"What do we do now?" asked Charlotte.

They were still in bed, of course, Charlotte was laying propped up against a few pillows whilst Klaus leaned against her. His head was leaning on her chest, while his fingers drew circles on her leg beside him, hers were running softly through his hair. Charlotte felt nervous bringing it up, the memory of the day before still so strong in her head though she knew they needed to talk about it.

"Again already," Klaus twisted to his front, leaning forwards to place another kiss on Charlotte's lips, "dear me darling you're insatiable," he had a grin on his lips right now, he looked like a child telling a joke, so eager to hear the laughter that he forgot the pretence of it all, he loved teasing her because he loved the smile that followed.

Charlotte pushed his head away playfully, fighting back a grin as she replied, "Nik, I'm being serious. What happens now?"

Klaus stayed still, he was watching her brow furrow again and he wished it would stop just a little longer. He still hadn't decided what he'd do about her brothers, he didn't know what course of action was best, he couldn't let them live after such a blatant attempt on his and his family's life. Klaus wasn't exactly the merciful type but he knew if he hurt them he'd lose Charlotte again and he wasn't sure if he could risk it.

"Now we get cleaned up," Klaus told her, finally tearing himself from the bed and towards the bathroom. He could hear Charlotte calling after him but he ignored her, turning the taps of the bath on and filling it.

"Nik," Charlotte whined playfully, "come back I'm bored and cold."

Klaus still enjoyed the way her breath caught in her throat when he sped in front of her appearing in an instance, "Well, we can't have that now darling, can we."

This was the Klaus that won her over, he was so playful and cheeky, kind and caring, she liked the grin he gave her each time their eyes met. Klaus scooped her up and Charlotte let out a squeal of surprise, she wasn't particularly used to being carried and so when he pulled her up into his arms she wasn't quite sure the correct protocol.

They were in the bathroom and her eyes finally landed on the ornate bathtub rapidly filling with both bubbles and hot water. Klaus had briefly considered placing her directly in the bathtub but the possibilities of one of them slipping and Charlotte getting hurt crossed his mind and so instead he set her down on her feet in front of him. This solution was definitely the winner it seemed because not only did he get to watch as Charlotte climbed carefully into the tub, he also got to watch as she flipped her head upside down to tie her now loose hair on top of her head in a tight bun.

Charlotte and Klaus were both in the bathtub, sitting on opposite ends and facing each other, Charlotte had unsurprisingly curled into a ball whilst Klaus had spread out, his feet tickling either side of her. She was watching him now and he looked so serene, his cheeks were tinted ever so slightly pink from the heat of the bath and he had a slight sheen on his face from the steam flowing up around them. His arms lay on the sides of the bath and his head had fallen back to lean against the wall while his eyes fluttered shut with contentment.

"I can feel you watching me," Klaus growled without opening his eyes, he could always feel her eyes on him.

"No you can't," Charlotte argued back, curling her fingers up to flick water at his peaceful face then leaning back against the wall of the bath behind her. Klaus didn't open his eyes but his foot beside her twitched to gently kick her and Charlotte's face screwed up in a mischievous smirk.

Mirroring Klaus before her, Charlotte laid her arms out on the sides of the bath and lent her head back with her eyes fluttering shut. Without her arms wrapped around her knees, her legs slowly extended however instead of resting them either side of Klaus' waist like he'd done with her, she placed both on his chest, one foot practically tickling his chin. She could feel Klaus shift underneath her in surprise, his eyes had flicked open and he was watching her with the mischievous grin on her face as she pretended to ignore him.

"I can feel you watching me," Charlotte told him cooly after a few moments of silence.

"You're playing with fire darling."

"Mhm."

Suddenly Charlotte let out a squeal of surprise as Klaus' hands wrapped around her feet and used them to tug her towards him. She very nearly splashed beneath the water as she slid from where she leant and her eyes flashed open with a scowl on her face. Klaus had tugged her so close that he'd had to move her legs out over the side of the bath so she now sat sideways, between his legs and practically sitting on his chest.

"I don't like you," Charlotte said as she splashed him, giggling when he caught her wrist.

"What have I told you about lying, sweetheart."

Charlotte laughed as his attempt to sound threatening, her legs were getting cold so she tugged them back into the water, leaning back against Klaus with her legs sprawled out between his. One of his arms wrapped around her waist while she caught his other hand, pulling it towards her and fiddling with his fingers.

"Nik," her voice was quiet and she wasn't playing like before, "honestly, what's going to happen now?"

Klaus always talked about how he could tell she was lying but Charlotte could tell when something she said caught him off guard or was something he didn't want to talk about. He would freeze, only for a moment, his whole body tensing in shock or surprise before his mind caught up and he could figure out whatever he needed to say to answer.

"Charlotte," his voice was fighting to keep the sharpness out of it, "what your brothers did-"

"Make me a deal," Charlotte cut him off, her words clearly shocking him as he froze beneath her again, "Like with Stef, can't we make some kind of deal, I'll do whatever you want if you promise you won't hurt them. I'll go wherever you like, like in the summertime, I'll do whatever you want, anything, Nik."

Charlotte had shifted now, she wasn't laying on Klaus' chest anymore, she'd pushed herself to a sitting position again. Her body was facing sideways with her free arm wrapped around herself while the hand that had been holding his gripped tighter still, she was looking at him and he could see the desperation in her eyes.

