Warnings: Smut, Angst, Character death

I think about you often

I can't forget all the things we did

~Some things Last a Long TIme, Beach House

"I hear congratulations are in order."

Klaus turned at the voice; he had hoped, dreamed, that it would happen. Maybe like this. Maybe exactly like this. But he had never thought that his wild imaginings would ever come to pass. "Caroline," he breathed, feeling at once apprehension and elation. "What are you doing here?"

She approached, hips swaying, and he fought the desire to look over all of her. To let his eyes linger where the dress she was wearing clung to her curves. When she stopped several feet in front of him, he had to fight the urge to close the distance. To feel her body beneath his hands. And then beneath his body. "I told you. I heard congratulations were in order." She stopped to offer him a smile. "You got what you wanted."

"Not everything." The words slipped through his lips before he could stop them, the knowing look she shot him telling him that she knew exactly who he was referring to. She should after all. It was her. "Was that all you came here for then?" He tried to muster some shred of the facade he gave everyone else; calm, in control, dangerous under the surface. It wouldn't fool her though; when had it ever? She saw through even his strongest defenses.

She shook her head slowly, some of her curls slipping from her loose bun. He longed to push it back, to undo her hair. To feel the silky strands slip through his fingers. What had she done to him? What was she doing to him? "No." She fiddled with her hands, casting her eyes down. "I, ummm," She breathed and he had to force down his impatience. "I want to be with you!" She finally blurted, much to his shock.

"You want to be with me? After thirty years?" None of this made sense, not her appearance, and certainly not the words falling out of her pretty mouth. It was all too good to be true. "It's because I'm king isn't it? Is that what you like, Caroline? Power? What if I don't want you?"

Caroline could see him shut off himself from her the moment the words she had fought back for so long came out of her mouth. It was the only reason she didn't run from the room when he asked her that. She knew him better now, could see when he was trying to protect himself from being hurt. "It's not because you're king now, Klaus." She said it softly, trying to comfort, hoping he would hear the truth in her words, and see the truth in her eyes. "It was the reason I was finally able to get myself to come to you, because I had an excuse. But I've wanted to be with you for a… a very long time now."

"If you're lying to me," he ground out, and she closed the distance between them. Reached a hand up to caress his cheek.

"I'm not. I want nothing more than to be here. With you. For as long as you'll have me."

He lowered his head, dipping toward her lips. "I hope that you're aware that that will be for a very long time."

"I'm counting on it." She stretched up on her toes, placing a soft kiss on his waiting lips. At least, she intended for it to be soft; they should talk some more, shouldn't they? But he seemed to have other ideas, not that she was complaining, as he deepened the kiss. His tongue swept out, tracing over her lips. He nibbled on her bottom lip, and that was enough for her to open up to him. Caroline was lost after that.

She was glad that she'd found him in his room; with a small shove, he landed on his bed. She shook her head at him when he tried to rise up. She stepped out of her heels, kicking them aside, then reached behind her to tug the zipper of her dress down. Something stopped her from stripping the dress from her body though; she wanted him to undress her, and she wanted to undress him. Caroline moved to the bed and stood in between his legs. Her fingers found the bottom of his shirt, and she tugged it up over his head. For the first time, she could give into a desire long repressed.

She looked at him. She appreciated his form. She kissed the tattoo on his chest. She touched him.

Klaus pushed the sleeves of her dress down, and she stepped back slightly so he could push it off of her. It pooled at her feet, and she blushed as his eyes looked over her body. He let out a growl before he tugged her to him, flipping so he was on top. She ran her hands over his chest and stomach… down to the button on his pants. A simple flick, and it was open. He smiled at her, tender and loving, dipping his head to kiss the exposed parts of her breasts. His tongue did wild things to her, and a shiver went down her spine. "You," His fingers reached behind her, easily undoing the clasp of her bra, the word punctuated by a soft kiss, a jolt of his hips into hers, and she bit back a moan. "Are so," He moved back, and she pouted for the loss of him, causing his smile to widen. Then her bra was gone, his fingers finding one taut nipple, his tongue the other. "So beautiful."

From there, it was a blur of touches. His fingers pushed her lace panties aside, stroking her nub. Working her up more, if that was even possible. Then he pushed a finger into her.

"Again, Caroline, say my name like that again." And he worked her until she screamed out his name, her body clenching around the two fingers that ended up being inside of her, her hips still rocking against his hand, longing to prolong the wonderful feelings he had brought out of her.

"I want you," She breathed out, and that seemed to be enough motivation for him to strip down, her shaking hands trying to help him. In his impatience, he nearly ripped the underwear off of her.

