Notes: And this chapter begins Klaus and Caroline's journey home! Thanks so much to everyone who's reading! Fair warning there's a teeny bit of smut here, more hints than anything, towards the end of the first section for those who prefer to skip that. Hope you enjoy and I always enjoy hearing your thoughts if your so inclined.

DAY TWELVE: DAY AT SEA

Caroline does her best to be quiet as she pushes open the door to her and Klaus' room, tiptoeing over the threshold and taking care not to let her bags hit the walls. She'd slipped out without Klaus noticing and she really didn't want to disturb him.

Klaus is one of those freaky morning people but Caroline's a big believer in the power of sleeping in.

She's relived to note that he's still sound asleep even if he's moved, shifted over on to her side of the bed. She'd woken up ridiculously early considering their late night, in her customary positon - tucked as closely as she can manage into Klaus. He hadn't woken when she did, which was kind of new. He had imbibed more than usual last night and they'd occupied themselves with everything but sleep once they'd stumbled into their room.

Might have even scandalized one of their fellow cruise goers when they'd paused and gotten a little heated in a corridor. Oops. Tipsy, Caroline's patience had been short, Klaus' not much better. At least they'd been mostly dressed.

And Caroline thought she and Klaus would likely be sticking close to their room on the trip back. They probably wouldn't run into the guy who'd stumbled on them and awkward moments could be easily avoided. At least that's what she was hoping.

Unable to go back to sleep she'd rolled out of bed, intent on gathering a few things. The decks had been deserted, the shops empty, so it had taken less than forty-five minutes for Caroline to buy everything on her mental list.

She sets her purse down, most of purchases too. Except one. Caroline makes sure that the secret shopping bag (containing the very racy red lingerie she's just splurged on – just the thing to make Klaus forget about the whole cheating issue) is safely tucked away.

Caroline enjoyed surprises. As long as she wasn't the one being surprised. And she really wanted that massage.

Slipping off her shoes Caroline grabs her tablet and approaches the bed. Considers for a moment before she strips off her shorts and wriggles out of her bra too. She might as well be comfortable if she was committed to a lazy day. Easing herself onto it, she watches Klaus carefully but he barely stirs. Most of the bedding's been pushed to the foot of the bed (they don't really need the warmth between the two of them) and he's bare save for a single white sheet. It's a very good look and she's tempted to snap a picture. Refrains, because she figures that's the sort of thing she should ask before doing. This thing, relationship, is still very new. They have things to figure out.

She thinks that they'll manage, her confidence growing with every conversation.

Klaus has been nothing but forthright. She'd pegged him as blunt right from the beginning and while she hadn't been a fan of it when he'd been propositioning her (and making his distaste for 'the money hungry wedding establishment' clear) she sees the appeal a now. She's always hated having to play guessing games with men. Wondering if they were interested, what they were interested in, if they were going to call, the endless "I don't know what I want to do, what do you want to do?" It was draining and often disheartening. Klaus has shown no interest in playing them and it's a relief.

Caroline likes to know things to have solid intel and concrete plans. She has a tendency to push for them, more information, concrete answers, and sometimes that turned men off. But Klaus took it in stride, never seemed annoyed by her questions. Encouraged them even. He seemed to like her taking control every bit as much as he liked being the one to call the shots. Publically, like when they were wandering around Road Town yesterday and privately too as he'd shown her right from the first night they'd done more than sleep together, and every night since.

Her muscles in her thighs might ache a little but it was totally worth it.

Caroline gets comfy, settling on Klaus' side (since he's not using it), piling a couple pillows against the headboard to recline on, and keeping her movements slow and careful. She'd downloaded a couple books in preparation for the trip but she hasn't had much time to read. She'd started one on the flight to Miami but her concentration had been lacking, her mind too occupied with seething over the fact that Klaus had somehow become her sole travel companion.

What a difference a couple of days can make.

From what she remembers it had been a good one, worthy of her full attention. The ship is headed towards home so Caroline figures she might as well dive in. Klaus is still dead to the world and she has no desire to venture out and find an activity. It doesn't take her long to become engrossed (trashy historical romances were kind of a weakness and Caroline has no shame about it) and she nearly misses Klaus waking up. His back is to her and he makes a noise, disgruntled and confused, reaching across the mattress.

"Over here," Caroline murmurs and his head lifts, craning to look over his shoulder, eyes hazy. "Now who's the bed hog?"

Klaus huffs out a laugh as he stretches, and Caroline finds the play of muscles in his back fascinating enough to tear her eyes away from her screen. "Did you leave?" he asks, voice low and sleep rough.

