Notes: I procrastinated a bit on this one because it's a big chapter! Hopefully it lives up to expectations. Thanks so much to everyone still reading!

FEBRUARY – TUESDAY

CAROLINE:

Caroline wasn't sure what she'd ever done to piss Mother Nature off (she recycled all the time, had nagged Kol into doing it too!) but the mean old bitch was clearly out to get her.

She and Klaus had hashed out a plan on Sunday. She was supposed to swing by Klaus' place after she finished work, leave from there to go get dinner. She'd told him 7ish, her inner control freak loathing that she had to be vague but she'd figured it was better than giving him a definite time and then flaking. Caroline was scheduled to take tomorrow off, since she was working that gala on Saturday, and she'd had a pile of things that needed to be wrapped up, a list of instructions for Meghan that she needed to compile before leaving for the day. Caroline had been bent over her desk all afternoon, had barely even looked up when lunch had been brought in.

Probably why she'd missed the raging blizzard outside.

She's startled when she leans back in her chair, catching sight of what's happening outside. Caroline stares out her window for a long moment, the swirling white flakes obscuring almost everything but big shapes and a few bright spots of light. "Great," she mutters. "Just great."

Checking her watch Caroline finds that she had made better time than expected. It's just after 5:30 and everything on her To Do list has been checked off. There's little movement from outside her door so Caroline assumes that most everyone else in the office had been a little more observant and had headed out for warm cozy homes at a reasonable time.

She sees the appeal but it doesn't tempt her. Caroline is determined that her date with Klaus will happen. After months of stops and starts there's no way she's letting a little snow stop her.

Even if her planned date outfit wasn't exactly suitable to battle inclement weather.

She'd been planning on taking a cab to his apartment and Caroline figured that was still doable. Traffic was sparse on the street below but walking a couple of blocks over to a busier intersection wouldn't kill her, right? It was just a little frozen water.

Nodding decisively Caroline grabs the garment bag she'd brought in, slips into the not so office appropriate dress inside, and digs a pair of heels out of her bag. A couple minutes to freshen her makeup, a little work on her hair and she's ready to go.

Walking outside of her building makes Caroline wish she hadn't bothered, her primping quickly undone.

It's the gross slushy kind of snow that's falling, and her shoes are quickly water logged. Trudging into the wind leaves her hair whipping wildly about her head and she begins shivering, her stockings no match for the cold, nose buried in her scarf.

Still, Caroline pushes on, finally reaching a street where the flow of traffic's not so dead. Squinting into the gloom she's relived to see a cab, cheers mentally when it actually stops for her. She clambers into the backseat, grateful for the warm air, stripping off her sodden mittens. She meets the driver's eye in the rearview mirror, "Oh my god you're a lifesaver."

"It is nasty out there. Where to, Miss?"

She rattles off Klaus' address, tells him that it's fine when he explains that the roads are a mess and it will probably take a while to get there. Caroline's certain her makeup has run something awful, maybe the extra time will allow her to repair it enough so she doesn't show up at Klaus' door doing her best impression of a raccoon.

She thinks, knows really, that he won't care. But this is their first official date, and it's been a freaking long time in the making, and Caroline really wants it to go well.

Stupid cock blocking snow.

It quickly becomes apparent that her hair's a lost cause, windswept, tangled and damp. She manages a quick braid, sweeps it back into a bun, hoping she's pulling off artfully messy rather than bird's nest. She does what she can with her face, telling herself a smoky eye was never a bad thing (and so what if it's more smudgy than anything else?) and slicking on her favorite lip gloss.

It's a project, one she's grateful for, because as the cab creeps through the icy streets the butterflies in her stomach grow frantic, nerves building as her mind races in a million different directions.

She already likes Klaus so much. But the fears linger. There's still the nagging worry that it's all just surface attraction, that it'll go poof if they try to go deeper. That would mess up every point where their lives already intersect – his siblings, her roommate and best friend, making thigs tense and awkward and awful. That had been enough to keep her from taking this leap for months. Caroline's finally decided that it's worth it, that trying is better than wondering, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to freak out a little bit.

Or a lot.

It was kind of how she rolled, okay?

She hears the driver clear his throat, loudly. And kind of pointedly, so she has to assume it's not the first time he's tried to get her attention. Caroline shakes her head, offering him a sheepish smile. "Sorry. First date. Kind of a big deal."

