Violet laid curled up on her side, knees tucked up under Klaus's oversized shirt, and shivered. Her misery seemed to know no bounds. How could she have been so foolish, insolently bringing up such old pain as if she thought he might look back on it now and laugh? How naive was she to think that he might still feel something for her even after all she had put him through? Is this how he felt six years ago when he'd told her he loved her and she did not say it back, when she'd tried to sweep his heartfelt confession under the rug and pretend like it never happened? Another wave of sorrow shot through her at this thought. God, he'd been so young then.

And what did this mean for their trip, for their future? Now that everything was out in the open, how in the world would they proceed? How would she survive another four days alone with her brother when they were so much at odds? When he could hate her openly now? Would she lose him forever?

For a second there, right before she'd gone and blurted out her painful truths, before she'd tried to make it all better with a stupid, damnable kiss, she had felt a tiny spark of hope, knowing that everything she wanted was right in front of her, so close she could brush her fingertips across it... but Klaus had remained as untouchable, as unattainable as ever. That small hope had extinguished as quickly as a tiny matchstick lit in the middle of a hurricane.

His bare feet hardly made any noise on the damp grass when he approached the tent, but she tried valiantly to stifle her sobs as she heard the zipper open and close. When he climbed into the sleeping bag, she attempted to make herself small, to not touch any part of him, but that was ridiculous and impossible. He didn't say anything to her, but laid with his back to her, not bothering to apologize when his icy feet accidentally brushed against her calves.

God, what could be worse? To be forced to be so close to the person she loved, but who was so out of reach; to be able to turn over and place her hand over his heart, but for his heart to be hardened against her? The tears resumed unbidden. She tried to cry silently, but her sniffles and hiccups surely gave her away.

With a quiet sigh, Klaus turned to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Violet?" he said, brushing her hair away from her face with his fingers, picking at the strands that were stuck to her tear-stained cheek and neck. She closed her eyes at this small tenderness, ashamed at how grateful she felt for this little attention. "I'm sorry." He tugged at her earlobe. "Don't cry. Please."

She turned over on her back, self-conscious of her swollen eyes and snotty nose. He was propped up on an elbow and she looked up at him, shaking her head. "No. I'm the one who's sorry." Her voice was wobbly and wet, and more tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. She couldn't seem to stop crying now that she'd started. "For then and now. I've messed everything up for us. If I could do it all again, I would do everything differently."

"Yeah?" he asked after a short pause. "Would you take it back, then? What you said? That you loved me?"

"I would take it back if it meant not upsetting you. I didn't mean to make you angry. I just wanted to say it out loud to you after all this time. And maybe if you felt the same way I wouldn't be so alone."

"Steinbeck said that 'all great and precious things are lonely.'"

"Pfft!" Violet said through her tears, spraying Klaus a little with wetness. "Pretty words to describe the worst feeling."

Klaus's lips formed a grim line of what she could only assume was pity. He began rummaging around in his pocket again, down in the the depths of the sleeping bag, and she thought he was going to pull out another cigarette, so turned away from him, rolling back onto her side to face the tent wall. Once again, Klaus swept her hair down her neck, revealing the side of her face, and he placed something cool into her ear. It startled her, but glancing over her shoulder, she saw him placing the other ear bud from his headphones into his own ear. The light from his phone lit the small area as he swiped through the screens to find the right playlist.

Kathy's Song by Simon and Garfunkel began to play quietly in her right ear and in his left. He smiled softly at her when her face and forehead crinkled up, an ugly sob escaping her throat. "Shh," Klaus said. "It was meant to soothe you, not make you cry."

"It does," she said, still crying anyway. This was the song their mother used to sing to them as a lullaby. This album, in particular, was a favorite of their parents and featured on their old record player every Saturday morning. Violet knew every word to every song, though she hadn't heard it in years. Bittersweet nostalgia poured over her and she did feel herself calming as she focused on the lyrics, the melody and the harmony, the memory of her mother's fingers brushing her bangs out of her face as she fell asleep. This sweet, thoughtful gift from Klaus— that she felt was undeserved— was accompanied by the scoot of his body to lay parallel to hers, and the weight of his arm as he wrapped it once again around her waist. It felt like forgiveness.

When that song was over and Mrs. Robinson began, Klaus said quietly behind her, his words crystal clear even with the music in her ear, "And what if I did?"

"Did what?" she asked, confused. She tried to turn his way, but he held her still, his arm tightening around her.

"If I did still feel something for you, what would that look like? What would it mean?"

