"klaus?" y/n stepped upstairs, hoping he was home. she was worried after he disappeared but was relieved to feel him now. she wandered through the house, looking around for him. she called out as she walked.
finally, she caught sight of him in the bathtub. he looked distressed, eyes blown wide and flickering around in fear. with quicker steps she knelt beside the bath, reaching out and shaking his arm. "klaus?" she called but he didn't seem to hear her.
"klaus?!" she shouted, worried. he shot up, shaking. "hey, hey, are you alright?" she placed her hand gently on his shoulder, speaking softly so as not to startle him. he breathed heavily before staring blankly at her for a moment, eyes teary.
"klaus? what happened to you?" she slowly moved to take his hands, examining them. she frowned at the blood and dirt adorning them. where had he been?
klaus didn't answer her question for a while, instead sobbing quietly, leaning back in the tub. he looked broken, it was the worst she had ever seen her brother in his life. she could practically see his heart torn to shreds in his chest. not wanting to worsen his mood she reached for some soap and a cloth, letting go of his hands for a moment. she moved back to sit beside him. she took his left hand first, softly wiping away the blood and dirt.
neither of them spoke for a while, both just enjoying the others presence.
"i was worried" she eventually broke the silence, voice almost a whisper, "i couldn't feel your soul and i thought.. i thought we lost you" there was a pause, "where did you go?"
klaus frowned, looking up at her now, eyes still glassy with emotion. "i met someone" he slowly begun, "i time travelled, back to 1968 in vietnam.. i fought in a war" he chuckled bitterly, "he was.. beautiful, i loved him- i love him more than myself.. we spent almost a year together before.. " he begun to choke up, eyes filling with fresh tears.
"hey, hey, it's okay" y/n reached a hand up, caressing his hair. she shifted so that she sat on the side of the bath and he could lean his head against her hip while she continued to thoroughly clean his hands. "i'm sure he was lovely. probably sweet and he'd have to be able to keep up with you" she gently teased, poking his wrist. he laughed feebly, nodding against her side.
"he was so sweet. very handsome, he was so supportive.."
"he sounds perfect for you" y/n smiled sadly, wishing she could have done something to bring him back for klaus.
"he was perfect" klaus sighed shakily, whispering quietly. y/n didn't want him to spiral, he was probably hurting a lot right now. so, she continued talking, anything to help ease his pain. she knew it wasn't much in comparison but she couldn't just let him hurt.
"i'm sure he would have done well at a family dinner" she joked, hoping to direct the conversation elsewhere. klaus laughed a bit louder, imagining him interacting with their family.
"oh, he'd be so intimidated" she smiled, "you'd all probably scare him off"
y/n gasped in mock offence, "i would not! i'd be very nice, thank you very much!"
"hm, i'm sure you would. i can't say the same for diego and luther though" klaus hummed, much more at ease now.
"what about five? he'd be so grumpy" y/n teased her brother and klaus chuckled too, "that's if he even showed up though"
"the little gremlin, probably wouldn't even acknowledge us"
"gremlin?" y/n snorted, "i suppose he always has been, huh? i have to say, he's a lot worse now than he was"
"now?" klaus raised his eyebrows, pulling back to look at her. he thought about it for a moment, "he's not too bad i guess, just doesn't want to ask for our help"
"we never really talked much so i can't accurately comment on when we were younger but he's definitely a solo rider now" she nodded,
"what about me?" klaus gave a small grin,
"what about you?" she hummed, amused.
klaus rested back against her, "how have i changed?"
"you didn't change that much, i suppose" she paused her movements with the wash cloth, thinking about it. "i think you've matured though, you've been through a lot, we all have and we've all done it alone.. i guess that's just made us all grow up a bit more.. depressed then we should've. you're still the same though, you're still funny, you make me laugh, you're still drug obsessed.. you should stop but i know you probably won't.." she gently resumed washing the blood away. "you're familiar, i guess.. i really did miss you, you know?"
klaus smiled, although it looked a sadder than before. "i know, little sis. i missed you too.. sometimes i wish i had taken you with me when i left but i knew i couldn't.. i'm sorry i left you all alone"
"mm, well.. it's okay, while i was lonely i'm glad you all found your own lives" she shrugged it off, calmly. she dropped his arm now, standing up. "now, come on, the water's probably cold by now"
"hey.. little sis" klaus made her stop and pause for a moment. "i lied to you.. when we were younger"
"what do you mean?" she frowned,
"about ben.. he was there, he's always been there" klaus looked down, "i should have told you when you asked but i.. i was scared dad would realise i wasn't completely hopeless or some crap like that"
"no, no, i get it.. sort of" she smiled, "i lied to everyone as well"
they shared a soft look, both really having missed each other.
she then turned to wash the cloth in the sink while klaus got out, he pulled the plug and took a towel with him to his room. while she washed the cloth he dried off and got dressed. she looked up as she heard footsteps. using her powers she knew it was five. he stood in the doorway to klaus' room, looking at the bloody hand prints on the bathtub and the red trail that lead to his room.
he slowly walked into the room as klaus pulled a shirt on. he knocked softly,
"you okay?"
