Katherine *growls*.
The sounds arcs through Caroline like a bolt of electricity. Katherine's blood is in her mouth, Katherine's fingers gripping her flesh. A ragged growl escapes her own lips, and she knows that this action is going to have consequences (that she's going to have to pay for it, somehow, if not at this moment then at some time in the future when she least expects it), but right now she doesn't *care*. She draws back to strike again...
...and Katherine is suddenly not there any more.
Unaccountably bereft, Caroline hears the crash, but doesn't make sense of the sound, nor the subsequent meaty thumps and thuds. Not until she turns to see something that cannot possibly be real. Because, to her wide, staring, disbelieving eyes, it looks an awful lot like Elena is kicking the everloving *crap* out of Katherine.
And Katherine... is letting her.
No, that's not strictly true. She's blocking and evading and dodging like a spider monkey on speed. She just isn't hitting *back*. All she's doing is defending herself from Elena's furious onslaught. And as she does so, moving with a liquid grace that's almost breathtaking to see, she's actually *laughing*.
"Not bad, Elena," she chuckles, slapping away a punch to the face and side-stepping a kick. "I'm so glad you've been keeping up the training. You might be a vampire now, but that's no excuse for sloppy technique."
If anything, the humour only seems to incense Elena further. With a wordless cry of pure, unadulterated rage, she steps up the intensity of her attacks, laying into Katherine with such ferocity that she even lands a few solid blows. Caroline knows she has to stop this before it goes further. Before Katherine is pushed to doing something more than just defend herself. Before things escalate past the point of no return.
Springing to her feet, she moves towards the struggling pair, careful to stop just beyond striking range.
"Elena," she says, making the word as authoritative as she can. There's no response. "Elena. Stop." Still nothing. Okay, maybe a different approach. Higher pitched and wavering, with a knife-edge of panic. (Maybe even shrill, hysterical.) "Elena!"
Elena checks herself mid-punch, spinning around to face Caroline, a question in the tilt of her head. (But her lips are still twisted in a snarl, and tension spikes through Caroline as she realises that this can still go badly wrong.) Quick as a flash, Katherine takes advantage of Elena's distraction to blur away and put Caroline between the pair of them.
"Yes, that's enough, Elena," she echoes. "You've proved your point. Why don't we sit down and discuss things like grown-ups?"
Elena's hands are still clenched into fists, her face chalk-white, black-eyed with anger, her body a study in tension. She looks like she's only a hair's breadth away from going for Katherine again. Caroline has the feeling that if that happens, at least one of them won't be walking away from it.
"Are you going to leave Caroline alone now?" Elena grinds out between clenched teeth.
Caroline senses, more than sees, the shrug.
"I don't know. Maybe." And there's that laugh again, throaty and rich. "She's so much fun to play with."
Caroline resists the urge to roll her eyes (even while something twists inside her, a thrill of danger and, perhaps, something else), wondering just what the hell is going through Katherine's twisted little mind. Is she *trying* to provoke Elena? The evidence suggests the answer to that question is a resounding yes, but why is she doing this?
(Why does she do anything that she does?)
Elena is starting to relax her fighting posture, but that doesn't mean she's any less angry. Her temper is just hardening, turning as cold as ice.
"If you're not going to behave yourself, you can forget our deal. You can just *leave*. I don't. Like. Bullies."
Quick as a flash, Katherine comes back with: "Does Damon know that?"
Elena flinches, the barb striking deep. (Caroline is... conflicted.) But she recovers from the hit almost immediately, narrowing her eyes at Katherine.
"I won't let anyone hurt my friends." (Again, what about *him*? But this time the question goes unspoken.) "If you can't follow that simple rule, Katherine, then you can go. And don't bother coming back."
The silence following that statement is strangely fraught, oppressive with tension. Caroline half-turns so she can see Katherine properly, wanting to know what, if anything, is showing on her surface. Head tilted, eyes half-closed, a tiny, enigmatic smile hovering on her lips. Katherine's face is a perfect picture of sly, wry amusement. But in her eyes, there's a hint of something... Something that Caroline only recognises because she's watched Katherine talk about Klaus, back before everything got so... so... *murky*.
(Not that it was ever really clean.)
Against her expectation, against her will, against her reason, the sight of it touches her, deep inside. And so, impulsively, she does something that shocks herself: she defends Katherine.
