A/N: So this is a drabble I wrote for my friend Leonie (leetje on tumblr), the prompt was: Klaus takes Caroline shopping for a prom dress.

"I'm sorry but we seem to have sold out of our evening gowns, maybe I can interest you in a cocktail dress?" The shop assistant smiled apologetically at her.

"No thank you," Caroline responded disappointedly, "You see it's for my Senior Prom this evening so it kind of needs to be an evening gown."

"This evening! My gosh, you should have gotten yours long in advance. The same day is leaving things a bit too late!" The lecturing tone of the shop assistant did little to put Caroline at ease.

"Thanks anyway," she said as she walked out of the third and final clothing boutique in Mystic Falls. She had searched through all the boutiques and thrift stores in their small town and all she found were dresses that even her great-aunt Imogen would be too ashamed to wear.

She let out a defeated sigh as she climbed into her car to make her way home. She knew things were too good to be true when she left the school gym the night before. Everything was too perfect, the sound equipment worked, none of the committee flaked off their duties and neither the caterers or the DJ called to cancel at the last minute. It was not until she got home that evening that the real problems started.

She had wanted to try on her dress one last time, just to make sure it fitted perfectly but when she opened her closet she found her dress to be missing. She searched through every room of her house, looking frantically for the dress she specifically chosen almost three months previously, all the well knowing that she would not find it in her home.

"Nice dress, Caroline" those three words were echoing through her head as she tore up room after room. When it became obvious that the dress was no longer in her possession she whipped out her phone and called Elena's number. After Elena's phone went straight to voicemail and the Salvatore's could provide her with any information about Elena's whereabouts, she went to sleep, shedding tears over the fact that her perfect prom was now ruined, she wouldn't have Tyler escorting her or the dress she had been waiting months to wear.

Each minute that passed by brought her closer to the hour of doom, where she would be dress-less, date-less in a paradise she created for everyone else to enjoy. As she drove down the familiar main road, she tried to think of an option she had not exhausted – all the out-of-town boutiques would not be able to get a dress in time and even the ones that could, she could not afford their prices and after asking every last person that she knew if they had some connections she fell short. She thought of how beautiful she felt in her prom dress, how she felt that she conquer anything, even walking into school gym alone. The last time she felt that beautiful and confident in a dress was at the Mikaelson's Ball. Even through all his faults, Klaus really knew how to pick a dress. It was at that moment when her mind fell on her last remaining option.

Klaus stood up from the oak desk in his office as he heard the doorbell ring for the third time in the last minute. He opened the front door of his mansion, ready to throttle the impatient guest on the other side when he saw a mass of blonde hair and a familiar scent of vanilla caught his senses.

"Caroline!" He exclaimed, unable to keep the shock out of his voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help!" She said in a desperate tone, "And I thought it was about time I cashed in one of the many favors you owed me.

"Caroline," he smirked as he saw a small shiver go through her, "If you wanted an excuse to see me you could've have just called..."

Caroline scoffed, "Seriously! You wish! I was hoping you knew someone who could help me find a dress, you must have lots of connections, being hybrid king and all."

"A dress? I thought you were sorted for your prom."

"Well I was!" She exclaimed angrily as she walked past him into his living room and helped herself to a glass of scotch, "But it appears your evil sister and Bad Elena thought it would be fun to steal my dress and disappear. So now I'm stranded with nothing to wear to the one night I've been prepping for since first grade."

"And you came to me because?"

"Because I figured you know people and it's the least you can do seeing as it's because of you that Tyler won't be able to attend with me." Klaus began to scowl which was an immediate reaction whenever she mentioned the hybrid's name. His hands tightened into fists at his sides, as he turned away from her, forcing himself to go against his nature to lash out and to savor in the fact that she came to him when she was in need.

He turned back to her and said, "Caroline, you may make yourself at home, I am just going to make some calls and see what I can do."

Fifteen minutes later, Klaus returned to the living room. Caroline looked up at him half expecting him to have the perfect dress draped over his arm and she wouldn't even question if it came from his closet or Rebekah's, but he was standing in front of her with just his car keys in his hand. "Come on, love, let's go."

"Where are we going?" She responded.

"We're going to find you a dress," he said gesturing towards the door as Caroline got up and followed him out.

"The Mystic Hotel? Klaus, I don't know what kind of ideas you got in your head when I asked for your help but it did not require you, me and a hotel room," she said indignantly as Klaus pulled his S.U.V. into the parking lot of the exclusive hotel.

"While many ideas come into my head when I am with you, love, I am meeting an associate here," Klaus replied.

In all her eighteen years of living in Mystic Falls, Caroline had never set foot inside the single hotel in the town but the minute her heels touched the marble floor of the foyer, she knew that this was the type of establishment she could see herself frequenting.

