Disclaimer: standard.
Warning: incest
Summary: Klaus was never one to look on the surface of anything.
Wow… It's been a while since I last updated. To everyone who reviewed and/or added my story to Favorites: Thank you, thank you, thank you! It means so much to have your support. I love you all!
From now on, I'll do my best to have a new chapter at least every two months.
It took me a long time to write this one. Here, I wanted to develop the plot as well as their relationship. I also wanted to be discreet without sacrificing anything. I hope you'll find it worth the wait.
I notice that another author has been posting stories with uncanny similarities to scenes from my story, which have been up for months. Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I thank you. You know who you are.
Happy Holidays!
~ Pretani
Beautiful
"And so, they find themselves through the darkness, through the sadness, making
love, making peace, making music. They find themselves, through the chaos,
making sense. This is what they want. This is who they are. These are the
things they need."
Sophie B. Hawkins, " Don't Stop Swaying"
"Klaus! Sunny!" Violet shielded her eyes with one hand as she surveyed the thin line of trees behind the farmhouse. The ground was a blanket of slush and melting snow, and for a moment she nearly lost her footing. They're out here somewhere...
"Violet, Violet save me!" Sunny came running up, her red knitted scarf trailing behind her.
"Sunny, hold still a minute." Violet tucked the scarf in closer around her neck.
" You don't want to lose this, right? What would Ethie say, after she went to all that trouble?"
"I know," Sunny said, impatient, "but he's coming to get me!" She tried to duck behind Violet's skirts.
Violet looked up then. She might've been alarmed if she hadn't seen who was chasing her little sister. "Klaus, what have you done to her?"
"What have I done to her? She knocked a whole snowdrift down on me!"
Their brother was covered in snow, the white particles sticking in his hair, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
"He was right under the tree." Sunny dissolved into giggles. "It was perfect." And then she dashed away.
"You look like Jack Frost." Violet shared a glance with him, laughter dancing in her eyes, and he grinned.
"It's okay," he said good-naturedly. "You can laugh."
She brushed some of the snow from his shoulders and his head, and then she tugged one of her gloves off. "What am I going to do with you?"
Her bare fingers slid through his hair, against his face, and he remembered the soft curves of her body, the heat of her skin under his hands...
"Vi," he pulled her hand down gently. "You'd better not do that."
Color rushed to her cheeks. " Oh Klaus, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."
"Don't be," he could feel his face turning red. "Don't be sorry. It's just that I... Hey!" he shouted as a flying snowball hit him in the shoulder. Sprightly child-laughter echoed behind him. "Sunny, you'd better run!"
In a few strides he grabbed hold of her, and Sunny shrieked as he spun her around. It was all in fun.
"Ahem," Violet cleared her throat pointedly, waited until she had their attention. " You two should come inside soon. It's getting dark."
"Awww... Please, can't we have ten more minutes?" Sunny turned pleading eyes to her.
Violet looked to her brother- he wore the same pleading expression.
"Alright, ten more minutes," she said. " But will you promise to come in, then?"
Klaus was grinning at her. " We promise. Right, Sunny?"
"Right!"
Violet ruffled the little girl's hair. "That's good, because..." She caught her brother's eye then. "... promises mean everything."
God, how badly he wanted to tackle her and kiss her senseless in that moment. She gave him a small smile, knew it as well as he did… And there could be no doubt that she wanted him to...
Abruptly, she turned to leave, to put some distance between them. It was hard work, this secret of theirs. We're always together, but not really, not in the way we want to be...
She drew a deep, calming breath, urging her heart to slow before she entered the house again. Ethie probably won't notice, but I can't be too sure... And Sunny...How much did she see? It seemed inevitable that their little sister would discover what they had been doing. We have to be more careful.
Ethie was sipping a cup of tea at the kitchen window when Violet walked in.
"Hello dear, would you like some?" The old woman nodded toward the tea kettle on the stove.
"Yes, thank you," she said. " It is a bit cold out there." And she went to pour herself a cup.
"Too bad she has no other children to play with." Evidently, Ethie had been watching Sunny and Klaus out in the snow.
"He'll do for now," She smiled, warmth flooding through her as she saw her brother hoist Sunny onto his shoulders. This is how it's supposed to be.
"Whatever happened to your parents, dear?" Ethie's voice broke into her thoughts. "I don't believe you ever told me."
"They died," she said softy. " They died when she was baby."
"It's never easy to lose family, I know."
"You said you lost your husband..." Violet hated to bring up the painful subject, but
she had to move the conversation away from her family. I can't reveal too much. Not to her, not to anyone...
The elderly woman smiled sadly. " He was a fine man, my Arthur. It was terrible when he passed on, and Gerard moved away. But at least I know where they are. To lose her, the first time...that was the worst of it."
"The first time?" Violet looked at her sharply. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
" The first time...When I lost my daughter."
