Mass Video | OTA

[n5]

[ Five is in the garden, sitting on the grass with a big golden retriever seemingly sleeping on his lap, effectively pinning him in place. The dog's eyes are closed, but if one is observant, they might notice the tail wagging lazily behind him. Five has one hand on Sammy's head, gently scratching him between the ears as he tries to come up with what to say now that he's decided to announce his presence again.

He came back a few days ago after what feels like a lifetime away. He's found his other self, but he's been afraid to ask who else is around. Afraid about who might not be. But he's never been keen on wasting time, and while his memories are still fuzzy, it's better to rip the metaphorical ban-aid once and for all. ]

Ey, so...it's been some time. [ He's grown up, grown older, and even though it can't be seen because the dog is on his legs, Five left the damn shorts behind him a few years ago. There's also a tiredness in his eyes that wasn't there before. ]

I have two important questions;

Number one, who's not dead?
And number two, do we have any lint rollers?

[ As people can see by the sorry the state of Five's suit, now covered in fur, wearing dark clothes, and having a golden retriever as a pet is a bad combination. ]

Comments

Voice

[oldmanfive]

There's lint rollers! Just check the kitchen drawers.

[ Five buys in bulk. Three animals with two prone to shedding. There's no way to be without. ]

Permavideo

[n5]

Oh, thanks god for small mercies. I have the feeling I'm going to need them a lot.

[ He briefly gesture to Sammy, content on his lap. at least the cats both ave dark fur. ]

Good thing that no one seems to be allergic to pets.

[ghostphone]

You look like hell.

[For the record.

You're welcome.

Klaus does look a little older himself, but still much younger than the one Five might be more used to.]

[n5]

[ Ey, look at that, his younger-younger brother. Five's happy to see Klaus in any shape or form, so he's smiling at the reply before he catches himself and scolds his face into a more neutral expression. ]

Oi. That's no way to speak to your elders. [ He's not wrong, though, Five looks like he's been gone through the wringer.]

It's good to see you too, jackass.

[ghostphone]

[He just grins at the chastising.] It never stopped you when we were kids.

[He had always been the only one to really challenge Dad, like, ever.

Well, and Allison.
But she could do that a lot easier than the rest of them, afterall.]

You too, Five. Planning an early retirement? [A beat passes. His face scrunches.] It's not even really an early one, I guess, huh?

[n5]

[ How dare you bring up such a good point? ]

No...but that was different. [ Somehow, okay. ] Dad was an asshole and unreasonable. He deserved all the heat I gave him.

[ While Five might regret not listening to him That One Time about time traveling, the rest of the time their butting head was justified in Five's opinion. Plus, if dad was focused on him, then he left the others alone. ]

Sort of? I think I'm out of other options too. You might see me around here for a while. Congrats, you're stuck with me.

[ghostphone]

[He has so many more of them than people ever seem to notice, tbh.]

Oh, you won't catch me denying that. He deserved all of that and so much more honestly.

Oh, really? Jeeze, what happened while you were gone? Wanna scotch about it?

[He's not even 20 yet, so this younger Klaus is still firmly in his junkie phase.]

[n5]

[ That's true. Five will pay more attention, he quite likes Klaus. ] 

He did. I've met a few different versions of him by now, but they're all selfish and narcissistic sociopaths in one way or another. Nothing good ever comes from listening to him.

It's complicated, and I am not really good at talking, but I appreciate the offer. I really do.

[ Oh, no. Five is not going to endorse that if he can help it. He also doesn't want to traumatize him further by telling him about the possible bad things that will happen in the future. Not yet, at least. ]

How have you been?

[oldmanfive]

Yeah, at least until Sammy has his groomers appointment. The lady who works on him is so good at de-shedding him. She's good with the cats too. They all love her.

[ Clearly Five took his role as pet dad seriously.]

[ghostphone]

Multiple versions of dad? [His nose scrunches in distaste.] That sounds AWful!

