"You know I think Dad just found some former inmate to give us prison tattoos. Who else is going to ink kids like that?"
WHAT: Siblings gonna sibling. Ranging from not dates that are definitely dates to commiserating their upbringing, with a healthy dose of truth plot. WHERE: Allison's apartment. WHEN: Friday, February 28th WARNINGS: Talk of war, death, abuse of powers, failed family upbringings STATUS:Complete!
"Allison!" Klaus said as his sister opened up the door. "Got company?" He was already inside her apartment, but thought it polite to check anyway, before depositing himself on her couch, arms draped over the back.
"I've been waiting to hear about the aquarium, but since I've not heard a single word I thought it best to come over and demand details. Inquiring minds want to know, and all of that." And finally, he gave her time to even reply, phone held in his outstretched hand, waiting for a response. Her inability to speak certainly lent itself to Klaus being even more overpowering than normal.
Allison rolled her eyes as Klaus came into the apartment. Do I look like I have company? She gestured to the general emptiness of her apartment aside from Klaus’ presence. She wasn’t entirely sure who she’d have over, but she didn’t ask either.
And the aquarium was...nice. She glanced up at the ceiling for a moment before staring down at the phone again. You were maybe right. About that. Which didn’t actually explain anything and she could feel herself getting frustrated with herself about it. We may have held hands for a bit. He said it was so I didn’t get lost in the crowd, which was a pretty ridiculous thing to say when the crowd wasn’t that bad. But it was kind of cute. So I maybe asked him if he wanted to get dinner and he may have said yes.
If Klaus was a better person, he may have refrained from reacting triumphantly when Allison confessed that their outing to the aquarium certainly seemed like a date, and if not, dinner certainly would be one. But no, Klaus was not the sort to sit back and let moment pass unheralded.
"Called it!"
He was grinning ear to ear as he looked up at Allison and said, "Good though. You deserve something fun after all of that decidedly not fun … stuff." He waved a hand, for once knowing no further explanation was necessary. "Oh, I'm going to have to help you pick out something to wear, or better yet! You could come see me at work! I can even use my discount and I have extra money now, anyway."
He had no idea why $600 had been deposited into his account, and maybe it was a mistake, but it would be silly to point that out, wouldn't it? Not when it was an extra $600 he could spend.
"But this is good!"
Allison rolled her eyes again, taking a seat as she died. Yes. That not fun stuff. There was a lot of that going around. She was slightly exhausted, but given they didn’t live with each other, things seemed to be mostly okay. For the most part anyway. It was never going to be a perfect picture, but Allison was doing her best to handle it. But she was a little terrified of the whole dating thing. The last person she’d dated was Patrick and she’d sort of let herself fuck all of that over. She didn’t have any sort of delusions that her and Patrick would ever get back together, but she missed Claire.
I didn’t even think of outfits. Which was now something she was thinking about. She’d gotten mostly casual clothing and nothing that said ‘going on a date’. As for the ‘good’ part. I don’t know. Maybe it’s good. Maybe I’m setting myself up for failure. I mean, sure he agreed to a date after having to have been able to see everything about Diego, but...ugh.
She smoothed her shirt and sighed. This is probably a disaster waiting to happen, isn’t it?
Klaus read the words on the screen then looked over at Allison, confused. "What? No, not at all! Why would you say that?"
You’ve seen our family, right? Also I’m pretty sure I don’t know anything about dating when it doesn’t involve making everything work out the way I want with my abilities. She propped her chin on her hand. She knew it was probably a slight overreaction, but when she’d met Patrick, things were going well and she’d fallen for him before she even understood what was happening. The reasonable thing to her mind had been to make sure he loved her back.
He’s nice. Really nice. And cute. I guess it just seems like a lot. Also I just got here.
Klaus's expression softened as he looked at his sister. "Yeah, I've seen our family. And he saw us air all our dirty laundry out in public and he's still here. That's a good sign. Or he's a complete and total masochist. Either way though!"
He frowned, because he had been teasing her quite a bit. "Look, just take it slow. You don't need to rumor someone into liking you… To think that would be selling yourself way short. Just be…" he waved his hand at her. "You."
Allison side-eyed her brother. I know he’s...got a lot of things going on. His dad and ours would probably get along really well. She shrugged. And trying to get creative with dates is going to be interesting. Because she didn’t want to suggest anywhere with a high alcohol sort of energy. She wanted things to be nice, but comfortable for both of them. Also she was still trying to figure this place out.
