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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
- 12
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Chapter Twelve

Sure enough, Avery's father brought out the photo albums as soon as they reached the townhouse where she'd spent the better part of her childhood. Klaus held her close as she blushed all over while her father regaled him with stories about the little games she used to make up to play with her stuffed animals. He even showed off the dreaded pictures of her with a dish towel tucked in the front waistband of her favorite pink sweatpants and a doily on her head, which she had declared to make her a 'bride,' her 'groom' being a small toy lamb she called – appropriately enough – Lamby. Klaus chuckled at the story and its accompanying pictures, kissing the top of her head when she attempted to bury her face against his shoulder to hide her mortification.

"She sure was a cute little bride," Henry said with a proud grin, setting the photo album aside. "She'll be even more beautiful when the real thing happens, though. Now... What else have I got here..."

Avery jumped up from the sofa where she and Klaus were sitting as her father began searching for another album full of embarrassing childhood photos to show off.

"Daddy, I'm going to give Klaus a tour of the house before dinner," she announced, grasping Klaus' hand and pulling him to his feet before her father could protest.

"Oh... Good idea, sweetie," he told her, sounding a little disappointed, but smiling anyway as he turned to Klaus. "I'd do it myself, but with the bad leg getting' up and down the stairs would take a while."

"That's fine," Klaus told him. "Thank you for the stories. They were very entertaining."

"I got plenty more where that came from," Henry promised. "Avery was an imaginative little girl."

"Perhaps over dinner, then?" Klaus suggested, causing Avery to make a sad, defeated sound as she once more hid against his shoulder. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her on the head again before placing his hand under her chin to tilt her face up toward his and deliver a proper – albeit brief – kiss upon her lips.

"Guess I better go get the tour before Avery dies of humiliation," he told Henry, then allowed himself to be pulled in the direction of the staircase. He followed her upstairs and down the hallway, curiously peeking into rooms as she pointed out their use while walking past each one.

"Mom's studio, Mom and Daddy's room, bathroom," she listed off each one as they walked by, then stopped at the final, closed door at the end of the hall. Klaus watched her open the door, then found himself unceremoniously pulled into the room. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting, taking in the sights around him. The walls were a dark green color and sported several framed photographs and paintings, as well as a corkboard which displayed prize ribbons of various colors. He wandered over to get a better look at some of the photographs while Avery closed the door.

"Is this your cousin?" he asked, pointing to a picture of Avery and another girl of a similar age, who looked almost the same as her. Their eyes were different colors and the other girl's hair was a lighter shade of blonde, but aside from some very small details their facial structures were nearly identical.

"Yep, that's me and Addie right before she moved away to start her farm," Avery explained, coming up behind him.

"You two really could be sisters," he remarked, turning to smile at her but finding her looking at him with an unexpectedly serious expression on her face.

"Aunt Sophie and Mom are sisters, which is probably why she and I look so much alike," she reasoned, grabbing his hand once more and pulling him in the direction of the bed. "However, I really don't want to talk about that right now."

Klaus let out a surprised grunt when she suddenly shoved him back onto the bed, then laughed when she crawled up onto the mattress with him and straddled him, placing her hands on either side of his head and looking down at him with a little smirk.

"Well, now, this is an unexpected role-reversal," he said, reaching up to thread his fingers into her hair. He attempted to bring her down to kiss him, but she pulled away at the last second and sat up, keeping herself carefully balanced atop him.

"I need to make sure you see me as more than just some cute little girl who plays with stuffed animals all the time," she told him, rocking her hips in an arousing manner and drawing a moan from him. "Besides, I've always wanted to have a boy in my bed and now I'm too old for my mother to protest to us being alone up here."

Klaus sat up, bringing one of his knees up behind her at the same time to prevent her from toppling backwards off the bed at the sudden movement. Avery gasped as she was jostled in his lap, reaching up and grasping his cravat to steady herself, and he delivered a lust-filled kiss to her mouth which lasted far too short for her liking.

"Is that what you see me as?" he whispered against her lips, pulling just out of her reach each time she attempted to complete the contact. "A boy?"

"Oh, no," Avery said, shaking her head and whimpering when he raised his hips slightly off the bed to press himself against her. "You are most certainly a man, Klaus Albrecht."

"I'm your man," he amended, bending his head to kiss along her collarbone toward the strap of her dress. "And yes, I do think you're cute. But I also think you're incredibly sexy and an evil little temptress."

"How so?" Avery asked, letting out a laugh that turned into a moan when Klaus' kisses dipped lower along the neckline of her dress.

