I do not own these characters.

Finally had some time to update! Yay!

I'm finally telling you guys who Klaus is marrying. Hopefully, if you didn't ship it before, you will after reading this chapter!

-Olive

When Klaus got upstairs to his room, he paused and looked around. It was pretty empty, void of everything that was him. He was not a flashy person, but he liked to keep his room neat. He added personal touches to everything. The bookshelf in his room had books of many types and his desk had trinkets from places he traveled. The room he stood in the night before his wedding felt more like a spare room. This would be his last night in the house with his sisters before he moved into the cosy city home with his wife.

The house they lived in for years was a spacious house by the beach. They didn't have neighbors. They didn't really want them either. The house was perfect because each sibling had their own room. They shared a large library off the kitchen for lounging and gaining knowledge. The house was left for them in their parents' will. Technically, it was off limits until Violet turned eighteen. Yet, according to the public record, all three siblings were dead and Beatrice was never born. So, they moved in when Violet was sixteen and Klaus was fourteen. There were many legal loopholes to maneuver.

It helped that Klaus was a lawyer. Well, he was a family lawyer. In specific, he liked to help children get out of troubling situations. He wanted to help as many children as he could because he and his siblings rarely got help in their own situations. He knew he always loved law, so it only made sense that he pursued it. On days when he didn't go into the city to work, he helped school Sunny and Beatrice.

Violet also helped school them. She worked in the city as a handyworker. Her business was quite successful. Unlike others, she was very good at solving odd problems with creativity.

That night, Klaus got ready for bed. His heart felt warm and his dopey smile stayed as he got into bed.

He took off his glasses, looked at the ceiling, and whispered "I'm getting married tomorrow."

He remembered falling in love with Fiona. At first it was so easy. They would share many moments aboard the Queequeg. Fiona taught Klaus many things. She taught him how to navigate using sonar. She taught him how to grow certain species of mushrooms even when there was no sunlight. She even taught him how to swim ("I'm right here, Klaus, and I won't let you drown. I promise."). Klaus taught Fiona how to sit in silence and look up at the stars. Many times they would act goofy together. One time, they even switched glasses to see if Violet would notice. She noticed immediately and rolled her eyes playfully. She noticed their feelings for each other seemingly before they even did.

After they were separated, Klaus tried his hardest to forgive Fiona for going with Count Olaf. When he tried to forgive her, he realized he couldn't until he saw her again. He knew he would never see her again, so he tried to forget her altogether. That part hurt the most, knowing how much he wanted to forgive her but not being able to.

After arriving on Briny Beach, Klaus pushed Fiona out of his mind long enough to keep his sisters safe. As the events at the last safe place folded out, he found it easier to focus on his sisters. By the time Beatrice joined their family, Klaus only thought about Fiona on starry nights.

One specific night hit the hardest. That night, they celebrated Violet's birthday. She had turned sixteen that day. They didn't do much that day but reminisce and make plans for how they would get off the island in a few days. Sunny made a divine cake with the help of Klaus. They put on records and looked up at the stars from the shore. The toddler and baby fell asleep pretty early. Violet and Klaus carried them back to the tree home and put them to bed. Then Violet bid Klaus goodnight and went to her own bed. Klaus cleaned the dishes and felt a dark blue sadness well up in his chest. He snuck out to the beach to clear his head. He visited the graves of Kit and Olaf and looked out to the black waves in the night. He didn't know what had happened to Fiona. At that point, he hadn't seen her in a year. She could have been dead. He looked up at the stars as tears streamed down his face. He used to look at the stars silently with Fiona just like that.

When the day finally came for them to leave the island, everything was prepared. The Beatrice was packed with enough supplies to get them to the mainland. After they got there, they didn't know what they would do. They weren't sure who survived the fire versus who didn't or who was trustworthy versus who wasn't. They hadn't had communication with anyone for a year. They just knew they needed to get there. Just after getting away from the island, a horrible storm threw them off course. Many of their supplies fell overboard.

"There has to be something that we can do!" Violet screamed through the heavy rain. She held a trembling Sunny in her arms. She was scouring her brain for ideas on how to get out of this one. Klaus tried to think of anything as well while holding tightly to Beatrice. For once, neither of them knew what to do. It looked like the end. He put his arm around Violet, trying to calm her down. The four of them held each other, prepared to give up yet thinking of ways to avoid being engulfed in the storm. Suddenly, before them popped up the top of a familiar submarine. Violet rejoiced as Klaus' heart dropped.