We’re going on Monday. To dinner. Good idea or bad idea to ask Vanya if she knows any Thai places? She didn’t want to give Diego even a hint of there being a date, but she wasn’t under the delusion that there was a chance Ben wasn’t going to know basically all of this before the night was over once Klaus went back to his room. It was fine. And I don’t know what to wear. She agreed with him about taking things slow, though. And she would. If something happened, she wanted it to be real.
I mean, at least we’ve gotten the crazy family shit out of the way. So it’s just a matter of getting to know each other outside of all of that and seeing how things go.
"Yeah, ask Vanya," Klaus answered. "She actually likes you, and it can't hurt to make things less… what they are. Between all of us." Less likely for the moon to be blown up a second time. No one wanted that. "And we'll find you something to wear. I promise. I literally work in a place that sells clothes now, Allison. We got this."
He did work. He'd actually been to his job throughout the week, and was excelling at it. But that wasn't the news he wanted to share, so he dropped it and pivoted back.
"So… I didn't take things slow at all," he mentioned casually.
She nodded. Okay. Then I’ll text her. Which she did while she was sitting there. I know she likes me, but I also don’t know that she fully trusts my intentions any more than the rest of you, which, you know...I understand after everything. She sighed. She didn’t want to really know that she was lumped in with everyone else on that front, but she understood why she was. A lot of things had happened since then. Too many things to fix in such a short time.
Yeah. I forgot how anxiety inducing dating was.
But then Klaus spoke again and she turned to look at him. I’m sorry, what?
Klaus just grinned at his sister. "You happen to live next door to a bard, who has a beautiful voice. I dropped by, he sang for me… One thing led to another… I hope the singing didn't disturb you," he added innocently.
Didn't seem it had, since this was apparently news to her.
Allison just stared at Klaus for a very long moment. I’m so glad I didn’t hear anything. She didn’t even want to think about the fact that she might have heard anything. No. Nope. Definitely not. I don’t even have anything to say to this right now. I thought I was the one suddenly ending up in things and you’re over here...and I do not want to think about what you were doing.
She shook her head. Should I be prepared for more stories about this or was it a one off sort of situation?
"The best part is, I suggested we meet up at his room, so I didn't disturb Ben… and then it turned out he's right next door." Klaus looked slightly apologetic. "But better you than Vanya?"
He laughed, but there was definitely truth to that. "And I don't know. It wasn't anything serious, but I wouldn't mind a repeat session. He's very talented as a bard."
His expression sobered and he gave Allison a shrug. "He let me talk about Dave. I didn't realize I needed to." Without even realizing it, he reached his hand up to pull the dog tags out from behind his shirt, clutching them in his hand.
I think Vanya would be fine, Klaus. We can’t treat her like she might blow up the moon at any second forever. And she meant it, too. But she didn’t want to hear any of her siblings having sex. She loved all of them and she was more than aware that they were technically not blood related and forced to act as a family while really operating as a superhero team, but...that didn’t mean she didn’t see them as her family...which meant the less she knew about the sex part, the better. She hadn’t really felt that way with Luther, but...now she was definitely over that. Completely.
Please never say that to me again. But when his mood changed, Allison shifted to something a little more serious. You can talk about him if you need to, Klaus. I get it. Not so much the dead partner, but mourning the loss of someone that you’d loved. Even if Patrick and her were not on the best terms right now. He was right, though. It had been her fault. She was angry because she missed her daughter, but...what could she do?
"I don't know what I would have done," Klaus admitted. "Had… If he'd lived. I dreamt about bringing him back with me but there was part of me that could have stayed in the past with him and grown old there with him. That's probably stupid, isn't it?"
When he looked at her, it was clear he hoped it wasn't. Normally he'd have kept this inside, as open as he normally was, but today he felt the need to share.
Allison shook her head, moving to hug Klaus. Because maybe all of them needed that. Maybe they were all stupid idiots about relationships and things and people. Okay, they were definitely all that. Had any of them actually done any good at it? Not really. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before moving back just enough to give them space. It’s not stupid, Klaus. And if it is, then everyone’s stupid.
She shrugged. I’m sorry we never got the chance to meet him. I’m sorry that you went through all of that alone. You don’t have to keep any of that to yourself, okay?
His eyes were getting dangerously wet, and Klaus attempted to blink them dry, nodding at Allison. "Yeah I know," he said, but his voice conveyed his gratitude more than his words did. "Can I blame sobriety on this?" he asked, referencing the roller coaster of emotions. He pulled himself together though, and then added, "I'm sorry I've yet to meet Claire." Because he was a shitty uncle, occasionally remembering to send a card, usually late.
