The next morning, Five had to wake up early for a job interview in town. It was easy to fake a decent resume and figured that if anyone asked, he would say most of the places he'd worked for previously had folded due to the recession. Besides, this was for a teaching job at a community college, not the Pentagon. He was sure there weren't too many hoops to jump through. He'd never imagined himself a teacher before, especially with his temper for foolishness. And he knew it was silly to be nervous, it was inevitable, but he really hoped he would get the job. He'd like to be able to provide an income for once, both legally and respectably. Yeah, it meant there'd be crap hours, but the pay was decent and the benefits were good, surely enough for him and Klaus to live off of comfortably. And that's all that really mattered.

He wasn't sure when his brother had become a permanent staple in the visions of his future, but he had. Five figured that had something to do with the fact that Klaus had taken to the domestic duties of the house - cooking, cleaning, doing the shopping. Inside though, he knew that wasn't the only reason. It was because Five liked seeing his amazing green eyes fluttering open every morning. He liked being blinded by his breathtaking smile the second he awoke and stretched out in a feline fashion. He liked hearing that primal groan building within him as he stretched and felt that beautiful burn in his loosening muscles. He liked having someone to greet him every morning with a 'hello' and 'how'd you sleep?'. To sip a cup of coffee with as they sat in a comfortable silence. And yes, he supposed it could be anyone in that position, if he wanted; he wasn't exactly hindered by his physical drawbacks anymore. The problem was beginning to be that he couldn't imagine anyone else in that role now but Klaus.

As he awoke, he realized he had another problem. He was flat on his back with Klaus completely draped over him, radiating enough heat that they'd thrown the covers off sometime in the night. He could see it, plain as day, the huge tent Five was sporting in his shorts... and close, so dangerously close, to it was Klaus' hand. He knew he was a light sleeper, so it would be almost impossible to move him without waking him, but Five knew he had to get up and get ready! Yet surprisingly, he was more worried about his brother catching him with an erection.

After a couple minutes of teetering between his options, he decided to just get up and run toward the bathroom as fast as he could. But as he went to move, he felt Klaus' fingers snake closer, wrapping around him and moving his hand achingly slow as he caressed up and down his length. Even through the thin fabric, it felt amazing. But realizing what was happening, Five's whole body stiffened, and he gasped. Hearing that, Klaus' eyes sprung open, and he shot away from him.

"Holy shit, dude! I'm so sorry. I totally forgot where I was for a second."

"Umm, yeah, it's... it's okay. I gotta..." Five replied awkwardly, pointing toward the bathroom. He didn't even grab clothes to change into, just bolted for the shower as quick as he possibly could.

Damn, he missed being able to teleport.

He felt better once the hot water was washing over his muscles, settling that ache buried there from years of neglect. His hands trailed down his chest, liking the feel of defined muscles actually there now, not just a hint of them under a layer of fading baby fat. He closed his eyes, thinking of that feel of Klaus' hand curling around him before mirroring that with his own. He began stroking slowly, a few pumps before his thumb barely grazed over the tip, but it was enough to raise a groan in his throat. He was trying to be quiet, which he realized was a harder feat than anticipated - already gasping, panting, moaning louder and louder the quicker the pace became. Suddenly, he found himself wishing that it was still his hand, twisting and tugging, wishing he could feel his skin, soft and silky as his fingers pinched his nipple lightly. As that feeling arose in the pit of his stomach, Five became fully aware that he was in there jacking off to his brother when he had to bite back his name as he came, sweet and sticky all over the shower wall.

He finished cleaning himself and stepped out, grabbing a towel and drying himself before wrapping it loosely around his lower half. He began heading back for the bedroom, when Klaus stopped him.

He stood stiffly, scratching at the back of his head nervously, before he said, "Hey, man. I just wanted to say, I know you gotta feel as awkward about that as I do. I am really sorry and... well, I'm going to go out to try and find a futon again today. Or maybe a bigger couch, even just a mattress to lay on the floor. I've been putting it off too long... obviously... and hey, I gotta start on my own room sometime, right?"

"You don't have to, if you don't want to." Five offered, protesting.

"No, I should. I really should." Klaus replied, eyes awkwardly darting to the floor. He tried to switch the topic by asking, "So, you want me to make you something for breakfast?"

"Uh, no, thanks. Not hungry." Five replied, feeling a bit dejected. He wasn't sure why. Klaus was right; he should get his own room eventually. However, he discovered he would certainly miss him being there, thinking of it more as their room now than his.


When he hopped in the car they were leasing, he noticed something in the passenger's seat. Klaus had packed him a lunch and left it with a note stapled to it that said, 'Good luck, Nicky! Love, V.' He realized Klaus must have made it while he was in the shower, and that somehow made it that much more endearing. That even after that unfortunate incident this morning, he still had thought enough about Five's day to do something like that for him.

