DISCLAIMER. not mine.

CHAPTER. just you & me.

SETTING: 200 years in the future.

T-H-E-V-A-M-P-I-R-E-D-I-A-R-I-E-S

"Finally," Damon said as Caroline and Elena walked through the front door of Caroline's apartment. "I can't believe you left me here with him."

Caroline rolled her eyes as Elena kissed Damon's cheek. "Don't be a baby, Damon," Caroline said.

Damon glared at Caroline. "Yeah Damon," Elena added teasingly, but Damon didn't glare at her.

Caroline made a face. Was Damon pouting? "Easy for you to say," he whined. "You weren't stuck with him all day."

"Hey, I was shopping with Caroline," Elena muttered.

Caroline placed her shopping bags on the floor. "I can hear you, Elena," she said, putting a hand on her hip.

Elena smiled to let Caroline know she was mostly joking. Caroline cocked her head, frowning. It was rare that Klaus wasn't there to greet her when she returned to their apartment. "Where's Klaus?" she asked.

Damon looked up from poking through Elena's shopping bags. "He got pissed I was drinking his scotch, threatened to kill me, got really pissed when I said he wouldn't dare because of Caroline, then we kinda fought a little bit, ending with him compelling me not to leave the apartment and him storming out."

Elena shook her head. "Damon!" Caroline exclaimed. "Are you seriously still an ass after all these years?"

"He started it," Damon retorted.

"This is his home, you could try and be polite."

Elena collected her bags and brought them upstairs as Caroline and Damon continued to argue. Some variation of this happened every time Damon and Elena met up with Caroline and Klaus, but Caroline insisted on seeing her friends at least once a year.

Elena took her time putting the clothes away and changing before heading back downstairs. She walked down the hallway and turned a corner to find herself face-to-face with Klaus. "Oh!" she said, surprised.

"Hello Elena," Klaus said.

"Klaus. Hi. I didn't know you were here – does Caroline know you're here?"

"As she's still arguing with Damon, no, I don't think she's noticed."

His tone was as terrifyingly polite as always, but Elena knew he hated it when she and Damon came to visit. Damon bitched and moaned about going to see Caroline and Klaus as well , but Elena knew that deep down he wanted to come. Over the past two centuries, Caroline and Damon had become friends. Bickering, petty friends, but friends nonetheless.

Neither Elena nor Damon had become friends with Klaus. They had learned to tolerate Klaus, and he had stopped threatening them and trying to kill them, but they weren't friends. Elena and Damon put up with him because of Caroline, and Elena assumed Klaus also tried to behave for Caroline's sake.

"Elena!" Damon yelled up the stairs.

"Seriously? You have to yell? Why can't you just flash over to her like a normal vampire?" Caroline sniped.

"No one's stopping you from doing it, Blondie."

Caroline ran up the stairs and found Elena standing with Klaus. "Elena! We're going out to this bar I know. "

Caroline turned her attention to Klaus. "Hi! When did you come back?"

She put a hand on his chest and kissed his cheek. Klaus' hand came to rest on her hip. "I came in the back while you and Damon were bickering," Klaus replied.

Damon suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. Elena went to him, putting distance between herself and Klaus, and Damon put his arm around her. "You'll have to be more specific," Damon said, a smirk lifting one side of his mouth.

Klaus' expression didn't change, but his eyes hardened. Damon didn't care, and Caroline didn't notice, but Elena did and she instinctively moved closer to Damon. Caroline smiled brightly. "We can all go to Planet Pluto," she said to Klaus, naming one of her favorite bars.

Klaus shook his head. "I still feel the urge to rip a certain someone's heart out," he said, causing Damon to roll his eyes. "So I should probably keep my distance."

Caroline didn't try and convince him to come. Damon and Elena had been there a week, and Klaus had already spent a lot of time with them. She knew he only did it for her. "Okay," she said.

She leaned in and gave Klaus a kiss, causing Damon to gag and pull Elena downstairs. Klaus' grip on her hip tightened. "Watch yourself out there, love," he said when Caroline broke the kiss.

She smiled at him. "I will."

T-H-E-V-A-M-P-I-R-E-D-I-A-R-I-E-S

A few hours later, Caroline was drunk. She, Damon, and Elena had been dancing crazily to the music playing at the bar and having a good time. Finally Elena said she needed a break. "I'm sooooo tired," Elena said with a giggle.

Damon hooked an arm around her neck. "You're sooooo drunk."

"What time is it?" Caroline wondered. "We should probably get home."

"Klaus give you a curfew?" Damon asked, squinting his eyes at her.

Caroline tossed her head. "No."

"Caroline," Elena said, with the serious tone that only the truly wasted ever adopted. "Klaus hates it when me and Damon are here."

"No," Caroline protested weakly. "He just…was tired."

Damon scoffed. "Yeah. Right. Delusional much?"

Elena hit Damon's arm half-heartedly. "Damon."

She turned her gaze to Caroline. "But seriously Caroline. I think he feels neglected."

Caroline blinked once, slowly, but Elena's words refused to compute in her brain. "What?"

"Like how Damon's a whiny bitch when I don't pay attention to him," Elena explained.

"Hey! I'm right here," Damon said irritably.

Elena smiled. "See?"

Caroline shook her head. "You're drunk," she informed Elena.

Caroline stood and tugged on Damon's arm. "Come on, let's go."

The three of them managed to find their way back to Caroline's apartment. Damon was practically carrying Elena as they went up the stairs, and they disappeared into the guest room as Caroline crept into her and Klaus' bedroom. The room was dark, but Caroline could make out Klaus' form lying in bed. "Have a good time, sweetheart?" came his voice quietly.

Caroline cocked her head for a moment before kicking off her shoes. There was something off about his tone. Maybe Elena was right. Caroline shimmied out of her dress and then went to the bed. She crawled in and laid on top of Klaus. She was only wearing a bra and panties, and he was in his underwear. Caroline stretched out so every part of her body was touching his. She nuzzled her face into his neck and gently kissed his throat. Klaus' arms came around her, anchoring Caroline to his body.

After a moment Caroline spoke. "We had a good time. Drank a lot. I think one of the best things about being a vampire is no hangovers."

Klaus chuckled. "You're back earlier than I expected."

"Maybe I missed you," Caroline said. "I've been busy a lot this past week."

Klaus stroked a hand up her back. "This is nice," she said softly. "Just you and me."

Caroline swore she could feel him smile.

fin.