A/N: I don't know if anyone is still interested in this story but contrary to all indications (regular updates) I am still writing it anyway because, well, delusion. I've not given up on it, I just had a baby and babies are - and this is true - very distracting. If you're happy to see my username on your timeline, clap your hands (leave me a comment) and I'll try my best to update again before the child starts school in 2030.
Chapter 30: Sake
Chapter summary: With time running out to prove his innocence, Klaus seeks to confront his prime suspect. But he’s not ready for what happens next.
Chapter snippet:
AS HE finds the entrance to the passage, Klaus’s feet stop dead.
“Are we sure this is a good idea?”
“What do you mean?” asks Ben.
“I mean we’re walking down a rapey back alley to go meet a potential murderer, Ben. Call me a Nervous Nancy, but it feels like a bad plan.”
Ben looks down the alley and then back at Klaus, as if none of these details had really occurred to him before now. The narrow passage is lit only by a single pale bulb above the kitchen door, about halfway down. The wet cobbles are scattered with upturned crates and mouldy cardboard boxes, left out in the elements to rot. Dumpsters line the walls, sheltering a family of stray cats that slides between them like sultry nightclub patrons.
Ben turns back to Klaus. “You’ll be fine, come on.”
Klaus remains frozen to one spot.
“Look, how do we even know this is the guy, huh? I mean, what do we have to go on? A weird sculpture and a hunch?”
“It’s gotta be him, Klaus,” says Ben. “Think about it: Gary was an asshole. He was sleeping with Jaz’s fiancée, he was probably planning to blackmail her, and Detective Wesson said-”
“Ugh, can we not talk about her, please? She makes my sphincter twitch.”
“Detective Wesson said Jaz owed Gary money. Plus there’s the whole Janice connection. The two of them probably planned it all along.”
Klaus frowns. Is that possible? Could Janice really have set this up somehow? Could Jaz have harboured such a grudge against his friend that he would sneak into his room, stand over his sleeping body and cut his throat in the night? Jaz who had poured shots at the party and shared bitchy gossip over breakfast the next morning? Jaz with his limited edition Jordans and his manicured nails and his tiny twisted dreadlocks?
“Something just isn’t adding up and I can’t put my finger on it,” says Klaus.
“Well, this is the only way you’re gonna get answers. Just stop being a colossal wuss and get down there.”
Klaus’s feet are still rooted firmly to the ground.
“I-I don’t think so. Let’s just go back to the party before-”
“No!” Ben throws his whole ethereal form in front of Klaus. “It’s time to grow some balls.”
“I have balls, Ben,” says Klaus, his voice rising. “And there’s a bad feeling in them!”
“Well, I told you to see a doctor about that.” Ben shifts into the light of the moon so he can meet Klaus’ eyes. “Look, I know you’re scared, but if you don’t do this now you’ll never find out the truth. Diego will lose his job, you’ll have to go on the run. This is the only way, Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take a risk.”
“That’s easy for you to say, you’re already dead!”
“Just do it,” Ben hisses.
Read the rest on AO3
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Note - Hey everyone! Honestly, I don't know if anyone is consistently reading this fic enough to care but apologies for taking so long to get this chapter out. I was trying to do weekly updates and it was going great until the holidays hit and then everything got so busy. Here it is anyway and I hope you enjoy!
Also, when Klaus calls Sienna 'Sisi', I imagine it's pronounced 'see see' not 'sissy' like the woman in season 2.
Warnings: Mention of alcohol and use, violence, blood, knives (blame Diego), drug mentions and use, mention of death, strong language, sexual references, mentions of bad eating habits and starvation, homelessness, abuse, gang, near death experience, injury, tattoos, mentions of needles, broken glass, head injury.
Word count: 6,851
Song: Debbie Downer - Courtney Barnett
New York, March 25th, 2019
Sienna kept a few paces behind her brothers as the three of them walked to the Meritech building. It was only a few blocks away so they decided to walk but only after Sienna had hounded Five for wanted to hot-wire a parked car outside the academy.
She observed her brothers in front of her. Five walked with purpose, like he had somewhere to be, literally. Every stride was calculated and meaningful. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, seemingly to stop himself from punching his much taller brother who was eagerly nattering away on Five's right. Klaus's walk couldn't be less similar to Five's. He didn't walk with grace but it seemed like he was gliding along the sidewalk. Each step he took looked like it was going to be his last and he would trip over but he never did. It was rather theatrical. But that was Klaus.
