A/N: (Posted: April 27, 2024) Hey, guys! Back again! So, I was at work last year (December 6, 2023, I think) and I was listening to music and this little songfic twoshot fell in my head. Each oneshot is based off a verse of the song. Hope you guys like it (them)! :) \m/
Songfic(s) to When She Says Baby by: Jason Aldean.
Disclaimer: Me no own ASOUE. Or When She Says Baby. God, I'm such a loser. T_T
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RATED T FOR:
– LANGUAGE
The Wind Beneath My Wings
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Part 1
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"It's not right!"
"It's the only way to save them!"
"It's too dangerous!"
"We don't have a choice!"
Klaus sighed and looked at the clock. Two in the morning. What should have been a thirty minute meeting about how to handle a recent disaster had turned into a two hour long shouting match between the other ten volunteers in the room. Here sat the brightest, most intelligent people in the whole organization and they were acting like a bunch of unruly children. Did this hell have a skip button he could push? Of course not. He was a Baudelaire––he was never lucky.
"Our enemies have set up a perimeter around Hazy Harbor! Sending them in there would be suicide!"
"If we play it safe, they'll be killed immediately! We have no time for another plan!"
"Yes, we do have time to come up with a better plan."
"Shut up, Brent! Nobody asked you!"
"Well, what do you suggest we do, then? I haven't heard your plan!"
"Probably because he doesn't have one."
"Mine's the same as Avery's!"
"So you wanna get people killed? I can't believe you!"
"We're not sending our best inventors out to be slaughtered!"
Klaus held his head in his hands. He couldn't imagine sending Violet out into enemy territory. Into a trap. Sure, she was resourceful, but that wouldn't be enough to stop a horde of villains from killing a few volunteer informants, even if she did have other inventors' help. No. She was going to stay right here at V.F.D. Headquarters. He'd make damn sure of it.
"They're the best of the best! They'll get them back in one piece!"
"Will they, though? They outnumber us twenty to one! I don't like those odds!"
"My cousin's life isn't a game, Ronnie! I'm not sending him out there!"
"So we're just going to let them all die? Do you know how much information they've gathered? If they die, we lose it all! We need every bit of information we can get to stop these people from winning this war!"
"At what cost? More volunteers dead? You're sick!"
Klaus sighed again, his mind drifting to his beloved. She'd been gone on a mission for a week with a few other volunteers. Something about searching for a cache of weaponry deep in the Finite Forest. Or so the rumors around the headquarters said. All this talk about sending the inventors to rescue the informants only made him think of her and how much danger she was in. And if they sent his sister out to Hazy Harbor, he'd have to worry about two things he loved most. He was already sleep-deprived enough from both reading for recreation and missions––he didn't want to have another reason to stay up all night.
Suddenly, the room had become silent. Puzzled, Klaus looked around, wondering what had triggered the eye of the storm, when he found that all eyes were on him.
"Welcome back, Klaus," a boy with spiky blond hair and round glasses said sarcastically. "Glad you could join us."
Klaus glared at him.
"I guess the informants' lives don't matter to you," the boy said. "But then again, when you're a Baudelaire, you can do whatever you want and get away with it."
"They do matter to me," Klaus snarled. "What do you want, Avery?"
"Dana suggested we listen to your plan, because she apparently thinks you're that important."
Klaus looked around the room again. Not an eye was honed in on something else. Feeling the burn from their gazes, he looked down at the table, thinking. "Um…"
Avery tipped his head, a triumphant glimmer in his eye. "Oh, do you not have one? The great Klaus Baudelaire not have a plan to save some lives?"
"I'm thinking!" Klaus snapped. He thought for a moment. "We're not sending them in there."
Half of the room stared at him, disgusted, the other half, relieved. "What?!" Avery said. "Why? They'll die if we don't!"
"I'm not sending my sister into a trap!" Klaus said, slamming his hand on the table. "And I'm not sending Jeff's cousin into it, either!"
"Thanks, Klaus," Jeff said with a grateful smile.
Avery let out a snort. "I can't believe you! Smartest guy in the room? My ass! How could you be so stupid? Just leaving volunteers to die like that."
Murmurs of agreement filled the room.
"Oh shut up, you guys!" Jeff said. "You know Klaus is just trying to save as many lives as he can!"
"Yeah, Avery, you're the problem!"
"Shut up, Brent! Nobody asked you!" Avery said.
"Yeah, shut up, Brent!"
