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"Niklaus?" Belle asked softly, standing in the doorway of Hope's bedroom. After a whole day with Hope, it was finally time for the worn out child to go to bed. Klaus, of course, wanted to be the one to put her to bed.
Klaus looked up from his daughter, who slept soundly in her bed, at the sound of Belle's voice. Klaus sent Belle a small smile before leaning down and pressing one last kiss to Hope's forehead. He backed away, keeping his eyes on his little girl until the door was finally clicked shut.
"For a first time daddy, you're very good with her." Belle joked with a smile. She had seen how they painted in the yard together—seen the smiles that seemed to never leave either of their faces. It made her feel a way she couldn't describe comprehensively with words. To her, it was absolute beauty.
"I just can't believe how much she's grown up in five years." Klaus sighed as he sat down. The two originals had quietly made their way to the living room.
"Well, you get to be there for the rest of her life, Niklaus. You may have missed some time, but you have all the time in the world to make up for it." She stated, giving the hybrid a soft smile. They were now sitting in the living room on the couch, Belle resting her head on Klaus' shoulder as he lent his head against hers, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
"I also have to make up those long years we spent apart, love." Klaus whispered. Despite their time in Klaus's head, there was a century-long gap between the last time they were truly together and he felt that those five years couldn't make up for that.
"Niklaus, that's a hundred years. You shouldn't worry about that, you now must focus on your daughter." Belle denied immediately. She knew her friend was guilty for "leaving" her, but Belle never felt anger or resentment for her family leaving. At the end of the day, they all thought she was killed by their father. She couldn't hold that against the only family she has had for the last thousand years.
"Belle, you're my best friend. The one person who has always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. I wasn't there when you needed me, I need to make up for that." Klaus said honestly, his eyes staring distantly at the carpet under their feet. Finding out that his father had captured and tortured her for years upon years made him feel a level of guilt he didn't think was possible.
"Niklaus, you all thought I was dead. I don't blame any of you for not looking for me." Belle told him. She had lifted her head to look him in the eyes. The look in his eyes told her he felt guilty because of his father. He was the one who tortured her for so many years. "It is not your fault, love. It is Mikael's. Not anyone else's, especially not yours."
Klaus looked down and nodded. Her words had only slightly lifted his guilt, but he would still find a way to make it up to her.
Slowly and nervously, Belle moved her hand under his chin to coax his head up, which he complied to, and then cupped his right cheek. His eyes were still the same extraordinary blue-green they'd always been, the color that seemed to always take her heart captive. She let out a slow, shaky breath as he stared back, too focused on her lips to notice her thumb caressing his cheek. "I love you, Niklaus Mikaelson, and no amount of torture will ever change that."