Sienna watches as Klaus leans down slightly so Five can hear him, not that Five wants to. She can't quite catch what they're talking about, not that she wants to. How had she managed to let herself get sucked into this? The trip to the academy this morning was purely meant to be a rescue mission for her bag. She'd promised herself she was done with everything involved with the academy but as soon as one of her brother's batted their eyelashes, she was putty in their hands. 'I really need to grow myself a backbone.' She thinks to herself but what was self deprecation going to do now that she was on her way to another family escapade. 'Vanya had the right idea, distance yourself from the get go and no one bothers you about this shit for the rest of your life' she thinks.
Maybe she was exaggerating. She used to love spending time with Klaus, more so when he wasn't completely intoxicated but she used to take what she could get. And she couldn't lie, seeing Five again had brought some sort of hope back to her, not everything was completely terrible.
"Shut up, Klaus!" Five hissed, jaw clenched up at his brother, the interaction drawing the stares of a few passers by. Yeah, the voice in her head was right, she did need to grow a backbone and completely leave these guys behind so she could fade completely into the backdrop of the city.
They round a corner, Sienna still trailing behind and the lab comes into view. She'd only passed it a couple of times before given that it was on the other side of town from the bar. It had never crossed her mind to question what they manufactured in there or what they even did in there, it just like a regular health care facility. But now, for some reason, she was following her brothers into the building because one of them has a mysterious glass eye.
The three of them climb the steps up to the door, Five rushing through it, Klaus following him and holding it open for Sienna. She smiles and thanks him and he nods before the two of them follow Five into an elevator. He seemed to be in a rush, aggravated that he was here. Flustered. He was like this before he had disappeared but not to this level. Compared to how he was now, the original 13 year old Five seemed incredibly laid back. Being lost in the future must've done a number on him.
Sienna wanted to ask about it all, what he'd seen in the future but she didn't think it was the best idea. Judging by his body language and his constantly furrowed brows, it hadn't been fun. She wondered if he'd seen the her and their siblings whilst he was gone. Maybe there had been a huge fight and that's why it had been 'shit' as he put it at the dining table before the funeral.
The elevator dings and the doors open, Five immediately stepping out, Sienna and Klaus in tow. He approaches the desk before looking back at his siblings, beckoning them to speak.
"Oh erm… we're here to talk with some guy about an eyeball…" Klaus says, convincing no one. Five sighs.
"I'm sorry?" The receptionist says from behind the desk.
"We need to find the owner of this glass eyeball we found… It's really important… For some reason…" Klaus continues, nudging Five to pull the eyeball out of his pocket. He shows it to the woman in the palm of his hand.
"Huh…" She says as she looks at the glass eye. "Erm… I'll call the boss, give me a second." The receptionist replies, picking up the phone.
"Thankyou…" Klaus says with a gentle smile.
"The last time I was here, they'd kicked me out by now…" Five says under his breath as he shakes his head, unsure how this plan of having two fake parents come with him had worked.
"You've been here before?" Sienna asks, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, I was here this morning." Five replies.
"Why?" Sienna presses.
"Same reason I'm here now. I need the name of the owner of that eye." Five says matter of factly, jaw beginning to clench with stress as he begins to pace.
"Why? What's with the eye anyway…?" She asks again, looking over at Klaus as he fiddles with the trim of his suit jacket then looking back at Five.
"Because I do! Jesus Christ I thought he was bad…" Five spits with a nod toward Klaus who only raises his hands in defense.
"Whatever… How long is this gonna take, I've got shit to do." Sienna scoffs and looks around for a clock. She lands on one resting just above the receptionists desk which reads 11:30 am. She wasn't really in a rush, her shift didn't start until 6 pm but she just wanted to untangle herself from the web of her family as soon as possible.
Before Five can make some sort of back handed comment, a man in a lab coat emerges from a glass office on their left. He lets out a heavy sigh at the sight of the uniform clad 'boy' before motioning them to follow him into his office.
The man walks around his desk and sits down, leaving the three siblings stood facing him on the other side of the wooden table. Klaus takes a seat whilst Five paces, Sienna standing against the glass door.
"Look… Like I said to your son earlier, any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential. Without the client's consent, I simply can't help you." The man explains who Sienna could only guess was a doctor judging by his lab coat and the building they were in.
"Well, we can't get consent if you don't give us a name." Five grits as he leans onto the desk.
"Well, that's not my problem." The doctor retorts, flexing his fingers as he holds his hands together. Sienna huffs, contemplating what the point of her being here was. Surely Klaus and Five could've done this without her being here. She looks over at Klaus, his eyes trained on a snow globe sitting on the Doctor's desk. He seemed to be lost in thought. 'Yeah, maybe I was the better fake parent choice'. She thinks as she moves her gaze from Klaus to the doctor again.
