#the thought of hearing fucking gravel crunching in a parking lot if i go anywhere makes me wanna lose it let alone anything else

[puppysdog]

i actually dont know how im supposed to do tomorrow if i cant even do tonight :(

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Emp-ire “Anti-Alliance.”

So my schedule at work has been really weird lately, so I apologize for the weird posting schedule and if things seem a little cramped. I am trying to keep upon my posting, but it has been rather difficult recently.

I hope you all enjoy :)

He hadn’t thought that Spartans were normally meant for stealth with their red cloaks, bright red feathers, and pockmarked golden shields, but he had been wrong before. The ground below them was rocky even as they ducked and dodged through the large boulder field that marked the edge of a wide white salt flat.

From a distance it wouldn’t have looked all that interesting accept for familiar pockmarks in the ground, which he recognized to be evidence left behind from the landing struts of shuttles. His head was still reeling over the idea that there was any sort of Anti-GA resistance. Yeah he knew there were the isolationists and others who did not agree with their cooperation with alien lifeforms, but the idea that people would go to such lengths as to sell weapons to each other was nearly mind boggling.

He would have understood if the government were at all…. Oppressive, and granted there had been a few times when the GA hadn’t gotten it right, especially when it came to the whole LFIL business, but things had been rectified, and there were good relations all across the galaxy. Is only other thought is that maybe the people blamed the GA for the invasion of Earth, though how that could have been called an invasion was beyond him.

Most of the Burg had died within the first few minutes of landing on the planet, and there had only been one reported casualty in the entirety of Mericanda, that being a frail old lady who had seen the Burg from a distance and died of a heart attack related to shock, which he hardly thought counted.

Things were going good for them. In the history of humanity things had honestly never been better, so why someone would want to go and screw that up was beyond him.

But you couldn’t make everyone happy.

He slid into place next to James, the king of Sparta, and Xanthia, the queen, A they poked their heads over the rocks.

James had pulled off his helmet and handed it to Xanthia as he peered over the rock.

“What are we doing here?” Adam muttered as he glanced between a set of rocks and towards the deserted salt field. His bare knee ached from where he knelt on the partial gravel. The leather skirts may have been nice for the mediteranian climate, but he still missed wearing pants. He switched to his other knee, the fake one, so he might be more comfortable.

“My operatives in Athens recently sent me a report detailing this as the place where the anti-alliance ships have been landing.”

“Spies? But that doesn’t seem-”

“Not very Spartan of me? Well Adam, just because we took some inspiration from Ancient sparta doesn’t mean we do everything exactly like they did, besides Spartans were at war far more often than us?”

“Speaking of which, do you guys actually fight anyone?”

“Under GA law, we generally don’t, but the Anti-alliance scumbags work outside the law, and based on some of their actions, which have in the past included slave trafficking, I have taken it upon myself to dispatch a few of them. And no one has gone to the government about my activities because if they did, they would have to explain what they were doing in the first place.’

He gripped his spear tighter, ‘And as technical royalty, I am allowed, by law, mind you to police my own planet.”

Ramirez had schooted up next to them crouched low, using his spear to help him crawl over the rocks.

James nodded to him and he nodded back.

“What are you planning on doing.”

“Well, first of all, since you are here, I want to give you proof of what I have been saying all along, and then maybe you will understand better what is going on here. I want you to see that I’m not just some kind of tyrant trying to get rid of people who disagree with me.” he pointed towards the salt flat, “I really believe that these people need to be removed, but It would take a lot off my conscience if you knew that as well.”

Queen Xanthea raised her head, lips pressing together slightly.

Adam had a feeling that even if he did agree, the queen wasn’t likely to stop anytime soon.

The troop of spartan soldiers crouched behind the rocks with a stiff breeze blowing through them.

Adam had grown immune to mild temperature discomfort since his training had begun, and barely even noticed the early morning chill that rolled over him. Glancing out the corner of his eye, he noticed Ramirez and another one of the young spartans crouching close together, almost touching, sharting body heat.

He shook his head slightly.

Leave it to Ramirez to land a fling with a Spartan.

He turned his head back to the salt field, and was surprised to find movement on the far side.

The Spartans grew very quiet as they watched across the open plante to where a group of people had just emerged from the rocks.

