A/N: Greetings readers! It has been so long since I've picked up the pen and had the courage to write. I had a gazillion thoughts and plots in my head but I never had the courage to write. I hope you welcome my fic. This is the first slash I've ever written. I welcome all your comments and flaming catapults. So with that, I give you, the Dreadful Desire.
I: Stopped and Stared
Duncan Quagmire shivered softly.
He was at the roof of an abandoned laundry shop. The shop was named Violet's Fabric Deodorizer, which reminded him of the three other orphans sharing the condemned building with him and his siblings: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire.
Three orphans accused of murder by the Daily Punctilio.
Three children that is a family to Duncan as much as his siblings are.
And one orphan… who is the love of his live.
"Hey Duncan! What are you doing up there?" Quigley Quagmire asked, holding up two cans of Vanilla Flavored Drinks. Duncan patted the piece of roof next to him, a traditional gesture which means, "Come beside me."
Quigley scrambled, a little clumsily, beside Duncan and handed him his Vanilla Flavored Drink.
"Thanks," Duncan muttered ambiguously. Quigley Quagmire has been recently reunited with his brother and sister, but Duncan felt very worn out, a phrase which here means, "very tired of sharing every moment with his siblings and the Baudelaire orphans." It wasn't that he did not enjoy their company; he just felt that he needed a bit of time to himself that did not include discreetly eliminating waste from his body.
"You okay, brother?" Duncan heard a twinge of guilt in his brother's voice. He knew that things are not okay, especially between the two of them. He knew that it was dangerous for them to be living with the Baudelaires, especially since they are falsely accused murderers, thieves, and arsonists; he knew that it was dangerous for them to continue going to museums, libraries, grocery stores, and mapmaking stores to continue pursuing their interests in inventing, reading, journalism, poetry, culinary, and cartography; he knew it was dangerous for them to continue raising Beatrice Snicket, as they were only five teenagers and one toddler, all of which have no experience in raising a baby; he especially knew it was dangerous for him to let his feelings get the best of him when he put two and two together about Violet Baudelaire and his sibling sitting beside him, a phrase which here means "understood that something happened between Violet Baudelaire and Quigley Quagmire while he and Isadora were on the self-sustaining hot air balloon with Hector, even if neither Violet nor Quigley said anything." That last one was definitely not okay with Duncan, who has met Violet first and shared equally happy moments with her. He knew that Quigley knew that he knew this, so instead of saying that it was not okay, all he said was what people usually say when they do not want to be bothered: "Everything's fine, Quigley. Thank you for asking."
Duncan took a sip from his Vanilla Flavored Drink. He knew that Quigley was not satisfied, but he simply nodded and took a long drink from his canned beverage. They stared into the sunset some more until they heard Sunny Baudelaire call out, "Dinner!"
Dinner was very tense.
Violet's Fabric Deodorizer was, oddly enough, located at the Fish District near the Baudelaire's old home. It was too dangerous for the orphans to use electricity, not because they were stupid, but because an abandoned building receiving electric bills seems somewhat strange. And because the place was, as Klaus discovered, once a well-known safe place for the VFD members, they had to be extra careful.
They lit candles atop the dinner table, which used to be a long bench filled with fabric conditioners. It was at the back of the first floor of the two storey building, so they took the chance. It was clear, however, that the moment Duncan and Quigley reached the vicinity of the dining room that dull lighting is the least of their worries.
"What were you thinking?! Do you want to get yourself killed?" Isadora Quagmire yelled. She was tending bruises on Klaus's arm and face, stabbing them with her anger that made Klaus wince a lot.
"They were asking for it. You know me better than to pick fights with strangers." Klaus said. Duncan noticed that his shirt was tattered and muddy, ripped at the sleeves showing off his bulging arms.
"The fact is, Klaus, you love picking fights. Resorting to violence would not help our situation right now."
Duncan's spine tingled. Violet Baudelaire appeared from behind them with bandages on her arm. He decided to instead focus on Klaus's bare legs, which were muddled and muscular. He never noticed how Klaus was now taller than Violet, or how his voice seems an octave deeper than the time they spent trying to figure out how to escape the villagers at the Village of Fowl Devotees.
Klaus, noticing Duncan staring, gave him a sheepish smile. Duncan bit his lip and turned to Isadora. "What happened exactly?"
"Someone was making fun of him for looking like a murderer / so he went out of his way and put all of us in danger!" Isadora, when really frustrated, speaks in rhyming couplets.
"Izzy, I'm sure that if you were in his position, you would act the same way." Duncan said, and all eyes went to him. Klaus and Isadora often fight, but it was always he who sides with her first. It surprised them all, Klaus especially, to hear Duncan defend Klaus instead of his sister.
"Dinner!" Sunny repeated, this time with less enthusiasm. They all gathered around the table and took their usual seats. Duncan sat at the head of the table, with Sunny and Beatrice at his left and right respectively. Klaus and Isadora sat beside Sunny and Violet and Quigley beside Beatrice. As Sunny started distributing dining utensils, Duncan said, "Klaus, do you mind if we switch seats?"
"I mind." Isadora huffed. She was just as stubborn as Klaus sometimes. "You know what, I don't think I'm very hungry tonight. Good night everyone."
With that, she disappeared upstairs.
Klaus sighed, looked at Duncan and patted Isadora's empty chair, the same gesture he used on the rooftop earlier. Duncan smiled and took a seat beside Klaus. Beatrice gazed at him as he did so.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Duncan. I did not mean to make Izzy livid," Klaus mumbled, using a fancy word for angry. It looked like he was about to cry. Duncan knew from his own research and the eighteen months that the Quagmires has spent with the Baudelaires in the abandoned laundry shop that Klaus has difficulty expressing emotions like this. He knew Klaus would rather recite an Edgar Guest poem than cry in front of them. Duncan hesitated, but he knew that what he did was right.
Duncan made sure Violet and Quigley weren't looking. He put his hand on Klaus's bare thigh and gave it a squeeze. He let his hand creep closer and closer to Klaus's crotch, teasing as they go. Klaus gave a tiny, inaudible gasp, but didn't stop him…
There! That is my first try! I know this chapter is soooo long and will probably be longer than the others, but I want to set the mood and write in the way everyone can understand. I hope I didn't disgrace our fandom or the dignities of any slash writers out there. For anyone that is hoping for an update on my other stories, I am TRULY SORRY. You may wait for about another year. (It's been almost half a decade, so there isn't much difference anyways xD). And, as all authors say, PLEASE R&R!