It was late. Well, it seemed late, anyway. Klaus was pretty sure he had already been asleep for a little while, because the house was cold and dark, the unbalanced structure creaking almost continually in the wind. It was enough to give someone bad dreams, he thought while laying in his bed, himself silent and still, thinking and listening. The wind surged in off of Lake Lachrymose, surrounding Aunt Josephine's cliff top house with a ghostly shriek, making the windows shake and shutter in their rickety frames. He silently prayed that the supports anchoring the old house to the edge of the cliff would hold, as if his own sheer will could keep them all from plummeting to the dark water below. Soon, Klaus began to hear something unfamiliar, a sound almost too quiet and muffled amidst the nightmarish ones he had become accustomed to over the last few weeks.
He turned over in his bed to look across the room at Violet, automatically seeking the comfort of his older sister, but her bed was in shadow and he could only make out the shape of body and blankets on her bed. Silently, he slipped out of bed and tiptoed over to Sunny's little makeshift crib to peer down at her. She remained asleep, but had kicked her covers off sometime during the night. Pulling the blanket up to her chin, he patted her head gently and smiled at her peacefulness.
Violet, on the other hand, was tightly curled up on the farthest side of her bed, facing the wall, and crying down into her pillow. "Violet?" Klaus sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head, trying to stifle a sob. "No," she said miserably, not looking at him.
"What's wrong? Should I get Aunt Josephine?' Klaus asked worriedly, already halfway off the bed to find their guardian.
Violet laughed a mirthless laugh that turned into a sob. "No, Klaus. She can't help."
"Maybe I can help? If you would tell me what was wrong…" he trailed off, prompting her to speak.
She finally turned on her back, looking up at him through her wet lashes, cheeks red from crying. "I started my menstrual cycle today and I have cramps" she whined. "It just… it hurts so much and it's been going on all day without stopping, and now it's making me feel a little nauseated. I'm really tired, but can't sleep because there's just this constant ache."
"Oh," replied Klaus, only a little embarrassed. "Do you usually have such bad cramps with your cycle?" He sounded a bit like a doctor, asking a patient about their symptoms.
"Yes," Violet nodded, and Klaus noticed how her arms clutched around her abdomen, "but Mother would give me medicine for it, to make the pain go away."
"Maybe Aunt Josephine has some medicine. Did you ask her?"
"Of course," Violet rolled her eyes. "She said she didn't keep drugs in the house in case she might become addicted and then overdose and die." Then she imitated Aunt Josephine's disappointed voice. "Frankly, Violet, dear, I am surprised a nice girl like you would even consider taking drugs."
"Oh my, that sounds just like her. Do you even have any…you know, feminine products?" He asked, although he already knew the answer. "Of course you don't. I can't imagine Aunt Josephine is still experiencing a monthly period." Klaus had the profound ability to speak about embarrassing subjects with a matter of fact world view. It must have been from all of the books he'd read. "I'm sorry, Violet. I wish we had some money and we could walk to town to buy you a few things. This is ridiculous, really, the way Mother and Father have left us so unprotected!" Klaus often felt angry with his parents for his and his siblings misfortunes.
'Klaus, it's not worth you getting upset about," Violet tried to calm her brother, but not succeeding as her eyes closed tight against a new wave of ache.
"Is there anything else that helps?" Klaus asked.
"Well, a warm bath or maybe a hot water bottle... but that's impossible. You know Aunt Josephine doesn't let us use hot water." Violet was so miserable at her dismal prospects that she turned her face away and began to cry earnestly again, obviously exhausted.
"Do you want me to rub your stomach for you?" Klaus asked, noticing her hands pushing down on her lower belly, where it seemed to be hurting most.
"I guess you can try," Violet shook her head skeptically as she assented. Klaus stretched out beside her on the narrow bed, propping his head up on his hand. She had pushed the covers mostly down when she had turned, so she lay there, half covered by an old quilt, in her thin pajama shirt. He wore the bottoms to the pajamas, as they only had one set of Mr. Poe's older son's pajama hand-me-downs between them. He hesitatingly hovered his hand over Violet's lower abdomen before lowering it to rub soft circles below where he thought her belly button would be. The pajamas were a light cotton material and Klaus wondered if part of Violet's problem getting to sleep was that she might be too cold.
After a few minutes of silent massaging, Violet scrunched her face up and whined. "I'm sorry Klaus, it just isn't helping." Taking his hand from her stomach and giving it a squeeze, she said, "But it is nice, to not be alone. Thank you for checking on me. I'll be alright."
He hated to be dismissed when Violet was still so uncomfortable, when he hadn't yet said something, an idea, that he had been thinking about for several minutes now, unsure how it would be received by his sister. "Well… I did read somewhere... that having an orgasm can help with cramps," Klaus stated, trying to sound clinical.
"Really?" Violet asked.
"Yes. The orgasm makes your uterus contract, which should help give some relief. That is something you could take care of yourself, right?" he asked awkwardly.
"It sounds odd, but at this point I'm willing to try anything," Violet said, and she promptly spread her legs and plunged her hand down the front of her panties, in a hurry to get rid of her ailment.
Klaus was so surprised that he began to stutter. "Oh, okay. You're going to try that then. I…I guess…I'll let you at it." Klaus sat up to move back to his own bed to give Violet some privacy.