A few of them were dressed like simple athenians in their tunics or togas, but there were a few more dressed in flight suits, looking very out of place on the Grecian landscape. Adam cocked his head trying to hear better, and watched as the king of the Spartains tilted his head and pressed into the skin below his ear. 

Adam forgot that the Spartan King also had a military grade translation implant and data chip installed just like everyone else. 

And also that he had one too, and therefore could amplify the sound.

He followed the Spartain’s lead and was just able to pick up the tail end of a conversation.

“We are moving them to the market on A1-36.”

“The GA has presence there don’t they/”

“It’s just a supply waystop for them, they don’t actually go in.”

“You know how the GA feels about slave trade.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what the GA thinks about the slave trade, without it we wouldnt be able to pay the damn Kree.” He snorted, “Little bastards upped their price after the war, and now we are having to pay them double for being involved.”

“Why are we even doing this? We haven’t gotten anywhere, too small time to really even make a dent.”

Their leader turned to glower at them, “All big operations started out small-time. Now shut the hell up, and stop bitching. We have work to do.” 

There was a roaring in the sky overhead, and the group turned their eyes up towards the great blue vastness as they watched a silver distortion roll like a hazy wave through the atmosphere. Adam didn’t even realize what it was until the shuttle touched down, and noted the reflective skin covering it’s hull.

It was a pretty clever if low-budget trick, though they didn’t need anything more high-tech on a planet that didn’t really seem to use technology in the first place.

The door to the shuttle hissed open, and a group of men stepped out dressed in black flight suits.

A few of them carried weapons, though the vast majority of them were armed with only batons.

While the distribution of firearms was common on earth, and an estimated 65% of the population owned one for personal use, the ability to get your hands on a human grade firearm in space was a little harder.

The GA had strict regulations on the movement of weapons through intergalactic airspace, and you had to have permits out the ass to even own one.

However, since when did laws ever stop criminals?

He doubted that any of these men actually had a permit, which was an arrestable violation to begin with, though he had more than enough probable cause to arrest these men anyway. 

He stayed put however, and waited for the scene to unfold before them as the group of men stepped down onto the salt, their boots crunching against the ground looking around nervously at the rocks.

If these men had had any REAL military equipment on them, their shuttle would have been able to detect the heat signatures of the company of Spartans crouched in the rocks, but even so, no one had noticed them, and they wanted with bated breath as the group of men met up with each other.

“Parked her in low orbit, sir.”

“Good, then let's get things going before anyone has the chance to notice. The damned Neo-Spartan bastards have been giving me trouble. I have had to change shuttle sites three times in the past month. I have a feeling those assholes have spies with the Athenians, though I can’t prove anything.”

“There are no spies, that’s not how the spartans work.” One of the Athenians piped in.

The man turned to look at the speaker, “Then your men are just Fucking incompetent because how else do the spartans seem to know where we are at every turn.” He kicked at the salt sending up a wave of white flecks into the air, “The Damned Spartan King and his and his stupid skirt-wearing, oily, dog shagging bastards showing up every damn time I try to do anything around here.”

The group stood around watching as their leader threw his little fit.

Behind the stones, the skit-wearing oily bastards grinned a little at each other. 

Adam bared his teeth.

He already didn’t like this guy, though the man didn’t exactly make it difficult to hate him.

“Whatever, just get them on the dam shuttle so they aren’t my problem anymore. All the wining and complaining and bitching. You were stupid enough to get caught now they can suffer the consequences.”

Adam had met psychopaths in the past, and even though the last one had totally tried to kill him, he was still pretty sure he liked that one better. This guy was much, much worse.

He talked too much.

And that was coming from Adam, the kind of talking too much.

His hand tightened around the shaft of his spear as he moved into position with the other spartans.

The kind nodded back towards the rest of the group, and then quietly engaged the shielding over the metal faces of their shiels. They had spears and the enemy had bullets, not that that would matter once they got within stabbing range, but until ten, it was a good idea to have some cover.

There was a soft shuffling from the other side of the valley, and a group of chained prisoners were walked out onto the salt. Most of them were alien, Tesraki, and Finnari, but a few of them were human. Adam’s stomach clenched as he noted that most of the human prisoners were wide eyed young women.

