A little something that just popped into my head! It's just basic fluff right now, but maybe it'll turn into something more. I hope you enjoy!

All rights to the rightful owners :)

Klaus spent approximately sixty hours a week in the Salvatore and associates publishing offices on the forty fourth floor of the empire state building. Chained to his cubicle day and night 6 days a week, spell checking emails and fielding the dozens of manuscripts he had to direct to the various bigwigs of the office dreaming of the day he would be allowed to do something more important than the work of an assistant. He knew what he had signed up for when he took the job with Salvatore; minimum five years as a laggy before he would even get the chance to edit so much as an author bio, but those five years would open the door to being a big league editor. So he slaved away, keeping his mouth shut and his head down, waiting for his moment. After two years with a gassy sweat stained shirt wearing mouth breather in the cubicle next to him, Klaus was thrilled when he arrived to work one morning to find all the odd doodles that sweat stains had tacked up on his cubicle walls gone, and the desk reeking of the cleaning solution. He spent three blissful days enjoying the lack of stench of garlic hoagies and the ability to stretch his legs out across both spans of desks. He wasn't that thrilled with the idea of a new office mate, until she unpacked things next door.

She was a sunny blonde, with bright blue eyes and a blinding smile. The first day he was too nervous to introduce himself. He asked around the office and discovered that her name was Caroline. She had graduated from Princeton two years previously and had been working at Petrova Publishing in Boston before deciding to move to New York.

The first few weeks passed the same way it would with any other co-workers, they nodded pleasantly at each other when they passed in the hallways, made pleasant small talk if they were caught alone in the elevator and passed the salad tongs if they both decided to brave the cafeteria a few floors down. One day things changed. He had snatched the leftover doughnuts from a board meeting in the staff room and had been hoarding them at his desk all afternoon, indulging whenever the day became particularly painful. He was eyeing up another one when the ding of the rarely used inter office communication messenger on his computer sounded and a small instant messenger popped up on his screen.

CarolineFordes: I'll trade you a borderline stale scone from the coffee cart downstairs for one of those doughnuts.

He looked up and saw a delicate hand reaching over the wall of his cubicle, waving a pale brown crumbling scone in a grayish napkin at him. He smiled to himself as he typed back.

NiklausMikaelson: Not exactly a fair trade, but it'll bite.

He took a tissue from the box on his desk and placed the doughnut on top of it and extended his arm to make the trade. Their fingers brushed as they exchanged baked good, and he couldn't help but notice the softness of her hands.

CarolineForbes: I'll even the score ;)

When he arrived at work the next morning Caroline was already at her desk, and there was heavily glazed doughnut sitting on a napkin next to a cup of coffee on his. Attached to the paper cup was a pink sticky note that read and the scores all tied up.

It became a game to them. Trading off days, bringing each other coffee and baked goods. Trying to one up the other with the extravagant or weird things they could scrounge up from all around the city. He had once gotten up 2 hours early to ride the subway across town to get a huckleberry flan cupcake he had read about online. Soon they were sitting together in staff meetings, exchanging glances and trying to keep a straight face. He would stand at his desk and lean his arms against the half wall that their cubicle shared as they talked. They complained about their roommates, and their overbearing families. They'd laugh about all the bad dates they had both been on lately while they raided the break room fridge for any leftovers worth snatching. Over the last few months they had grown from co-workers to actual friends. Not work friends, but actual friends. They both spent most of their time in the office but during their free time they kept in contact via texts and emails. If a particularly horrific or hilarious event took place they were the first ones to receive a call. Klaus had even brought her Christmas shopping with him as he had no idea what to buy for his sister.

"What's all this then?" Klaus asked as he placed a brown sugar pretzel and caramel latte on Caroline's desk before sitting down at his own.

"There decorations." Caroline stated as she continued to pin up the string of paper snowflakes across her cubicle wall and attempted to hand the rest of the string off to him to hang.