"There are so many things I want to do to you," he groaned, nuzzling one of her breasts briefly before raising his head to kiss her. The lust from his previous kiss was gone, in spite of the way things had been progressing, and was instead replaced by an almost cautious tenderness.

"Klaus? What's wrong?" Avery voiced her concern at the sudden shift in his demeanor when he broke the kiss and began staring longingly into her eyes.

"You're not feeling pressured, are you?" he asked her. "This unexpected aggressiveness isn't just a knee-jerk response to what happened outside Antonio's because you're worried what will happen if you don't reciprocate, is it?"

Avery sighed and slid off his lap to sit next to him on the bed. "My father said something to you, didn't he?"

"He told me why your mother is so protective of you," Klaus told her, lying on his side and patting the empty space next to him on the bed. Avery settled down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"I admit, I like sex as much as the next man," he said, sliding his hand down to her hip. "But I need you to know that, above all else, I love you. There's no pressure. It'll happen when we're both ready for it to happen."

"I know," she replied, snuggling close to him. "I'm not feeling pressured, I promise. You just make me feel so... I don't know."

"Horny?" he suggested with a laugh.

Avery laughed along with him. "Yeah, pretty much."

Klaus suddenly moved on the bed, rolling Avery onto her back and placing himself over her, grinning wolfishly as her arms reached up and encircled his neck.

"I must say, being here with you in your old room certainly does make me feel like a teenager again," he told her, leaning down to kiss her briefly. "Maybe I should see if I can get to second base without your parents walking in on us."

Avery giggled and pulled him back down, kissing him repeatedly. Klaus returned each one, gradually prolonging the contact until they were finally locked in a gentle, yet passionate, embrace. Avery's fingers tangled in his dark hair as they slowly teased one another's tongues, taking turns coaxing each other into a deeper kiss, with Klaus pulling away each time things started to go beyond a slow, languid pace.

"Avery! Come help set the table for dinner!" they heard her mother call, and Avery groaned in protest against Klaus' mouth.

"Just a minute," she replied, though her voice was only loud enough to carry to his ears. She pulled him in for one last, deep kiss and moaned when he raised himself up higher above her, pressing his knee between her legs suggestively before pulling away as her mother's voice called out once more.

"Avery! Don't make me come up there!"

"I'm coming!" Avery shouted back. Klaus chuckled quietly at her choice of words and she grasped him by his shoulders and shoved him over and off of her.

"You've been spending too much time around Raeger," she told him, pointing an accusatory finger at him even though she was smiling.

"I didn't say anything," Klaus pointed out, moving to get off the bed and straightening his coat, then running a hand back through his hair as he followed her downstairs.

They were greeted by the sight of her father setting the table by himself, carefully placing out each dish one by one. Avery rushed over to help him, admonishing him for doing it at all while she was there. Henry insisted he was fine and she could have stayed upstairs a bit longer if she wanted to, then caught Klaus' eye and gave him a knowing wink. Lila soon emerged from the kitchen carrying a large, steaming pot of bouillabaisse and set it on top of a trivet in the center of the table, next to a large salad bowl and a bread basket full of rolls. Klaus insisted on helping the women with their chairs, then took a seat next to Avery – this time placing himself across from her mother.

"Why don't we say grace?" Henry suggested, holding his hands out toward Avery and his wife. They each took the hand offered to them, and Avery held out her other hand to Klaus, which he took with a smile. He then offered his opposite hand to her mother, who took it with some reluctance.

"Oh, great Harvest Goddess," Henry began the prayer, "we thank you for the blessings of food and family you have bestowed upon us this day, and ask that you continue to bless our daughter with your grace and love as she returns to her new life. And we also ask that you look favorably upon this love she has found and grant them a future full of joy and happiness, much as you have for me and my dear Lila. Amen."

"Was that last part really necessary, Daddy?" Avery asked as they began to serve themselves, her cheeks turning pink.

"Never hurts to ask for the Goddess' favor in things, right?" he asked, winking at her and making her blush even more.

"This looks amazing, Lila," Klaus complimented the meal, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction to save Avery from any further embarrassment.

"Thank you, Klaus," she said nonchalantly as she passed the basket of rolls to him. "Avery told me this was your favorite, so I hope it is to your liking."

"Home-cooked meals are always better tasting, I find," he told her with a smile, though she didn't return the gesture. Instead, she turned to her husband and asked him to pass the butter.

Klaus frowned at the cold response to his comment, and suddenly felt Avery's hand upon his leg under the table. He reached down and took it in his, giving it a gentle squeeze to let her know he was okay, and she reluctantly pulled away after a moment so she could eat.

