A/N: Abridged summaries:
1. Jealous Klaus. Smut.
2. Rebekoline friendship vignettes.
3. Easter drabble. Caroline in a bunny costume. Smut.
4. Easter drabble. Klaroline are single parents that meet when their kids go to the local Easter egg hunt.
could you pls do a Drabble that includes jealous klaus with smut? p.s. I love this blog and your other one, your fab!
"Klaus?" Caroline asked sticking her head into their hotel bedroom while drying her hair with a towel.
"Yes, love?"
"My Mom's best friend Anna has a son who lives here. I haven't seen him in years, but I want to catch up before I look too young. We're having dinner tonight. Is that okay?"
"No," he grunted, knowing that it wouldn't put her off for even a second.
He was right. She walked over, her sundress flowing around her legs as she finished scrunching her hair with the towel and throwing it aside, kissing him quickly on the lips before bending over to grab her comb from the suitcase.
"Great," she said cheerfully. "Our reservation is at six, okay?"
"Where are we going?" he asked, hoping that she'd at least give him good food if he had to sit through her socializing.
"Melting Pot."
"Oh," he said, trying to sound excited, but as usual, Caroline saw right through him.
"I know you don't like it, but I think you can sit through it for me, right?"
"Of course, love."
She grinned and kissed him again before fluffing her hair with her fingers and pulling on sandals. "I do believe that you promised me a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge first, though."
"That, I did."
XXX
"Oh my gosh! It's so good to see you," Caroline laughed happily, pulling Charlie into a hug, which he returned enthusiastically.
Klaus just glared at the boy, who turned to him with a grin and held out his hand, which he just gave a disdainful look until Caroline elbowed him in the side and he shook it firmly. "This is boyfriend Klaus," Caroline supplied once it was clear that Klaus had no interest in introducing himself.
"Hey, man. Good to meet you."
Klaus nodded once, and they were seated.
He remained mostly silent throughout the meal, letting Caroline and her friend catch up and keeping himself updated on the New Orleans situation on his phone. He occasionally contributed to the conversation, especially when Caroline gave him significant looks that told him that she was impatient with his lack of participation. However, he honestly was spending most of his time inwardly seething that Charlie was subtly flirting with her right in front of him.
Caroline didn't seem to notice his actions, and was perfectly happy to chat and laugh through dessert, which passed much too slowly for Klaus's liking. Once he'd paid, they walked out of the restaurant, and Charlie gave Caroline a final hug, lingering a bit too long. "It was nice to meet you," Charlie said politely, shaking Klaus's hand.
"You too, mate."
He waited until Caroline was done with her goodbyes and assurances that they would email and wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her down the street to the car. "I didn't like him."
"You don't like anybody," she said, rolling her eyes.
"He was flirting with you right in front of me."
"He was not. He was just being nice."
"No, he wasn't. I am a man, and I know exactly what men look like when they undress a woman with their eyes, and that's what he was doing."
"We've known each other since we were kids, Klaus."
"I don't care. He wanted you, love. I didn't like that, and I didn't like him."
"Well, if he was flirting with me, which I don't think he was, it doesn't matter, since I love you, Klaus."
Klaus's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "It's not that I don't believe that, love. I just found it incredibly disrespectful."
She laughed. "I'm sure you did. Seriously though, I don't think he was."
He almost growled at her, but restrained himself, trying to suppress his natural possessive inclinations. By the time they pulled into the drive, she was telling him some stories about her and Charlie from when they were children, and he could almost have sworn that she was baiting him. He opened the passenger door for her, as always, and as soon as she stepped out and grabbed her purse, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her protests and accusations that he was an 'idiot alpha-male caveman' and walked them at human speed to their bedroom.
"Put me down."
"As you wish," he mumbled, throwing her on the bed and looming above her in an instant, his lips fused to hers as he ripped her dress down the middle, tearing her bra and thong off and throwing them to the side. She moaned as his lips brushed over her collarbone and the tops of her breasts before his tongue flicked over one of her nipples, making her moan and arch her back, her hands tangling in his hair. He bit her softly and she moaned, grinding herself against the bulge in his jeans. He kissed back up her neck, taking her earlobe between his teeth and tugging it gently before speaking, his hot breath on her ear making her shiver. "Did you enjoy baiting me at the restaurant, love?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said rather breathlessly, her eyes already dark with lust.
