Notes: Upload number 2! The last chapter is also a new one.
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
(Prompt: Roommate AU + Hair Brushing and Braiding. Rated K+)
Walking into Klaus' very nice apartment (two months in and the she still can't believe she technically lives in it) Caroline's careful not to touch anything. She'd scrubbed the glittery blue paint today's shoot had required her to be coated in from her face and hands. It's still in her hair and all over the rest of her body under her clothes.
She'd gotten some odd looks on the subway though no one had asked why she was smurf colored. Probably a good thing because the story wasn't actually that interesting - she'd just been the blue part of the dancer rainbow a music video director had envisioned.
It had looked cool, Caroline can admit, at least from what she'd been able to see on the monitors. She's not sure if that's going to be comforting when she's trying to comb layers upon layers of paint out of her hair.
She's just crossing her fingers and hoping that whatever goop the stylist had combed in to protect her hair at the beginning of the process had done its job.
Thanksgiving is next week; Grandma Forbes would probably withhold pie if Caroline sat down at her table with blue hair.
Caroline heads to the kitchen, intending to (carefully!) throw together a snack. She'd had a 6 AM call time and it's now nearly 11 PM. She won't be sleeping for a while so food seems like a good plan.
Klaus must have had the same idea. He's already in the kitchen and drops the bottle of mustard he'd been holding when he looks up and sees her. His mouth opens, eyes going wide with shock. That only lasts a second before he's laughing.
Caroline sighs, plants her hands on her hips, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
Klaus, apparently, doesn't need the invitation. He steps closer, circling her. His fingertips graze the back of her neck as he makes another low noise of amusement. Caroline grits her teeth and locks her muscles against a shiver at the contact. "It seems you've had an eventful day," Klaus says lightly.
"It was actually a pretty good one." She'd gotten to work with one of her favorite choreographers and the woman had even complimented Caroline as they were packing up. Hopefully, she'll be remembered and booked again.
Klaus is in front of her again, still smiling. "I'm pleased to hear it." His head tips to the side, expression shifting to something a little more contemplative. "Is the paint…everywhere?"
Caroline snorts at his attempt at delicacy. "Wardrobe consisted of a nude thong and what was basically a bikini top plus all the paint so yeah, it's everywhere."
"Such suffering for your art."
She'll take that as a compliment. Klaus has a tendency to lock himself in his studio for days at a time, to shuffle out with all the lucidity of a zombie, strip off anything that might have paint on it, and crash on the nearest semi comfortable surface.
She'd kept her eyes politely averted as she'd covered him with a blanket the first time she'd found him flopped across the couch in only his boxer briefs. The second time she'd looked a little. The third time a little more.
She shakes her head to clear it, hopes Klaus won't notice she's blushing. "Well," Caroline says cheerfully, "art paid well this time so I'll Venmo you some money once the check clears."
Klaus makes a face, waves a dismissive hand and returns to his sandwich fixings. "Suit yourself, love."
She still can't believe how casual he is about the whole rent thing.
Caroline had been dubious when Marcel had offered up his friend Klaus' place as an option when she'd complained about her housing woes. They worked at the same bar and it had been a slow night and the story had spilled out. She'd been crashing on an air mattress in the corner of Bonnie and Enzo's teeny studio. Neither of them had said anything but Caroline could tell she'd been seriously cramping their style.
Caroline had known housing in New York was tough. Finding a place that was affordable, not likely to result in her getting serial killed, and not filled with total nutballs had been proving near impossible.
Until Klaus.
She'd balked when she'd heard the address, knowing it was waaayyy out of her budget. Marcel had explained that Klaus didn't actually charge a set rent, that he'd inherited the place and piles of money from a biological father he'd never known about. Marcel had been living with Klaus for three years, and the other rooms had been occupied by a rotating group of friends and friends of friends, mostly creative types. When Caroline had asked how much Marcel paid per month he'd shrugged and said, "Depends on how good my tips have been."
Caroline had, of course, assumed there was a catch - a pervy one - but Marcel had informed her that wasn't the case. With few options she'd agreed to check it out. After a quick tour she'd made a point to mention that her sheriff mother had ensured Caroline was well versed in self defense, owned discrete weapons, and knew how to shoot a gun and hit what she was aiming for.
Marcel had been amused, Josh kind of scared. Klaus hadn't seemed phased and had told her she was welcome to take her pick of the two empty bedrooms as long as she didn't go into his studio unless invited.
She'd taken the one with the tiny ensuite, the lure of having her own bathroom again too tempting to resist.
It's a call she kind of regrets at this moment. She ends up shaving her legs outside the shower, foot propped up on the sink, the stall too tricky to maneuver in. Washing the paint away might have been easier had she chosen to share one of the bathrooms with a tub. Although, maybe she can just borrow one.
"Where are Marcel and Josh?" Caroline asks, gingerly opening the fridge. She'd hidden two pieces of pizza in the back, they'll make a perfect late dinner.
"Marcel's on a date, told me not to wait up. I believe Josh is at Aiden's."
"So probably not likely to answer my texts," Caroline grumbles, more to herself than Klaus.
He's only about a foot to her left so of course he hears. "Likely not," he agrees. "Why, did you need something?"
"Not really. I just thought a roomier bathroom might make scraping myself down easier. But I can deal with mine."
She feels Klaus' eyes on her and turns once she's retrieved what she wants. Caroline tucks a bottle of water under her arm and faces him, "What?"