His blank expression doesn't change, his eyes shifting to the meter. She'd be embarrassed but Caroline's certain that a woman blurting out her romantic anxieties was barely a blip on the weird scale for a New York City cab driver. Fumbling for her bag she pays him, tipping well since it was miserable out, and she's thrilled she hadn't spent longer on the street. Caroline slides across the backseat, "Have a good night," she tells the driver politely, bracing herself for the cold.

He echoes her sentiment, and Caroline ducks out of the cab, letting out an irritated huff as the wind bites into her exposed skin once more. She hurries the few steps to the front door of Klaus' building, carefully skirting the deeper puddles. She jabs at the button labeled with his name repeatedly bouncing on her toes in a futile attempt to get warm. His voice crackles over the intercom sounding confused and maybe a little worried. "Caroline?"

"Yeah," she confirms, raising her voice in case the wind obscures it. "Can I come up? Kind of freezing here."

There's a buzz immediately, followed by the sound of the outer door clicking open. She steps inside, sighs with relief, wriggling her toes in her shoes. Strolling to the elevator she digs her phone out of her bag (because another distraction couldn't go awry what with the official start to her official first date with Klaus imminent). She'd kept it on silent not wanting any distractions at work. The last time she'd glanced at it had been during lunch where Rebekah had not so subtly inquired about her pre-date state and Kol had sent her cat videos interspersed with comments that would totally have gotten him fined if Caroline hadn't recognized them for what they were – blatant attempts to distract her. Kol's version of thoughtful was a work in progress but Caroline gave him points for effort and improvement.

She sees several texts from Klaus as soon as she swipes across the screen. There's an offer to meet her at her office, or even halfway between his apartment at her workplace. An assurance that they could reschedule, if she wanted to.

It honestly hadn't even crossed her mind.

But the messages manage to relax her. They served as a reminder that Caroline's not the only person with something invested here, that Klaus likes her, and has for a very long time. That he's maybe just as anxious about making something real work as she is. By the time she's knocking on his door she's almost calm and she smiles brightly when he throws it open. "Hey, I think I'm early. I hope that's okay."

His eyes widen when he sees her and he steps back, reaching out and tugging her in. "It's fine, love. You're soaked. Take off your coat, I'll get you a blanket."

Klaus darts away from her, snatching a throw up from the couch. Caroline peels off her coat, hangs it on the rack. She hopes he was serious when he'd told her he wasn't fussy about his floors, because they're currently being dripped on. She's a little miffed that he doesn't seem to appreciate her dress before he's wrapping the soft fabric around her, his hands running up and down her arms briskly. It does feel nice and Caroline sways into him, resting lightly against his body, forehead on his shoulder.

He's warm and he smells amazing and Caroline kind of can't help herself. And right at that very moment she can't even remember what about the idea of being with him had ever freaked her out. It's easy, natural. She's never been good with quiet moments, often finds herself rambling when a silence stretches on. She feels no need to fill this one.

Glancing up she takes in his face, the slight crinkle of worry between his brows, the focus in his gaze as he tries to warm her up. Caroline acts without thinking, the idea of having him closer too tempting to resist. She reaches out, rests her hand on his cheek, tilts her head and brushes Klaus' lips with hers.

He breathes in sharply, hands tightening on her arms. Caroline's eyes had drifted shut in anticipation of a kiss but she cracks them open once more, to find him watching her intently. She runs her thumb over his jaw idly, finds it smoother than usual, brings her other hand up to rest on his chest. Klaus studies her, seemingly searching for something. She doesn't fidget, or avoid his gaze and he must find what he'd needed, his grip on her loosening, hands moving with purpose. One drifts down, discovering the lines of her spine, pulling her in and pressing her curves against him. The other slips up, over the curve of her shoulder, his fingers warm on the side of her neck as he urges her mouth back to his.

He mimics her gentle brush once, twice, but soon takes it deeper, tasting the inner curve of her lips. He's achingly slow, teasing and exploring. Sucks her lower lip between both of his until she lets out a tiny gasp, slips his tongue into her waiting mouth, meeting her strokes with hot glides of his own. She's had all sorts of fantasies about his mouth, from sweet to dirty, and reality is proving far better than her imagination.

It's not long before Caroline's got a hand buried in his hair, until she's shrugged the blanket off, thoughts of being cold distant and meaningless with his taste on her tongue and his hands on her body.

She makes a noise of protest when he pulls away but Klaus doesn't go far, pressing a kiss behind her ear, and another lower on her throat that pulls a soft moan from her.

