Let Me Love You.
Disclaimer: I own nothing because if I did Klaroline would be the centre of the show and would be travelling the world together!
We guys I promised you a multi chapter fic and I am delivering, I hope you enjoy and stay tuned with it because it's a helluva ride!
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"Niklaus Mikaelson, time to go."
Klaus' eyes snapped open at the gruff sound of the guard's voice bringing him out of his inner thoughts of blonde hair and bright eyes. His own eyes settled on the man in question on the other side of the iron bars. Klaus couldn't help the little smirk on his face as the guard slipped a key into the lock on his cell, opening the door wide.
He was free. After five long years staring at the same four grey walls Klaus Mikaelson was once again a free man.
Klaus slid from his seat on his bunk with ease, feeling better to be in his regular attire of jeans and a Henley rather than that starch orange jumpsuit that had been assigned to him when he first arrived. He gave the guard a little nod as he stepped out of his cell, letting the guard direct him out of the prison in silence.
It wasn't until Klaus was out of the prison gates and back onto the street that he allowed himself a moment of elation. Prison had been hell but he guessed that shouldn't have phased him, after all, he was one of the worst in there.
He took his time as he walked down the street, his eyes taking in everything. Five years was a long time yet everything still looked the same. The same shops, the same cars, the same arguments. They were such trivial things to notice and normally Klaus wouldn't care about them in the slightest but after years of doing the same thing over and over again he found himself craving the simplicity of normal life.
He hadn't seen his family in five years.
He hadn't seen her in five years.
It was his own fault really, it was his actions that led him here. Klaus knew that his criminal activities were bound to draw attention at some point. He had too much power in this city for him to go unnoticed. He started off small, little offences as a teenagers in a way of acting out against his abusive father. Then he got into dealing armed weapons and suddenly things escalated beyond his control. Klaus sold weapons to anyone that could pay, most of his clients coming from overseas, and as his jobs grew so did his empire. Just before he got arrested Klaus Mikaelson was a well feared name in Chicago, he practically ran the criminal side of the city along with his right hand man, Marcel. Of course, he didn't get to rule the city without getting his hands dirty along the way. Klaus had killed people, he even treated it as a form of art at one time, ripping them apart for their betrayal like they were nothing more than paper. To him, he supposed, they were.
Then he met her. Then he fell in love Caroline Forbes, a beautiful woman with big dreams and suddenly his business didn't mean that much to him anymore. She was stunning and fierce and passionate, she could knock him down with a look and he loved it. Klaus wanted to give her the world and love her like no one else ever did. She had this way of bringing out a side of him Klaus had long since forgotten and as much as he wanted to her hate for it, he couldn't. She got under his skin and into his heart and he knew she would be his downfall.
How naïve of him to think loving Caroline would save him from his actions.
He told her everything one night, blurted the whole thing out because he couldn't lie to her, not when he genuinely cared about her. Klaus thought she would run, look at him with disgust and call him a monster. He was one, after all.
She promised to stay with him and Klaus didn't think he could love her more. Caroline was his support after his arrest, her smile the hope he clung through during his trial.
Then he got his sentence. Five years in prison for dealing weapons on the black market. It should have been 12 but the evidence was circumstantial at best and Elijah was a good lawyer. That didn't change the facts, and five years was a long time. Elijah and Caroline came to visit him in prison and it was then he knew he had to walk away. He was a criminal, a thief, a killer whereas she was perfect and full of light. She deserved better than to be tainted by him.
"You need to move on, Caroline. You need to forget about me." Klaus said, his eyes focused on the table between them.
Caroline shook her head softly, "What are you talking about, Klaus? You'll be out soon, everything will be okay."
"I'm a bad man, Caroline. You can do so much better."
He could hear the tears in her voice this time and screwed his eyes shut to block out the pain he felt in his chest, "I love you, Klaus. I need you, this is crazy. Who you are doesn't matter to me, you know that." She insisted, moving her head down to meet his eyes.
"I don't want to see you anymore." He said, keeping his voice hard. It would kill her and she would hate him for it but it was for the best. Guys like him didn't get girls like her. "We're over, Caroline. Move on and forget about me."
"Klaus don't…"
"I'll destroy you, Caroline. I will take everything good about you and ruin it until one day you wake up and you're exactly like me." He said bitterly, ignoring the tears in his eyes. Instead he looked at hers, tears rolling down her cheeks. He would give anything to be able to wipe them away with his thumb. "So do yourself a favour and leave!"
"Is that really what you want?" Her voice was soft and he barely heard it.
He looked her dead in the eye, pushing away every feeling he ever had for her, "Yes." He said strongly, "I want you to leave and never come back."
