Klaroweek Day 3: Season 4
Prompt from arrowthroughmyolicityheart on tumblr: I would love to see Caroline returning the dress to Klaus after the prom.
In which Caroline thanks Klaus for lending her the dress.
Caroline took a deep breath before she finally raised her hand and knocked on the door before her. She had been standing outside for a good five minutes already, contemplating if this was really a good idea. She was tempted to just leave the dress hanging on the door handle and go, getting out of having to see the hybrid again, but she was Caroline Forbes and she had never backed down from anything before, and she wasn't about to start now. Besides, leaving such a gorgeous dress, a work of art really, outside and semi-exposed to the elements was a crime in her mind.
So she knocked and steeled herself for Klaus' arrival, trying to prepare herself for whatever mood she found the finicky hybrid in.
The door was soon pulled open, with more force than necessary she noted, and she found herself looking at the Original himself. She gave him a small smile before she noted the cross look on his face, her smile falling. This was not the mood she expected to find him in.
"Caroline," he sighed, using the same tone one would with an unwanted solicitor. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The blonde frowned, his tone clearly indicating that her visit was the opposite of a pleasure. "Um, sorry to bother you," she tried, hoping to salvage the conversation, for what reason she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was disappointed Klaus wasn't happy to see her. "But I wanted to return the dress I borrowed. For prom," she clarified when he continued to give her a blank look.
Caroline held the dress which was draped across her arms in a dry cleaner bag up higher so he could see, being careful not to let any part of the covered dress touch the ground.
The hybrid continued to stare at her for another moment in silence before he reached out for the bag. Caroline tentatively transferred the dress into his arms, shivering slightly when her hands brushed his. She blamed it on his chilly demeanor, of course, there was surely no other explanation.
"Thank you for the prompt return," he said gruffly before turning away, moving to shoulder the door closed behind him.[[MORE]]
Caroline looked after him in shock for a moment before she threw her hand out to stop the door from closing in her face. "Wait!" she exclaimed, as surprised at her own outburst as she was at his quick dismissal of her.
When he turned around to look at her once again, raising an eyebrow in question, she felt herself blushing. What was she doing? Why did she feel the need to draw out their encounter longer than strictly necessary? And more importantly, why did she feel so hurt that he didn't wish to see her?
"Was there something else I could help you with?" he asked, the lack of a term of endearment glaringly obvious to Caroline.
"Um," she stuttered, not sure how to explain herself to him, or to herself for that matter. "I just, I thought…" she sighed, feeling ridiculously awkward for no reason she could understand. What am I even doing right now? she asked herself. "I thought you would like to talk, you know, ask me how prom was. How I liked the amazing dress you found for me," she tried, smiling up at him in an effort to win him over, though she had no idea why she was even trying to. "Like friends do," she added, hoping that would do it.
He looked at her for a long moment before he sighed, moving out of the doorway to let her pass, silently inviting her inside. Caroline ducked her head to hide the smile that she couldn't keep off her lips at his change of heart. She mumbled a small 'thanks' as she moved inside the house, waiting as he shut the door behind her and moved off towards the same room she had found him in the other night when she had asked for his help in procuring a prom dress, without a single word or look in her direction.
She rolled her eyes at his clear pouting, about what she wasn't sure, and followed him further into the house.
Caroline was unsurprised when he deposited the dress on a chair, carefully she might add, and headed straight to the bar in the corner of the room, pouring himself a glass of some dark liquor.
"Scotch?" he asked her after a few moments of silence, holding his glass out to her.
She opened her mouth to politely refuse, but then changed her mind. She had a feeling she would need it. "Why not?" she shrugged, noting the surprise that crossed his features for a moment before he handed her the glass and turned back to pour himself one.
She was surprised when he remained silent as he finished making his drink and headed to take a seat on the couch; she had thought he would have taken the opportunity to make some sort of quip about 'their thing.' But he continued to say nothing as he sipped his drink, looking anywhere but at her.
Caroline frowned, wary about his mood. The last time he had been this indifferent towards her had not gone very well for her. Still, she found herself walking towards the couch, taking a seat on the opposite end, waiting for the hybrid to say something, anything.
