Sexy Trash

it  takes  a  lot  out  of  her  not  to  roll  her  eyes  and  huff  in  frustration.  but  she  manages.  barely.  her  eyes  dart  between  the  two  as  she  pinches  the  bridge  of  her  nose.

———————— ❝No. I am not dead. You  honestly  can’t  tell  the  difference  between  me  an-  actually,  I  don’t  know.  Maybe  you  can’t  because  of  me…maybe.   ANYWAY.  No,  I’m  not  dead.  He’s  dead.  You’re  not  dead.  So,  now  that  we’re  all  aware  of  our  life  status, I  ask  again:  How  are  you  doing  that?❞

“ It’s... ah... kind of a family thing, I suppose, ”  Klaus hedges his response. Back in his Academy days, he was asked quite a lot about his powers, but this was entirely different. He could skip the entire part of that old spiel dedicated to making them believe him when he explained it. Which, come to think of it, was the whole spiel.  “ It just kind of ... happens. I dunno, how do any of us do anything? The philosophical possibilities are endless. ”

Klaus doesn’t usually sound this serious. It’s strange, even to Five. But not entirely unwelcome. He’d take a serious response over some half-hearted joke trying to make light of the situation. Even from him.

Whatever he was referring to, it couldn’t have been worse than seeing them all face down under piles of rubble, unmoving, not breathing. He doesn’t say it out loud but his mind unhelpfully recalls the images anyway. It feels like a lifetime ago now, but some things one never forgets, no matter how much one might want to. Seeing them all again, finally, as adults. Not bodies but moving breathing people, it felt- strange, almost. Like a constant reminder of what he was fighting to prevent.

“ Who knows . “ He sighs. He doesn’t want to push him either. If their father had been the same man he remembers him being it wasn’t hard to guess a vague picture. He doesn’t blame them for growing up to become the fuck ups they seem to be. Their family had always been a dysfunctional mess.

“ Well … It wasn’t good . “ He simply says, staring at some point on the wall. Five is no good with vulnerability. He’s always had trouble expressing himself in a meaningful way that’s not angry or sarcastic.

When he turns towards him again, his expression is vaguely blank. “ But it was necessary . Everything I did was to get back here . I don’t regret it . “

Klaus’s wistful demeanor turns bitter in an instant and he can’t help but bite out what he says next,  “ why? Look around, Five! We’re fuck ups, useless--you said so--all of us. What makes any of us worth coming back for? ”

Rage boils deep in Klaus’s chest. Not at Five, exactly, but at this sense of camaraderie and longing that he’d never seen before now. Forty some years is a long time to hang onto a family---no, it wasn’t ever a family---that turned them all into this.

After a moment he loses whatever fire ignited his anger and he settles himself---tries to marry this image of Five to the one he knew when he was younger. He nearly finds it incongruous. Klaus wants to believe this solemn figure standing before him, wearing his brother’s face. Some sort of pieced together family is all he’s ever wanted but it’s not in their nature---none of them, except maybe Allison.

weird  is  definitely  the  word  to  describe  the  other  though  there  is  something  slightly  endearing  about  the  oddness.  diego  might  have  appreciated  it  more  if  it  hadn’t  been  randomly  thrust  on  him.  but  here  he was  and  now  they  were  walking  together  and  someone  might  even  mistake  them  for  friends.  weird.

 ———————— ❝  One, it’s Diego. Calling  me  Antonio  feels  a   bit…..wrong.  Don’t. Two….I don’t  think  half  a  class  makes  you  a  shrink. Or,  well,  not   a  very  good  one.  But….I’ve  just  got  a  lot  on  my  plate  right  now.  I’m  taking  care  of  my   mom  with  my  sister  and  her  insurance  is  being  difficult  and  we  might  have  to  pay  out  of  pocket  for  some  things  and  it’s   a  lot.  But….what  about  you? What  brings  you  to  San  Diego?❞

With a hop in their step, Klaus turns towards their new companion.  “ Ah! So he does have a name! Diego suits you, ”  they say as they give him a quick once over.  

“ Alright, so one class isn’t quite a degree,”  they concede before continuing on,  “ but that doesn’t mean I’m not great at advice or just, ya know, listening. And look---for what it’s worth, I get it. Well, some of it. Money was tight growing up and I... ”  they trail off, the thought on the tip of their tongue seems caught. In a brief second, they pivot the conversation.  “ Isn’t this place supposed to be all about the American Dream or whatever? Free country and all that. How’s it that you don’t have free healthcare? ”

Something unsettling nags at the back of Klaus’s mind---something about how wrong this feels. He doesn’t dwell on it for very long. Instead he wraps an arm around his brother’s shoulders and smacks a friendly hand on his chest. 

“ That so, Batman? ”  Klaus says with a laugh,  “ Ditch the knife holsters, let loose! ”  He twirls away from Diego in search of the booze he’s fairly sure his brother hasn’t realized is hidden underneath his sink.

“ Sweetheart, watch your fucking language, please. ”  Klaus says, if only for the pretense of appearance. He kneels so he’s eye level with his daughter, placing his hands on her shoulders,  “ I am so absolutely proud of you, kid. ”  Klaus ignores the burning glare of the school principal looming over them. 