" You had a daughter?" Compassion filled her eyes. That explains why she's so taken with Sunny.
"I have a daughter," Ethie told her. "Emma was about your age dear, just a week past eighteen, when she eloped with that boy... What was his name... Jimmy, I think. My memory's not what it used to be, you understand."
She nodded, listening.
" We didn't like him much," Ethie continued. "His father was a drunkard, you see. But she was in love, and she seemed so happy... We just couldn't stand in their way."
"Why did she elope? I mean, if you didn't try to stop her from... from seeing him?" Violet was intrigued by the story, in spite of herself.
" To this day, I don't know why she left. I think it must've been her disagreement with Gerard."
"Gerard is your son, isn't he?" Violet asked. " I think you've mentioned him before."
"That he is," she said. " And he was a good big brother. He really wanted the best for Emma, kept saying Jimmy wasn't right for her. I guess she just got tired of hearing it. She and Jimmy went out one evening, and never came home."
Her voice was tinged with regret. "That was twelve years ago... Not a word from either of them since. "
"I'm sorry," Violet laid a hand on the older woman's arm. " You must miss her very much."
"Well, having you three here makes it easier, let me tell you. And that little one of yours... She's a pistol."
Violet couldn't help but smile at the fitting description of her sister. " We think so, too."
"It's wonderful to have a child in the house again. For years, I've been after Gerard to find a nice girl and settle down. But I just can't understand it. All the girls he likes up and leave, just like Emma. Here one day and gone the next." She gave a small huff of annoyance. " I suppose it's to be expected in a small town."
And Violet was anticipating her next words even before she said them.
"I have pictures of him somewhere."
Ethie set her teacup on the counter. " If you'll just excuse me a moment..." She went into her bedroom and Violet could hear her rummaging around. From the sound of it, she was trying to move a heavy piece of furniture...
There was a loud bang, and a crash, and Violet ran to the hallway. "Ethie, are you okay?"
"I seem to have misplaced my photo albums," came the quick reply.
"Do you need help?"
"No, no, they're not on the shelves."
She's losing her hearing, Violet realized. She can't make out what I'm saying.
"Ahh, well," Ethie stood in the doorway to her room, apparently none the worse for wear. "Another time, then. What a pity." She shook her head. "He's the best looking boy in a thousand miles. Everyone says so." And then she winked at Violet. "He would like you, I think."
Violet managed a brief smile, outwardly polite. But she could feel a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. I don't like where this is going...
The wind was cold, and after Klaus and Sunny had returned, as promised, the Baudelaires built a fire in the hearth.
"It's a nice night for a story," Ethie had suggested, and then she'd brought out a dog-eared book of folk tales, asking if they would like to read it.
She went to bed early that night, as she often did. And so it was only the three of them,
and the fire and the rambling words of an age-old story. Violet shifted slightly, lulled by the sound of her brother's voice. He was in his element, a natural storyteller, absorbed in the book as he read aloud. I could sit here all night, just to look at him.
She'd never thought she would be comfortable in such close proximity to a fire. Where others saw light and home and belonging, she had only ever seen loss.
And she remembered her earlier conversation with Ethie. Even after all this time, the grief is still so near...Some wounds don't heal...at least, not entirely.
But here, with her sleepy-eyed little sister on her lap, she could almost appreciate the beauty of the flickering flames. Almost...
Sunny had grown quiet, her breathing even and steady. She's asleep.
"Klaus," she spoke softly, interrupting him in mid-sentence, and he lifted his eyes from the page. The room suddenly seemed too hot, the air heavy and stifling...
He closed the book. "Let me take her."
"It's alright," she said. "I've got her." With the ease of long practice, she rose to her feet, carrying Sunny. "Will you put out the fire?"
Her brother nodded, and she touched his arm lightly as she passed him. Wait for me, she seemed to say.
He stirred the ashes and logs with the fire poker, until the flames were extinguished and the room went dark.
But when he turned around, he could see her standing there.
Violet was waiting for him, in her coat and shoes, their tattered blue blanket and his jacket draped over one arm.
"Come on," she hissed. "Before Sunny wakes up."
And he knew that he would follow her wherever she wanted to go.
Hurriedly, they made their way back to the barn- their sanctuary, as he was beginning to think of it. Klaus had taken the lantern from the front porch, and he lit it now, watched the faint amber firelight play across Violet's face... her unbound hair... He wanted to see her.
Under her coat, she wore a white cotton nightdress Ethie had given her when they'd first arrived. It was too big for his sister's slender frame, long sleeves cuffed at her wrists. The wide neckline fell askew, over the pale skin of her collarbone, her shoulder...
He could only stand there, speechless. Nothing he'd read had prepared him for this...
Her lips were desperate on his as they came together, all heat and muffled gasps. His hands traced the contours of her body through the nightgown, up her spine and into her hair. And she didn't have to remind him to be gentle... He's holding back...
