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For all that the mansion is enormous, Five finds himself bumping into Klaus a lot. They have bedrooms on the same floor, and a shared bathroom between them. They tend to eat meals at the same time, and have drinks in the living room together. Klaus is annoyingly present - reading a gossip magazine over breakfast while Five reads the paper. Doing yoga while Five goes through their father’s notes in the library. Smoking in the courtyard when Five goes to light up a cigarette.
Despite his constant presence, Klaus is a decent housemate. He keeps his mess mostly contained to his bedroom, his music to his headphones, and his nightmares quiet. Klaus can’t drive, because his license was revoked for a number of DUI’s, so Five drives them to the library, the supermarket, and the bottle store. Klaus makes dinner most nights; he’s a decent cook and he has infinite supply of egg related recipes that he is eager to test out. Five likes shakshuka, Eggs Benedict with bacon, and having Klaus cooking for him, humming softly with the radio.
What Five is less comfortable with is how touchy-feely Klaus can be. A hand on Five’s forearm, a warm grasp of his shoulder, a pat on the thigh, a bare foot brushing Five’s calf beneath the kitchen table. At first, the weight of Klaus’ touch made Five…uncomfortable. Left him with a weird, prickly feeling. Like putting a cold limb in too warm water. But beyond that, it loosened something tight in Five’s chest, something he hadn’t even been aware was clenched painfully.
He tolerates it better now, doesn’t shift away when Klaus leans against him. Klaus is needy, Five tells himself, so letting him cuddle up is for Klaus’ benefit. So he lets Klaus snuggle against him while they share a cigarette or two, or rest his head in Five’s lap when they watch tv together. It’s certainly not for Five’s benefit - sure, he’s sleeping better, feels weirdly good in his body, and just yesterday he agreed with Luther without arguing. But that’s got nothing to do with Klaus’ annoying inability to keep his body parts to himself.
So he doesn’t need Klaus to touch him. Could quite happily go without it. Like now, they’re sharing the sofa, Klaus on his back, with his knees drawn up, a very large Russian novel resting on his tummy as he reads, a good few inches between his bare feet and Five’s thigh. Five is ostensibly watching the news, but he can’t stop staring at Klaus’ delicate ankles. His skin is soft, Five already knows from all the little touches, but his ankles look extra enticing, the skin pale and lightly haired, the jut of his bone beneath the skin.
“Aren’t your feet cold?” He asks irritably.
Klaus hums an answer in the affirmative, twirling a strand of hair around one elegant finger. “Yeah, but I just want to finish this chapter.”
Five reaches out and grasps one of Klaus’ ankles and pulls it closer, lifting his thigh to tuck Klaus’ foot beneath it. He does the same to the other, and Klaus shimmies closer.
“Thanks, Fivey,” he says absently, turning a page.
Five can’t seem to unwrap his hand from Klaus’ ankle. That horrible knot of anxiety he carries feels less pressing, he feels warm and relaxed. Klaus is warm, alive and real beneath his palm, and Five takes a deep breath. He turns his attention back to the news, though he hears nothing the anchors say. Aware only of Klaus turning pages, and the place where their skin touches.
It breaks something in him - all of a sudden he wants to be touching Klaus, wants Klaus touching him. Five sits next to him at the kitchen table, their elbows brushing as they eat. He lets Klaus loop his arm through his as they wander around the grocery store. Klaus takes him to an art museum and Five holds his hand the whole time. Klaus wraps his hands around Five’s when Five lights his cigarette.
“What’s this? What’s happening here?” Diego asks suspiciously one day, pointing at them as Klaus lies on the sofa, head in Five’s lap as Five gently cards through his soft curls.
“Well, we were watching an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel until we were rudely interrupted,” Klaus says mildly.
“Did you drug Five? Klaus, he’s new! You can’t be giving him anything weird, man.”
“I’m not new,” Five replies, “I’m an adult. Again. I think.”
“And I didn’t drug him, we don’t do that sort of thing in this house anymore,” Klaus adds.
His siblings had given him a stern Talking To about quitting drugs on their return from the sixties and so far Klaus had remained clean. There was a whole bottle of Valium in the med bay that he hasn’t even touched.
He felt weirdly good lately. Solid somehow, substantial. He’d spent a lot of time on the fringes of society, homeless or as good as. Haunted by a brother he couldn’t touch, almost a ghost himself with how often people stared straight through him as he begged. Having sex with people who never let him cuddle before kicking him out. In and out of rehab centres and prison cells and psych wards where touching was forbidden. Dave had been a brief, wonderful interlude, but they’d been afraid of being caught and their touches had been secret and fleeting.