His teeth ground together in anger, and beside him he could feel the tensing of muscles from the other Spartans as they responded similarly.

James cracked his knuckles and Xanthia pulled her short sword.

That was an odd thing about her, she didn’t seem all that interested in the use of spears, but he HAD seen her use her two short swords before, and boy was it a sight.

These men were in for a wold of hurt.

Adam looked to James who nodded back at him.

This was clearly enough proof for them.

The Spartan’s shifted as one unit to the balls of their feet, pulling out their spears and adjusting their shields on their left arms.

Adam scooted up next to James on his left, and Ramirez covered Adam’s left in return. 

Their shields hummed  softly with the faint blue pusing of the shields.

James raised his spear, and the men waited on bated breath as the prisoners were brought out further onto the salt. The men with guns were turned away, their focus pulled to the chained prisoners who whimpered pitifully as they were dragged over the salt.

James thrust his spear into the air.

The men did not let out a war cry like they had practiced on so many occasions before, but they went running as silently as possible at full tilt across the salt, keeping in tight formation with each other as they did.

The prisoners noticed them first, and then the gunman allerted to their rapid approach by the clattering of shields and spears. They turned with shocked expressions on their faces just in time to be bowled to the ground by a wave of bodies and metal.

Adam rammed into one of the gunmen hearing the subsonic crack of the rifle as a bullet tore into the salt near his feet. He slammed the man to the ground with his shield. And then raise it just in time to deflect another bullet. Before he could take care of the next man, Xanthia was already there. The cything of her sword caught the man in the wrist completely severing his hand, then she kicked him hard in the chest causing him to fly back over the stone. Blood pooled in crimson puddles against the white salt as the group of Spartans hurried to surround the cowering prisoners.

Adam put his back to them and crouched low behind his shield spear at the ready.

He looked around in the confusion, and saw the slimy little rat running the operation as he clawed his way up the nearest incline and away from the fighting.

He bared his teeth in anger, before turning to shout to someone to take care of him, but it was just at that moment that a horn blast somewhere in the distance.

The group of them turned to look…. As a wave of Athenian soldiers came roaring over the hill.

***

“SHIELDS!” He heard James shout, and crouched down, interlocking the large round shield with the men on his left and right. Behind him, Ramirez was suddenly at his shoulder spear at the ready. Another man behind him locked a shield in palace over Adam’s.

At their backs, the mall group of prisoners cowered together in fear as they were surrounded by the spartan shield wall.

“BRACE1” James shouted, and Adam dug his sandals into the dirt.

The first wave of Athenian soldiers crashed against them, and the shield wall racked back absorbing the impact.

“PUSH!” Came the shout and with a heave of his legs and his back Adam slammed the shield forward pushing the Athenian soldiers back a good two feet, a few of them stumbled to the ground. He opened the shield just enough for Ramirez to lunge forward, stabbing outward at the first line of Athenian soldiers catching one in the stomach before pulling back behind the shield wall.

They turtles up again as the Athenians slammed against them one more time, and again they held, Throwing  them back with a powerful push which sent them sprawling to the ground.

The Athenian line broke.

WIth screams and cries of fear the scattered as the Spartans broke from their shield wall and charged into the frey.

Adam and Ramirez roared out together.

Adam clobbered one of the Athenians with his shield knocking him to the ground for Ramirez to finish off. He thrust his spear forward and waist height, impaling one man straight through the stomach and out his back. The Athenian looked almost surprised as he was thrown to the ground, a hole torn straight through him.

Adam had no time to think about what he had just done, as he stepped over the man’s body to meet another.

This time his spear caught the man in the throat. He knocked the body to the side, and use the reverse end of his spear to turn and take a man who had been sneaking up behind Ramirez.

Blood painted the white ground red as the short pitched battle came to a head.

James and Xanthia fell into step beside Ramirez and Adam and together they washed through the battlefield like a tidal wave of destruction. Adam caught one man’s swords on the haft of his spear, and james darted in, taking the man between the ribs with the point of his own weapon. Behind them Xanthai and Ramirez held their backs, chasing the enemy away from the cowering prisoners.