Violet wasn't sure she had a perfect answer for his ambiguous question. She wasn't even sure she understood his question, but said the first thing that popped into her mind. It was something she'd been thinking about since Quigley had broken up with her, when she knew exactly where she was heading as she packed up her things into her car, like a pigeon set free from its cage to find its way home. Her suggestion was simple.

"We could start over."

And hope sprang anew.

It continued to rain the next day. They ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee— hot food to warm them up. Violet utterly detested putting on her wet… everything— underwear, bra, socks, and squelchy boots. Klaus took his long-sleeved shirt back from her and double wrapped their only dry clothes into two ziplock bags to make sure they stayed dry, then hooked his phone up to a portable battery and studied the map when it had charged enough.

"Well, with your little trip down the river," he began wryly, "we're not quite where we were supposed to end up, but, I think this new trail may have some merit, especially if the rain keeps up."

It all sounded mysterious to her, but she lacked the energy to question him. If he thought it was good, well, he was the one with the backpacking experience. Klaus had seemed fairly cheerful since they'd woken together— a flustering tangle of legs and arms and bare skin in the tight confines of the one sleeping bag, but her own feelings were a bit more muddled. She'd been worried about him not wanting her around this morning, but that seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind. He remained as kind and thoughtful as always, but there was an unfamiliar twinkle in his eye, a quirk of amusement in the corner of his mouth that made her eyes linger on his lips and her cheeks to blush. She supposed they had sort of made up the night before, had gone to sleep in some sort of truce, not that they'd been fighting exactly. In short, she was confused about the status of their relationship and a fugue of tiredness seemed to overlay all of it.

They hiked along the river, mostly, and all the rain had only engorged the width and the wildness of it. It wasn't until mid-morning that they reached the pinnacle of a waterfall where the river plummeted a hundred feet to suddenly transform into a pond, or maybe it was a small lake. The water was clear and deep, smoothing out to perfect stillness beyond the ripple of the waterfall. They rested at the top and ate an early lunch of crackers and apples, draining their water bottles.

Then the sun came out! All of the sudden the rainclouds were gone, replaced with blue sky, hot sun, and fluffy white clouds. Violet turned her face up to the sun, silently worshipping its heat and brightness after being so cold for so long. When she opened her eyes again, Klaus was unabashedly looking at her, unmistakable mischief in his eyes.

"What?"

"Want to go for a swim?"

"I bet the water is super cold, Klaus," she answered doubtfully.

"I think we should spend a few minutes here, though. We could empty out your backpack and let everything air out a little." He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Okay," she agreed. Dry clothes sounded really good to her, actually.

The climb down was steep, and the rocks slid haphazardly beneath Violet's feet, so Klaus followed close behind her, a hand on her elbow to keep her steady. At the bottom, they found a large flat rock and Klaus dumped the contents of her pack out. She busied herself laying out her clothes in the sun, then hung the drenched sleeping bag over a low tree limb. Everything had a faint soured smell at which Violet wrinkled up her nose. Her brother set apart everything that was still dry, that had been packed well, but held up the sodden mess of his book that Violet had offered to carry for him. The death of a book was indeed a sad thing for a Baudelaire.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Klaus. I forgot all about your book," she said and meant it. "You know what they say? 'Once you have a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.'"

He made a sad face, sticking out a pouty lip in an overly dramatic expression of his grief. "But I haven't read that one yet."

"Hey," she offered, ready to make amends. "I'll take you to the bookstore on the way back and you can spend as much time there as you want, okay?"

He immediately put away his fake sadness and grinned at her. "Promise?"

"Of course."

"Because they also say, 'That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.'"

"'People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.'"

"Are you saying you aren't having fun?" he asked, spreading his arm in a wide gesture that encompassed the lake and the woods and the sky.

She snorted in response.

Once everything was sorted, Klaus began to undress. First he toed out of his boots and pulled off his socks. She watched him intently as he set out his still damp clothes on the rocks next to hers until he was left in only his boxers. He turned to her with that same mischievousness. He even had the audacity to waggle his eyebrows at her when he caught her staring at his stomach and that dark, enticing line of hair that connected his belly button with…other things. "Waiting for an invitation?"

She shook her head, made herself look him in the eyes, and said, "But, what if someone sees?"

"Sees what?" he asked, as if he didn't know. He just wanted her to say it, to embarrass her.

"Sees me in my underwear!"

"No one said you had to wear underwear," Klaus answered with a laugh and if she hadn't minded getting any more of her belongings wet, she would have tossed something at his head, but he stood too close to the water to risk anything. "Come on," he added as he climbed into the water.

