A drabble - in which Caroline confronts Tyler!Klaus, having known it's been Klaus inside Tyler's body.
It had been a long day for Tyler, or Klaus, or whomever. He didn't quite know how to describe himself anymore. Technically he was Tyler, technically he was Klaus. But, no matter who he really was at this point, he just knew he was tired of it. Tired of it all. Tired of the charade, tired of being in a body that wasn't his, consumed in a mind that didn't feel his, either.
He trudged up the stairs of his house, wanting nothing more than to lie in his bed and sleep for days. At first it had been fun, being a teenage boy with an incredible physique, playing football and basketball and whatever else he could get his hands on.
Klaus had to hand it to Tyler, he really did have a talent for anything physical and kept his body in top condition. He was guessing that even when before he was a hybrid, or even before his werewolf part had consumed him, Tyler had been a strong boy.
But, after a while, Klaus had grown weary of the constant physical action, and the lies he had to continue with to keep up appearances. Bonnie needed to hurry up and preserve his body so that this whole mess could be sorted out.
He couldn't wait to get his hands on Rebekah, and ring her scrawny little neck for what she had done to Elena. That was it, doppelgänger gone, and the ability to make hybrids gone forever.
He'd been so angry when he heard the news that Elena was now a vampire, but he'd had to react as Tyler and just be thankful she was alive. He sighed and rubbed his eyes - in a matter of days things in this fucked up little town had gone completely overboard and he honestly felt like it wasn't completely his doing.
He crossed the threshold to his room and knew she was there the instant his foot crossed over the doorframe. He could smell her, smell the sweet perfume she used that he had now become so accustomed to with their newfound closeness.
But, he was Tyler to her, and he had to remind himself of that on a daily basis. When they kissed, she was kissing Tyler…when they laughed, she was laughing with Tyler. He looked up and saw her standing by his window, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Caroline," he said, putting on his best smile. He did not need this right now. She looked irritated and he didn't know why, only that he wasn't in the mood to pretend to be a loving boyfriend and listen to whatever drama was happening with Elena and the Salvatore brothers at the moment.
"Klaus," she said, arching an eyebrow at him.
He nodded his head and then heard what she said again, his eyes growing wide for a second before he checked himself and stood up straighter. "What? What did you just call me?"
"Klaus, that is your name, isn't it? Or do you prefer Niklaus or Nik, I can never keep up with all of the names you have between your siblings." She took a few steps closer, looking deliciously magnificent in her predatory gazes.
"Caroline, are you okay? Did you hit your head? It's me, Tyler, your boyfriend?"
"Oh, yes, I can see you're Tyler…physically, anyway. Tell me, Klaus, how long did you think this could go on before I realized you weren't my real boyfriend?"
Klaus looked at her and swallowed, never having remembered feeling so nervous in all of his life. And he had been in some pretty fucked up situations before. He backed away from her a little, wanting to head for the door and bolt out of this house now that his charade was up, but a part of him also wondered what could happen now that she knew.
"Caroline, sweetheart -" he started to say, but was but off when she clutched him by the throat and pinned him against the wall, his head hitting the hard surface with a loud bang.
"Don't call me that," she said, glaring at him. This was hard for her, being so angry as she looked into Tyler's eyes. But, were they even his eyes anymore? He was embodied and consumed by Klaus and who knew where Tyler was inside of there?
Tyler!Klaus took a deep breath and looked at her, his hands on top of hers trying to loosen her grip around his throat. "I can explain. Let go of me, Caroline."
Caroline clenched her hands around his throat harder but finally let go, the sound of Tyler's voice almost too much to take. She watched him slump to the floor and backed away, shaking her head. This was all so fucked up, she hated it so much.
This whole time, ever since the night of Elena and Alaric's death, she'd been with Klaus. She'd kissed Klaus and hugged Klaus and held hands with him…and oh god, she'd almost slept with him. He'd pushed off her advances and for that she was at least grateful, at least he had been respectful enough to not take advantage of the situation that way.
She watched as he got up from the floor and looked at her, his eyes searching hers for compassion. She rolled her own, not knowing what she was even still doing here.
"This wasn't my idea," he finally said, his breathing returning to normal. "Bonnie…she knew I had to be saved to save you all, and she also knew there was a good chance Alaric would get to me and kill me. You should be thanking her for saving us all."
Caroline opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, not really knowing how to respond. Yes, it was true now that she thought of it, if Klaus had died they all would have including Tyler. She clenched her jaw, still hating the situation.
"Please, Caroline, say something. I can't to see you look at me that way."
"Look at you! You're not even you! You're…you're Tyler…in his body." She shook her head, willing the tears to not stream down her face. This was so fucked up and almost too much to grasp.
He took a step forward. "I'm sorry, okay? Look at me, I'm apologizing and I never do that. But, do you think I wanted this to happen? Do you think I like being in his body? No. And I'm sure he won't appreciate knowing this has happened to him. But, Bonnie is working on a way to switch this all, and I'm sorry."
Caroline looked up at him and cupped his face, kissing him. She closed her eyes and kissed him, feeling him kiss her back after moments of hesitation. How did she feel? Did she feel like she was kissing Tyler, or Klaus? She couldn't be sure. And to be honest, did she care?
Klaus did not understand why she was kissing him, but it was better than her death glares and chokeholds, so he kissed her back. But, he pulled away after a few moments, looking at her. "Why…what was that for?"
"I don't know," she said, backing away from him and shaking her head. "I'm confused. This whole time, all of the talks we've had…we've stayed up practically every night talking for hours and this whole time I thought it was Tyler."
He sighed. "I know. I feel bad but at the same time I don't. I've liked you for a while now, Caroline, and I haven't regretted the chance to get to know more about you."
She hated all of this, and the way it made her feel. She felt like she'd been cheating on Tyler this whole time. "The times I tried to sleep with you…"
"I pushed you away! I knew I couldn't do that to you!"
"I know," she agreed. "I was going to say thank you, for that." She looked up at him and their eyes met. She could see the eagerness there, the relief in his eyes that she knew now and he didn't have to pretend anymore.
"How long have you known?" he asked.
"A week. Last week when we fell asleep in your, his, bed you thought I was asleep and you called me sweetheart. I thought I had dreamed it, but after thinking about it I just kind of put things together. I watched your mannerisms more closely and I just got it."
He nodded and put his hands in his pockets. "So, what happens now?"
Caroline didn't know what happened now. Did they keep up appearances for everyone else? Did she tell the group? It was all too much to wonder and worry about for her right now. Right now, she had to get over the fact that Tyler wasn't really Tyler and she needed to get him back.
"Right now," she finallly said, "I go home. And I want you to leave me alone until I contact you."
She walked past him and headed for his door but was stopped when he reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked down at their hands, hers and Tyler's, and her heart hurt.
"I'm sorry," Klaus said again. "I never wanted to trick you or get to know you this way."
She looked at him and just nodded, walking out of his room and out of his house, needing to distance herself from him, from Klaus.