The hatch opened and the frantic voice of Fiona called out "You four had better get on board!"

Violet climbed down first and Klaus handed the children to her. A voice in his head repeated she's alive, she's alive, she's alive as he did so. He climbed down to the sight of Violet hugging Fiona while crying, thanking her for the rescue. Fiona hugged her back reassuringly and said "You guys are safe now. No need to worry."

Fiona looked over Violet's shoulder and met Klaus' eyes. She let go of Violet and wiped away her tears. Violet felt the tension between the two of them and excused herself to put the children to sleep. The day had been hard on everyone.

When Fiona and Klaus were alone, they stood for a few drawn-out seconds. Both of them were tense.

Fiona broke the silence, "Klaus, I am so sorry. I-"

Klaus wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "You're alive" in her ear. She hugged him back. They melted into a sobbing mess together.

That evening, Fiona and Fernald prepared dinner for everyone. The six of them sat around the black wooden table, catching each other up on the last insane year of their lives.

"Olaf went with you to the island?" Fernald asked, surprised yet not at the same time.

Violet laughed, "He sure did. Isn't that crazy? We just went with him and wound up on the island. He was so ornery that he was put into a birdcage to keep him away from everyone else."

Fernald laughed, "Someone finally did it, huh?"

"Actually, I want to know," Klaus started. "Why did you work for him anyways? That's what never made sense to me."

Fernald thought for a second. "You know, I ran away years ago because I was young and I didn't agree with our stepfather's ways. I did terrible things which led to terrible consequences." That point, he gestured with one hook that replaced his hand to the other. "I met Olaf at a low place in my life. I thought he actually cared about me but now I know he was incapable of that. Except with Kit, of course."

"He died next to Kit, you know," said Violet.

A bittersweet smile appeared on Fernald's face. He cared about Olaf more than Olaf could reciprocate. He found tranquility knowing Olaf found peace next to the only person he could ever love.

An impromptu moment of silence fell across the room. Everyone knew that even though Olaf found happiness, he was no closer to redemption. He hurt everyone in the room (and even beyond) in at least one way.

"Meh. So tell me more about what sounds like a cult, I'm assuming?" Fernald broke the silence with a lighthearted air.

The night went on. They were completely caught up and the children began to yawn. The little party started to disband. Fiona and Fernald volunteered to get the kids ready for bed. Violet and Klaus cleaned the kitchen. Everyone said goodnight to each other.

Once everyone was in bed, Klaus stayed up a little later to think. He sat in a chair in their small library, flipping through a book of mushroom photography. He wasn't reading the captions. He only looked at the pictures.

"Klaus? Are you alright?"

Klaus jumped a little and looked at the entrance way. Fernald was standing there. Klaus could see how bad he felt for running with Count Olaf for so long. He felt his guilt.

"Yes. I'm okay." He gestured for Fernald to join him. "I'm thinking about it all."

Fernald sat down in the other chair and sighed. "You and I are a lot alike." Klaus looked at him, confused so he continued. "I have waited for Fiona to go to sleep so I could stay up and think many times."

"Oh," Klaus smiled. The two of them have never had a real conversation before. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if Fernald hadn't been so obedient to Olaf in the past. He asked the question he really wanted to ask earlier. "Did you fall in love with him?"

This surprised Fernald. "Uh, um, uh," he didn't know what to say. "Yeah. That's why I stuck around. I know you can't imagine why I cared so much for that monster." He looked away, ashamed.

"It's in the past. It's okay," reassured Klaus. His voice was gentle.

"But what you and Fiona have, Klaus. It's not like that at all."

This time, Klaus was taken aback. "Oh um-"

"Don't deny it. You two should talk about it tomorrow. She cares about you a lot. I promise."

"We will. Thanks."

Fernald got up. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." As Fernald was leaving, Klaus added, "You're a good brother you know."

Fernald paused for a second. He didn't believe him but it felt nice.

The next day, Klaus and Fiona confessed their feelings. They both apologized for things that were their fault and even things that weren't. They fell deeply in love. Nearly every night, they would climb to the surface and watch the stars in silence. The colder the nights became, the closer they would be.

One night, Klaus finally said what he meant to say. "I love you. And I can never lose you again."

Fiona looked at him lovingly and pushed his hair aside. "I love you, Klaus."

They kissed under millions of stars.

"And I can never lose you again."