The Acrimonious Addendum (completed)

Chapter Twelve

Sunny POV:
We've been at the pit for almost 15 minutes, scavenging for any information in the burned remains of the hospital, when I hear a shriek and the sound of rocks falling. When I look up I see Isadora dangling precariously over the edge of the pit, one arm scrabbling for handholds and the other gripped by Duncan and Quigley who hoist her out of the pit and onto the ground. The construction workers are cackling and one of them, the man from earlier, is attempting to disguise his glee under a facade of mock sincerity. "We didn't mean for the girl to fall, we just meant to give her a little scare," but that's all he gets in before Klaus's fist is planted squarely in his face. Violet is hanging on Quigley's arm and Beatrice is staying close to my side as Klaus walks over to where Isadora is sitting curled up on the ground with Duncan standing protectively next to her. Isadora's head is on her knees and her arms are around herself. Klaus places an arm around her and she rests her head on his shoulder where they sit for a few minutes until we get up to go to the car.

Klaus POV:
Creep. Jerk. Idiot. Out of all of the words flying through my brain, some of which are more colorful than the language that dirty digger was yelling at me, these are by far the most polite. I will never forget Isadora's terrified scream, the desperate look in her eyes and the way that her whole body shook as she sobbed into my shoulder. "Well, at leadt we got one good thing out of that terrible stop," Duncan says from his place in the front seat. "The girl who was being broken out of the hospital was confident enough to be skiing in the Mortmain Mountains, which, coincidentally is the location of VFD headquarters. Which VFD member do we know who was confident to ski in such a treacherous domain?"
"Esmé Squalor?" Beatrice asks.
"Well, you're not wrong, but try thinking a little closer to home. Beatrice's home, to be specific."
"Kit! My mother!" Beatrice exclaims.
"Exactly!"
"That's all very good on paper, but how do we know that the woman wasn't just a random skiier, or a volunteer on the wrong side of the schism?" Quiglet asks pointedly.
"And even if it was, how do we follow a thirty-year-old breadcrumb trail to who knows where?" Isadora sighs as the two brothers begin to argue.
"Do you ever think that this could be just a wild goose chase?" she asks me.
"Maybe, but just remember that it was the wild goose who layed the golden egg." I say.
Isadora looks up at me and when she smiles her smile is warm and sweet and bright, just like her. "I love you, Klaus Baudelaire." she says, and then she's kissing me and i'm kissing her and when we finally pull apart I whisper, "I love you too, Isadora Quagmire and I always have and always will," because it's true and it's right and it's Isadora.
"Get a room," Quigley groans.
"Yeah, there are kids in the car" Sunny smirks.
"Well, the kids are going to look away so goodbye, Sunny!" Duncan says, and then he's leaning in and kissing Violet and I don't even mind, I hardly even notice because Isadora's slender fingers are in my hair, on the sides of my face, on my glasses. As an answer to my unasked question she says oh so sweetly, "Glasses are out." And then her gentle hands are reaching and lifting my glasses off of my face and in that moment, although the world is out of focus, Isadora's beautiful, wonderful face is the clearest thing that I've ever seen.

Violet POV:
Night has almost fallen by the time that the taxi finally pulls up to the summit of Mt. Fraught. When I start to say something about payment the driver waves me off, saying something about "Repaying a debt to some old friends." That must mean Hector and Juanita- she must have called him when she heard of our journey. It's still a formidable walk from the summit to the old Snow Scout cave and by the time we reach it it's dark and Beatrice is practically falling asleep on her feet. She lies down in the center of the cave with Quigley on her one side and Sunny on her other. Klaus and Isadora are a little further away, lying whispering to each other with arms entwined. Duncan walks up to me and looks up to where I'm staring at the stars. "You never see this many stars in the city." he says. I take a deep breath. It's time to bite the bullet.
"Duncan ," I say, turning towards him but at the same time he's turning towards me and our eyes meet and in a second Duncan is pulling me towards him and we're kissing, we're kissing and I never want to stop. I say, breathlessly, "You make me want to live a daring life of impulsive passion."
Duncan smirks. "Will it only lead to tragedy?"
"Not as long as we're together." I say, and when we kiss he tastes like green apples and mint and earl gray tea and home. Duncan smiles at me and asks, "What was that thing Elizabeth Barett Browning said in a Romance of the Ganges?"
"By loves that last when lights are past?"
"Yes. I love you, Violet Baudelaire, by loves that last when lights are past, because ours will."

A/N:
Hey guys! This chapter was a little spicy but that's what fanfics are for 🙃
The run-on sentences were deliberate, I wanted to give the sort of perspective of a soliloquy or stream of conciousness monologue.
xxx Jess