Notes: More of the trope x trope drabbles but this one ended up being a sequel because the combo of prompts was just too good.
Everywhere With You (Part Two)
(Prompt: Soulmate AU + Sleep Intimacy. Rated T. A follow up to Everywhere With You which is found in Chapter 79)
When he hears the crunch of tires on gravel, Klaus makes a sharp turn, heading for the stairs. He's been wandering his home aimlessly, almost welcomes the interruption. He briefly considers taking a detour to his room for a shirt but decides against it
It's possible he'd just be ruining it so why bother?
Klaus hopes his visitor is trouble, someone he can hurt. Perhaps Caroline had finally informed The Salvatores he'd returned and they've come to huff and puff and attempt to intimidate him. That could be amusing. Caroline's more fond of Stefan so Klaus will leave him be. Damon, however, he can probably get away with maiming.
It's been twenty days since he'd left Caroline at Whitmore and he's only had himself for company. Elijah had gone back to New Orleans as soon as they'd been sure Klaus could maintain his human form, with strict instructions to visit the witch who'd advised them and check that she'd not breathed a word of Klaus' predicament.
To then do everything necessary to guarantee that she never could.
It's not the longest stretch of solitude he's ever endured, far from it, but the circumstances have made it challenging. The first day Klaus had felt better that he had since he'd first left Mystic Falls, clear headed and able to concentrate. He'd plowed through a number of emails and reports - business and property matters Elijah had been nagging him about, only fair since his brother was keeping things tidy for him - and then shut himself up in his studio.
Had managed to produce work he didn't hate for the first time in ages.
His ease had only lasted a few days, had begun to leach away until he was once more restless and easily aggravated.
He'd have to order another dining room set, the last one was now little more than kindling. All because Klaus had gotten a splinter.
He's been told Caroline's not faring better. He's got guards stationed near her, tasked with ensuring she stays safe and that no one else is watching her. He won't have her hurt to get at him. His people report that she's going to class, then back to her dorm, that she looks tired and unhappy.
Klaus doesn't receive the news gladly, but there's a grim sort of satisfaction to the knowledge that he's not suffering alone.
The impulse to go to her has become a steady pulse, a knot of pressure that rests heavy at the base of his skull, impossible to ignore. His skin feels tight, irritated, and he can't seem to shake off the tension in his body. He thinks the all over ache will become genuine pain soon.
When it does Klaus will grit his teeth and bear it. Caroline will have to come to him. That resolve is why Klaus hasn't turned. His wolf is harder to control, less reason more instinct, and he'd be loping off to Whitmore as soon as his paws touched the earth if he gave into the urge to transform.
Reaching the main floor, he doesn't bother with lights, Klaus stalks across the foyer. He's been pacing the house for days, could navigate around the furniture even without his enchanted senses.
He'd heard the vehicle roll to a stop. Its engine had been cut but there had been no metal creaking to indicate a door opening, no footsteps either. His visitor seems to be hesitating. Klaus stands poised by the door, listening carefully for movement, ready to spring.
His phone buzzes in his back pocket and Klaus deflates, his fangs retracting, hybrid features smoothing.
If his guest is calling ahead it would be bad form to kill them. He only hopes he's not being roped into some disaster. Klaus really doesn't have the patience to wade into whatever peril Mystic Falls is facing this week. He knows Caroline is perfectly safe, her mother too. Her useless friends aren't his concern.
He's shocked when he sees that Caroline's texting him, thrilled to realize she's only a few steps away.
Caroline (1:46 AM): It occurs to me that you might deal with late night visitors creeping up to your house violently.
Caroline (1:46 AM): So don't this time, okay?
Caroline (1:46 AM): Midterms start Monday.
He hears her car door open and Klaus' control frays. He's flinging his front door open and bounding down the steps before he can marshal it. He forces himself to still at the bottom, rocking back on his heels and grinding his bare feet into the stones of the driveway to center himself. The urge to go right to her, to press his skin to hers, is nearly overwhelming. Coming on to strong could very well backfire.
He needs her to come just a little farther.
Caroline leans back against her car, shutting the driver's side door. Her arms are crossed, banded tightly against her stomach and she's looking at the ground. Klaus takes the opportunity to study her and what he sees makes him ache a little more.
He wants to touch her, now not just to soothe his own discomfort. Caroline's too pale, her eyes visibly shadowed even in the dim moonlight. Her hair's pulled haphazardly back from her face and she wears an oversized sweatshirt, ragged at the cuffs and hem, and not a speck of makeup.
She looks older than she should, exhausted and confused, and Klaus loathes that he's the cause even if he wouldn't change their connection for anything.
She glances up at him, takes a faltering step forward. "I… I don't know…" she trails off helplessly, her hand extended towards him.
That she'd come here, of her own volition, will have to be enough of a balm to his pride, he decides. Klaus closes the distance between them, until her hand presses to his chest. Caroline's fingers twitch at the skin to skin contact but she doesn't push him away. He moves slowly, lifting his hand and resting it on the back of her neck, his thumb brushing her jaw.
Caroline's spine loosens, her lashes fluttering as a sigh gusts from her parted lips. She drifts another step closer, pressing her other hand to him. "Huh. I was kinda hoping last time was a fluke."