Klaus could really be a sweetheart when he wanted to, but he could also be the biggest asshole ever. Five knew he could be too, but he wondered if he'd ever really did anything sweet for his brother like that. Sure, he stopped him from dying a few times, and they were affectionate enough to where Klaus knew Five cared about him. But he realized he'd never made some kind of little gesture like that, and certainly never a big one, to prove how much he really appreciated Klaus. He knew this was going to have to change, that he was going to have to change, but Five didn't know how to open up his heart to anyone. He figured it was something he would learn eventually, and he was kind of glad it would be Klaus to teach him how.


Five thought everything had gone well accordingly. The Dean had seemed thoroughly impressed with his credentials and how he'd held himself - confident but not cocky, intelligent but not unable to follow. In fact, he was so sure, he'd stopped for a bottle of wine to celebrate, for what he was positive, was his new job before he headed home.

However, the entirety of the ride back, he'd had this horrible feeling he just couldn't shake. Something inside him was screaming that there was something wrong. He knew he'd been pretty bummed about Klaus' decision to move into his own room, which was confusing the hell out of him, to be honest. He shouldn't want to share a bed with his brother. He shouldn't want him around all of the time. He shouldn't feel like there was a part of him missing when he was gone. And yes, he could see how that should feel wrong, but that wasn't it. This was something in the pit of his stomach, wrenching his gut and making him nauseated not knowing what it could be.

He flew home faster than ever before and when he opened the door, he called out for Klaus. There was no noise for a moment and panic set in, but after a few minutes, he finally heard a loud grunt from the kitchen in return. His stomach dropped. This wasn't just Klaus in one of his moods or him being too drunk, he knew those sounds. No, Klaus sounded in pain. Five was so scared, he found himself trying to blink in there before remembering he couldn't.

When he entered the kitchen, he found him sitting on the floor with a pack of frozen vegetables cradled to his eye and blood coming from his lower lip, a small cut in the left corner.

"Klaus? What the hell happened?"

"Oh, you know, the usual."

"This isn't usual. Tell me what the fuck happened!"

"To put it simply, brother dearest, I went into town and asked some guy at the bar if he knew where I could find a cheap bed by tonight. He mistook what I was saying as some kind of come on, so him and his buddies decided to beat the crap out of me. I guess it was understandable, now that I've reheard how I phrased it."

Five's eyes almost looked black, a feral response, as he asked, "Which bar? What'd they look like?"

"Relax. Someone called the cops, but I got the hell out of there and I'm pretty sure they did too." Klaus answered.

He thought it was kind of endearing how protective Five was being, not that he wasn't for all of his siblings. But before today, he'd never looked and saw a killer's rage there either. At least not paired with a thirty-year-old muscular body that could pull it off with ease.

"Well, I'll get names! Addresses! I'm going to find out who did this!" Five yelled but saw Klaus cringe at the volume of his voice.

"Can you just... not? Please?" he whined, quietly.

Five's hard shell broke at that moment, seeing a vulnerability he wasn't used to seeing in Klaus' eyes. He knelt down and put the other's arm around his shoulders, feeling him trembling underneath his touch. He instinctively tried to pull him closer, wanting to protect him, shield him from the pain, but Five heard him hiss instead, accidentally causing more. That could only mean his ribs were bruised too.

He gently grabbed the pack away, trying to assess the damage before moving to lift him to his feet. "Okay, come on. We gotta get you cleaned up."

"It's okay, Five. It's not that bad."

"I'll decide that for myself." he said, before adding, "And put that back on your eye."

"Yes, sir." Klaus replied, sarcastically, but Five couldn't deny he kind of liked hearing it.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he took him into the bathroom and sat him on the toilet seat lid. He tugged the sides of Klaus' shirt up, faltering only for a second because of how tight the material was, but Five cursed himself when a blush rose in his cheeks. That quickly faded to a look of concern when he saw bruises splattered over pale skin, his ribs sickening shades of dark reds and purples. His fingers graced over them tenderly, but Klaus still moaned out in pain, making Five's anger that much harder to hide.

A question then popped in his head, "Wait, how'd you get home?"

"Hitched a ride."

Five grabbed his shoulders a bit too roughly, as he asked, "What the hell!? Why didn't you call me?"

"You had that important interview today! I wasn't going to mess that up." Klaus answered, cowering down like a hurt puppy, like he used to do their father.

"Damn it, Klaus! What if something even worse happened to you? What if..."

"I know, okay!?" Klaus yelled, cutting him off as he threw the frozen pack down and rolling his eyes as best he could. "I'm an idiot, a fuck up. I make the stupidest decisions possible. I've heard all of this before, you know."

