Fluffy Klaroline christmas one shot, enjoy!

Christmas Eve

Caroline Forbes was on edge. Restless, annoyed, irritated. But most of all she was disappointed, not to mention immensely sad. In her defense; no normal person would be too thrilled by the idea of spending the holidays alone. Yet this was her fate for this year's Christmas Eve, and it bothered her to the point where she was grumpily pacing her mother's living room back and forth, occasionally shooting brief scowls at the oversized Christmas tree in the corner. The damned thing was shining just a little too brightly for her taste. Perceptive as she was, she didn't miss the irony of it all, because she of all people was always the first to eagerly participate whenever there was something, anything really, to celebrate. Bonus points if this celebration included dressing up in fancy clothes and bringing out extreme decorations. Yes, Caroline was a huge fan of these kind of festivities, but this year she became painfully aware of the fact that there was no fun in any of it when you were all by yourself.

It was no one's fault, of course… She knew that her friends had plenty of important matters going on in their own lives, but still, the realization that she often wasn't one of those things hit her like a ton of bricks tonight.

Jeremy had surprised Bonnie with a trip to New York, so they were out of town. Elena chose to spend Christmas with Damon, and even though Caroline wasn't exactly a supporter of this relationship, she could fully understand that the two of them wanted some alone time. Matt had selflessly sacrificed himself to work at the Mystic Grill during the holidays, the goal being to give his colleagues who actually still had families a chance to stay at home to celebrate. And then there was Stefan, who'd admitted he preferred to spend Christmas with Katherine. He stubbornly claimed that nothing serious was going on between him and the now human brunette, and that he only wanted to support her because things were obviously not looking so well for her in the health department. Despite his best efforts to convince Caroline that it was nothing, she knew her best friend well enough to know that there was something more hiding beneath the surface.

Regardless, once again it was Caroline who had been left to fend for herself, and so she had quickly made the decision to spend this Christmas at her mom's place. It hadn't even seemed like such a horrible idea at first, because she'd truly missed home during the months she'd stayed at college. It would be nice to catch up with her mom, and so she hadn't been too bitter about it.

That was until Christmas arrived andshe was brutally reminded that the job of the town's sheriff was never done; Just as the two of them were about to enjoy an exquisite home cooked meal and a good bottle of wine, Liz Forbes got a phone call. Apparently there had been an awful car crash thanks to the snowy slippery roads, and no less than five cars had been involved. As per usual, Liz had made many excuses before taking off, and Caroline had dutifully acted like the good daughter she was, assuring her that it was alright… But right now, nothing seemed alright.

She was just overreacting, she knew that… She checked her phone for the umpteenth time that night. No new messages. For a split second she contemplated calling Tyler… No, no way. She wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. If she wasn't important enough to him, if he wasn't even willing to fight for her… Well then he sure as hell didn't deserve any more of her precious time.

The obnoxiously loud sound of the doorbell cut through the silence of the empty house, as well as through the chaos of Caroline's messy thoughts. It was so sudden that she made a small jump of surprise.

She frowned, trying to remember if her mother had mentioned anything about other relatives coming over. Her brain didn't provide her with any useful information, so instead she hesitantly made her way to the door to answer it.

The second she opened the door, her heart skipped a beat. Or several beats. More like the amount of beats that made her thankful that she was a vampire instead of a human, because otherwise she probably would've collapsed on the spot. She opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying a word. The sight before her was one she'd never expected to be faced with again within at least a few decades, and it had left her speechless.

She took in the messy mop of dark blonde hair, the small but smug smile, and two light, piercing eyes that were staring intently at her. Months had passed but nothing had changed; those eyes were still appraising her as if she was the single most important thing in the universe, the way they always did whenever she was near him.

"K- Klaus…" She stuttered, letting out a trembling breath.

"Hello, Caroline. It's such a pleasure to see you again, love." Klaus' reply was immediate, not the slightest flicker of doubt coloring his tone.

But his eyes… they were telling a different story. They were telling Caroline that this powerful, confident man was unsure whether being here on her doorstep tonight was a mistake or not.

She took another deep breath as the worst shock wore off. "How… How did you know?" She asked, wondering how on earth he had managed to show up here at the exact moment that she'd been losing her mind.

Klaus merely gave her his most innocent look. "I'm not sure what you're referring to, love. Truth be told, I've been planning to pay you a visit for quite some time now. I've recently been plagued by the urge to check on your wellbeing, and I figured, what better time than Christmas?"

Caroline blinked at him, astonished. Her usually witty brain had no comeback to that.

He winked at her, the smirk not wavering. "Although it does appear that I picked a very fortunate moment to show up, but let us call that pure luck, shall we?"

"Klaus I… I really don't know what to say. I mean why are you even… Shouldn't you be back in…" But she didn't succeed in formulating any of the questions that she really wanted to ask, so in the end she settled for another one. "What do you want from me? Really?"

For a moment the Original hybrid looked slightly offended, and he raised his eyebrows at her.

"I mean, surely you're here for a reason." Caroline tried again, sounding milder this time, but using the scrutinizing stare that she hoped would make him fess up.

Klaus soon composed himself, fixing his charming smile back in place, but all the same seeming completely sincere when he answered her. "All I want is to catch up, as old friends. I'm sure you have lots to tell me, love. As I have many things to tell you..."

There was no point in lying to herself; Caroline was highly curious as to what Klaus had been up to during his absence. Besides, his presence was rather comforting, and despite her friends having legitimate reasons for not being here, once again Klaus seemed to be the one who was here to 'save her'. Even if the thing he was saving her from was something as insignificant as a lonely Christmas Eve, it warmed her heart, especially coming from someone like Klaus, who everyone knew to be a selfish man.

A single word fell from her lips. "Okay…"

The hybrid's grin grew wider. "Does that mean I can stay?" He checked to make sure, cocking his head to the side, looking up at Caroline from under his lashes.

That smile was too much, and Caroline couldn't have stopped herself from returning it, even if she had tried her best. She stepped aside, pushing the door open further and gesturing for him to come into her home, her stomach clenching in excitement at the sudden turn of events.

"Yes… You can stay."

As Caroline closed the door behind them, she noticed that she was grinning like an idiot without consciously making the decision to do so. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't going to be the worst Christmas Eve in the history of ever after all.

I wrote this for someone on tumblr; I didn't have Word on my phone, and also this is not betad. Goodbye friends, thanks for reading!