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Caroline huffed as she let herself into her apartment, the throbbing in her head making her want to crawl into a dark cave and die.
Okay, so maybe she was feeling a tiny bit dramatic but her head had been killing her all day, she had gotten sick at work right after lunch while she was with clients, and to top it all off, she was feeling feverish now.
She groaned as she thought about how she was supposed to be going out with her roommate Klaus to his work banquet tonight and she knew it was a really big deal to him because his team was being recognized.
She still remembered how excited he had been when he walked in the door and told her the news, the way he almost nervously asked her if she’d like to go with him, and she remembered the beaming smile he responded with when she told him yes. Actually, her exact words had been, “Duh! Like I’d miss this.”
It was a big night for him and she wanted it all to go perfect but things had been a little awkward since a couple of nights ago and now she felt like death.
Great.
When she walked past their living room, her mind went back to the little gathering at their place the other night that included the rest of the Mikaelson siblings as well as some of her friends. Rebekah had decided it would be fun to play her own little variation of truth or dare like they were still in middle school, and basically forced her and Klaus to play.
After some very uh, interesting truths and dares that had her seeing some of these people in a whole new light, it had finally been Klaus’ turn and in retrospect, she should have seen this coming when Rebekah looked from her to Klaus with a smug smile playing on her lips and dared him to kiss Caroline. And no, not just any quick kiss. She wanted to see a real kiss and judging by the way everyone else started to cheer and wolf-whistle, so did they.
Caroline had felt her entire face flush bright red and she remembered rolling her eyes and muttering something along the lines of ‘real mature guys’ before finally forcing herself to look over at the man she was supposed to make-out with in front of everyone.
He gave her a quick wink before reaching over and pouring himself a shot and threw it back while the others simultaneously laughed and booed.
“I can’t believe you’d rather take a shot than kiss Caroline. She looks like a tasty little thing!” Kol had laughed.
“Say another word and you’ll find yourself missing a vital limb or organ,” Klaus responded with a smile but the threat in his voice was clear.
Rebekah rolled her eyes but soon enough everyone was paying attention to her boyfriend Enzo that was now giving Bonnie a dare which was to do what Klaus had failed to do, and it seemed as if everyone moved on.
Everyone except Caroline that is.
She would deny it to anyone that asked, but it was slightly bothering her that he just opted for an out instead of kissing her. In the almost 3 years she had known Klaus, never had she seen him have any qualms about kissing any woman.
So was it just her? Did he just not want to kiss her?
Later that night when it had just been the two of them cleaning up, somehow the kiss she shared with Bonnie came up and that of course, brought it back to Rebekah’s dare. When she had playfully asked him why he didn’t just do it, he responded with a typical Klaus response.
"B ecause one kiss from me and you'd be done for sweetheart," he smirked and chuckled when she snorted.
"Oh really?" she challenged, arching a brow but unable to keep the smile off her face. "Are you sure you're not just deflecting because you have um, performance issues? Can't perform under pressure?"
The look on his face was priceless and it made Caroline wish that she had a camera to immortalize this moment.
"I think we both know I have no performance issues," he said pointedly, alluding to the couple of times she had walked in on him after she first moved in, going at it with some random gorgeous woman on the couch or against the wall in the hallway.
She grimaced at the reminder. It had been something she had ardently tried to wipe from her memory but if those sounds those women were making were anything to go by, yeah, Klaus definitely had no performance issues.
Not that she ever spent her time wondering about that back then or anything.
"I didn’t want to ruin you for everyone else just yet love," he continued with that smirk back in place. "Unless of course you want me to."
She looked back up at him and saw a hint of a teasing glint in his eyes but more than that, she saw the the challenge and the desire in them. Somehow the environment around them notably shifted and the sudden tension around them was stifling and when he took a step toward her with an almost predatory look in his eyes, she sucked in a breath but refused to bend.
"Do you want me to?" he asked in a low and husky voice, his gaze never wavering from hers and it seemed like she forgot how to speak or how to even form a coherent thought.
Her heart was thundering in her chest and by the time he tucked a curl behind her ear and let his hand linger there, her insides were screaming because she knew what was going to happen next.
She knew what was going to happen next and when he looked down at her and she looked into those familiar blue eyes and looked up at her friend's and roommate's familiar face, she couldn't stop that rush of panic as she wondered if they should really do this. Everything would change after this wouldn't it? Or would they just try to go back to how things were before? What happen next?
Oh my God! What if they kissed and it was super awkward and they realized they weren't compatible like at all?