"Yes I know. My real question is why are you putting them up?" Caroline shot him a disapproving look and shook the snowflakes at him.

"Don't play dumb. It's the Christmas party tonight, and we're all supposed to decorate our desks and be festive or whatever. Sherol sent around a memo, I'm pretty sure it's sitting on your desk right now." He rolled his eye, crinkling the bright red paper in his hands into a ball and lobbing it at her head. She artfully dodged it and continued to stand with her arm out stretched, decorations in hand.

"Ah yes, and I chose to ignore that. So I won't be decorating my desk."

"Yes, that's why I'm doing it for you. Just take the damn snowflakes and pin the end of the string in the corner." Klaus sighed heavily, but stood and took the paper from Caroline's hand.

"What's the point? I don't even know if I'm going to this damn party." Caroline stopped dead and stared in awe at her friend.

"Getting drunk on the company's expense? Please you're going. We're going."

"Car-"

"There's no discussion. If you don't go you're just going to seem like a Grinch and I'm going to have to spend the whole party defending you and you don't want to do that to me. If it awful we can just swipe a few bottles of champagne and call it a night okay?"

And like that, there he was in the same suit he had worn to work that day, but in the bright red tie Caroline had forced him into while they rode the elevator up to the party that night. It hadn't been that bad. The food was alright, and as promised there was plenty of alcohol. He was surprised by the sheer number of people there. Everyone in their office, their spouses, even a few children running around. At one point Klaus was standing by the glass walls of the conference room and chatting casually with one of the junior partners. Just as the man was turning away, Caroline came rushing up to him with two flutes of champagne in her hand.

"Put your arm around me." She hissed, forcing one of the drinks into his hand and pressing herself into his side.

"What?' he laughed, taking the drink happily and feeling the lightness in his head increase as he took a sip?

"Jerkins from distribution has been hitting on me all night and he's one too many drinks in, just put your frickin arm around me." He slid his arm around her waist, feeling the soft satin of her burgundy dress against his fingers.

John Jerkins stumbled past, throwing Klaus a dirty look as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips once again. Once he was safely away Klaus felt Caroline let out a massive breath.

"Thank you." She exclaimed breathily, letting her head fall against his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his torso. He chuckled, returning her hug.

"My pleasure love. That's what I'm here for."

It was some hours later, when the rest of the employees and their families were on the other side of the floor listening to speeches and toasts, but Klaus and Caroline were giggling like school children, sitting under his desk with one bottle of champagne and another of tequila. One of his arms was still wrapped around her waist and as she laughed her head ducked against his chest.

Klaus could smell her hair, like lavender, so close to his face.

"These people Car, there getting to me. It won't be long before this tequila bottle is attached to my hand permanently. Oh god, I honestly don't know what I would do if you weren't here to keep me sane."

"You'd have done something to get yourself deported long ago." He let out another loud laugh.

"In any case, I'm glad I have you as my work wife." Caroline took the tequila bottle from his hand

"Work wife. I like that. You'll have to start getting me nicer gifts for our anniversary. Oh and a ring! It doesn't have to be too fancy, I know our salary, and just something I can wear in the office. To ward of Jerkins."

"But of course, and we can go on our work honeymoon to the new Starbucks that opened down the street. I hear its tres romantic."

"You spoil me." She joked

"Anything for you dear," They laughed loud and deeply until their lungs hurt and they were out of breath and suddenly they were looking at each other, and their faces were oh so close, close enough to smell the tequila on their breath but transfixed enough not to care. All Klaus could look at was the arch of her upper lip and the feeling of his fingers against the small of her back.

"Anything." He breathed. It was unclear who leaned in first, whose lips touched first, but all they knew is that they were kissing now, under his desk in a room full of people. Her hands were in his hair, as she breathed in him. His hands ghosted against her back and up into her hair and neck, as he ran his fingers along her collarbone and shoulder. They were feverish and hurried, but at the same time it was as if time had stopped and the world itself was no longer spinning.