#klaus being trapped in a room staring at the corpse of his little brother knowing he never repaired that relationship with him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ingu · 4 years

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you are so incredibly talented! thank you so much for writing one of my new fave TUA fics. for the ficlets, what about- 'Just promise me you’ll stay here' and/or 'just.. put down the very sharp knife'

Five didn’t know how he had let this happen.

He’d known, objectively, of course, that his siblings weren’t safe. That as long as they remained people out of time in 1963, the Commission would come after them. That much was a given from the moment the Swedes had killed Hazel. Five knew that they’d keep coming, that they wouldn’t give up, until Five took everyone back to 2019 and stopped the apocalypse for good.

He’d also known, as a matter of fact, that his siblings were not invincible. Sure, they were capable fighters who could take care of themselves in most situations, Reginald had trained them well enough, after all, to unleash them onto criminals when they were barely even teenagers. But despite their powers and advantages they were still human, they could get hurt, they could fail, they could die. They’d already lost Ben, after all, it’s not impossible that they could lose someone else.

It was a possibility. But that was all it was ever meant to be. None of Five siblings were actually supposed to die. He was supposed to take care of them this time around, he was supposed to fix things.

What was he going to tell the others?

“Five?”

It was like a yawning, empty chasm had opened up inside of Five, swallowing up anything that wasn’t terror and despair. The others were going to blame him for this, weren’t they? The Commission hadn’t gone after any of them until Five showed up. And now Klaus was dead because Five went and fucked up by making a bad deal that turned his entire family into priority targets. Of course the Handler was going to betray him, of course she was going to send more agents. Five was a loose end that she couldn’t leave untied. All of this was Five’s fault but Klaus was the one who’d paid the price. Klaus didn’t deserve this. They were never supposed to go after him.

“Hey... Five? Número cinco?”

Wait, Five was sure he’d killed everyone. He turned toward the voice, confused.

Five couldn’t quite understand what he was seeing.

Klaus was standing across the room, staring at Five with a look of wide-eyed uncertainty that looked almost like worry. His clothes were still soaked with his own blood, and it didn’t make sense that he was standing, and staring, and talking at Five like Five was some sort of cornered animal.

Klaus was dead.

“Klaus?” Five’s voice cracked on his brother’s name.

None of this made sense.

“Yep! That’s me alright!” Klaus said with forced merriment, punching the air stiffly. “Your favorite brother!”

Klaus glanced nervously at something in Five’s hand.

“What?” Five breathed, uncomprehending. He took a step toward Klaus.

Klaus immediately took a step back in alarm, his eyes growing even wider.

“Uh, Five?” Klaus said, holding out a hand. “Do you think you could…? Just... put down the very sharp knife?”

Instinctively, Five tightened his grip on his weapon. “I- But you died.”

“Nope, definitely not dead,” Klaus smiled widely, sweeping his arms out as if to show off how healthy he was.

“No, I saw-” Five swallowed, blinking as his eyes began to sting with tears. “I checked, I-”

How was this happening? Five had confirmed for himself that his brother had had no pulse. He had been too late, even rewinding time wasn’t enough to bring him back. Each second that Five had turned back the clock, desperately praying, hoping, as he stared - all Klaus had done was lie there in a pool of his own blood, staring expressionless at the ceiling. What sort of sick joke was it that the first time Five discovered he was capable of something like this, he couldn’t even use it to save someone he loved? Five had forced time to keep rewinding until his vision had gone black and his power had sputtered out, refusing to take him back any further.

“Five…?”

Then, there had only been rage, burning white hot through his veins as he launched himself at Klaus’ assailants and cut them down one by one. He dredged up reserves of energy he hadn’t even known he had, abusing his power to end the lives of the dozen armed soldiers in the most bloody and agonizing ways he knew. The combat knife had been so useful, from the moment he lifted it off of one of the men. It could cut cleanly through arteries and have them drowning in their own blood. It could cleave through muscle and tendon, leaving them crumpled on the floor, their limbs useless. A person could survive half a dozen hits if Five aimed well, before they eventually bled out from the trauma.

There had been so much blood, the air was still thick and heavy with it even now. It was smeared on Five’s face, and matted in his hair and clothes. Five wasn’t sure he could wash it all out, this time around.

Klaus was suddenly closer than he was before. Then, Five watched as Klaus almost tripped over a dead body, muttering a curse.

“Shit,” Five murmured, furiously blinking back tears as realization hit him. “I’m going insane. I’m finally losing it.”

“What?” Klaus looked up at him in surprise. “Five, please. It’s okay. I can’t die, alright?”

And that was such a stupid statement that Five could almost believe it was the real Klaus saying it instead of simply a hallucination in his head.

“I’ve died like a dozen times before and it’s never stuck.” Klaus explained, and then, his gaze snapped to the side and shifted into a glare. “Yes I know I could have said something earlier, okay? You are not being helpful right now.”

“What do you mean you’ve died before?” Five said, unable to believe his brain would come up with something as illogical as this.

“Look it’s… sort of a long story,” Klaus said, coming slowly toward him. Then, Klaus frowned. “Actually I guess it’s not that long. I’ve died before, alright? Overdose, hitting my head… I think I froze to death one winter, actually, and that wasn’t fun. It never sticks. I’ve talked to God and she has this whole vendetta against me. Don’t ask me why.”

“I found your body in the apocalypse, I buried you.” Five said in disbelief. Klaus was lying. He had died before. Five had seen it. When he was thirteen years’ old he’d dragged his brother’s body across the city in his cart, to the park where they used to all sneak away to on summer nights, where they used to play tag and frisbee together beneath the moonlight. He had dug Klaus’ grave and buried him himself.

