klaus through the ages

klaus & isadora

even at the tender age of four, klaus baudelaire knew many things.

this included-

•how to tie his shoes

•how to write "klaus" and "violet"

•how to read simple books

he was a smart child, with parents very proud of him and with a sister, violet (whose name he knew how to spell) who was proud of him as well, although she was scarcely six years old. he also cared deeply about people, especially people he felt a connection with.

on normal days, the whole family spent time together, and this particular day was no exception. klaus sat at the kitchen table with his family, scribbling the names he knew how to write with a purple crayon. violet sat next to him, fiddling with a watch her father gave her.

their parents were looking at a photograph, with crisp corners which meant it was relatively new. klaus's curiosity was piqued, and he climbed into his mother's lap to look at the photo.

it was of three children, about five years of age. there was two identical boys on either side of a girl grinning widely. you could almost feel the happiness radiating from that little girl, and klaus felt it. he grinned back at the girl, while his parents exchanged a mischievous look behind him. klaus didn't know who the girl was, but he knew he wanted to meet her, and he knew she was the prettiest girl he'd ever met in his life (he thought his sister and mother were very beautiful, but the girl was different in a way).

"who's that? can i meet her?" he asked, looking up at his parents with wide eyes.

his mother laughed. "of course, darling. we'll have to invite them over for dinner. would you like that?"

the boy nodded happily, and scampered off to find a book to read.

weeks later, klaus was surprised when there was a knock at the door and he found himself face-to-face with the girl from the picture. the two boys were there, too, one with slightly longer hair and a more mischievous grin than the polite one.

their parents greeted each other warmly in the corner. violet, being the polite person she was raised to be, smiled and said, "hello, i'm violet, and this is my brother klaus. pleased to meet you."

the boys introduced themselves as duncan and quigley, but all of klaus's attention was on the girl.

she smiled shyly and waved at the baudelaire siblings. "i'm isadora."

klaus waved back slowly, utterly besotted with isadora.

their parents ushered them off to play. violet led them to the playroom, where they kept all sorts of toys and books.

one of the boys, duncan, trailed off behind violet to play with her things in the corner, and quigley looked around, trying to find something he was interested in. klaus turned to isadora nervously.

"do you want to color with me?" he asked, pointing to a small table with a box of crayons on top.

isadora giggled. "yeah!"

they ran off to the table, diving for their favorite colors (isadora, purple and klaus, orange). they had the time of their lives, laughing and drawing pictures (stick figures) of each other. at least, until quigley came over and took isadora's crayon from her chubby toddler fingers. she cried out in surprise, stretching her hand out towards him so that he could give it back. quigley, instead of putting the crayon in his sister's outstretched hand, took a piece of paper and started coloring.

isadora sniffled, her eyes welling up with tears. klaus saw this and decided she wouldn't cry if he had anything to say about it, so he gave her his crayon with a smile. isadora smiled back at him, wiping her nose daintily with her sleeve. "thank you, klaus."

"you're welcome, isadora."

at eight years old, klaus baudelaire knew many, many things.

the aforementioned things included-

•that the tip of a shoelace is called an 'aglet'

•that books are very fun to read late at night, under the covers with a flashlight

•that isadora quagmire stole his heart

the last one is the most relevant, in my opinion.

even at eight years old, he knew he had a huge crush on isadora. violet knew, and ruthlessly teased him about it. nonetheless, whenever the quagmires came over, she pretended she had to show the boys something so that isadora and klaus could be alone. violet is not anything if not clever, and her excuses worked every single time. whenever they were alone, klaus and isadora read a book together. they would cuddle up on a couch with piles of blankets. isadora would rest her head on klaus's shoulder, and he would hold the book as she turned the pages. they were so in sync she turned the page at exactly the time that both of them finished it, so it was at very nice pastime for them both (plus, klaus got to cuddle with isadora. obvs).

all the adults gushed about them, and the gushing was fueled every time a party was held at the quagmire or baudelaire residences.

much like their reading pastime, they had a hobby of falling asleep together at parties. adults would find them curled up on a couch (and one time, a comfy chair that barely fit both of them), sleeping more peacefully than they did on a normal night. whoever found them first would but a blanket over them. sometimes it was their parents, sometimes it was dr. montgomery montgomery, sometimes it was one of the snickets, sometimes it was josephine anwhistle. whoever it was, they found a camera of some sort, snapped a picture, and ran back to the other adults to relay the information.

i can tell you, all of them thought it was cute.

i can also tell you that klaus loved it when he woke up in the middle of a party, with the sounds of laughter and drinks clinking together slightly muted, with his arm around isadora and her head on his chest.

finally, i can tell you that the baudelaires and the quagmires made sure to throw many, many parties over the years.

klaus baudelaire was twelve. he knew an extensive amount of information. for instance, he knew-

•that books are more fun when you share them

•that his sister, sunny, would grow to be an amazing person

•that he was deeply in love with isadora quagmire

at that point, he had pined over isadora for no less than four years, and his infatuation had only grown, overtaking his heart.

he thought about her twenty-four/seven and his brain short circuited whenever she was around.

violet, duncan, and quigley straight-out laughed at him when he stuttered and blushed around isadora. isadora, being the sweet girl she was, defended him wholeheartedly. klaus blushed even more when that happened, less because he was embarrassed and more because oh my god isadora quagmire is defending me she's so beautiful oh my GOD.

he was so infatuated with her that he never noticed much else.

much else, indeed.

when klaus baudelaire was fourteen, he knew a lot.

like-

•he

•loved

•isadora

with all his heart. he loved her so much that one day, under the stars, he told her so. she grinned that grin that made him begin to love her, (from the first day he saw that photograph) and she kissed him right then and there.

isadora quagmire knew many things, too. she knew that he loved her.

and she loved him back.