nemesis729 asked: Klaroline: "I know you're a really touchy-feely person, but you just spilled a highly corrosive acid on both of us and now we're both going to have to try to share this small safety shower." AU
He stood outside the shower, hesitant.
"Klaus!" Rolling her eyes, Caroline jerked him into the crowded stall with her and lifted her face into the gushing stream of water. Gently shaking her head, she finally saw him duck under the faucet as well. His shirt, though, had a dark stain that had nothing to do with the emergency flush. "You need to take that off, it's absolutely drenched with acid."
"It's fine," he tried to argue as he blushed to the tips of his ears.
She glared at him, not sure why his modesty took more precedence than his actual safety. "I've seen it all before, so strip already."
"Sweetheart-"
"You don't get to call me that anymore," she snapped, reaching to undo his buttons herself. "This is just protocol. Trust me, no feelings will be caught." Not again.
Surprisingly, his face twisted into a pained expression. "Where does it hurt?" she asked, a bit frantic to find where the acid might have made contact with his skin. Not quite ready to go touching his bare chest, her hands hovered at the ready to sluice off any corrosive liquid.
He opened his mouth to answer, but dropped his head in defeat. "No, I think I'm alright."
But he sounded so sad, and Caroline wasn't sure what to do with that. She had known sleeping with a colleague would be a bad idea, especially when she was the only prepared to take the next step in their relationship. And sure, maybe she wore the red pencil skirt to punish him a bit for rebuffing her attempts at defining what they were doing.
If only she'd considered the dangers of distractions in the lab. "Yeah," she murmured, still crowded next to his half-clothed state. "Good." Looking down at her own ruined outfit, the white blouse she wore all but transparent. Of course, that was what caught his attention. That was never their problem. Disappointed with herself for hoping again, she turned off the water and made herself step away. "Okay, then we should probably get cleaned up."
As she turned, Klaus reached for her wrist - not pulling, just holding her still. "Can we talk?"
She stared at his hand for a long moment. "Not right now," she answered quietly, needing a chance to catch her breath and collect her sanity.
Sensing the opportunity, he let her slip out of his grasp but moved with her. "Dinner, then. Tonight?"
Caroline found herself nodding before she consciously made the decision. But she bit her lip, searching his expression for some hint that maybe he wouldn't break her heart. Eyes wide and imploring, he did seem to hang on her answer. "Fine. Yeah, sure."
The relief was clear in his face, and his whole body seemed to relax. Determined not to remember what that looked like in a bed, she turned on her heel to escape the lab altogether.
"I'll see you tonight, Caroline!"
With the image of his slick chest burned in her mind, that was what she was afraid of - or maybe a bit too excited for. It remained to be seen.