Chapter Text
Five is an introvert, he always has been.
Ever since he was a child, company was never something he found himself needing often. Then even when he did feel the longing of another person, it wasn't desperate - he only had to stand next to someone for a while and he would be fine for the rest of the day. Rest of the week.
After the Apocalypse, things changed.
Even standing near another person would send him snapping - even when he denied his anger, he felt it bubble in his stomach, brewing like a fresh pot of coffee. These emotions, a topic he detested, brought him to the conclusion that he needed space.
Five took it upon himself to lock himself in his room for days, merely an experiment of sorts. It hadn't worked out well, except from the fact he was hungry and dehydrated, his stomach churned with the feeling of desire. The desire for the closeness of his family.
It was childish - he was a grown man - but he wanted nothing more to be surrounded by the ones he loved. It was strange, it was new. He had never been like this before.
He pushed it down.
It wasn't until Dolores came into the equation that he acted upon his feelings. If he didn't allow himself his family, he would allow himself Dolores. He just had to convince his family that he was completely, utterly, stable.
Days passed. On some, Five would still stay in his cave of a room, writing equations on walls and such. On others, he would sit at the table - a few seats away from the rest of them - and call his family idiots when he would make some sort of remark that no one understood. This was natural, everyone was used to this, therefore no one ever really questioned things.
That was until people started noticing habits, strange ones. Five wasn't the average thirteen year old, his family knew that, but some things stood out more than others. The constant muttering is what turned heads. At first, everyone thought it was his calculations - maybe saying them out loud was easier than keeping them written down. Perhaps it could have been old habits from the Apocalypse, keeping a steady mind against the end of the world.
These all seemed like valid hypothesis', until they dug deeper at least. It was becoming noticeable that their smallest brother would pause in his speech, almost waiting for something else to reply back to him. It was like he was having a full conversation - of course, nothing ever replied. Five was simply talking to the walls.
"Have you guys noticed Five?" Klaus asked out of nowhere, legs stretched over the sofa he was laying on.
"Of course we've noticed Five, dumbass." Diego rolled his eyes, a patronizing tone in his voice.
"Not like that!" The man groaned, sitting up. He leant his elbows on his knees, "I mean: have you noticed him talking to himself? Ben thinks there's something wrong with the child." Klaus thanked the Lord that Five wasn't in the same vicinity as him. He wasn't hoping for any sort of injury today, or any day really.
Allison shifted in her seat, "I guess so, but it's a common thing for people to say their thoughts out loud. Especially people that have gone through all the stuff that Five has." She reasoned.
"Guys, he pauses! He waits for something!" Klaus exclaimed, waving one of his hands around, tattoo presenting itself, "It's like he's having a full conversation, it's like me and the ghosts! Don't you find that strange?"
"Five is strange." Luther added with a shrug, helpful as always.
"Does he really hate us that much?" Victor asked, sounding somewhat upset.
"Probably." The siblings said in sync.
"If you're that worried, you should go talk to him, Klaus." Diego suggested dismissively.
"He'll kill me!" The man exclaimed, "If I come out with a broken bone, I'll be lucky."
"Well, let's hope you'll be lucky then." Luther concluded the conversation with that. It made Klaus want to role his eyes, but he was too busy fearing for his life to care.
Five was his brother, what was he thinking?
He should be fearing for his bloodline's life instead.
"What do I do?" A whining voice asked for what felt like the thousandth time in a row.
"Just go talk to him already, Klaus! You've been outside his room for eight minutes!" The ghost hissed, wishing desperately that he had a physical form just to push his brother in there himself.
The man groaned, "You're really no help, man!"
"Wait, shut up!" Ben hissed, waving a hand to signal the other to stop.
"Don't tell me to shut up, Mister!"
"No, listen!" Ben gestured to the door, a look of frustration on his face.
"Should I go down there?" Five started, waiting for a reply that no one else could hear, then carried on in turn, "I know I should want to see them-" He snapped, "I get it."
'I think you should, darling. They'll start to worry." The manikin replied sweetly - Dolores was the only person who could call him nicknames without any sort of reaction.
"They needn't." He huffed.
"Stubborn as always." She scolded with a laugh, "You've been in complete darkness too! How about going outside?"
Five rolled his eyes, laying back on his bed, "Outside." He scoffed, "I hope by the tone of your voice that you're joking. I thought you knew me better than that, Dolores."
She smiled at him, eyes sparkling with something akin to stars. It was more than just the paint, it was something realer than that. "You should drink something else except from coffee, Five. It's not healthy."
"I'm aware. I need whiskey instead."
"Not vodka! Water, you need some water."
"That would be the healthier option, but no. Sorry, Dolores."
"Why not?"
"I simply don't like the taste." He spoke through a sigh, blatantly lying. Lying childishly.
Dolores knew that it wasn't the truth, but she didn't mention it - she respected Five's decisions, but she would always try to lead him in the right direction. As the days go by, she believes the person she met in the Apocalypse was getting younger and younger by the day. "What about orange juice? I know you love that.'