Still, she quickly shook her head and tried to keep herself from totally freaking out. She was overreacting right? It was one kiss! One kiss that they both clearly wanted so was it wrong to indulge for a little bit, consequences be damned?
Perhaps it was because of the alcohol in her system that emboldened her, but she suddenly pulled on the front of his shirt to yank him toward her and smirked up at his obvious surprise.
"Do your worst," she said in a low voice, making it sound as confident as she could.
She thought it was all going exactly her way and she was finally going to taste those taunting lips that had been one the stars of several of her fantasies as of late. He was going to kiss her and they were finally going to give in to all of that sexual tension that had become torturous by this point.
So you could imagine her disappointment when he leaned in and placed a soft but lingering kiss on her cheek instead.
When he pulled back, he gave her an indecipherable look.
"Good night, Caroline," he said in a low voice before walking away.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY??
She thought they were having a moment and then nada. If she weren't so disappointed and wondering what the hell this all meant, she might've made some crack about his performance issues but at the time, all she could do was question if she had misread everything between them.
He spent all this time making flirtatious comments to her and she had picked up on his subtle ways of touching her every chance he got, with a touch of the shoulder here, brush of the hands there, mostly because she was guilty of this too, and then she thought of the way he would look at her. That look he would give her that could make her knees would go weak, that way he would look at her like no one else before him ever had.
She had thought they had been dancing around each other for the last few months but just never crossed that line because the timing wasn’t right or whatever other excuse came up and part of her knew she was also holding back.
Yes, she had finally admitted to herself that she liked him as more than a roommate and friend (you don't even want to know how she came to that realization), and she had been sure that there was something on his end too but now, now she wasn’t so sure.
Maybe she had misread everything from his angle and everything was just one-sided on her end? The thought was more mortifying and disappointing than she cared to admit.
That had been two nights ago and because of their busy and opposite schedules they hadn’t seen each other very much since for which she was thankful.
Tonight would be the first time they would be required to be in the same room for more than 10 minutes and of course, she was feeling like death warmed over.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
She kicked off her heels as soon as she got inside her room and changed into her comfiest pajamas, took some medicine and set her alarm before curling up under her warm blankets and dosing off, hoping that this medicine would take effect soon.
It felt like she had only just closed her eyes when she felt a familiar calloused hand on the side of her face before she felt it move up to her forehead. She frowned to herself as she thought about how his hand didn’t feel warm like it normally did.
“You’re burning up sweetheart,” she heard him say and felt him push some of her sweaty hair back from her face.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw that it was significantly darker in the room and that immediately startled her awake.
“What time is it?” she gasped.
“It’s a quarter after 6,” he answered, before muttering something about being right back.
She knew they were supposed to be heading out for the banquet soon but she still felt like complete crap. Still, she told herself at least her headache was gone, or mostly gone, so that was a plus. Too bad her whole body now ached. But always the determined one, she decided she would just bundle up and she should be fine. Maybe she'd opt for shorter heels too.
She lied there for a few more minutes, working up the energy to get up and was just getting out of bed when Klaus came back in carrying a thermometer and a coffee mug.
“What are you doing?” he asked her with furrowed eyebrows.
“Sorry we’re running late but just give me like 20 minutes and-“
“Caroline, you’re not going anywhere,” he interrupted with a frown. “You’re sick, you’ve got a fever.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” she tried to argue even though she was pretty sure she did.
He gave her an unimpressed stare and moved to help her back on the bed.
“You need to rest and control this fever,” he said as he moved to pull out the thermometer.
“But your big night,” she protested.
“Don’t worry about that,” he responded with a smirk, taking her temperature.
She felt goose bumps form on her arm where the pads of his fingers lightly brushed the skin but she wasn’t sure if it was because of the fever or because of him and part of her hoped he didn’t know either.
“The only thing you need to focus on is getting this fever under control love,” he said with a frown as he read her temperature on the thermometer. “Here, this tea should help. It's properly made, none of that microwave stuff,” he added with a hint of disgust as he handed her the mug before standing up and walking into her bathroom and coming back with a small basin filled with water and a few washcloths.
He waited for her to finish most of the tea before he dipped one of the washcloths in the basin and wrung it before gently placing it on her forehead and she sighed, surprised by how welcome the cool sensation felt.
She would also be lying if she said she wasn't surprised to see Klaus like this. She didn't think she had ever seen him take care of anyone before. Hell, even when he was sick he hardly let anyone take care of him, almost like he considered it a weakness or something.
