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“Hey, Gorgeous?”
Caroline didn’t look up from her phone. She normally didn’t see the appeal of silly games, but Stefan had gotten her into this one and she couldn’t stop.
If she used her lunchbreak to tap on little dinosaurs, so what?
“I’m on my break.”
“I know,” Enzo said, “But there are two pretty blonde girls asking for you.”
“Do they have an appointment?” One of her Pterodactyls flew into a cloud, and she frowned.
“No, and I told them to leave, but then one of them convinced me to tell you her name is Freya.”
Caroline looked up at that, dinosaurs forgotten. Enzo was leaning against the door that lead to the backroom of the tattoo parlour.
“No way. Blonde, sweet as a button with claws to give Wolverine a run for his money?”
Enzo’s expression was familiar, the one he always got when he thought Caroline was being weird. “It’s possible, though I haven’t seen any evidence of claws. Do you know her?”
“She used to be my roommate back in college,” Caroline said, standing up. “We lost touch when she dropped out to look for her long-lost siblings.”
“Sounds like the plot of a bad movie.” Enzo moved out of the way so she could push past him.
Sure enough, Freya Mikaelson stood in the shop where Caroline worked, pointing at an artwork on the wall while whispering to an unfamiliar blonde girl.
“Hey, witch,” Caroline grinned when Freya’s head turned immediately. “It’s been a while.”
“So if you don’t feed them, they die?”
“No,” Caroline said, selecting a triceratops that she knew hadn’t been fed in a while. “They become slower, so anything you make them do is delayed.” The triceratops didn’t turn fast enough and fell into the river.
Rebekah looked intrigued. “What a fascinating game.”
“Yes, it’s very fascinating.” Freya’s particular brand of sarcasm was still as biting as ever. “Now how do I look in this dress?”
“Marvellous, Freya, as always,” Caroline mumbled, eyes still trained on her phone. A tube of Chapstick hit her in the chest, and she looked up with a scowl. “What?”
Freya stood with her hands on her hips, lips pressed together in irritation. “Will you delete that game, please?”
Caroline gasped, grabbing at her heart in outrage. “Never.” She threw the Chapstick back, and Freya caught it. “And I do like that dress.”
Ever since Freya had shown up in Caroline’s shop three months ago, they’d been practically inseparable. It didn’t matter that they’d missed a few years of each other’s lives. They’d slotted back together like puzzle pieces, and Caroline loved having her best friend back in her life.
“When are you coming in for that tattoo I promised you?” Caroline changed the subject.
It had come up one night at Rebekah’s house, when they’d been a little wine-drunk and giddy from the small mountain of chocolate they’d consumed.
“I want one,” Rebekah confessed while tracing the orange blossoms that ran along Caroline’s forearm.
“I’ll do it for you,” Caroline said. “No big deal.”
Rebekah looked at Freya with a little smirk. “What do you say? It could be fun.”
Freya looked hesitant. “I don’t even know what to get.”
“Easy,” Rebekah waved her off, “We’ll get Nik to draw something.”
“I haven’t talked to Klaus yet,” Freya said, fiddling with her earring. “It could be months before he gets around to doing it.”
Rebekah rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, he’s already finished.”
“Great,” Caroline beamed. “I’ll book you in for a consultation next week.”
“Caroline…” Freya was suddenly tense.
“Don’t worry,” Caroline assured her, “No needles will touch your skin without your express permission.”
“I think the Zigongosaurus is my favourite,” Rebekah said, tapping away.
“I don’t know,” Caroline said, also tapping. “They’re too long. I always end up stuck between two trees.”
“That sounds like a you-problem,” Rebekah replied smoothly.
“Are you both being serious right now?” Freya exclaimed. “I am only here to look at Klaus’s drawings and let you down gently about the odds of it ever permanently appearing on my skin, and you won’t look away from your screens for two minutes.”
Both girls put their phones away, chastised.
“I don’t know how to react to this many blondes in one place,” Enzo piped up from his desk.
“Don’t be a pig,” Caroline said. “And mind your own business, I’m busy with clients.”