"I'm okay, Elena," she says reassuringly. "She didn't hurt me. I think she just wanted to see what you'd do." She levels a flat, considering look at Katherine. "What both of us would do," she amends.
Katherine grins broadly at that. "In case you're interested, you both passed."
That actually gives Caroline a moment's pause. Is it true? Was this really all a test? She twists the thought this way and that, examining it from every angle, but then makes a conscious decision to let it go. This being Katherine, there's no way of knowing for sure. And, even if she's telling the truth, who's to say it was the *only* reason for what she did? When has she ever had only a single reason for doing anything?
Elena is looking more thoughtful now, and less irate, and Caroline can tell that she really wants to believe it. She doesn't want to think that Katherine was just being cruel. Thinking about it is obviously causing her some distress, so once again Caroline decides to cause a distraction.
Stepping deliberately close to Katherine (like invading a predator's personal space is no big deal at all), she leans in to mock-whisper: "You know, if you wanted to throw me down on the sofa and jump on me, you really should have bought me dinner first."
And, whatever happens after this, she can be secure in the knowledge that the split second of utter startlement on Katherine's face is *so* worth it.
As it turns out, judging from her delighted laughter, Katherine is highly amused. And even Elena smiles a little, which means the exercise is doubly worthwhile.
"Oh, Caroline," Katherine says, and there's something almost fond in her voice, even as she touches a hand to her neck and brings it away bloodied. "You really did grow a spine. I like that about you." She meets Caroline's eyes and gives her a small nod, and if Caroline is reading the situation right, she and Katherine now have a fragile truce. Or detente. Or something. Maybe? As she's trying to puzzle it out, Katherine turns to smile winningly at Elena.
"See, I do play well with others," she says, her tone bright and cheerful. "There's no need to get so worked up."
Elena is standing with her hands on her hips, her expression wavering between anger and amusement. It melts into concern as she looks Caroline over. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Caroline's answering smile is genuine, holding all the warmth she can't put into words right now. "Yes, of course I am. Don't worry about me." (She may still be trembling inside, a little, but that's okay. It's just the aftereffects of the adrenaline. Nothing at all to do with fear. Or with the tactile memory of Katherine's skin yielding under her teeth, the taste of her on her tongue.)
"So, what's the verdict? Do I get to stay with the cool kids?" Katherine makes with the mock puppy dog eyes, the comical expression drawing a roll of the eyes and a reluctant grin from Caroline.
Elena looks from one of them to the other, and then throws up her hands in frustration, stalking across the room to fling herself back into her chair. "Fine! Okay, you can stay. But no more needling Caroline. Okay?"
"Oh, you're no fun." Katherine pouts briefly, then smirks and picks up her glass again. By some miracle, it has not only ended up on the table, but is also the right way up, the contents still contained safely within it. Now, *that* takes real talent.
Perhaps wisely, Elena doesn't push Katherine for more than that not-exactly-a-promise, and the three of them settle into their respective positions. Katherine is draped over her half - well, two-thirds - of the sofa, her legs stretched out with her feet practically in Caroline's lap. It's another challenge, of course, but it's one that Caroline is ignoring for the moment. She's not playing that game right now. Caroline herself is sitting neatly with her back straight and her knees together. Elena is curled up in the chair again, one leg crossed beneath her and one leg on the floor, resting her elbow on one of the arms as she proceeds to slowly finish off her drink.
"It was starting to coagulate," she says defensively, as she sees Caroline looking at her.
Caroline shrugs. "I wasn't saying anything. It's your drink, you can drink it how you want." She takes a deep draught of her own. Elena's right: it is starting to coagulate. 'Oh well,' she thinks, philosophically. 'A drink is a drink.'
(Blood is blood, is what she means. But even now, even after she's made her peace with her new way of existence, she still finds it easier not to think about where her sustenance comes from.)
"What if she wants to just quaff it?" Katherine asks, like she's genuinely interested in Caroline's answer.
"I'm not going to do that!" Elena objects.
Caroline flashes her a quick grin, then turns back to Katherine, her expression rearranging itself into a thoughtful frown. "Well, she can if she *wants* to, of course. But it seems like an awful waste of a good drink, not to mention potentially ruining that cute little shirt. And it's not exactly good for the whole control thing."
"Why do you say that?"
