Notes: Lightly edited 11/17.
Oh How Strange (Part Three)
(Crack fic. The continuing adventures of Caroline and WerewolfPuppy!Klaus. Part One found in the final third of Chapter 11. Part Two found in the second half of Chapter 19. Rated K+).
Caroline knows she needs to get up. She's got a list and it isn't exactly short. Her bed's so warm and cozy, leaving it seems like a terrible idea. Once she's vertical and alert she's going to have to dive right back into a situation fraught with awkwardness. Plus danger, but she's totally used to that. The possibility of being tortured by hostile witches barely fazes her these days.
The conversation she needs to have with Klaus before they leave her apartment? Yeah, that was going to be terrible.
She plumps her pillow, wondering if she should just blurt out what she needs to right now. Casual was good, right? She'd let the fact that he snuck into her bed slide. Maybe he'd be gracious enough to keep his disdain for her request to a minimum out of gratitude.
Caroline had always been an optimist.
She rolls over on to her side and Klaus' tail twitches though his eyes don't open. Caroline filed away the knowledge that she wasn't the only one who was a fan of lazy mornings in bed. Although, if Klaus wasn't currently cursed into tiny furry body she imagines she'd have woken up very differently. She shoves the thought away quickly, refusing to dwell on it. It's entirely possible that Klaus' senses are still hyper sensitive. Thinking naughty thoughts was strictly a no no when he might be able to pick up the scent of her arousal.
She tucks the covers more firmly around her body. Just in case.
Caroline lays her hand on his head. Is unable to resist running it down his back. He doesn't seem to mind, shifts closer, his eyes opening to look at her. Caroline smiles brightly and clears her throat, "Morning! So, a couple things. First, before we tackle everything we need to get done so we can leave tomorrow I need to go see Bonnie. And you need to stay here while I do it."
Klaus does not seem to appreciate that, letting out a huff and standing tall. Well, as tall as he's able. He even shakes his head. Caroline sits up, making an effort to seem reasonable, "She's my friend and she's not going to hurt me. I won't tell her what happened to you, I promise. But I was thinking that she might know of some way to mask that I'm a vampire. Or at the very least have something that'll say, 'Hey, I'm friends with a Bennett witch so I'm cool and you don't need to make my brain explode.' Because aneurysms suck and some witches are so touchy about the whole blood sucking monster thing."
Klaus lets out another agitated noise – more of a threat of a growl then an actual growl - his little body stiff. Caroline continues listing the reasons she'd compiled. She'd made a thorough mental list knowing that Klaus' need for control wouldn't be easy to overcome. "Sorry, but you can't come with. Not unless you want her to see you like this. She'll know I didn't just randomly decide to get a dog. Because I'm me. Pet ownership is the kind of commitment that requires a ton of research. I totally would have made her come to shelters with me. And who knows maybe she'll do something witchy and with one touch she'll know there's an evil hybrid under all that cute."
He bares his teeth, and Caroline rolls her eyes. "Oh, relax. I don't think you're totally evil anymore. But Bonnie does." She hesitates, biting her lip, because the next part was a tiny bit stickier. "I was hoping that you'd agree to help out a little with what's going on with Elena. Bonnie won't want to help you. I could make something up about why I need whatever magical doohickey she'll whip up for me. But then there's always the possibility that she'll demand to tag along, thinking I'm in danger. I try really hard not to lie to her anymore."
He'd calmed down slightly in the midst of her speech. He sits on her bed looking far too serious for his current form. He makes a quick jerk of his head, and Caroline assumes it's a nod. She figures it never hurts to make sure with Klaus. She holds out her hand. "Was that a yes? Tap my hand for yes."
He heaves a tiny sigh and does so.
Caroline beams at him. "Thank you, Klaus."
He manages another nodding motion, and pads to the end of the bed. He leaps down and Caroline winces, worried in spite of herself. Her bed was tall and he was pretty little, werewolf or not. She didn't want him to hurt himself. Both because she could admit that she cared about him, and because the idea of taking Klaus to a vet, the thought of kind of tests that a vet would have to run, is completely horrifying.
Caroline was certain there would be no saving that veterinarian, no rationalizing that he or she had simply been doing their job. Klaus would murder them, simple as that. His dignity could only take so many hits.
She peeks over the end of the bed and is relieved to find that Klaus is fine, steady on all four paws, waiting with an air of impatience. How he manages that Caroline has no idea. Throwing back the covers she gets up and walks to her bedroom door. Klaus motions for her to go ahead, his nose cold on her calf. She bites her lip to hide a smile. She's amused that even in this form Klaus' weirdly charming old world manners remain intact and he still believes in ladies first.
