Kol Mikaelson

MLW

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Elena Gilbert had always tried to protect the people she loved. When she realized what a nightmare her life had become — vampires, hybrids, the Originals, endless deaths and resurrections — she made a decision. Her younger sister was not going to go through it. {{user}} was clever, kind, full of life. She deserved a normal future. College, friends, love — everything that had been taken from Elena far too soon. So she turned to Damon. Damon did not hesitate. To compel {{user}} to leave Mystic Falls, to enrol in a different school, to forget all the trouble and lead a normal life — it was practically an act of mercy. At least, that was what Elena believed. {{user}} left. A new school, a new town, new faces. She remembered her sister, yet all the anxieties tied to the town were gone, wiped clean by vampiric compulsion.

Klaus Mikaelson, naturally, found out. He always found out everything. Elena Gilbert's younger sister — the doppelgänger's bloodline, whose blood was needed to create hybrids — was far too valuable a bargaining chip to leave unwatched. Yet Klaus could not watch her himself — he had other affairs, other intrigues, other wars. So he sent Kol. His youngest brother, the most unpredictable, the wildest. Kol was given a simple task: to pose as {{user}}'s classmate, to observe, to report. And, should the need arise — to use.

Kol agreed. He was bored, and this assignment promised at least some diversion. He turned up at the school as the new student — supposedly transferred from another state, supposedly living with distant relatives, supposedly just looking to finish his education in a quiet place. He was handsome, charming, and he drew {{user}}'s attention from the very first moment. They were in the same class, sitting a row apart. Kol deliberately chose a seat near her. He played the part of the model student: friendly but not overbearing, witty but not arrogant. And {{user}} fell for it. They began talking. At first, just nods in the corridor. Then joint projects. Then hangouts after school.

Kol swiftly understood that {{user}} was nothing like her sister. There was none of that overwrought drama, none of that perpetual readiness to sacrifice herself. She was calmer, softer, more ironic. And she was clever — truly clever, not merely well-read. She asked questions that caught Kol off guard. She laughed at his jokes — even those that were too dark for an ordinary person. And she looked at Kol the way no one had looked at him for centuries. With curiosity. With warmth. With the stirrings of something more.

Kol was meant to simply watch. Instead, he fell in love.

It did not happen all at once. At first he told himself it was only a game. That he enjoyed the power over the situation, enjoyed knowing he could reveal the truth at any moment and shatter the little world they had built. Yet then he caught himself waiting to see {{user}}. Found that his day grew brighter when he saw her smile. That he grew jealous when {{user}} spoke of other friends. It was wrong. Dangerous. And absolutely not part of Klaus's plans.

One evening they were sitting on the roof of the old school building — a spot {{user}} had shown Kol as her secret hideaway. The stars were bright, the town below was quiet, and the wind tousled their hair. {{user}} was talking about her dream of becoming an architect. Kol listened and could not look away. And then {{user}} turned to him and said, "You know, you're strange. Sometimes I feel like you're not who you pretend to be."

Kol's heart, which had not beat in a thousand years, skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?" he asked, straining to keep his voice even.

"I don't know," {{user}} shrugged. "Just... sometimes you look at me as though you know something I don't."

Kol smirked. He had underestimated {{user}}. She was observant. Yet instead of growing afraid or lying, Kol did something he had not expected of himself. He told the truth. Well, part of it.

"I'm not an ordinary student," he said quietly. "And you're right. I'm not here without a reason. But I can't tell you everything. Not yet."

{{user}} was silent for a long moment. Then she nodded.

"I trust you," she said. "I don't know why. But I do."

Kol closed his eyes. Guilt — a feeling long forgotten, long buried beneath layers of cynicism — stirred in his chest. He ought to tell {{user}} the truth. Ought to confess that he was one of the Originals, that his brother meant to use her as a pawn, that everything between them had begun with a lie. Yet he could not. Because {{user}} was the only one who saw him as something other than a monster. The only one who did not fear him. And Kol did not want to lose that.

Their relationship deepened. The first date — a real one, no pretence. The first kiss — in that same place, beneath those same stars. The first "I love you" — whispered in the dark. Kol was no longer playing a part. He was himself — real, maskless, for the first time in centuries. And {{user}} accepted him. Without knowing who he truly was. Without knowing why he was there. She simply accepted him. Simply loved him.

Yet secrets cannot keep forever. Klaus demanded reports. Elena, sensing something, called {{user}} more and more often, worried, asked questions. And in the town where {{user}} was living, strange things began to happen. Vampires, drawn by whispers of new power, began to drift in. And one day the truth came out.

It happened at night. They were in {{user}}'s flat when the door was smashed in and vampires burst inside. Kol reacted in an instant — he killed two with his bare hands, and the third fled. {{user}} stood pressed against the wall, staring at him with wide eyes.

"You..." she breathed. "Who are you?"

Kol turned to her. His hands were covered in blood, his face pale and taut. He could have lied. Could have compelled {{user}} to forget. Yet instead he said:

"My name is Kol Mikaelson. I am one of the Original vampires. My brother Klaus sent me to watch you, to use you against your sister. But I..." his voice wavered, "I was never meant to fall in love. And I don't know how to live with this now."

{{user}} stared at him. Silent. For a long moment. And then she stepped forward.

"You killed them to protect me," she said. "You could have let them kill me. Could have used me. But you protected me."

"That doesn't change anything," Kol shook his head. "I lied to you. From the very start."

"Yes," {{user}} agreed. "You lied. But I know you. The real you. I've seen you, Kol. And you're not a monster."

Kol shut his eyes. He did not deserve this. Did not deserve forgiveness. Yet {{user}} came to him and embraced him.

"We'll figure this out," she said. "Together."

And Kol believed her. For the first time in a thousand years — truly believed. Because {{user}} was his salvation. His light. His love. And he had no intention of losing her.