𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝙻𝚂 & 𝙳𝙴𝙼𝙾𝙽𝚂 | 𝙺𝚘𝚕 𝙼𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚘𝚗

→ ｅｉｇｈｔｅｅｎ

Angel released a long yawn, exhausted from all the preparations as she made her way back to her room. Excitement and nerves bubbled under her chest as she realized tomorrow she would be married. By tomorrow, she would be James Taylor's wife. The thought gave her shivers, but not the bad kind.

Another yawn escaped her lips as she slipped into her room, ready to go to sleep when a figure on her bed caught her attention.

"Dad," Angel smiled as she found her dad sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting for her to return. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come put my daughter to bed?" Klaus asked, although both knew it was a weak excuse. "I used to do it all the time, you know."

"You haven't done that since I was ten," Angel replied as she sat down beside her father.

"I met James today," his words caused Angel to tense up as she whipped her head to look at him with wide eyes.

"You didn't...?" Angel trailed off, afraid of asking the question but more afraid of the answer. 

"Relax, only asked him a few questions," Klaus shook off her questions before reluctantly adding with a shrug, "I suppose he seems like a decent fellow."

Angel grinned at his words, knowing James would rub off on Klaus eventually. Klaus could hate that Angel was leaving him all he wanted, but after his interrogation with James, he had to admit Angel had chosen a good man. Much better than any suitor Rebakah had ever chosen in his opinion.

"He doesn't know about that stuff, right?" Angel asked, wondering if Klaus had exposed their vampire secret to her lover.

"Don't worry, I compelled him to forget everything," Klaus waved her concerns away. "Much better than chopping his head off, right?"

Angel playfully rolled her eyes as the two laughed together. Looking at her father, she felt a pang of sadness at the thought of never seeing him again. She would never be able to laugh with him or have a father looking out for her again. 

Without warning, Angel threw her arms around Klaus, pulling him in for a tight hug which was quickly reciprocated by the vampire. Tears prickled at the corner of Angel's eyes as she forced herself not to completely lose it on her last night with her father. 

"Thank you," Angel breathed out and Klaus understood.

On the surface, Angel was thanking him for allowing the marriage. For not killing the man she loved when he had killed so many lovers before him.

Deep down, however, Klaus knew she was thanking him for something far deeper. She was grateful for all the years he spent raising her, teaching her what she needed to know and other times what she was curious to learn. He taught her how to defend herself, both from humans and monsters that roamed the night.

Most importantly, Angel was thanking him for loving her. For simply being her dad for the past seventeen years. That in itself was something Angel could never payback.

"Anything for you, my little Angel," Klaus whispered back as he stroked her head, wishing they could stay in that moment forever. 

Klaus tried not to think about how tomorrow his daughter would no longer be Angel Knight. She would become Angel Taylor. No longer was she going to be his little girl that he could protect. He was forced to say goodbye to his daughter whom he would most likely never see again after the wedding. To protect her, Klaus had to let go of her.

Unfortunately, Klaus had never been good at letting go of those he loved.