She could still remember one of the last times he had been sick and how he had locked himself in his room to keep her from coming inside and "mothering" or "smothering" him. To this day she still wasn't clear on which exact term he had used.
He gave her a small smile as he adjusted the washcloth and brought his hand down,letting his fingers skim along the side of her face ever so lightly and she noticed that look in his eyes again.
“What time are you heading out?” she asked, averting her gaze quickly. “You don’t want to stay here and get sick and you definitely don’t want to be late to your big night.”
He gave her a look like she had spoken gibberish before answering.
“And leave you here like this?" he scoffed. “Do you really that low of me?”
“It’s just a little fever Klaus. I’ll be fine and if you stay here, you’re going to get sick too,” she argued, turning to look at him again.
“Debatable.”
“Seriously, you need to go to that banquet. You’ve worked really hard for this and I know tonight is important for you.”
“You’re right. Tonight is important for me,” he responded truthfully.
“Then go-“
“But you’re more important,” he continued like she had not spoken, his gaze never leaving hers. “And I’m not going anywhere. So what was it you said to me a few weeks ago? Ah yes, deal with it.”
She rolled her eyes but could feel a small smile tugging on her lips despite her annoyance.
“And you say I’m stubborn,” she retorted.
“The fact that we’re still having this conversation is proof that you are,” he smirked.
“But it’s your big night!” she persisted, clearly not ready to back down.
Trust Caroline to be so stubborn even when she was sick.
“And there will be others,” he shrugged.
"How do you know that?" she challenged, arching a brow and doing her best not to laugh at his affronted expression. "Regardless, you’ve been looking forward to this one,” she argued.
“Yes, and I would have gladly gone but plans change-“
“But they don’t have to change. You can still go.”
“Caroline, when it comes to choosing between this banquet or you, there's not even a choice to be made,” he said seriously. “It’s you. I choose you.”
When she looked at him incredulously, he arched an eyebrow and she saw a hint of a smirk appear on his ridiculously handsome face.
She wanted to argue but she had the sudden urge to be sick and moved as quickly as she could to her bathroom. He held her hair back while she was sick and he helped her back to bed after she thoroughly brushed her teeth and splashed some cool water on her face. Once she was back in bed, he gave her some medicine and applied a fresh washcloth to her forehead and it wasn't long before she could feel sleep start to overtake her again.
“You better still go to your banquet,” she mumbled sleepily, wanting to roll her eyes at the way he just smirked and told her to get some rest.
She had slept for a couple of hours when she was woken up by the feel of his warm hand on her forehead again.
“Your fever's gone down,” he said happily. “Are you hungry? I made you some broth and some more tea.”
“Did you seriously stay here and skip the banquet?” she asked, the surprise evident in her voice.
“Does that honestly surprise you?”
“Uh, yes,” she responded without skipping a beat.
"The amount of faith you have in me is truly astounding sweetheart," he answered sarcastically. "I'm beginning to wonder how you ever came to consider me a friend at all."
"That's not how I meant it," she winced.
“Why does it surprise you that I stayed?” he asked and she noticed the frown that appeared on his face.
“Because this was important.”
“And so are you,” he argued. “Or have I ever given you the impression that you’re not?”
“No,” she answered, looking away sheepishly. “But this is different. This wasn't just you skipping out on drinks with the guys. This was something that was really important to you and yet you still picked staying here...with me.“
And I didn't even have to ask.
Almost as if he could read her unspoken thoughts, she saw his gaze soften considerably and he moved to sit down right beside her on the edge of the bed.
“Caroline, no matter what the occasion is, if it comes down to choosing, I’ll always choose you,” he responded in a low voice. "Why is that so hard to believe?"
Because I'm never the one.
He softly caressed the side of her face and surprised her when he leaned in to press a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“It’s always going to be you Caroline,” he said in a low voice against her skin and when he pulled back, that look was back in his eyes.
“You can’t say things like that,” she said, stroking the side of his face almost sadly, ignoring the confused look on his face and speaking again before he could. “And you can’t look at me like that.”
She wanted to scream that he couldn’t do these things to make her fall for him if he had no intention of catching her.
“Like what?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“Like you're looking at me right now," she replied, hating the way her voice cracked. "You look at me like…like….”
She saw him shift uncomfortably and look away briefly before seeming to resign himself and looking back up at her, the whirling emotions she could see in his eyes all too much for her to know how to handle.
