Klaus came back to consciousness slowly. He blinked his eyes a few times and fought the urge to fall back asleep. He found he could not recall where he was or why it was so dark. His body felt languid and warm, his mind fuzzy. He had the impression of being weighed down. He was under something heavy, but it didn't make him panic or feel trapped, but was rather comforting. The longer he lay still in the darkness the more his senses became aware of. He could hear the shushing of snow falling on a tin roof. When he tried to turn his head, it hurt for some reason, but he could see embers from a dying fire on the other side of this room. Violet's even breath was on his neck, and he instinctually knew it was Violet, and that she was asleep. The weight of her pressed on him was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Klaus found that his arms, too, were sore when he moved them. He reached around her sleeping form and placed his hands on Violet's back, attempting to move the long, dark hair that lay in a tangle across her neck and shoulders out of his face. He gathered it and stroked it to lay into a long line down her bare back… It was bare skin. His hands brushed up and down her sides once, following the curve of her bottom around her thighs and down to her bent knees. His mouth opened in astonishment when he became aware that Violet was totally naked and laying on top of him in a most seductive manner. He knew that he, too, was totally naked by the way his growing erection was pressing against the warmth of her spread legs. He could not, for the life of him, recall how he had gotten here.

Realization dawned on him, then. Of course. This was a dream. He had had similar ones like this before. They were quite forbidden and totally secret. In his favorite dreams about Violet, she would love him in a quite… not so sisterly way. She would tell him that they belonged together. She would let him touch her and kiss her. He was very brave in his dreams, able to do or say anything, maybe naughty words or endearing kindnesses, without consequence. He let his confusion fall away and gave in to the lull of pleasure he usually received from such dreams.

Klaus softly pulled his fingertips back up her sides and caressed her spine down to her tailbone where he placed gentle pressure so he could rock his hips into hers. He placed soft, chaste kisses along her neck and shoulder, wherever he could reach. He felt goosebumps erupt on her skin as his hands continued their tender exploration.

Violet soon began to stir. She also felt lovely and languid upon waking. She was loathe to wake up, laying still for a moment, letting her mind wander. She noticed Klaus's hands rubbing circles on her back, up her shoulders and arms. It felt really good on her sore muscles, which were heavy with relaxation.

"Hmm, Klaus? Are you awake?" Violet asked blearily, nuzzling deeper into the crook of his neck. She felt more than heard a soft chuckle vibrate from his chest.

"Violet," Klaus breathed. "You know I'm not." She began to be conscious of his mouth on her shoulder and temple.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"You know as well as I do that this is just a dream."

She continued to lay still, partly wishing herself back to sleep. She was still so tired. "Is it?" Violet asked, unsure. Was he joking with her? She became a little more alarmed at the presence of something warm and hard pressing into her pubic bone. She lifted her head to look up at her brother, to see his face. "How do you know? I mean, what makes you think that this is a dream?"

He smiled and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and ran his thumb along her cheekbone.

"Violet, I can't think of a single scenario where we would be lying in this position, in the dark, without our clothes on, except in a dream," he answered matter of factly.

Well, that was understandable, Violet guessed. "And have you had this dream before, Klaus, with me?" she asked with great curiosity.

"Yes…well no. Not this exact dream. Usually you're different." Klaus seemed quite eager about the subject.

"Different in what way?" Boy, was her interest piqued.

"Well, actually, do you remember your birthday party? The one Mother and Father had for you, the one before the fire? Almost four years ago, now? I guess you were probably only fourteen then, but you had on this pink dress with a hairband to match." He closed his eyes in order to remember better. "You looked so happy and pretty. I was so proud that you were my sister. Anyway, that's how the dream usually starts".

Violet was a little disappointed. It had been a long time since she was anything but grimy and shabby, let alone wearing a new dress that could impress Klaus.

"But this dream is different," he continued, running a thumb over one of her eyebrows as she continued to look up at him. "You look more like my Violet, the real one that is. You're older of course. Your hair smells a little like smoke. Your lips are chapped from the cold. You're too thin and … yes, there's a hint of tragedy in your eyes," he finished by peering closely at her eyes.

Violet sighed. "I know I'm not pretty."

"I didn't say that," Klaus argued, good-naturedly. "My Violet is brave and courageous, smart and resourceful, quick and loyal. She has saved us so many times. She isn't just pretty. She is beautiful... You are beautiful."

