I hope you like the last part! Again, thank you to garglyswoof and chica-cherry-lola for helping out! This was for LaLainaJ for the KC Valentine's exchange. You can find the rest of the fics for the exchange on Ao3, and I highly recommend you take a look ;)
"Double non-fat latte for Caroline," Jeremy called, and Caroline went to the counter, excited to be caffeinated. God knows she needed it after this week.
"Thanks, Jer."
He gave her an easy smile as he handed her the cup. "No problem. I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you okay? You look..."
"Tired?" she finished wryly. "Don't you know you're never supposed to say that to someone?"
"I was going to say 'upset', but that too," Jeremy said, looking completely unashamed. "Do you want a mocha instead? On me? Well, on Amara, but it's not like I'll get in trouble."
Caroline was tempted for a second but decided it was better not to eat her feelings. "No, it's fine. Thanks, though!"
He gave her a small smile as Matt handed him another drink, and he glanced at it before saying, "Double-shot espresso with room for cream for Klaus."
Caroline froze as Klaus brushed by her, taking the cup from Jeremy with the barest of nods and determinedly not looking at her. She felt her heart drop to her stomach at the lack of acknowledgment. For some reason she'd prepped herself for hostility, maybe a few hurtful comments, but the blatant coldness hurt even more than anything he could say ever would.
She wasn't sure why she'd expected anything anyway. If she knew Klaus at all, and she liked to think she did despite the short length of their whirlwind non-romance, there was no way he would acknowledge her presence unless forced to. She'd definitely taken him by surprise, had delivered a blow to his ego. It just hadn't hit her until he'd ignored her so pointedly how much she'd miss him.
She knew it was stupid to want to talk to him, especially since she'd been the one to leave, but she found herself walking up next to him anyway as he set the pitcher of half-and-half back down on the counter. "Hi," she said, picking up a coffee cup sleeve and sliding her cup in.
He grunted in acknowledgement and she inwardly sighed.
"How are you?"
"Fine," he said shortly, bringing his cup to his lips and taking a sip.
"That's nice," she said lamely, and she could have sworn his lips twitched, though the flash of a smile was more frustrated than genuine. Not knowing how else to keep herself there, she reached for a sugar packet, emptying it into her cup. "How's...how's the shop doing?"
"Just as well as it was three days ago when we last spoke."
He was stirring his coffee slowly with the stirring stick, and she watched the rhythmic movement. "Well, that's-"
"Why are you talking to me, Caroline?"
"What do you mean? I'm just making conversation," she said defensively.
"Well, making meaningless small talk is quite the way of rubbing salt in the wound."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You left and you made it perfectly clear that not only was I not to expect you back, but you had no interest in me whatsoever. There's no reason for us to speak."
He looked angry, which she'd expected, but she wasn't sure why the genuine hurt behind his irritated gaze surprised her so much. "That's not fair," she said quietly, unsure whether she was talking about his accusations or how it had just hit her that he might have genuine feelings for her after all.
"I was an innocent bystander adding creamer to my coffee, love. You were the one who insisted on interaction."
"I was just making my coffee too."
"You don't take sugar," he pointed out before putting the cap on his cup and taking a sip. "I'd love to stay and chat, but as I've said, you've made it quite clear that you aren't interested, and I'm not in the habit of harassing women in the hopes they'll cave."
"That didn't stop you before," she muttered, and he gave her a grim smile.
"At the risk of sounding like a right prick, you were quite interested then. If you hadn't been, I would have left you alone."
"What? I wasn't-you-" she spluttered, and he walked away, not bothering with a goodbye.
The pang of loss hit her harder, and she tried to fight down the tears that seemed ridiculous and over-dramatic, but no less genuine.
She'd fucked up and she knew it.
But Katherine... she couldn't betray her friend like that, no matter how much her feelings for Klaus had grown (and how sure she now was that he reciprocated them). She tried to reassure herself that there were plenty more fish in the sea as she walked back, but caught sight of Klaus through the window of his shop talking to a pretty brunette.
She couldn't hear what he was saying, but he was clearly turning on the charm. The only solace she took was that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
She wondered how long it would take until it did.
XXX
"You look upset."
Caroline shrugged as she twirled her spaghetti around her fork. "I'm fine."
"Code for 'everything blows and I hate the world' I see," Katherine said dryly, taking a gulp of wine. "Well, I have good news at least."
"What?"
"Tattoo artist douchebag has a black eye. I saw him earlier. It was incredibly satisfying."
"Oh my god, what happened?" Caroline asked, knowing that she probably sounded too concerned, and Katherine seemed to agree, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know, but I saw his brother storm off. Something about an ex I think."
"Brother?" Caroline asked, frowning. She remembered Klaus mentioning a sister, but no other siblings.
"Yeah. The other tattoo artist. Blonde? Curly hair?"
Caroline put her fork down, an odd combination of horror, dread, and anger welling inside of her. "Kat, what's the guy's name? The one who gave you the tattoo?"
"Kol," Katherine said, frowning. "Why?"
"Seriously?"
"Yes...?"
"Oh my god," Caroline muttered, pushing her chair back and grabbing her jacket, her thoughts racing as she left, ignoring Katherine's calls for her to come back. She called an Uber to Klaus's place, trying to figure out how she'd explain the case of mistaken identity combined with her sudden dramatic exit.
