It's been just over one week since then.
It's almost as if Luther and Five are strangers in the house.
Luther eats meals by himself, sometimes just as he's about to leave the table Five will enter and Grace will prepare him a plate. The boys will nod in acknowledgement to each other and that will be the only interaction they have for the day.
Luther goes about his days like he did. Finding meaningless activities to fill his days, things he had always wanted to do in the small window of time they had always had for recreation on Saturdays. Since everyone had moved out Reginald had stopped pushing Luther to train or do any kind of schooling. If Luther was really bored he'd go to their makeshift gym and hit on punching bags until they burst.
And he wouldn't see Five. At all. His brother had shut himself in his room and didn't talk to anyone. Sometimes Luther would stop by his door and listen real hard to see if he heard Five talking to himself like he used to when they were kids.
They were strangers living in the same home. Plain and simple.
It had really all started though as Luther trying to give Five space. He knew he needed to adjust to being back home. Luther wasn't sure what had happened to his brother but he knew it must have been awful. Trapped somewhere and unable to get home to his family. But then after a while Luther realized that Five had shut him out. He picked up on it one night when he tried to talk to Five but the other had completely ignored him. A very stark contrast to the Five at breakfast a week ago. The one who was laughing along with their sister about the past.
Luther didn't know what to do. He didn't know Five anymore. And he hated it. But what could he do? He's always been the leader first and the brother second. Another thing he hated. But it was all in the past and he couldn't fix it now.
He lay awake in his bed, looking up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling as he thought about it all. There had to be something he could do. Something to fix it. Something to reconnect with the brother he lost. He had just been miserable that he was all alone in such a big house and now here they were. But they were strangers.
He's tossed out of his thoughts when a sound he thought he had forgotten distracts him. Luther rolls over onto his side and in the dim lighting sees someone who a week ago he would have thought was a ghost. He would have questioned if he and Klaus had suddenly swapped powers.
But they hadn't. Five was there, standing in the glow of Luther's bedside lamp like it was a spotlight.
"Still sleep with this thing?" He chastises.
Luther looks at the lamp and then at Five. "Shut up." Because it was embarrassing. He didn't know where it came from but he was afraid to sleep in the dark. He was always nervous there would be something there or someone could hide in the shadows. He was very thankful that tonight he hadn't tried to sleep with just the light from his window. Five would have probably given him a heart attack.
"Your models look good." Five's voice is so monotone it doesn't sound real. "There's a lot more than there were last time I was in here." He doesn't even look around. He just stares at Luther but it's not even eye contact just – at him.
"What do you want?" Luther says, confusion written in the faint lines on his face and furrowed brow. Five was talking a lot and he sort of wanted to sleep. Not that he was doing much of that anyway.
Five says nothing. He's still as a statue as he looks Luther up and down. It unnerves the blonde and he wishes that his brother would do something instead of standing there like some eerie phantom deciding on whether or not to collect his soul.
Finally, after what seems like forever, Five speaks, "Scoot over." He commands. And Luther does as he's told. Not really sure why but he doesn't question it.
No words pass between them as Luther moves and he doesn't even say anything when Five moves the blankets to lay down next to his brother.
And it's quiet again. Luther stays on his side and watches Five get comfortable on his back. He stares up at the ceiling and Luther watches Five.
He realizes that Five is still wearing most of uniform.
This close Luther begins to pick apart how different they are.
For starters Five is much smaller.
Luther grew like a weed in height and with his ability his muscles got larger, not significantly but enough that it was noticeable. Even after being apart for five years, Five seemed to have not grown much. He was just over a quarter shorter than Luther.
Five's hair was brown and Luther's was blonde. Though one time Luther cut his really short and it was very dark. However now his bangs were almost in his eyes. He'd have to cut it again soon.
They were also different in personality and mannerisms as well.
Five was far more confident and more intelligent the way Luther saw it. He was also defiant and much braver. He always seemed like he knew what he was doing. Luther on the other hand would question himself often. He followed orders and hardly ever stepped out of line if he could help it. He was so self conscious and wouldn't always classify himself as brave.
The only thing they seemed to have in common were their eyes. They were the only two in the family with clear blue eyes. Allison, Diego, Ben, and Vanya all had brown and Klaus had a green kind of color. But the two of them had blue.
For the second time that evening Luther's train of thought is thrown off by the sound of Five's voice.
"I'm sorry." He says, and he sounds so apologetic that Luther wonders if he's about to get up and leave, or maybe teleport out. So Luther takes a moment to respond until he's sure Five isn't going anywhere just yet.
"For what?" Luther finally questions.
"I didn't want to be alone."
Five's face changes from considering flight to one of desperation, like he doesn't want to go but he's still afraid Luther is going to push him away.
"I spent five years in an awful post-apocalyptic nightmare. Alone. And then I come home and I force myself to continue being that way. I don't want that anymore. I'm- I'm scared of the silence now Luther."
Five sounds so sad and Luther's heart breaks. He understands how his brother feels. In that moment, Luther wants to fill any second of silence and loneliness Five could ever have in his life ever. Because he knows how awful the silence is. How being all alone feels so helpless. It was deafening.
"I sorry if you don't want me here. I just- I couldn't take it anymore and I didn't know where to go." Five says and he moves as if he's about to get up to leave but Luther reaches out and grabs his arm, making him stay. In that moment where he thought Five was about to leave him he got scared. Because now that he wasn't alone he didn't want to lose the company.
"Stay," he says, and Five turns his head and they make eye contact. Suddenly something that felt like was missing in Luther feels like it has returned. He can't fully describe the feeling and he doesn't even understand it. "I know. When everyone moved out the house got so quiet. We're not so different."
With the reassurance, Five seems to get comfortable again. He scoots closer to Luther and Luther lets him, getting comfortable himself. And then Five yawns, eyes fluttering. He looks like he hasn't slept in forever and Luther is pretty sure the shadows on Five's eyes aren't shadows and are instead dark circles that are the tell of many sleepless nights.
If Luther is honest he hasn't exactly slept well in the past few days either. He'd have to ask five about it in the morning. He was already falling asleep himself.
A/N:
So I found out last night that Aidan actually has green eyes and I got super mad because that kinda ruined the moment that I had for them. And Jensen Ackles- who I use as my FC for an older Five- also has green eyes and I just - oof guys.
BUT this /is/ fanfiction after all so lets pretend it's that way for the sake of the fic yeah? Aidan stans who care about that stuff can suck it (jk guys ily I'm sorry but I'd like for it to be this way)
