Detention (ASOUE)

Chapter Forty

We had only just stepped out of the door when I considered calling the whole thing off. It was bitterly cold and I could barely see to the end of the street since one of the streetlamps had broken. The breeze was gentle but it made me shiver, and I regretted not forcing myself to get changed instead of being outside in just my cotton pyjamas and Klaus' hoodie. 

Nevertheless, Klaus had already set off down the road and I had no choice but to follow him. We walked in silence but it was comfortable, and I eventually got used to the temperature enough to stop constantly rubbing my arms.

"This way," Klaus said, directing me through a back lane. Here, the darkness was even thicker and I was glad to have Klaus as a guide. 

Soon, we stepped out into a field that sat behind a row of houses. Each of their gardens backed onto it, and one in particular was lit up more than the others. There were outdoor lamps and fairy lights strung up between the house and a small wooden gazebo, as well as there being lights implemented into the paving slabs that acted like mini spotlights. In addition to it looking extremely pretty, the excess of lights also meant that it was easy to see multiple cats running around and exploring.

We came to a stop just outside the gate and Klaus sat down in the grass. I followed suit and sat next to him and then we waited to see if any of the cats would be curious enough to come and see us.

"The lady who lives here hides food for them around the garden," Klaus explained, "That's why there's always so many."

I smiled. "What a nice thing to do."

I watched in silence as the cats all went about their business, as though we weren't there at all. Some of them ran across the low walls that framed the garden, others seemed like they were play-fighting, and then some looked like they were seeking out the food Klaus had been talking about. 

I saw Klaus reach into his pocket and bring out a small bag. Then he shook it and suddenly dozens of pairs of eyes snapped to our location. 

"You brought treats?" I exclaimed quietly.

"Well yeah, that's the only way you can get their attention," he replied, before tipping some of them into my open palm.

Slowly but surely, some of the cats ventured over, tempted by the promise of food. They still seemed slightly tentative and cautious, but approached anyway, and I made sure I was as gentle as possible as I reached out to them.

Klaus, on the other hand, was a natural, and the cats approached him straight away. A couple even confidently tried to climb onto him.

"They seem to like you," I commented.

"They must recognise me," Klaus said. Then he paused. "I know I said I used to come here with Violet, but I actually come here a lot on my own as well. It's a good place to think."

"No wonder you always seem tired," I said before quickly adding, "No offense! I just mean if you come here so frequently you must be missing out on a lot of sleep right?"

I felt myself flush as my words slipped out before I had properly thought them through. The last thing I wanted to do was offend him. But what I had said had been the truth. The lack of sleep that bunched up under his eyes in dark shadows was an undeniable feature of his, and one that Lily had often focused in on to push her undead agenda. It wasn't a bad look, though. Although at this point I wondered if any look on Klaus would be a bad one.

"I don't sleep a lot anyway when there's a lot on my mind," Klaus replied, petting the black and white cat that had curled up in his lap after a few treats, "I'd prefer to be here than stuck at home with my thoughts and not sleeping anyway." 

I nodded. His reasons made sense. "What do you usually think about?" I asked.

"Different things, but recently..." he trailed off and glanced away. "It depends," he said finally.

"Well, thank you for bringing me here."

"That's okay. I thought you might like it."

He gave me some more treats and I tried to coax some of the cats over. Most of them ignored me, which was typical cat behaviour, but a couple ended up coming over and taking the food from me. The black and white cat that had been comfy with Klaus, had decided he'd had enough and sauntered off, only to be replaced by a ginger one who seemed all but too willing to be made a fuss of.

After a while, I unconsciously stopped watching the cats and instead turned my focus to Klaus. As we had spent more time together and hung out, I had got used to his usual deadpanned expression. But here, it was clear he was in his element, and he smiled genuinely as he petted and played with the cats, using long blades of grass to tease them. 

He caught me looking and I immediately shifted my gaze, hoping it wasn't too obvious that I was staring.

"Are you okay?" he asked and I quickly nodded.

"Yeah definitely," I said, trying to brush it off, while simultaneously trying not to seem suspicious. I was almost certain he knew though, as when I glanced towards him again he seemed amused.

Once the treats had run out, we got up and slowly began to walk back to the Baudelaire house. However, we had barely walked a few steps when Klaus held out his hand and asked, "Is it raining?"

I held my hands out too and, sure enough, I felt the slight pitter-patter hit my palms. 

We quickened our pace, not wanting to get caught in the rain without coats. But then, out of nowhere, the heavens opened and it began lashing down with rain, the clouds showing us no mercy. 

We started to run but it was too late. Within seconds we were drenched and Klaus reached for my hand so he could pull me along faster. With my free hand, I tried to pull my hood on but it wouldn't stay and my hair was already soaked, so I gave up and just focused on running.

I almost sighed in relief when our familiar street came into view, along with the Baudelaire's instantly-recognisable house. We splashed along the pavements, which had already started to flood, and up to the door, which Klaus threw open as soon as it was within reach.

We stood in the darkened hallway for a second, panting because of our intense run. I wanted to laugh, because of course it would start pouring while we were out, but when I looked up I noticed that Klaus was looking at me intently through his rain covered glasses.

My smile dropped. "Is something wrong?" I said quietly.

But then he stepped closer and reached out towards me, delicately moving a bit of my hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. I wanted to say thank you but I didn't have time before he leaned in more and and kissed me softly.

As quick as it happened, it was over and we both stared at each other, both of us equally as gobsmacked about what had happened. Despite him being the one to initiate it, Klaus seemed shocked and quickly stepped back.

However, in that moment, I realised something. In a split second, all the thoughts in my head that had felt disjointed, finally clicked into place. Everything that I had felt and dismissed or blamed on something else, finally made sense to me.

So I closed the gap this time, and kissed him again. 

A/N: OOP- I've been waiting to write this chapter for so long hahahahah.

It actually made me laugh reading your comments on the last chapter and knowing that none of you probably suspected that the next chapter would have a kiss in it. Maybe I'm evil lol but it was fun having that secret.

I hope you liked it! I wanted it to feel natural so hopefully it came across that way!

Thank you for reading this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one! ❤