The look Enzo shot her was sceptical. “Do they count as clients if they’ve slept off a hangover on the couch in the backroom?”
Freya flipped up her middle finger, and Enzo shut up with a smirk.
“Okay, show me the pictures,” Caroline said, back to business.
Rebekah dug through her purse, producing two neatly pressed sheets of paper. Caroline took it from her. Freya looked curious, despite her uncertainty with the situation.
The first drawing was of a dripping, winding tree with curling roots and pinky-orange leaves. The tree was cradled into a crescent moon and had birds circling it as if searching for a place to rest.
It was beautiful, and delicate, and Caroline ached to know what each element meant.
“That one’s mine,” Rebekah said, and her voice was gentle. “Nik refuses to say anything about it.”
“I’m not sure what I expected,” Caroline tilted her head, “But I don’t think it was this.”
“Will you be able to do it?” Rebekah asked.
Caroline’s eyes narrowed. “Of course I can, I’m excellent at my job.” She looked at the drawing again, and her resolve softened. “I feel like your brother needs to approve any alterations I need to make.”
“Can I see?” Freya asked, growing impatient. Caroline handed it over, and she watched the frown lines on her friend’s face smooth out.
“The moon,” she said, tracing it with her finger. “He really took it seriously, didn’t he?”
Rebekah scoffed. “Of course he did. When I asked Nik for something that we could tattoo onto our bodies forever he went all pinched and uncomfortable and disappeared on me for four days. I thought he was just going to ignore it ever happened, but then I found these under my pillow one morning after he’d been over for tea. I tried to bring it up, but he keeps making excuses to leave.”
“It doesn’t fit with his reputation,” Freya said with a smile.
Caroline looked down at the other drawing that was still in her hand. Done with just as much care, Freya’s design was of an old-timey clock with Roman numerals, surrounded by the softest of pink roses. Thin chains hung from the clock, connecting the flowers.
She knew Freya better than Rebekah, and it was absolutely clear to Caroline that whoever drew this put a lot of thought into it. Caroline knew how Freya felt about being kept away from her family for so long. She also knew that despite everything, Freya would remain gentle and kind, unless you poked her in the wrong places. Then she had thorns.
“Freya,” Caroline said, meeting the expectant blues of her friend’s eyes. “I don’t want you to do anything that you’re not sure about.”
Freya frowned. “Just let me see, Care. Speaking in riddles is more my thing than yours.”
Caroline handed it over, and she had to look away at the mess of emotions that flickered across Freya’s face all at once. Rebekah was already looking at Caroline when their eyes met, and there was an understanding that passed between them.
“I need to talk to Klaus.” Freya stood. She grabbed her coat and left with little more than a backward glance.
“Can I help you?”
There was an unfamiliar man in the shop when Caroline came back from the bathroom. Enzo was busy with a client, and she could hear the whizz of his tattoo gun from behind the curtains of his station.
The man turned from where he’d been observing her work, hands clasped behind his back. He smiled, and the little dimples that formed in his cheeks tugged at her heartstrings.
“You must be Caroline.”
“Right,” she said. “Do you have an appointment?” She knew that she had a regular coming in in an hour for a touch-up, but it’s possible that Enzo had pencilled someone in for her without her knowledge. He did things like that, no matter how much she yelled at him for it.
“I came to have a word with you, actually, but I don’t want to intrude if you’re busy.”
“I have a few minutes,” she assured him. “What did you want to discuss?”
“I believe you’re friendly with my sisters. Rebekah mentioned that you wished to see me regarding a piece you’re doing for her.”
Caroline’s eyes widened. “Oh! You must be Klaus.”
He smirked. “The one and only.”
It was clear as day that he was related to Rebekah, and Caroline tried her hardest not to laugh. “Yeah, I want to get your permission for some alterations to the design. I don’t want to change anything with significance, but some things translate better into a tattoo if it’s done a different way.”
Klaus nodded. “Very well.”
Caroline led him to her desk and took out her sketchpad. She’d done a few rough designs, but she needed to understand the concept better if she were to go any further.
