Summary: Klaus, Clara, and a nightmare. The aftermath of Azusa. Klaus x MC

Considering how much time they spent together, it wasn't difficult for Klaus to notice changes in Clara's behavior. One day Clara had come to his office as usual, clearly cheered by the prospect of seeing him, but her reactions were a hair slower, her grins a little less wide. Klaus brushed her behavior off, scolding her as usual for being slow. Then it happened again the next day. And again the next.

By the fourth day her skin seemed sallower than usual, and she was unmistakably exhausted. Klaus had disguised his unease with a cutting remark about how she looked – "Awful," he'd declared, "Why can't you take care of yourself?" – but he'd grown more concerned when she barely responded.

"Clara," he called out sharply, as he watched her nod off while standing at the bookshelf. Predictably, with a squeak of surprise, she started, lost her balance, and would have landed painfully on her bottom if Klaus had not already positioned himself to catch her.

He lingered longer than necessary, letting his body be the anchor that she needed while enjoying her warmth tucked against him, before propping her back up on her feet. She blinked at him, the remnants of a blush on her cheeks. "S-sorry."

"You haven't been sleeping enough."

Clara sighed in resignation and nodded meekly in agreement.

"What have you been doing at night?" he asked. "I know it's not studying, because Professor Schuyler said you messed up in class again this morning."

She groaned. "You heard about that already?"

Apparently Clara had managed to turn a simple water glass-conjuring exercise into a disaster, summoning a herd of Wing rabbits that had blinked in and out of sight repeatedly, making them near-impossible to catch. Klaus had gotten a reprimand on his Buddy's behalf from the embattled professor, and had planned to give Clara a hard time about that later. In private, he was still trying to figure out how to harness her affinity for animals in a way that wouldn't cause havoc in the classroom. It was still unclear to him how so much of her spellwork tended to take living form, a tendency that reflected unique talents that could one day be extraordinary – if she ever mastered control of the fundamentals.

It was an interesting challenge, but certainly not the only challenge he faced with Clara.

"Get some more sleep," Klaus ordered roughly. "If you don't rest, you'll do poorly in your classes, and that will affect the both of us. You need to skip grades to graduate with me, remember?"

She nodded blearily. Moments later, she dropped a book on the ground – and then nearly dropped to the ground herself when trying to pick it up.

"Hey," he murmured, moving to take the volume from her fumbling fingers. "I've got this. Why don't you rest here for a bit?"

"Mmm….no."

"Why not? It's not like you haven't fallen asleep here before."

"I'll be…okay. Just a little…tired."

She wouldn't make it another hour at this rate; their afternoon training was already doomed if she couldn't see straight enough to return a book halfway across a room. Klaus decided to try a different approach. "Darling," he pitched his voice low.

"Huh?" She stared at him, clearly not expecting the endearment.

"Come take a nap. Please." He stroked at her hair. "I love seeing you asleep, you know," he teased gently.

She blushed. "R-really?"

"Yeah. I'm the only man who gets to see you asleep," he said with a smug grin, watching her face flame. He treasured that memory of the day he'd found her, sleeping like an angel, in this very room. It was a sight that only lovers had of each other.

He pulled her over to the large sofa across the room, and then tucked a blanket over her. She was unconscious almost before he finished. He kissed her forehead and she mumbled incoherently, her words giving way to a dreamy smile.

It was about half an hour later that he heard her whimper his name. Alarmed, he looked over, finding her brow furrowed. Her fists were clenched, and when he approached, he noticed that her skin had gone clammy.

She whimpered again, muttering softly to herself. "Klaus…" He reached down to stroke her hair, but the touch caused her to flinch away. "No," she gasped. "No. Please."

"Clara," he called firmly.

She did not awaken, and he frowned, knowing that Clara had a complicated relationship with dreams. Was she perhaps, dreaming of the future? But then she cried out another name. "Don't do this, Azusa!"

Klaus' eyes narrowed, and he firmly reached down to shake her shoulders, fully intent on ending the dream. Clara's eyes flew open. In her surprise, she sat up, nearly colliding with his forehead.

"Hey!" he barked. "Such an ungraceful awakening. You're certainly no sleeping beauty."

"S-sorry," she stuttered, more from habit than anything. Her eyes darted around the room, and she relaxed upon recognizing his office. He watched her breathing pattern slow, his own relief growing as she calmed.

"Was it a nightmare?" His voice grew scornful. "Such a child."

"Hey! Don't say such mean things! I can't help what I dream about!"

"That, among other things," he quipped, unable to resist the little jibe, before his voice softened. "Were you dreaming of the Nue?"

Her lip trembled and she nodded. "It's why I've been having trouble sleeping. Every time – I don't know why – "

Klaus' eyes softened and he gathered her into his arms. It shouldn't have surprised him, he thought, that she was still affected by that night. She'd been moments away from death. But Clara's disposition was so sunny that she'd never acted upset and so he'd assumed no lasting emotional trauma. It was clear that he'd been wrong – or at least, that she'd buried her fears so deeply that they only rose to claim her at night, when she had no conscious control over them.

My fault, he couldn't help but think, and a wave of regret overwhelmed him, at having been responsible for putting her in danger. If he'd been just a moment too late…

His arms tightened around her.

"Don't you think of it sometimes?" she asked.

"I don't like to think of the night I almost lost you." But he did think of it. Except that he had defeated the demon, and the illusory Azusa that had stolen her away from him, and he knew that he could do it again if he had to. No matter what, he would keep her safe.

He felt her relax against him, her breath stirring against his neck. He pressed a kiss against the side of her forehead, enjoying her little noise of embarrassment. Then he tilted her face and captured her mouth in earnest, feeling her stifled exclamation of shock.

Klaus was relentless in many things and this kiss was no different, both claim and reassurance in one. He felt Clara slowly melt back into his arms, and his heart seemed to contract a little when he felt her tentatively kiss him back, her fingers unconsciously stroking him where she clung to his neck.

After a few moments, he let them go, enjoying the way she gasped for breath afterwards, face flushed and eyes dark. She tucked herself against his neck, the way she seemed to like best when they were alone and she needed to hide from his gaze, her embarrassment getting the best of her.

Outside the office, the bell rang, signaling the imminent start of the afternoon classes. Clara stiffened, and wordlessly Klaus let her move away to gather her things. When she was ready to go, she came back to his desk and waited for his customary pat of farewell.

"I'll see you this afternoon, after class," he said, smoothing down a section of her hair that had gotten mussed during her nap. "You'll finish your chores that you didn't do. Although…" he hummed speculatively.

Clara gazed at him curiously. "What is it?"

"The best way to keep you safe is to make sure you know how to protect yourself." And then he smirked, seeing the dawning horror in Clara's eyes. She already knew what was coming. "That's why you're going to have extra Special Training this weekend."

"W-what?! Hey! Not fair!" Klaus could almost see the cogs turning in her head as she fumbled for an excuse. "I need to sleep more this weekend!" she claimed, desperately.

"You'll sleep even better when you're tired out from the training," Klaus countered without missing a beat.

"Awww…" Clara groaned. "I almost prefer the nightmares. I just have to wait for you to show up, instead of conjuring dozens of tornadoes!"

Klaus laughed at her expression. Watching her get so adorably angry was just too much fun. She was always so charming when she was flustered. He reached down to squeeze her hand, suddenly serious again. "As long as you know, precious girl…I'll always come for you."

"I-I know," she replied quietly, cheeks flushing at his words, before turning and disappearing outside.