“ I want to hear all about it on the way home, ”  he says. The principal tries to protest but Klaus won’t hear it and he promptly ushers his daughter out of the office towards the school entrance. 

ana’s  eyes  narrow  as  she  comes  closer,  darting  between  the  two  men. she’s  never  met  anyone  who  could  do  what  she  could.  Not  even  the  woman  who  taught  her  the  foundations  of  what  she  knows.  no  one  could  just….do it. and  yet,  here  is  this  man  doing  it  so  casually.  like  he’s  always  done  it.

———————— ❝Yes! You! How  are  you  talking  to  him?❞ her  eyes  dart  back  to  the  other  male  before  returning  to  the  living  one.   it’s  a  bit  startling  and  it  confuses  her. all  this  time,  she  thought  she’d  been  alone  in  her  abilities.

Klaus’s mouth drops open in dumb surprise. Sure, the spirits that occasionally bother him can see one another, but they rarely communicate and even rarer still do they comment on Ben. As far as Klaus knew, this woman was very much alive, too. 

Sparing a frantic look at Ben, Klaus finally attempts some sort of explanation. 

“ Look, darling, this is going to sound strange---though, I’m fairly certain we’re past that, now---are you, that you know of, dead? ”

“ Of all the siblings I thought I’d find drunk in a library, ”  Klaus says,  “ you, surprisingly, didn’t make the top three. ”

Eventually, all the spinning and dancing and grinding moves them closer to the neon bar at the back of the room---far enough away from the music that they can make out some semblance of music to the vibrations marking a steady pulse throughout the club. 

They turn a wide, loose smile towards the bartender,  “ whiskey, neat, ”  they say. There’s a high chance that the bartender hasn’t even heard the order, but Klaus finds that they don’t really care---so long as the glass is full of something that will keep the buzz alive. 

Glass in hand, they turn to the woman next to them, shouting out something close to a greeting,  “ always a game of chance ordering a drink at places like this, right? ”

“ How can I be of service to you? ” 

Recklessly, like a horse running as fast as he can

You've been told that the way you love can never last, and that heartbreak is inevitable. But you don't want to love carefully. You want to love with reckless abandon. You want to love with everything you have, and you want to be loved the same way. You don't want them to worry about tomorrow. Make today worth living for.

tagged by: @mstinteresting​

The house hadn’t been that different from how he’d remembered it. It was emptier, though. An eerie feeling more akin to a haunted house filling the halls that once had seen him and his siblings run through them on a daily basis. Despite the abuse they’d suffered under its roof, they were still the most peaceful memories Five had. 

The tudding of the ball Klaus had been throwing hadn’t bothered him through his trip down memory lane. After all those years in the apocalypse, it was nice to have even such a minor audio cue as reminder that he wasn’t alone in the room.

When he speaks up though, Five does turn his attention towards him. His expression thoughtful as he consider the question.

“ There was one time . “ He recalls in an almost uncharacteristically empathetic manner. “ Early on in my contract . I was sent to a mission a few years ago from now . In the city . “ He continues to explain.

     “ I did come here . But … When I realized the entire mission had really just been a test … Well, it was already too late . “ He sighs.

     “ I tried , but- She didn’t even let me get close after that . “

“ Shit, ”  Klaus lets out a long breath on the vowel, he catches the ball and pauses for a moment, letting the weight of Five’s confession sink in. He lets his thoughts jump around the image as they are wont to do, making note of the curiosities that come to mind as they do---what is it like to grow up so... alone? has he any understanding of the hell he escaped? what does he think of us... these tattered remains of the family he left behind? does he regret it, all things considered, his time away from us? 

Of course, none of this makes it to Klaus’s lips. Though he pauses, lost in though long enough to consider saying some of that is better than saying nothing. He opts for a partial admission of his own, fair is fair and they’ve never been the type to have heart to hearts before.

“ Be glad you couldn’t. A few years ago... ”  it wasn’t wistful, Klaus’s tone, nothing about recalling his past could be called wistful---haunted, perhaps.  “ well, maybe what you did find was the better of the two options. ”

rolling  his  eyes,  he  sits  up and  huffs.  ———————— ❝  I mean….some might. You’re  like  our  personal  Winona  Ryder. ❞ but  he  knows  klaus’  abilities  aren’t  easy  to  have.  none  of  theirs  are  if  he’s  honest.  he’s  learned  more  about  some  of  what  he  can  do  and it’s  scary  for  him.  he  can  only  imagine  what  it’d  be  like  for  the  other. 

frowning  at  klaus’  outburst,  he  eyes  the  other  with  concern  as  he  stands  up.   ———————— ❝  The compromise is  that  I  still  let  you  have  caffeine and  I’m  starting  to  question  that  choice.  ❞ he  does  want  to  make  this  easier  for  the  other  and  eudora  had  once  suggested  distractions.  ———————— ❝  Come  on.  I have an idea.❞

The pout falls easily onto Klaus’s lips and is followed shortly by the sort of face you’d expect from a petulant child rather than an adult... though, to be fair, Klaus could easily be mistaken for the former when he was in one of his moods. 

“ This is one of those moments when I don’t have a choice, isn’t it? ”   An eyeroll accompanies the complaint---truly, a stellar showing of Klaus’s maturity. 

Even so, Klaus offers his brother a quick squeal of excitement and a friendly slap on the back while he rushes to grab his bag and fluffy coat. 

gonna rebloop some memes if y’all want to send anything in and go send in a few myself.