And well, no one sane would want their kids around an addict. But maybe, if they got a second chance at all of this, he could fix that. If they got a second chance.
I don’t know, she admitted. She didn’t know what anything going on was. She supposed they would figure it out, though. Before too long. I miss her. If Patrick had his way, I don’t know if I’d ever get to see her again. I missed a session because of Dad dying and he wouldn’t even let me talk to her. There’s got to be some kind of forgiveness for that sort of thing. But Patrick lost his trust in her.
Now she felt sad because she was even further from her daughter. She’d felt it before, but there’d been so much information to process that it was easy to let it slip away. I don’t know if it would be the best place for her here considering none of us are really in a good place and I’d have to revisit the idea of dating if she did show up. But I’d put up with all of it just to have her here.
"I'd be a much better uncle now," Klaus said. Staying sober most of the time helped with that, and part of it was having the family together, but also living with Ben. His highs were short, and he never lit up or drank around his brother, but there was something to be said for Ben being able to reach him no matter what now. Or any of them. In some ways, he didn't want to ever give that up. So he could see why Allison would be willing to rearrange her life to have Claire there.
It was his turn to hug her, but in typical Klaus fashion he didn't let go as quickly as she had. Really, he hadn't been joking earlier when he told her he was glad she had something good amidst all of the insane shit she'd had to deal with for a while now.
Allison nodded her agreement. Maybe they’d all get a chance to be a much better family. Probably not, but at least a little better. And she could learn how to parent a child without shortcuts. Even if it was really, really difficult and sometimes more annoying than she’d ever want to admit. It didn’t make her love her daughter any less.
She wasn’t sure what to do with knowing that and having no control over it. How did we get so old and so sad, anyway? She had a feeling it had something to do with their childhood. It was bound to end in sad adults with very little coping skills. We’re probably better off thinking about clothes and pretending we don’t have feelings like we usually do. Which is the saddest thing I’ve ever said.
Klaus nodded, because part of him thought that was true. The part that didn't want to deal with emotions or all of the years of baggage that even with an honest outlook of it, still haunted him. (Sometimes quite literally.) "Yeah but… I feel like I'm finally learning who you are," he told his sister. "This feels more like we're family."
He wasn't even sure what he meant by that, only that it felt true. Even if they weren't related, there were bonds forged in that stupid manor, with those stupid masks that he was pretty sure Diego still wore. And tried as they all had to escape, somehow they'd been brought back together.
And Klaus didn't mind it.
Klaus had a point. They’d all gotten a chance to kind of find themselves, but then none of them had really gotten a chance to be themselves with each other. You mean you’re discovering what a complete mess of a person I am? She sighed, leaning forward and propping her chin on her hand.
And of course we’re family, Klaus. We all grew up together. Which made them more than enough like family to make up for the rest of the bullshit they went through. I mean, who else gave me a hug after we were forced to get these ridiculous tattoos? She pulled back her shirtsleeve to reveal the umbrella tattoo they’d all been forced to get.
She just hoped her and Vanya could get to a less complicated place. She hoped all of them could.
Klaus laughed out loud. "I still have you beat when it comes to being a complete mess, Allison. But yes I'm glad to know that no one in this family has their shit together." Was that selfish? Probably. But it made him feel better.
He pulled back his own sleeve to show off his tattoo next to Allison's, then gave her a hug, leaning his head against hers. "You know I think Dad just found some former inmate to give us prison tattoos. Who else is going to ink kids like that?"
Allison smiled, lightly smacking Klaus on the arm. It was nice to feel this way and less terrible. Like an actual person. Less stressed about the things that she was dealing with. We’re absolutely terrible at having our shit together in this family.
She snorted lightly at the idea of an inmate being the one giving them tattoos. That seems like something he’d do. She let herself relax a little. I am so ready to be able to talk again.
"I'm ready for you to talk again too," Klaus agreed. "But if you never get your voice back maybe we can get you one of those little robo voice things, so everything you want to say comes out monotone and robotic."
He flashed Allison a grin, then mimicked a robotic voice, saying, "It's not a date. Okay it is a date. Klaus you were right like always."
Allison rolled her eyes, hitting Klaus on the arm again. She was scared of never getting to speak again. I don’t want a robo voice. I’ll just figure something else out, I guess. Like sign language or something. It was probably going to be fine. Eventually. But she had time still to heal and figure out her voice again.