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In Sheep's Clothing	By : ParisWriter Category: +G through L > Harvest Moon Views: 2169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Ten

Avery fussed with her shawl, reaching up with one hand to again reposition it so the knot she'd tied covered her exposed cleavage as much as possible. Klaus chuckled a bit and she looked up at him, blushing when she saw the amused expression on his face.

"What's so funny?" she asked, pulling her arm out of his as she stopped walking and untied the knot with the intention of retying it a bit more loosely so it would cover a larger area of her chest.

"I don't understand why you would wear something you're obviously so uncomfortable in," Klaus replied, reaching up to stay her hands. "It's actually one of the things I have never understood about any woman. At least you're not wearing painful-looking high heels or an excessive amount of makeup, and your hair appears as though I could touch it without you screaming about how long it took to get it just right."

"For the record, I didn't pick out this dress. Marian did," she informed him, allowing her hands to fall away from his as he began adjusting the shawl for her.

"I guessed as much," he said with a smile, his eyes dipping down to her chest briefly before returning to her face. "If I may be so bold, it was an excellent decision. The color is perfect for spring, and the cut of the dress flatters your figure quite nicely."

"You just like the way my breasts look in it," she accused him, a pale blush coloring her cheeks.

"I like the way your breasts look in anything," Klaus told her, immediately turning scarlet when he realized he'd spoken the words out loud. "That is... I, um..." He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure, and let out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm not saying I only want you for your body," he said,shaking his head and pulling her closer to him as a small group of students passed them on the sidewalk. "It's just that... As they say, if you've got it, flaunt it. And you, my dear, have most certainly 'got it,' so why not flaunt it a bit?"

He winced and reached up to nervously ruffle the hair at the back of his head. Avery giggled at how uncomfortable he looked, then stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Klaus," she told him, "and I know you're not trying to objectify me. I just feel like I'm going to pop out of this dress at any moment."

Klaus chuckled and finished arranging her shawl so that it covered most of her chest while leaving a line of cleavage exposed in the center, then leaned down and kissed her briefly.

"I don't think you have to worry about that happening, unless you decide to go hanging upside-down from some rafters, later," he assured her, taking her hand and looping her arm through his once more.

"It wasn't on my agenda, but the day is still young so you never know," Avery said, smiling at him as they began walking together once more.

"A word of advice," Klaus offered, holding up a finger. "Next time Marian tries to dress you, give him a sharp kick to the groin and tell him you'll wear whatever the hell you want. You could have shown up in your dirty work clothes and I wouldn't have cared as long as I get to spend time alone with you, today."

"So you're saying I could be naked right now and you wouldn't care?" she asked him, smirking.

"Not in the slightest," he told her, giving her a wink. "Though I would probably feel compelled to follow suit and then we would both end up getting arrested for public indecency."

Avery laughed and blushed, hugging his arm a bit as they walked. She was glad they could finally be away from their friends and neighbors, for once. Not that she didn't adore most of the residents of Oak Tree Town; she simply enjoyed seeing Klaus acting more natural and laid back without the threat of Marian or Raeger sticking their nose into things.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over them.

"I made a lunch reservation for 1:30 at the restaurant I was telling you about," Klaus informed her. "I do need to stop at one of the department stores in town before we head over there, though, in order to pick up some orders. It should only take a minute or two. Aside from that, I really had no plans."

"Sounds good, Boss," Avery said, biting her lip to keep from chuckling. Klaus stopped in his tracks and looked at her, his eyes wide in horror.

"You saw that horrible television show?" he asked her, and Avery nodded. He averted his gaze from hers and swore under his breath as he ran his hand back through his hair, licking his lips nervously.

"I... I would have told you about it, eventually," he stammered.

"You sort of did, already," Avery corrected him. "You mentioned being a rebellious youth, before, and that you left home at a young age."

"Yes, well..." He cleared his throat a bit and leaned closer to her, lowering his voice, his expression turning grim. "There's quite a difference between simple youthful rebellion and being a gang leader."

Avery frowned a little and leaned up to kiss him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. I didn't realize it was such a bad memory for you."

"It's not that," he assured her, shaking his head. "I simply don't want you to be scared away by the darker shades of my past."

"What did I tell you before, Klaus?" she asked him. "Your past doesn't matter to me. So stop worrying about it. I'm not going anywhere."

"We'll see about that," he muttered under his breath as he continued walking with her once more, steering her into a nearby department store.