“Look through these and tell me there’s anything you like or dislike. I understand that you drew in each element for a reason, and I don’t want any of those reasons to get lost in the process.”
Caroline sat down, and he followed her lead. His eyes zeroed in on her drawings with such intense focus, and Caroline struggled to find the motivation to stop staring at him, other than the fact that staring would make her come off as a creeper.
He was beautiful in a way that she hadn’t been ready for, and the fact that she knew what he could do with a pencil just made it that much harder for her to keep her eyes to herself.
He looked up, and judging by his teasing smirk, she’d been caught looking.
“The tree,” he said, “I like the detail you added on the bark.”
“Thank you,” she said. She refused to blush. “Sometimes with a tattoo, it’s necessary to add movement, or it runs the risk of coming across as bland.”
“I can understand that.” He went back to flipping through the pages. “The moon.”
“Show me.” Caroline leaned over. She knew it would be important from Freya’s reaction to it, but without context she found it hard to do it justice. It felt too much like a separate element.
“It doesn’t look right in any of these.”
“I had a feeling,” she confessed. “Will you tell me about the meaning behind it?”
Klaus didn’t react at first, his eyes trained on her. She refused to look away even as he intimidated her, her eyebrow raising to show that she wouldn’t back off.
“I hardly know you,” he finally said. “Not even Rebekah knows.”
Caroline shrugged. “My work revolves around metaphors. I specialise in knowing how to layer different inks to end up with the most potent emotion that can possibly be extracted from an image. Without knowing exactly what emotion you wish to convey, my abilities are limited and you end up with a moon and a tree that don’t mesh well.”
He looked at her for a little longer, and she could almost hear the gears turn in his head.
“Fine.” He laid out one of her sketches so she could see, then started tracing it with a single fingertip.
“Our family is a little crooked,” he traced the bend of the tree, “Rebekah is rooted as a Mikaelson, it forms a large part of her identity.” The curling roots. “She’s optimistic, my sister, if a little naïve. One can always count on her to brighten up a situation.” The brightly coloured leaves. “But it’s her weakness, as well. I think she could have gone a lot further, had she not been so reluctant to leave us behind.” The birds, circling the top of the tree, refusing to fly away even though they could.
“And the moon?” Caroline asked.
A small smile tugged at Klaus’s lips. “The moon is me. Make what you will of that.”
Caroline tugged at her sketchpad until Klaus relinquished it. She grabbed a pencil and made a quick sketch.
“I think I get it,” Caroline said as she drew. She was aware of Klaus’s gaze on her fingers, but she ignored it. “The moon can’t overshadow the colour of the leaves. It needs to be visible and present, cradling the tree like a safety net, but it can’t be the focus of the design.”
When she finished, she turned it so Klaus could see.
There was a lot of intrigue in the way he was looking at her, and Caroline wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Perfect,” he approved.
“Oh, wow.” Freya took in the work on Rebekah’s side with wide eyes. “I knew you were good, Care, but shit. You’ve outdone yourself.”
“I had a little help,” Caroline said, reaching for some mirrors so she could properly show Rebekah.
“I don’t think it’s fair that Klaus told you all about the tattoo he drew for me, yet I’m not allowed to know,” Rebekah whined. “I went through a lot of pain to get here, you realise, and I deserve to know why.”
“Stop complaining,” Caroline scolded. “Look. Do you hate it? Because there isn’t really any take-backs at this point.”
Rebekah looked, and it was clear that she didn’t hate it. “I don’t want a take-back.”
“Then I’ll wrap it for you so you can put your shirt back on and go yell at your brother until he spills all his soft, soft secrets,” Caroline teased.
“There’s a Halloween party at Rousseau’s tonight,” Freya said. “Wanna go?”
“It’s April.” Rebekah lifted her arm to give Caroline more room.
“So?”
“So, why Halloween?”
“Freya likes having an excuse to wear her slutty bunny outfit,” Caroline said. “And I completely understand why.”
“Yes, I look very good in it.”