"You can use my bathroom."
Caroline's brows shoot up, "Seriously? I thought not invading your space was the number one rule here."
"It's not invading if I offer, is it?"
She bumps her hip into his, "Don't be a smartass. Do you really want me to get it all blue?"
Klaus seems unconcerned, "Given your commitment to tidiness I have no doubt you'd right it."
Okay, he has a point. Caroline can't stand a messy bathroom. "Then thanks, that would be great." She turns from him, intending to gather her rattiest towels. She feels her skin pull with the movement and grimaces. Once she strips off her leggings and sweater there's going to be an avalanche of dry paint coming off of her. She spins back towards Klaus, figuring he might be willing to do her one other tiny favor. "Do you happen to have like, a drop cloth, or something I could borrow, too?"
Klaus nods easily, "Several. I'll grab them."
Caroline grins at him, "Have I mentioned you're the best sort-of landlord I've ever had?"
The look he shoots her is exasperated, almost annoyed. "And here I thought we were on our way to becoming friends."
He leaves the kitchen before she can formulate a reply.
She's still thinking of what she would have said when she taps on his half-open bedroom door. It glides open a little more under her knuckles and when she peeks inside she hears Klaus call for her to enter. Caroline looks around curiously when she does - she's never been in Klaus' room - notes a giant bed, a packed bookcase, and a low leather couch under the window, sketchbooks piled on an end table.
She doesn't linger, figures being too into snooping when Klaus is doing something nice for her would be rude. There's light coming from a doorway on the opposite side of the room and Caroline walks towards it and into a short hallway. To the left is a closet direct from her dreams, packed all the shelves and drawers a girl could possibly need. To the right she sees gleaming white porcelain and slate grey tile.
"Oh my god, it's like a hotel in here," Caroline mutters once she passes through the doorway. He's got a huge tub and an even bigger shower (with a rainfall shower head and several jutting from the walls) There are two sinks, one with a razor and various products lined up. Klaus is spreading out the drop cloths in front of the other.
She walks over, setting the supplies she'd gathered down. She figures two bars of soap should do it. Hopefully. "Thanks again for this, Klaus. Really."
He straightens, catching her eyes in the mirror. "Again, it's no trouble. Do you need any help?"
She can tell he hadn't meant to say it, or at least he'd meant to say it differently, because his expression turns mildly horrified. Caroline smirks, enjoying the sight of Klaus flustered, something she's never witnessed before.
She wouldn't be at all opposed to seeing it more often.
"Helping me shower would certainly be friendly," Caroline teases.
Klaus eases a bit closer, once more smooth and assured. Interested, if she's judging the heat in his eyes correctly. His hand comes to rest on her waist and he leans in to speak quietly, so she can almost feel his lips brushing her ear, "I imagine we'd be feeling something rather different were I to do such a thing."
Caroline doesn't bother to try to hide her sharp inhale.
Klaus watches her avidly in the mirror clearly delighted with himself and with her reaction. "And while I am open to such an experience I had actually meant something different." He reaches passed her, pressing against her back, plucking up the wide toothed comb she'd set down. "Once upon a time my brother Kol deposited a rather large quantity of gum in my sister Rebekah's hair. I somehow got roped into helping her remove it." One of his fingertips touches her hair and he grimaces, "I feel as if that experience might be useful."
Caroline can't fault his logic. Her hair had been pinned back by the stylists and, because they'd wanted it to look wet, they had reapplied the blue color often throughout the course of the day. It's practically a paint helmet at this point.
And if he's offering…
"You know what? Yeah, if you don't mind. It'll get done faster if there are two of us."
They decide that sitting down is the smartest way to go about it. Caroline manages to fish all the pins out, to uncoil the stiff ropes that her hair has formed. Klaus sits with his back against the tub, his legs outstretched. Caroline sits between them, in front of him, twisted to the side. Her legs crossed and resting against one of his. Klaus sets to work on combing out the left side of her head while Caroline struggles with the right.
It's surprisingly… nice. Companionable, even. He's interested in hearing about the shoot, the sets and the video's concept. He tells her about his day, mentions that he'd picked up a few groceries, had grabbed her favorite wine.
Caroline's tried to make an effort not to be an imposition to Klaus, keeps to her room unless Marcel and Josh are hanging out too. Marcel had initially described Klaus as temperamental and Caroline's beginning to think her interpretation of that had been off.
She'd assumed Marcel had been trying to diplomatically say, "Klaus is pure evil and hates all people" but that seems to have been incorrect. He certainly doesn't seem to hate her.
He makes a noise, sympathetic, grabbing her attention. "Hold still a moment, would you?" He grabs a clump of her hair, attacks a stubborn knot, doing his best not to pull too much.
Caroline does her best not to move, taking the opportunity to study Klaus while he's concentrating. "Do you want to do something tomorrow?" she asks impulsively. "Dinner, maybe?"
His eyes flick to hers and she thinks she reads a little intrigue there.
"What kind of dinner?" Klaus asks. "The kind where you wear something short and tempting and I insist on paying the bill?"
Caroline's kind of glad she'd been reading the room correctly, "Yup, exactly. And hey, if things go really well it'll be the shortest walk of shame ever."
Klaus refocuses on his task but his dimples appear, his smile pleased, "Why Caroline, I thought you'd never ask."