Avery clutched at Klaus' arm as they wove their way through the large crowd of Sunday shoppers, walking quickly to keep up with his longer strides as he led them toward a counter toward the back of the first floor. Dozens of bottles of various shapes and sizes were lined up on the counter as well as on display upon glass shelves behind it, each of them likely containing a different brand of perfume. Avery wondered how many of them Klaus had designed, himself.

"Klaus! Good to see you," an older woman with greying brown hair greeted them when they reached the perfume counter, and she leaned forward to exchange kisses on the cheek with him.

"Bethany, you're looking as beautiful as always," he complimented the woman, offering her a charming smile, and she playfully smacked his shoulder.

"Stop it, you! I'm old enough to be your mother," she scolded him, though she was smiling, as well. Her eyes then fell upon Avery and her smile grew even more.

"And who is this lovely young woman you've brought with you today?" she asked, offering her hand. Avery reached out to shake her hand in greeting just as Klaus introduced them.

"This is Bethany Ross, the main fragrance buyer here at Herschel's. Bethany, this is Avery Durand... my girlfriend."

Avery bit her tongue to keep from giggling at the way Klaus blushed ever so slightly upon introducing her as his girlfriend. It was the first time she'd heard him refer to her as such, and she couldn't help but wonder if he'd told anyone else outside of Oak Tree Town about their relationship.

"My word!" Bethany exclaimed, drawing Avery's attention back toward the older woman, who was now staring at her in awe. "So you're the one who inspired Klaus' greatest masterpiece?"

"Excuse me?" Avery asked, thoroughly confused. The woman simply let go of her hand and pulled a box out from under the counter, then held it out as if she was displaying it for a customer's consideration. The box was purple, and bore no design other than a single word written across the front in an elegant golden script: Avery.

"You... named a perfume after me?" she asked Klaus, turning to him. He slid one of the bottles across the counter toward her, and she immediately recognized it. It was a tall, thin, rectangular bottle with a golden A printed upon it in the same script as the name across the box. Avery picked up the bottle and smelled the perfume. Sure enough, it was the scent he had gifted to her for the winter holidays – the very prototype fragrance he'd given her a sample of the previous spring. She had merely assumed he'd had a special, monogrammed bottle made for her... not that he'd named the perfume after her.

"You were the inspiration for it, so it seemed only fitting to name the fragrance after you," he told her, taking the bottle back from her and placing it where it had been.

"Hopefully you'll inspire him to create even more," Bethany said as she put away the box she had shown Avery. "This one has been quite a hit with the ladies. Then again, they gobble up just about anything with Klaus' name attached to it."

"I can't imagine why," Avery remarked, a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. Klaus chuckled and pulled her closer to him, leaning down to kiss the top of her head, then released her and turned his attention toward Bethany.

"We were just in the neighborhood, so I thought I would stop in to pick up any new orders you might have for me," he told her, and Avery wandered toward a nearby jewelery display while they discussed business.

A clerk immediately came over to her when she began looking at the elegant pieces within the case, asking her if she needed help with anything. She politely declined his offer, but assured him that she would let him know if she required his assistance. She doubted she would, though. Everything within the case was much too flashy for her tastes. Even the wristwatches were encrusted with various gemstones. It all looked like cheap costume jewelery to her, even though she knew each and every piece was far from inexpensive.

The only thing that fit within her tastes was a silver locket – and even that was embellished with diamond dust. Still, it was far simpler than any of the other items in the jewelry case. Curious how much something like that would go for, she picked up the necklace and looked at the tag... then promptly began to choke on her own saliva. Apparently, the necklace was not made of silver but platinum and in order to afford it she would likely have to save for an entire year on her current budget. Even that would be cutting close, as she planned to spend a decent amount of money to finally add a second floor to her home in the summer and she would be continuing to expand upon the winery throughout the year.

"Ready to go?" Klaus asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Avery nodded and set the locket back in its proper place within the display, then reached up and took his hand in hers to allow him to lead her back through the crowd and out of the store.

"I'm beginning to regret telling you to 'flaunt it,' you know," he told her once they were outside, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her to his side in a slightly possessive manner.

"Oh?"

Klaus nodded, hailing a taxi for the two of them. "I'm sure you didn't notice, but every man was watching you in there. Even the married ones who should know better."

Avery blushed and bit her lip, fidgeting with her shawl as a car stopped at the side of the road to pick them up. Klaus opened the door for and she went to get into the back seat, but decided to be bold and turned back to him, reaching up and pulling him down by his cravat until his lips met hers.

"Let them look," she whispered a moment later, after breaking the kiss. "You're the one I'm going home with."

