[ oh, that's a good greeting. a good, surprising greeting that he eagerly returns once he can step out of the apartment a little further and slips his arms around her.
if she needs this to reassure herself, he's more than happy to give her what she needs. he keeps kissing her until he has to take a breath and then pulls back, gusting out a breath. ]
Damn.
[ he's going to blink a few times to clear his head and laugh at how much like an idiot he probably looks. ]
[ the smile that curves across her mouth is practically giddy, cheeks flushed and eyes bright as she watches him come back to earth. it's nice to know, even with everything else going on, that he still likes it when she surprises him. ]
I brought supplies. [ see, the grocery bag! filled with eggs and buttermilk and fruit and all the necessary accoutrements for very fancy pancakes... which is, to be quite honest, the main thing caroline knows how to make. but she can make them very well, so that's something. ] For breakfast.
[ which will come tomorrow morning, after what she hopes will be a very nice evening. ]
[ breakfast, right. she was going to make breakfast. he'd forgotten that plus nearly everything else when she'd kissed him. but, he was back, he was focused now and he as going to pick up the bag and then snag her hand so he could lead her inside.
the apartment was fairly spacious and neat. he doesn't know if his roommates are home but it's been a long day so he'll do introductions later. instead, he winds his way to the kitchen to put her things away before tugging her along to his room.
his room is sparsely decorated but comfortable. there are dark sheets and blankets on the bed, some clothes folded on a chair, and a few odds and ends scattered about. ]
[ it's a nice apartment. if she was given more than thirty seconds to see it before being shepherded back into his room, she might have even gotten to appreciate how comfortable and lived-in it looks. alas, though, caroline is forced (""forced"") instead to suffer in marcos' room with the door shut behind her, and given the laughable option of sitting anywhere as if there's not one sole place she's going to immediately sprawl out onto. ]
You're not going to join me?
[ you invite a girl to your apartment and then you're just going to stand off to the side looking all nervous? that's not very fair. plus, there's plenty of room, she'll even scoot over to prove it. ]
[ of course he was going to join her. he'd just wanted her to get comfortable before he joined her. but, he toes off his shoes and drops down onto the other side of the bed, sitting back and gesturing to himself. ]
See? [ he wasn't nervous. ] I'm here.
[ right not but also in general. it hasn't been that long since he'd said that to her on the network. ]
[ she offers a quiet noise, a hum in her throat that sounds suspiciously like uh huh before shifting over. since he's opted to sit upright, her head nestles in his lap, blonde hair spilling over his thighs as she shifts to get a little more comfortable. ]
So am I your first real sleepover in your new place?
[ this is (mostly) a rhetorical question. she doesn't think he'd have had opportunity — or interest, for that matter — in inviting anyone else over, but how would she know? ]
[ she was the only person he'd had a sleepover of any kind with, here or at a brothel or anywhere else, since he'd been deposited in this city a few months ago. ]
Is this the first time you've slept over with someone?
[ a laugh, bright and cheerful, bubbles up and spills out between them, and caroline shakes her head. ]
I was totally the queen of throwing slumber parties back in Mystic Falls.
[ with her girlfriends, obviously. she doesn't talk about the guys she's slept with before, mostly because they don't matter. not the way marcos matters. marcos is... different. important. more than just a body in a bed or a way to get one over on elena. he matters. so she doesn't compare him to drunken hookups or compelled attraction. he doesn't deserve that. ]
Well, then you definitely have me beat on sleepovers.
[ because he'd had lorna and bringing up the ex girlfriend and mother of his kid probably wasn't a smart thing to do. he wanted to tell caroline about her eventually but not right now. that was too serious and heavy a subject for an evening like this.
he brushes a thumb against her chin and then down the side of her neck and to her shoulder. ]
I wasn't much of a sleepover person. No one invited me to them if they were having them.
Well, I don't think I could invite you to a girls' night sleepover.
[ for obvious reasons. she wasn't very good at sharing, and more importantly, wasn't very interested in putting on that kind of a show. and, probably more importantly, she probably wasn't capable of having him over for a sleepover without getting a little distracted along the way.
sue her, she's only (kind of) human. ]
But I think we can make up for all the sleepovers you missed out on, if you want. All we need are some scary stories and way too much ice cream.