Violet, too, began to undress. She took off her wet shoes and turned them upside down to drain, then laid her socks, shirts and pants out beside everything else to dry a little. When she turned back to the water she was wearing only her bra and panties. She told herself it was exactly like wearing a bikini, though she couldn't remember the last time she'd even worn something as skimpy as a bathing suit. The only thing that made her feel better about it was the way Klaus eyed her appreciatively as she stepped into the freezing water. Once she got as deep as her thighs, she just couldn't make herself go in any farther.

"It's fine once you get in," Klaus assured, swimming towards the middle then back to her when she hadn't gotten all the way in yet. "Besides. You need a bath," he teased.

"Shut up," she said without heat.

"Come in, Violet," he cajoled to no avail. The water was just too cold.

Then, standing to his full height in the shallower part closest to her, he stalked toward her. She had a bad feeling about his intentions and began to back away, but he was steadier on his feet and caught her around the middle, picked her up and carried her in with him. She screamed and squealed and pleaded, but then she was in up to her neck and it didn't matter any more except that her dignity was gone. She splashed him in retaliation, then dunked him, and when he came up spluttering she felt they were even.

"It is nice," she assented, so he pulled her arms around his neck and she held onto him as he swam leisurely backwards through the cool water. The silence between them was comfortable, but palpable, as was the distance between their bodies— or lack, thereof. Something had changed between them. There was an anticipation, an open honesty to Klaus's gaze that could hardly leave Violet in doubt as to what he was feeling.

Together, they headed toward the waterfall on the other side of the pond. The water was mighty, and the spray it created was thick and misty, smelling of forest and moss-covered rocks and fresh mud. They swam around the edge, behind the falls, and the crash of the water echoed off the rock face, muting all other sound. It was even colder behind the waterfall, where it was always shaded. They explored the slick, wet rocks and found sweet little ferns and whole forests of moss growing there. Huge snails gathered in the deeper crags of the mountain and Violet felt lucky to have witnessed such a small beauty as this little ecosystem.

Back out in the sunshine, Violet hefted herself onto an outcropping of rocks and boulders, letting her legs dangle in the water. Klaus, drawn to her like a magnet, approached her again and stood there between her legs, thigh deep in the water. He was close and her heart fluttered in anticipation. It would be nice if he were even closer, though.

"Have I ever told you," —and she reached out to slide both of her hands down his forearms— "how much I like your arms?" He pressed his hands into the rock on either side of her, leaning forward slightly, conspicuously closing the distance between them.

He smiled. "No, you haven't. What else do you like?" Her eyes darted to that line of hair on his abdomen, and he saw how she blushed. He let out a huff of a laugh, reaching a finger to trace her collarbone. "Well, have I ever told you how much I like your collarbones?"

She shook her head, already feeling unbalanced at his unhurried touch. "Anything else?" she asked breathlessly. He started again at the side of her neck, drawing a slow line down the length of her shoulder.

"Your shoulders," he whispered as he leaned down to place his lips there, at the crook of her neck. His fingers continued across her skin to push at her bra strap until it hung uselessly off her shoulder.

"What else?" she whispered, already breathing heavily through her nose, her nipples puckering hard at the simple sensation of Klaus's fingers and mouth and breath over her skin.

"Your breasts," he breathed. His hand followed the fallen strap and his thumb caught the edge of the cup, pulling just a little as his palm pressed into the side of her breast. His lips found the swell of her chest, and his mouth was so warm, so alluring. Very slowly, he teased the bra cup down, all the while distracting her with his lips and his tongue. His other hand pressed into her other breast, squeezing gently, then his mouth was on her nipple, the flat of his tongue so soft in contrast to the nip of his teeth.

Her immediate lust was a heady thing. In just those few moments she was willing to give everything to Klaus, wanted him to take anything he wanted from her. Her legs tightened around him, her feet on his bottom, nudging him closer, holding him there, and she gasped quietly with each new sensation. He held both of her breasts together and nuzzled against the cleavage he created, kissing across to her other nipple to start all over there.

She didn't take the time to wonder where all this was coming from or to overthink it. She told herself, just this once, to enjoy what her brother was offering her. She was so tired of refusing his love. This was exactly what she'd been wanting, wasn't it? And goddamn, he was good at it.

When he sucked her nipple particularly hard, she wrapped her fingers into his hair, tugging hard, too. "God, Klaus," she cried, throwing a hand out behind her flat on the rock, her feet braced now on the edge, balancing his weight as he leaned heavily against her.