Adam took a cut high on his cheek feeling warm blood run in slow trickles down his face to drizzle onto his collarbone.

The shield protected his unarmed torso as he roared into another line of men batting them back.

After all the raining he had done with the spartans, these men were barely worth a match, especially since he had trained in the spear against creatures with four arms instead of two.

An athenian charged at him, and he ducked low, catching them in the upper legs and waist with his shield before heaving with his legs and back, sending them up and over his head with a wail and straight into Ramirez’s spear.

He was surrounded by at least three men in the second moment.

One was blocked with his shield, one with his spear, and he kicked the other directly in the chest sanding him spinning backward and away.

He plowed painfully into the ground.

Adam ducked to the side as the man’s sword cut past his arm, cutting his friend in the thigh. He let the spear drop through his hands, caught it near the end and drew the spike right into the man’s face.

There was a brutal crack but he didn’t stop to look as he spun, pulled back his spear, catching it on the balance point in the middle and threw it with unerring accuracy into the chest of the second man no ten feet away.

He fell to the ground sputtering as Adam ran forward and tore the spear from his chest.

He spun, but there was no one there to fight.

Lowering his spear, he stopped to look around at the carnage and blood that drenched the ground.

The Spartans were finishing off the Athenians who had attacked them and Adam lifted his head to find Xanthia dragging the rat from back down the hill. He had a horrible gash across his face, and was bleeding profusely down his front. Adam tried not to look at the bodies that littered the ground below his feet and hurried to join James ashe marched forward, 

Xanthia threw the man to the ground, and Adam and James both stepped over the body as he lay in the dirt.

“Been a hot minute since I last saw you.” James said casually as he bent don to look the rat in the eye.

The man snarled at him.

James shook his head, and then pointed at Adam, “Do you know this man?”

He turned his head to look up at Adam. At first there was no recognition, and then his eyes widened in shock and horror.

“Exactly, now the GA knows about your little group, and sanctioned what we have done here today. You have taken slaves which is the highest offence of the GA. You attacked A GA officer, and I would continue adding to the list, but we might be here all day.”

The man just stared at him with his cold dark eyes.

James leaned a little closer spear in one hand.

A cry of pain broke through their little conversation, and they all turned to look in that direction unconsciously.

Adam gave the credit to his mechanical eye for catching the movement.

The rat had taken the opportunity and launched forward drawing a small blade from his belt, aimed straight at James’s throat. Adam, reacting as fast as he could dove forward, shoving James out of the way.

He staggered and hit the ground. The little blade missed its mark but impeded itself high in Adam’s shoulder.

His adrenaline was pumping so hard that he barely even noticed as he turned and slugged the rat in the face. He hit the ground, eyes rolled back in his head. Xanthia reacted only a moment after him. Her swords to the man’s throat but he was already incapacitated.

James turned over into an upright sitting position, staring back at Adam with a look of surprise.

Adam glanced down at his shoulder, and here the small two inch knife was sticking.

It would have been devastating had the man had caught James in the throat, but as it was Adam would probably only need a few stitches.

Xanthia kicked the man in the ribs, and he grunted in pain.

James slowly stood, “You saved my life.”

Adam shrugged, “You would have done the same.” he rested his spear over his shoulder, “Either way, I will want to make a call to the GA and let them know what happened. This is a bit more serious than I had expected.’

James nodded in agreement.

***

Adam and Ramirez stood at the edge of the dock watching as the boat slowly drifted into position.

A group of Spartans stood around them.

Ramirez was off saying goodby to his “friend” and Adam was standing with Xanthia and James.

“It was a pleasure to fight with you, Admiral. It’s a real pity that we can’t keep you and your Marine longer.”

He nodded in agreement, “I wish we could stay as well.” He clasped the other man’s hand, “Keep in touch, it would be a pleasure to fight with you again, plus, I have a couple of aliens I think you would like to meet.”

James smiled, “Any alien that trained you how to fight like that would be welcome.”

He paused and then, Dropped the shield from his arm.

He held his spear and shield out to Adam, “Here, take these.”

Adam looked at him in surprise, at the well worn haft of the spear, and the dented golden metal of the shield, “I, but your weapons…”

“I can fight with any spear and shield, but you saved my life. Maybe one day, these will save yours and we can call each other even.” 

