This is the continuation of the drabble written as a response to a prompt from teamvampirebarbie22 on my Tumblr (klarolinesbuttons): Klaus is the one to save Caroline from Tyler in 5x12!

Part II of II

"Klaus!"

The blonde broke her silence as she ran down the hall, searching for the out of place hybrid. She caught a flash of familiar blonde hair leaving out a side door as she descended the stairs and quickly followed, dodging drunk teens as she went.

"Klaus! Wait, please!" she called again as she made her way out into the back garden, glad when the retreating form in front of her stopped.

Caroline watched curiously as his shoulders drooped for a brief moment before he straightened and turned to face her, his trademark smirk firmly in place. She frowned at the clear phoniness of it.

"Caroline, how lovely to see you again. Unfortunately I do not seem to have any champagne on me tonight, so our 'thing' will have to wait for another time," Klaus said in a tone that she was sure was supposed to read as cheerful.

She rolled her eyes as she huffed at his words, choosing to ignore the fact that, for the millionth time, they did not have a 'thing.' "So, are we like, going to ignore what just happened upstairs? Or how about the fact that you promised never to come back to Mystic Falls?" she said sharply as she crossed her arms over her chest.

She hadn't planned on yelling at him when she had initially chased after him. Actually, she had meant to thank him for the way he dealt with Tyler, but his nonchalance about everything now just irked her. Klaus getting under my skin, big surprise, she thought as she glared at the hybrid.

Klaus dropped his hands to his side as his smirk disappeared. "Always straight to the point, sweetheart. One of the qualities I love about you," he said, the lack of a grin conveying his honesty.

Caroline shifted her weight nervously, uncomfortable with his praise. "Why are you here, Klaus?" she asked, much softer than she meant to. Damn him for throwing me off with his stupid compliments, I bet he did that on purpose.

"As much as it pained me to break my promise to you," the glint in his eyes and the tug at the corner of his mouth told her that was a lie, "Stefan insisted I make an appearance. Some issue with cannibalistic vampires or some such he wanted my input on. And you know how persistent our friend Stefan can be," he grinned, pleased when a small smile appeared on her face. "Surely you would grant me a pardon in this case?" he teased.

"Mhmm, and I'm sure you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart, right?" Caroline said, rolling her eyes when he chuckled. I'm sure there's a joke about not having a heart in there somewhere.

"Are you saying you doubt my intentions are pure?" he said, mock offended as he raised a hand to his chest, stepping closer to her.

The blonde only scoffed, shaking her head at his antics, though she was finding it difficult to keep a grin from forming on her lips.

Klaus stopped when he was only a few feet from her, his face suddenly serious. "Are you alright, love?" he asked softly, hesitantly raising a hand to touch her face, pausing before he touched her skin, looking at her face intently for her reaction. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" When she made no move away, he brushed his fingers against her cheek, moving across her soft skin to tuck a blonde lock behind her ear.

Caroline found herself reaching up to cover his hand with her own, surprising both of them with her action. "No, I'm fine. You came in before anything happened," she answered, staring at his eyes. Were they always that shade of blue? "Thank you," she added, remembering her original purpose for following him out there.

"Of course, love," he said, his eyes moving to look at her lips for a brief moment before he met her gaze again. "No one should ever be allowed to say such things to you," he said sincerely.

She offhandedly realized her hand was still holding his to the side of her face, but she didn't care enough to move it. Caroline felt herself moving forward as her eyes fluttered closed, both surprised and not when his lips met hers. The kiss didn't last long before they both slowly pulled away, a fact Caroline couldn't decide was good or bad, eyes meeting once more.

Her heart beat faster in her chest at the genuine smile on his face, just like the one he had worn after she first kissed him in the woods. "I'm still not ready," she blurted out, wincing at the flash of pain that crossed his features for a moment. She knew she had to tell him, though; it was the right thing to do.

Klaus' smile turned sad as he brought his other hand to her cheek, cupping her face between his hands. "I know," he said simply, tilting his head up to place a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll always be waiting," she heard him say (when had she closed her eyes?) before she felt a rush of air, the familiar sound of supernatural speed causing her to snap them open again.

He was gone.

Caroline stared off into the darkness, wondering if he was going to go back to keeping his promise. She laughed at the thought. She had a feeling if she kept him waiting too long she would find the hybrid making another 'necessary' trip to Mystic Falls. And surprisingly enough, the thought brought a smile and not a frown to her lips.

The vampire turned back towards the house and the party, determined to have a little chat with her vampire sober companion about his choice of advisors.