Klaus' associate (who Caroline assumed to be a old, balding man in a suit) was a tall, stunning woman in her late twenties named Kate, and she was positively dripping in name brands right from her Chanel jacket to her Diane von Furstenberg dress to her Christian Louboutin heels and her Prada handbag. Caroline's eyebrows rose as she greeted the hybrid affectionately and ushered them towards one of the hotel's conference rooms.

Her eyes widened when she saw what was in front of her – five of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen, the ones you see in store windows, or on the bodies of celebrities but are never available or appropriate for the common woman.

"It was very difficult to find options at such short notice but I went with what you told me you wanted when I got the Alberto Makali dress, I assume this is the same woman," Kate asked as she gave Caroline a once over.

Caroline who was mesmerized by the works of art in front of her was brought back by Kate's reference to her. "Yes, this is she," Klaus replied and turned to her saying, "Love, Kate was the one who helped me find the dress you wore to my mother's ball." Caroline gave a curt nod, slightly uncomfortable with the fact that this stranger now associated her with him.

"So is there any of these that particularly appeal to you or would you like to try them all on?" Kate asked her.

"They're all so beautiful, I don't know how I will ever decide, I think perhaps I should try them all on," she responded, fingering the material of the Marchesa dress in front of her.

Each of the dresses fitted her perfectly, from the lilac Marchesa to the baby blue Elie Saab to the red Carolina Herrera and the pink Oscar de la Renta. Klaus watched as her face lit up every time she looked at herself in the mirror, a type of effortless joy, which he hadn't seen her display before. In that moment, he could see himself beginning to understand her – a young girl who fate has been so cruel to, who just for one night wanted to have her perfect prom, a night where she is truly happy and she might be able to able to fool herself into thinking things might just be okay. As she went to try on the final dress, a cream Sherri Hill, Klaus took out his phone and called one of his minions, "I need you to go to him and tell him he can came back, give him a suit and tell him he better sure he's at the school gymnasium at eight. And if I hear one whiff of him plotting anything nefarious I will not hesitate to kill him." He hung up just as Caroline came through the double doors of the conference room.

"Wow love, you look exquisite. I think this one might be my favorite yet," he said, his eyes not fully able to fathom the magnificent sight in front of him.

Caroline smiled shyly, "I think I like this one the best too, it makes me feel like an old movie star."

Klaus moved closer to her, "Well according to me, you are a lot more beautiful than any of those drunkards and pill-poppers of yesteryear." His hands ached to touch her, just to feel her close to him, for this light, this dream to finally to be his.

She chuckled softly. "Where is Kate?" She asked as she went to look at her form in the mirror, thinking about how her former dress paled in comparison to the glorious gown she now wore.

"Kate had an important phone call, but she will be back shortly," Klaus said as he admired her over her shoulder in the mirror.

"Oh okay, I just want her opinion before I make my final decision, but I think this one is it," she refused to consider the possibility that Klaus' endorsement might have been what made her adamant about her decision.

Klaus looked at her and pondered if he had ever seen a more stunning vision than what was currently in front of him. "Caroline, considering I am not going to be at your prom, would you allow me to have one dance with you…as friends?"

Caroline turned around to face him, "I might not be as worldly as you but I'm pretty sure, one needs music to dance."

"Oh that can be arranged," he smirked as he grabbed her hand and led her out of the conference room, past the reception desk and to the ballroom down the hall. A man in an elegant suit was sitting behind the piano; it appeared he was practicing for something. Klaus approached the pianist and asked, "Mate, can you play Mendelssohn's Andante in C Major?" as he passed him $100.

"Sure!" The pianist responded enthusiastically as he returned to the piano and started playing.

Klaus held out his hand and smiled at Caroline as she narrowed her eyes and took his hand. "Thank you," she whispered as he pulled her close and they began to sway to the music.

"It's my pleasure," he said as he looked at her seriously, "It's always my pleasure."

She blushed as he turned her around. They danced in silence for a while, listening to the music that played for only them and enjoying the ease in which they moved together.

"I have no doubt that you will be the most radiant woman at the prom tonight," Klaus said as the music was drawing to a close. "But I suppose we should be one of our way if you would like to still converse with Kate, you only have about five hours left for your preparation." He took hold of her left hand and brought it to his mouth and layered a soft kiss on top of it, "Thank you for giving me this, Caroline." Their eyes locked and for a moment Caroline felt as if the air was knocked out of her, the tenderness in his eyes was unmistakable and she wondered when she had gotten used to the affectionate way the big bad hybrid looked at her and if she would ever be able to go without it.

"I'll hope you find, that I may not be the best at friendship, but I do try," he mused as he lead her out of the ballroom, "And perhaps one day you will willing allow me to escort you to a dance, I am a patient man after all."

A/N: Please review! how am I doing? Getting better? Getting worse? Too fluffy? Honesty is the best policy. Also, if you havent yet, follow me on Tumblr at klaussnowflake