Klaus and Caroline strolled along the old, cobbled side street of the canal. Rome had been deliciously generous to them so far, and there was a small part of Caroline that didn't want to leave. It had been a week since they'd arrived already, and Caroline was certain that her friends back in Mystic Falls had put two and two together by now. They were smart, Damon in particular. He'd already known Klaus' weakness for Caroline, although he may not have guessed Caroline's requite. Caroline had left in the hope that it would keep her friends safe, and that meant them not following her out here. She was certain that Elena would have had Bonnie do a locator spell by now. She lowered her eyes to glance at hers and Klaus' interlocked hands below. Of course she'd known that her and Klaus had had an unexplainable attraction towards each other before they'd come to Rome, and she'd gone along with it in the hope that he'd leave her friends alone. What she didn't expect was to fall in love, but she had. She was in love with Klaus, and there was no use denying it or covering it up with pretence any longer.

Caroline shook herself out of her reverie to find Klaus gazing at her curiously. She had been staring intensely at their joint hands, lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about, love?" He asked. Whenever he spoke to her, Caroline felt a stir in her abdomen, an urgency to respond to Klaus' needs. She knew that this wasn't compulsion; Klaus wouldn't take away her choice, not now. These were her own feelings.
"I was just thinking that we've been here a while…" Caroline began.
Klaus sighed solemnly, diverting his eyes from her face. "You want to go home." He stated; it wasn't a question.
Caroline gave a short, humourless laugh. "I was going to say that we should move on from here. You know your family is probably tracking us, right?"
Klaus' eyebrows furrowed suddenly, and his eyes widened in realisation. Of course his family would follow him, why hadn't he thought of that? He'd expected them to be happy that he was gone, but Rebekah would not settle knowing that he'd left her. Especially once she realised that he'd left her to be with Caroline, the one person she envied most.

"You're right. If they're not here yet, they will be soon." He paused thoughtfully; "Where do you want to go, sweetheart?" Joy was clear in his features, and Caroline realised with a start that Klaus hadn't expected her to want to return to Mystic Falls. But surely he had to realise that one day soon she'd have to return? After all, it was her home. Her life was still there, waiting for her.

"There are so many places to choose from, give me a hint. After all, you're the one who's had a thousand years to explore them, right?" She laughed forcefully. Klaus couldn't quite put into words the way he felt when he observed Caroline laugh. It was beauty that he'd never seen in his thousand years of life, it was entirely incomparable to anything he'd ever experienced. She laughed carelessly, and it lit her up from the inside out. He marvelled at it.

Klaus thought intently. He knew that he didn't want to take Caroline just anywhere, and as he watched her, he noticed a solemnity in her features; a sadness that he'd been evading because he didn't wish to accept it. She wanted to go home. He sighed deeply, his thoughts and feelings conflicting with one another. Klaus knew that as soon as they set foot back in Mystic Falls, Caroline would be preoccupied with the drama that settled there. Her friends wouldn't accept their relationship, but would they still try to kill Klaus? He couldn't decide. He once simply saw everyone as a threat, but now? Now he had to accept that humans had more to them than meets the eye. Still, he must remember to not underestimate any of them.

"You want to go home." Klaus repeated, meeting her eyes forcefully this time. He needed to hear her say it.

Caroline raised her watery eyes to meet his. She couldn't keep up the pretence any longer; her eyes reflected her inner pain. "Yes" she whispered, almost inaudibly, retrieving her hand from his. "But not because I don't want to be here with you. My family are there, Klaus, and I just walked away from them. It's not me; this can't be me." She diverted her eyes from him cautiously.

Klaus surprised her by remaining calm and collected. "I understand." He replied, taking her hand gently in his once more. Their fingers interlocked immediately, finding themselves at home with one another.
"You do?" Caroline whispered optimistically. Maybe this could work after all. She had the sudden determination to explain to her friends the way she felt about Klaus, she would make them understand. They'd have to, and they would. The resolve clicked in her mind, and a fierce determination pronounced itself visibly in her eyes.

Klaus appeared to notice this change. "I hope they understand, for you. But how can they, Caroline? After all I've done?" His face saddened with a sudden remorse, a remorse that almost made Caroline die inside. After all that had happened, she knew that he was ultimately good. It was this goodness that made her resolve strengthen even more so. She would make sure he was accepted; otherwise it would all just be giving up. And she knew now that she could never give him up, he'd buried himself under her skin.

"They will. It might take some time, a long time, but they will. I'm their family, too." Caroline remarked, all the while assessing Klaus' facial expressions. She knew that he thought her naïve, but his love for her would force him to at least try things her way. He was humouring her. She would let him do just that, and soon enough he would see the depths humanity could reach, specifically forgiveness.

Klaus and Caroline remained quiet thereafter, in silent agreement with one another. They would return to Mystic Falls, and try their best to start a life together. Caroline was a strong, determined creature, and Klaus had enough faith in her to believe that she could at least explain to her friends. Whether they would understand was an entire different matter, particularly with Damon and Stefan's influence lurking around the town. Klaus shook it out of his mind for now, and began to focus on one of the last moments he would spend with Caroline in utter peace. He revelled in that realisation for some time.

Taking her soft hand, Klaus led Caroline around Rome's Trevi Fountain. Caroline's sundress fluttered in the cool breeze, and Klaus appreciated the way in which the folds lingered against her bronze skin, caressing it with its gentleness. He found that he was hungry in an entirely different way, a way he was still adjusting to. The pair strolled hand in hand, silently admiring each other, until they were enveloped in the silhouettes of the orange sunset.