"No, Klaus," Violet grabbed his arm. "Stay here with me, okay?" she asked, and she sounded so pitiful, that he leaned back down beside her, not exactly sure what to do with himself now. Violet let her eyes fall close. Her face was splotchy, pale and pink skin at odds with each other. Her eyes were puffy and ringed with dark circles. Curious, he glanced down to where her hand was busy rubbing circles between her legs. Her panties had come down in the front where Violet's wrist pulled at the fabric, and Klaus could see some of the dark patch of hair there. A wave of heat rushed over his body, his cheeks felt like they were on fire. His heart rate quickened in a shameful arousal that he could feel pulse through a growing erection.
He had only wanted to comfort Violet, and... he did want to be there for her, but this felt a little like torture, and way out of his league. She quickened her hand from gentle circles to rubbing long lines up and down her center. She sometimes bucked her hips, her muscles noticeably tense, and she was whispering encouragement to herself that he could only hear because he was laying so close to her. "Come on, come on, come on…"
She shook her head in frustration. "It isn't working. I can't."
"Violet," he tried to sound supportive. "I imagine it will take longer than that. You have to try to relax. Take a deep breath," he told her, taking his own deep breath and she copied. Then they took another deep breath together. "Okay, keep going. You're doing a good job," he encouraged, feeling ridiculous, because what did he know? He didn't even know if this would work, but he would admit to himself that he was curious to see this to the end. "Relax your arms and your legs. Relax your neck."
Violet took another deep breath and let her legs fall to the sides, so that one of them actually rested on Klaus's thigh. She turned her head to rest under Klaus's cheek. "Okay," she assented and started over, holding her panties down in the front with one hand and using the other to rub quick circles again over a pink nub. He could see quite clearly from this new angle what she was doing and God, it was turning him on. He found it harder to regulate his breathing, especially as hers became rapid and ragged.
He knew that siblings were not supposed to do these sorts of things together, that it was not his job to comfort Violet this way, but he felt some pride that she trusted him with this. Violet's pajama top had ridden up so that he could see her flat belly and the shadow of her belly button. Her breasts were just small swells of flesh under her shirt, but they held endless appeal for a teenage boy. His erection was almost painful. Watching his sister get herself off had excited him so much, that he fought the urge to reach into his own pants and give himself some of the same relief.
She was trying so hard to alleviate her pain that Violet was tensing up again. Klaus could feel her hot breaths on his cheek. Her knees rose from their relaxed position, her feet planted on the bed, and she began to move her hips regularly in congruence with her hand. Each thrust of her pelvis had her hips bumping against his own sensitive area, and he leaned into her just a bit to increase the friction between them. Would she notice?
"Klaus," she said, breathless, "I can't, I can't."
"Yes, you can. Does it feel good, at all? Try to focus on the pleasure, not the pain. Keep going," he encouraged. She was rubbing herself hard enough to make the bed creak, but nodded her head, still crying a little. She needed help. Klaus knew there was more than one erogenous zone and if it could be stimulated, maybe Violet's orgasm could be hurried along.
Klaus placed a hand on Violet's stomach, dragging it slowly up under her shirt. "I'm so going to hell," he said under his breath. His fingers gently encased one breast and he brushed his thumb over her nipple several times before he felt it form a stiff peak.
"Oh God, Yes. That's good," she exclaimed, a little too loud, sounding sexy and hopeful.
"Shhh," he reminded her quietly.
Klaus squeezed harder and moved to the other side, kneading her soft flesh, running his palm over her nipple. "Don't stop! I'm close now," she practically pleaded with him. She was a hot mess, muscles tense, hips bucking, low moans that he felt hot against his neck, where she was burying her face. All of a sudden her body folded in on itself, the power of her orgasm overwhelming her, mouth open in silent, pleasurable agony. Watching Violet reach her climax got the better of Klaus.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," cried Klaus under his breath, quickly using the hand propping up his head to push hard between his legs, letting his head fall to the pillow next to Violet's, in a vain attempt to prevent the inevitable. He had become too excited, too stimulated, and feeling an electric tingle in his spine that quickly surged down his back and limbs to make him ejaculate forcefully in his pants, he stifled a strangled gasp, hoping Violet didn't notice.
Violet's limbs had gone all limp with relaxation and they lay still in the aftermath, both of them breathing heavy. Violet let out a huff of tired laughter. "Klaus? Did you just…?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Klaus interrupted before she could say the embarrassing words, turning his face into the pillow, pulling his arm nonchalantly out of Violet's shirt.
"It's fine, Klaus. Really. I think it worked, actually. I do feel much better," she said drowsily, unable to keep her eyes open. She pulled her fingers out of her panties and wiped them on the side of the bed. "Will you stay here?"
"I can if you want." He felt really tired now, ready for sleep. His underwear were a mess, but probably so were Violet's. They would have to do laundry tomorrow.
"Come under the covers. You can keep me warm, okay?" She inclined her head in his direction.
Klaus climbed under the old quilt, curled his body around Violet, holding her arm cradled against his body, lacing his fingers with hers and placing a leg over hers. She was asleep in seconds. His own body felt warm and relaxed. He laid his head next to hers on the pillow, his forehead resting against her temple. He didn't even notice the wind or the creaking of the house anymore, only Violet's even breaths as she slept. For tonight, at least, all was finally at peace.