Say the Words

I'm sorry for this. I'm filled with sad today. Angst. Character death.

I love you. It became his favorite series of words to say.

He whispered I love you against her lips when he kissed her goodbye, tears forming in her eyes as he turned away. Klaus had to leave her though; it was as much for her protection as his own.

I love you written in the letters he sent her. He didn't know why he wrote them at first, but then she started sending him pictures of the places she had gone, the things she had done, he knew that this had been his secret wish, that she would respond to him.

I love you, spoken firmly when she had found him in New Orleans and thought he did not want her anymore because he had remained silent at seeing her there. It got easier after that, and the words rolled off his tongue easily. I love you Caroline. I love you.

Taim i`ngra leat. Kocham Ciebie. Jeg elsker dek. Ya tebya liubliu. Eg elska tig. Rikhmith-eykh. Ich liebe dich. Gráím thú. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Whispered, yelled, slipped casually into conversation, said tenderly after a passion filled night together, in every language that he knew. She would know how he felt about her, though he was never sure of how she felt for him.

She didn't leave him, never tried to, though in the years they spent together he did many things that she did not approve of. Still, she stayed, the light to his darkness. Always there with a smile, a kiss, a gentle touch.

They lived that way for decades. I love you, I love you, I love you, said to her smile, to her kiss, to her touch, never returning the words he so desperately wished she could feel for him, wondering if he had simply done too much for her to ever feel true love for him. Still, she stayed and that had to mean something. Some level of caring on her part.

Elijah and Rebekah told him they saw nothing but love reflected there in her eyes, and he hoped against hope that they were right. That she was falling for him even as he fell more and more in love with her as the years passed by.

There came a day, a new threat discovered, and he had to leave for several days. She hadn't wanted him to leave, had begged him to stay. He made sweet, slow love to her, reassuring her that everything would be alright. That he would return soon enough. Hurry back, she whispered against his mouth, I have something to tell you.

I love you, he whispered in return, smiling down at her.

He returned after several days, tired, bloody, but expectant. Her promise excited him, and he wondered… no, he would not get his hopes up.

Time seemed to slow, as he pushed their door open.

At first, he was sure that the man pressing her down onto their bed was a secret lover she had hid from him, the reason she could not love him. But then, he saw the horrible truth, and he wished she had a secret lover. That would have been better than this.

A stake plunged into her heart, the man pushing it further into her, before Klaus regained his senses, speeding over to them, ripping the man's head from his shoulders.

Nik. She gurgled, blood seeping out of her mouth, and he shushed her, pulling out the stake gently, trying to make it better.

I love you. He whispered brokenly, not knowing what else to say as her skin continued graying, part of the stake lodged in her heart. Hunter's had grown more creative over the years.

I love you too. Her skin grayed over, her eyes went dead, her last bit of life going to say those words.

He screamed, he yelled, he broke the furniture in the room, throwing everything, ripping priceless paintings apart, but none of his displays changed a thing. She remained dead, lifeless, her final breath going to say the words he had wanted to hear so badly for so long.

I loved you, I loved you, I loved you.