Some things just have to be done, so Caroline paints a ditzy smile on her face and channels her inner valley girl. "Well, linen's pretty porous, so it'll soak up blood like a sponge. And you can't just throw it in a hot wash and hope for the best. The dye will come out."
Elena laughs at that, which makes her smile soften fondly. It's just so good to hear that sound again, to hear Elena laughing like she knows what it's like to be happy. It seems to happen far too little these days.
Katherine salutes Caroline with her glass. "Cute," she says, "but you know I meant the last part. Why do you think it isn't good for control?"
Caroline shrugs, not exactly sure what Katherine is after. "Well... it's giving into the thirst. Letting it control you."
"And what if you just want to? If it just makes you feel good to indulge your appetites?"
Caroline's lips seem to tighten of their own accord and she sets her glass down with an audible click. "Well. I would say that's worse."
"And why is that?"
"Because then you're *choosing* to be a monster." And maybe there's a challenge in the way she faces Katherine, the way she meets her gaze and holds it. But she will *not* let her best friend become a monster, no matter who she has to fight to stop that from happening. Even if she has to fight Elena herself. No matter what kind of understanding she and Katherine have, she can't, won't give way on this.
Katherine actually looks serious for once, leaning forward slightly as she seems to actually be thinking about Caroline's words. She looks intense, but not... not pissed off. Not angry. "That's one way of looking at it," she says slowly. "But what if it's not quite so simple as that?"
"Isn't it?" It seems to be, in Caroline's mind. With very few exceptions, whenever she's given into her instincts, bad things have happened. Control, for her, is about denial. About only letting her hunger out of its cage in very specific, very defined circumstances. It's not who she is, it's just something she has. Like someone else might have a temper, or a tendency towards thoughtless words. It has to be kept in check. Caroline Forbes is who she is; the vampirism is just a condition. Like lactose intolerance, or a gluten allergy, but with added superpowers.
"It's not a binary choice," Katherine explains, and she makes it sound so plausible. "It isn't either/or. Good or bad, human or monster. The instincts and drives are a part of you. You can't let them rule you, but that doesn't mean you should deny them either." Her voice grows passionate, somehow the emotion accentuating the logic of her argument rather than detracting from it. "Would you voluntarily blindfold yourself? Wear ear plugs? Would you stop up your nose and smother your sense of touch in cotton wool? Of course you wouldn't. This is no different."
"It is different, though," Caroline protests.
"Only if you let it be different," comes the swift response. "But you can choose otherwise. All you have to do is let go of your hang-ups and learn to *feel*. The last word emerges low and silken, seeming almost to flow through the air and into her ears.
"Is *that* what the kissing was about?" Caroline asks, weighting the questions with as much skepticism as she can pack into those few words.
Elena is the one who answers her. "Basically, yes." She shrugs a little awkwardly, looking embarrassed. "I just... It's all mixed up right now. The hunger, my emotions... Everything. And I'm just so *sensitive*." Caroline's eyebrows rocket skywards, and Elena immediately cringes in outright mortification. "Oh, my god. I didn't mean like *that*, not specifically. I mean, you know, just generally."
"Oh," is all Caroline can say to that. She doesn't need to look at Katherine to know that there's an infuriating smirk on her lips. "But if you're already so overwhelmed, doesn't it make it worse to be stimulated even more?"
Now it's Caroline's turn to cringe as she realises what that sounds like, and she wishes the floor would open up and swallow her. Elena looks like she doesn't know whether to collapse into giggles or to cringe right along with her.
Katherine, of course, laughs like it's the most hilarious thing in the world.
Elena coughs a little, rearranging her expression into a vague semblance of seriousness. "Actually, it's kind of the opposite."
"How can you tame a beast if you keep it sleeping all the time?" Katherine interjects. "The first step towards control is understanding. Elena is learning how to listen to what her body is telling her." Her eyes sparkle wickedly. "And she is a *very* good student."
That last comment earns Katherine a sharp look from Elena, who seems distinctly flushed for some reason. Caroline isn't touching the remark with a ten foot pole. Nu-uh, no way. There is one thing she wants to know, though. "Why kissing?" she wonders.
(And, if she also wonders what more they might have been doing on all those occasions when it was just the two of them, then she keeps those wonderings locked tightly within herself.)
Katherine quirks an eyebrow. "Would you rather I hurt her? Scared her? For this to work, it *needs* to be something strong and primal. Love, hate, sex, violence... All the fun stuff."