"You've got me there." Five found himself smiling, "What would I do without you, Dolores?"
He moved to turn on the lights, making him wince slightly. He glared at the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand, it read: 11:56 am. "I guess I could be down there for lunch."
"Who the hell is Dolores?" Klaus whisper shouted.
"How would I know? That's what you should talk to him about - I'm sure he'd prefer talking to you than everyone else." Ben reasoned, trying to convince his brother to talk to Five. If he could, he would've done it himself.
"Maybe. Yeah, yeah okay. C'mon, Ben, let's do this."
Five had jumped when he heard knocking on his door, he cursed himself, sitting up straight. "What?" He shouted.
"It's Klaus!"
"Okay?"
"I just want to talk to you about something."
"About?" He huffed, "Come on, let's speed this up." The smaller of the three rolled his eyes, staring at the door.
"Are you decent? Oh well, I'm coming!" Klaus exclaimed, opening the door.
"Aren't you always?" The assassin replied dryly, raising an eyebrow.
"No! No, I'm not!"
"Pretty sure you are." Ben grinned, moving to lean against the windowsill.
"You shut up!" Klaus glared, jumping on the bed, making the whole thing shake.
Five turned his nose up, moving so he was sitting against the headboard. His brother was too close for comfort, "See, Ben agrees with me." He vaguely gestured to where he thought Ben would be - it was eerily accurate.
"He doesn't, because he loves his favorite brother. Which is me, by the way." His statement was disproved when he glared over to the windowsill.
Five found himself smiling a little at that, "Highly doubtful. What do you want, Klaus?"
"A chat with my amazing, loving, beautiful, ba-" He quickly corrected himself when the latter glared daggers at him, "Brother! I was gonna say brother!"
"Like fuck you where."
Klaus grinned with an unsure look on his face, "Well, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead." The boy replied, narrowing his eyes.
"Who's Dolores?"
This wasn't a question he was equipped with the tools to explain. If his family didn't already see him as insane, they sure would now. It echoed around his head a few times before he pushed himself to reply.
"She's someone I met in the apocalypse." He settled with.
Klaus' face softened, knowing this was a tough subject for his brother, "I thought everyone was... y'know." He made a vulgar gesture with his hands.
Five grit his teeth, "They were." He wasn't making it any easier for Klaus by any means, but that's what he did when he was uncomfortable: made it harder for everyone else as well.
The man's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Weren't you just talking to her a minute ago though?"
"Correct."
Ben and Klaus looked at each other with confusion in their eyes.
Five sighed, relenting, "Dolores has been with me for a long time, so if you judge her, I'll slit your throat."
Klaus didn't doubt him for a second - he gulped putting his hands up, "No judging here!"
Five got off of his bed, walking to the side of it and grabbing something, bringing it to the bed, "This is Dolores." His cheeks were lightly dusted red from embarrassment.
Klaus paused for a moment, Dolores was a mannequin?
He doesn't know what he thought she was going to be, but he wasn't expecting this. "Why hello, Dolores!" He grinned, shaking the dolls hand, "Nice to know my brother has a friend, especially a pretty one like you!" Five scoffed and snatched Dolores back, but he softened when he heard her laugh. Of course she would like Klaus, he was just the kind of person who she would find an interest in.
Back in the Apocalypse, due to her request, Five often found himself looking for magazines - fashion ones to be exact. It always had mad Dolores nostalgic of her times of modelling clothes, all the people looking at her for reference to their own styles. She had always shown an interest in men with bright clothing on, saying that it was, 'different'. Klaus was definitely different - Five wouldn't change him at all.
"Dolores was my only company," He started, and Klaus couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in his heart, "And even though she wasn't real at first, she became real. I treat her like a normal person because she is one."
"There's nothing wrong with that, as long as it helps you. But just know that if you need to talk to anyone, you can talk to me and Ben, or the rest of the family. We're always here, man." He smiled, it was a kind smile - it made Five feel an odd feeling of pride when he noticed that it wasn't an intoxicated one.
"It's easier talking with someone, or something, who you know will always listen." Five explained to the best of his abilities, which wasn't high in this area, "Even if they don't want to, they have nothing better to do anyway."
"I need to quote that - get it tattooed somewhere, yeah?" Klaus grinned at him, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. Five flinched lightly, it was barely noticeable, but it was there. Everyone knew Five was wary to touch. The years upon years without any physical touch had taken a toll on him, it would to anyone.
The taller of the two nodded, waiting for Ben to follow him. He patted Five's shoulder before letting go, opening the door on his way out.
"Klaus-"
He spun around, waiting expectantly."
"Thank you." Five mumbled, looking at his brother's strange shoes rather than his face.
The physically older of the two beamed, "No problem, kiddo!" He exclaimed before rushing out the door, squealing.
"I take that back!" Five shouted, running after him.
"You can't do that!"
"I can and I fucking will!"