"Sorry. Now there's really nothing more I can do so…" The doctor apologises and nods in Sienna's direction with a tight lipped smile as he begins to stand but Klaus interjects.
"And what about my consent?" Klaus questions. Five and Sienna join the doctor as he gives Klaus a confused look.
"Excuse me?" The doctor asks.
"Who gave you permission… to lay your hands…" Klaus begins to whimper "…on my son?" He points to Five. Sienna and Five look at each other before returning their eyes to Klaus, utterly confused.
"What?" Sienna, Five and the doctor say in unison.
"You heard me." Klaus replies bluntly, attitude unwavering.
"I didn't touch your son." The doctor replies matter of factly.
"Oh, really? Well, then how did he get that swollen lip, then?" Klaus asks as he leans forward.
"He doesn't have a swollen…" The doctor begins but Klaus stands up and plants a clean punch to Five's mouth. The boy lets out a loud grunt as the doctor gasps and Sienna winces.
"Jesus!" Sienna exclaims, grabbing Five by the shoulders and turning him to face her, examining the cut. Instinctively, she goes to heal it, grabbing his jaw but she quickly realises what Klaus is doing when he speaks again.
"I want it. Name, please. Now." Klaus leans over the desk and threatens. Five pushes Sienna's hands away and turns to look at Klaus, still slightly confused.
The man shakes his head slightly, eyebrows furrowed with confusion and slight concern for Five's well-being. Klaus lifts himself from the desk again and sighs, turning to Sienna.
"Sorry Sisi, looks like he hit you too."
"Don't you d-" Sienna protests before Klaus lands another punch, this time to Sienna's mouth, her lip now also swollen and cut slightly. Klaus turns to face the doctor, once again leaning over the desk.
"You're crazy." The doctor points to Klaus who smiles down at him, a soft chuckle leaving his mouth.
"You got no idea." Klaus smirks. He looks down between his hands, once again eyeing the snow globe that rested on the desk. Klaus picks it up, and puts at it, cooing at the words scrawled across is base.
"'Peace on Earth.' That's so sweet." He says gesturing with the globe before aggressively slamming it against his forehead. The glass and water of the globe crashes onto the floor whilst Klaus groans, cuts spanning across his face. Sienna and Five look on with concern as their brother cries out with pain.
"God, that hurt!" Klaus yells, cradling his head and now wet hair.
"I'm calling secur-" The doctor interjects as he picks up the desk phone which Klaus promptly grabs from his hands.
"What are you doing?" The doctor yells as Klaus takes the phone and brings it to his ear. Glass shards scattered through his hair sporadically falling to the floor anytime he moved even the slightest amount.
"There's been an assault… in Mr. Big's office, and we need security now. Schnell!" Klaus litters his words with fake sobs before slamming the phone back into the receiver.
"Now, here's what's gonna happen, Grant." Klaus grunts, leaning over the desk once more.
"It's Lance…" the doctor whispers back. His voice shook with fear and Sienna could see the fear in the man's eyes, it only made her smirk at her brother's antics.
"In about sixty seconds two security guards are gonna bust through that door, and they're gonna see a whole lot of blood, and they're gonna wonder 'what the hell happened?'". Klaus explains. Five and Sienna look at each other with matching smirks, silently communicating 'how has Klaus managed to be the one to pull this plan together?' before they turn their eyes to the doctor, both of them beaming with pride for Klaus.
"And we're gonna tell them that you… beat the shit out of us…" Klaus begins to sob and fake cry as blood continues to spill from his forehead to the rest of his face. He smiles and stands up straight, exhaling a sigh of satisfaction.
"You're gonna do great in prison, Grant. Trust me, I've been there. Little piece of chicken like you. Oh my god, you're gonna get passed around like a…" Klaus stares down at the doctor, gyrating his hips. Five and Sienna's faces both turn from prideful to confused once again. "You're just- You're gonna do great. That's all I'm saying." Klaus beams.
"Jesus, you are a real sick bastard." The doctor spits back, voice still shaky.
"Thank you." Klaus breathes out then spits a piece of glass out of his mouth. Five looks around with a satisfied smile before the doctor stands up and escorts them out of his office and to a cabinet of filing drawers. He immediately starts searching through he files, Five watching him closely. Klaus jumps and sits on the top of the cabinet whilst Sienna picks a few glass shards from his suit.
The doctor rustles through a few drawers before pulling out a folder from one of them. Klaus watches him, smiling softly at him. Five watches on too but more like a hawk.
"Oh, that's strange…" The doctor mumbles as his eyes scan the folder. Sienna now joining her brothers in looking at the man.