"Just for a bit. Picked up a few things." Klaus nods, burying his face in the pillow for a moment. She reaches out and traces the triangle on his shoulder. "I've been meaning to ask, does this mean anything?"

He rolls over, the sheet coming to rest very low on his hips. She refuses to look, keeping her eyes trained on his face, and decides to let his smug smirk slide without comment. She had been ogling. Klaus doesn't call her on it, plumps the pillow under his head before he answers. "Kind of. I picked it because it was easy and cheap. We went to Amsterdam for Henrik's 17th birthday and he really wanted a tattoo. Our mother would be appalled and it's illegal in England at his age. He's always been such a good kid that Kol and I agreed to indulge him. But he got a pit peaky looking in the chair, thought he was going to lose his dinner. Even so he was determined. I went first, got the triangle because I knew it would be quick and fairly painless, would make him less nervous. Henrik decided to get the same and Kol refused to be left out. He claims it sets us apart from our overly prim and stuffy elder brothers."

Caroline grins, "That's kind of adorable."

Klaus' eyes narrow, lips pressing together, "It is not."

"Is too," Caroline sing songs. "Like your very own brotherly cutie mark. Own it, Klaus. I promise not to tell anyone."

He doesn't look particularly pleased but doesn't argue further. Probably a good thing because Caroline's not sure she wants to explain that she'd just likened him to a pastel cartoon horse. He taps her tablet asking, "What are you up to?" before his hand drops, comes to rest on her bare thigh. Caroline tenses in anticipation, but Klaus seems content to simply leave it there, his rough palm warm and distracting on her skin.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a teeny bit disappointed that it remains stationary.

"Just reading," she tells him, after a moment.

"Anything interesting?"

"Depends on what you find interesting."

"Try me."

Caroline fights a smirk as she wakes her tablet up, finds her place and begins to read. And well, if it was a naughty part, the hero waking the virginal heroine up with his head between her thighs after they'd eloped, that was just coincidence, wasn't it?

Klaus seems to lose the last of his sleepiness as she reads, his hand tightening on her skin. She keeps her eyes on the screen even as she feels him move closer. Her breath hitches at the brush of his mouth on the side of her thigh. He tugs, pulling until she slips down the bed, shifting so he's looming over her. "Why don't you put that away, sweetheart?" Klaus suggests, lips barely brushing hers. "I commend your… inspirational reading material but I'd hate for it to get broken."

Caroline has no objections and reaches over, almost fumbles when his hands push her tank up, but manages to set the tablet safely on the bedside table. She runs a hand through his sleep mussed curls, sighing when his stubble scrapes against her stomach as he makes his way down her body. He's left her shirt bunched above her breasts and Caroline arches up, tugging it over her head, resting on her elbows so she can watch him. "I have plenty more where that came from, trust me."

Klaus glances up at her, eyes alight with intrigue, "Do you? Tell me more."

He's settled on his stomach between her thighs, seemingly in no hurry, idly plucking at the fabric of her panties at her hips. But between the book and the way he's been touching her, slow and reverent and so promising, Caroline's feeling a little more urgency. She shifts restlessly, parting her legs wider in invitation. Klaus' hands on her hips firm, stilling her movements, a hint of a smirk curling his lips. Caroline glares, "Klaus…" she whines, even if she senses that it's pointless.

Another thing she knew about Klaus? He could be annoyingly stubborn.

"A fantasy, Caroline," he coaxes. "Just one. I promise not to tell anyone."

Ugh, she should have known that would come back to bite her.

His lips skim over the cotton that covers her, a suggestion of a touch. Caroline lets out a groan, flopping back on the bed. She trusts him, but some things are easier to say when you're staring at a ceiling. She knows her face has gone pink, her voice comes out hesitant, "How do you feel about being tied to my headboard with my stockings?"

He doesn't react immediately, not verbally at least.

Then he tugs her panties to the side and licks, and Caroline's heels dig into the bed as she bites her lip to keep from crying out. "Favorable," Klaus rasps when he pulls back. She wants his mouth but the way he's teasing her gently with his fingertips, soft brushes that have her stomach tightening in anticipation, means she's not going to complain. "How do you feel about me returning the favor?"

Also a thought that's crossed her mind from time to time.

"Good," she manages to stutter out. Her skin feels hot, and her hands are twisted in the sheets as she struggles for words. "I…" the rest of her sentence is lost, her back bowing and a moan spilling out as Klaus' mouth returns to her slick flesh, hot and eager and set to drive her out of her mind.

