HOLLOW ━ klaus mikaelson × male!oc!

16.

ladies and gents and all non-binary pals, this is the last chapter 😭 it's been a fun ride with everyone. thanks you for all the comments and votes. thank you for all the support!

Chapter Sixteen: 

Zero wakes to the feeling of being cocooned in a cosy warmth. He blinks his eyes a few times to adjust his gaze and then freezes. "Oh shit," he whispers, staring at Klaus's sleeping face with wide eyes. "Oh shit," he repeats again because oh shit. 

It's hard to remember the events of earlier today when he's warm and floaty and just so content. 

Zero carefully peeks underneath the covers and oh yeah, they're both definitely still clothed there. "Thank you, God," Zero could not be more relieved right now. "Thank you."

He flickers his gaze to Klaus's bare chest and flushes. There is an intricate tattoo of a black feather on his shoulder blade dispersing into crows across his collarbones. It's pretty and very...distracting. 

"Are you enjoying the view?" Klaus asks, voice low and gravely. His green-blue eyes are filled with amusement when they flutter open.

Mortified, Zero pulls the covers over his head and engulfs himself into darkness. He lets out a weak sound when he hears Klaus laugh. "Let's ignore the fact that I just did that," Zero pleads. 

"Mhhm," Klaus hums. He tightens his grip around Zero's waist and pulls him flush against his chest. "I'll think about it," he murmurs into the covers, leaning his head against Zero's. 

Mustering up his courage, Zero eventually asks, "what time is it?" 

"It'll be five soon," Klaus answers, voice slightly muffled. "Why?" 

"No reason," Zero says quietly and maybe a little too quickly. He slowly uncovers his head and sees Klaus slightly move away to give him some space. "I just have to pick up a few things later."

Klaus gives him an odd look, obviously hearing the tell-tale sign of his heart skipping in a lie. He doesn't call him out, just leans back in and places his chin atop Zero's mop of black hair. "Alright," he murmurs. "When?" 

Zero hides his face into Klaus's neck and breathes in the direct scent of woods after rainfall. It's fresh and calming. Zero could stay like this forever. "Later," he says, pressing his lips against the pan of tanned skin he finds there. 

Underneath the covers, Klaus slips his hand underneath Zero's hoodie and settles it across the small of his back. He rubs his hand up and down, slow and soft and so, so, warm. The whine that Zero breathes into Klaus's neck is quiet and breathless. 

"I'll come with you," Klaus decides, because it wouldn't be him if he wasn't putting his nose into other people's business. Well, Zero's mostly. 

"Klaus, don't be the crevice in my arm," Zero scrunches up his nose, because if all fails, he still has his sarcasm to fall back on. "Or the crumbs at the bottom of a potato chip bag." 

"I'm not even going to ask what that means," Klaus says. There's a hint of exasperation and utter fondness in his tone that has no right to be there. Because they're known each other for roughly a year now and yet here they are, cuddling like some couple on a popular TV show. They don't even know each other that well, sure, they have a weird connection and Klaus likes to buy him flowers and gift him chocolates and sometimes he gives him forehead kisses...

Shit. Were they dating this whole time? Zero might just be a bit more oblivious than he thought he was. He thinks about it a bit more but then his head starts hurting so he just stops. "We're we dating this whole time?'' He asks because what the fuck, Zero, you are dumb as fuck.