This is just a place to store all of my drabbles that I sometimes post on my tumblr.

I figured I'd start off the first one that's set in the Wicked Schemes world for it. So :) I just wanted a place to have them where I don't have to hunt through tags. There will be a new chapter of The Devil's Backbone on Friday.

Five years of rebuilding the New Orleans supernatural community was enough to give anyone grey hairs. Something that Caroline was very pleased she would never experience. Though she wasn't too sure if she would have ever gotten grey ones or if her hair would have gone straight to white because of its coloring.

Five years of dealing with the Original families spats. Of the never-ending fallouts that seemed to occur between the siblings, ranging from days to weeks to nearly a year long one at one time, but they always gravitated back toward one another. Never quite able to let the others go.

Five years of watching Stefan heal, of seeing him battle through the reminders of what he had endured, eventually able to go a week without an episode. Then a month, and now it had been two years.

Five years of enduring the battle of wills between Rebekah and Stefan as they skirted around their desire for one another before finally acting upon it. That had nearly skidded to a halt when after two months of them being together Elena had waltzed into town wanting to make amends with Caroline. Rebekah's insecurities over Stefan always choosing the doppelganger reared its head but after some yelling and lamps thrown at his head they had come out of the conflict stronger than ever. He might always love Elena Gilbert, but he wasn't in love with her any longer.

She had watched the Coven grow, dealt with the strife that would probably never end between her group of witches and Klaus. Saw them become a tightly knit group that grew in power and worked with her to enhance her powers in ways none of them had even known was possible. The wolf pack expanded, setting down tighter roots into the community, their loyalty to Klaus never wavering and she knew how much that meant to the Hybrid. Could see it in his gaze whenever he was meeting with them.

New vampires had been turned, older ones joining the fray with Klaus' permission, a healthy dose of fear instilled in them before they were allowed to settle into the city. There had been uprisings from some witches, deaths that were unavoidable, but eventually the New Orleans scene took a turn toward calming down. No one was trying to usurp power, there were no potential threats on the horizon, and Klaus was growing restless with the place. He had promised Caroline the world and he meant to make good on that particular promise.

They had been all over New Orleans, experiencing all the sights and sounds the city had to offer and while he loved the city and all it held, there were hundreds of others that he wanted to show her. He'd almost done so on their first anniversary, but the witch uprising had taken precedent. And then there had been her twentieth birthday but Elena had come to town to spoil all of his fun. Countless other plans ruined by some chaotic mess or the other. It was when the last trip he had planned for them was canceled because of a failed attack on their lives that Klaus had given up planning any vacations. Instead he sat back and waited for the perfect opportunity, for the city to not be in the middle of some bout of strife so he could whisk her away.

And finally that moment had come.

"Wake, sweetheart," Klaus implored, running his hand down Caroline's spine as he willed her to stop sleeping. There had been no threats of any kind for two weeks. He already had the packets she had created long ago for his siblings and her witches to consult while they were on vacation set out on the kitchen table. He had the jet on standby at the airport and the car should be picking them up in the next half hour.

The only task left to do was to wake the blonde beauty still curled up in bed. "It's not even morning," Caroline groused, not bothering to open her eyes and snuggling down more under the covers.

"Caroline," Klaus urged, refusing to allow her need for slumber to ruin what he knew she would enjoy. She could always rest again on the plane. "I will take you out of this room as you are right now but I think you'd prefer to actually put some clothes on before we leave."

She rolled over at that, frowning as she tried to make sense of what he was going on about. "What?" She had to have heard him wrong. Maybe she was still sleeping. "We're supposed to be going somewhere?"

"Rome, actually," Klaus told her as he rose from the bed, watching her sit up, finding her confusion to be rather adorable.

"I don't' remember planning for a Roman vacation," Caroline replied, wiping at her eyes. She had to still be dreaming.

"Whenever we plan something this place has a way of interfering with it," Klaus pointed out, pointing toward the closet. "I already set out your agendas for everyone to follow. Now get dressed. The car service will be here in roughly fifteen minutes and I will make good on my threat to carry you out as you are."

He watched the varied emotions play out on her face—from surprise to happiness to annoyance—as she got out of bed and headed to grab some clothes. "Those plans are like two years old, Klaus!" Caroline protested as she emerged from the closet, fully dressed, and headed to the bathroom to fix the tangled mess that was her hair. "And I can't pack in like ten minutes!"

"We'll buy what we need there, love," Klaus assured her, making sure he had their passports and the credit cards.

He smiled at her mutterings, not really listening to her as he turned his attention to the rest of the house. Rebekah and Stefan were still out for the evening and Elijah seemed to be asleep. They would be able to abscond into the night without any interference. "We're seriously going to Rome?" Caroline asked as she peeked out of the bathroom, moving to embrace him at his nod.

"As much as I'd like to enjoy your version of a thank you, we have a car to get into and plane to catch," Klaus pointed out, maneuvering out of her arms and dropping a kiss on her forehead. Caroline let out a little squeal, unable to believe that they were finally doing this. She couldn't wait. Rome. She'd even forgive him for keeping her out of the loop.

Klaus nodded toward the door and they headed out of the room, ready to leave the house when Stefan and Rebekah headed inside, looking frantic. "What's wrong?" Caroline started, but Klaus growled, directing annoyed looks at the other two vampires as he flashed Caroline out of the house and to the car waiting for them.

"Klaus," Caroline chided once they were inside of it. Obviously something had happened.

He ignored her, directing the driver where to take them before turning back to her, smiling innocently. She arched a brow at that, unsurprised when both of their phones started ringing. Klaus glared at the offending object as she answered it. "Hey, Caleb, what's going on?"

Klaus leaned back in the seat, shaking his head in annoyance at the interruption and didn't bother to answer his own phone. He didn't try to listen in on her conversation either, waiting for the inevitable declaration that they needed to turn around and deal with another disaster. He would enjoy destroying whoever was interfering this time; make sure that their death was as painful as possible. Perhaps kill their family and friends as well. Even the neighbors might not be safe.

"So you guys have this then?" Caroline asked, trying not to laugh at Klaus sulking. She could practically see the terrible schemes he was concocting in his head, no doubt planning deaths to whoever was trying to ruin their impromptu vacation. "Then I'll see you in…how long are we going for?"

Klaus shrugged, not sure how long they would be away, wondering if she was truly letting someone else save the day this time. "We'll be back in a few weeks. I've got my phone so call if you need us," she told Caleb, smiling as Klaus muttered something about 'him bloody well not needing to call'. She hung up the phone and shook her head before leaning over to kiss him. "So Rome?"

"To start at least," Klaus told her, taking her hand in his. "After that perhaps Milan. Venice. I'll take you to some of the smaller towns and cities. Let you truly experience the country."

"If we go to Milan, Rebekah is going to want to join us," Caroline reminded, remembering the girl's desire to do some shopping in that city.

"I'm sure Stefan and I will be able to find ways to entertain ourselves while you two buy everything under the sun," Klaus replied, thankful the airport was in the distance.

"No rampages," Caroline told him, pressing her lips together at his smirk.

"Have a little faith, love."