Disclaimer: I own nothing but a much loved DVD of You've Got Mail and too many feelings about Caroline and Klaus on TVD.

"If you want to be my lover, you gotta-"

Caroline's hand curled around her phone to silence the alarm, wincing when she felt the bed shift behind her. "Sorry," she murmured, soothing the arm that had slipped over her waist. Gently pulling herself free, she reluctantly emerged from the warm nest of blankets. "Go back to sleep."

"Can't, I'm covering for Enzo this morning," Klaus rasped, already moving to sit up. With a groaning effort, he stood from the bed and scratched a hand through his messy hair. "I'll get the coffee started." He pressed a kiss to her temple as he crossed her path to the shower, the sight of him distracting her for a moment.

It would happen like that every once in a while, for her to end up watching him as he made a place in her life. Most days, the fit felt seamless, like this was always how it was supposed to be. Sometimes, though, the reality of their relationship was just surreal, and she was left wondering how she got so lucky. Her boyfriend woke up early to help out at her bakery - no complaints, just a soft promise to make her coffee.

By the time she stopped grinning over that, Klaus was waiting to claim the shower, giving her a proper kiss in the steam-filled bathroom they shared.

While he still used his studio to paint, he'd converted half the space into an actual office for Hybrid Consulting, which didn't leave much room to live. She'd been the one to tentatively propose the next step of moving in together. He spent most nights at her place anyway, she had argued, and they might have only been dating for six months at that point, but they'd been pen pals a whole year before that and-

He'd kissed her before she could get too lost in the pros and cons she had surely prepared when the thought first occurred to her, smiling at the shy way she avoided meeting his eyes. "I'd love to move in with you," he assured her, his hands never pausing their soft strokes along her back. "But I think we should set a timeline."

"Meaning...?"

Embarrassed was an odd look on him, and he had covered it poorly by shifting her in his lap to hold her more closely. "Meaning that we take stock of the living arrangement after, say, three months. Our relationship shouldn't be one of mere convenience, and I'd like us both to be sure this is what we want. If it is, then maybe we can look for a more permanent home. Together."

When the three months and her lease were up, they both happily signed the forms to stay for another year. Klaus had been pushing to find a bigger place for the next, though, preferably one in the same neighborhood that had plenty of room for the small library of supernatural history books they'd managed to collect. She was more worried about wall space to hang the works she rescued from his studio, determined to celebrate his passion as he did her career. The search was taking longer than they hoped, but she knew they had time to find just the right place.

They had all the time in the world, a thought that left her smiling all over again.

Hurriedly braiding her hair, Caroline dusted on minimal makeup for the long day ahead. Her eyes kept sliding from her vanity mirror to the bathroom, where she could see Klaus shaving. Their morning routine was fairly quick and practical, but she couldn't help but appreciate how beautiful he was in unguarded moments like this.

When he caught her staring, he toyed with the towel tied low around his hips, which only made her eyes roll. "If you're covering for Enzo, then we cannot be late to open the bakery," she pointed out, though she beamed into his kiss as he passed by her on the way to the closet. "Don't you have that new client meeting this afternoon?"

"I do." He slid a soft Henley over his head, followed by his necklaces, and the sight made her want to pull him back to bed. As though he could hear her sudden distraction, he smirked while he finished dressing. "But Davina hasn't forgotten what it's like to work mornings at Mystic, so I'm sure she'll forgive any obvious signs of fatigue. She wants to set meetings with a pair of high-end galleries, so today is supposed to be about strategizing for the presentation."

Davina still covered the odd shift when she was short on cash, and she often recommended the bakery to friends looking for part-time work. Since finding solid design work for a local publishing house, though, those shifts were few and far between. More often, she would stop by to chat with Klaus about a new artists' collective a friend had asked her to join. He'd been hesitant to get too involved at first, only to end up as an unofficial adviser - an arrangement poised to change, it seemed, if she was now a Hybrid client.

Caroline gave a proud little smile at how excited he was about the project. Patting his ass on her way out of the bedroom, she laughed at his poor attempt to pinch her in return. She ended up in the kitchen, pouring what was left of the coffee into her travel mug and turning on the electric kettle. Klaus had already prepared his own mug with its tea infuser, so all she had to do was pour the hot water. Carefully rinsing both carafes, she set them in the drying rack before meeting him at the door. "Ready to go?"

With his messenger bag slung over his shoulder, he was holding her phone and her purse, too. "Almost," he flirted, trading her things for his tea over a sweet kiss.

The neighborhood was quiet as they walked down the street, their hands tangled together. "Why did Enzo need you to cover for him today? I thought just Bonnie had gotten roped into Rebekah's recruitment scheme."

"I was under the impression he believed some refereeing would be in order," Klaus answered with a half-smile.

Choice Affairs was flourishing, and Rebekah was fierce in her mission to ensure long-term success. She had gotten the bright idea to build a competitive internship as a part of her business plan, a plan Bonnie only supported as long as the poor kids were paid fairly and worked normal hours for the events industry.

They only slightly worried about whatever poor soul would end up as her assistant, but none more than Bonnie, who had done all the math to prove the worth of a fully compensated intern. Along with winning the argument, she had also cemented her accounting role in the business, and Rebekah had even started to call her a partner of sorts.