“Like you’re all I see?” he offered in that same quiet voice.
He gave her an almost sad smile as he brought up his hand again to cradle the side of her face.
“I can’t do that,” he confessed quietly. “Truth is, I’ve tried. But I can’t. When you walk into a room, I’m automatically drawn to you. I look at you like you’re all I see because when I’m with you Caroline, you are all I see and I’ve told myself it would be easier if you weren’t. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to live with this incessant and infuriating uncertainty if you’d ever see me too," he finished the last part in a quiet voice and looked away almost embarrassed as if he had said more than he meant to.
He couldn’t tell her that sometimes he thought he caught glimpses of her looking at him also, like he did the other night, and how those glimpses made every other agonizing moment worth it because just for a moment, he could relish in the fact that Caroline Forbes saw him too.
“Klaus…” she trailed off, suddenly unsure of what to say.
“It’s alright love, you don’t have to say anything,” he assured her.
“Why did you walk away?” she asked before she could stop herself.
She knew she didn’t have to specify what she was referring to. Judging by his face, he knew what she was talking about.
He averted his gaze briefly before he looked back at her and he looked almost embarrassed again.
“I didn’t want you to regret it,” he confessed shyly.
“What?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
“You had several shots, you kissed your friend Bonnie and you gave Rebekah a lap dance,” he explained with the tiniest hint of a smile. “I knew you drank too much that night and were going to regret it all the next morning and I didn’t want this to be something on your list of things to regret. I could see you trying to talk yourself into it love. I wanted you to be sure. Anything that happens between us, I'll always want you to be sure.”
He knew that she felt more than friendship towards him. He had caught glimpses of it but he also knew that she was holding back and although he didn’t understand why, he didn’t want to push her. He wanted her to come to him on her terms and he didn’t want her to do anything she would regret, which is why he hadn’t kissed her either time despite having the opportunity to do so and despite how desperately he wanted to.
And lord knew he wanted to.
She nodded her head slowly after a moment of the two just sitting in silence, mulling their thoughts over and trying to figure out where they went from here. She gave him a small but genuinely warm smile and she had that look back in her eyes, the look that at least for now, she saw him too and for the moment, that was more than enough for him. She continued holding back but perhaps one day, in a year or maybe more, she would finally let him and take a chance on him, on them and that's all he could ever really hope for.
He looked down at her and couldn't stop himself from leaning in and pressing a soft but lingering kiss against her forehead.
"I’ll go get you your broth and tea," he said with a hint of a grin as he pulled back.
"Klaus," she said softly, catching his hand before he could stand.
She wanted to tell him how she felt. Tell him that she did see him. God, every fiber in her being saw him but still, something held her back again.
"Thank you," she said instead, hating herself for being so cowardly and she couldn't understand, why was she still holding back?
He smiled and gave her a quick nod before standing up and leaving the room.
After he came back with her 'gourmet meal', he settled into a chair beside her and the two watched a movie like they tended to do in their living room every so often. The only difference tonight being that Klaus wouldn't be sitting right next to her so she wouldn't be able to snuggle into him and she couldn’t help but think how much she missed doing that right about now.
Almost as if reading her thoughts, he stood up and walked to the other side of the bed and pulled back the blankets so she was left just clutching onto her thin sheet, and he settled in right beside her, pulling her close against him so that his body heat made up for the lack of blankets.
“Klaus, you’re going to get sick too,” she tried protesting.
“Debatable love, I have an excellent immune system and never get sick," he responded smugly.
"Uh yes you do," she immediately argued.
"Well, I've already spent all evening here so I think it's too late for me anyway,” he shrugged, lightly running a finger down her spine and eliciting a shiver from her in response.
After trying and failing to reason with him, she finally relented and allowed herself to settle against him and the two watched the movie in silence for a while. It wasn't long after this when she felt herself dosing off again.
“Thank you,” she mumbled sleepily against his chest. “Thank you for staying with me and taking care of me tonight.”
“Anytime love.”
When she woke up again, the TV had been turned off and clock on her nightstand read it was just after 3 am. Her body felt sore from being in the same position for the last few hours and she tried to shift it while trying to be careful not to wake Klaus but he woke as soon as he felt her move.
"What's wrong?" he asked, the sleep audible in his voice.
Still, he reached up to feel her forehead and gave her a small smile.
"I think the fever's finally gone."
"I think so too," she agreed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's quite alright love," he smiled. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, but then again I did have my pushy roommate taking care of me," she started to tease when smiling when she heard him scoff.