She watched him as he said these things, her eyes flicking from his mouth and eyes. He was telling the truth. She felt known and loved in that moment. Her eyes brimmed with tears and Klaus sweetly wiped away the the drops of water that dripped down her cheeks. Then quickly, with a strength Violet didn't know he had, he turned them over so that she lay underneath his body , his waist settled snugly between her legs.

Violet's jaw dropped in astonishment. He rubbed noses with her as he spoke. "And it's only in my dreams where I'm allowed to be in love with you." Klaus whispered against her lips, as if even saying it in a dream were taboo. Violet's lips trembled in anticipation, and then he was kissing her. Not the sweet timidity of first kisses, but soft insistent pressure, tongues, comfort and need. Klaus kissed her like he had done it a hundred times before, like he knew exactly what she wanted and needed. Her mind was dizzy with pleasure and this new information. She was confused at herself for letting this behavior go on for she knew this was no dream. She remembered exactly where they were and why they were there. Only, these kisses sparked a longing to feel something good, to not worry or overthink, but to just see what would happen. She should stop it before it went too far, before one of them got hurt, she argued with herself, but then he was cupping her beast and running his thumbs over her nipples. God, she had never felt anything like it.

Soon Klaus was kissing across her jaw, down her neck and sucking on her collarbone. Violet was panting, breathless. He was moving too fast, so confidently. Maybe this was a dream. Shouldn't this feel wrong? Only, each new sensation was causing a burning in her belly, a need for more. Then his mouth was on her nipple, gently sucking and biting, hands still cupping.

"Klaus!" Violet squeaked and tangled her fingers in his hair, intending to push him away, but instead, held him there longer, doing those wonderful things to her body. He eventually eased his lips back toward her mouth, placing hot, open-mouthed kisses all the way. Klaus balanced his weight on a forearm as one hand traced lower until he was grasping her hips around the crease of her upper thigh and brushing his fingertips into the triangle of her pubic hair.

Violet had never been so aroused in her life. She couldn't tell if this was happening too fast, or if they had been at this for an eternity. She was so lost to lust that she felt no self-consciousness. Oh God, she wanted this, for him to touch her. He pressed his fingers into the soft, pink flesh between her legs causing a puddle of wet to form at her entrance. Violet had to break away from his lips to breathe out a shuttering gasp.

"Does that feel good?" Klaus asked huskily in her ear. Violet nodded wordlessly, unable to speak as he drew sweet circles over a particularly sensitive spot.

"Violet, tell me you love me." he demanded softly in her ear. Didn't he know that of course she loved him, above all others, except maybe Sunny? When she didn't answer his fingers slowed and he held them still, barely pressing at her entrance.

"You are so wet for me," his lips brushed across her temple. "Tell me you're mine!" Klaus insisted. Violet was utterly astounded at the naughty, possessive words coming from Klaus's mouth. Exactly when had her clever and articulate little brother become sexy? He dropped kisses down her jawline to suck at her earlobe. His fingers pressed into her just a little.

"I'm…I'm yours, Klaus," she stuttered out, bucking her hips against his fingers. What was she doing? Oh, her brain was fuzzy with arousal and Klaus's breaths and kisses were hot on her mouth, stealing her oxygen. She couldn't breath or think, wasn't sure she could stop this now, even if she wanted to. Her heart skipped a beat when he removed his hand and settled himself directly between her legs, his hard erection now pressing where his fingers had just been.

"Wait," Violet groaned, just in time, chest heaving. "Wait Klaus, just a minute. What… " she struggled to get coherent words out, "what if this is real?"

He shook his head. "It's not," and continued to kiss her. "We can do anything we want." Violet tenderly pushed his face away from hers to make him look at her, and ran her thumbs over his cheekbones.

"Wait," she implored again. "What's the last thing you can remember? Think for a minute, okay?" Klaus paused and looked into her face, eyebrows scrunched in concentration.

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully. " I guess… I guess we were at that horrible Caligari Carnival?" Violet nodded her head.

"I'm so sorry," Violet started to cry. "So much has happened since then but you don't remember right now because you've hurt your head." Violet reached around to the back of his head where the bump was still a bit tender and he winced. "I think you've had a concussion."

"What…?"