"yeah.. just uh long night" klaus shrugged it off, shirt hanging on his arms. noticing that he begun to pull it over his head.
"more than one from the looks of it" five stepped into the room.
"yup"
y/n wrung out the cloth, seeing as it was no longer red and left it on the side of the sink, folded over. she walked down the hall, grimacing at the trail klaus left.
"don't remember the dog tags" five pointed out as she stepped closer.
"yeah, they belong to a.. friend" klaus waved it off, pulling his shirt down.
"how 'bout that new tattoo?" five was obviously pushing him, wanting answers.
"you know, i don't totally remember even getting it" klaus shrugged, "like i said, it was a long night"
"what are you questioning him for?" y/n spoke up, leaning against the door. klaus didn't need five picking on him right now. he glanced at her before looking between them.
"he did it.. didn't you?" he asked, smirking.
"what are you talking about?" klaus frowned, taking a seat.
"you know i can recognise the symptoms klaus" five walked further into the room, right up to him.
"symptoms of what?"
"the jet lag, full body itch, the headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain" five paused, watching as klaus ran his hands down his face. "you gonna tell me about it?"
"your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn't find you. they took me hostage instead" he
"and in return you stole their briefcase" five smirked,
"yeah, i thought there was money in it. or i could pawn it, you know, whatever" klaus looked away, sighing "and then i opened it.." he looked down and five begun pacing.
"and the next thing you knew, you were where? or should i say when?" he paused to look at klaus.
"what difference does it make?" klaus threw a hand up, annoyed.
"what diff-? okay, how long were you gone?"
"almost a year" klaus sighed.
"a year.." five breathed before leaning in towards him. "do you know what this means?"
"yeah, i'm ten months older now" he joked,
"no, this isn't any sort of joke, klaus. hazel and chacha will do whatever they can to get the briefcase" five leaned in, pausing his pacing "where is it now?"
"gone, i destroyed it. poof!" klaus made a motion with his hands,
"what the hell were you thinking?" five glared, speaking through gritted teeth,
"what do you care?" klaus annunciated,
"what do i care?! i needed it, you moron- so i could- i could get back, i could start over!" five begun to yell, getting angry.
"just.." klaus stood, shaking his head. he was done.
"where are you going?" five asked, watching him walk away.
"interrogations over.. just.. leave!" klaus called back, annoyed.
"nice going, five" y/n called, rolling her eyes. five's head snapped towards her.
"nice going? y/n i needed that-" he seethed but she cut him off with a hiss,
"i don't care, that's not an excuse to harass your family. klaus is having a hard time right now and you just barged in here like you own the place, getting angry at him for getting kidnapped!"
"i don't have time-" five scowled, beginning to argue,
"for what, five?! for us? for your family?" y/n took a moment to calm down, glaring at him "you can save the world all you want but remember.. if you ruin your relationships with us, they can't be fixed with a simple equation"
she was about to leave before five grabbed a piece of paper, sitting down and using his knee to write.
"what are you doing?" she leaned closer to get a good look,
"i have a plan" he simply stood up and walked to his room. what was he up to this time?
she followed along behind him, watching as he begun to write on his walls, having run out of books and paper. she sighed, flopping onto his bed, waiting for him to finish whatever he was doing so that he would finally talk to her.
"ben.. he was there, he's always been there" he was there when she felt him in the room, she knew she wasn't crazy. would he be happy.. proud of her? would he have seen her fighting with her siblings? did he know about her powers and her efforts to find five? did he see all her training with dad and the long days she would study to help their brother?
she wondered if her father could see it too.. could he see them all fighting? their problems all resurfacing? did he see her possess that assassin.. see what he didn't discover?
ben stood in the doorway, watching as five wrote away on the walls. he walked over to the bed, reaching out to take y/n's hand. he frowned when their skin never made contact, he only phased right through her.
y/n frowned, sensing someone else. she sat up slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed and concentrating. ben stood in front of her, confused. he bent down to see her face clearly, her eyes were black..
"ben.." she whispered with a smile, her normal e/c eyes returning. the said boy smiled back, at least she knew.