Untitled Klaroline ficlet
She finds him in the town square. He's pulled Carol from the fountain, laid her out respectably on the ground so that there is no sign of the struggle she put up. He's still drinking and when he looks up to see her there, he winces.
She has been so angry, so frustrated, so on edge lately. But she feels eerily calm now. "What have you done?" she asks softly.
"Betrayed me," he slurs. "All betrayed me. Tyler… They're all…"
"The hybrids?"
"You knew. Of course you knew. You always know." His body shudders as though he might sob, but he doesn't. "The hybrids are all dead."
"I understand that they betrayed you." And she hates herself for finding it even a little bit understandable that he murdered twelve thirteen people tonight. For actually feeling pity for him earlier now. "But what did she do?" She gestures at Carol's body.
"That… that was for Tyler. He's the one who led the hybrids into betrayal, the one who helped them break the sire bond. He's the one who hurt you. But he's still the one you… He is, isn't he? After everything, it's him."
"I love him," she says.
"Is it so much to ask?" He's shouting now. "Is it so much to ask for just one person, just one…"
"No," she says. She steps towards him, touches his cheek gently. He is covered in blood, drunk on rage and sadness and whiskey, but she isn't afraid of him. "No, it's not too much. But I'm not that person. I can't be."
He closes his eyes and leans into her touch, lifting his hand to keep hers pressed against his face. "Caroline…" he whispers. "I don't… Love is weakness. That's what I always told Elijah and Rebekah. And I won't be weak. I can't be weak, not aga--I can't. But you, you're… You're so strong. You've a… a perfect grace."
God help her, she pities him even as they stand beside the body of her boyfriend's mother. "This isn't the way, Klaus. Violence and force may be how you've always gotten what you wanted in the past, but that's not how love works. It's not real unless it's given freely." She makes her decision swiftly, before she can second-guess herself, and leans in to kiss him. She kisses him softly, sweetly, and then it is over. His eyes are wide as he stares at her.
"That was real, Klaus. Just so you know. That's what it feels like when it's real."
She walks away from him and he lets her go.