6 years ago
Diego was returning from a surprisingly tranquil time at Eudora's when he saw the junkie. Ragged and disheveled, the middle aged man with long dirt blond hair was trying to ask for change to the people that happened to pass by him. He wasn't being aggressive or pushy, simply trying to silvertongue some coins out of anyone who might fall for it, but Diego felt an immediate and disproportionate spark of anger in his chest. He was heading that way regardless, but he walked with a purpose and waited for his turn to be approached. As soon as the man opened his mouth, Diego grabbed him by the collar and pushed him back against the wall of the nearest building, much to the man's shock.
"Whoa, man! What the-"
"Scram the streets and leave people alone, you hear me?"
"I ain't stealing or anything! I was just askin-"
Diego shoved him free. "Beat it."
The man straightened back up and stumbled on his feet as he went. Diego was persuasive enough with just that display of force, and the junkie might be entering withdrawal but he was a scrawny guy and Diego wasn't. He could hear the man cursing all sorts of words, but it wasn't enough to make Diego pursue him further. The junkie still peeked over his shoulder a while later to check if Diego was still there, and was subsquently fast to turn a corner.
Diego breathed out and resumed his way, trying to push the itching annoyance away, but his mind wasn't as susceptible to his own intimidation as other people were. Of course, it didn't really take him much effort at all to put a name to the source of this specific outburst. He hadn't seen Klaus for years now, and it likely seemed they wouldn't meet again anytime soon. From time to time, he'd catch a glimpse of someone and wonder if there was more to the casual resemblance, but so far Diego hadn't really approached familiar-looking junkies on the street to make sure which one of them might be Klaus.
The last time he had actually seen Klaus had been enough: the flashy outfit he had been wearing identified him even before Diego could catch a glimpse of his face as he ran down the opposite street where Diego had been standing, running away from two cops while holding something clearly stolen in his arms. The scene had been just like so many that made Diego reach for his knifes immediately, but the surprise of seeing who the thief was made him hesitate, and by the time he could decide who he'd aim them at, both Klaus and the policemen had disappeared from sight.
Diego scoffed at the mere memory. He didn't like to think on Klaus - or any of them, for that matter - but any assumptions on his condition these days were as depressing as they were possible. Despite everything, Klaus was his little brother, the sole remaining one after Five and Ben were gone. To think that insufferable (but once so caring) idiot could be laying wasted on the next corner or with an IV tube needled to his arm or shoved in a prison cell made that long-dorment protective instinct trigger somewhere in Diego, only to be immediately smothered by a harsh contempt. For Klaus, for Five and Ben, Luther and Allison and even Vanya. Victims, all of them, either helpless or willing to stay that way. He wanted nothing to do with any of them.
.