The car arrived at his house much too early for her tastes, and she put her phone on silent to avoid Katherine's texts as she climbed the steps to the door, knocking on it a few times. She only had to wait a few seconds before Klaus opened it, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw her before his face went almost carefully blank. "Caroline."
"Hey," she said awkwardly. "I have to talk to you."
"About?"
His body was positioned to fill the doorway, and she had the distinct feeling that he wasn't about to let her into the house unless she gave him a very good reason.
"I'm sorry."
He gave her a distinctly unimpressed look, and she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear as she tried to figure out how to be more articulate. "I thought you were the one who gave Katherine the tattoo."
He raised an eyebrow.
"And like, I felt super guilty because Katherine's one of my best friends, and like I was betraying her by sleeping with you. But you know I just sort of told myself that it was just sex, so it didn't mean anything, but then I started liking you and that was scary because I didn't want to like you. No offense. So I left, but then Kat and I went to dinner today and she told me that it was Kol who gave her the tattoo, so now I know that this was like, a huge mistake. Leaving, I mean."
"I see," he said, his voice too neutral for her to detect any hint of what he might be thinking.
"Yeah."
They were both quiet for a few seconds, Klaus staring at her with calculating eyes as she shifted from foot to foot before he moved aside to let her in. She walked past him into his living room, twisting her hands nervously as he shut and locked the door behind them and gestured for her to sit on the couch. She bit her lip before sinking down against the cushions, and he remained standing with his hands clasped behind his back, still just looking at her unsettlingly.
"So," she started after what must have been a full minute, unable to take the silence, but Klaus interrupted.
"You left because you felt guilty for liking me."
It wasn't a question, but she answered anyway. "Yeah. Basically."
"Do you still feel guilty?"
"For liking you? No, I'm more mad at Kat for not being more specific about which tattoo artist was the culprit. Now that I know, I might punch your brother in the face if I ever meet him, but -I want to be with you."
He snorted, his stance relaxing. "You're welcome to punch Kol as much as you'd like. He's quite the nuisance."
"I think you might be biased," Caroline said, and he grimaced.
"You heard, I take it?"
"Well, Katherine did, revealing the whole 'case of mistaken identity' thing in the process. She said there was some yelling about an ex as well..." she trailed off with a quick nervous glance, not sure whether to press on the whole 'liking her' thing, but he seemed to sense her train of thought.
"Am I correct in assuming that you'd like to wait to tell your friends?" he asked, his voice carefully light, and she grimaced, though she felt warmth bloom in her chest at the implications.
"No. I think they've controlled my relationship status with you for long enough," she said, trying not to sound too grumpy.
"I didn't mind your friend Bonnie's contribution," Klaus said with a grin, and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"I'll bet you didn't."
"You didn't seem too opposed either," he reminded her, and she nodded, flushing a bit as she leaned back against the couch cushions. He moved to sit beside her, and she couldn't fight down a grin when he casually tangled his fingers through hers. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder as he brushed his thumb against her knuckles in small circles. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few seconds before she spoke again.
"Why didn't you tell me Kol gave Katherine the tattoo?"
"The first time I tried I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and after that I thought you'd assume that I got him to take the fall for my alleged crime."
"You could have told me. I at least would have checked with Kat, even if I didn't buy it because of the receipt."
"Receipt?"
"It said 'K. Mikaelson' was the artist."
"Well, that's even more easily solved. My full name is Niklaus."
"Oh," she said slowly, cataloguing that information for later. "Good to know."
He snorted. "Well, in this situation I suppose it is. Still, I have no doubt that you would have attempted to get my brother's licence revoked, and I needed him at the shop," he said, hesitating for a moment before continuing, his body tensing as though he was uncomfortable with what he was about to reveal. "Kol hasn't exactly had the easiest time, and he truly loves what we do. It was a mistake, and we had a talk about it when I found out what he'd done. I'm not keen on him getting in trouble for something he truly regrets."
She decided not to press, since she suspected it was Kol's story to tell, but still felt a bit angry on principle. "Okay, but maybe pay Kat back for the removal?"
"I'll discuss it with him."
"Okay."
"In any case, things seemed to be going well between us after a few chats, so I decided to wait until you were more invested in the hopes that you'd let it slide when you eventually found out."
"That's manipulative," she muttered, trying to fight down the stab of hurt that he might be overplaying his interest in an attempt to help his brother.
"It is, but I couldn't lose you," he said simply, and she flushed.
"No use crying over spilled milk, I guess," she said, giving him a glance out of the corner of her eye, and he squeezed her hand. She shifted, getting more comfortable, enjoying the feel of his body against hers. "So, about telling my friends..." she said hesitantly.
"Hmm?"
"My friend Bonnie, the one who made the sex flower, is getting married."
"All right."
"Do you want to come with me? To the wedding? I'm sure she won't hate me that much if I add a plus-one, especially since I'm giving her a huge discount on flowers..." she said, and when he hesitated for a moment, she pressed on, knowing she was rambling but growing anxious that he might say no. "Like, obviously I'd probably want to tell everyone first, because if Katherine makes a scene at Bonnie's wedding that's not going to be good for anyone, but I would really, really like it if you came with me."
"Of course, love."
"Yeah?" she asked, not knowing why she was surprised, a bright smile taking over her face.
He nodded, his lips twitching into a smile. "Yeah."
Thank you very much for reading! You guys are the best. Did you like the ending? Any comments?
You can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, and I'm on twitter as angiewriteskc!
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