Klaus remained unmoving as he watched her climb into the cab, then he took a slow, deep breath before joining her and giving the driver the address of their next destination.

"Antonio?" Klaus called out to the seemingly empty restaurant, Avery lagging a step behind him as they wandered past the empty tables toward the kitchen at the back of the establishment.

"Maybe we're too early and they're not open yet?" she asked.

"We're not that early," Klaus replied, shaking his head. "Something's not right."

He quickened his pace, worried something might have happened to his old friend. He was just about to pull open the doors to the kitchen when they suddenly burst forward to reveal a large man with dark gray hair and a full beard, wearing a green apron and holding a large knife in one hand. His sudden appearance started both of them, sending Klaus stumbling backwards into the nearby counter and causing Avery to let out a high-pitched scream.

"Klaus, my boy!" the man joyfully cried out, then blinked when he saw the horror-stricken faces looking back at him. He let out a throaty chuckle and set the knife down on a table just inside the door, then wiped his hands off on his apron and headed for the other man, holding his arms open wide.

"You son of a bitch," Klaus grumbled, accepting the larger man's hug and returning it with one of his own.

"Oh, come on," he said, continuing to chuckle. "You should have seen that one coming. You ask me, you've let country living turn you soft."

"You didn't need to scare my girlfriend, too, though," Klaus pointed out, taking a step back and gesturing toward Avery, who was standing a few feet away with her hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath.

Antonio looked over to Avery and the smile suddenly fell from his face. He bowed slightly, once again wiping his hands off on his apron, and stepped forward with both of them extended toward her in greeting.

"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to frighten you," he told her, taking one of her small hands in both of his large ones and bringing it to his lips to kiss the back of it. "I was just wanting to give Klaus a hard time."

"That's quite all right," she assured him, smiling.

"So, you're Avery, huh?" he asked, releasing her hand and standing back up to his full height, which was about a head taller than Klaus. His gaze swept over her and she looked over to Klaus, blushing when he let out a low, appreciative whistle.

"You really do know how to pick them, don't you, boy?" he asked, looking over at him. Klaus smirked and went to stand next to Avery, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her back slightly against his chest.

"Don't go getting any ideas, now," he warned his friend.

"I'm just saying maybe you should find one of these pretty young things to fix me up with, is all," Antonio insisted. "It's been more than fifteen years since Mira passed, I think I'm ready to hit the dating scene again."

"A charmer like you doesn't need my help," Klaus told him. "Just make some of that famous lasagna of yours and they'll be all over you."

Antonio let out a hearty chuckle. "Speaking of which, that's why you two lovebirds are here, isn't it?" Klaus nodded and he gestured around the restaurant with a wave of his arm. "Have a seat anywhere. I'll be right out with your meal."

"Why is it so empty in here today?" Klaus called after him as he disappeared into the kitchen once more, pulling out a chair for Avery at the nearest table. She quietly thanked him as he tucked her seat under her and he gave her a wink before taking a seat across from her.

"I told the regulars I wasn't going to be opening until this evening," Antonio called back over the sound of plates being shuffled around. "Didn't want to be distracted by having to wait on customers since we haven't gotten a chance to visit in a while.

"Besides," he added, backing up through the swinging doors with a large tray balanced on each hand, "I wanted a chance to properly get to know this girl you were telling me so much about in your letters."

Klaus jumped to his feet and went to grab one of the trays from Antonio, ignoring the other man's protests when he insisted he could do it on his own. Avery watched as he expertly laid out the plates of food from his tray in front of her and then uncorked the bottle of wine and poured some into her empty glass.

"You're good at this," she commented, causing Antonio to chuckle.

"He should be. That's how he paid his rent when he lived here."

"You lived here?" she asked, looking to Klaus and taking a sip of her wine.

"The boy was a runaway," Antonio answered before he could, and Klaus gestured toward him as he took his seat across from Avery, allowing the other man to tell the story.

"When he first came in here, he didn't have much more than the clothes on his back and about ten dollars in his pocket." He set a third place setting for himself at the head of the table, between the two of them, then began serving heaping portions of lasagna. "Came here to get a bite to eat with the last of his money, ended up breaking up a fight that broke out between a couple of thugs. Those kind of things were happening more and more often so I told him if he'd be willing to stick around and keep the trouble at bay, maybe help out around the restaurant a bit, I'd let him live in the spare room I got upstairs."