The boat docked.

Ramirez walked over to stand with Adam and together the two of them stepped onto the deck.

Behind them the spartans raised their weapons punching them into the air three times with matching shouts as the King of Sparta saluted them.

Ramirez and Adam saluted back as the rowers began to pull the boat away from the dock.

He was going to miss those men and women.

But now he had to leave, with the knowledge that the anti-alliance was out there.

Hopefully at least, there would be men like the Neo-spartans and their king to keep men like that at bay.

[gvf-imagine]

The sweater part 2

(Josh x reader)

Trigger warning: domestic abuse!

Josh ended up texting you later that night, or technically , the next morning around 3 am. He just wanted to make sure you made it home ok, which you thought was very sweet of him. It had been a few days since you met him at the bar, the two of you had been texting ever since, he even sneaks in a phone call one night when his girlfriend was asleep and your boyfriend was out with his friends. Hearing his voice again was so nice and it took you right back to the night you met him. Conversation flowed easily with you and Josh, day by day you were learning more and more about each other. He told you he was in a band with his two brothers and friend, and promised he'd take you to a show one day. 

Tonight was different, you grab your phone in a shaken frenzy. You click on Josh’s number as you get in your car. Tears running down your face, you wait as the phone rings. You hoped he would answer and that he wasn't around his girlfriend. You felt bad calling him out of the blue , but, there was no one else you could go to. 

“Hello?” Josh answers.

Thank god.

You sniffle, happy to hear his voice. 

“Josh can- can I come over?” you ask trying your hardest not to focus on the pain. 

“Are you alright?” Josh asks immediately, he could tell something was very wrong, he could hear that you were crying and he was instantly worried. 

“No I'm not ok, I need you , I need to come over.. Can I?” you reply hurriedly. Hopefully he would say yes because you were already in your car driving nowhere in particular. 

“Uhm my girlfriend is here… could I meet you somewhere?” Josh replies, annoyed that you couldn't just come right to his house like he wanted you to. 

“Do you know where sheehan park is? Can you meet me there?” you ask a block away from said park. 

“Yes of course, ill be there in five minutes ok?” he replied, you could hear him grabbing his keys in the background and shuffling to put his shoes on.

“Ok thank you” you say pulling into the park's parking lot. You hang up and tip your head back resting on the headrest. The blood that was coming out of your nose or maybe your mouth pooled on your face.

Your boyfriend found your phone and seen you had been texting Josh for the past few days, flirting even. He was so angry , so angry. His face was red and looked like he was about to explode, and he did. For the first time in your relationship with him , he got physical with you. He punched you multiple times in the face, one of your eyes was swollen shut and your lips felt like they were on fire, you almost couldn't drive your car but you had to get away from him. It felt good to finally relax, knowing help was coming, knowing Josh was coming. You worried about how he would react to the whole situation. You're Not his responsibility after all what was he really supposed to do?

You heard the crunching of gravel as a car pulled up next to yours, your vision was blurry, and you felt tired, struggling to keep your eye open. 

You hear your car door rip open in a hurry.

“Y\n! Y\n! What happened? What happened to you?!” Josh asked hectically. He grabbed you , wrapping his arm around your shoulder and his other arm looped under your legs as he scooped you gently from your car. 

“he .. seen my phone” you whisper , falling out of consciousness. 

“Hey hey you gotta stay awake, don't fall asleep” Josh urges as he sets you in his back seat. He knew you most likely had a concussion and that falling asleep could cause lots of issues. 

You tried your hardest to keep yourself awake. 

“That FUCKERRRR!!!!!!!” Josh screamed as he slammed his door shut and sent his fist into his steering wheel causing his horn to go off. 

He was pissed, how could that fucking asshole put his hands on you. He would pay for this. Soon the car was moving, trees and buildings past your window, which Josh had rolled down hoping the cold air would help keep you awake. 

Minutes later he pulls into a driveway and runs up to the front door, you watch as another man steps out. Josh begins frantically talking to him and then both of them run to you. 

“Y\n this is my brother Jake, we’re gonna take you inside ok?” Josh explains. You simply nod, the blood on your face was clotted now and stopped other blood from coming out. 