“Fine,” Rebekah gave in. “But Nik’s going with so we can get him drunk and chatty.”
“Really?” Caroline asked. “He’s a chatty drunk? I wouldn’t have expected that.”
The next time she dealt with a Mikaelson, he actually had an appointment.
“I’m heading out, Gorgeous, need anything from Tesco’s?”
“I’m good.” Caroline’s fingers were quick on her phone screen. “Unless they have those special KitKats I like.”
“When are you going to give up on that game?” Enzo teased.
“Never. Go away.”
She heard the door close. She had a few minutes before her next appointment, and she planned on raking up a few diamonds that she intended to spend on a sparkly outfit for her Breviceratops.
The door opened again. She didn’t look up, expecting it to be Enzo forgetting his wallet again.
“Excuse me.”
She startled at the polite voice, quickly switching off her phone.
The man in front of her was handsome, no doubt, and he looked really good in the dark suit that seemed to have been painted on him like a second skin.
“I’m sorry, I’m a few minutes early. I can wait if you’re busy?” He sounded amused.
“No, not busy.” She glanced at her schedule. “Elijah?”
“That would be me.”
She stood and motioned for him to follow her to her desk. “Please sit, and we can get started. Would you like anything to drink? A cup of tea?” It might have been stereotypical of her to assume based on the British accent, but she worked with Enzo. She suspected him to be at least 80% tea by the way he gulped the stuff down.
“I’m quite fine, but thank you for the offer.”
Everything about Elijah screamed professional, and Caroline hoped that he would give her something to work with. The more difficult it was to read a client, the harder time she had in designing their tattoo.
“Right.” They sat down, and she opened a sketchpad on a blank page. “What do you have in mind?”
“I actually have a design already.” He glanced at his watch. “My brother was meant to meet me here, but he can be tardy sometimes.”
Caroline relaxed back in her chair, pencil abandoned. “Do you have it with you?”
“No, I haven’t seen it yet.”
Caroline nodded, and the silence between them stretched a little too thin.
“I was very impressed with the work you did for Rebekah,” he finally said.
It clicked then, and Caroline felt like she must have picked up on the similarities a lot earlier.
“You’re her other brother, of course,” Caroline sighed. “I assume Klaus is bringing the design?”
“Niklaus assured me that you had no problem working together when I approached him about doing for me what he did for our sister. Was he mistaken?”
“Not at all,” Caroline said, trying not to think about the way Klaus had made sure she and Rebekah get home safe after the Halloween party. She’d nearly tripped, and would likely have fallen on her face if it hadn’t been for his warm hands on her skin keeping her upright.
“Good,” Elijah said, “Since Niklaus all but threatened me when I suggested a different artist.”
“You don’t trust my work?” Caroline asked. It happened sometimes, that she was recommended to someone, and they came to her for lack of a better option, or because they felt loyal to the person who suggested her. She didn’t enjoy being anyone’s second choice.
“That’s not it at all.” Elijah’s smile was too perfectly soothing for it to work on her. “I only intended to hint at the loyalty you’ve already inspired in my brother. This is not normal behaviour for him, and I find myself curious.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You came early on purpose.”
Elijah looked impressed. “You’re quite clever.”
“Of course I am,” she scoffed, “The blonde is just for show.”
“I do not believe in stereotypes, Caroline.”
She was about to say something, maybe ask him if he was offended by her offering tea earlier, when the door opened and Klaus walked in.
He was deliciously windswept, dressed in a long coat that made him look taller. His curls were tousled, and Caroline’s eyes lingered a little longer than usual.
“Brother,” Klaus greeted when he saw Elijah already seated at Caroline’s desk. “I didn’t expect you to be early.”
“I am about to let a stranger ink my skin permanently. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just one of your passing whims.”
“And are you satisfied?” Klaus asked, eyes blazing. “Surely you trust Rebekah’s judgement more than mine?”
“Oh, I do,” Elijah said. His smirk wasn’t as pronounced as Klaus’s, but it had the same effect. “I also trust Freya’s judgement above yours, and on this rare occasion that the three of you align perfectly, I have no reason to be sceptical.”