"We were climbing, here, in the Mortmain Mountains and we…" Violet couldn't look him in the eyes. "We had a fight, and you were too close to the edge of the road and… and you fell down a ravine." She looked away embarrassed. Tears sliding from the corners of her eyes to slip down her cheeks into her hair. "It's all my fault, Klaus. I was trying to make you do what I thought was right, which was to go after Sunny, and the ground gave away and you fell into the frozen stream. You've had hypothermia and I had read that body heat is the…"

"…best treatment for hypothermia," Klaus finished Violet's sentence. Violet nodded. He was still looking at her with his eyebrows drawn together, like he was trying to piece together a puzzle. "Where exactly is Sunny?" he asked, concerned. Violet shook her head and sobbed.

Klaus pushed himself up onto his elbows to wipe away some of Violet's tears. "Count Olaf has her. He tricked us, Klaus, and tried to kill us."

"So, she could be anywhere right now? We've lost our little sister?" Klaus shook his head in disbelief, starting to get a bit angry.

Violet shook her head again. "I think they must be stuck on this mountain somewhere, just like us. The weather's been nothing short of a blizzard since last night," she assured him. Klaus looked around the small room and then down at Violet, who still lay under him.

"So, are you telling me that this is not a dream? I mean… this is real?" Klaus closed his eyes and turned his face away from Violet's.

"Why does that have to change anything?" asked Violet.

"It changes everything," and then Klaus scrambled hastily away from his sister, only the wall stopped him from going too far form her. He drew his knees up to his chest and his hands fisted in the gray bed sheets. His jaw was clenched so tightly closed that Violet could see the muscles working in his jaw. There was a tense silence that filled the room, and Violet gave him a minute to think, just watching him. She took the time to really look at her brother. He had a long body. His shoulders and chest were broad, tapering down to a thin waist. He wasn't muscular, but he was solid and lean. He had soft brown hair on his legs and arms. Funny, she had always thought of Klaus as handsome, but as his older sister, had often thought of him as a boy, but he had definitely grown into… well, not a man, yet, but the beginnings of one.

The old, thin mattress dipped as Violet moved to kneel in front of Klaus. He glanced at her and then quickly averted his eyes from her naked form. Violet felt despair at the sudden chasm between them, when just a moment before, they had been so close to something. She was desperate to be back in his arms because being loved by Klaus in this new way had made her feel special and wanted. She couldn't bear if this were already the end.

"Klaus," she said tenderly, tilting her head toward him to catch his eye. "Do you feel differently about…" she hesitated, not sure if she could stand his answer, "me, now that you know you're awake? What just happened between us wasn't a dream, it was real. It really happened."

"I know." Klaus reached out to her then and quickly drew her into his arms, clutching her to him. "Why in the world didn't you stop me? I'm so sorry!" he apologized into her hair. "Did I hurt you?" Violet shook her head. She had only felt pleasure and comfort.

"You must know that I never would have behaved like that if.. and to think what I could've done… what I almost did to you, Violet. You must think I'm disgusting. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated.

"But, Klaus," she asked into his neck as he held her tightly. "Do you really love me? I mean, are you in love with me?"

"I can't love you that way, Violet. It isn't right," he shook his head as he answered her. "You would hate me and I can't lose you. The world would hate us, and I don't want that for you or Sunny. It's best if we can just forget this happened."

Violet felt hopeful. He had said can't, not don't. In her recent experience, the world had been a horrible place and Klaus the only constant good in her life. If anyone deserved to be loved, it was him. If she had to choose between the world and Klaus, well, that was an easy choice. "But," she pressed, "you do love me?" She pulled back to look in his face. He wouldn't meet her eyes, but nodded hesitantly. "Because," she continued, "I think I love you, too, and I meant it when I said that I am yours, Klaus. As far as the world goes, it already hates us. I don't care about them, not at all!" She had Klaus's attention now.

"But, why now?" That was a good question.

"Does it matter? I love you for all the same reasons that I have always loved you. You are so good and so smart. You have always stuck by my side through all of these hard times. Maybe I wouldn't even be alive right now if it weren't for you. You are the only person in the world I can trust. You are my sweet and protective brother. Maybe you'll be my lover. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive. We might have each other for one day or for fifty years, but I don't think I would ever regret this. Do you still want me?" Violet asked, vulnerable, but hopeful.

He hesitated. She moved his hand to cup her breast again. He glanced toward her chest, then quickly back up to her eyes. "Do you still want to be mine?" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lifted herself into his lap. He looked up into her open face.