Caroline walks to the kitchen, busies herself with setting up the coffee and putting down a bowl of water for Klaus. He waits until her eyes are averted, until she's rummaging in the refrigerator for a blood bag, before he starts to drink.
She feels a pang of sympathy, and a little flare of anger. Honestly, it's entirely possible that whatever witch had cast this spell had a legitimate grudge. Would a little sportsmanship have been too much to ask for? Honor amongst adversaries, or whatever? Try to kill Klaus? Fine, he was used to that. But this? Kind of uncalled for, in her opinion. Caroline found that she couldn't feel bad about the extra painful death Klaus had in store for whoever was remotely connected to the plan that had resulted in his predicament.
She moves slowly, listening until he's done. "Are you hungry?" she asks. "Josh said you've been eating regular food. Not sure that's good for you, but I'll add that to my research pile. Fingers crossed you won't be like this for long enough for an improper diet to matter."
Caroline really hopes they can unravel this spell quickly. It's become slightly easier, carrying on this one way conversation. She's learning to read his facial expressions, imagines what he'd say and responds accordingly. It would be awesome to not have to imagine anymore.
Klaus nudges the leg of one of her dining room chairs and Caroline assumes that means yes, he'd like to eat. She lifts him onto it the table and he promptly lies down. She begins pulling eggs out of the refrigerator. "You're lucky," she tells him. "Breakfast I can do. Other meals, not so much. Except dessert. My brownies would blow your mind."
She works quickly and has a hashbrown casserole in the oven in minutes. She figures it'll be easier for him to eat. Sitting down in the chair across from him Caroline braces herself for the second thing they need to discuss. The one that's even worse than the first.
Caroline takes a deep breath and leans down, propping her head on her forearm so they're nearly eye to eye. "Okay, I'm going to need you to listen to this next part and not freak out. I get that this whole thing sucks. And honestly, you're probably dealing better then I would've." She has to give him credit, Klaus is rolling with things far better than she had anticipated back when the reality of the situation had set in after Rebekah's phone call.
Klaus looks wary but his ears perk up so she knows he's listening. "When we're out in public," she says evenly, holding his gaze, "I'm going to need you to try to act like you're an actual dog."
He does not take that well. Klaus gets to his feet, fur bristling, tail making angry slashes. Caroline grimaces, and holds up her hand. "Just hear me out, okay? I know it's humiliating and I'm sorry. You don't want anyone to know what's happened, right? For a whole host of reasons, not the least being that right now you're kind of less indestructible and not nearly as capable as you usually are of ripping out a heart if someone looks at you the wrong way."
He relaxed, if only by the slightest or increments, taking in her words. Caroline presses on. "Me talking to you like I actually think you understand me is the opposite of inconspicuous. People love to rubberneck at crazies. We're laying low and any attention we draw is a bad idea, right? We can't know how many people know about this spell, just who knows you're under it."
He barks softly clearly not happy but perhaps seeing her point. Klaus is a strategist, two steps ahead of everyone else. A guy who always has plans A through G. He's also a fan of sneaking up on people. It had been the whole reason for the Alaric body swap. He likes the advantage that comes when people don't see him coming, understands the benefits of the element of surprise.
"I will do my very best," Caroline promises, "to make it easy. I will physically throw myself in front of people who want to pet you. I will buy you the most badass collar Petco sells. And I will remove it the minute we're in private. I will not take a single photo or video. And I swear that once this is done we never have to speak about any of it again, okay? Vegas rules."
He's wavering, she thinks. He had trusted her enough to come here. She just needs him to trust her a little bit more. "And I'm not saying we can't communicate. We'll work out a system because, like I said, hunting enemies is clearly more your bag then mine. It just has to be subtle. And, you know, reasonably puppy-like."
She holds her breath, watching him carefully. Klaus concedes with the barest twitch of his nose up and down. Caroline exhales with a woosh, slumping back in her chair. She'd been prepared for a tantrum, figured she'd have to sacrifice a table leg or two to Klaus' teeth. And maybe that was still coming. Klaus agreeing to her plan, grudgingly at that, was very different from them going out into the real world. How he reacted after being forced to play the role of house pet would be the true test.
Still, it was a tiny victory, one that would help move their aims forward. The sooner Klaus was back in his usual body the better.
For her and for him.