“Good.” Klaus grabbed a chair from Enzo’s desk and sat down next to his brother. He pulled a sheet of paper out of his coat’s pocket and handed it Caroline. “Hello, love.”
Caroline took it without a word.
“Are you happy with it?”
Elijah inspected his chest in the mirror with a clinical eye.
To say that this had been one of the most complex tattoos Caroline had ever done would be putting it lightly. Klaus had been insistent that she keep the rough, fading pencil lines, and managing it with needle and skin had required her to ask Enzo for tips.
The top half of Elijah’s tattoo was a human heart, drawn like an artist’s first rough sketch, with many overlapping lines and redrawn circles. The bottom half of the heart fell away and was replaced with a labyrinth in disrepair. Bits of the maze were missing, and there were ink splotches toward the edges, like the drawing had been done with a dripping ink pen.
It was sophisticated, but Caroline thought it revealed a lot about Klaus’s perception of his brother.
“You did an excellent job, Caroline, thank you.”
“Thank Klaus,” she said.
“I will.” Elijah’s usual steel demeaner softened just a little when he met her gaze in the mirror.
“No, sweetheart, it needs to be sharp.”
Caroline resisted the urge to slam her forehead against the table.
“It is sharp.”
“No, imagine,” Klaus made a side-to-side motion with his fist, “a toddler scribbling with an ink pen.”
“You understand that this tells me a lot about how you see your youngest brother, don’t you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Kol is hardly mature enough to be compared to a toddler.”
Caroline threw down her pen and rubbed at her eyes. “It’s nearly nine, Klaus, can we finish this tomorrow?”
Klaus blinked as if he hadn’t realised where the time had gone. “Of course, love, I have no intentions of inconveniencing you.”
Caroline arranged her papers into a neat pile on her desk. “I do think we’d gain a lot by involving Enzo, this is exactly his style.”
“I don’t want Enzo analysing my work, I only trust you.”
“Then trust me when I say we need Enzo.” Caroline gave Klaus a frustrated look. “You’re being difficult.”
Klaus’s jaw clenched. “You underestimate the value of the honesty I’ve extended towards you, Caroline.”
Caroline sighed. “I know what this means to you, and I’d rather ask my colleague, whose abilities I respect and admire, to help me get it perfect than mess up your only shot at healthy communication with your siblings.”
“I talk to them.”
“Really?” Caroline deadpanned. “Then why does Rebekah still beg me to explain her tattoo to her? And why does Freya keep insisting that she’ll only get hers if you’re next to her while she does, but that you keep refusing? And why did you make Elijah leave the room before you were willing to discuss his design?”
Klaus let his head roll back, then tipped it up again to look at Caroline. “Are you going to Freya’s birthday thing tonight?”
“You’re changing the subject, so I’ll take it to mean that I’m right.” Caroline stood to gather her things. “Of course I’m going. Are you offering me a ride?”
“You’re always welcome to my things, sweetheart.”
It was a loaded statement, and she chose to ignore it.
“You’re hurting me, darling.”
“Don’t be such a wimp.” Caroline wiped at Kol’s skin with a tissue. “I’m much gentler than Enzo is about to be.”
“I still disagree about his necessity in the situation,” Klaus called from outside of Caroline’s curtained up station. She’d told him to come in, but he’d refused. She could just picture him all infuriating with his feet up on her desk like he owned the place. She gritted her teeth, and ignored Kol’s yelp at the next stroke of her needle.
“Am I meant to be bleeding like that?” Kol asked, his eyes trained on the mirror where he could see her progress.
“If you keep being a smartass I will leave you with half an eagle,” Caroline warned. “And I don’t know if the ladies will appreciate it if you have to tell them you could only stomach the pain of half of your tattoo.”
“I’m starting to think Enzo will be nicer to me,” Kol complained, and Caroline couldn’t be happier than when she’d done the last of her half of the tattoo.
She stood and pulled off her latex gloves. “You’re about to find out.”
She left the station, and Enzo was already waiting behind his desk with an amused smile.
