the pinch between her eyebrows, the indignity of the curse she mutters under her breath.
Nothing torments her quite like being made to lose the reins of control. Disorder is the ban of her existence. Personally, Klaus thinks she still looks as graceful as ever, certainly more than most people, even in a rare moment of disarray. He's never mentioned it to her before, however, and he certainly won't start now - for many reasons, most of which are just terribly heartbreaking, but the main one being that Klaus finds it fascinating to see her like this, untidy, not completely put-together, unaware that she's being observed.
There's magic in this moment. It's absolutely glorious in all its imperfections. It's the single most precious moment of Klaus' entire existence. He wouldn't change a thing about it.
It's a lot like seeing a movie he's already watched a thousand times, but not in a while, and yet somehow can still recall every scene, every line of dialogue, every tiny little detail. It starts playing in his head the exact second she crosses into the train car, and he gets instantly caught in the familiarity of the old script. He can narrate what Caroline will do even before she has decided to do it herself.
She will comb a hand through her damp hair, fruitlessly trying to fix some of the mess, before giving up with a frustrated huff when her fingers catch on a particularly nasty tangle. Then she will fish her train ticket out of the pocket on the right side of her overcoat, check the number on it, and lift her head to look around and situate herself. Once she confirms she didn't accidentally board the wrong car in her desperate haste, she will take a step forward, lips slightly parted while her eyes roam the rows of seats, searching for hers among the numbers marked on the above panel.
It'll take her about ten seconds to locate it, which grants Klaus just enough time to face away and pretend he hadn't been paying rapt attention, dying a little bit on the inside as the woman of his life - of all his lives - walks down the train aisle to occupy the spot exactly in front of him. A small, narrow table is the only thing separating the two of them, but the gap feels impossibly larger. A gap the size of fifteen lifetimes, stretching between them like a rift that only he can see.
Klaus sucks the air in through his nose in a failed attempt to keep his heart from punching so violently against his ribcage. It has been a minute, and pretending that being away from her for so long hasn't been a slow death is harder than he thought it would be.
When their eyes meet - casually for Caroline, anything but for Klaus - she offers a smile to the stranger in front of her. Nothing if not polite, his Caroline. Miss Mystic Falls through and through.
Klaus' smile is discreet, but full of warmth. In different times, she would've instantly recognized it as an oddity. He's not a warm person, quite the opposite. But she doesn't know him, has no idea that she's an exception to a rule that's only gotten worse since the last time they met.
There's a possibility that his knowing grin will seem awkward to her - maybe too familiar, maybe just plain creepy - but it doesn't matter. Not this time, anyway. Klaus won't be sticking around, so whether she's thrown by his behavior or not won't make a difference. This time, he'll just be another face on a train ride that won't stand out to her for any reason other than how exceptionally annoyed she is. Just another unremarkable stranger to cross her path. In a few days, or maybe even hours, this random encounter will be completely forgotten, his face blurred into insignificance, obliterated from her mind as all trivial, unimportant things are. It will be as though it never happened.
If he says the bitter truth of that doesn't make him feel a bit of a sting somewhere, he'll be lying. But it is what it is, and Klaus has had several lifetimes to get used to their Shakespearean tragedy: the poignant poetry of this casual meeting on the 9:50 am train to Cardiff, and how it always, always changes everything, one way or another.
Klaus has been through all the existing steps of grief, and then some. Denial, anger, depression, disappointment, white hot rage. It sometimes comes in waves; other times all at once. Acceptance has never really stuck, but he was forced to learn how to soldier through it all. He didn't have a choice. He never has a choice. At last, he learned how to cope - not by making peace with it, but by walking away.
Klaus has learned the hardest possible way how to relent before the things he cannot change, even if it kills him. And it usually does. There are forces in this universe that are stronger and more unyielding than even the love he has for Caroline Forbes, although it certainly doesn't feel like that should be possible. Life - or rather, death - has proved him wrong.
It’s been too long, and he just had to see Caroline again. One last time.
Klaus is here to say goodbye. This time, for good.