”I’ve never been pushy a day in my life,” he protested.
She rolled her eyes with another small laugh.
They both adjusted their positions so they could be more comfortable and she now laid on her side facing him and it wasn't long before she was stifling a yawn into her arm.
"Get some sleep love," he said quietly, leaning over to press a light kiss against her forehead. "You still need to rest."
She nodded her head and closed her eyes, and let her mind wander. She thought back on all that they had talked about and all that he had confessed and what she knew she needed to tell him. Maybe it could wait but suddenly she didn't want to. She had already waited enough.
“Klaus?” she said, opening her eyes to look at him.
He opened his eyes too and turned his head to look at her and waited for her to continue.
“I do see you, I see you more than you know.” she confessed softly, her gaze never wavering from his. "I think I've always seen you."
Despite her earlier misgivings about getting him sick, when his lips came crashing down on hers, she eagerly responded and entwined her fingers in his curls, wanting to hold him and feel him closer and feeling like she would never be able to hold him close enough.
He was the one that broke the kiss after a while so they could both get some much-needed air she forgot she needed. He rested his forehead against hers as they both fought to catch their breath and he pecked her lips a few more times before pulling back and looking at her almost hesitantly.
He had wanted her for so long, had wanted them for so long, he was scared to get his hopes up.
“I was scared,” she said, knowing he needed to hear more. “I don’t want to lose what we have. I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered.
“You won’t,” he promised, kissing her forehead again before meeting her gaze so she could see the raw honesty and promise in his eyes that echoed his words.
This time she was the one to lean in and capture his lips with her own and as she felt his tongue slide against hers and felt the firm planes of his chest pressing against hers, she sighed in appreciation and couldn’t help but think that he better keep his promise because she could already feel herself growing addicted to his lips and his taste and she suddenly couldn’t wait to get better so that they could partake in other pleasurable activities that would also involve this bed. Or his. Or the floor. Or the counter. Or the shower. She wasn’t one to be picky in that area.
When they finally broke the kiss, she settled with her back against him and smiled when she felt him press a kiss on her shoulder and felt his chest press against her back as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She hadn't dubbed him as one to be so intimate but the man just continued to surprise her.
They both lied there for awake for a while, neither one able to wipe those ridiculous smiles off their faces but neither one cared.
Yes, he had missed his banquet and recognition, but it didn’t compare to what he had gained with the beautiful woman currently in his arms.
Her head was still hurting a little, her body still ached and she was still scared but she realized she wasn’t just scared of losing Klaus. She had been scared of giving in because part of her had known from the start that if she gave into him, there was no going back. He would ruin her for anyone else. She knew she would come to love him with a passion and zealousness as she had never known before and there would be no going back for her.
But as she felt him wrap his arms around her and hold her just a little bit tighter, and felt him place another kiss on the side of her neck, she smiled to herself and couldn't help but think there was already no going back for her. There had been no going back for a while now.
She thought back on the first time she met the asshole that had stood her up on their blind date Rebekah had set them up on years before, and she remembered the way her heart sped up with that dimpled smile even since then and she almost laughed out loud knowing now that she had never stood a chance.
"You're totally going to get sick you know that right?" she murmured sleepily.
"It was worth it," he responded and she didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling.
The next day, when Rebekah had showed up for her shopping trip with Caroline, she had come to find a sick Caroline and Klaus instead. After getting the story from the very cozy and gag worthy couple, she had immediately scolded him for not being careful and crawling into bed with Caroline even though inside she was thrilled with these latest developments though she couldn't say she was entirely surprised. She knew what she was doing during truth and dare the other night.
Check and mate.
"Honestly Nik, there are ways to take care of someone without catching whatever they have," she chided as she moved around spraying Lysol disinfectant around the rooms. "And exchanging saliva with a sick person is definitely not one of those ways. I know you two have been dancing around each other for so long now and doing that ridiculous 'will they won't they' routine but you couldn't have picked better timing or waited until one of you wasn't infected?"
Klaus released an exasperated sigh and Caroline laughed from where she was resting against his side when they heard Rebekah go on about them being the first to go if one of Enzo's ridiculous zombie shows were to happen in reality.
"Still think it was worth it?" she laughed lightly.
"It was indeed," he smirked, pressing his lips lightly against hers before she could say anything else. "What about you? Any regrets?" he asked almost reluctantly.
She gave him a smile and pulled down on his shirt, smiling against his lips.
"None whatsoever."