[ he could provide the ice cream, at least. the scary stories, that might take a little work and research since he wasn't much of a storyteller but he could learn. he could memorize at least one story to make sure he checked that box in the sleepover column. ]
I want. [ he reaches for one of her hands, twining their fingers together loosely and resting them against her stomach. ] I'd like to learn. I don't have any ice cream right now but I'll make up for that.
[ but that would require moving, and she's pretty damn comfortable right now, all splayed out in the bed with his hands drawing lazy patterns across her skin. maybe that's a "next time" sort of thing. it would go along with telling spooky stories right before bedtime and watching horrible movies. ]
We've already played twenty questions. Maybe seven minutes in heaven?
[ a quiet snicker slips out and he peers down at her, amused. ]
That would mean we'd have to get up and find a closet in order to make that happen and we just sat down. But, if that's what you'd like, my closet's pretty empty right now.
[ and he'd be willing to play if that's what she really wanted. ]
I don't think you have to use a closet if nobody else is in the room...
[ they could just make out in peace and quiet right here and not move at all if they really wanted to. that was the benefit of a room with a door, after all. and privacy. the privacy part was especially important. ]
[ because those are two very different categories, and to decide between them means caroline has to really think about things. ]
I think you are. The best, I mean. [ and she's not just saying that to butter him up, either. ] The empathy bond thing helps. Feeling everything you're feeling, it's hard not to get... [ she shrugs a little, hand flapping above her in a vague gesture. ] You know?
[ of course he knows. pretty much every time they kiss, they wind up naked. ]
But the most romantic kiss I've ever had was with my ex-boyfriend Matt. [ caroline pauses for a moment, thinking back; through the bond, there's fondness, but no lingering indication that she wants to go back to that. ] I stormed out of this party, I don't even really remember why, and he left to follow me. I was so mad, I wouldn't even get in the truck, so he had to get out and chase me down and he just — [ a soft laugh, and she shakes her head; she's embarrassed at how silly she had been. ] He just kissed me. In the middle of the street, in the middle of the night, just to shut me up. Just to show me that he wanted to.
[ she's a romantic. and it was basically a scene out of the notebook, sans rain. ]
But he totally ruined my hair, and then we broke up because being a vampire made me crazy jealous all the time and he hated me. So. I guess romance is kind of over-rated.
[ they'll get back together one more time for a whopping five minutes the episode after she goes back to mystic falls, but being a vampire will (again) be the straw that breaks the camel's back. ]
That does sound pretty romantic. No one's chased me down for a kiss in the middle of the night.
[ he was usually the one doing the chasing, if need be. sometimes he caught them and sometimes they disappeared, taking a chunk of his heart with them. he's quiet for a second before slanting a crooked glance down at her. ]
Thanks for the little ego boost though. I appreciate being one of the best.
[ even if it was really the empathy bond that pushed him into that top position. ]
All right, your turn. Truth for me too to start off.
[ maybe she will. if the timing is right. if he ever runs away from her to go be some dumb hero, she will smooch him and then demand he come back. #romance.
as for truth... well, it's tempting to ask something similar (am i the best kiss you've ever had?) but caroline opts instead for something a little more serious, a little more along the lines of the questions she'd asked him the last time they played a game like this. ]
What question do you most not want to answer tonight?
[ he has to think about that one. there are a few topics of conversation that could potentially turn volatile or at least uncomfortable, lorna being at the top of the list. but, there's also the manner of his past, where he learned to torture men and turn off his emotions and what had happened to bring him there. ]
I want you to feel like you can ask me anything but I might have trouble answering things about my family. My parents, specifically. It's just...tends to put me in a bad mood and I'd rather not be that when you're here. You deserve better than that.
[ that leaves him open to questions about his exes, about his past but he thinks staying away from questions where he'd have to think about his father and how he'd turned his back on marcos, looked at him like he was nothing more than common garbage and be upset about it. ]
I won't ask about them. [ she can respect him asking her (or in this case, answering her question with a request) not to. she wants to know — but she also recognizes that the same questions will be tough for her to answer, too. so it's fair. ] You can tell me when you're ready.
[ and in the meantime, she'd think of something else to ask when it was her turn. ]
You can choose. Ask me a question or give me a dare.
I can choose? I don't think that's how the game works but fine. I'll let you have it this time. Next time, you have to pick one. I'm not doing all the work here.
[ he falls quiet, trying to think of something to either ask her or a good dare. ]
I dare you to flash me.