"What?" Five insists eagerly.
"Uh, the eye. It hasn't been purchased by a client yet." The doctor explains. Klaus jumps down from the cabinet and looks over the man's shoulder at the paper.
"What? What do you mean?" Klaus asks as he moves around the man in some sort of interrogation tactic. He settles on the doctor's left side and Sienna moves in, looking over the man's right shoulder at the paper.
"Well, uh…" The man frets as the two move closer. "Our logs say that the eye with that serial number… This can't be right. It hasn't even been manufactured yet." The doctor explains and the three of them look up from the folder to Five, each of them sharing the same confused face. "Where did you get that eye?" The doctor asks and Five only sighs.
"Come on…" Five mumbles, ushering for his siblings to follow him out of the building. The two of them smile at the bemused doctor as they scurry off after their brother. The three of them get into the elevator, Five deep in thought whilst Klaus and Sienna pick glass from Klaus's hair.
Once they reach the bottom floor, the three of them swiftly exit the building, Five obviously leading the way in some sort of huff.
"Well, this is not good." Five states as they walk through the doors and step outside.
"I was pretty good, though, right? 'Yeah. What about my consent, bitch?'" Klaus laughs, Sienna joining him as she nods in agreement. She goes to say something but Five speaks first.
"Klaus, it doesn't matter." Five replies, Sienna and Klaus turn to face him, the two now stood side by side. Five's face was contorted with what Sienna could only guess was stress or frustration. That look had been etched onto his face every moment she'd seen him since his return.
"What? What? What's the big deal with this eye anyway?" Sienna asks, rolling her eyes as she places her hands on her hips and stretches her back.
"There is someone out there who's going to lose an eye in the next seven days. They're gonna bring about the end of life on this Earth as we know it." Five replies as he moves past the two of them. Klaus and Sienna look at each other. You'd think two people who had just been told the world is going to end would look more concerned but no, they only thought to question Five's bullshit. Both their faces read 'Yeah, right' and they turn to look at Five.
"Yeah, Can I get that twenty bucks, like, now, or what?" Klaus asks as he extends his hand out his brother.
"Your twenty bucks?" Five asks in disbelief.
"Yeah, my twenty bucks."
"The apocalypse is coming, and all you can think about is getting high?" Five asks cynically. Sienna turns and walks toward the concrete steps behind them, sitting down on the middle step and watching her brothers' interaction.
"Well, I'm also quite hungry. Tummy's a-rumblin'." Klaus adds as he imitates his stomach's noises jokingly.
"You're useless… You're all useless!" Five spits once again in disbelief before moving to join Sienna on the steps. She rolls her eyes at his comment as he sits down.
"Oh, come on. You need to lighten up, old man." Klaus jabs playfully.
"Hey, you know, I've just realised why you're so uptight. You must be horny as hell!" Klaus chuckles as he sits down on the other side of five from Sienna, sandwiching the boy between the two of them. "All those years by yourself, it's gotta screw with your head, being alone."
"Well… I wasn't alone." Five states, eyes trained off into the distance. His words cause his brother and sister's ears to prick up, the two of them turning to face him.
"Oh?" Sienna asks.
"Pray tell." Klaus adds on, the two of them genuinely curious.
"Her name was Delores…" Five begins, Klaus and Sienna patiently waiting for him to expand. "We were together for over thirty years."
Sienna whistles at his statement whilst Klaus speaks. "Thirty years? Oh, wow!" They both chuckle lightly. "God, the longest I've been with someone was… I don't know, three weeks. And that's only because I was so tired of looking for a place to sleep." Klaus explains, Sienna listening on as she looks to her left at some birds passing in the sky but Five's attention fades and before Klaus can finish, the boy blinks away from between them.
"He did make the most fantastic osso bucco, though. It was…" Klaus says whilst gesturing. He turns and opens his eyes, now seeing that five had vanished. He pokes at Sienna's arm to get her attention and she turns to look at him, flinching slightly when she realises five isn't there.
"Five?" She questions, looking around as she stands up. A passing taxi catches her attention, Five sat in the backseat saluting the two of them goodbye.
Klaus stands and shouts "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, what about my money?" whilst Sienna retreats back to the step and sits down in a huff.
"Little bastard…" She mumbles when Klaus re-joins her. She leans back on her hands, watching cars pass by. Klaus leans forward, forearms resting on his knees. They sit there, in silence, unsure of what to do next. Sienna felt useless and she wasn't sure why. She was free to go so why did she feel so deflated all of a sudden.
A growl from Klaus's stomach breaks her from her thoughts and she looks over at him, his eyes following passing cars like hers were only moments ago, seemingly unaware of how loud his organs were being.