“Jesus Christ” you hear Jake say sympathetically. They carried you through the front door and laid you lightly on the couch. Josh dropped to your side examining your wounds. 

“Jakey get me a wash cloth and warm water” Josh speaks.

‘Hey hey hey we gotta call the cops” Jake responds urgently .

“No don't” you protest softly. 

“What do you mean DON'T? He hit you y\n, he could have killed you ! he needs to be in jail” Josh replies. He grabs his phone and begins to report the incident to the police. Josh knew there was something off about your boyfriend and now he was cursing himself, he felt like what happened to you was his fault, he shouldn't have texted you. 

Jake comes to you and gently washes your face, the warm water felt so good against your painful bruises and cuts. You wince a little as he goes over your swollen eye. 

“I'm so sorry , but we have to get this cleaned so it doesn't get infected ok? My name's Jake, what's yours?” he says, hoping conversation will keep you awake. 

“I'm y\n” you reply, trying to ignore the sting of the peroxide Jake put on your face. 

“It's nice to meet you y\n, unfortunate circumstances, but don't worry the cops are gonna get that bastard, you're safe now with me and josh�� 

Josh walks back in the room and for the first time you were able to actually get a good look at him now that Jake cleared the blood from your eyes. He was all dressed up, he looked nice. 

“Why are you dressed up?” you ask , Josh looks down at himself and waves it off. 

“I had a date with my girlfriend tonight but” he replies and shakes his head. 

“Oh I’m sorry Josh, I didn't know you had a date .. I should go” you say trying to get up.

“No no no” Josh says lightly pressing you down by your shoulders.

“Stay here tonight, Jake , Sam and Danny will take care of you”  he says. 

“Josh I can't impose like that” you reply. 

“I wasn't asking you y\n , you're staying here, I'd let you stay at my house but my girlfriend is there”  he implores with a soft tone. He was worried about you and knew you didn't have anywhere else to go that was safe. 

“I'll go on my date, i'll make it a short  night and get back here as soon as I can” he speaks. 

“No Josh , take your time, enjoy your night, I'll be ok” you replied, you didn't want his evening to be ruined because of you. 

“Call me if you need anything, anything at all ok?” he asks looking down at you, you simply nod, he offers you a sad smile before saying goodbye. He walks out the door and leaves you with Jake and your thoughts. 

“Danny!” Jake calls as he turns on the TV. 

A man with lovely dark hair jogs down the stairs, his  face falling with worry and confusion when he sees you. 

“Hey…whats up?” he asks as his eyes move from you to Jake. 

“This is y\n she's staying with us for a while, her car is at sheehan park, I need you to come with me to get it for her” Jake explains with a sigh. He was stressed, he'd never seen a girl beat up by a  man. He felt bad, his heart broke for you. 

Danny knew what had happened to you just by the look in Jake's eyes. 

“Did Josh go after him?” Danny asks, noticing Josh’s absence. 

“No he has a date with Audrey” Jake answers, grabbing his keys off the table. 

“Where are your keys, love?” he asks looking at you now.

“They're on the table” you reply nodding in the general direction. 

“Ok we're going to go get your car, if you need anything Sam is just upstairs just yell for him ok? Well be back in a few minutes” Jake says before him and Danny walk out the door. 

The second the door shuts all you want to do is sleep, you were warm, comfortable and safe. You were even happy, despite the hell you'd just been through, you were closer to josh now which made you feel so much better. 

You couldn't stay at Jake's house forever though, you'd need to figure something out, tomorrow though… Tonight , you rest.

[klaussnumbertwo]

All the Stars in Texas

diegosnumberfour​:

“Oh, I know, I know, here I was going on about the peanut butter, but only if it’s easy, Mom” Klaus sighs wistfully, and while, yeah, he probably could have made it to the car himself, he revels a little in the fact that Diego comes back for him, taking more of Klaus’ weight than he really needs to. He likes the attention - so sue him, he thinks, the gravel of the parking lot crunching underneath their feet - and before he really registers what’s happening, he’s crumpling into the Pontiac’s passenger side. Immediately, Klaus’ knees draw up to his chest - not, however, before clicking his safety belt into place. He knows he might as well do it without prompting. If he doesn’t, he’ll be fighting off Diego’s hands trying to do it for him in a second.

