mia-mikaelson-forbes asked: Klaroline have been together for a couple of centuries and somehow Caroline ends up accidentally taking the cure, so Klaus decides to spend the rest of her human lifetime with her keeping his promise of being her last love.
They're able to pretend for a while. She was so young when she first died, and they foolishly allowed themselves to act as though another, more permanent death was coming more surely than ever.
It started with gray hairs and fine lines. Klaus insisted she was only growing more beautiful with age; the tightness in his throat had nothing to do with a waning desire and everything to do with the evidence of decay.
Caroline was human, and humans died.
The only comfort he could take from this timeless truth was that he could promise her a kind ending to her story. His blood would heal her should she be wounded in a supernatural skirmish, and he would ensure she die in her own bed of blissfully natural causes. Just not so soon, he prayed to long extinct gods he never bothered to believe in.
"You're quiet today," she noted, idly flipping a page of her book without looking at him.
Klaus, however, had taken to watching her in stolen moments of peace. Would he notice the minor changes in her body if he paid enough attention? Might he be able to intervene sooner than the typical case if one of those diseases her genetics were disposed to developing took hold? He'd become something of a resource for her family tree, poring over historical documents and purloined medical records. With a weak grin, he tugged at the fraying ends of her hair. "Just relishing your presence."
She snapped her book closed and glared. "Stop missing me. I'm right here."
Pulling her close, Klaus let her murmur sweet promises and empty platitudes. It made her feel better, and he'd never get used to the idea that one day, she'd just be gone. So he held her with tight arms and bit his tongue at whatever trite wisdom she peddled in hopes of comforting him.
At least she was still there to try.