"Come on… I'll treat you to lunch." Sienna stands and offers Klaus her hand. His eyes beam and he stands up giddily.
"Oh, you always were my favourite." He says lovingly, pulling her into his side by her shoulder.
"Yeah, there's no need to butter me up, Klaus. I'll buy you lunch but I'm not giving you money for drugs."
Klaus chuckles and pulls her in tighter as they begin to walk down the street. The first people they pass give Klaus a strange look and Sienna realises what they both look like in that moment.
"Wait." Sienna says as she halts their movements. She turns to Klaus to face her and sits him down on the wall behind him.
"I don't know how but we need to get the rest of this glass out of your hair." She chuckles as she begins picking small fragments out of his hair.
"I got it" He says before moving her to the side and leaning forward, shaking the fragments from his hair manically, his actions causing Sienna to laugh. The small glass shards sprinkle themselves along the sidewalk, chiming as they hit the floor, onlookers looking at the two of them wearily.
Klaus sits back up and runs his hands through his hair, feeling for any remaining pieces of glass. "There." He says when his hair feels clean. He slaps his hands against his thighs and begins to stand up when Sienna ushers him to sit back down.
"I've gotta get that blood off your face." She says as she pulls down the sleeve of her sweater and wipes at the drying blood above his eyebrow. Klaus looks up at her from his seated position and for a moment, all he can see is the fifteen year old version of his sister that would wipe away the blood from his face after missions. He smiles gently, reminiscing on their youth, how she had always been the one to take care of him. He sometimes viewed her like a mini version of their mother. Sienna bore no resemblance to Grace but she'd spent so much time with their mother she had started to become just as selfless and entirely too empathetic. Regardless, Sienna genuinely seemed to care about Klaus which drastically opposed the other's views on him. She didn't see him as a liability, she didn't scold him for taking drugs or drinking, she just tried to coach him through his stints of sobriety. No matter how many times he failed, she never saw him as a failure and he knew that.
Sienna's movements stop once the blood is gone from his skin and she pulls her sleeve back up over her wrist. Klaus furrows his brows.
"Aren't you gonna heal the cut? It's pretty bad, it's stinging like hell" Klaus exaggerates with confusion written across his face and Sienna shakes her head.
"I don't do that anymore." She replies with a shrug and begins to walk away, Klaus only furrows his brows more causing him to wince from the cut.
"What do you mean? That was like our thing, I hurt myself in completely avoidable situations and you patch me up." Klaus replies as he stands up and follows after her.
"I just don't do it anymore… If you start bleeding out I'll intervene but from my judgement it looks like you're going to be fine." She chuckles as they walk along the street, Klaus's face now clean and hair glass free. They still looked odd. His hair was wet and sticking up on end, his outfit and shoe combination was questionable and the gashes across his face were still prominent. Sienna didn't look as bad as her brother but her lip was still swollen a little, the blood having been wiped away.
"But why? If I could do what you can I'd be jumping off buildings just to get the blood flowing… Surely patching up a cut on your brother's face isn't gonna bring up that much PTSD, right?" He presses, half joking, half serious. He wasn't too concerned about getting the cuts fixed but he was intrigued by Sienna's lack of want to use her power. Sure he hated his power too and did everything he could to make it go away but her's was different, it was useful and could genuinely help people. Why she'd want to suppress it was beyond him. He could tell she was using it on herself, she looked like she's been having Botox since she was eighteen, so what was wrong with a few forehead slices.
"It's just…" She sighs as they walk, Klaus eyes glued to her in search of any lies. "I- I don't know… It's my way of telling dad to go fuck himself, I guess." She admits, figuring that's the best way to put it.
Klaus chuckles. "I get that… He's dead now, though, so I don't think you'll be getting that message through to him any time soon." He grins and Sienna hums a laugh, shaking her head.
"Or you could conjure him for me and I can finally tell him to his face..." She replies jokingly.
"Tried that at the funeral, he's being stubborn as ever." He laughs along. There's a beat as the tension within her over this internal conflict dissipates. She knew she could talk to Klaus.
"Overusing it like he made me when we were kids just made me feel unwanted I suppose." She admits. Klaus looks at her confused.
"How? You were the most wanted of all of us? You saved him money on bandages and health insurance. Hell, even Luther wanted you on missions with how useful you were." He jokes slightly, hoping to reassure her in his classic manner. He knew an actual therapeutic talk would be no good to her, laughing right in the face of her adversities was her way through.
"But that's it, isn't it. I was useful. A walking first aid kit. That's all Luther and Dad saw me as. I wasn't wanted as a person, just as a fucking nurse." She spits, pushing away any thought of her father, this was the academy she wanted behind her.