“Difficult client, Gorgeous?”
Klaus’s eyes narrowed at the nickname, and Caroline rolled her eyes.
“He’s all yours, I’m going for a walk.” She grabbed her coat and headed for the door.
Of course, Klaus was hot on her heels.
“I’m sorry that I doubted you, love. You were right about Enzo.”
“Of course I was,” Caroline ground out, “It’s my job.”
Klaus grabbed her sleeve, causing her to stop walking and face him. “I’d like to book an appointment for Freya.”
“Did you talk to her first?”
“Of course I did. I asked what she would like for her birthday.”
“And she said?” Caroline folded her arms.
“I wasn’t aware that she wanted me to be with her, until you brought it up.”
“I’ve seen your drawing, Klaus. I know you know how much you all mean to her. She wasn’t raised with you and Rebekah and Elijah and Kol. She functions a little different than the rest of you.”
Klaus sighed. “I know that, now. I’m trying to do better.”
Caroline regarded him with narrowed eyes, then nodded. “Good. Now, I need a distraction from your incredibly annoying brother.”
“Do you like Margaritas?”
They got back just in time to see Enzo finishing up.
“Did he bother you as much as he did me?” Caroline asked.
Enzo laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Gorgeous. We get along fabulously.”
“I’ve invited him to Elijah’s boring Thanksgiving dinner,” Kol said, gleeful. “I suspect we’ll liven the party up quite a bit.”
Caroline rolled her eyes as she stepped up to inspect the finished product. It was an eagle mid-flight. Faded circles around its wings suggested movement, and its tail was smoky and mystical. It was all very dark with rough lines, and Caroline knew she wouldn’t have done it justice.
“Great job, Enzo,” she said, a little distracted as she took in the complete picture, exactly as it was meant be.
“Why is Klaus in the backroom again?” Enzo grumbled as he passed by Caroline’s desk. “Don’t tell me he has more siblings?”
“He does, actually,” Caroline said, distracted by the drawing she was busy with. “But he doesn’t like them much.”
“Tell him to leave, then.”
“Stop whining,” Caroline said with a glare. “He’s waiting for me so we can go to the carnival.”
“The carnival.” Enzo sounded sceptic. “Are you, like, dating him, now?”
Caroline fought to keep her composure.
After doing Freya’s tattoo (with Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah crowded into the station), Klaus had just started showing up in her life. Waiting for her on one Tuesday morning with bagels and a tale of Elijah slipping and hitting his head on the microwave. Or whisking her away to a very top-secret flash mob happening in the square, orchestrated by Klaus’s friend Marcel. Calling to let her know he was out for drinks with Rebekah, and it would be a lot less terrible if she could join them.
She was getting used to him, she knew, even if he hadn’t so much as held her hand.
“Something like that,” she said. “Maybe.”
“Caroline.”
“What is it?”
Caroline’s feet were toasty warm in Klaus’s lap, a movie playing in the background. She sincerely hoped he wasn’t about to suggest they do anything productive.
“Freya is under the impression that you do not know how I feel about you.”
Caroline tensed somewhat, not prepared in the slightest to have this conversation dumped on her in the middle of The Breakfast Club.
“And how is that?”
“I fancy you.” His blue eyes sparkled, dimples dipping into his cheeks.
“I did know that,” Caroline said, “but it’s nice to hear you say it.”
“What else would you like me to say out loud, love? I’ve been practising.”
She raised an eyebrow at his teasing, and he reached out to wind a strand of her hair around his finger.
“I like your hair, especially when it’s a little wild after a long day.” His finger trailed over her face. “I like your eyes, always so expressive.” Down to her nose. “Your sharp tongue, how you never take any nonsense, even from me.”
“Your ego is big enough as is, I shudder to think what would happen to it if I were to start feeding it,” Caroline said, a little breathless at his sudden proximity. “Are you going to kiss me, or do you want to keep dancing around each other?
“Always so direct, sweetheart,” Klaus teased, his hand curling around her chin to pull her closer. “I like that, too.”