"You're not an idiot." Five answered softly, easing his stance. He grabbed a washcloth and wet it, dabbing it lightly against his eye, trying to clean the dirt and debris away. He held it there briefly, as he added, "Well, you are an idiot, but... not like Dad thought."

"Thanks, I guess." he replied, meekly looking at the floor, his head filling with self-conscious thoughts by the second.

Five grabbed the sides of his face as best he could without hurting him and brought his gaze to meet with his, "The only reason you are an idiot, Klaus, is because even after all of this shit we've been through, you still can't understand... it doesn't matter what's going on. You can always call me if you need help, okay? Always. I love you."

He stared, searching Five's eyes for a semblance of deception but had only found honesty. His brother wasn't exactly known for articulating his feelings well, especially when it came to his siblings. In fact, Klaus couldn't remember the last time he had ever said those words to him.

Awestruck by the magnitude of it all, his forehead met Five's carefully, mindful of his own black eye, as he replied, "I love you too."

That fluttering feeling inside him ascended into Five's chest, overwhelming him so much he'd lost his footing. He tried to play it off as if he was just grabbing the antiseptic to continue what he was doing, but it was too dramatic an action and his breath was coming out fast and shaky now. He had never felt nerves like this before. But... why was he nervous? This was just Klaus. They'd cleaned each other's wounds plenty of times before, told each other they loved one another (hadn't they?), but somehow, he knew that things were different now.

Trying to distract himself from these thoughts, he asked, "Hey, do we have bandages or anything? I'll probably have to wrap your ribs up; they're pretty bad."

"In the cabinet above me." Klaus replied.

Five grabbed everything and began wrapping them slowly, trying to be as gentle as he could against the sensitive skin. Every time Klaus hissed in pain, he flinched too, hating that he had to be the one to cause it. He stayed focused on the task at hand though, satisfied that they would hold until he could go get more. He'd done a good job but gotten so focused on the task that he had just noticed the tears on his brother's face.

He wiped them away tenderly, voice soft as he asked, "I know we don't have any pain killers yet, but is there anything else that might help? Warm bath, maybe?"

"No." Klaus said, "Just finish so I can go lie down, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. Whatever you want."

When he was sure he'd found all the other injuries Klaus hadn't noticed yet, a few scrapes on his back and elbows, he led him to the bedroom and found him some clean clothes. He began laying them out on a chair when he heard Klaus whisper his name, softly. When he turned, he found him with an arm out, reaching toward him.

"Can you just forget all that? Come lay down." he said, "Please."

He sighed, in faux exasperation, replying, "As you wish."

Five knew that Klaus would appreciate the reference, one of his favorite movies being The Princess Bride. In fact, he was sure the character of Wesley was the guy who kickstarted Klaus' homoerotic fantasies as a child. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best thought to put in his brother's head before he was about to climb in bed next to him, but it was already done now. Besides, Klaus needed him; that's all that mattered at that moment.

He kicked off his shoes and socks, took off his tie and squeezed himself behind the other, guiding him back so he wouldn't further aggravate any of his injuries as he laid down. His bare back was now cold against Five's thin dress shirt and as their feet tangled together, cold toes on his ankle making Five gasp in shock. He almost laughed; he now realized it was the same sound that came out of him that morning when his brother had accidently groped him. And now there he was, playing footsie with him a few hours later.

He had one arm tucked under his head, the other was rubbing up and down Klaus' arm in a lame attempt at comfort. Five was never good at that, but it seemed he didn't need to be. Klaus showed him what he wanted as he grasped Five's hand and laced their fingers together, ducking his head to place a gentle kiss against his knuckles. Five took this as an opportunity to reciprocate, placing a delicate kiss to the back of Klaus' head and enjoying the tickle of his curls against his nose when he did.


He awoke a few hours later, not sure when they'd both dozed off. He did know that Klaus was still asleep, and who could blame him after that ordeal? He needed to rest. Five decided he should do something nice for him and go pick up some dinner. He then decided to grab something a lot stronger than wine, alcohol being the next best thing to a pain pill, which he knew Klaus was in desperate need of. Small steps, but he was sure his brother would be happy.

He returned with some Chinese takeout, putting the food in the microwave and a bottle of rum in the freezer, but when he went to go check on his brother, he found the bed empty. Dread washed over him, eyes scanning desperately for any indicator of where he'd gone. He eased, a chuckle escaping his mouth when he heard a thump coming from the bathroom and found him on the toilet, Klaus having a hard time standing again.

His face was flushed with embarrassment, but he was certainly happy to see him, as he said, "Ahh, there you are! You want to give me a hand here?"

"Not wiping, right?"

Klaus flipped him off before yelling, "Come on, man! You know I can't get up!"