"Oh…yeah… that does make sense." Klaus admits, agreeing and shoving his hands in his pockets.
"And now, everyone in my life doesn't see me like that. They want me around because they like me." Sienna adds. There a few people around her that knew of her capabilities, her 'new mother', Rosa, being one of them but it was never talked about. There was no need to. Rosa liked having Sienna in her life and Sienna appreciated it. She just enjoyed being Sienna now, to Rosa and Vince, to her boss, to the bar goers. She was coming to realise that that was probably what her siblings were missing, that normality of being a person without all of the shit their father had filled them with. It was making her realise how lucky she had been to get out when she did.
Klaus hums in understanding, letting her get to whatever point she was making on her own rather than leading her there.
"I'm in control of it now. I use it when it's needed, when someone is on death's door… I contemplated it for a while… if I should use it at all but then I just thought it would be cruel not to… letting people die when I know I can help." She continues, explaining herself to someone that really didn't need an explanation.
"And when you get a new wrinkle or two…" Klaus jokes causing her to nudge him with a laugh and a less than serious glare.
"It is useful for that too… But I don't have dad's voice in my head now. Yelling at me about efficiency and form. I don't get scared when I help people anymore." Sienna shoves her hands in her jacket pocket, mimicking Klaus as they walk.
"Well that makes one of us." He admits, talking on an inhale as if he was wincing.
"How are you coping these days?" She asks, genuinely concerned but trying to hide the worry in her voice so as to not scare him away from admitting the truth.
"Same old… I only hear them when I'm sober… I just hope dad doesn't become a permanent fixture in the haunting club, there's enough of them as it is." He says through a chuckle but she can tell he is serious by the way he his eyes stare off into the distance as he talks.
Just as sienna goes into therapy mode, Klaus' eyes widen at the sight of a café, almost running into oncoming traffic as he heads across the street to it, Sienna in tow. "Jesus Christ, Klaus!"
He swings the door of the café open, the smell of coffee and toast filling their noses before he leads Sienna to a booth. He moves all the way in, making space next to him even though Sienna was already in the process of sitting opposite him. A waiter brings over two menus and takes their drinks order before walking away, leaving them both to figure out what they want to eat, Klaus already knowing.
"I'm getting waffles with extra bacon and lots of syrup." He concludes, slapping the sides of the menu together expressively. Sienna chuckles, remembering the conversation he had had with himself the previous night in Diego's car.
"What happened to cutting down on your pig products?" She asks, eyes scanning the menu.
"I give up… diet culture is so toxic these days… Do you want anything?" Sienna looks over the top of her menu, confused as to why he's asking her that but she seems him looking off at the empty space to his left.
"I think I'm gonna get a BLT…" She mutters before he can continue talking to the chair. The waiter brings over their drinks, two coffees. They both order their food and hand back the menus.
"So… what's it like seeing everyone after all these years? Did I get sexier?" Klaus wiggles his brows and pulls out a flask from his jacket, pouring some liquid into his mug. Sienna sighs at the sight. She doesn't want to fuss over him or nag him like she knew the others did about his habits. She decides to just answer his question.
"It's strange. The one thing I can't get over is how much of an asshole Luther is." Sienna answers, chuckling slightly in an effort to disguise her concern.
"Right! And how big he's gotten! I thought your muscles were supposed to shrink when you go to space." Klaus says excitedly.
"He's on steroids…" Sienna replies bluntly. "Dad must've filled his head with nonsense about 'being the best even without competition' once we left and Luther took it all waaay too far." She adds.
"You think? I think it's just lot's of bulking… He is an asshole though." Klaus replies, relaxing into the booth a little more after taking a sip of his drink.
"Through and through… I can see it in his eyes that he still just sees me as a med kit. Like I shouldn't be there unless someone needs mending. He looks at you like a liability still, and Vanya like she doesn't need to be there… and Diego like he's the devil" She says the last part with a chuckle.
"And Allison like she's the only girl on the planet…" Klaus says theatrically, clasping his hands together and placing them on his cheek, making puppy dog eyes. They both laugh.
"And when he accused you of killing Dad. Oh. My. God. I could've died." Klaus adds, punctuating his words with a light tap to the table.
Sienna shakes her head and sighs "He's just upset about dad… grief makes you say weird stuff."
Her statement confuses Klaus, how on earth was she giving Luther an ounce of empathy. Klaus leans forward, eyebrow arched playfully. "Did you do it, Sisi." He asks jokingly.