He ruthlessly tamps down a flare of anger. It won't do to chase her away, not when she's finally talked herself into coming to him. Klaus knows her presence is only temporary, assumes she's treating him like a fix, the midterms she'd mentioned looming.
Klaus can work with that.
"Sadly, this is not a brilliant plan to get closer to you, sweetheart. We're mates, there are side effects. There's little we can do to change them. I trust you've had a rough few weeks?"
Her eyes narrow, the fingers of her right hand curling until he feels the edge of her nails. The left remains a steady pressure over his heart, negating the threat somewhat. "Try to sound less pleased about my misery, okay?"
"It was entirely of your own choosing," Klaus reminds her.
Her face falls, settling into tired lines, "Can we just… not?" she asks, sounding weary. "I didn't come here to fight with you."
"Why did you come, Caroline?"
She closes her eyes, shoulders slumping. "I haven't slept, like at all, in four days. I haven't slept properly in… god, I don't even remember."
"Fifteen or sixteen days, I'd wager." He says it gently, brings his free hand up to cover hers, to press it more firmly to his chest. He doesn't sleep much as it is, a habit ingrained over centuries on the run, so the lack of rest isn't as much of a hardship to him. Caroline likely still keeps to human rhythms.
She nods, swaying on her feet. "I still don't get whatever… this is. Bonnie's trying to track down her mom for me, to see if she can find anyone who knows something, but she's not having much luck. I've been trying so hard to stick to my routine and I just can't anymore. Every muscle in my body aches and my textbooks don't make sense and my notes from all my classes are crap and…"
Her breathing is coming quickly, her heart racing, and Klaus applies just the smallest hint of pressure, his hand on her nape to welcome her closer. It's all the urging Caroline needs. With a heavy exhalation she moulds herself to him, arms wrapping around his body until her hands dig greedily into the muscles of his back. Her flushed cheek comes to rest on his shoulder, her face pressed into his throat. Klaus winds one hand into her hair, the other slipping under her shirt to rest on her curve of her waist.
She hums softly, her stiffness easing until her rests heavily against him. He moves his hand tentatively, stroking along her side, and Caroline doesn't protest. "I've had every book that even mentions mates sent to me here," Klaus murmurs. "You can take some back to school with you."
Caroline agrees with a small sound, but makes no move to leave his embrace. She speaks so softly he might not have heard her if he wasn't a hybrid, "Can I sleep here tonight? I don't think I can drive home."
"With me?" Klaus asks, needing the clarification.
He can feel her face heat; hear the slight hitch of her inhale. "Yes," she finally manages, the word muffled in his skin.
His grip on her tightens but she misses his reaction, caught up in her own turmoil and drowsing as she is. Just as well. His elation is likely inappropriate. "Of course, sweetheart."
She makes a small noise of protest when he pulls away but Klaus maintains contact, bringing the hand he has on her side rest on the small of her back and guiding her to the steps. "Wait, I brought my books," Caroline mutters, stopping once they've crossed the threshold.
Well, that's certainly an interesting revelation. Klaus makes a note to bring it up when Caroline's more coherent. She wouldn't find him pressing her when she's like this, so unguarded, endearing.
He sees no need to handicap himself, not when it seems like he's managed to make progress.
"They'll be fine in your car for the night," Klaus assures her.
Caroline relents, stepping out of her shoes. "Yeah, I guess breaking into the sheriff's daughter's car outside of the local serial killer's house would be pretty dumb."
"Technically," he points out mildly, "there are many local serial killers."
Caroline laughs softly but she doesn't argue and he steers them towards the stairs. She leans more of her weight on him as they make their way upstairs, seems half asleep by the time they reach his bed. He eases her down, until she's sitting, tugs at the bottom of her sweatshirt, "Are you wearing anything under this?"
"Tank…" a yawn has her mouth opening wide and she shudders with the force of it. "Top," she finishes. She reaches down and begins to pull it off. Klaus helps when it gets stuck halfway, pushing her arms up so he can get it the rest of the way off. She swings her legs up, when he turns down the blankets, her hand grabbing his forearm and towing him after her.
Klaus can't resist teasing her, "Pulling me into bed? My, my, what a turn of events."
"Shut up," Caroline grouses. "I'm committed now."
"To a good night's sleep?" Klaus asks. He receives no reply and he's not sure if Caroline's ignoring him or if she hadn't heard him, too busy getting comfortable and luxuriating in the physical contact she's been craving. She rolls to her side, dragging Klaus with her (he goes willingly, of course) until he's curled around her, his forehead resting on the back of her shoulder. Caroline gropes for his hand and leads it under the flimsy shirt she wears, presses it to her bare stomach with a sigh he thinks is contentment.
She's soon soft against him, sleeping deeply. Klaus feels his own eyes drooping, his body sinking into the bed, with some surprise. He fights it for as long as he can, wanting to store this experience. He wants to be able to recall the texture of Caroline's skin, the scent of her hair. To learn the little movements and sounds she makes as she sleeps.
He'll need the memories, he's sure. Caroline's committed to this night, to quieting her brain so she can conquer her coursework. He's not sure what tomorrow will bring though Klaus suspects he can coax her into spending the day.
There's a plush sofa in his studio, under a window. If she studies there while he paints, her powers of concentration will be at their peak.
At least that's the hypothesis he'll present tomorrow.