[ he tries to keep a straight face but can't quite manage it. ]
[ he gets an eye roll and a laugh for his ridiculous dare, but caroline obliges all the same: her hands curl under the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and dropping it in his lap to leave her in just her sapphire blue bra. that, unlike her shirt, actually requires a little extra handiwork to unsnap — but she's not a quitter, so it does come off, tossed to the floor for the foreseeable future. ]
Are we playing strip truth or dare or do I get my shirt back?
[ wait, she'd asked him a question. he's not shy about his staring. she has to know by now what he thinks of her physically because he hasn't been shy about showing his appreciation but still.
he bites his lower lip and then snickers. ]
I think you're either going to have to put yours back on or wear one of mine if you want me to be able to concentrate at all for this game.
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if she needs this to reassure herself, he's more than happy to give her what she needs. he keeps kissing her until he has to take a breath and then pulls back, gusting out a breath. ]
Damn.
[ he's going to blink a few times to clear his head and laugh at how much like an idiot he probably looks. ]
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I brought supplies. [ see, the grocery bag! filled with eggs and buttermilk and fruit and all the necessary accoutrements for very fancy pancakes... which is, to be quite honest, the main thing caroline knows how to make. but she can make them very well, so that's something. ] For breakfast.
[ which will come tomorrow morning, after what she hopes will be a very nice evening. ]
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the apartment was fairly spacious and neat. he doesn't know if his roommates are home but it's been a long day so he'll do introductions later. instead, he winds his way to the kitchen to put her things away before tugging her along to his room.
his room is sparsely decorated but comfortable. there are dark sheets and blankets on the bed, some clothes folded on a chair, and a few odds and ends scattered about. ]
Have a seat wherever you'd like.
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You're not going to join me?
[ you invite a girl to your apartment and then you're just going to stand off to the side looking all nervous? that's not very fair. plus, there's plenty of room, she'll even scoot over to prove it. ]
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[ of course he was going to join her. he'd just wanted her to get comfortable before he joined her. but, he toes off his shoes and drops down onto the other side of the bed, sitting back and gesturing to himself. ]
See? [ he wasn't nervous. ] I'm here.
[ right not but also in general. it hasn't been that long since he'd said that to her on the network. ]
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So am I your first real sleepover in your new place?
[ this is (mostly) a rhetorical question. she doesn't think he'd have had opportunity — or interest, for that matter — in inviting anyone else over, but how would she know? ]
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[ she was the only person he'd had a sleepover of any kind with, here or at a brothel or anywhere else, since he'd been deposited in this city a few months ago. ]
Is this the first time you've slept over with someone?
[ besides himself, of course. ]
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I was totally the queen of throwing slumber parties back in Mystic Falls.
[ with her girlfriends, obviously. she doesn't talk about the guys she's slept with before, mostly because they don't matter. not the way marcos matters. marcos is... different. important. more than just a body in a bed or a way to get one over on elena. he matters. so she doesn't compare him to drunken hookups or compelled attraction. he doesn't deserve that. ]
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[ because he'd had lorna and bringing up the ex girlfriend and mother of his kid probably wasn't a smart thing to do. he wanted to tell caroline about her eventually but not right now. that was too serious and heavy a subject for an evening like this.
he brushes a thumb against her chin and then down the side of her neck and to her shoulder. ]
I wasn't much of a sleepover person. No one invited me to them if they were having them.
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[ for obvious reasons. she wasn't very good at sharing, and more importantly, wasn't very interested in putting on that kind of a show. and, probably more importantly, she probably wasn't capable of having him over for a sleepover without getting a little distracted along the way.
sue her, she's only (kind of) human. ]
But I think we can make up for all the sleepovers you missed out on, if you want. All we need are some scary stories and way too much ice cream.
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[ he could provide the ice cream, at least. the scary stories, that might take a little work and research since he wasn't much of a storyteller but he could learn. he could memorize at least one story to make sure he checked that box in the sleepover column. ]
I want. [ he reaches for one of her hands, twining their fingers together loosely and resting them against her stomach. ] I'd like to learn. I don't have any ice cream right now but I'll make up for that.
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[ but that would require moving, and she's pretty damn comfortable right now, all splayed out in the bed with his hands drawing lazy patterns across her skin. maybe that's a "next time" sort of thing. it would go along with telling spooky stories right before bedtime and watching horrible movies. ]
We've already played twenty questions. Maybe seven minutes in heaven?
[ ha ha. ]
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[ a quiet snicker slips out and he peers down at her, amused. ]
That would mean we'd have to get up and find a closet in order to make that happen and we just sat down. But, if that's what you'd like, my closet's pretty empty right now.