That... does make a kind of sense, Caroline supposes. (Unbidden, memories float up from the dark places in her mind. Her own transition. Hunger and desire interwining until she couldn't tell any more which one was which. Thirst and fury as two sides of a coin, where at any point the coin could flip from one face to the other.)
But still... She focuses her attention solely on Elena, meeting and holding her gaze. "Why *her*?" she asks, unable to keep the bafflement from her voice. "After everything that's happened, everything she's done... You're trusting her like this?"
"Caroline, I'm hurt," Katherine murmurs, sounding like nothing of the sort.
Elena sighs. "She offered to help," she says, like it really is that simple. "And I needed... need..." She breaks off, takes a deep breath, and tries again. "You've helped me so much Caroline. You're the reason I'm still even vaguely sane right now. But I can't do what you do. I can't just... keep it all from touching me, from getting to me. I'm just not strong like that."
The look in her eyes is almost pleading, willing Caroline to get it, to not feel like she's being rejected. To not be hurt. (But she is, a little. Is that really what Elena thinks? That it doesn't touch her? Or just that Caroline is untouchable?) Caroline's heart melts a little to see Elena so raw and open. Impulsively, she crosses the room to enfold her in a hug.
"I understand," she says, and Elena sags in relief.
"Thanks Caroline," she says softly, returning the hug. "You're the best."
Caroline closes her eyes for a moment, basking in the certainty of Elena's friendship and regard, but then a nagging thought drives her to speak.
"You know, you *could* have told me," she says taking a step back so she can see Elena's face. There's a hint of reproach in her words, but she doesn't feel that it's unjustified.
"I didn't know how," Elena replies, ruefully. "As you said: after everything that's happened..." She gestures expressively, as if trying to encompass the tangled mess of complications that is the sum of their interactions with Katherine up until now. Her expression brightens. "But I'm glad you know now. Keeping it from you was killing me."
She should just smile and move on, Caroline thinks. She should. Now that everything is out in the open, the air clear between Elena and herself, there's no point in prodding at this sore spot any further. But she just can't help herself. "I still don't understand why you can't just do this with Stefan. Or..." She trails off there, not able to finish the sentence.
(And if that isn't quite the question she wants to ask, if it only dances around the edges of it. Well, that's probably for the best.)
Elena winces like a barb has struck home, even though that isn't what she intended. (Not really.) "It's complicated. Asking one of them... No." She shakes her head firmly, her jaw set and tight. "That would not be a good idea." And, again, that pleading look flutters in her eyes. "You understand, don't you?"
Katherine snorts, the sound managing to convey whole worlds of disgust. (And saving Caroline from having to figure out how to respond to that whatever-it-is.) "Like either of *them* could teach you the things I can," she sniffs. "Stefan can afford his morals and his falls from grace. Damon can afford his pride and his petty cruelties." There's an oddly wistful note is her voice as she's saying these things, the words surprisingly free of hooks and edges. "Despite what you may have heard, I haven't had the *luxury* of any of that. From even before I turned, my life has been about survival. *That* is what I can teach you." She points one immaculately manicured fingernail in Elena's direction. "And you are going to need it. Don't think you're any safer as a vampire than you were as a doppelganger. Even with Klaus gone."
She's breathing hard, Caroline is surprised to realise. Her face is flushed, and somewhere along the way her expression has turned into one of steely determination. This is something that *matters* to Katherine. (Or, at least, she's doing a very good impression of giving a damn.)
But in the blink of an eye, the intensity is gone, leaving a heavy-lidded amusement in its place as Katherine settles back against the cushions and drains the remainder of her drink.
"And even if those boys were capable, all those messy *feelings* of theirs would just get in the way. No, it's far more... practical with just us girls." And the smile she turns on Caroline is sly and knowing, irritating as all hell. "I'm sure you can understand *that*."
This time it's Elena who saves Caroline from having to think of a reply. "It's just so much... simpler... with Katherine," she says softly.
Caroline nearly chokes on Elena's words, unable to keep back a snort of her own. Since when was *anything* about Katherine ever simple? She can't possibly let this go unchallenged, but Katherine gets there even as she's drawing breath for some sort of retort.
The look on her face one of pure, unashamed, *gleeful* malice, Katherine stares Caroline directly in the eyes and purrs: "Would you rather Elena practice her control with you?"