[It was pretty weird when multiple version of his siblings started showing up and all, but he likes them all a helluva lot better than dad.]

Okay, I guess. I mean, it's- [He waves a hand vaguely in the air.] whatever. Same shit, different day, rinse, repeat forever til you die, right? [There's a soft titter of self-deprecating laughter there.

Oh no. He doesn't even know about the immortality yet.]

[n5]

Each one of them was worse than the last. But don't worry, If the bastard ever shows up here, I'll take care of him. [ There's a dangerous glint in Five's eyes that tells how his way of dealing with Reginald will be final.

His look softens into something less aggressive after Klaus's reply, aware that he's dealing with a much younger version of the brothers he knows. ]

I don't want to burden you with things that might not matter anymore. [ Except they do matter, a lot, but that's Five's trauma to bear.

Oh, oops. Yeah that at least is something Five thinks maybe Klaus should know. ]

So about dying...you dying, more specifically. That might not be a problem you will experience.  [ God, this is awkward. ]  You see the Klaus from my time, he really got to eventually control his powers and even discovered a few of them that none of us were aware of. 

[n5]

I can take him there myself if you give me the address. Do you think that lady would be able to tell us apart?

[ He did! And it makes Five smiles despite himself. You, big softie. Which means he too is a big softie, of course, but at least he had been trying to not show it. ]

I need to leave the house to go get me some clothes. I appreciate your help, but I can't keep stealing from your wardrobe.

[oldmanfive]

Sure, I'll text you her information. Along with Sammy's appointment information. Probably not, she doesn't know there are two of us around. Though I guess we should think of a story for non family and mere acquaintances.

I really don't mind if you raid my closet but I can take you to the shop I go too for clothes if you want?

[ghostphone]

I don't even wanna know how you get worse than the one I know. [Fuck. That's horrible, honestly. He doesn't miss the finality in Five's gaze, though. No skin of Klaus' nose, he wouldn't exactly be missing Reginald anytime soon. He'd gotten out of that house as fast as he could.]

Timeline fuckery? [It's a satisfactory enough answer to him, really. He doesn't fully understand it, but he knows the basic idea. Change one thing, change everything, blahblahblah.]

What does that even mean? [He snorts a laugh.] Are you saying I can't die?

[n5]

No, you really don't want to know. I wish I could forget. So I'll spare you the details.

[ Especially about what happened with Ben. Five needs to see if their other brother is around, though, so he can talk to him about it. Now he doesn't want to upset Klaus further. ]

Timeline fuckery, indeed. I couldn't have said it better. [ Works for him, so thank you.

Five is silent for a few long seconds, his lips a thin line before he makes a 'weeeeeell, actually...' face. ]

Not exactly? You can die. It's only that it's not a permanent state for you. I think you can also decide when to come back? Or not to come back, rather.

[ghostphone]

Thanks. [He means it, even if he doesn't have even the tiniest idea of the scope of what Five is protecting him from. If it's so bad Five doesn't even want to vent about it, it's gotta be bad, and that's enough for Klaus.]

Wait... [He frowns a little as he actually starts considering this idea. Something is... clicking into place, slowly.

His voice drops really quietly. ] ...do you think that's always been true? And I just didn't know?

[n5]

He's not here, so we don't have to worry about him. But I am, two of me around actually, so if you need anything just let us know.

[ Need anything, as in, if things get stressful or really bad. Or if the ghost of their father shows up. Five is mostly shit at comforting but he can try.

He studies his brother's reaction, giving him time and gently petting the dog's back as he waits. ]

Possibly? My Klaus never really gave me a lot of details, but it would explain how he made it to 30 years old, considering his drug habit and, let's say...complex lifestyle. [ He pauses and then adds, a little bit of concern in his eyes. ] That is NOT a reason to go around trying to prove this theory, though. Don't do anything rash.