"What do you want, Violet?" He breathed the question into the middle of her chest, and the request was so sexy she didn't know what to ask for. No one had ever asked her that before. Tugging at his hair, she pulled him back, lifting his gaze to her face. His cheeks were rosy, his lips a deep red, his eyes bright blue and glazed with desire.

She wanted everything. She wanted him to kiss her mouth. She wanted him to hold her in his arms. She wanted him to tell her that he loved her still. She wanted him moving inside of her. She'd take any of it…all of it.

Her bra was gone. He'd removed it and she hadn't even noticed. "Violet?" he asked, voice husky with want.

"What do you want?" she asked, eyes glued to his.

Straightening, he leaned back fractionally, just to take in the sight of her there, practically laid out in front of him like some special treat. Reaching around her hips, he tugged her even closer to the edge so that her legs fell open. He took a bent knee in each of his hands, and sliding his palms up her thighs, he watched her breath hitch as he got close to the edge of her panties. Her mouth opened seductively and a crease formed at her brow. She willed him to keep going.

"I want to touch you, Violet." His voice was serious, and sexy, and demanding. "I want to watch you come." Oh, God. She wanted that, too. She didn't have the words, but he didn't wait for her anyway. He slid a thumb into the leg of her underwear, finding just the right spot, and he began to press and to rub. Her legs trembled violently, and she fell back on her elbows, her back arching just a little, unconsciously pushing herself closer to him. Oh, how she struggled to keep her eyes on him instead of closing them up tight. It was a battle she could not win. She was embarrassingly wet for him and Klaus groaned a little upon feeling how it pooled at the entrance of her vagina.

They were so wrapped up in each other that neither one of them noticed the approach of two hikers. "Hello!" called a female voice from the other side of the pond where all their stuff was laid out.

"Shit!" Violet muttered, straightening up immediately, crossing her arms over her exposed breasts and turning away. She would have slid into the water, except Klaus still stood there, blocking her way. She felt like her cheeks were on fire from the sudden interruption, from the bright sun overhead, from Klaus's gaze still locked on her, still looking at her like he might devour her whole— with or without an audience.

Searching around frantically for her bra, she finally found it laying right next to her, then she pushed at his shoulders gently until he backed away and she scooted off the rock to duck down into the cool water, which now felt like a miracle against her heated skin. She tried hard to put her bra back on but her hands were shaking badly. Silently cursing the universe for its continued torture of the Baudelaire siblings, she took a deep breath and finally turned to swim towards their things, which were surely not dry enough for them to leave yet, and that is all she wanted to do.

Klaus had already put some distance between them and was emerging from the water to greet the strangers. He'd been friendly with everyone they'd met on the trail, but they hadn't seen another soul since she'd fallen in the river. When Violet approached the small group she realized that there were two girls approximately the same age as them. One had dark golden skin and long black hair braided into two plaits. She watched Violet curiously as she emerged from the water to find her flannel. The other girl was very cute, with a round face and clear skin and curly blond hair that reminded her a lot of Sunny, but this girl was perfectly curvy in all the right places and Violet felt a pang of jealousy at how Klaus was already laughing with her.

"Hi," the blonde said when Violet finally stood beside Klaus. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she waggled her eyebrows and had a teasing smile, "but we wanted to know if you wouldn't mind if we swam, too? I'm Sam, by the way, and this is Jocelyn." Sam pointed to the other girl.

"Joss," corrected the golden-skinned girl.

"I'm Violet and this is Klaus." She pointed a thumb at her brother. "We were just finishing up here, so help yourself," Violet gestured to the waterfall.

"No," Sam said. "Don't go. I see you've had some issues with the rain." She looked pointedly at Violet's sleeping bag all strung up. "Stay. Please. We love getting to know new people!"

"Well, honestly," Violet started, catching Klaus's eye, "I'm feeling a little embarrassed, so we might just head out."

"Don't be silly. Who wouldn't want to have sex in this gorgeous place with this gorgeous boy?" She said it like it was no big deal. "And we enjoy a good show, don't we Joss?" Joss was nodding along, though Violet knew they were teasing and she felt a little of her apprehension drain away. "Your breasts are fantastic, by the way!"

Violet was sure she'd never met anyone with so much good-humored candor, and she found herself laughing. When the girls began to undress —they had bathing suits on under their clothes— Klaus and Violet shared a small smile. He took her hand and softly caressed her knuckles. "Do you want to stay?" he whispered.

"Yeah, okay," she assented with a shrug, looking around at their piles of wet things, knowing it meant that they wouldn't be able to finish what they'd started, but that seemed unlikely in any case.