"I think you knew perfectly well what he was doing. I think you were trying to make me jealous."
She smiled. "Maybe."
He scraped his blunt teeth against the soft skin of her neck, soothing the bite with his tongue before sucking on her creamy skin, the bright red marks fading almost as soon as he applied them. She tore his shirt, throwing it aside, and raked her fingernails down his chest, making him groan into her mouth. She freed his erection, his pants and boxers falling in a heap beside the bed, and grasped his hard cock in her hand, stroking him firmly. Her other hand tangled into his hair, holding him against her.
He lets his fingers trail down the soft skin of her stomach to her hips, scratching her lightly with his nails, making her moan, his hand moving between her thighs to rub her clit with the heel of his hand, her juices spreading across his palm. She moaned, spreading her legs wider and wrapping them around his waist, her hand squeezing him one last time before stopping its movements to dig her fingernails into his shoulders.
He bit her lower lip harshly before brushing his lips across her cheek, returning to her ear. "There's no need to provoke my jealousy, love. You know you're mine."
"Do I?" she panted, her words turning to moans as he slipped two fingers into her dripping pussy.
"You should by now, yes. Or do I have to remind you?"
She hummed in answer, arching her back to press her soft curves into the hard angles of his body, moaning as her pebbled nipples brushed against his chest. He moved his fingers faster, his thumb rubbing lightly against her clit, building her orgasm slowly.
"Faster."
"No," he said firmly. "I will go faster when I want to go faster. I will make you scream when I want to hear it. I will fuck you once I decide that it's time, and not a moment earlier. You are mine, Caroline. Mine to pleasure, and mine to have."
She moaned, tipping her head back, pressing herself more firmly against him, trying to tempt his fingers further into her, but he pulled away, making her whimper at the loss of sensation.
She panted out his name pleadingly, her eyes half-lidded and wanting.
"Beg."
She shook her head, rolling her hips against his palm, which was still rubbing her lightly, enough to tease without any further stimulation. "I'll give you what you want, love. All you have to do is ask nicely."
"Klaus…"
He brushed her clit with his fingertip, and she mumbled his name again, her voice pleading.
"Beg," he ordered again, his voice rougher.
"Please," she panted.
He scraped his teeth along her neck. "You can do better."
"Please fuck me, Klaus."
He slipped one finger into her, knowing that it wouldn't be close to enough. She rocked her hips against his hand, pleading with him under her breath to fuck her hard and fast, to pound into her and make her come.
He pulled his finger out and positioned himself at her entrance, rubbing against her, making her moan at the teasing sensation. "Do you want me inside you, Caroline?"
"Yes, Klaus. Please fuck me."
"Who do you belong to, Caroline?"
"You," she panted, her legs wrapping around him, pulling him to her, trying to get some—any—friction.
"Say it again."
"I belong to you, Klaus. I'm yours. Fuck me, please."
He pushed into her so slowly that it was almost torture, her pussy tight and wet around him. She swore, rolling her hips against him. "Move, Klaus. Please."
He obliged, fucking her hard and fast, the sound of skin meeting skin reverberating through their bedroom, her breasts bouncing slightly as the headboard clattered against the wall. She writhed beneath him, repeating his name between her breathless moans, pleading for him to make her come.
He slipped his hands under her head to tangle in her hair, tugging it lightly as his lips and teeth descended on her neck again, biting and sucking harshly, and her screams rose in volume as her orgasm built before she came around him, breathing heavily as he pounded into her, his own release following moments later.
He stayed on top of her, supporting his weight on his elbows and nuzzling her neck as her breasts rubbed against him as they rose and fell with her harsh breaths. "Mine," he mumbled, biting her harshly for emphasis.
She moaned and nodded, tipping her head to the side to allow him better access. "More, Klaus. Please."
"Desperate," he accused quietly, grinning against her neck even as he felt himself hardening again against her thigh.
"For you."
He bit her again and she moaned, rolling her core against him. "Fuck me," she whined.
He hummed against her skin. "So eager to please me, are you?"
"Yes."