[ Please, don't die on him. Five might not be able to handle that anymore. ]

[n5]

Much appreciated. I missed a lot of things about his life and health, so I want to catch up. More so now that it seems like I'm here to stay. Because honestly, where else would he go? [ Plus, there are people here he cares deeply about. ] I'll behave and not confuse her much. But yes, we need to figure out that one. We can say we're twins, but sharing the same name is still an issue; I should come up with a different one to tell people when we're together. Less issues introducing ourselves.

[ He's not crazy about the idea, but since his twin has been here for longer, it's only fair that Five is the one that uses another name in public. ]

Do you remember what name Grace offered us?

Still, they're your things. But yes, that is a good idea. If you like that shop, so will I, undoubtedly.

[oldmanfive]

Sammy had his vet visit the day you returned. He's got a clean bill of health so far. Just so you know, I broke down and got all three animals chipped. So if they get lost, they can be returned to us.

[ Five's silent when his twin mentions using a different name around others. He doesn't like this idea. It doesn't feel right. ]

There has to be a better solution. Five is our name. It's one thing to use a fake name for missions, but this is our life.

[ He's so not onboard with this. He still thinks they can both be Five. Even with strangers. The boxer, George Foreman, named all five of his sons, George. They can both be Five. ]

Oh come on, things are just that things. We've spent more time having nothing. So I'm never going to mind if you use my stuff, since technically it is our stuff. [ He fully expects that if something happens to him that his counterpart can have everything he has managed to collect. And it isn't limited to the animals. In any case, he lets out a sigh. ] And well as far as the shop goes, they do a lot of custom fits for me. We're the same size. So that means it shouldn't be a problem for them to do some custom suits for you too.

[ghostphone]

No, I- that’s not… [He shakes his head, still frowning a little, staring down at his shoes.] it’s just, there’s been a few times when I really should have- [His lips roll together, he can’t even say it.] bu-but I didn’t? And… and it never made sense, you know? But… I dunno. Maybe this is why.

[n5]

A few times?

[ Five frowns at the implications of that, knowing very well what it means and not enjoying the thought one bit. He had always known Klaus to be reckless, but he assumed his most dangerous tendencies manifested in adulthood, not that he might have been dying already when he hadn't even reached 2 decades of life. ]

That might be why, yes. For what matters, I'm really happy you've got these powers. Less so that you had to make use of them that early. But considering how most of our siblings have the survival instinct of a pack of lemmings, I shouldn't be surprised.

[ There's another pause, as Five's considers what to say next. He's seen his family die way too many times, and he's exhausted.  He doesn't think his sanity could handle losing his teenage brother, even if temporarily. For once, he's going to be honest about it too. ]

Please, be more careful from now on? For the sake of my blood pressure. Or ask for help if you need it. There are two of me around. 

[the_arachnid]

Still alive and kicking.

I have at least four lint rollers in my room.

cw: suicidal ideation mentions, drugs/overdose

[ghostphone]

Yeah...? [His eyes widen a little at Five's surprise.] Is it really that shocking?

[Was his Klaus not always a little suicidal? Or, well- maybe he just missed a lot of the worst of it, since he disappeared through time when they were barely hitting their first, earliest teen years...

He shifts, uncomfortable with the conversation. It's not like it's something he boasts about or anything.]

I've OD'd before. That's all

[That's all, like it was something small, meaningless somehow.

He nods a little at the request.] 'Kay. Promise.

[And at least, in this second, he means that. Maybe he won't always, maybe he'll still end up hiding things he shouldn't just because of his own shames, but... he means it now, and that has to count for something, right?]

[n5]

Peter. [ The voice is fond and Five smiles briefly. He remembers you, spidey, and he's glad to see you. ] How's it hanging...?

[ Yes that's both a greeting and an awful joke. He's trying. ]

Could you lend me one?

[the_arachnid]

Hey, Five. Always good to see you.

[ Which he means wholeheartedly. ]

Do you want manual or automatic?