Elijah Mikaelson loves Jenny Stevens. Whether that was in her forever or his, it didn't matter; he would love her regardless. After all, he was convinced that she was the love of his life.
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The couple was in another location and they didn't speak of their inevitable doom again. But even so Elijah looked brighter somehow like he knew some secret that she didn't.
It was early morning one day and Jenny sat outside watching the sun rise as she drank coffee. It was surprising how something that happened every day she never really took notice of until now. She learned she only started taking in the beauty of these mundane things when Elijah entered her life.
While she watched the sun rise, her mind was still in a sleepy haze and she pictured kids running about on the lawn, their kids. It was a nice little fantasy she had before Elijah joined her.
He sat beside her on the bench as the sun rose. They didn't speak but just simply enjoyed the presence of one another. Jenny laid her head on his shoulder and he laid a soft kiss on the top of her head. She just didn't know that Elijah was having the same fantasy too.
Except Elijah knew that it wasn't a fantasy any longer. It could be real with the cure. And he realized that he wanted that but only with her.
She was his Jenny who was like the sun. Only looking at her gave his soul life. He would die for her so of course he would live for her as well.
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It was Valentine's Day.
They were in London. They had started to stay longer at places. But Elijah would also leave her in these places for extended periods of time but never more than a couple of days; he would never tell her what he was doing or why he had to leave. But he had a little smile on his face when she asked like he knew something that not only would make her happy but that made him happy as well.
So she never quite questioned him and today that was far from her mind. Today she woke up to a love letter on her pillow from Elijah. So all day they just kept writing love letters to each other even though they were in the same room and shared the same space. They mostly just stayed in the library the monstrosity of a house had while stealing glances at one another while they wrote sonnets, poems, letters to each other.
It made her smile so widely but it made him smile so much too. But their love letters ended in the evening because they had plans. Elijah was taking her to this fancy restaurant.
"Is this fancy enough?" she walked out into the foyer where he was waiting by the door.
She gestured to her blue dress but Elijah's breath caught in his throat as he gazed at her. She was the most beautiful thing he ever looked at but he was always thinking that...and often.
He breathed, "I'd say you look positively radiant."
She blushed as she looped her arm around his, looking up at him, "You look like that too."
"Do you have everything?" he asked and she nodded, holding out her clutch.
And they left. It all reminded her of their first date. Everything was perfect then. But it feels even more perfect now. And the night ended with a promise of a lifetime of tomorrows in their kiss, a promise embedded in their hearts.
______
It was only a week later and Elijah was leaving her. He was disappearing on one of his mysterious adventures.
"Why won't you tell me what you're doing whenever you go on one of these trips? What surprise do you have in store, Elijah?" Jenny asked as she leaned against the corner of the wall, put one hand on her hip, and pretended to look intimidating by squinting her eyes at him.
Elijah smiled and looked at her adoringly as he put his suit jacket on, "A good one."
Elijah walked over to her and tucked a part of her hair behind her ear before kissing her on the forehead. As he pulled away, "I'll be back soon."
Before Elijah could pull away completely, Jenny removed the hand from her hip and placed it on his cheek as she reached up and kissed him on the lips. Elijah kissed her back and he snuck a hand around her waist, pulling her gently forward so she was flush against him.
She stopped the short kiss and her thumb caressed his cheek, "Why you do always try to leave without really kissing me?"
"Because then I would have to force myself to leave," Elijah answered before he kissed the side of her lips as though that one kiss wasn't enough.
She smiled up at him, "That addicted, uh?"
"Completely," Elijah said as he placed both hands on her cheeks.
Her smile just got wider and she took a step away from him, grabbing his hands and holding them in hers, "Well, don't keep me missing you for too long."
"I'll try," he sighed, his smile disappearing from his face. He didn't want to leave now. He'd probably come back tomorrow just to see her smile sooner. But he knew the reason for these trips was for the future he wanted with Jenny and he wouldn't sacrifice that future for this present.
Elijah looked so serious all of the sudden and with a distant look on his face, so she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "I love you."
He tensed in surprise, his thoughts too far away to notice what she was doing. But he was back in the present now and his smile was wide. Happiness engulfed him.
He leaned down and his lips connected with her cheek in a slow, smoldering kiss. He muttered loud enough for her to hear against her skin, "I love you."
And then he was gone. He had vanished and she was left smiling at the space he had just occupied.
____
It was only two days later that Elijah came back. Jenny was on a bike ride through the cobblestoned streets when he called her.
Jenny always answered her phone always waiting to hear from Elijah. So when she heard it ring, she stopped her bike immediately and answered it.
"Elijah," her voice sounded through the phone, the happiness in her voice could barely be contained. "You're back, aren't you?"
"I'm back," Elijah answered. "But I'm not at home..."
Elijah told her he was at her favorite little cafe. He was waiting for her there.
Jenny's smile was so wide, "You're hardly even back yet and the first thing you do is wait to treat me to dinner. Is there a special occasion?"
"I'm just simply showing a beautiful woman that I love her," Elijah smiled. He was finally going to tell her of the plans he had, all the dreams that could come true; he thought of the ring in his pocket.
Jenny bit her lip and was about to respond when a commotion in the crowd got her attention. She looked behind her and saw people running towards her away from something. She didn't have enough time to look before a person running ran into her and knocked her over on her bike. Not even an apology was uttered.
Jenny grabbed the phone that fell from her hands and she looked down at it; it was cracked and broken. She stood up and looked behind her, losing her breath at what she looked at.
No one ever gets a perfect goodbye. Jenny certainly didn't get hers. She smiled before the end, thinking that if she thought of her love for him, he might receive it somehow.
That was her last smile.
_____
Tragedy wanted tragic ends and endings pulled people apart as if they didn't dream, as if they didn't hope, as if they didn't love, as if they didn't grieve. All of that meant nothing to tragedy as it decided death would be its masterpiece.
Jenny never made it to the cafe. Instead Elijah was left to find her bloodied, mangled body on the street after a lone man drove a truck through a crowd of people. He had kept calling her name through the phone hoping that she'd answer.
But she didn't.
Elijah remembered seeing her smile for the first time. He felt so drawn to her he eventually thought that meant they were perfect or fated. But fate loved tragedy and tragedy loved death.
Death certainly loved (or plagued) Elijah Mikaelson and it took Jenny, the woman whose smile was his everything, and like a candle burning out all at once, Elijah Mikaelson loved Jenny Stevens.
Yes, tragedy mused, what a masterpiece.
AN: welp here is the end of part I. I could say this was the last of your pain but that would be a lie.