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If someone had told Caroline a year ago that Klaus Mikaelson — the evil megalomaniac hybrid Klaus — would be cleaning up bottles with her on New Years Day, she would have laughed in their face, and yet, that was exactly what was happening.
She had been in charge of the New Year's Eve party in Mystic Falls that year and like always, it had been a roaring success, but now came the worst part: the cleanup.
She usually didn’t have to clean up after parties — it was a party funded by the council, they usually got someone else to do it — but not many people were willing to work on New Year’s Day and she didn’t want to leave the mess hanging for days so, she always ended up cleaning, sometimes even by herself.
As always, the place was a mess.
The hardwood floors were littered with glitter and candle wax, polaroids were scattered about, and girls were drunkenly carrying their shoes down in the lobby but this time, she wasn’t alone.
Klaus, the same man who never found it in him to help even his siblings and who found taking lives as easy as putting out a flame, was there in last night’s suit cleaning bottles with her. She hadn’t even need to ask him, she just mentioned how she was going to clean up after the party and he just invited himself to do so.
It had always been so striking to her how much he was willing to do for her, even the little things like this, because he was not the type of man to drop everything for someone else; because no one had bothered to show how they cared in these small things with her.
They were friends, great friends even, but things like this — the small things, the things he did for her without her asking to — made that feeling that was certainly not platonic beat faster in her chest.
The little things were making it harder for her to just keep being friends with him, but why should she? She’d known for a while now that Klaus had a thing for her, why shouldn’t she pursue it?
But they were friends now and it’s not like he had made any love declarations since her graduation, who’s to say his feelings for her hadn’t changed? Time changes things, she wouldn’t blame him for losing interest in her. And even if he hadn’t, she didn’t want to ruin their friendship which had taken so long to build just by being with him — she didn't want him to become a stranger who's laughter she'd recognize anywhere.
She knew if she took that risk it’d be worth it but she couldn’t make herself risk it, couldn’t let put herself on the line like that, not when she didn’t even know if he even wanted her anymore.
But that doubt went away the moment she looked up and found him already staring at her, something she couldn’t name shining in his eyes.
Would he be looking at her with glitter in his eyes if he didn’t feel something? Wouldn’t be worth it to confess how she felt if he looked at her like that?
Her breath was caught in her throat and her heart hammered in her chest. “Klaus.”
“Yes, Caroline?” he asked, his intense gaze not faltering once.
“I…” she trailed off, she didn’t know what to say, how to tell him of all the feelings that he made beat in her heart so instead, she surged and pressed her lips to his.
His eyes widened comically and he froze for a split second, but then kissed her back just as fervently.
When they pulled away, with glitter in their eyes and soft smiles as their foreheads were pressed together he asked teasingly, “Good kiss but what is what you wanted to say?”
She rolled her eyes playfully, pulling away. “Well if you can’t figure it out then I’m not telling you.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him, eyes soft like they always were when looking at her as he pressed a kiss to her wrist. “Tell me.”
She smiled softly. “Even with how annoying you can be, I have feelings for you and I want to make this, whatever it is, work between us.”
He smiled in a way that Caroline wanted to save till the end of time and pressed his lips to hers, forgetting all about the bottles they’d been cleaning.
God, Caroline thought. This is going to be a good year.