Klaus and Caroline walk arm in arm back to the parking lot where Klaus's car is waiting for him. As they walk, they talk. It's easy. Natural. No where near as awkward as Caroline thought it would be. She used to feel uncomfortable and intimidated in his presence. She can't pinpoint when that switch happened. All she knows is that it did and she doesn't know what that means.
He's letting Tyler come home. But does she want him to come home? Of course she does. But the more she thinks about it, the more it feels like she's trying to convince herself. So she talks, if only to shut her mind up.
Before she knows it, they're standing at Klaus's car, and Caroline is dismayed to notice that tears are pricking at her eyes. It's terrifying but she doesn't want him to leave. It's crazy, she knows it's crazy, but standing with him, it's the first time she's felt safe in weeks. After everything he's done, she trusts him more than most people. She doesn't want to, but she does. She doesn't understand it herself, but she knows without a doubt that it's true.
She tries to sound casual when she says, "Do you really have to leave so soon?"
She obviously doesn't convince Klaus, because he gives her a sad smile. She can't help the way her eyes flicker down to his lips. She doesn't know what's the matter with her lately.
"I'm afraid so. There's some… stuff that I need to sort out in New Orleans," he explains in that accent of his, that sad smile ever present on his lips.
Caroline feigns understanding, nodding as she swallows the lump that's suddenly in her throat. "Of course you do. Have a safe trip."
Klaus smiles again, but he looks a little bit sad himself. "Goodbye, love," he says.
He turns to open the car door, but before Caroline can really think about it, she steps forward fast, pulling him back to her and wrapping her arms around his warm body. He moulds against her easily, hesitating in shock for only a moment before his arms come around her and he returns the hug.
Caroline can smell his scent, that familiar cologne that she didn't know she missed so much until that moment. It's just so unequivocally Klaus. She'd be lying if she said she didn't like it.
The hug doesn't last long. She holds on for only a second. She just needed to say goodbye. And now she has. She pulls away and smiles at him one last time before she turns and leaves the scene. She can feel his eyes on her as she walks away.