"More than life," he said simply.

Violet beamed at him and brushed her lips against his, willing him silently to kiss her as he had before. Her lips were so soft and her tongue so sweet. She wanted to prove to him how much she wanted him. She drew soft fingertips down to his hardened nipples and rubbed circles there and then down to his belly button following a thin line of soft brown hairs down to his erection. Her hand encircled it at the head and she stroked it's velvety hardness down the base. Klaus gasped at the sensation and laid his head back against the wall.

"Does that feel good?" Violet asked, delighted that she could also cause him pleasure. All he could do was nod, unable to form words as she continued to stroke him. "You know, you already have my heart, Klaus. You can have my body, too. I want you to touch me, okay? I'm yours."

"And you…you're absolutely positive that this isn't a dream?" he asked, smiling up at her.

"It's real," she assured him as she backed off of his lap to lay back on the bed. She tugged on his hand for him to follow her.

"I'm not sure I believe you," but he leaned forward, climbing her body slowly, leaving trails of openmouthed kisses on the inside of her knee and and thigh. She did feel a little self conscious then about her body. Before, he had kept her too close to think about it, but now she was laid bare before him. Violet and Klaus had grown up in a family that hadn't cared too much for modesty. They had often played naked in the yard as kids, when the summer sun was hot and the sprinklers were on. Even as they had grown older they had gone skinny dipping together on warm rainy days at Briny Beach. Their constant close quarters since the fire that destroyed their home had led to zero privacy. They had seen each other naked plenty of times, and neither one had ever been ashamed to be naked in front of the other. Even so, she was a bit mortified and simultaneously felt she might never want him to stop as he placed one hand on each of her thighs to spread her legs apart and began to lick and kiss at her sensitive nub. Violet tangled her fingers in his hair and felt that fire begin again in her belly. Her legs wobbled and her toes curled as her body responded to the movements of his mouth.

Violet whined when he stopped too soon, but he began kissing her belly and breasts. He kissed her lips and she could tase herself there. It felt good to have the weight of his body over her. It felt safe. He pressed his erection into her warm wet vagina, just a little, then a little more, pulling it out again. Each time he would enter her a little further. He had been afraid of this, that it would feel too good. Violet was slick and tight and Klaus had to concentrate on moving slowly. He tried not to think too hard about the enchanting little sounds of pleasure she was making, or the way she held on to him so tightly, or how he had wanted this for so long, because then it would all be over before it even started.

Violet did not make it easy on him, either. Just as Klaus finally pushed all the way in she was already at her climax. Her thighs clenched tight, tight, tight around his waist. Her back arched a little toward him, head back, hair fanned out around her on the pillow. Her fingers tangled almost painfully in his hair as she sobbed out his name, and he watched her the whole time.

If he thought she was tight before, it was nothing to the way she was squeezing him now. When he pulled most of the way out he had to thrust hard to get back in causing Violet to groan. "Yes, more.. please."

Klaus began to thrust into her quicker now, building a steady rhythm that he knew couldn't last too long. "This is real. This is real," he reminded himself. He felt a telltale tightening in his scrotum and a tingling at the base of his spine, signaling his orgasm. Just in time, he pulled out of her and thrust the last few times against her soft belly, spilling his seed across her stomach.

"Oh God…Violet," he groaned, low in her ear.

When she realized what he had done Violet questioned him. "Will you always have to…I mean, just when…?

"No, not always," he told her thoughtfully. "Just for now, okay? I'm sorry… I'm sorry," he was still breathless.

"But, why?" she asked.

"I won't risk it. I don't want you to get pregnant." His face was flushed quite dark in the very low light of the room. "That can never happen." He sweetly kissed her cheek across her cheekbone and then back down to her mouth.

Violet giggled a little at the situation. "Exactly where in the world did you learn how to do all of that?"

He made to move off of her but she held him still, wrapping her arms and legs around him, enjoying the safety of his body surrounding hers. "Well, uh…," he stammered.

"Is my articulate and word defining brother at a loss for words?" Violet teased. "Surely, you haven't been reading up on sex in a book? I think I would have noticed that particular volume."

"Well, it's just a little embarrassing, is all," he answered her with a grin. "I don't know how many times I've walked in on Mother and Father doing… well, I think I've seen it all."

"Are you serious?" Violet snorted. "You have to tell me, right now. Why wouldn't you knock before you went into their room?"