Because the thing is, him being deposited into the passenger seat of a car with Diego sitting on the other side of the console, hands on the steering wheel? This is the most normal-feeling thing Klaus has experienced in a while. 

See, it’s a tradition of theirs. This whole car thing, it’s what they do. What they have done since Diego left to play cops and robbers and Klaus finally got himself kicked out. Years of coming home wasted as hell and Dad playing like he didn’t hear Klaus knocking over vases on the way back in, didn’t notice that Klaus’ nose was red and running, even in summer, that he didn’t see the pills Klaus had stopped bothering to hide when he realized just how little of a shit anyone actually gave whether or not he might have been actively killing himself. They’d had a good thing going then - the best relationship he and his dad had ever had, in Klaus’ opinion, good ol’ Reggie never even bothering to look at him and big brother Luther only doing enough of it to display his disapproval - and then suddenly, bam. Klaus had swiped one tchotchke piece of shit that Dad never looked at twice - it wasn’t the first time, or even the twenty-first - and the asshole had changed the locks. Met Klaus at the door that night and told him he’d call the police if he found him sleeping in his room (or on the couch, or in the courtyard, or passed out in the bathtub, or, or, or) again. 

Klaus had told him to fuck off, right to his face, because it wasn’t like he wanted to go back there, to that house of horrors they’d all tried to pretend was a boarding school. Had told him that too, slurring his words and holding on tight to the porch’s banister to keep from sprawling out flat across the concrete steps, and he hadn’t minded when his dad had slammed the door in his face. Because he didn’t want to go back anyway. Leaving was the best thing that could have happened to him - to any of them. 

The only problem with that was that Klaus hadn’t exactly had anywhere else to go. And so he’d gone to Diego, the first of way too many times over the last decade or so. Diego who had been the sweetest of them, even when he was fighting with Luther over some stupid shit, who Klaus knew would smell the day-old vodka on him and see the (still new at that point, because heroin chic had been a difficult look to accept, even for Klaus) track marks on his arms and still let him in that shitty backroom apartment of his, even knowing his boss thought Klaus was trouble.

He fiddles with the heater as Diego pulls out onto the street. His brother is flicking the headlights on and off, checking the controls, while all Klaus wants is some warm air, and when it finally turns on, full-blast, it’s almost as good as that first hit, the memory of which is still singing in Klaus’ veins. He turns the dial as far as it will go, until the air is almost burning his skin. It was never about moderation for him. Klaus knows he’ll want to turn it off in a few minutes, will probably be complaining about the heat as soon as the car warms up, but it’s nice for the moment. Makes him light-headed and drowsy, floating.

“Just like old times, huh Di?” he says, looking lazily across the car at his brother, who has moonlight in his hair. It’s pretty. “Or - I guess… is it new times? Times that haven’t happened yet? Man, this whole time-travel thing is a trip. No wonder Five-y is so fucked up.” Klaus has jammed himself as far back into the corner of the seat as he can, the side of his head resting against the window, which is cool in comparison to the rapidly increasing heat of the car, and the also rapidly increasing heat of his skin. With every pothole, there’s a little thump against the glass. It doesn’t feel bad, though. It’s kind of rhythmic, and how many times have he and Diego done this anyway, driven around aimlessly with Klaus in the back seat, or the front, nodding off while trusting Diego to keep his eyes on the road?

(It’s been noticeably less in the last few years, Klaus knows that much. He’s been spending more time sleeping in the crack houses that sell to him. More nights with his dealers and their friends and their friends-of-friends. Trying to stay out of Diego’s hair when he can. 

The attempt has been of middling efficacy.)

Before Klaus knows it, his chin is bouncing off his chest. He’s lost a bit of time, though he’s not sure how much. The heat inside the car is stifling and the street lights they’re passing are streaks of gold, and fighting to keep his eyes open is a battle Klaus isn’t sure he’s up to. What’s the point? Everything hurts, the ache really settling in now - and when compared to this dope-sick feeling, well, there’s no question that unconsciousness seems preferable. 