They really should have done this sooner.

Klaus lets out a noise of his own, but it's regretful, maybe a little pained as he puts distance between their bodies, resting his face against her throat briefly. "I suspect this isn't very gentlemanly of me," he jokes as he pulls back.

His lips are slightly swollen, hair mussed from her hands. It's hard to resist the urge to shove him against the wall. She gets what he's trying to do, deescalate the situation, get back to the business of first dating. The sweetness of it, that Klaus would surely deny, leaves her feeling giddy and warm. Caroline presses her lips together to keep in her smile, "For the record, I started it."

Klaus makes no such effort, grinning as he toys with an escaped curl, "I am very glad you did." He steps away from her, bends to collect the fallen blanket. Blinks rapidly for a moment when his eyes rest on her properly and Caroline gives herself a mental high five for the dress selection. Klaus swallows harshly, the motion visible, "You look beautiful, Caroline."

"Thank you."

Klaus tears his eyes away, "And while it would be a shame to waste that dress I was wondering if you'd mind staying in? The news says the storm is only going to worsen and I'd hate to get stranded somewhere. I can cook, or we could try to order in?"

Looking passed him to the windows that line the far side of his apartment Caroline can see that it has gotten worse outside, the sky darker and snow thicker than ever. So much for a perfect first date.

But maybe perfect was overrated.

She steps out of her shoes, standing on her tiptoes to stretch out the high heel ache. "Either one is fine. I hiked like four blocks to get a cab and it wasn't pretty. I am totally cool with not doing something like that again."

"You didn't have to do that," Klaus tells her seriously.

Caroline shrugs, "I wanted to," she tells him firmly.

Klaus takes a moment to absorb that, eyes trained on her face once more. A tiny smile plays across his mouth and Caroline curls her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching for him again.

There will be time for that later.

"I have to warn you that I am nowhere near as proficient as Kol is at cooking. Don't expect anything gourmet."

Caroline snorts as Klaus sets his hand on her back, leading her into the kitchen. "I can make toast. And eggs. And follow the microwave directions on packaged foods. That is the extent of my culinary skills. Trust me, I am easy to impress."

"Noted, love." Klaus nods to a stool and Caroline clambers up on it, resting her elbows on the island as she watches him move around the room. "Would you like some wine?" he asks before he turns to rummage through his refrigerator.

"Please. Do you want me to help with anything?"

Klaus shoots her an incredulous look as he pours her a glass, "After your last confession about your abilities? I think I can handle dinner."

Caroline narrows her eyes playfully, "I maybe exaggerated a smidge. I did manage not to starve to death before your brother came along, you know."

Klaus chuckles, setting a frypan on the stove. "Yes, but I was under the impression that Stefan did most of the cooking prior to that, didn't he?"

He says it lightly, not an ounce of seriousness, but Caroline's never been one to back down from a challenge. Taking a hearty sip of wine she hops down from her stool, beginning to open cupboards. Klaus doesn't make a move to stop her, watching with amusement as she makes a circuit of his kitchen. It doesn't take Caroline long to orient herself, or locate the things she needs. She finds a bowl, helps herself to a stick of butter and his canister of sugar. "It's on. You do dinner, I'm doing dessert. I call the oven so I'm hoping you don't need it."

"I don't," Klaus confirms. "You really don't have to make anything, sweetheart. I was teasing."

She shakes her head, begins creaming the butter and the sugar, careful not to get dirty. "Nope, I asked you out, didn't I? No way should you have to do all the work."

Klaus shifts, opening his mouth like he's about to argue but Caroline points her wooden spoon at him, "You're still in charge of dinner, right? And I'm hungry. Chop chop."

He laughs again, turning back to the stove, pouring some oil into his heating pan. Caroline sneaks glances at him while she works, finds Klaus doing the same. She refuses to tell him what she's making, and he follows suit. His dish seems to involves chicken and pasta. Lemon and a good amount of butter. All things that Caroline's a really big fan of.

Giving up on interrogating her Klaus asks about her day, how the prep for Saturday's gala is going. Caroline answers and they slip into easy conversation, moving around one another like this is the hundredth time they've shared space like this.

Caroline's struck one again by how easy it is, how warm and content she feels in Klaus' company.

Their date started less than an hour ago and she's already convinced it's the best one she's ever been on.

Notes: Yes, there will be more of the date next chapter. It's maybe a teeny bit of a cheat but I'm going to consider after midnight the next day.