Sienna shoves his face away and he laughs briefly before wincing when she grazes the cut on his forehead. She gasps and apologises profusely, grabbing his chin to make him look at her so she can get a better look at the wound.
"See, if you patched it up you wouldn't have to say sorry." He says with a soft smile, watching as her eyes dart across his forehead with concern.
She meets his gaze and gives him a half serious stern look but her smile betrays her. "Klaus."
"I know, I know, I'm just playing." Her leans back, holding his arms up defensively and she pulls her hand away from his face, leaning back against her side of the booth.
There's a beat before Klaus abruptly changes the conversation.
"Hey, what did Five mean about 'life on earth' ending?" He asks, looking at Sienna like she held all the answers.
"Huh?" She asks, actually having forgotten the earlier comment from Five having brushed it off as him being mad.
"Earlier, just before he vanished… before he told us about that girl, Delilah or whatever… when I asked him about the eyeball." Klaus continues, trying to jog her memory.
"Oh yeah… whoever owns that eye ends the world or something…" She shrugs, having no actual answers to give him.
"Do you think he means that? Because there's some stuff I really need to check off my bucket list." Klaus asks, the second part more of an inward thought.
"Has anything he has said to us in the past 24 hours made any sense, Klaus?" Sienna asks.
"Not really" He admits.
"Exactly, don't think too much on it. He was always a bit eclectic when we were kids, can't see why that would've changed after almost five decades for him." Sienna replies through a sigh. She was really starting to worry about Five's sanity. There's no way being alone for that long hadn't had an impact on his mind.
"Yeah, I guess… Do you think he's lying about the girl, Delaney…" Klaus continues, the question making him more excited than the last. He'd always loved gossiping with Sienna about their siblings.
"I think it was Delores…" She chuckles. "…and for his sake, I hope not." She adds. She meant it, for Five's sake, she hoped he hadn't been alone.
"What about you? Any guys helping you get your rocks off… Besides Diego…" Klaus asks, muttering the last part with a smirk. Sienna leans over the table and swats his arm.
"Hey! We never did anything, first of all…" She replies with a pointed finger. "…And second of all… there's been a few but none worth mentioning." She admits with a shrug, leaning back into the booth.
"You gotta give me more than that… were they boyfriends? Lovers…?" Klaus purrs all too intrigued.
Sienna sighs and laughs lightly before answering. "Most of them were purely to scratch an itch but I have had one serious boyfriend"
"Go on…" Klaus pushes, wiggling his eyebrows causing his sister to roll her eyes.
"It was one of the regulars at the bar's son. He came in to pick his dad up one day and we got to talking. Turned out we liked the same music, food, and everything really. He was funny… He used to take me on these really outlandish dates… every day for three years was a surprise with him." She reminisces on the only real relationship she'd has in her life. A fact she was embarrassed by given her approaching 30th birthday.
"What happened, then?" Klaus asks.
"I think he got weirded out by the fact I was happy working at the bar. He couldn't understand how I didn't have a career plan, said I was wasting my life. When we broke up he told me I was too vain as well which I guess makes sense but I genuinely thought guys liked that…" She shrugs, sipping her coffee, her brother scoffs a laugh.
"Do you actually want to find someone? You seem like a lone wolf type to me…" He asks, genuinely curious. From what he could tell, she wasn't too caught up in finding someone and the way she talked about her ex solidified his suspicions.
She shrugs. He wasn't wrong. Though she had loved her ex, she did much prefer her own company. She'd grown up in close proximity to seven siblings so she had adjusted to having the breathing room she needed and wanted. The break up hadn't taken too much of a toll on her either so she took that as a sign. "If it happens it happens… what about you?"
"Oh, I've got about ten on the go, don't worry about me" Klaus chuckles and Sienna joins him, shaking her head.
Their food arrives and they eat, Klaus like he hasn't seen a meal in a month. They joke back and forth about the peculiar situation they find themselves in with Five and their ever persistent family dynamics. It was like old times and it was nice to see Klaus less manic than he had been yesterday and this morning.
Sienna pays and they leave, walking back toward the academy. They reminisce about all the times the snuck out as kids when they pass buildings they used to frequent on their escapades. Klaus is careful not to bring up Ben given Sienna's reactions to just his name yesterday.
"We should make this a weekly thing." Sienna says haphazardly, not fully thinking through the implications of seeing Klaus frequently. But his personality was infectious and just a few hours with him had gotten her addicted to his company just as she was when they were kids.
"What? Letting Five bribe us into visiting weird doctors and hitting myself over the head with inanimate objects" Klaus jokes, rubbing his forehead for effect
Sienna chuckles "Lunch. Just me and you. I'll pay… You're my favourite brother after all."