The rest of their dinner was a more jovial affair, to Klaus' relief, with Henry telling more stories about Avery's childhood adventures, some of which included her cousin. He also told a few stories about when he and his wife had been courting, which made Lila blush and beg him to stop even as she was smiling at the memories, herself. Klaus felt a twinge of jealousy toward Avery for having grown up with such a stable, loving family, but as he took her hand in his once more while they all sat around drinking wine at the table after eating he had the same distinct feeling he'd experienced earlier in the day when they were visiting with Antonio: He was home.

Avery threaded her fingers through his and Klaus turned to look at her. She smiled at him, a wistful look in her eyes, and he brought her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. They continued to gaze into each other's eyes, lost in the moment until the sound of Lila loudly clearing her throat brought their attention back to the other two people in the room.

"Klaus," she said, rising from her seat, "would you mind helping me with the dishes?"

"Not at all," Klaus replied, standing from his chair, as well. Avery gave him a concerned look and he bent down to kiss her forehead, then gathered up their dishes and followed her mother into the kitchen.

"This can't be good," she remarked once the door closed behind them and stood up, intending to follow them and offer to help, as well.

"Avery, sweetie, sit down," her father told her, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back to him and shook her head.

"Daddy, you know exactly what's going to happen in there," she said, pointing at the door.

"I do, and that's why I want you to stay here with me," he replied, using his hand to move his bad leg as he turned sideways in his seat. He then patted his lap and held his arm out to beckon her over. Avery hesitated, biting her lip and looking warily at the kitchen door once more before going to sit on her father's knee, causing him to chuckle.

"You're a bit heavier than the last time we did this," he told her.

"You're okay with her treating him like... like some sort of criminal?" Avery asked him, refusing to give in to his playful charm. Henry sighed and shifted a bit, causing Avery to stand and instead take a seat in her mother's empty chair.

"Way I see it, she's doin' you a favor," he said.

"How?"

"None of those other boys deserved you, Avery," he explained, once more turning in his chair to face her as he spoke. "Your mother and I both knew that. So she tested them in order to prove it."

"By being a completely psychotic bitch to them?" she wondered, recalling what her last boyfriend had told her about the conversation her mother had with him.

Henry nodded. "If they love you, it shouldn't matter if your mother's a bit... intense. It's you they supposedly want to be with, after all, not her. If they can't deal with it, if they can't look past that obstacle and fight against her to prove their love for you, then they never really loved you to start with."

"And you think Klaus will fail this little test, too?" Avery asked him.

"What do you think?" he asked, in return.

"He'll fight for me," she told him, nodding with conviction as she thought about how right it felt being with him. Surely, that kind of love was worth fighting for.

"I think so, too," her father agreed, smiling at her.

"Now, then," he added, reaching over and tweaking her nose playfully. "How much longer am I gonna have to wait 'til you two give me some beautiful little grandbabies to play with?"

"Daddy..." Avery sighed, her blush prompting him to let out a hearty chuckle.

"Where would you like me to put these, Lila?" Klaus asked Avery's mother once they were in the kitchen, looking around for a place to set down the dishes he'd brought in with him. She placed the ones in her hands into the sink, then turned and took his from him and added them to the pile without a word before turning to face him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's Mrs. Durand," she corrected him haughtily.

Klaus' posture immediately stiffened. He'd guessed that her earlier apology for her initial rudeness toward him had been nothing more than a show for Avery's benefit, which seemed to have been confirmed by her cold brush-off at the start of dinner, but she'd loosened up so much over the course of the evening that he had assumed whatever bad blood there was between them had been forgotten. Apparently, that was far from the case.

"I'm not sure what I've done to offend you," he told her, "but I would very much like a chance to make amends."

Lila scoffed and shook her head. "You really are a piece of work, you know that? How many women have actually fallen for this 'proper gentleman' bullshit?"

Klaus' eyes went wide at his sudden realization as to why Avery's mother seemed to dislike him so much.

"I take it from the look on your face you finally figured out that I know your dirty little secret, Klaus," she said, a smug look of satisfaction on her face. "And I'm willing to bet my daughter doesn't have a clue, does she?"

"No, ma'am," he replied, no longer able to maintain eye contact with her. He lowered his gaze to the floor, his posture slumping like that of a child being scolded by an authority figure.

"I figured she probably didn't, because I sincerely doubt she'd be with you right now if she knew what a manipulative, whoring bastard you are."

"I'm not like that any more," he told her with a shake of his head, raising his gaze slightly to meet hers again.

"Men like you don't change," Lila insisted, stepping closer to him. "You might want to, but you can't. Eventually, you'll get bored with her and then toss her aside for the next hot, young piece of pussy that crosses your path. Just like you always do."