If this is the reward she gets for spilling her dirty thoughts she's so not going to hesitate next time.


Caroline's right where he's become accustomed to her being when Klaus awakens a second time, her blonde hair a wild tangle about her face, tickling his chin from where it's splayed across his chest. She's not quite asleep, he knows, just as he knows he'd not drifted off for long. Her fingers are tracing idle shapes on his side, and her lashes flutter every so often, her eyes peering up at him, at turns content and contemplative.

It doesn't worry him, like it would have a few days ago. She's settled a bit, her doubts quieter and less insistent. He's certain Caroline is right where she wants to be, believes that he's convinced her that it's where he wants to be too.

Klaus hadn't liked waking up to find her gone. Even if she hadn't really been. His sleep addled mind had been decidedly put out at seeing the space on the bed where he'd expected her to be –sleep warmed and languid. He's woken up with Caroline Forbes a total of eleven mornings in a row. Not a great number, all things considered. But he's enjoyed it, right from the beginning.

He'd like to continue enjoying it. For the foreseeable future and he deeply dislikes that it's not possible.

Adjusting to waking up alone, once he gets back to London, is going to be difficult and Klaus is not looking forward to it. Almost thinks he ought to warn his assistant and his agent to be wary of his temper – not the evenest even on the best of days – when he returns to his day to day life.

He thinks it's likely that the wheels will begin turning once he's away from Caroline, that he'll systematically eliminate obstacles, smooth the way for something more permanent. That he won't be able to stop himself. He's not a man that makes decisions lightly, or one that's accustomed to not getting what he wants.

And what he's decided on, what he wants, is Caroline. And not just in his bed. It's almost amusing, thinking back, how short-sighted he'd been when he'd first met her. Thought her a pleasant diversion, merely attractive. It might be true, Caroline is beautiful, but it's so paltry a thing. Too small and simple to encompass everything that she is.

And he's only scratched to surface. Each day of this trip has taught him something new. A quirk or a habit or a delightfully animated set of opinions she holds. Not all of them are endearing, he'll admit. But he's discovered nothing that makes him think he'd like to stop learning more.

And with the amount of time they've spent together – hours upon hours with little contact with anyone other humans to break them up – he's fairly certain that something of that sort, a deal breaker, is unlikely to pop up at this point.

Caroline stretches, a soft groan coming from her parted lips. She rolls off of him and onto her back, unfortunately tugging the sheet up to cover her chest. She clears her throat, "Good thing I've conquered my fear of itinerary changes. Because that was not on the one Rebekah and I agreed on."

Klaus feels his face twisting in disgust, "Not an appropriate time to mention my sister, love."

Caroline's shrug is unrepentant and leaves the sheet barely clinging to her breasts. Klaus' eyes are drawn down, to the smooth slope of skin. There's a red mark that he knows is the exact shape of his mouth and his body stirs, another thrum of want hitting him hard, despite the fact that he should be too exhausted for such things.

"Doesn't seem to bother you all that much," Caroline retorts knowingly. "Maybe if I start talking about Rebekah you'll remember that my eyes are a fair bit north of my boobs."

"And what lovely eyes they are."

Said eyes roll. Hard. "Don't be such a cheeseball, Klaus. You've already gotten into my pants."

Klaus shakes his head in exasperation at her flippant, joking words. Couldn't a man pay a woman a compliment without being suspected of having ulterior motives? They'll have to address that. Caroline slips away before he can reach for her, landing lightly on her feet and taking the sheet with her. "Nope. If you touch me we'll waste another hour."

"At least," Klaus agrees. Though why that would be a bad thing eludes him. He can think of few less enjoyable ways to while away the rest of this trip.

Caroline rolls her eyes, tossing her hair back, "It's gotta be around lunch time now. I need food. And coffee. And I have to call Bon to confirm that she's picking me up. Well, us up now. And explain to her why you're coming home with me. That's gonna be fun."

Her eyes keep darting to him, lingering for a bit, since he's been left without anything to cover himself. Klaus is not shy, and she's already seen it all, so he feels no need to attempt modesty. Each time her gaze flits away it seems to take some effort, and her fingers are clenched around the edge of the sheet where she's wrapped it around her torso, their little twitches betraying her. He knows her tells, thinks it would be very easy to coax her back into bed with him.