He could feel her fingers tugging his jacket aside, working at the buttons on his shirt, and he lowered his arms, let it all fall away... She was touching him, her hands smooth on his shoulders, and he needed to feel her, needed her bare skin against his...
She kissed his neck and above his heartbeat, felt a shiver run through him as she buried her face in his chest. He was warm and solid, a safe haven, and she couldn't be strong anymore.
Tears glinted on his skin, cool like rain, slight, shuddering sobs wracking her body. "Don't cry, Violet, don't cry."
"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I…I didn't think it would ever be like this for me... That I'd be...with someone I love..."
His own eyes were wet and he tightened his hold on her, brushed a kiss to her forehead.
"No more pain, Klaus," her voice was like silk, a whisper. "I don't want to hurt anymore."
She slipped out of his arms then, stepping backward.
"Shh..." She placed a finger to her mouth. And then she unfastened the two buttons at the top of her nightdress, allowed it to slide from her shoulders...
Every muscle in his body went rigid as the white gown pooled at Violet's feet. His gaze descended, to the soft curves he'd touched but never seen, and then back to her face. Her eyes were luminous, trusting, drawing him in...
With a growl, he pulled her to him, kissing her recklessly. She could feel every inch of him, the firm lines of his frame pressed against hers, warm and hard and achingly close...
His hands curled around her, sculpting her breasts, tender, possessive, and she was reeling.
In a sudden flash she wanted his lips there, in place of his fingers, claiming her in the same way. She wanted to give everything to him...
They clung together as he lowered her onto the blanket, so careful, his mouth never straying from hers.
She was smooth, all delicate skin, and he kissed his way down her chest, heard her breath catch as he nuzzled his face against her.
"Violet..." He was breathless and she thrilled to the soft vibrations of his voice.
"Don't let go... just don't let go..."
She felt his tongue then, the warm ecstasy of his mouth, his arms tight around her... It was right, so beautifully right, as if they were born to be a part of one another. There would be no one else.Only him...always...
And she could've stayed forever, if not for the stirring ache deep inside, the pressure of his hand, inching closer...
"Klaus!" She cried out, and his fingers glided between her thighs- easily, as if they belonged there. She was precious and beautiful and he couldn't think, gave free reign to his instincts.
He felt alive, his senses heightened and attuned to her... every moment, every sound etched into the canvass of his memory... so piercingly bright...
Tremors coursed like music through her body, and his lips lingered on the swell of her breast, hands wandering idly over her hips and legs.
"Vi?" He rested his weight on his elbows. I've never done this before... His sister lay beneath him, quivering. "Are you okay?"
The ardor in her upturned face nearly daunted him. He wondered if he would ever be worthy of this, worthy of Violet. No one could deserve her, least of all himself.
She ruled his mind in a way that he couldn't explain, rendered him helpless. But he felt invincible when he looked in her eyes. Sin and virtue, frailty and strength- she saw it all, and loved him still.
"I am now." She smiled languorously, and he grinned, taking in her rose-colored skin, the way her eyes sparkled with feeling.
"You're so beautiful."
"Please, don't say that." She turned her head aside, the dim light casting shadows on her features.
"Why not? " His brow furrowed. Surely she didn't think he would lie to her, or try to manipulate her to... "It is true, you know."
She sighed. " What good is it, Klaus? It won't save me or anyone... It isn't real. Please, don't love me for that. Say I'm kind or brave or resourceful or strong."
"You are." He looked at her in awe. She doesn't know... "Violet, you're all of those things." His grin returned, and he kissed the tip of her nose. "You are beautiful."
Her eyes lit up in understanding... he was speaking of her soul. He always did look beneath the surface... I should've thought...
Then he was kissing her, deeply, slowly, covering her with the weight of his body ... And she wanted to touch him...
Her hand reached out, as if of its own accord, skimmed over him in bold curiosity, and he inhaled sharply.
She sealed her mouth to his, loosing the buckle on his pants, freeing him from his clothing...
His face hovered inches from hers, eyes closed, when she saw him, all of him, for the first time. Slim fingers slid down past his stomach, featherlight touches making him shudder.
She wrapped him in a sweet caress, gentle, relentless, and his lungs burned. No more pain...
His hips bucked into Violet's hand, soft moans tearing from him as he kissed her harder and everything was light and thunder. He could only sob her name into her neck, both of them shaking and crying softly.
"Shhh..." She held him, her one hand drifting through his hair, across his back and shoulders.
All was made right in the quiet afterglow. Klaus rolled to the side, not letting go of her, even for a second. He felt her in every pulse of the blood in his veins, in the air around, in his senses and his thoughts.
With a contented sigh, Violet snuggled into him. She breathed in the smell of the wind outside, the animals and straw, and the heady scent of his body, of their shared passion. There was peace here, in her brother's arms, and she was grateful for it.