"My wanton, desperate Caroline. Spread your legs wide for me. Good girl. You're so fucking tempting with my come dripping out of your pussy down your thighs, marking you. I would be perfectly content to fuck you all day. You belong to me, Caroline. Your perfect, tight pussy was practically made for my cock. Don't you agree?"
She nodded furiously, moaning as he pushed inside her again. "I'm going to fuck you until you are incapable of any coherent thought besides begging me to make you come. You are mine, Caroline. Mine."
Something with snapshots showing an evolving friendship between Caroline and Rebekah with background Klaroline.
"That is a horrendous dress."
"Wow. Thanks," Caroline mumbled, turning to the side to observe herself in the mirror.
Rebekah was right. It was pretty terrible. It looked pretty on the rack, but the cut wasn't flattering, and there was only so much pink that a person could handle at once. She felt a slightly absurd urge to buy it anyway, but discounted it immediately.
No matter how much money/compulsion she had access to, it was a waste.
She sighed, walking back to the dressing room and pulling the dress off, hanging it neatly on the hanger before pulling over the next one.
"Caroline, are you sure you wouldn't like some help?"
Caroline grimaced. Rebekah had—rather frustratingly—found the perfect dress within about twenty minutes of entering the boutique, and the other girl had been waiting around for Caroline to finish. Unfortunately, Caroline was barely through the first few dresses, and she was also incredibly indecisive once she found a few final contenders.
She sighed, deciding to bite the bullet, sticking her head out of the changing room door. "Sure. If you want to pick out a few, that'd be gre–" she started, stopping when she realized that Rebekah was already out of the room.
She could hear the swish of fabric in the other room and Rebekah walked back in about three minutes later with a metal rack of dresses slung over her shoulder, which she placed in front of Caroline's changing room door, before thrusting one at Caroline. "Try this one."
Caroline wrinkled her nose. "Orange looks awful on me."
"Just try it."
Twenty minutes later, Caroline had revised almost every opinion of what looked colors and styles looked good on her, and they walked out with ten garment bags, three of which were Rebekah's. "We won't have to go back for awhile now, right?" Caroline asked as she loaded the dresses into the car.
Rebekah shrugged. "It depends how many parties we have. You can't wear the same thing twice within a month, you know."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "That's so snotty."
"You're family now, Caroline. Get used to it."
Caroline gave Rebekah a confused look and the other girl immediately looked rather embarrassed before her haughty attitude returned. "Well, what do you want me to call you? My brother's long-term partner who lives with us, orders everyone around, and actually manages to get hugs from Elijah?"
"Um. Family's fine."
"I thought so."
XXX
"No, don't go in there!" Caroline shouted, just as Rebekah called the girl in the towel holding the frying pan a 'bloody idiot'. They both flinched as the girl's scream came over the speakers as the axe murderer found her, and Rebekah huffed.
"They never learn."
Caroline bit her lip, turning to Rebekah. "I never would have thought you'd be scared of horror movies."
Rebekah frowned, considering Caroline's point. "Well, you have to remember that I was daggered for ninety years. We had moving pictures, but everything is much more realistic now, and there are so many situations that our supernatural healing wouldn't help with. Like if an indestructible alien species arrived and chopped our arms off."
Caroline raised an eyebrow at Rebekah's unusual show of vulnerability, and the other girl rolled her eyes, popping an M&M in her mouth. "I'm invincible, not fearless," she said quietly.
Caroline frowned, and it occurred to her how little she really knew the other girl.
XXX
"Nik didn't mean it, Caroline."
"You should have seen his face when he said it. Of course he meant it," Caroline said, sniffling slightly, trying to hold back tears.
"No. He was just lashing out. That's what Nik does."
"But I didn't even do anything."
"Welcome to my world," Rebekah said dryly, before wincing as Caroline descended into a rather unladylike sob-session. "Look, Caroline. My brother is an absolute wanker, and he isn't particularly good with people once he's at the point where he has to interact with them rather than manipulate them. He's lived a thousand years this way. When someone upsets him, he picks the worst possible button to push and then slams it down with all of his strength. It's just how he works."
"I just don't know what I did. This would be easier if I knew what he was so angry about."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Caroline shrugged. "We were eating dinner and I said I wanted to go back to Mystic Falls to see my friends."
"And what did he say?"
"He said that he'd rather not."