"I love Avery," he said through clenched teeth, balling his hands into fists at his sides.

"Really?" she questioned him. "So is that why I found you practically dry humping her in an alley this afternoon?" She shook her head, letting out a little chuckle. "You don't love her. You're in complete lust with her. I bet you were putting the moves on her again when the two of you were upstairs before dinner."

"It was actually Avery who instigated, that time," he informed her, smirking at the shocked expression on the woman's face. A moment later she had recomposed herself and got right in his face.

"But you didn't do a damn thing to try to stop her, though, did you?" she accused him.

"What do you want me to say, Lila?" he asked her defiantly. "That I'm sexually attracted to your daughter? That I'd fuck her tonight if she asked me to? I do find her attractive, and if she offered herself to me right now I would be pretty damn tempted to take her up on it... but I wouldn't ever take advantage of her, because no matter what you might believe, I really do love her and I'm not the same 'whoring bastard' I used to be."

"I hope, for your sake, that's the truth," Lila told him, poking him sharply in the chest with one finger as her brown eyes flashed angrily. "Because if you take my baby girl's innocence and then drop her like a bad habit, I am going to cut off your dick and force-feed it to you."

Klaus continued to stare her down, his jaw clenched in anger. He knew he had no one to blame but himself for the way the woman was acting toward him, but no matter how much he insisted he was a changed man and that he truly lover her daughter he knew his words would fall upon deaf ears. It seemed only his actions would suffice in silencing her protests, but he had no idea what he could possibly do. He couldn't very well erase his past mistakes. Pointing out his previous relationship with Rebecca as evidence that he was a changed man seemed like a bad idea, too, because he could tell Lila Druand was the sort of person who would twist his words around to make it seem like he'd only been with her for self-serving reasons.

"Avery deserves to know the truth about what kind of animal you really are," Lila told him, finally breaking the tense silence. "Let her decide if she can handle it."

"You're right, she does deserve the truth," Klaus agreed. "But it's going to come from me, not you."

He turned on his heel and made his way out of the kitchen, pausing briefly before he opened the door to take a deep breath and put on as neutral an expression as he could muster. Avery immediately popped up from where she was sitting next to her father and ran over to him, grasping him by the lapels of his long, green coat and looking up at him pleadingly.

"Please, make him stop," she requested, glancing back over her shoulder at her father, who was laughing so hard he was shaking in his chair.

"What's he done?" Klaus asked, his voice unusually monotone. Avery blinked at him, concern lining her young face.

"He's just teasing me about us... but what's wrong?" she wondered. Klaus looked at her and sighed, shaking his head and closing his eyes as he brought a weary hand to his head.

"Just a bit tired, I suppose," he brushed off her concern, opening his eyes and giving her a small smile. "It's been a long day. We should probably get going soon, actually, so we don't miss the last train back out of the city."

Avery looked at the grandfather clock situated nearby and her eyes went wide when she saw the time.

"Shit... Is it really that late?" she released her grip on his jacket and went over to her father, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Daddy, but we need to get going. If I'm not back in time, my animals will fall asleep out in the field and it'll take me forever to wake them up and get them back into the barn."

Henry chuckled, nodding. "It's fine, sweetie. I remember what farm life's like. Don't forget to say goodbye to your mother, though." He managed to stand up at the table and held out his hand. "Klaus, it was a pleasure meetin' ya, finally."

Klaus crossed over to him and shook his hand while Avery headed to the kitchen to tell her mother they were leaving, but Lila emerged from the room just as she reached the door, drying her hands on a towel.

"You two heading back?" she asked them, giving Avery a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah, I need to look after some things back at the farm."

"Next time, you should arrange for someone to help out so you two can spend the night here instead of having to rush back," Henry suggested.

"Why?" Avery whined. "So you can continue to annoy me with your talk of marriage and babies?"

Klaus looked from her to her father and back again, figuring that was what she had been wanting him to save her from when he first emerged from the kitchen. She flashed an apologetic smile at him and blushed, stepping forward to take his hand.

"Henry," Lila addressed her husband in an exasperated tone. "Please tell me you didn't spend the entire time the two of you were alone together out here trying to pressure our daughter into marrying this man just so she can give you some grandchildren."

"I ain't no spring chicken no more, Delilah," he reminded his wife, slowly lowering himself back into his chair at the table. "Is it so much to ask that I get to see one little grandbaby before my time's come?"

"We really should get going," Avery insisted, tugging Klaus along behind her. He turned back slightly and bade her parents goodbye as he was dragged out of the house, receiving a warm wave from her father and a cold stare from her mother, then looked to Avery as she pulled the front door open and waited for him to precede her outside before following him.

