tvd preferences & imagines

how kai realized he was in love with you

He didn't meet you until after he had escaped the prison world-after he had killed a decent percentage of the guests at Alaric and Jo's wedding. He'd like to say he'd calmed down a bit after that, but if he was being honest, that was a lie.
You'd first walked into his life in early November, after you sat down next to him at a bar and enquirered if he'd mind terribly if you vented about the day you'd just had.
He didn't.
And he didn't mind, to his surprise, carrying you to his car and driving you home after you'd had a bit too much to drink, and he didn't mind carrying you inside and putting you in the guest room.
When you woke up the next morning, you were all smiles and made the coffee while he made the pancakes.
He wasn't expecting himself to lean over and kiss you unceremoniously in the middle of the meal, but you didn't seem to mind, so that was all alright.
But he didn't love you then. He liked you-but he didn't love you .
No, he loved you four months later, in February.
He'd just taken you out to a Valentine's Day dinner when some guy started making lewd comments at you while you walked down the sidewalk.
You both tried to ignore him at first, but the man got agitated, and called you a fucking whore, and Kai lost it.
He jumped on the man, shoving him to the ground and driving fist after fist into his face, screaming "Don't you fucking talk to her like that" until the man stopped breathing and he got up and leaned into you shakily, and you walked him home without comment.
You cleaned him off in the bathroom and put bandages on his knuckles and he apologized frantically, but you cradled his face and told him that you knew how angry he got and that it was okay, because you knew he'd never hurt you.
He loved you then.
And he told you, and you smiled brighter than the sun and leaned into his palm, the one that had been stained with another man's blood only a few minutes ago, and you told him you loved him too.