“Okay, that-” Klaus walked even closer, awkwardly stepping over yet another body. “I can’t explain that. Maybe the apocalypse was finally my time, and God decided I was allowed to stay, but look, I’m fine now, alright?”

This was such a stupid conversation Five couldn’t imagine he was actually having it with himself. This couldn’t… really be Klaus, could it?

Klaus took another step, and he was in front of Five now. Five stared at him, uncertain and more than a little terrified.

Then, Klaus gingerly reached out, and Five looked down as Klaus put his hand on Five's wrist, nudging him to lower the knife.

Five started, inhaling sharply as he felt pressure against his skin. He stared down at the point of contact in awe. Klaus’ hand was cold. It was real. It was real?

When Five did’t resist him, Klaus started to gently pry Five’s fingers from the knife, ignoring the sticky redness of drying blood. As Five let go, Klaus carefully tugged the knife from Five’s hand.

Then, he threw the weapon to the side, and the blade landed with a clatter on the floor.

Five stared at where it landed, in shock.

Hallucinations couldn’t do that.

“Hey, I’m fine, alright?” Klaus said, looking down at Five with a terrifyingly soft look on his face.

As though to prove it to Five, Klaus pulled on Five’s hand and pressed Five’s palm to his chest, right above his heart, and covered Five’s hand with his.

Five stared at his hand helplessly, sensing the faint thump of Klaus’ heartbeat, feeling the rise and fall of Klaus’ chest with each breath he took. There was something soothing in the way Klaus’ hand seemed to be warming against Five’s own.

“Still alive, still breathing.” Klaus said softly.

Five stared, silent and still, for what felt like a full minute, as his mind tried to make sense of what was in front of him. It was like he was fumbling to piece together a puzzle in the pitch dark. He knew the pieces fit, but he didn’t quite know how. Was it possible that Klaus had somehow just come back from the dead? It went against everything Five knew about human physiology, everything Five had ever witnessed himself (Klaus, dead, three times over). Five knew that the Klaus he’d buried in the apocalypse had unquestionably been a corpse.

Yet Klaus was here, alive and whole, right in front of him.

It was hard to deny the thump of Klaus’ heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest, or the warmth against Five’s skin.

“Klaus,” Five breathed, lifting his gaze. Klaus' hazel eyes widened as their eyes met, and a soft, relieved smile spread across his face.

They were born with extraordinary powers, after all, Five thought. Was this perhaps one of Klaus’? His connection with the dead somehow exempted him from dying, in certain conditions?

“C’mere,” Klaus said, and then pulled Five into a hug.

Five’s eyes widened as Klaus wrapped his arms around him, and suddenly, Klaus’ warmth was overpowering. He wasn’t the cold, stiff corpse Five had found only minutes ago. His beating heart, the rhythm of his breathing, had restored warmth to him that had always belonged. The stench of blood was even stronger like this, but Five was sort of used to it now.

Five slowly let out a breath as the reality of the situation washed over him. Klaus was alive. Five had failed him but Klaus was still alive despite it all. Everything was, will be, fine.

It was like taking his first breath after hours trapped underwater.

“Ta-da.” Klaus said, squeezing Five a bit too tight. “I’m immortal.”

Needing confirmation, Five pulled away from the hug and started tugging at Klaus’ shirt. Klaus immediately started fighting him, wriggling and trying to tug Five hands away.

“Oh hey, no, that’s weird, Five- Five! We’re brothers and you’re much too young-”

Five won the battle in the end, and lifted Klaus’ shirt as Klaus stood awkwardly in front of him, arms half raised to let Five do what he wanted. Despite all the blood, there was only an expanse of smooth skin. Five stared in amazement. Klaus had no injuries. Not even any scars.

Five dropped his hands, and staggered backward with a sigh of relief.

Klaus tugged at his shirt in an attempt to get more comfortable. There was no salvaging either of their outfits, considering how sticky and soaked they were. Suddenly, Five desperately wanted a shower.

“Why didn’t you fucking say anything?” Five said, raising a hand to his temples as anger and frustration surged within him. “I thought you were dead, Klaus!”

“Well, I was dead,” Klaus said, shrugging. “It just doesn’t like to stick, you know? Give me a few minutes and I’m usually good as new.”

“I can’t believe this,” Five said. The anger faded as quickly as it came, replaced instead by a bone-deep weariness. “Do you have any idea what you just put me through?”

“I mean…” Klaus looked around them, looking half impressed, half disgusted. “I think I have some idea? And hey, it’s not like I was trying to get myself killed, alright?”

“With the way you like to run your mouth, sometimes I wonder.” Five said tiredly. There was no bite to his words.

Exhaustion grew inside of Five, weighing down his limbs and clouding his thoughts, reminding Five he had pushed himself too far and overused his powers earlier. With a sigh, he started heading for the exit, wondering how they were going to ever make it back to the apartment without being stopped for looking like walking crime scenes.

“Well okay, I can admit that the not staying dead thing does soften the ol’ survival instinct just a bit,” Klaus said as he trailed after him. “I also just get so bored, you know? None of them would talk to me.”

“Klaus?” Five said, careful not to slip on the blood. “Not another word.”

“Or what?” Klaus laughed. “Are you going to kill me? Oooh! That’s terrifying.”

Five sighed. Now that he knew Klaus would survive it, one of these days he just might.

#thank you so much! i'm glad you enjoyed the fic!#i hope you like this one too #replies #f: the umbrella academy #mine: fic #m: fic #Anonymous

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