She remembered the desperation on Stefan's face back in Alaric's apartment when he'd first made the deal and she felt it tenfold. After everything that had happened she hadn't expected she'd ever go though anything like that again but she couldn't see any other solution which would allow her brothers to get away unharmed. She wondered briefly if this was a commonplace occurrence for Klaus, someone pleading for the life of a loved one as they sat naked in a bubble bath together.

"No," Klaus' face had furrowed then hardened, his gaze faltering as he watched the terror cross over her.

"Nik-" Charlotte could feel her heart racing, the absolution of his words seemed to be a death sentence. Her eyes dropped from his and her grip on his hand loosened as she wrapped her arms around her waist, she wasn't crying but she could feel her heart beating in her ears.

"Look at me," Klaus told her, his hand rising to her cheek and pulling her terrified eyes to his, "I'm not going to make a deal to tie you to me. Charlotte I care about you, I want you with me because you want to be here not as a result of some debt," here Charlotte opened her mouth to argue but he barrelled on, "I won't deny what your brother's did is something few would survive, I won't grant absolution but I will allow them this, if your brothers return all stakes to me I will let them live. If they give me their word to give up this vendetta I give you mine I will too."

Klaus hadn't really prepared to grant mercy for her brothers, really he'd almost made up his mind for exactly the opposite and instead was planning the best way to tell her but as Charlotte tried to trade her life for theirs for a second time, he knew he couldn't do it. No matter how important the vendetta against his life was to him, he didn't want to risk what he had with her for it all. Charlotte might've forgiven him for everything he put her and her brothers through but he knew she wouldn't truly forgive him if he ever caused her brothers death.

Charlotte didn't know how to respond, nodding slowly she squeezed her eyes shut and took a shaky breath. She stayed quiet and although her eyes flickered to Klaus' watching her again neither of them talked for a little while, he pulled her towards him and soon she was laying between his legs again with her head on his chest.

"Can I ask you something," Klaus finally broke the silence, he could see her eyelids were closed but once he spoke they fluttered open again.

"Mhm."

"The night when you first stayed at my house Rebekah and I were discussing the last of the white oak," Klaus was speaking slowly, he didn't want to allow himself to get angry at her but he still hadn't had the chance to ask her if she helped, "The last white oak was in Wickery Bridge, I told my sister and then your brothers had their weapons. I just-"

Charlotte cut him off, she hadn't moved from where she lay but her eyes were rolled up to look at him as best she could from her position, "I didn't help them find the wood. I promise. I do remember you and Rebekah talking about natives and a tree but I was half asleep. I hadn't even thought about it till now, I didn't tell them anything, I wouldn't."

Klaus literally sighed in relief.

"Nik, I am sorry about what happened, about what they did, and about your brother. I shouldn't have stood by them and they shouldn't have done it."

Klaus shifted so he could place a kiss on the top of her head, "Thank you my love."

They stayed in the bath for a long time, so long in fact that the bubbles had all popped and the water was starting to chill them rather than warm them. Finally just as Klaus noticed goosebumps appearing on Charlotte's body she pulled away and they both stood to their feet.

Despite living in a literal mansion, Klaus had only one towel hanging in the bathroom and so wrapping it around his waist, he went to find a second option while Charlotte stood shivering.

He returned fairly quickly but her lips seemed to be turning blue and he could hear her teeth chattering. Wrapping the towel around her shoulders, his arms followed, racing up and down her sides to try to warm her up again.

Stumbling along behind him, both Charlotte and Klaus came to the realisation at the same time that one of the reasons Charlotte had bathed yesterday when she waited for him to return, was that she and her clothing were covered in her brother's blood. Klaus didn't mention it, glancing between the pile of bloody clothes and Charlotte with a smirk before pulling out a set of sweatpants and a t-shirt for her as well as some of his underwear. Tugging it all on, Charlotte sat on the bed snorting with laughter as Klaus shamelessly dropped his towel to the ground and pulled his pants on without turning away from her.

Klaus had checked his phone at last and it seemed the final stake was still missing. Alaric had it, but he had some dark alter ego that came out occasionally as a result of dying too many times and it had apparently hidden it.

"I'm going to see your brothers," Klaus told her, "do you want to come?"

Charlotte nodded, "Am I-" she broke off, feeling awkward about what she was asking, "will I come back here after or.."

Klaus' hand rose to cup her cheek, "You can come back or you can stay. Charlotte I won't force you into anything again, I promise. I don't want to control you."

Klaus felt terrible that even now she felt like a prisoner here with him. Although he wished he could keep her by his side forever, he knew if he'd taken her offer he would've only felt more guilty and that she would've only felt more resentful.

"Okay," she told him, sliding away to grab her phone and her salvageable trousers, abandoning her bloody shirt by the floor, before returning and slipping her hand into his.

Klaus always enjoyed driving, it was a marvellous invention and the speeds they could get to places with such minimal effort still entertained him even after all these decades of it. He knew too that Charlotte enjoyed it, he'd realised at some point that they hadn't been around in her last lifetime and so he was sure that fed into her joy at speeding so quickly down the narrow roads.

She was texting the footballer now as they drove back to the Salvatore mansion, Klaus had glanced over to see his name at the top of the screen and his face had screwed up into a scowl but when his hand landed on her leg hers had grabbed it tightly. Klaus wasn't sure what was going on between him and Charlotte, but he was glad she was back with him, he was glad she'd allowed him some redemption.