"I am so sorry, Klaus," she apologized once the door was shut behind her, linking her arm through his and walking with him in the direction of the nearby train station.

"What for?" he wondered.

"He thinks that just because I'm over the age of twenty and unmarried, I'm going to end up some sort of sad, old spinster," she said, referring to her father. "And I really don't get his obsession with wanting grandchildren all of a sudden."

"Perhaps his heart attack has something to do with that," Klaus suggested. "He's felt his own mortality twice, now, and – like he said – he's not getting any younger. He told me he and your mother actually wanted more children of their own, so I suppose he could also be trying to use you to make up for that failing."

"It's not like you and I have been together long enough to even discuss having children, though... or marriage, for that matter!" she said to him as they turned in to the station. Klaus purchased their tickets back to the stop nearest to Oak Tree Town, and they quietly waited on the platform for their train.

"Do you want children?" he asked her quietly after a moment, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you?" she asked in return, turning to look at him. Klaus remained silent for a bit, then turned his head and found the unspoken answer to his question in her hopeful eyes. It had been silly of him to ask, because deep down he'd already known the answer to the question. Family was important to her, so of course she wanted children of her own.

"I don't know," he finally admitted to her. "I've never really given it much thought before today. You know I didn't have a very good family life, growing up."

"I know," she said, looking away and back out toward the direction their train would be coming from.

He knew she had been hoping for him to happily declare he wanted a whole house full of kids, but he didn't want to lie to her. As he looked at her, though, his mind began wandering. He imagined what she might look like, round and full with his child. He wondered what it would be like to place his hand there and feel the life they created together moving within her womb. He envisioned himself holding her close as she nursed a baby with his dark hair and her soft brown eyes... the very picture of the sort of idyllic family life he'd wished for ever since he was a boy.

"Avery," he softly called her name and waited for her to turn to look at him. "I do want children."

She smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him just as their train began to pull into the station.

"So do I."

They waited for the train to stop, then boarded and found an empty car to sit in toward the back. Klaus let out a tired sigh as he sat down, and Avery stifled a yawn as she took a seat beside him. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, wordlessly coaxing her to rest her head against his shoulder. She smiled up at him briefly before snuggling against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. It wasn't long before she fell asleep, and Klaus continued to quietly hold her close as he stared out the window, thinking about everything that had happened that day.

He truly did love her. That much was even more clear to him now, with the future he could see them having together. He still worried, though, that she might not feel the same toward him. She said she loved him, too, but what if she was mistaken? She'd admitted that he made her feel aroused, but what if that was just it? What if her inexperience was causing her to mix up her lust for him with actual love? Her mother had been worried that his feelings would change once they had sex, but Klaus was more concerned that Avery would be the one who had a change of heart. He knew he couldn't let that happen. He was determined to be sure that when he did finally take her to bed, it would be an act of the deepest love on both their parts.

He knew it wouldn't be easy. Something about her innocence seemed to call to the animal instincts within him, stirring his most carnal desires to the surface with the barest of kisses and the softest of moans. It would take all of his willpower not to give in to his urges to make her his completely. He knew there would be countless nights where he would end up needing to pleasure himself to thoughts of her, much like he'd been doing for the past year. The only difference was now he would have to constantly remind himself to not go to her and act out those fantasies, no matter how receptive he knew she might be.

Then again, he might not even have to worry about any of that once he finally revealed the rest of the truth about his past to her, for if Lila had made one valid point during their entire argument, it had been that Avery really did deserve to know everything about who he was prior to her coming into his life. He was actually ashamed to have to admit his history to her, to have to tell her that if she had met him when he was her age he would have wanted nothing more than to fuck her and then quickly move on to the next pretty girl in line.

He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh as he leaned his head against the cool glass of the window next to him. Avery had said his past didn't matter. She'd even assured him she didn't mind the fact he used to be a bit violent. His anger had been put to good use, though. He'd used it to help out the people who lived and worked near Antonio's. There was nothing good about his past sexual exploits, however. He'd used women like they were nothing but toys, casting them aside like a bored toddler after their novelty wore off.

Sure, things had been different with Rebecca, but even his initial attraction to her had been sexually motivated. Then again, so had his attraction to Avery, for that matter. But, unlike with Rebecca, he'd waited to act upon things until his feelings had developed into more than just a desire to hear her moaning his name as he ploughed her. His confession had been sincere, a declaration of love he never thought he'd feel safe making again, and as he looked to her sleeping in his arms the one regret he felt was that he hadn't told her sooner.

He only hoped that her love for him held the same amount of certainty, or else he was likely going to end up with his heart broken yet again.
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In Sheep's Clothing