'She did not just...' But she *did*; Katherine said the un-say-able, and now Elena is *looking* at her and Caroline can't breathe and her mind just stutters endlessly as she tries to figure out how to *fix* this.
When no response is forthcoming from Caroline, Elena blinks and turns to Katherine. "What?" she asks, her voice low and hoarse.
And Caroline realises all over again why you should never make the mistake of thinking you've found Katherine's limits, of hoping that she won't twist the knife that much further just because she *can*.
"Oh, Caroline has *such* a crush on you, Elena. Didn't you know?"
The bottom drops out of Caroline's world. Somewhere inside, part of her is wailing, mourning what she's sure is going to be the death of a friendship that means so very, very much to her. With a few careless-sounding words (but not truly careless, because she never does anything carelessly, not really) Katherine has shattered everything Caroline was trying to keep whole with her silence.
When, after what feels like a lifetime, she does manage to wrest a coherent thought from the maelstrom in her head, it's a miserable, bitter-edged observation that Katherine has certainly managed to get her back for that bite. She just wasn't expecting something quite like this.
Elena looks from Katherine to Caroline and then back to Katherine again. "What?" she says again.
Katherine shrugs. "Maybe the two of you should talk. Since we're all about openness and honesty today. I'll go and get us a top up so you can have some privacy."
She stands and sashays out of the room, presumably heading for the other fridge, Elena's not-so-secret stash of blood. Elena wordlessly watches her go, then turns back to face Caroline, studying her like she's never seen her before.
"Is it true?" she asks, softly, and Caroline can't deny it. (Can't dissemble, can't *lie*.) Not when she's pinned like this, paralysed by Elena's soft, dark eyes. Unable to speak the word aloud, she simply nods slowly. A soft sigh escapes Elena's lips. "How long?" she asks, and there's something like almost looks like compassion in her eyes.
A ragged laugh bubbles up in Caroline's throat, catching her by surprise. "I don't... I don't really know," she says. "I only recently became aware of it. But it's okay," she hastens to add. "It doesn't have to change anything between us." (But of course it will change things. It's going to change everything. How can it not?)
"Oh, Caroline..."
Caroline tries desperately to think of something to say to make this whole situation a little less soul-crushingly awkward, but Elena completely derails her train of thought by getting up and hugging her. And there's nothing self-conscious about the way she pulls Caroline in close to her, no awkward holding at arm's length. The embrace is just warmth, and comfort, and all the friendship that Caroline was so sure she'd just lost forever.
"It's okay," Elena continues, her voice a soothing murmur, like Caroline is some skittish creature who needs to be calmed down. "I'm not worried about *that*. I'm worried about *you*." She pulls back a little so she can meet Caroline's gaze. "It can't have been easy, keeping this to yourself."
And, just like that, everything is alright again.
"It wasn't so bad," Caroline says, the relief of it all making her almost giddy.
"You could have told me," you know, Elena says, an unconscious echo of Caroline's earlier words.
Caroline shrugs in Elena's arms, bringing her own arms up to return the hug. "I didn't want to make things awkward between us."
"I guess I can understand that." Elena starts to lean into the embrace, but then stops, as if suddenly unsure of herself. Caroline immediately lets go of her, but Elena is tightening her grip. They both freeze, then Elena half-laughs and they disentangle themselves.
Caroline tries to cover the awkward moment (the one Elena just said wouldn't happen) with a slightly rueful smile and a soft: "Oops."
Elena returns the smile. She starts to say something and then stops, a sudden frown crossing her face. "So, how does *Katherine* know?" she asks, as if the question only just occurs to her, swiftly adding: "If you don't mind me asking."
Caroline does mind, but there's no way she's going to actually say that. She keeps the sudden flare of unease locked tightly within her skin, feeling like she's on dangerous ground once more (like it wasn't treacherous enough already). She gives an exaggerated shrug, smiling lopsidedly at Elena. "She's *Katherine*," she says, as if that's explanation enough. "She has ways of finding things out."
"Do I have to beat her up again?" Elena's tone is light and joky, but there's a spark of something serious in her eyes, a protectiveness that Caroline finds as comforting as that first, instinctive hug. (Before the onset of the still-present tension.)
"No, that's okay," she smiles back.
