For Anon / request: Caroline goes to NOLA and sees Klaus with Cami
Reassurance
Caroline feels utterly stupid.
She'd been in such a slump lately. Her classes and all the supernatural bullshit she just couldn't seem to get away from had really taken their toll. She was feeling defeated, like everything was just a waste of time. She was ready to throw in the towel and say to hell with all of it—but she wouldn't be Caroline if she did, would she?
But still, it was all so draining.
So, she'd gottten into her car after class and had drove to the one place she probably shouldn't have. A horrible impulsive decision really. Her brain was clearly diseased, thinking he would make her feel better. She wanted to be buttered up, okay? Sue her. She needed compliments and expensive champagne and maybe another invitation to some far away land.
Imagine her surprise when she walks into the bar Klaus' sister had sent her to when she stopped by their house—ahem, mansion—and finds him at the bar knee deep in flirting with the bartender.
She's pretty, a happy smile and bouncy curls. And painfully human. But Klaus seems interested. He looks at the woman like—
Like he looks at Caroline.
She turns and walks back out, her heart dropping into her stomach. She knows she's being silly, and has no right to her jealousy, but still, it eats at her. She was a fool to believe anything he'd said to her. She crosses the street to her car, fully intending to jump in and never look back, but the door to the bar swings open—
Klaus crosses the street after her, hand grasping her elbow and gently turning her to face him, "Leaving without a goodbye?" He asks, frowning.
"You seem busy." Caroline says stiffly, clutching her car keys close.
To his credit, he looks faintly embarrassed, but he gathers himself quickly, feigning innocence. "Something bothering you?" He asks, when he knows damn well what she's referring to. Ugh.
"Oh, I'm fine. Go back to your blonde and your booze." She regrets the jab as soon as she says it, wincing to herself.
He looks at her like he knows she's full of shit, amusement in his eyes. She wonders if this is how he felt, watching her with Tyler.
"If you're seeking reassurance, I can give it to you." He comes dangerously close to her and her breath hitches. He smirks. Damn his hybrid hearing.
"I don't need reassurance." Caroline snips, arms crossing over her chest. Except that was definitely the whole reason she was here. Just to see if all his pretty words and declarations meant anything at all. But there was no way in hell she'd ever tell him that.
"But you want it none the less." Klaus says knowingly.
"You don't know anything about what I want."
"I know you're upset I didn't wait a century to bed anyone else."
"Really? You think I'm surprised you didn't mean anything you said to me?" She snorts.
His eyes flash, "I meant every word. I still mean every word." Their noses are almost touching now. "I'm fond of Camille, we connect. But nothing, and no one, will ever compare to you, Caroline. You needn't worry yourself."
"I'm—" she's breathless at his words, "I'm not worrying."
His fingers brush a strand of hair behind her ear, "I have no intention of moving on, remember that." He says, soft. She flashes back to Silas crowding her against a tree, the same words falling from his lips. It struck her right in the heart then just like it does now.
She can't help herself, and a small smile curves her lips. Hadn't the man before her proclaimed many a time that she was more than all the things she feared about herself? Suddenly, her jealous flare up and the nagging feeling of not being enough disappears.
After all, Camille was inside, and he was out here with her, saying sweet nothings and giving her bedroom eyes.
She's pretty sure she's gonna win that competition. Not that there is one, she reminds herself. She feels herself unclenching, shoulders relaxing for the first time since she'd walked into the bar and spied the pair of them.
"Won't you come back inside?" He asks, hopeful. Yeah, no, she doesn't have that much self control.
"I better get going, actually. I have a test tomorrow. I just—I guess I did need some reassurance." She says sheepishly. He had totally called her out earlier.
"And I am always happy to provide it." Klaus opens her car door for her, takes her hand and kisses it quick. Her heart softens for him just a little bit more. "Goodnight, love." He says, squeezing her hand tight for a moment before he lets her go.
She says goodnight and gets into the car before she finds an excuse to stay, blowing out a breath when she's pulled away from the curb. He stays where she left him on the sidewalk, only returning to the bar when she turns the corner.
She feels light the whole way home.