"….And what did you say?" Rebekah prompted, clearly becoming impatient.
"Well, I told him that I was going whether he liked it or not, and that he was welcome to come with me when he stopped being a gigantic jackass."
Rebekah just stared at Caroline for a second, and she frowned. "What?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?"
"No, or I wouldn't be crying," Caroline pointed out.
"He thinks that you're leaving him."
"Why would he think that?" Caroline asked, her tears immediately drying up in favor of indignation.
"Why exactly do you think I get daggered, Caroline? He's too controlling, I get tired of it, I tell him I'm leaving, he tells me rather rudely that I'm not, I leave anyway, and I wake up twenty years later in a coffin."
"But–"
"And, unfortunately, he can't dagger you. He has no solution to keep you near him by force besides compulsion, and he knows that you would never forgive him–"
"Oh, right, because I would totally forgive him for sticking a dagger in my chest for twenty years."
Rebekah pinned her with a chastising look for interrupting before speaking again. "Right. Well. The point is that he was trying to drive you away before he'd gotten to the point where he'd do something unforgivable. He's just being a self-sabotaging prick."
"Well he needs to cut it out."
"Well, if anyone can get him to do so, it's you."
"I guess."
XXX
"Ready to go?" Rebekah asked, gesturing for a hybrid to take her suitcase to the car in front while Caroline checked through her packing list one more time.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Great!" Rebekah said happily.
"You're really excited, aren't you?" Caroline asked, smiling slightly.
Rebekah shrugged. "Look, Disneyland opened a little under thirty years after I got daggered. Since you've gotten me addicted to those princess movies, we might as well go. My only complaint is that my brother's coming along to ruin it."
Caroline laughed. "No, he's not."
"What?" Rebekah asked, sharply. "How did you manage that?"
Caroline shrugged, a smug smile playing on her lips. "I just told him that if he came he would end up taking pictures with us, and that if he wanted me to have photographic proof of him hugging Mickey Mouse, he was welcome."
"You're fitting in so well, Caroline. All grown up," Rebekah said, feigning sniffles.
Caroline laughed. "I was taught well."
"What are friends for?" Rebekah said lightly, though Caroline didn't miss the significance of the statement.
"Um, clearly they are for paying for my plane tickets to Disneyland. And dress shopping. And food."
"And the minibar on the jet," Rebekah finished, grinning. "Ready to get wasted and watch Disney Movies the whole flight?"
"Thought you'd never ask."
Caroline dresses as a sexy Easter bunny for a party and Klaus refuses to leave her leave the house as he's so turned on. Thanks!
"Are you ready yet, love?" Klaus called, knocking lightly on the door to their bedroom.
He'd been waiting for a good forty-five minutes for Caroline to finish getting ready for the Easter party they were supposed to be going to. Neither of them were religious in the least, and Caroline generally liked her holidays as Hallmark as possible. He had no idea when "Easter Parties" became commonplace (or what adults even did at Easter parties), but she wanted to go, so they were going. He was getting impatient, though (because really, how long could it possibly take to put on a dress and heels and do whatever make-up things she needed to do?).
"Just a sec," her voice floated out faintly from inside.
"Can I come in?"
"If you want."
He walked into the room, closing the door behind him, and froze when he saw what she'd been doing. "You're going to the party in that?"
"Um. Yeah. It's a costume party, remember?" she asked, turning slightly to study the way the leotard curved around her arse, a fluffy white tail attached to the fabric. He felt his cock twitch as his eyes raked over her scantily clad form. The leotard hugged every curve of her, her breasts pushed up to show a large amount of cleavage, and fishnet stockings covered her long, lean legs to mid-thigh. She adjusted the bunny ears that were set on her head with a black silk-covered headband and carefully pulled on the matching gloves before putting her hand on the dresser for balance and slipping into what must have been four inch heels, as they put her at about an inch taller than him. She sauntered over with a bright excited smile on her face, her hips swaying invitingly as she approached. "Are you ready?"
[[MORE]]
He felt himself hardening even more at her impish smile that showed that she knew exactly what was going through his mind. "Do we have to go?" he asked, his eyes still running up and down her body, memorizing every inch of it.
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Yes. We do."
"But I want you all to myself when you're dressed like this, love," he said, his voice rather rough.
