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Stefan was asleep.
It was such a small thing, Klaus knew. Small and insignificant, in the grand scheme of things. But it taken years, decades, for Stefan to sleep, really sleep around him. Klaus was not stupid. He knew it didn't mean that Stefan trusted him, not really. It was a mutually beneficial relationship, the two of them running together.
Klaus walked across the room and to the bed. Gently, he uncovered the blanket. Then he waited. Stefan like to curl up under covers and cling to them, as if they could keep them safe. It reminded him of Hope, and of Elijah. Stefan stood somewhere between the two of them. He was young enough so that life had yet to have the chance to take every bit of innocence from him. Stubborn enough to believe in the preposterous, stupid enough to risk everything to make the impossible true, running on nothing but faith.
Stefan did not wake.
There was a scar on his chest, above his heart. It was a nasty little thing, the red so dark it almost looked black in the very center. But it did a curious thing. There were lines like a web of a spider spiraling out with the color fading as it grew outward. The lines that reached up to his neck were so pale and fine that you'd only see them if you knew where to look.
Klaus set his palm on the darkest part of the mark. Slowly, he stretched his fingers outward so that his hand was covering as much of the scar as possible. He could feel Stefan's heart beating, steady, along with his breath. Alive in the only way that truly mattered.
Stefan did not stir.
It was a kind of living poetry, that Stefan allowed Klaus this moment. Beautiful and something to be cherished. But like all good poems, a second look revealed a darker truth. Klaus killed Rayna and kept Stefan alive. But in choosing Klaus to be his savior, Stefan inherited an army of enemies, many more dangerous than Rayna herself. Klaus's enemies.
Stefan bore it well. Klaus supposed a lifetime of cleaning up Damon's messes had desensitized Stefan enough so that he was barely aware of the inherit unfairness of it all. He treated it as a mild annoyance and was satisfied with the meager offerings Klaus bestowed upon him to make up for it. Klaus allowed himself to believe that was enough and was successful in pushing away most of his fears that Stefan would one day betray him. Or worse, leave.
Klaus nudged Stefan over just enough so that he could lie behind him. Stefan woke as Klaus pulled him close, slipping one arm beneath and around him so that he could rest his hand on the scar once more.
"Next time I see her, I'm going to tell Rebekah about your weird new kink," Stefan said.
Klaus wrapped his remaining arm around Stefan's waist and curled his fingers around his hip. "I can't promise you'll enjoy the consequences of that mistake," Klaus said and grinned when Stefan shivered. "Go back to sleep."
Stefan relaxed and Klaus watched him fall back asleep.