AU/AH. Klaus and Caroline don't know each other as well as they would like. Yet.

"Turn left! Turn left!"

Surrounded by falling debris and with their enemies hot on her heels, the blonde eagerly followed the accented instructions and took the corner in a sprint.

Wrong move.

"My left!" Klaus screeched.

Caroline ground her teeth together in order to rein in the waterfall of insults threatening to break through. "That would have been nice to know before I were at a dead-end with an army behind me."

"Apologies, love, for making one single mistake after the play I've just pulled off to save your arse!"

"Right. That. Did you have to upset the goblins?"

"It saved you from becoming an ogre's tea break, didn't it?"

"Just in time to become goblin dinner, it seems!"

Despite the dour situation, Klaus found himself chuckling. "You are so dramatic."

Caroline scoffed around a smile. "Oh, like you're one to talk!"

"That's why we make such a great team, love."

Caroline rolled her eyes but didn't deny his statement.

She hit 'pause' on her controller.

"Well, our 'great team' will have to wait a few hours to kick some goblin ass," she let out a laugh at Klaus' dismayed groan, "because yours truly has a graduation committee to oversee."

He saved the game, logging off the platform while keeping their line of communication open.

He supposed he had to get some sleep, eventually.

"Sounds fun."

"All I will say is that I'd much rather fight off a real army of goblins."

"Come on, love," Klaus teased, and Caroline felt the usual blush rise to her cheeks at the familiar pet name—she had to admit it was quite charming, whenever he didn't resort to it to weasel his way out of making her mad. "You are not telling me high school seniors are worse than malicious, monstrous creatures, surely."

"I'm telling you they are malicious, monstrous creatures."

"Whatever you say," he acquiesced.

The humor was obvious in his tone and she squinted her eyes at the blank screen in front of her, wishing, not for the first time throughout the year they had known each other, to be able to see his face.

"Mock me all you want. If you had met Damon Salvatore, you'd understand."

Klaus hummed under his breath and Caroline could have sworn there was a hint of displeasure to the sound at the mention of another boy.

Their conversation stalled.

"Anyway," Caroline cleared her throat, "at least I have Comic-Con to look forward to once I'll be done with all this mayhem."

"Bloody Americans."

Caroline giggled. "Jealous?"

A beat.

A sigh.

"Very," Klaus admitted, softly.

Knowing they were skirting the edge of dangerous territory, Caroline bit down on her bottom lip.

"One day," she offered, unable to decipher whether it was a promise to him or to herself.

"One day, love," he repeated.

Caroline switched off her laptop, lingering at her desk even if she was already late for her meeting.

Almost four thousand miles away, Klaus was doing much the same, eyeing his flight ticket from London to San Diego with hopeful trepidation.