"Will you guys leave him alone? You always pile on him!"
"Yeah, because he won't shut up and know his place!"
"His place is in this conversation with everyone else!"
"Thanks, Dana. I'm glad somebody cares about what I have to say."
"Dana, you care about what everyone has to say!"
"Because it does matter what everyone says! Each opinion matters!"
"Not every opinion," Avery said, shooting a dirty scowl at Klaus.
"Leave him alone, Avery!"
"His doesn't, Dana! He's already got a girlfriend, stop trying to get in his pants!"
"I'm not!"
"Shut up, Avery! Leave her alone!"
"Make me!"
"Alright! Everyone shut up!" Klaus roared.
Silence.
Klaus looked around the room to find everyone looking at him again. "All you guys have done for the past two hours is argue," he said, trying to reign in his temper. "It's obvious we have two different plans on rescuing our informants. Why don't we just vote on it?"
More murmuring of agreement.
"Fine," Avery said with a shrug. "But before we do, I just want you to know that my brother is one of the informants. So if you're going to play God and decide whose life's more important, Jeff's cousin's or my brother's, you better choose wisely, Baudelaire. All in favor of sending our inventors to Hazy Harbor in the morning?"
Half the room, including Avery, raised their hands.
"Alright. All in favor of coming up with a "safer" plan?"
Half of the room, including Jeff, Brent, and Dana, raised their hands.
"Alright. Half and half." Avery looked over at Klaus, a smug smirk on his face. "What's wrong, Klaus? I didn't see you raise your hand."
Feeling betrayed, Jeff gawked at Klaus, wondering what possessed him to play Switzerland all of a sudden. Klaus felt his heart tie itself into several Devil's Tongue knots. Suddenly, the weight of the world was on his shoulders and he felt sick to his stomach.
"Well, I guess Dana was right. Your opinion does matter," Avery said. "You're the tiebreaker. So. Which is it? Jeff's cousin or my brother?"
"Uhh…" Klaus managed to choke.
"Sure, we'll wait," Avery said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Not like every minute is precious or anything."
More silence from Klaus. His mind drew nothing but a blank, like he was a robot short-circuiting. He closed his eyes, hoping that would help.
"Must be great to play God," Avery said, looking up at the ceiling in wonder. "You say something and everybody follows. You got a sweet gig, Baudelaire. I'm jealous. I wish I could be you."
Klaus gritted his teeth. He didn't even want to be him right now. And Avery's taunting really didn't help, either. What bliss it would be to send him into the danger zone. "I…I need to sleep on it," he said finally.
"Sure, we all got time to sleep on it, right?" Avery looked around the room. "No! We don't have time to sleep on it! My brother's out there getting tortured and you want to saw logs? Are you kidding me?!"
"I said I need time!" Klaus said angrily, getting up from the table. "I wanna make the right decision, not a quick decision!"
The volunteers held their breath as Avery's face grew red, his upper lip stiffening. "Fine. Meeting adjourned. Eight a.m. sharp, right here. And you better have an answer, Baudelaire!" With that, everyone got up and left the conference room.
Klaus walked out and stormed down the hall. He couldn't believe the gall Avery had to embarrass him like that. Insult his intelligence. Say he didn't care about volunteers' lives when they were out in the field. Oh, what he wouldn't give to give him a good knock in the head. Remind him who was really in charge here. He cringed. What was he thinking? Now he was turning into the very thing he hated. The one thing he vowed never to become with how famous he was in V.F.D..
A self-centered, arrogant jerk.
It was quite a trek, but he finally made it to the one place he'd never be judged for who he was, the one true place where the world was quiet: his dorm. He swiped his keycard, strode inside, and flicked on the light. In the warm glow from above, he was greeted by his large, lush living room, the small kitchen and bathroom shouting hello from the far wall. But it wasn't these things that had his attention. It was his giant four-poster bed, coaxing him to come lay down and forget his troubles for the night. He walked over and flopped down on it, burying his face into the thick fluffy pillows. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape from his thoughts. Which half of the ten volunteers did he want to like him? Who mattered more, Jeff's cousin or Avery's brother? What mattered more, his sister's safety or other volunteers' lives? The choice wasn't easy, and though he'd said he was against sending their inventors into Hazy Harbor earlier, now he wasn't so sure. For he knew Avery's brother, Mick, and was close with him, too. Mick had bailed him, Violet, Sunny, and the Quagmires out of so many situations that he'd lost count. To lose him would be catastrophic, basically a stab in the back to what he'd done for them. Oh, why did he have to be the tiebreaker for this? He squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his pillow tight. Hopefully, he could think better in the morning.