Diego knows that Klaus is going to fall asleep. He always nods off as soon as they get on the road, and Diego finds himself reaching into the back seat before freezing as he remembers with a jolt that this isn’t his car. He doesn’t have the stash of soft blankets and well worn sweaters that he squirrels away ostensibly for emergencies, but mainly because he knows Klaus gets cold and likes to cocoon himself in something warm. 

Diego doesn’t like the way the reminder of where (when) they are jolts him so badly--doesn’t like that he needs to keep reminding himself. He tries to sink back into that warm, vaguely out of focus place he’d been just a moment before, lulled by the faint rumbling of the road beneath them and the soft sounds of Klaus’s breathing next to him, but everything suddenly seems skewed ever so slightly, as if the axis of reality tilted just a little to one side. Colors and sounds turned up too high and out of focus, like he’s watching it all play out on some shitty TV with the settings out of order.

It’s too quiet, too--he can hear the thundering of his heart in his ears, and every beat seems to set him just that much more on edge. He really wishes Klaus were awake to chatter on about nothing in particular--Diego’s pretty sure Klaus doesn’t know, but there have been more nights than he’s comfortable admitting to where Klaus’s voice filling the car felt like the only thing that tethered Diego to the ground, kept him from falling away into his own head. As time went on and Klaus started seeking him out less and less, Diego found himself more than once just getting in the car and driving aimlessly around the city. He’d always tell himself that it was just to give himself a change of scenery. That he wasn’t hoping with too much desperation that he would just happen across Klaus and be able to convince him to keep him company for a few hours. That he wasn’t scared to go back to the oppressive silence of his little apartment. That it didn’t hurt to feel the distance Klaus was putting up between them and not be able to figure out what he did wrong. 

He wants to turn on the radio, give himself something to focus on in the here and now--here and then--but Klaus is sleeping, he needs to sleep, if the circles under his eyes are any indication, and Diego likes to think he’s not enough of a piece of shit to risk waking him up just because he's feeling a little tense. He taps his fingers against the steering wheel, but there’s pent up energy pulsing under his skin, electricity in his veins that has no way out, and the seatbelt across his chest suddenly feels too tight, the inside of the car to close, pressing in too hot against his face and his mouth and it’s an effort to keep himself from bringing the car to a screeching halt on the side of the road so he can get out.

He shakes his hands out, gasping in as deep of a breath as he can manage, but it’s still not enough, doesn’t relieve the maddening itching underneath his skin or the band that seems to be tightening and tightening around his chest. He wants so badly to turn the heat off--he can feel himself sweating, and the scorching air pouring out of the vents feels like a cloth pressing in over his face--but he’d seen how much Klaus had been shivering when they got in the car. He settles for rolling his window halfway down, leaning against the door of the car and sucking in lungfuls of cooler air. 

It helps a little bit--the band is still clenched tight around his lungs, but at least it doesn’t feel like something is physically covering his face--but he still feels like he’s going to crawl right the fuck out of his own skin, like if doesn’t get out of this fucking car right fucking now he’s going to fucking die, like--

He sticks the side of his hand in his mouth and bites down, hard. The short, sharp breaths he’s taking in through his nose are making him feel a little lightheaded, but the pain blooming in his hand feels like it’s slowly but surely reeling him back in. He clenches his jaw just a little more, just to feel the way his thoughts slow down and fall back into line. He can tell it’s going to bruise, but he’s certainly had worse, and he figures it’s worth it. 

Thankfully, his body knows how to handle itself pretty well on autopilot when his mind is busy chasing itself in circles, and as he glances around outside the window he can tell they’ve definitely passed into the wealthier part of town. Taking his now aching hand out of his mouth, he finds a secluded area to pull off into--tucked away enough that it shouldn’t be conspicuous, but close enough to several of the houses he’d been eyeing that he can leg it over if things get dicey. 

He figures he should probably go ahead and wake Klaus up, make sure he knows what’s going on before he comes to in an empty car, but he takes a moment just to close his eyes and rest his forehead against the steering wheel. He’s hit by a strong urge to crawl into the backseat and lay down, just for a second, but he’s got a feeling once he allows himself to drop he’s going to have a hell of a time getting himself back up again. So he just lets himself sit, breathing in and out as evenly as he can, and hoping to anyone and anything that cares to listen that everything--for once--goes smoothly the rest of the night.