Enzo complained a bit at that, if only because he had worked so hard to call her his wife. He had dragged Caroline to every jewelry shop in the city, taking months to find the emerald ring that perfectly matched her favorite necklace. The actual wedding happened more quickly, like they were already tired of waiting to be married.

There were days Caroline felt that, too. She felt it in the early morning light, Klaus's palm warm against hers. But she preferred to stay in the moment, knowing full well she was already in her happily ever after as long as it was with him. "You're not going to like today's special," she warned, her lips already curling at his wary expression.

Arguing over the day's specials had become an odd habit of theirs, especially since Caroline had usually planned the week's menu down to the last crumb, no matter what his opinion. But she loved to bicker with him, even if it meant indulging his weird vendetta against muffins. "No one should eat cake for breakfast, sweetheart," he grimaced, easily guessing what she meant.

"Enzo was supposed to be working! And they're blueberry, you love blueberries."

"I love you," he countered, probably just to win but it took her breath away like it always did. "How about blueberry scones instead?"

She pouted as she mulled it over. When she spoke, her voice came out as a whine. "Scones?"

Smirking, Klaus brought their hands up to his lips to kiss the tattoo on her wrist. "But they'll be blueberry," he threw back at her. "You love blueberries."

With a weary sigh, Caroline still couldn't help a smile as they rounded the corner to see Mystic Bakery's friendly storefront. "I love you," she said, all playfulness dropped in favor of absolute sincerity. "Thanks for this. I know you have your own things to do, but it means a lot to me that you're willing to spend half the day elbow-deep in dough with me."

"I'm with you, there's nowhere else I'd rather be." He squeezed her hand, slyly glancing at her from the side. "Even if your tea selection leaves something to be desired."

She gave a full-body shudder as she pulled out her keys. "Oh my god, we need a swear jar, but for bad puns," she declared.

Laughing, Klaus followed her inside, turning on the lights and snagging her purse to take back to the office. "That was a good one, and you know it."

"Save the poor defenses for family dinner tomorrow. I feel pretty confident that Elijah and Rebekah will take my side."

"Sorry, sweetheart, but none of the Mikaelsons will take the side of your dreadful tea selection."

As often as the siblings found themselves embroiled in grudge matches, she had to agree they weren't likely to break from the pack unless there was an active fight on the line. The last notable silent treatment had been from Elijah, of all surprises, to punish Kol for a breach of the Brews dress code. He maintained that the Hawaiian shirts he'd taken to wearing exclusively did meet the "button-down shirt" requirement, and poor Marcel was left with the headache of mediating their hostile work environment.

Family dinners were instituted every other Friday in the hopes of limiting the fallout of such situations; Caroline received her first silent treatment from both Kol and Rebekah for offering the idea to Elijah, who happily accepted any opportunity to strengthen the bonds of family. In truth, Klaus thought he was just lonely after the divorce was finalized. Whether or not that was true, the others wouldn't take the chance, so they all faithfully showed up at the appointed time - if not always in good spirits.

Caroline groaned, too aware that she was fighting a losing battle. "Just because you can't appreciate a good sweet tea does not mean it is dreadful," she defended anyway. "You know, I think there's a place you can go for more variety in your hot leaf water..." Her fingers steepled together, and she pressed them to her mouth as though giving it great thought, not that he was there to witness her dramatics. "What is it, what is it?"

"Aren't you cute." He walked into the kitchen with an annoyed glare, pointedly drinking his tea and holding the mug to present the Brews logo etched on the side. "If you wanted some suggestions, I'd be happy to put together a tasting for you."

As they worked around each other to prep for the day, she couldn't resist a gasp. "You can't just give out free development consultations, Klaus! You'll lose your heartless, corporate wolf reputation."

Klaus tugged her into his arms before she could start pulling ingredients, his scruff tickling her neck until she was laughing too hard to care about running behind schedule. "I'm not heartless." The murmur was soft against her ear, and it warmed her from the inside out. "You're my heart."

Smiling so hard it hurt, she leaned back into him and let herself enjoy the moment. They swayed together in the quiet of the kitchen, sharing her favorite place with her favorite person. She still wasn't a huge fan of change, not when it meant scary risks and upsetting carefully plotted routines. But, she could admit that it was easier to see the opportunities with Klaus in her corner, not just supporting her dreams but actively working to make them come true.

He was everything she ever wanted, and love filled her to bursting.

"I'm still not expanding into teas," Caroline shrugged, grinning at the feel of his lips curling where they rested on her shoulder. "It wouldn't feel right, directly competing with a fellow local business."

"You and your morals." Klaus sighed, finally getting to his regular prep tasks. "With a bit of time, though, I can turn you into a ruthless, corporate wolf, too."

She winked. "No thanks, but I'll keep you around anyway."

His smile was more beautiful than the pink hints of sunrise coming through the bakery window, and she knew she'd keep him forever. "I'm counting on it, love."

A/N: This project was a long time coming, and an even longer time going, but it's finally done! Many, many thanks to you for reading and sticking with me over the years, and I hope you enjoyed the story. I welcome any and all questions I may have left unanswered, and please let me know what you think! Feel free to drop by my Tumblr (at the same username), my ask is always open. Thanks for reading!