He saw her eyes darken even as she dodged his hands as they grabbed for her waist, giggling, before biting her lip and running her eyes up and down his figure. "Can you change your shirt?"
He raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of subject. "What's wrong with this one?"
"I don't like the way the navy looks with my costume. Gray or black? Please?" she suggested, giving him a hopeful smile.
"All right," he said slowly, a funny feeling creeping up that this wasn't about changing his shirt, but nonetheless, he went to the closet and tugged off his henley, pulling on a different one, and returned to find their room empty, a note on the bed.
Easter is for hunting, wolf-boy.
Find the rabbit, and you might get to eat her.
He smirked, throwing the note back down on the bed and deciding to give her a few more minutes before going after her. He could appreciate her appealing to his predatory instincts. He loved the thrill of the chase, the hunt, and he loved that Caroline knew that.
He figured that it had been long enough, and closed his eyes, trying to detect her scent. She'd obviously gone down the hallway, but he realized what her motivation had been that morning for opening all the windows in the house, making the fresh air wipe away some of her scent. He smiled though, following what was left of it down the hallway to the right and then closing his eyes when he lost it, trying to listen for movement.
He heard some faint rustling from what sounded like the foyer and sped down to see that the door was wide open. He smirked to himself, walking out the door and closing it behind him, speeding towards the forest on the edge of their property.
He reached the edge and closed his eyes again, breathing in the scent of the trees and listening for rustling. For Caroline.
For his prey.
He sped in the direction of the loudest rustling, finding a deer, before turning in the opposite direction to investigate another sound, all the while focusing on what scents he could pick up. He grinned wickedly when he had a sudden idea.
"I'm going to hunt you down, Caroline. When I catch you, I'm going to throw you down on the forest floor and tear off every stitch of clothing you're wearing. I'm going to ravish you from behind like an animal."
While he spoke, he listened for quickened breathing or a gasp, and grinned when he heard a sharp intake of breath about two hundred feet to his left. He stalked towards her position slowly, keeping his steps casual and smooth. He heard a rustle from the trees and he knew that she was preparing to rush off—to escape him—and he couldn't have that. In an instant, he had her pushed up against the rough trunk of the tree, his lips moving roughly against hers.
He shoved his tongue into her mouth, biting her lips hard with his blunt teeth, drawing blood and making her moan loudly, her hands already gripping the back of his henley as she ground herself against his hard length.
He groaned into her mouth, pulling her away from the tree and gripping the back of the lotard, tearing the fabric down the middle, ripping through the leg holes and throwing it to the ground, his lips never leaving hers. He smirked when he reached down to run a fingertip between her folds when he found that she had been completely bare under the costume, and plunged a finger into her already dripping entrance and thrusting them into her fast and hard, matching the movements of his tongue in her mouth, making her moan.
Once she started rolling her hips against his fingers he withdrew, grabbing her arse in his hands and squeezing it tightly, his fingertips brushing against something soft. He pulled his lips back, slightly surprised, and pushed her to turn and face the tree, which she immediately threw her hands onto for balance, and swore under his breath.
The fluffy white tail that thought had been attached to the leotard was still present between the cheeks of her arse, attached to a plug, and he groaned. She laughed, wriggling her hips invitingly. "You like it?"
He heard the inhuman growl that came out of his mouth before he realized that he'd made it, and he grabbed her hips, squeezing them again before pushing her down onto the forest floor. "Hands and knees. Arse in the air. Spread your legs."
She scrambled to obey, her palms spread wide on the ground and her knees parted wide. He reached to the side and grabbed the ripped fabric of her costume, shoving it towards her head. "Face pressed on that to the ground, do you understand?"
She was already bent down, her face flat against the fabric covering the ground, and he groaned at the visual of her in nothing but fishnet thigh-highs, stilettos, a bunny-eared headband, and the fluffy tail poking out from between the globes of her arse, stuck high in the air for him. He unbuckled his belt and shoved his jeans down to pull out his almost painfully hard cock, stroking it a few times before he pushed into her, grabbing her hips to pull her against him so that he could go as deep as possible.
He heard her muffled moan against the fabric and smirked, pulling back and slamming into her again. He picked up speed, fucking her hard and fast, reaching around to rub her clit as he did so, her muffled moans and screams against the fabric almost making him harder.