Five then understood how hard it must have been for Klaus to make it back there on his own. He hoped the person that gave him a ride earlier would have been decent enough to help him walk to the door or get inside, but he knew it was never smart to assume the good in people. He'd been in similar situations before and pictured Klaus having to endure that same pain, crawling on his hands and knees up to the front door, praying as he searched his pockets for the key. He imagined his whole body shaking with agony, trying not to pass out as he finally made it inside. He closed his eyes, his thoughts hard to digest, before taking a deep breath and going to help him stand.

He said, "I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm truly sorry, Klaus. I feel horrible."

"It's alright, as long as you brought food. If not, then you're a dick, dear."

"Of course I did." Five smiled, faintly. "Food and booze."

He smiled in return, exclaiming, "My hero!"

Klaus already had one arm around his shoulders but circled the other around the front, like he was expecting Five to pick him up bridal style.

"If I'm your hero, does that make you my damsel in distress?" Five asked, scooping him up into his arms much to the other's surprise. He eyed Klaus over before jokingly adding, "Well, I guess I could do worse."

Klaus scoffed, "Oh, you got hot when you grew up, but I'm still way out of your league."

The color left his face as soon as he'd realized he had said it, mentally cursing at his stupidity. He didn't know what had brought that on. And after what had happened earlier, he was dreading how Five could be handling it. He thought of ways to try to play it off, but Five heard it, and he knew he had.

But instead of freaking out like Klaus expected, Five smirked and replied, "You wish.", before placing him down as they reached the living room, "Now, come on. I'll grab the food. Think you can make it to the couch?"

Klaus eased and returned his grin, only four feet to the loveseat, replying, "I think I'll manage."

He was definitely suspecting he'd sustained a head wound during the beating; there was no other explanation. That had to be the reason for what he'd said and all the dirty thoughts he was having as he watched Five in the kitchen. He was reaching up to grab the shot glasses from the top shelves, pants riding low over a cut groin, his shirt was only held together by a few buttons, muscles of a six-pack peeking out from behind the sheer material. His skin was gorgeously tan even in that hideous florescent lighting, and Klaus couldn't help but to think what that skin would feel like if he'd really got his hands on it that morning, with no material there to hinder the experience.

"No offense, but there was nothing better than rum?" Klaus asked, trying to shake those thoughts away, as he watched more food containers than they'd be able to finish being laid out on the table before him.

"Oh, this from the guy who will drink mouthwash to get a buzz? Shut up! It was this or Crown Royal. I love whiskey, but that shit tastes like gasoline."

"Fair enough, but if I start talking like a pirate, it's your own fault."

Five wasn't sure why the mental image of Klaus dressed like that turned him on so bad, but it did. Tight leather pants, an open, white ruffled shirt flowing in the wind... Honestly, it wasn't too different than how he normally looked, but alas, it was still a mental image good enough to save for later.

He grabbed the bottle and poured them both their first shot. The glass clinked together, and they downed them fast and hard, faces contorting to the cheap burn and unfamiliar taste. He set up two more, handing Klaus his, and did the same. Enjoying the quick buzz, they then spent awhile sampling random menu items, deciding which was their favorite.

"Oh, man. You gotta try this." he said, picking up a piece of the honey walnut shrimp and offering it out. Klaus' lips were still tinged pink in the corner where they couldn't seem to wash the blood away, somehow making it that much sexier to Five as he accepted it with an almost obscene moan, considering it was only food. It seemed as though Klaus was teasing him, the way his lips slipped off the end of those chopsticks in a way that could only make him imagine them on his dick, and Five almost wanted to drop the food to the ground and take him right there.

He knew he couldn't though; Klaus was injured. It wouldn't be right. Not to mention all the other more obvious reasons that this would only have to be a fantasy of his. He decided to pour some more shots and hope Klaus hadn't noticed his glazed over stare a second ago.

"You read my mind." Klaus said, taking his glass and clinking it against Five's.

All Five could think was 'Thank god you can't read mine.'

After a bit more food and lot more booze, the two sat on the couch, comfortably lounging back as best as Klaus could, given the state he was in. They were both giggling, not sure who'd started it or even why, but every time he tried to tell Klaus to stop, they would both just start again. Five knew it couldn't be good for his ribs though. If his were sore from all of this, he knew Klaus' had to be killing him, which was proven when he began letting out sounds that were halfway between snickers and sobs.

Hearing that made the cackles subside. Five put his hand on Klaus' cheek, forcing him to look at him. "I don't know how, but you have to stop. You're hurting yourself."

Klaus' deep breathing was becoming rather painful, and the more he focused on that pain, the more the laughter subsided. Five's hands dropped to his shoulders but their gaze remained, more intense every second - an electricity in the air between them, a spark that was waiting to catch fire, and they both could feel it.

"Won't be the stupidest thing I do tonight."

Five didn't even have time to process the words before lips smashed to his.