"No," he said defensively. " Once, I was just innocently sitting in the library, reading a book on North American Wolves, when they came in. Father lifted Mother onto the piano. She laid back on the top of it and Father pushed her skirt up and started, well, kissing her down there. They never saw me, and by the time I realized what they were doing, it was too late. So, I just sat there as still as I could and hoped they wouldn't notice me." Violet snickered at the thought of young Klaus, eyes glued to their parents and his face beet red, trying to figure out how to escape.

Klaus kissed Violet's forehead and she kissed his chin. "Then, there was another time, but it might have been partly my fault," Klaus confessed. "I had been reading pretty late into the night when I went downstairs to get a glass of water. Father was sitting at the kitchen table and mother was totally naked, straddled across his lap," he paused, remembering. " Father was kissing her everywhere and well, …I guess they were making love. I thought it was sort of beautiful to see them like that. So totally lost in one another, they never even saw me."

Each were saddened by the sweet memories of their parents, whom they missed so much. They were silent, together, but alone in their individual memories. They stayed that way until the chill air in the shack crept over their bodies.

Klaus and Violet each despised the idea of getting out of bed. Violet tiptoed on the cold floor over to the covered window. She took down a handful of rags to peer out to see that the snow was still falling steady in the gray twilight. They must have slept the whole night and most of the day. She replaced the rags in the window and began to remake the fire. Klaus inspected their worn and dirty clothes that had been hastily discarded in a filthy pile on the dusty floor. Every garment was stiff and unwearable from the weather and mud.

Violet took a deep breath to steel her naked skin from the cold and quickly opened the door to the raging blizzard outside and filled the large pot with snow for melting on the fire, then latched the door behind her. The wind that came in the door made the fire flicker madly. She smiled at Klaus shyly. Doing daily work without clothes on was a stretch for even the most immodest. She longed to wrap in the blanket, but was afraid of the the end catching fire in the grate. She must just work quickly and try to ignore Klaus's lingering gaze.

"Want to wash clothes? I can't stand the thought of trying to put these back on like this." Violet said. Klaus nodded in agreement and looked around at the shelves for some soap. He found a dusty, cracked old bar of soap, and a comb with half it's teeth missing. On another shelf he found a box of blankets and some cans of food.

Klaus put the clothes into the pot to let them heat up while Violet made a clothesline close to the fire grate. The small room warmed quickly with the fire going and the only part of them that really remained cold was their feet. They worked alongside one another, mostly in silent efficiency, as was their usual. Klaus pulled the pot off the fire and let it cool. Then he got to washing the hot garments, wringing them out as best he could and then hanging them in a tidy row on the line to dry.

He braved the cold this time, opening the door as briefly as possible to throw out the old water, and scooping fresh snow into the pot. He pulled a rickety stool from under the shelves and directed Violet to sit down. He pulled all of her hair into a long ponytail in one hand and pulled it gently to tilt her head back. Klaus poured the warm water over her hair, letting a small pot catch most of the drips. He washed her hair with the bar of soap he found and rinsed again with warm water. He dried her hair with with one of the blankets, earning a few giggles from her. He did his best to comb out her tangles without pulling it too much.

"Do you want to wash your body now? I'll have a turn when you're all done, okay?" he offered. Violet nodded and cried a bit, too, because it felt really nice to be cared for. She didn't think she had ever cried this much, but was feeling so emotional. Violet quickly washed all over and Klaus offered her a dry blanket to wrap up in. She went to lay in the bed and quietly watched Klaus wash his hair and body and dry off with the same blanket he had used for her hair, then he laid it on the clothesline, too. She liked the way the firelight played on his skin as he moved around the room. She appreciated his heightened color, remembering how pale he had been only hours before. He was more man than boy now, but when you grow up with someone, it is hard to notice these changes.

She shivered a little when he opened the door to throw out the dirty water again. He wiped the pot out and chose a can of food from the little stash, heated it and divvied up two portions into mismatched tin cups. Klaus hopped into bed with the cups, handing one to his sister. Violet sat up to take hers gratefully and Klaus covered his lap with the blanket, leaning his back against the wall. The two hadn't realized how hungry they were nor how long it had been since they had last eaten. Their shrunken stomachs were more than happy for the small portion of food. Each of them felt warm, full, and content with the knowledge that they would rest up tonight and then find a way to get their sister back in the morning.