But now he has Five, alive and here. Five who is a literal touchstone, Klaus’ personal reality check with sharp cheekbones, and sly smiles. Five who let Klaus touch him without complaint any time he liked, who seemed happy to have Klaus around. It was new. To be wanted, not as a body to fuck, but for his presence. Five makes him feel alive. Diego’s insinuation is hurtful, the idea that Klaus would do anything to hurt Five.
And sure, there were things he imagined doing with Five that were really very indecent, but Five didn’t know about that. They weren’t hurtful, just x-rated, and mostly involved orgasms.
“This video has to be back at the library tomorrow or we have to pay late fees which I will collect from you with prejudice, so either sit down and shut up, or leave.” Five says, and Klaus grins broadly. Diego mutters something but throws himself onto the single seater and watches quietly.
Lila and the rest of their brothers join them for supper, and they stuff themselves into a booth at a diner. Allison is back in California, reunited with Claire and reconciled with Patrick enough that she has joint custody. She and Patrick are planning on moving back to the city, away from the madness of Los Angeles.
Klaus ends up squashed between Five and the wall, Luther, Viktor and Lila across from them, Diego next to Five. Five is pressed up close to Klaus from shoulder to ankle, as warm and solid as ever. After food, they’re just chatting over coffee when Five drops one hand beneath the table, resting it on Klaus’ thigh. He shifts, and Five’s hand rides higher and they both freeze. Their eyes meet, and Klaus can see the question there: is this okay? He nods faintly, and spreads his legs as best he can in the limited space.
Slowly, Five slides his hand higher until it can go no further. It’s also increasingly obvious that Klaus’ body is very okay with this new development. He’s never been so excited to go home, he barely notices anything that happens at the table for the rest of the time they are there. They walk home, hands bumping occasionally as Luther and Five bicker about some chess move. Klaus excuses himself immediately and races upstairs to his bedroom. He clears some clothes off his bed and floor, and shoves them into his wardrobe, then shakes out his duvet. He’s about to make the bed properly when he hears Five’s footsteps and quiet knock.
“Come in,” he says, voice breaking.
And then Five is in his room. Tall and handsome, the swoop of his fringe tucked back revealing his electric eyes and soft mouth. There’s a pink blush on his cheekbones, excitement maybe, or nerves. But he’s crossing the room in two long strides, and then they’re kissing. Klaus imagines Elizabeth felt this way the first time Darcy kissed her, breathless and overwhelmed and instantly addicted. Klaus kisses back hungrily, wrapping his arms around Five’s neck as Five pulls him close, a strong arm around his waist. It’s a confident kiss but desperate, as though Five has been imagining this as much as Klaus has been. Klaus goes to fumble open on the buttons on his shirt but Five stops him.
“I want to do it,” he says softly, pressing a kiss into Klaus’ jawline. Klaus nods his consent and drops his hands. Five slides his hands from Klaus’ waist to his belly, then up to the top button of his silk bowling shirt. With each button Five opens he kisses Klaus, sweet and slow, until they’re both gasping for air. When all the buttons are undone, Five slides the shirt off, letting it drop to the floor. He runs his hands along Klaus’ shoulders, then strokes down his arms, touch firm and possessive.
“I dream about touching you,” Five whispers, and Klaus’ shudders, his hands gripping Five’s waist through his shirt.
He wants. Wants Five on top of him, inside him, surrounding him. Klaus doesn’t think he’s ever been this turned on, this consumed with desire. Unable to wait any longer, he starts undoing Five’s neat button up, desperate to reveal more of Five’s pale, smooth skin.
Five aged himself up in their return to 2019 and Klaus was right - he does grow up hot. Klaus loosens his shirt with trembling fingers, knuckles brushing against Five’s chest with each button. He wants to kiss every exposed inch, explore at his leisure. But now is not that time, they're both too hungry for this. Five’s shirt opened and discarded, Klaus backs them towards the bed and pulls Five on top of him.
Five gets one solid thigh between Klaus’ legs and they’re grinding against each other, kissing messily and open-mouthed. They’re too impatient, starved. Klaus’ orgasm takes him by surprise, and he rakes his fingers down Five’s back, feeling his brother follow him in oblivion.
They lie there, panting into one another’s mouths. Klaus can’t stop running his hands over Five’s back. He knows they should get up, clean up, talk about this but all of those things seem irrelevant in the face of Five’s small contented smile and his elegant hands on Klaus. Everything outside this moment and their shared warmth seems far away. His hand finds Five’s and he entwines their fingers.
“Next time, lets take off our pants,” Five says decisively and a laugh bubbles out of Klaus’ chest, and he delightedly presses a kiss to the corner of Five’s smile. Five captures his face in another deep kiss.
For round two they do take off their pants.