"Awwww Sisi, you're my favourite sister… competition isn't too stacked though is it?" Klaus laughs causing her to nudge his arm with hers. "But yeah.. lets do it, every Monday." Klaus agrees and they nod in unison.
Eventually they reach an intersection where one street leads to the academy and the other leads to Sienna's apartment.
"Hold on." She gets a pen from her bag. "Give me your hand" She instructs and Klaus offers her his hand. She takes it in her own and scrawls her home number on the back. "This isn't for when you need drug money. This is for when you actually want to talk, Klaus. Or you need a place to sleep. Or you just actually want to see me." She chuckles and lets go. He looks over the ink with a small smile.
"What about if every one in fifteen calls is for money…?" Klaus jokes but a part of him is serious. He loved Sienna and respected her choice not to pay for his habits but he needed a buzz and his other siblings were becoming less than happy with his incessant calls.
"Klaus, you know I will always say 'no'." She says bluntly with a tight lipped smile.
"What if I give you some of the drugs…?" He asks, intrigued to see if his proposal would work. Sienna had joined in with some of his recreational activities in their youth but he wasn't sure on her perspective of it now.
"I'd be enticed by that offer if I didn't think the stuff you were taking now was way to strong for my tolerance." She chuckles, shoving the pen back in her bag.
"Noted, I'll only call when I plan on buying weed with your money then…" Klaus grins. Sienna shakes her head.
"I'll see you later Klaus, be safe, I love you!" She shouts as they part ways, walking in opposite directions.
"I love you too, Sisi." He yells back as he walks away. Sienna can only guess he's going to the academy, she didn't know of any place he would go.
Sienna heads home, clambering into her apartment for the remaining few hours before her shift. She empties her bag, placing the pictures she had retrieved from her childhood room on the wall with blu-tac temporarily. She makes a mental note to get some frames before making herself dinner, Led zeppelin humming in the background from her record player.
She gets to the bar for 6 pm. Steve had already opened for the evening shift and the usual Monday crowd had dragged themselves in. The jukebox hummed quietly, acting as background noise to the different conversations going on around the room. It wasn't too crowded but she knew these guys would keep her busy.
"Hey! How was your day off yesterday?" Steve asks from behind the bar as she walks in. She gives a few friendly nods to the familiar faces before joining Steve.
"Good, decided to stay in in the end, didn't get up to much." She responds, lying through her teeth. She'd decided to hide the truth about her father's funeral when she booked the day off, what Steve didn't know wouldn't hurt him and she still wasn't ready for her life as an umbrella kid to become common knowledge.
"I expect nothing less from you, Sienna. I'm hoping one of these days you actually get a life." The dark haired man jokes earning an eye roll from the girl.
"I have one, you just don't know what I get up to" She quips back.
"Speaking of getting a life… There was a delivery guy that came by just before opening, he looked like your type so I gave him your number." Steve admits and another eye roll graces Sienna's face.
"What if he turns out to be a serial killer" She says through a laugh, semi-serious.
"I hope he is, should bring some excitement into your life…" Steve replies, smirking before retreating to the office. Sienna shakes her head and gets to work on washing the dirty glasses in the sink before the refill orders start rolling through.
Her shift passes with ease. She makes conversation with the customers and Steve when he emerges from the office. She really did love working there. It was normal and that's what she needed after the absurdity that was her childhood.
Steve leaves her to close just after 1 am. She gives the floor a mop and makes sure all the tables are clear and glasses are clean before locking all of the doors and walking back to her apartment. She doesn't waste time in getting changed and getting into bed, the day catching up to her as soon as her head hits the pillow, falling asleep almost immediately.
Im on season 2 ep 10 of Umbrella Academy couple things:
Harlan has to be a stand in for Henry or Will in ST as @sterlingarcher23 suggested Henry is a title. Maybe harlan is too.
The siblings are hiding out in a TV electronics store? There's a lot of allusions in ST we have pointed out to Cathode Ray Tubes/CRT Tvs, SAGE, Etc
Umbrella events in 2006 may be the quantum answer to the real events in Fargo season 1, fargo season 2 and beyond has the under current of Stranger things
I know this doesn't make much sense right now but I swear I'm working on it 😅
Things being quantum or CRT related doesn't lessen the storylines. Like a Blade Runner Human Zoo.
Oct 1 1989 is when the kids were born. This is when the cold war was accelerated and droves of people were leaving. I'd bet anything the stasi got word of their powers and tried to effectively reboot their regime.
There's also the G men who got rocket info from squid-dad-hargreeves. Not all nazis were space squids but some were. And some tried to help.