But she has a point about food. Sustenance is important, for what he has in mind to occupy them for the rest of their journey home. And the obstacles he'd thought of earlier aren't only on his end, aren't merely practical things like work and flats and obligations. He's met Bonnie Bennett several times, and she's never been warm towards Klaus. He hears the way Caroline speaks of her, the warmth and fondness there. She'll need to be won over, made to tolerate Klaus, at least a bit, if he expects things with Caroline to progress.

Might be best for Caroline to get that ball rolling and then Klaus can pick it up once they're back in Virginia.

Klaus nods, pushing himself into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and makes his way across the room. Hides his smile when he notices the brief flash of disappointment that crosses Caroline's face when he brushes past her. "I'll hop in the shower, then. Feel free to join me when you're done with your call."

He sneaks a look over his shoulder before he closes the bathroom door. Notes, with no small degree of pleasure, that Caroline hasn't moved an inch.


"I wish we had popcorn," Caroline says, as Klaus dims the lights. It's early evening and, they're settling in to take advantage of the room's fancy entertainment system. It's an amenity they haven't had the opportunity to use. Caroline kind of didn't see the point, if she was being truthful. There were so many other things to see and do, who was going to stay cooped up in their room glued to a TV?

But whatever. People were weird. And technically she wasn't paying for this suite, so who was she to judge? Her own had been way more modest.

They'd left the room for lunch, after showering (Caroline had made herself decline his invitation, had busied herself on her laptop after she couldn't get Bonnie on the phone, refusing to cave. It shouldn't have been so hard but Klaus' effect on her self-control was ridiculous). The sex haze was good (very good) but she figured a little break was in order. Hanging out and watching a movie, something so mundane after the whirlwind of excursions they'd been on, was a welcome change.

A preview of what they could be, how they might relate, once they were back to their normal lives.

Caroline's dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of her sleep shorts, her hair is drying naturally and she's not wearing a spec of makeup. How odd it is that she doesn't care, or feel self-conscious, when she usually had pretty strict rules about grooming in the beginning of a relationship, is something she's trying not to dwell on. Other than to note that it's probably a promising sign.

There's been no awkwardness, no uncomfortable silences. They'd bickered over the movie selection for a solid ten minutes before agreeing on one. Klaus was apparently picky about action movies, who knew? And was also super into documentaries, something she'd remember for later. Caroline rummages through the selection of snacks they'd foraged for, settling on a bag of chips as the closest substitute to what she wanted. Caroline preferred the salty buttery goodness of popcorn to make a person's cinematic experience complete. Figures that would be the one thing tough to find on the ship.

"I'm not really a fan," Klaus admits, settling on the couch next to her. She's wedged into the arm and she burrows her bare feet under his leg.

They were cold. And Klaus maybe had a point about the sock thing. He shoots her a knowing look but doesn't complain about her stealing his warmth. "You don't like popcorn?" Caroline asks incredulously.

"Not particularly. It sticks in your teeth."

"What do you usually get at the movies then?"

"Maltesers."

Caroline wrinkles her nose, "Ick."

"They are delicious," Klaus shoots back.

"If you say so."

Klaus laughs, reaching out and taking a chip from the bag she's offered him. "Perhaps it's a good thing we'll never be forced to share at the movies, love. I suspect you're not so great at it, if your inability to share a mattress is any indication."

She's pretty sure that she's never going to live that down.

Caroline nudges him with her toes in a half-hearted attempt to admonish him, "Only child, remember. I should be expected to be fond of my own space."

"And my space," Klaus teases.

She pokes a little harder, and Klaus winces in response, "Ouch, I didn't say I was complaining, did I?"

"You better not," Caroline mutters. A thought occurs to her, and she feigns casualness as she reaches for the remote control, "or you might not get to see any of the things I bought when I ducked out this morning. And trust me, you want to see them."

She sees Klaus' head swivel her way, feels his interest in the stilling of his leg over her feet. "Oh? And what did you buy, love?"

Caroline continues, purposefully breezy, "That fancy massage oil, for one. And the other thing I bought might not be yellow but it's definitely the nighttime version of particularly tiny. I did promise, didn't I?"

She concentrates on starting the movie unable to help the satisfied smile that slides across her face. He really should know better than to try and taunt her at this point. She fights back and she always fights to win.

Although that could very well be the point. It's turned out well, for the both of them, so far. And she knows they both enjoy the battle of wills, whoever ends up winning.

"How long is this movie?" Klaus grumbles, slouching lower on the couch.

"Two hours. Now shh. It's starting."

She mostly ignores the things he mutters under his breath. Except the not so threatening threats that sound more fun than anything.