"Spoilsport." Katherine's voice - darkly, almost sinfully amused - makes both Caroline and Elena jump a little. They turn to see her standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorframe. When she sees them both looking at her, the twisted smile on her lips widens a little, showing the points of her teeth. "I take it you two have kissed and made up." It isn't really a question.
"Katherine!" Elena protests. Caroline contents herself with a wordless glower. (Bizarrely, Caroline finds herself feeling almost grateful for Katherine's arrival. Her presence rearranges the board into a more familiar, more comfortable configuration. Caroline and Elena standing together, united against an outside force. Just like old times.)
As if she can read Caroline's thoughts, Katherine raises a glass of rich, dark red liquid in her direction. It almost feels like a salute.
"I think this deserves a toast," she pronounces. Crossing the room, she hands the opened bag to Elena. "I'll let you pour the other two."
Elena hesitates only a moment, then takes the bag, her jaw set in a stubborn line. "Fine," she says, with the air of someone accepting a challenge. Ignoring their used glasses, she retrieves a couple of fresh ones from the cupboard. There isn't even a hint of black in her gaze as she pours two generous measures of liquid, her movements smooth and controlled.
"There you go." Handing one to Caroline, she sets the bag on the counter, propping it up carefully so that it doesn't tip and spill. "To friendship," she says, raising her glass and taking a sip.
"Friendship," Caroline echoes, genuine happiness bubbling up inside her (with only a slight pang of disappointment underneath).
"To friendship," Katherine drawls. And it's impossible to tell whether or not she's mocking them.
Elena eyes her sharply nonetheless. "I want a word with you."
Katherine inclines her head regally. "I'm listening."
Elena strides towards her, only stopping when she's practically standing on her toes. "I asked you not to pick on Caroline," she says, her voice low and intense. "I told you what would happen if you didn't stop."
"And I haven't leaped on her once since you gave your little ultimatum," Katherine points out, her tone matter of fact. "I haven't even *touched* her." Her eyes meet Caroline's, briefly, sending a shiver down her spine at what lies in their depths.
"Her secrets aren't yours to tell," Elena says tightly.
"Are you saying you'd rather not know?" Katherine asks, her tone surprisingly mild.
"Well, no..." Elena looks a little trapped, the words emerging reluctantly. "But that isn't the point," she continues, her voice regaining some of its strength.
"Caroline wasn't going to tell you anytime soon."
"And that would have been *her* decision!"
Katherine shrugs, and turns to look at Caroline over Elena's shoulder. "In which case, I'd like to make my apologies to you, Caroline. Privately. Elena, can you give us a moment?"
Elena also looks back towards Caroline, her lower lip caught between her teeth, a conflicted expression on her face. "Um. Caroline?"
Caroline blinks, torn. She studies Katherine's face, trying to see past the oh-so-smooth facade to figure out what's going through her mind. She doesn't *look* like she's contemplating violence. And, well, if she harms Caroline now, that's the surest way of alienating Elena, something Caroline is pretty sure she doesn't want to do.
Besides, Caroline is deeply, deeply curious. (And if they do it here, who knows what Katherine might say in front of Elena.)
"Okay," she says, her mind made up. And on the heels of the decision comes another thought. Katherine has been playing her all afternoon, using - she finally acknowledges to herself, after so long spent in denial - the tension that's simmered between them since the very first. Well, a taut cord stretches both ways, and Caroline is *tired* of being on the back foot.
Stepping around Elena, she takes Katherine by the hand. Her nails scrape lightly against the soft skin of Katherine's palm, just so, and this time Katherine is the one who shivers. And even if it's just an act, the fact that she respects Caroline enough to respond means that something has changed between them. Caroline *smiles*. "Shall we take a walk?" she says, her voice a little husky around the edges.
Katherine nods slowly. "Please excuse us, Elena," she says, but her eyes are fixed on Caroline's as she slowly slides her hand free. As Katherine's skin brushes against hers, Caroline could almost swear there were sparks. Even when Caroline turns to head for the door, she can feel Katherine's steady, burning gaze as an itch between her shoulder blades. Part of her quivers at the way she's playing with fire. But this is the first time she feels she can pass through the flames without being burned to ash. Whatever the stakes of this game turn out to be, she is *not* going to gamble with her self-respect.
