Klaus excuses himself from the bathroom and quickly grabs a black t-shirt from before jogging down the stairs still barefoot. He decides preparing some real food would be a good distraction from the blonde of his dreams currently humming beautifully upstairs. His mind wanders to memories of her sinewy frame when he hears her step into the shower but he quickly shakes himself out of it. Grabbing a couple elk steaks from the ice box and his cast iron skillet, he starts preparing dinner.
Caroline opens the door of the steam shower and exhales loudly as she steps out. Initially, she planned to just rinse off and be downstairs again in no time. She was almost giddy with excitement. Eager to tell him everything about her travels and to know everything about New Orleans. But once she stepped into that shower and the steam got going, her body succumbed. She hadn't realize how on edge she'd been these past couple weeks while searching for Klaus. Hell, maybe even these past couple years as she struggled to come to terms with, first, the realization that something was missing from her life and, second, that that something was Klaus. So she surrendered to the shower, let the warmth wash over her and cleanse all of that anxiety and fear, and now stepping out of the shower felt empowered to take what she wanted.
She towel dries her hair and then braids it loosely. Leaving her face bare, she pulls on a pair of black yoga leggings and a soft plain grey cotton t-shirt. Simple and comfortable but still stylish and maybe she wearing her favorite sheer black lace bra underneath. You know, just in case. She gives herself one last look and pep talk before opening the bathroom door. She can hear Klaus cooking in the kitchen and something smells delicious but the opportunity to snoop a little in his bedroom is too hard to pass up. She walks over to the table and as quietly as possible looks through a small stack of sketches. She sees blue print like sketches of his cabin and lots of landscapes, which she assumes are from the surrounding area.
"Caroline," Klaus sing songs her name up from the bottom of the stair case, "dinner is ready if you can pull yourself away from snooping."
Damn! Just as she was about to open a well worn looking book she had a hutch would heavily feature sketches her. Or at least she had a hope would heavily feature sketches of her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she says with a laugh. Making her way to the staircase she glides down with ease and excitement. Whatever he was cooking really did smell divine and she was hungry!
"Mmmm, this looks good," she compliments while coming up to the table he has set for the two of them. Two plates of steak cooked rare and generous servings of green beans sat plated with a two glasses of wine that she could smell were laced with blood.
"Have a seat, love," Klaus guides her with his hand at the small of her back, pulling out the chair. Once she's settled he leans down to brush soft kiss against her cheek and her eyes fall closed as he whispers enjoy he into her ear, sending chills down her whole body. He notices she smells like him, due to her use of his body wash, and it serves to immediately drive him wild. When she opens her eyes, Klaus is sitting opposite her at the small table, with a smug grin on his face. Caroline rolls her eyes at how pleased with himself he is and lays the napkin in her lap.
"So, what are we having?" She questions with her own cheeky smile, looking over her plate.
Klaus follows suit with his napkin and answers casually, "Elk steak filets with balsamic green beans."
Caroline's head shoots up, "Elk steaks?"
"Oh come now, love, surely you've had more exotic foods than elk in all your years traveling?" Klaus answers back while cutting into his steak and taking a large bite.
"Maybe," Caroline sasses back and following Klaus' lead, cutting into the juicy steak and taking a large bite of her own. "Mmmmm," she groans, "this is delicious!" She quickly cuts another bite, this time forking some green beans as well.
"Klaaaauus." she groans again. "Seriously! This is really good! Who knew the big bad hybrid could cook?" She laughs.
"Sweetheart, there are so few things in this world I don't excel at," Klaus grins at her over his wine glass.
"Obviously, modesty is one," Caroline interjects.
Klaus laughs uproariously. "Oh, I've missed you," Klaus says without even thinking.
Their eyes meet and the weight of his off-hand comment starts to settle over both of them. It's true though, what Klaus said, he really has missed her. Her laugh, her wit, her intelligence, her warmth, her style, her — Caroline-ness. He's never been so endlessly interested in a person and no one has ever come close to being able to keep up with him. Everything between them is so natural and effortless. The two of them eating the dinner he prepared, in the cabin he built, in the middle of nowhere, 25 years after last seeing each other - it should have been awkward. He should have felt nervous and anxious about why she was here and how long she'll stay but instead they both so easily fell back into their little bubble. Their own little world that is Klaus and Caroline. No one understands them like the other. They're somehow in sync, even after all this time. They're the same.
"Really?" Caroline asks timidly, hiding behind her full lashes. Yes, she's a well traveled, mature, experienced woman but every once and a while her insecurities about being inadequate still creep in.
"5, 10 years ago, I would have said, more than I care to admit."
Caroline lets that sink in for a few beats before asking, "And now?"
Klaus lets out a deep exhale while pinning Caroline to her spot with his intense stare, "And now I have no qualms admitting — I've missed you desperately."
