Klaus found her on the balcony of his bedroom. Their bedroom, it had been for the past 3 months. A quick glance around told him that she had completed her packing, having removed practically every inch of her presence of the room. He spotted a small pile of clothes next to a makeup bag in one of his drawers that was left open. After all the shopping she had done whilst there, he wasn't surprised to find that she couldn't fit it all in her luggage to take back. Though the fact that she had neatly placed it back, ready for another visit, warmed his slowly thawing heart, whilst simultaneously bringing that familiar ache of longing back to him.
"Are you ready to leave, my love?" he asked as he walked to the doors that led out into the night. Caroline stood leaning against the balcony, hands gripping the railing on either side and facing the city in front of her. She had told him numerous times how much she loves the city lights because they were like nothing she had seen before. A city alive at night.
The only indication she gave of her having heard him was the way she tilted her head slightly to the left. He took that as an invitation, not that he needed one, to approach her. Standing behind her, he rested his hands on her arms and felt her relax before she spoke.
"I know I only came for the summer, and I honestly thought that that would be enough. That I could come here and enjoy the city and the freedom and, I dunno, at least get you out of my system," she shook her head with a sigh, eyes never leaving the the view he knew she was trying to burn into her memory. It was what he had done everyday with the image of her.
"However?" he prompted her, knowing she wasn't quite done. Caroline laughed softly.
"However, I don't want to leave now," she told him, resting against his body as she laid her head gently onto his shoulder. Klaus held his breath, refusing to breathe in fear that he could shatter a moment that he had only dreamt of for so long. Of the woman he loved (he knew he did and thankfully so did she) in his arms, confessing to wanting to be with him. To wanting to choose him above all else. It was a thought he had tried to push away all summer, afraid that if he allowed himself to believe it, he would fall too deep and she wouldn't be there to at the end of it. "I don't want to leave you. Everything is so much more simpler here. No worries, no judgment, no lies or ulterior motives. Mystic Falls is just a far away thought."
Inhaling deeply, taking in the delicious scent that was this beautiful woman in his arms, he trailed his hands down her arms to her hands, laying them atop of them for a few seconds before intertwining their fingers. Rubbing his thumb across the back of hers, he pulled their joined hands and arms to wrap around her body, resting on her stomach so she was safe in his embrace for one final time.
"I wish you could stay, Caroline. I would do anything to make it so you could. But the fight for this city hasn't even begun yet and I can already tell that it won't be a clean one," he murmured, not wanting to think about how his opponents could use her against him if they came to know how important she was. Pressing his lips to her temple, Klaus rested his cheek against the side of her head, staring out at the scene that she watched so intently as well. "And I cannot have you in the middle of it. I won't jeopardize your safety or put you in danger simply for my happiness."
"I know," she finally succumbed. "I guess I have college now and my mom would be disappointed if I went any further than Whitmore."
"You will have a brilliant time. Although I can't agree with all of the human rites of passage," that earned him one of her musical laughs, spilling from her lips and straight into his heart. "From everything you have told me about your plans for the next 4 years, I'm sure you would regret staying here more."
"Right now, I'm not so sure," Caroline told him honestly, tightening her hold on his hands and tugging gently in an action that he had come to know over the past weeks together. She would do the same thing when they slept, or simply whenever he had his arm around her, and she wanted him closer. It was a request that he was happy to fulfil.
"I can't tell you how long this fight will take, but at the end of it all, you know you are more than welcome to make this very house your home," Klaus offered, trying his best not to sound too forward but knowing that she would see straight through his words nonetheless. They both knew that he wanted her there, with him until the end of time, and now that she had confessed that she wanted to stay too, he needed to make sure that she truly would come back. That this wasn't just a romantic reminiscent of a summer well spent, but pushed to the back of her mind once she reached Virginia. "If you wish," he added to soften the proposal.
Caroline leaned her head away so she could look up at him, smiling softly and genuinely, looking like the angel that he needed to balance his evil for all the world to see. "I think I would like that."
Reciprocating her smile, he closed the distance between them once again and brought her into a kiss. It was gentle and loving, and could have passed for a goodbye kiss between two lovers, but instead he took it as a seal to the promise that this summer wouldn't be the only time he would be able to call Caroline Forbes his.
"I will make time to come visit," he said against her lips, pressing a few more chaste kisses to them before pulling away completely. Her fingers toyed with his and as her eyes jumped down from his own, he could tell that she was beginning to falter.
"You don't have to. You'll be busy here," she told him warily, as if not really meaning the words she was saying but felt as if she had to give him the option regardless. "I mean, if you don't want to, that is, I understand. Mystic Falls or Whitmore have nothing on New Orleans," she finished, glancing back at the city in question.
"I want to, and I want to visit you, sweetheart, not the places wherever you may be," Klaus reassured her. It did the trick and she relaxed back against him once again, feeling her impossibly smooth and silky hair against his jaw as she leaned her back into the crook of his neck.
"I expect you to keep to your promise about showing me the world," she reminded him lightly. He chuckled, dipping down to speak directly into her ear.
"Rome, Paris and Tokyo, correct?" he asked even though he knew it was true. Hearing, and feeling, her breath hitch as his lips moved against the shell of her ear compelled him to carry on with his ministrations. "And many others in between," he whispered seductively, laughing once again when she merely nodded and shuddered when he dropped a kiss to the side of her neck, followed by her shoulder before they both felt his phone vibrate from his jeans' pocket. "Time to go," he murmured into her ear, knowing it would be the driver informing him that if they didn't leave soon, Caroline would miss her flight.
Still, she refused to move; taking in the sight of the lit up French Quarter of New Orleans as if it was her first, and last, time. "I guess the next time I come back, this will all be yours, huh?" she whispered in a mix of awe and hope.
"No, my love," Klaus corrected her softly. "The next time you come back, this will all be ours."