The setting sun is bright after the gloom inside the house, and Caroline raises a hand to shield her eyes as she steps out into the garden. Quickly darting into the shade of a tall tree, she turns around to find that Katherine is standing right behind her. In front of her, now. Katherine's eyes a-glimmer with mischief and, perhaps, other, darker things, she slowly starts to smile.
Before she can speak, Caroline swiftly cuts in with: "I believe you said something about an apology..."
For a moment, there's something that almost looks like pride on Katherine's face. "I say a lot of things," she murmurs, her voice ripe with promise. "Why don't you let me show you?"
She leans forward, slowly bringing her lips towards Caroline's. But she stops just before they touch, a startlingly soft question in her eyes. Caroline's pulse is like thunder in her ears as she takes a deep breath and lets her defences down, allowing herself to *feel*. And, somehow, closing the distance between them seems like the most natural thing in the world.
Their kiss is gentle at first, a featherlight brush of their lips against each other. Until one of them - Caroline honestly doesn't know which one - gives a soft, breathy moan. And then Caroline is *burning*.
Lips part, mouths soft and wet and *wanting* as they explore each other; taste each other. Here, a tongue's expert teasing. There, the gentlest nip of teeth. The air around them seems to crackle with heat until it seems a wonder that the whole world doesn't burn down around them.
Maybe it will. Right here, right now, Caroline's only regret would be that it would mean *this* would have to come to an end.
Caroline's hands move of their own accord, one tangling in Katherine's soft, dark hair; the other gripping her waist. Katherine's hands are moving on her back, fingers tracing endless patterns as they find the exposed skin of her shoulders and neck, nails digging in hard enough to draw a gasp. She kisses Katherine hungrily, greedily, like she's starving and Katherine is a bounteous feast. Katherine meets and matches her every turn, demanding when Caroline submits, yielding where she is forceful.
Even if Katherine's yielding often seems to be just another way for her to end up exactly where she wants to be.
Caroline's fingers flex, velvet bunching between them, the material twisting and sliding until she brushes against the skin beneath. Wanting, *needing* to touch, she reaches...
...only to find empty air beneath her hand as Katherine is no longer there.
The sound that escapes her lips is part growl, part moan. She whips her head up and around, eyes searching, finding Katherine standing a few steps away, watching her.
"So, am I forgiven?" Katherine asks, her voice perhaps a little breathless, her hand perhaps trembling a little as she smoothes her dress down over her thighs.
Caroline blinks, holding herself where she is only by sheer force of will. It would be so easy to... But no. "I'm not sure yet," she says, pleased out of all proportion when her voice comes out steady and even. "Maybe."
"I'm going to take that as a yes," Katherine smirks.
"You can do what you want," Caroline retorts. "You usually do." But, against all common sense, she finds herself smiling back at Katherine and, despite the way her lips still tingle, despite the way her pulse is still rapid and urgent beneath her skin, she feels what's almost a kind of peace start to pool within her chest.
Her heart thumps as Katherine steps purposefully towards her again, but all she does is brush a few strands of hair out of Caroline's eyes. "Did you see the way Elena looked at you when you took my hand?" she says, a wicked amusement in her words.
"Umm, no?" Caroline wasn't really intending it to come out as a question. Honestly, at that point, all her attention was focused squarely on Katherine.
Katherine's expression softens into something that actually looks like a real smile. "I think you may find that, once she's had some time to think about it a little, she might not be as opposed to... exploring certain possibilities with you as you seem to think."
"Oh," Caroline says, faintly. Because, really: what *can* she say to that?
But Katherine doesn't seem to be expecting her to say much of anything, because she's already continuing. "Of course," she purrs, "Elena might find she has a little competition..." And she kisses her fingertips, brushing them gently against Caroline's mute lips. "Tell Elena goodbye for me," she says.
"O- Okay," Caroline manages. She clears her throat, trying to pull herself together despite the fact it seems like everything she thought she knew is shattering into a thousand pieces. "I will," she says, a little more strongly.
Katherine inclines her head, looking for all the world like one noblewoman taking her leave of another. "Be seeing you," she whispers.
And then she really is gone.
Caroline stands there for a moment or two, just in case she comes back, but the only sound she hears is the gentle sighing of the breeze. She gives a sigh of her own, resisting the urge to cover her face with her hands.
"My life," she says aloud, "has just gotten even *more* complicated."
But when she steps out from the shadow of the tree, tilting her face up to meet the brilliant sunshine, she finds herself smiling.