[ and he'd be willing to play if that's what she really wanted. ]
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[ they could just make out in peace and quiet right here and not move at all if they really wanted to. that was the benefit of a room with a door, after all. and privacy. the privacy part was especially important. ]
What about truth or dare?
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[ that could be fun or dangerous. but, so could twenty questions and they'd gotten through that all right. ]
Okay, let's do that. Truth or dare, I mean. You want to go first or me?
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Truth. You can ask me.
[ start with something familiar, and go from there. ]
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[ he leans back, turning his gaze to the ceiling while he continues to rub circles against her skin. ]
What's been the best kiss you've had? Don't lie and say me just because I'm here. I wanna know the truth.
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[ because those are two very different categories, and to decide between them means caroline has to really think about things. ]
I think you are. The best, I mean. [ and she's not just saying that to butter him up, either. ] The empathy bond thing helps. Feeling everything you're feeling, it's hard not to get... [ she shrugs a little, hand flapping above her in a vague gesture. ] You know?
[ of course he knows. pretty much every time they kiss, they wind up naked. ]
But the most romantic kiss I've ever had was with my ex-boyfriend Matt. [ caroline pauses for a moment, thinking back; through the bond, there's fondness, but no lingering indication that she wants to go back to that. ] I stormed out of this party, I don't even really remember why, and he left to follow me. I was so mad, I wouldn't even get in the truck, so he had to get out and chase me down and he just — [ a soft laugh, and she shakes her head; she's embarrassed at how silly she had been. ] He just kissed me. In the middle of the street, in the middle of the night, just to shut me up. Just to show me that he wanted to.
[ she's a romantic. and it was basically a scene out of the notebook, sans rain. ]
But he totally ruined my hair, and then we broke up because being a vampire made me crazy jealous all the time and he hated me. So. I guess romance is kind of over-rated.
[ they'll get back together one more time for a whopping five minutes the episode after she goes back to mystic falls, but being a vampire will (again) be the straw that breaks the camel's back. ]
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[ he was usually the one doing the chasing, if need be. sometimes he caught them and sometimes they disappeared, taking a chunk of his heart with them. he's quiet for a second before slanting a crooked glance down at her. ]
Thanks for the little ego boost though. I appreciate being one of the best.
[ even if it was really the empathy bond that pushed him into that top position. ]
All right, your turn. Truth for me too to start off.
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[ maybe she will. if the timing is right. if he ever runs away from her to go be some dumb hero, she will smooch him and then demand he come back. #romance.
as for truth... well, it's tempting to ask something similar (am i the best kiss you've ever had?) but caroline opts instead for something a little more serious, a little more along the lines of the questions she'd asked him the last time they played a game like this. ]
What question do you most not want to answer tonight?
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[ he has to think about that one. there are a few topics of conversation that could potentially turn volatile or at least uncomfortable, lorna being at the top of the list. but, there's also the manner of his past, where he learned to torture men and turn off his emotions and what had happened to bring him there. ]
I want you to feel like you can ask me anything but I might have trouble answering things about my family. My parents, specifically. It's just...tends to put me in a bad mood and I'd rather not be that when you're here. You deserve better than that.
[ that leaves him open to questions about his exes, about his past but he thinks staying away from questions where he'd have to think about his father and how he'd turned his back on marcos, looked at him like he was nothing more than common garbage and be upset about it. ]
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[ and in the meantime, she'd think of something else to ask when it was her turn. ]
You can choose. Ask me a question or give me a dare.
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[ he falls quiet, trying to think of something to either ask her or a good dare. ]
I dare you to flash me.
[ he tries to keep a straight face but can't quite manage it. ]
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[ he gets an eye roll and a laugh for his ridiculous dare, but caroline obliges all the same: her hands curl under the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and dropping it in his lap to leave her in just her sapphire blue bra. that, unlike her shirt, actually requires a little extra handiwork to unsnap — but she's not a quitter, so it does come off, tossed to the floor for the foreseeable future. ]
Are we playing strip truth or dare or do I get my shirt back?
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[ wait, she'd asked him a question. he's not shy about his staring. she has to know by now what he thinks of her physically because he hasn't been shy about showing his appreciation but still.
he bites his lower lip and then snickers. ]
I think you're either going to have to put yours back on or wear one of mine if you want me to be able to concentrate at all for this game.
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