This drabble was requested by anonymous. Ironically I had thought up a scenario where this one was possible a day earlier. A little bit crack and some angst/humor I suppose.

KC + "I thought you were dead"

Caroline handed the assignments to several of the journalists. Right after she had graduated, she had accepted a job offer at the Mystic Falls courier, the local newspaper. For now, she was mostly still an assistant, but she had had the chance to write a few minor articles.

While she made sure that everyone got the assignments, she took a glance at the papers in her arms. 'Weather reports', 'local news', 'sport section', 'obituaries'. She paused her round when a name in the first obituary caught her attention. Klaus Mikaelson.

She froze and quickly read the rest of the message. A few parts stuck out to her. Brother. Only 22. Tragic boating accident. She shivered when she finished reading. She couldn't believe it. Klaus Mikaelson. Dead.

Of course, she hadn't seen him in four years. They had been dating since they were juniors, but after their High Schoo graduation, Klaus had decided he had to leave Mystic Falls behind. Travelling abroad and living off his paintings instead of settling for a nearby college like she had. Her feelings for him had never changed, but she knew she couldn't be the girl that waited in her hometown while Klaus was off who knew where. And now… now he was gone.

She bit back a sob. She still had her work laid out, but how was she going to work through her day, knowing what she knew. She couldn't believe Rebekah or Kol hadn't called her up and told her! Oh no, she instantly felt guilty, they had more to think about right now than one of Klaus his ex's.

She quickly walked towards Mike's office and when she noticed he wasn't present, dropped the reports on his desk. He would know what to do with them when he returned. Right now, she needed a moment alone.

Ten minutes alone and she found herself crying, mourning the past she had had with Klaus. Yes, it had been ages since they had last seen each other, but it's not like they ended things badly. They just had different plans for their future. Even with those differences, she hadn't realized it until now, she still hadn't closed their story. A part of her still cared, deeply.

She quickly sent out a text to her boss, explaining how she just heard a friend passed away and couldn't continue her day. Luckily she got a message right away that she could have the day off, as long as she returned tomorrow. She didn't know if she could, but at least she had today to grieve.

The first thing she would have to do was go to the supermarket. She needed ice cream. And tissues. And she would have to buy flowers for the Mikaelsons and- in her head she started making a list, trying to distract herself from her emotions.

While she was in the store, she kept going over that same list, making sure that she didn't miss anything. She didn't even notice when she bumped into someone.

"Caroline?" a familiar voice asked her. She bit back a sob, it sounded like Klaus. Oh no, now she was hearing things. "Love," the voice tried again when she didn't look up.

"Caroline," a second amused voice asked her and she recognized it as Kol. Oh no! What was she going to say? He must be devastated! She looked up and noticed the grin on his face and looked around confused. The person next to him looked at her with concern and she took a step back in surprise.

"Klaus?" she swayed. "How- I- I thought you were dead," she stammered and glanced at Kol bewildered. "The- the newspaper. How- I just say your obituary!" she cried out.

Klaus looked at her in confusion, "I don't know about any of that, but I'm still very much alive," he assured.

"Then how- who," a guilty chuckle on her right alerted her to the culprit. "KOL!" she hit him on the head, "You can't just send false obituary reports to the newspaper! That's- What if they were published?"

"In my defense, if Klaus hadn't arrived last night, it would probably be true. Rebekah was ready to murder him when he canceled once again. Luckily for all of us, he had a change of heart."

"I don't care why you did it! I almost had a heart-attack when I read it." She took a deep breath and turned to Klaus, taking him in now that she knew he was really there. The years certainly had done him good. "Okay- okay so not dead," she told Klaus. "Anything else I have to know before I murder your brother?"

"Virginia still offers the death penalty?" Klaus said, trying to break the tension.

"Right. Yeah, that would make it all a lot less tempting. Okay fine. Not murdering your brother." She turned to Kol, "But you better call the paper right now to retract that obituary or I swear-"

"Yeah- yeah I know. Death and torture. Although the torture bit could still be fun..." he smirked at her before he ran off, "Nope? Okay seems like I have some calls to make."

Klaus turned back to Caroline and stood closer to her, "So now that you know I'm not dead, and I've learned you work at the newspaper… want to get together and catch up on lost times?"

She looked up in surprise and smiled. "Yeah I would like that," she admitted and caught his eye, "So first question. How long are you here for?"

"At least a couple of months," he reassured her. "I have a show in New York in November and plenty of paintings to create before then."

"Mmmh so all work and no fun?" Caroline teased while they walked towards the registers. It surprised her how easy it was to fall into old habits with him. Two days ago she had barely thought about him, an hour ago she was crying about having lost him, and here she was... teasing him.

"I think I can handle some fun in between," Klaus said while he teasingly bumped against her hip. "So my turn."

"Do your worst, Mikaelson," she challenged while she paid for her groceries.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked, asking the only question he really cared about.

She let out a startled gasp and turned towards Klaus. "No," she admitted. She felt butterflies when he moved a step towards her. "You?"

"Nope." They shared a nervous smile while he leaned forward. He looked at her, making sure she was okay with his next movement at after her small nod, captured her lips with his.

She was the only thing he was looking forward to when he decided to return to Mystic Falls. He had never forgotten about her, and he hadn't dared to assume they could just pick up where they had left, but when he saw her in that store, tears staining her cheek because she believed he had passed… He knew whatever was between them was still here. All they needed was the time to explore it all.

Thanks for reading!