After a few minutes of silence in which Caroline finished her scotch rather quickly in an effort to quiet her nerves, she finally spoke, unable to stand the awkward silence anymore. "Sooo," she began, glad that he at least turned his head to look at her. At least he had stopped ignoring her. "I don't think I actually thanked you properly for the dress," she said, giving him a smile. "I really appreciate it, it's the most gorgeous dress I've ever seen, let alone worn. Besides the one I wore to your family's ball, of course," she added, trying to gain a smile with her flattery, or anything besides the distant look he had on his face.
But she had no such luck, his features remaining the same, as if set in stone, though she could swear she saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes for a second.
"You're quite welcome," he said stiffly, swirling his drink idly before drinking the last of it in one go, refusing to meet her eyes. "Now if that is all, I have things to do," he said, effectively dismissing her as he made to rise from the couch.
"Wait!" she cried out, reaching out to stop him before she could really comprehend what she was doing. Her hand was on his arm for a split second before she realized what a bad idea that was and pulled away as if she had been burned.
She was afraid to look at him, squeezing her eyes shut as she sat there, waiting for him to lash out for having dared to touch him. After what felt like hours of silence, and no repercussions, Caroline slowly opened her eyes and glanced over at the hybrid. Klaus was just sitting there, staring at her as if she was a puzzle he couldn't solve, which she supposed was probably a fairly accurate metaphor.
"Sorry," she whispered, surprised to see his features soften at her apology.
"I would never hurt you, Caroline," he said suddenly, his eyes pleading for her to believe him. "Not again. I apologize if I gave you that impression."
She looked at him for a moment before she realized she believed him. She didn't think he would ever hurt her again, not after everything they'd been through recently. Their relationship had certainly changed from the 'kill or be killed' one they had initially had. "I know," she admitted, her heart speeding up at his look of genuine happiness. "Force of habit, I guess."
Klaus nodded somberly, understanding her reaction.
She gave him a small smile before she sighed deeply, remembering why she had grabbed at him in the first place. "Klaus, what's wrong?" she asked, frowning when the distant look overtook his features once more. "Please tell me."
"Caroline, why are you here?" he asked abruptly. The blonde gave him a quizzical look before she opened her mouth to answer, but he cut her off. "Besides returning the dress." Her mouth snapped shut as he said what she had been about to. "That's already finished. Why are you still here?"
She narrowed her eyes at the hybrid before responding. "If you don't want me here just say so, Klaus," she spat out, becoming annoyed at his constantly changing attitude towards her. He was as bad as, well, her.
He sighed heavily before he answered her. "You are infuriating, you realize that, don't you?"
Caroline scoffed at him. "Seriously? You're the one being all moody and I'm the infuriating one?" she asked incredulously, glaring at him when he chuckled at her.
"Forgive me, sweetheart," he said, her heart skipping at the endearment. "I just do not understand why you wish to be here with me."
She looked at him for a moment before answering, thinking through what she wanted to say. "Well, that's what friends do," she answered, as if it was obvious. "Hang out and talk about important life events. You're the one who wanted to be friends," she added.
"That's not what I was referring to," he said, his voice once again taking on a harder edge. "I meant to say, why are you here with me and not your mutt boyfriend?"
Caroline was taken aback by his words, unable to answer for a moment. "What?" she squeaked out, panic starting to rise again. He couldn't possibly know… But then again, this was Klaus she was talking about, she shouldn't be surprised.
"I happened to meet our dear friend Tyler outside his home, well, former home I should say, the night of your prom," he informed her, her face dropping as he spoke. "Which I thought to be quite odd as I didn't recall allowing him to return," she rolled her eyes at that. "I did ask him if it was worth it, to make your night perfect. He predictably had no answer before he ran off with his tail between his legs."
Caroline huffed at him. So this was him being jealous, was it? "I'm sure you thoroughly enjoyed asserting your dominance over him," she mocked, glad when he glared at her. "Wait," she said suspiciously, suddenly realizing what he had told her. "Why were you outside the Lockwood mansion after prom?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes when he looked away. "Klaus." she said firmly, demanding an answer.
The hybrid sighed and turned back to her. "If you must know, I was there to see how you were enjoying the dress and how your night was going," he said slowly, trying to gauge her reaction. "And to offer you a dance," he added quickly, hoping she would ignore that admission.
Caroline sat blinking at him for a few moments, unsure of how to react. She should probably be annoyed, but she was actually flattered. He knew she was going stag, well, she was supposed to be at least, Tyler showing up had been a complete surprise. It was actually kind of sweet of Klaus to check in on her, not that she would ever admit that to him or anyone else. And she shouldn't be surprised really, he seemed to have a habit of stealing dances with her.