"Of course, I agreed," Klaus continued, offering a piece of freshly-baked bread to Avery. "I was broke and homeless, so it was a good deal – scare off the riffraff, buss a few tables here and there, and I'd get a roof over my head and three meals a day in return."

"Then my beloved Mira passed and Klaus really stepped up," Antonio picked up where he left off. "He began serving customers, running the register, even helped out in the kitchen sometimes. Honestly, I never could have kept this place afloat if it hadn't been for his help. The boy's a saint."

"I just did what anyone else would have done, Antonio," Klaus said, his face turning red at the compliment.

"Yeah, well, they wouldn't have also kept their grades up in school enough to land a full scholarship and formed a gang formidable enough to drive all the worthless garbage out of town," Antonio added, waving a fork at Klaus before turning to Avery. "He ever tell you about his gang?"

"No, but I saw something on television about it," Avery told him, smiling a little and reaching across the table to give Klaus' hand a squeeze, silently reassuring him that she wasn't bothered by any of what Antonio was saying.

"Let me tell you, I'm not the only person who owes this young man, here," he said, leaning closer to her as he spoke. "There were plenty of other businesses who were getting harassed by those punks. Not just businesses, either. Everyday folks were starting to feel afraid to leave their homes because they might end up getting mugged or beat up on just because some thugs were bored. Klaus rounded up some other people who were fed up with us being treated like that and went after them good. After he finally put one of their leaders in the hospital, they decided it wasn't worth the trouble any more and started clearing out."

"Sounds like he was a hero," Avery said, looking at Klaus and smiling proudly.

"He is a hero, and a good man, and you are one lucky little lady to be with him."

"I know I am," Avery said, still looking at Klaus, and she blushed when he met her gaze and smiled at her, threading his fingers through hers as they continued to hold hands across the table.

"Maybe we should eat before it gets cold?" Klaus suggested, and Antonio clapped his hands together loudly.

"Of course! Me and my big mouth keeping you from your meal when you must be starving! Where are my manners? Dig in! Enjoy!"

The three of them continued to enjoy friendly conversation as they ate, which mostly consisted of Antonio telling Avery more flattering – yet embarrassing – stories from Klaus' younger days, one of which was a play-by-play retelling of the fight between Klaus and the gang leader he'd beaten so badly he needed to be hospitalized, complete with miming of the various blows which were exchanged. Eventually they sat with empty plates before them, a bottle of wine downed and a second half-gone. Klaus and Avery were both feeling a warm, comfortable effect from the alcohol, and when she stood up to excuse herself to go to the ladies' room he had no qualms about pulling her down over the table for a lingering kiss before letting her go.

"I like this one," Antonio said once she was out of earshot, looking off in the direction Avery had gone before turning back toward Klaus. "Much better than the last one you brought around."

"You never said you didn't like Rebecca," Klaus told him, finishing off the last of his wine.

Antonio winced. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I could tell you really liked the girl, and the next time I heard from you after you brought her around things had gone badly... I could have been like, 'Yeah, I saw that coming,' but I didn't want to rub salt into the wound."

"You could have said something, Antonio," Klaus said, sighing and leaning back slightly in his chair. "You and Marian are basically the only family I have, and it seems like you both kept your mouths shut about how you saw her. Which is all well and good, you had decent intentions, I get it... but then I was the one who paid for it, in the end."

"Well, I'm telling you this now," Antonio said, leaning forward and clapping a hand on Klaus' shoulder. "Don't let this one go. Put a ring on her as soon as you can, because she's a keeper."

"You think so?" Klaus asked.

"She's not phony like that last one," Antonio pointed out. "When she laughs at my stories, it's genuine laughter and not something put on for show. She actually ate, too," he added, reaching over and picking up Avery's empty plate, causing Klaus to chuckle.

"And she makes you smile," he concluded, grinning at the younger man. "I swear, I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much in all the years I've known you."

"This is only our first date, so it'll be a while before any talk of putting rings on fingers will come up," Klaus said, straightening up in his chair when he saw Avery heading back to the table. "But she certainly is something special."

"Are we ready go to?" she asked, stopping to stand behind her chair.

"What? Leaving me so soon?" Antonio gasped, grasping dramatically at his chest with one hand.

"She's right, we should be going," Klaus agreed, standing. "The meal was excellent, as always, but we've imposed on you for too long as it is."

Antonio waved away his concerns. "You could never impose on me, boy. Like you said, we're family without the blood. But I get it... the lovebirds want some time alone without an old man telling them crazy stories."

Avery laughed and Antonio stood up and gave her a hug. "You, my dear, are a precious girl. Be good to him, won't you?"