/
"Klaus," a voice said from beside him.
Klaus grunted and pulled the covers up to his neck.
"Klaus."
"No, Violet. I don't wanna get up."
"It's me."
Klaus flipped over and found Isadora grinning at him. She looked tired and a bit unkempt from scouting through the Finite Forest, but there she was, still as beautiful as the day they first met.
"Izzy!" Klaus yanked her into bed with him and hugged her tight, refusing to let go.
Isadora planted a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you," she said, melting into his embrace, thrilled to be in his arms again.
"I missed you more," Klaus said, kissing her forehead. "When did you get here?"
"I just got back half an hour ago," Isadora said. "I went to tell my brothers and your sisters that I was back."
"Why didn't you come and tell me?"
"I always save the best for last," Isadora said with a wink.
Klaus grinned and hugged her tighter.
"So Violet wanted me to ask you something. Something about a meeting decision?"
Klaus felt the moment shatter. "Oh yeah. That… Wait, how'd she know about the meeting I went to last night? I didn't tell her."
"She got a call from someone about it earlier. They told her to suit up and be ready to move out to Hazy Harbor just in case you voted to send them out there to get our informants back."
"Damn it, Avery!" Klaus let go of Isadora and lie on his back, sighing irritably. "Why did he have to bring Violet into this? I didn't make a decision yet! Now he's gonna put her on edge for no reason!"
Isadora snuggled up next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna stay right here. I'm not going to the second meeting."
"Why?"
"Because I can't decide what to do. I'm not sending Violet out there, but I can't just leave Mick out there until we come up with another plan. He's in danger and there's no time." Klaus sighed and shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. "I can't do this. I can't be the tiebreaker."
"Yes you can. I know you can."
Klaus looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"You've made hard decisions before. Remember Hotel Denouement? And the pit you, Violet, and Quigley dug to trap Esmé Squalor in order to save Sunny?"
"Yeah. But those were decisions I regret."
"Well, let's make sure this is one you won't regret. What does your heart tell you to do?"
Klaus thought long and hard for a while. "Come up with a different plan to save them."
"Then that's what you should say. Now you go to that meeting and tell them what you think you guys should do."
"But what about Avery and Mick?"
"Who cares what Avery thinks? And I'm sure Mick will understand if you pick Violet's safety over his. He's not dense like Avery is. And he'd do the same for Avery if it came down to saving him or us."
Klaus nodded. Her wisdom knew no bounds, and sometimes, it even surpassed his. Where would he be without her? Probably in Count Olaf's clutches. And even though that was years ago, the thought still gave him nightmares. He smiled at her. "You're right. Thanks, Izzy."
Isadora smiled at him as he reached over her to grab his glasses off the nightstand. He sat up, and after she got out of his way, threw the covers back, and hopped out of bed. It was easier to stand now that she'd lifted all that weight off his shoulders. Sure, he was strong, but not that strong. It was tough to even walk back to his dorm last night because of it. But there was something about her that made everything better. Made the heaviest burdens light. Made the darkest storms bright. What, he didn't know. But to have such a buoy to cling to in a violent sea of uncertainty, it was a godsend. One kind word from her, one kiss, gave him the power to move the Mortmain Mountains. To swim the Gorgonian Grotto. To take on the whole mob of villagers that wanted to burn him at the stake in the Village of Fowl Devotees. With her behind him, nothing was impossible. So whatever Avery had to say about his decision, it didn't matter. It wouldn't stand a chance against how her support made him feel. He dared him to bring it on.
Klaus wrapped Isadora in a hug for one more shot of reassurance. "Thanks," he said.
"For what?" Isadora asked.
"For just being there for me," Klaus said. "I don't know where I'd be without you."
Isadora smiled. "That's what friends are for."
"You mean that's what girlfriends are for."
Isadora chuckled. "Right. That's what I meant."
Klaus looked into her eyes and smiled. Oh, what those innocent browns could make him do. It never ceased to amaze him. Already, he could feel the energy her gaze gave him surge throughout his body, itching to take Avery on. Nothing was going to stop him now. "Cuddle when I get back?" he asked.
"I'd love to," Isadora said.
He smiled at her one last time and walked out the door. Time to swing the gavel down. And this time, Avery was going down with it.