He felt her begin to contract around him and he reached forward to grab her hair, tugging harshly while he rubbed her clit with his other hand, slamming into her balls-deep every time, the slap of skin against skin and the sound of her moans filling the air around them.
"You love this, don't you?" he practically growled, smirking as she moaned something unintelligible into the fabric in response. "You love it when I fuck you hard from behind like an animal, don't you, love? You acted like an innocent piece of prey when you wanted nothing more than to be caught and devoured."
He felt her clench around him and swore again, pulling her hair again and moving his other hand away from her clit to stroke her arse, brushing the tail with his thumb, causing her to groan loudly. "Such a good little bitch on your hands and knees for me. So willing and desperate for me to take you. You're such a good girl submitting to me. I want to feel you come around my cock for me. Now."
She whimpered into the cloth, and he felt her tighten around him, before she came, screaming against the fabric. He fucked her hard through her orgasm, praising her for submitting and screaming for him. He reached around to play with her clit again, quickly building her up to another high, and groaning when she came around him again, mere minutes later. He fucked her faster before he felt his balls tighten as he approached the edge, and he pulled out to stroke himself to completion, spilling on her arse and the backs of her thighs, marking her.
He refastened his jeans and belt before grabbing her hair and tugging her up lightly to pull her flush against his chest. He kissed her again roughly, squeezing her breasts lightly, making her pant into his mouth, and withdrew, pulling his henley off and offering it to her. She grinned, pulling it on and turning around to bend down and grab the leotard from the forest floor, making him groan at the view of his come on her arse and thighs.
He pulled her back to him, kissing her neck and pulling the collar of the shirt down slightly, scraping his teeth against her jugular, making her groan. "Klaus…"
"Yes, love?" he mumbled against her neck.
"Bite me," she said, her tone more challenging than begging.
He gave her a wicked smile, pushing her away roughly. "You have a two minute head start. Run."
For Easter can you write a drabble of Caroline and Klaus meeting and falling for each other which taking their kids on a scavenger hunt:)
Klaus watched as his daughter Hope dove in front of another girl to grab the egg out of the bushes. He smirked to himself, inwardly congratulating himself on raising his daughter with a competitive spirit, though he knew that he should probably scold her for pushing other children out of the way.
He continued to keep half an eye on his daughter as he checked his email on his phone, swearing when he realized that someone had posted about their participation in a confidential project on their LinkedIn profile. He was so lost in putting in an email to Human Resources and checking the press to see what the damage was that it took him a few minutes to realize that his daughter was trying to talk to him.
"Daddy?"
"Sorry, Sweetheart. What is it?" he asked, looking up to see his daughter beaming. "I made a friend!"
"Oh? What's their name?"
"Lizzy."
"That's great, Sweetheart. Where is she?"
Hope turned to point at a tiny blonde-haired girl who was half-leading-half-dragging a blonde woman with her towards them.
"Mommy, this is Hope," Lizzy announced, showing that she had a tooth growing in when she smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Hope," the woman said kindly before turning to Klaus.
"Hi. I'm Caroline," she said, smiling.
"Klaus," he said, shaking her hand firmly.
"Daddy can you make a playdate?" Hope asked excitedly, and Klaus grinned. "We'll talk about it, all right? Why don't you go play."
Hope nodded agreeably and dashed off with Lizzy. Klaus turned to the woman-Caroline-and gave her his best smile. "So…" he trailed off, opening the calendar on his phone, "They seem to have taken to each other quite quickly."
Caroline laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. Lizzy seems excited. Apparently they had some sort of healthy competition with the egg finding. I'm surprised. Lizzy's usually pretty competitive."
Klaus grinned. Competitive in relation to Hope was a colossal understatement. He said so, and Caroline laughed along with him. "That might be the reason, then."
"Most likely," he agreed.
He couldn't help but notice how beautiful her smile was. His eyes darted down to her hand and found no ring finger-though that wasn't exactly a guaranteed indicator of whether Caroline was single. "Do you have any specific times you'd prefer? If you'd like to schedule something, of course."
"Right. Um. We're free next Saturday," she said, suddenly looking rather uncomfortable.
"Hope is as well. Shall I bring her over to your place, or would you like to bring Lizzy to mine?"