She was out the door before he could blink.
Klaus swore he would never forget the look on her face as he metaphorically ripped out her heart along with his own. He hated himself for lying to her, it was the one thing he promised to never do but he was doing it for her.
He didn't want her to spend the next five years waiting for him.
Klaus refused to see her after that, Caroline sent him several visiting orders but he didn't reply back to any of them. He knew one look into her beautiful blue orbs would have him crumbling and begging for her forgiveness. The only visiting order he accepted was one from Elijah a week after he broke up with Caroline, he had to ask his brother for one more favour.
"You're an idiot, Niklaus." Was Elijah's greeting as he sat down opposite Klaus. He was wearing his usual three piece suit, neatly pressed and looked the exact opposite of Klaus who had barely gotten any sleep over the past week, his orange jumpsuit contrasting vividly against Elijah's black attire.
"I did the right thing." Klaus insisted.
"The right thing for who?" Elijah argued back, "Not for Caroline that's for sure. Rebekah said the girl is a mess, not eating or sleeping."
"She will get over me, Elijah. She will move on and be happy. You have always said I am no good for her, I thought you would be glad to hear you were right." Klaus said bitterly, his heart tightening uncomfortable at the thought of Caroline becoming ill because of him. She wouldn't though, she was strong and independent and Klaus knew her well. She would be angry and hurt for a while, but then she would throw herself into her life again refusing to let him get to her anymore.
"She was good for you." Elijah said simply.
Klaus smiled then, "she was the best thing to ever happen to me, brother, and that is why I have to let her go." He shifted in his seat, leaning across the table with his hands flat on the surface, "I need you to look after her."
"You made this mess, now I have to clean it up?" Elijah asked, leaning forward as well.
"I need to know she is safe and looked after, Elijah. I just…" he trailed off looking for the right word, "I need her to be safe. I love her, more than anything."
Elijah didn't say anything for a moment, studying Klaus' features intensely, whatever he saw there was enough for him to nod his head, "I will look after her, Niklaus, you have my word."
Klaus nodded, "Thank you." He moved a hand through his hair before he spoke again, "I won't be accepting visiting requests from anyone after today. I don't want Rebekah here, she'll only worry."
"If you continue to push your family out you will be left with nothing."
"Maybe that's what I deserve?"
Elijah raised an eyebrow at him, "Stop punishing yourself, Niklaus. No one deserves to be alone."
Klaus knew he had no right to ask Elijah to do that but he had to know she was safe. He might have let her go but he would never stop loving her, even now. He couldn't.
That's why his first stop was her apartment building. Klaus didn't even realise he was heading in that direction until he saw her street come into view, her black door staring him in the face like a kick to the chest. He needed to see her yet he knew he had no right to. He needed to know she was safe and happy and then maybe he could finally let her go.
Klaus was out there for hours watching her apartment, the sky darkened around him and rain started to fall as he sat on the steps of her apartment, his mind filled with the bubbly blonde who stole his heart.
She wasn't there. He waited and long after the rain had soaked his clothes he discovered she didn't live there anymore. Klaus had asked an old lady coming from the apartment block and she told him Caroline had moved out years ago. He guessed he shouldn't be surprised, he told her to move on so he should be happy that she was doing just that. It's not like she knew he would look for her, Klaus didn't tell anyone he was being released and even if he had he couldn't expect Caroline to greet him with a smile and call him an idiot, not after everything he did to her.
He stayed out there for another hour, reminiscing. Her apartment held some special times for them and Klaus felt like this was his way of mourning their relationship. While he was inside he thought of Caroline non-stop, she kept him grounded and he needed that, he needed her. The first time he told her he loved her was in that apartment, the first time he painted her was in her bedroom on the first floor on a rainy Tuesday morning, the day she gave him a key to her home was the day he realised how lucky he was to have her.
Eventually the rain made him shiver, his hair plastered to his forehead and he knew he had to leave. He didn't belong here, not anymore. Klaus gave her apartment one last look before forcing himself to move from those steps, walking towards his own home on autopilot. He made one stop on the way to an off-license, a bottle of scotch clutched to his hand as he exited the store. Klaus was only thankful his wallet was returned to him when he left prison because god did he need a drink.
The alcohol burned his throat as he took methodical sips from it on the walk home. That was nothing compared to the pain in his chest when he thought about Caroline.
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Tah-dah! First chapter is here! Thoughts/feelings?
Please review! Continuing this story is down to you guys, if you want more I will write it! Thank you!
Next chapter: Caroline's POV and what she has been up to for the past five years.
Favourite line/scene?