You’re so Pretty (Klaus Baudelaire x GN!Reader)
Summary: With a peaceful and quiet moment of studying with Klaus, you notice some features on him that you admire. So, you tell him. Pronouns: You/Yours Warnings: Fluff Word Count: 1.2k A/N: This was requested but Tumblr ate the request </3, this one is short and sweet, in my opinion anyways.
Quiet moments are extremely rare in the Baudelaire children's case ever since their parents died. They were constantly on the run, fighting away from Count Olaf and his group of associates, wondering who they could trust and who they couldn’t.
They finally had some sort of quiet at Prufrock Preparatory School, a gloomy boarding school that they were sent to since there were no other guardians to watch over them. They could ignore the nasty comments from Carmelita, the short and pink covered girl who had made it her mission to make everyone feel inadequate to her. They could ignore them because at this school they at least had multiple people defending them and sticking by their sides. Those people were Duncan Quagmire, Isadora Quagmire, and you.
Isadora and Duncan were currently pretending to be Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire (a sack of flour) for gym class so the two eldest could study, Sunny staying with her siblings. Since there were only three Baudelaire siblings, you went with them to study instead of going with the Quagmires.
Violet had taken Sunny to the library, expressing a need for some English textbooks that were closer to date than the dust covered and ripped pages of the ones she was provided by her teacher earlier that day. Sunny babbled her preference for a change of scenery, something different than the orphan shack they had been shoved into.
Klaus had stayed in the leaky orphan shack, he had all he needed to study. You would have followed Violet to give him a bit of peace but he grasped your wrist gently, asking you to stay so he wouldn’t be alone. You nodded and returned to your seat, asking him a few pop quiz questions to which he answered correctly with no hesitation.
There was a comfortable silence between the two of you. Sounds of pages flipping, pencil scribbling on paper, and the occasional shift in the seat had filled the room. Klaus had been muttering a few facts under his breath as he tried to connect them to the almost useless textbook in front of him.
Your gaze had shifted up from your writings, landing on Klaus’s concentrated expression. A small smile grazed your features before you looked back down, eyes flickering up once more then right back down. You hummed a bit, inhaling a quiet breath, “You’re so pretty Klaus.” You spoke into the room, not even looking up to see his reaction.
It was a simple comment, small compliment. You weren’t embarrassed or nervous to say it, the words actually spilled from your lips rather easily. That’s why you just went back to your work, jotting a few notes, skimming the book. Silence had enveloped the two of you once more and you didn’t mind it, it was a simple comment.
You looked back up to see what page Klaus was on and he was looking right at you, your reflection slightly in his glasses. His face was filled with shock? Confusion? A small blush had formed on his face, so wide that it went from his cheek and inflamed his ears. His eyes were slightly wide, the light from the makeshift light source that Violet made was glossing over them. His mouth was only slightly open, he wasn’t gaping like a fish, but he did look like he was trying to find words. All that came out was a quiet, “What?”
You had blinked at him, already forgetting what you had said until it filled your mind once more. You shrugged, “I said you’re pretty.” You repeated, now making eye contact with him, studies long forgotten. He furrowed his brows, putting his pencil down, “What prompted you to say that?” He asked you.
No one had ever called him…pretty before, so it felt foreign for him to hear it. He hadn’t been doing anything that could gain a compliment of such from anyone, nonetheless you.
You thought about it, tilting your head with a twist of your face as you thought. “Nothing necessarily,” You began, now softening your expression, arms crossing to lay on the table in front of you, “I just looked up and wanted to tell you.” You told him simply, shrugging once more. Klaus pursed his lips, deeply sighing, “You think that I'm…”
“Pretty.”
“Why?”
“Why?” You asked with a raised brow, unsure of what to make of the question.
He nodded, hands now messing with his glasses, “Yes, I did ask why.” He spoke, slightly avoiding your gaze.
You puffed air into your cheeks, shifting your arms on the table for a more comfortable position. You chuckled a bit, “Um, well.” You began, not expecting him to ask such a question. You found his gaze once more, his more hesitant than yours. Your eyes were gentle, welcoming, and kind. “Your glasses are big and they frame your face kind of awkwardly,” You observed to which he shifted and adjusted them, “and it's cute when you have to adjust them.” You giggled out when he did just that.
He had realized he had been caught doing exactly what you described, he playfully rolled his eyes, “Okay, I do not-”
“But they make it easier to see the shine in your eyes.” You interrupted him, the comment caused him to look at you surprised. You cleared your throat, “Your eyes are brown but it's like gold is glittered over them.” You explained, your words met with silence so you decided to continue. You took a deep breath, “You have freckles and they’re prominent when you’re focused.” You continued on, eyes unintentionally scanning over his face where his freckles stare back at you. You turned to face him completely instead of it just being your head, biting the inside of your cheek. “When moonlight or sunlight hits you” You spoke quietly, your own eyes shining, “you kind of glow.” You informed him.
You remembered every time the two of you were outside together, how the sun would shine on him, making him look like some sort of scene from a book. When you walked back to the shack at night, the moon high and bright, his skin would glow like it was absorbing the light, an ethereal look he seemed to never notice about himself.
Klaus listened to your words carefully, following every phrase until you were silent, eyes glistening as they looked into his. It was only then he realized you had finished your explanation. He sputtered a bit trying to find words, moving his hands to awkwardly move his glasses and move hair out of his face. He inhaled deeply, exhaling just the same, “Thank you.” He expressed his gratitude to you quietly, reaching his hand out over the table slowly, nervously.
You noticed this action and moved your hand to move to his. He turned his hand so his palm would be upward and you interlock your fingers with his.
The two of you went back to studying, scribbling on paper and turning pages, fingers still interlaced above the table.
Klaus continued to look through his studies before mumbling a small, “You’re pretty too.” He wasn’t sure if you heard it, so he decided to not repeat it due to him being quite flustered from the past few moments. You did hear it, you smiled and held his hand a little tighter, writing down the boring information from the textbook.
Quiet moments are extremely rare in the Baudelaire children's case. Klaus Baudelaire wished to relive this specific peaceful moment everyday, because he didn’t think about anything else other than you. He would like to keep life that way.