And then he was inside of her, his length hitting all the right spots. They moved together, Klaus pushing into her, and her hips reaching up to take him in more. Their lips found each other again, their hands gripped the other closer. The bed creaked under them, and in the back of her mind, Caroline hoped that there wasn't anyone else in the house to hear the sounds the two of them were making.

And then that didn't matter because all there was for her was him.

They found an easy rhythm after that. She stayed with him in New Orleans, and while they didn't define their relationship as being boyfriend and girlfriend (Caroline nearly laughed every time she considered the word and him in the same sentence; it wasn't that he couldn't be, it just didn't seem enough) everyone knew that they were together. That Caroline was protected. That she was to be given nearly the same amount of respect as Klaus himself.

He spent his days taking care of "his" city; she spent hers in various activities. She went to school, just to have something to do, on some days. Others she spent shopping. Sometimes she joined Klaus in his activities.

They always spent their nights together, though.

Neither had been exactly chaste in their time apart, but they were together now and they both joked that they had finally managed to ruin the other for all others. Jealousy flared from time to time, but they always worked through it. They fought, all the time; over his attitude toward people, and her attitude toward how he treated people. They always seemed to work through whatever problems they had, though, and for a very long time, they were happy. Together.

She said the words he most wanted to hear when he least expected it. He had brought her a present, a regular occurrence, placing the small box on her lap and disrupting her reading. "What's this?" She asked, turning her head back to him, raised eyebrow and all. He moved around the couch, lifting her legs up so he could sit down, placing them back over his lap.

"Open it."

Caroline set the book aside, flipping over the lid. "A key?" Confusion was clear in her voice, and on her face, as she glanced at him questioningly.

"It's a key to a house in the city." He responded cryptically.

Dread filled her. "Are you kicking me out?"

Realization dawned on his features, and both his hands moved to cup her cheeks. "No, no, of course not. It's not for you exactly. It's for your mother."

"You bought my mom a house?" She swallowed back the tears that were rising. How was it possible that this was the same man who had terrorized her town? The man that killed vampires just the week before for not obeying his rule?

"Well, yeah. I thought since she wasn't doing so well, you'd like to have her closer, and there aren't any more rooms her, and I figured you wouldn't want her around a lot of vampires-" He stopped when she shot forward, flinging her hands around his neck.

She placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love you." The words slipped out of their own volition, and they both moved back to stare at the other in shock. Then he was kissing her, his hands fisting in her hair.

"Say it again," He breathed against her lips.

"I love you, Klaus."

He pushed her down, hovering over her. His hips ground into hers, and she groaned at the contact.

When they were done, their clothes strewn about the room, Caroline deciding that she would have said the words much sooner if she had known that the sex would be that great (except she wouldn't change a thing ever, not really; it had been perfect and right and that was all that really mattered. Mind blowing sex aside.), and then Klaus pressed a kiss against her neck.

"I love you too."

"I'll be fine, Klaus." She said the next morning, exasperated that they were still having this conversation. "You're needed here, and my mom can't take a plane. I'll be there and back before you're even able to miss me."

"Doubtful, love." He shook his head. "I don't want you to be somewhere where I can't protect you."

She won in the end though. They kissed goodbye, Klaus asking her one last time to wait until he could go with her. She shook her head at him, kissing him again. "I love you, but you're crazy overprotective sometimes."

"I love you, but you seem to not realize that I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Well, that's never going to happen, so stop worrying about it."

Ten hours later, she pulled her car into a gas station in some middle-of-nowhere town. She glanced around nervously, then shook her head at herself. She was a vampire for crying out loud! She could take whatever-

"Excuse me miss, I'm short cash. Do you think you could part with a few bucks?"

Caroline turned, annoyed that she had been so distracted that she hadn't noticed anyone approach, ready to turn the man down. The kindly voice had been deceiving, she thought, when she found a stake pressed against her chest, the shock making her unable to respond to the threat appropriately, giving the stranger, a hunter she realized, the needed time to force the stake into her. It was painful, and oh so fast. Her body hit the pavement when he pulled the weapon out of her and pushed her away. She hadn't expected it to be so painful. It felt like hours, but was really seconds.

"Klaus," was the last thing she would ever say, as inaudible as it was. The last breath she took was to say the name of the man she had finally come to love. Her last thought was that the world was a cold, cruel place.

He had hoped that the vampire had been wrong. It wasn't possible. She couldn't be dead. There were so many things... he's promised her the world.

He couldn't deny it though, not with her body in front of him.

Klaus sat on the ground calmly. He pulled her body to him, scooping her into his lap. He soothed the hair back from her face. He rocked her gently. She would be okay. She had to be okay. She finally loved him; they were going to be together for a long, long time.

He didn't notice the tears running down his cheeks and onto her lifeless body.

I might write smut without angst. One day. Eventually. Maybe. I apologize for this.