"I will," Avery assured him with a nod. Antonio then pulled Klaus in for a goodbye hug and lingered a little, whispering to him.

"Next time you bring her here, she better have a ring on her finger."

Klaus chuckled and gave Antonio a hearty slap on the back, then stepped back and held out a hand to Avery. She took his hand in hers and waved over her shoulder to Antonio as they left the restaurant, then looked up at Klaus when he let out a heavy sigh once they were back outside.

"What's wrong?" she asked, blinking in confusion. Klaus closed his eyes and shook his head, chuckling quietly.

"I'm sorry you had to sit through all that," he apologized. "I'm sure the last thing you wanted to hear were stories about what a thug I used to be."

"I don't know," she told him, stepping closer to him and placing her hand on his chest. "I sort of liked hearing about it."

"You did?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"It's... kinda sexy," she said, looking up at him with an alluring half-smile, "knowing that there's a bad boy hiding just beneath this debonair exterior of yours."

"Is that so?" Klaus drawled, leaning closer to her.

"Mmhmm," Avery replied, nodding slightly. "It kind of turns me on, knowing that if anyone were to ever besmirch my honor, you'd lay them out flat on the pavement."

"Damn right I would," Klaus told her, his voice low and husky.

He grabbed the hand she had on his chest and pulled her into the alley next to the restaurant, then used the momentum of her body to push her up against the wall, making sure his hand was behind her head to keep her from hitting it against the bricks. A surprised squeak escaped her lips, and he quickly silenced her with his mouth, pressing his body against hers to pin her there as he kissed her deeply. She moaned into the kiss, grinding back against him, and Klaus realized that while he was sober enough to not try to push her too far, he was just drunk enough to be a bit more daring that he usually would in public.

Tangling his fingers into her long hair, he tilted her head slightly to the side and began trailing his kisses away from her mouth and along her jaw. Avery whimpered in protest, but any complaints she likely would have had died in her throat when his tongue flicked out and touched the sensitive spot just behind her earlobe. She gasped softly and Klaus chuckled against the side of her neck, then began placing kisses over her throbbing pulse. Her hips arched toward him again and he groaned and began to gently bite and suck upon the sensitive skin of her neck, fully intending to leave a mark upon her which would show the world that she was his and his only. Grinding back against her, he reached up with his free hand and pushed aside her shawl, then fondled her breast. He could feel her nipple poking through the thin cotton fabric, and rubbed his palm against it, drawing his name from her lips in a breathy moan.

"Avery?"

His head shot up as they both turned to see who had called her name. Standing on the sidewalk at the end of the alley was a woman not much older than him, with short brown hair and brown eyes – the same brown eyes as Avery.

"Mom!" she gasped, reaching up and pushing Klaus' hand off her chest before pulling her shawl back into place and stepping out from between him and the wall, putting on a nervous smile.

"What are you two doing here?" Avery's mother asked, flashing a deceptively sweet smile at Klaus before turning her attention back to her daughter. Klaus knew that smile. Underneath the friendly facade it said, 'keep your hands off my little girl or lose them.'

"We just finished having lunch," Avery explained, making a vain attempt to cover the mark he'd been perfecting upon her neck with her hair. "I was thinking I might take Klaus over to the Sunset Cafe before we head home."

"Oh, so this is Klaus?" her mother wondered, looking him over once more. "Avery has told us so much about you in her letters."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Durand," Klaus greeted her, attempting to relieve some of the tension.

"Please, call me Lila," she insisted, though that damned deceptive smile was still on her face. She then turned to her daughter once more.

"I was just picking up some supplies. Why don't I drop these off at home and pick up your father, and we can meet the two of you at the cafe?" she suggested. "Then we can all get to know one another better."

"I... I suppose we could do that," Avery reluctantly agreed. "If Daddy's feeling up to it, that is."

"Nonsense!" Lila argued, waving off her daughter's concern. "It's been over a year! I'm sure your father would love the chance to see you. He really misses you, you know."

"I know," Avery said, nodding. "I miss him, too."

"Then it's settled!" Lila stated, clapping her hands together. "I'll go home, get changed, and we'll meet you at the cafe in, say... half an hour?"

"Sure," Avery agreed, forcing a smile. "Sounds great."

"See you soon!" Lila called over her shoulder as she took off across the street, waving at a car that honked at her for getting in its way.

"Well," Avery said, turning to Klaus with a heavy sigh. "So much for this being a good first date."
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In Sheep's Clothing