"Ours is fine," Caroline said quickly.
"If it's possible I'd like to stay while Hope's there, then. She can be a bit of a handful if you don't know how to nip her moods in the bud."
"It sounds like she and Lizzy will be two peas in a pod."
Klaus smiled. "Perhaps," he said, pulling out his wallet and extracting one of his cards, handing it to Caroline, who raised an eyebrow before pocketing it.
"What?" he asked, curious about her reaction.
"Nothing," she said quickly. "I just saw that you work for Oracle. I used to work there."
"Oh? Doing what?"
"Marketing. I left when Lizzy was born, but I've just gone back to work to another company."
"That's nice."
She nodded before gesturing to her pocket where the card was. "You're a lawyer?"
"Yes."
She gave him a raised eyebrow, as though asking if that was all the information she was going to get. "I work closely with Marketing and Human Resources cleaning up people's messes."
"That sounds draining."
He nodded.
They stood there in a slightly awkward silence for a while before they saw Lizzy and Hope happily opening their chocolate Easter eggs under a tree, giggling together. "How's eleven? For Saturday."
Caroline nodded. "Sure. Eleven's fine."
"Excellent."
They chatted for a bit longer about their plans for the weekend and made small talk about work and current events before Hope rushed back to them, clutching a basket tightly in her hand. "Daddy, I want to go home now."
"All right, Sweetheart," he said before turning to Caroline. "It was nice to meet you, Caroline. You as well, Lizzy. Just go ahead and email me your address and I'll bring Hope over on Saturday."
"Sounds like a plan."
XXX
Caroline's house was small, but it was well taken care of. Hope excitedly knocked on the door, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, and politely greeted Caroline when she opened the door. "Hello, there," she greeted, sounding a bit tired.
"Hi Mrs. Lizzy's Mom."
"It's Miss, actually," Caroline said, blushing slightly.
Klaus immediately felt bad for her. Being a single parent was hard-he knew that very well-and he never liked talking about it. It had gotten less awkward over the years, and he'd found a way to phrase "I had a one-night stand who got pregnant and died during childbirth" a lot more politely.
"Sorry," Hope said immediately after glancing at Klaus, who had given her a nod towards Caroline, indicating that she should apologize.
"It's totally fine. Please, come in."
Hope pushed past Caroline and quickly found Lizzy in the living room. Klaus took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, running a hand through his hair. "Can I get you something to drink?" Caroline asked hesitantly.
"No, thank you."
She gave him a weak smile, seemingly still a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry about Hope. I know how difficult it is to phrase an answer to something like that."
"Why are you apologizing? It's not like she could have known," Caroline said, smiling slightly. "At least she didn't bring it up in front of Lizzy."
"Why?" Klaus asked curiously.
She suddenly looked like she wanted to take back her words, wincing, but answered nonetheless. "Her father left about two years ago. She still remembers him, sort of, but it's difficult for her."
"Oh," Klaus said slowly, not really knowing how to respond. "That's unfortunate."
Caroline laughed. "Well, that's definitely one way of putting it."
He nodded. "Hope's mother died when she was born. I know how hard it can be."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Caroline said sympathetically.
Klaus shrugged. "It's going to sound horrible, but I didn't know her all that well. She was someone I met through a friend," he said, not knowing why he felt the need to share something so personal.
There was something about Caroline that made him want to open up, and he wasn't sure that he liked it. She nodded along with him, though, and was about to reply when Lizzy's voice echoed from the next room.
"Mommy, where are the LEGOs?"
She sighed, getting up from the couch. "I'll be right back."
XXX
"Are you free this weekend?" Klaus asked a few months later as he waited for Hope to gather her things from Caroline's living room.
"Um...Lizzy has dance on Saturday, but I could bring her over afterwards? Or you could bring Hope here?"
"Not Lizzy, love. Are you free?"
"Um...Yeah, I suppose. Why?" Caroline asked warily.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner with me?" he asked, trying to push down his nervousness. "I can have the babysitter come and watch them both."
She gave him a calculating look before nodding, a smile slowly stretching across her face. "I'd like that."
He grinned back at her. "Me, too."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed these. PLEASE review and let me know what you thought. :)
Hugs!
-Angie