"I- thank you," she finally said, grinning at the look of shock on his face. "What? I was actually kind of surprised you didn't show up at prom in a tux and sweep me onto the dance floor. That is your M.O. after all," she smirked, his face mirroring her own.
"Yes, well, I will forever regret not getting a chance to dance with you while you were wearing the 'Princess Grace of Monaco hot' dress," he chuckled, remembering her description of the perfect prom dress. He thought perhaps he would regret not seeing her in the dress even more than not getting to dance with her.
Caroline gave him a strange look for a moment before she pursed her lips and jumped up from the couch. Klaus watched curiously as she swiftly walked over to the dress draped across the chair and scooped it up into her arms.
"I'll be right back," she declared, fleeing the room before he could even open his mouth.
Klaus was pacing the room when he heard her finally return. It had been fifteen minutes and he had no idea what she was doing. If it had been anyone else he never would have let them rush off unaccompanied into his home. But for Caroline he found himself making many concessions he never would have previously imagined.
The sight that greeted his eyes when he turned to face her caused his mouth to drop open. Caroline stood in the doorway wearing the dress, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, a shy smile on her face.
"I hope you don't mind me putting it on again," she said softly, looking up at him nervously. "I can have it dry cleaned for you again, if you want."
It took him a moment to regain the ability to form words again. "That's not necessary, love," he assured, walking towards her, stopping only a few feet away as his gaze swept over her. "Tell me, Caroline, why did you put the dress on?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Not that I'm complaining, of course," he added, smirking at the blonde.
Caroline blushed, much to his surprise. "Um, well, I thought since you were nice enough to lend it to me, it was only fair for you to get to see me in it," she smiled shyly. "My hair was a bit different, of course," she added, reaching up to pat the bun. "I didn't have the time or the tools to recreate that. But the effect is the same," she rambled.
"Well, you look ravishing, sweetheart," he said, smiling softly at her as he reached up to brush a wayward strand of hair out of her face, watching her blush increase.
"Um, thank you," she mumbled, feeling absurdly shy for some reason. "Maybe I should go change now, before I manage to mess it up," she said anxiously, making a move to go change.
"Wait. Please," Klaus said, reaching out to grab her arm. She looked up to meet his eyes, feeling warmth spread out from where he gently grasped her arm. This time she didn't jerk away from his touch. She felt herself flush again, mentally kicking herself for her lack of control.
When he was sure she wasn't going to leave, he let go, turning to walk across the room where she noticed an old record player. She watched as he sifted through a few albums before finally finding the one he was looking for. She smiled softly as the classical music began playing and Klaus turned back to her with a grin, walking over to her and holding out his hand, bowing slightly.
Caroline raised an eyebrow at the gesture, giving the hybrid a smirk.
"Caroline, would you allow me the pleasure of a dance?" he asked smoothly in that damn accent of his. She would never admit to the thrill that always went through her at the way he said her name.
She pursed her lips in mock thought. "Mmm, I suppose," she said, grinning when he rolled his eyes, placing her hand in his and letting him pull her close.
She told herself that this was just like dancing with Stefan, with any of her friends. But deep down she knew it wasn't. The way he looked at her, like there was nothing else that mattered at that moment than dancing with her, it made her head spin. When he spun her around and pulled her back, holding her almost flush against him, she felt like she was on fire everywhere they touched. Caroline was sure her face must have a perpetual blush by now.
She wasn't sure how long they danced, but the music eventually stopped, the record coming to an end. Caroline found herself disappointed, which should have shocked her more than it did. She looked up into his blue eyes feeling the familiar draw she felt whenever she was close to him. She held her breath as she waited for his next move, unsure of what she wanted that to be.
Eventually he dropped his arm from her waist. Caroline pushed down the feeling of regret at the loss of his touch. The hybrid brought the hand he still held in his to his lips, giving the back of her hand a kiss, causing her to blush once more (she really had to stop doing that). "Thank you for the dance, love," he said softly, finally dropping her hand regretfully and stepping back.
With the added space between them Caroline felt like she could finally breathe again. She smiled up at Klaus before she turned to go change. "You're welcome," she said as she left, a small smile on her face that she knew was mirrored on his own.