June 1st, 1968.
Klaus would always remember that date because he had noted,
First day of June… First fight with Dave.
They had mildly bickered before on multiple accounts, but nothing ever came close to being anything more than another way of flirting. Today was a game-changer in that regard- today was an onslaught compared to their previous, playful back and forth gibberish. It shook Klaus more than he had let on too- he had been so caught up in their lovey-dovey, star-eyed beginnings that he neglected to realize that they were still different human beings that had other levels other than disgustingly (wonderful) cheesy romance.
This particular morning started like any other morning that they knew they'd be off duty and wouldn't be searched for in the barracks at 5:00 AM… With Klaus gritting his teeth against the urge to moan loudly while Dave finished what he was doing underneath the sheets.
Ain't gonna study war no more…
Ain't gonna study war no more…
Louis Armstrong's "Down By The Riverside" played in the background, but Klaus was hardly paying attention to that.
His heart was left pounding harder than usual that morning, the sound ricocheting around his head violently when the waves of pleasure subsided and he found his way back down to Earth. Dave's head emerged from under the blankets and he pushed himself back up next to Klaus, collapsing on his side and wrapping a protective arm over Klaus's heaving chest.
"Good morning to you too." Klaus breathed, the first words either of them muttered today. He had practically woken up to Dave between his legs- he wasn't complaining.
"Hmm." Dave hummed happily, giving Klaus's body a soft squeeze. Number Four reached back to where he had set a bottle of beer the night before and forgot about it after things started to get heated. He took it by the neck of the bottle, dumping the liquid down his throat and taking a few big gulps.
"Want any?"
"It's like… 7:00 AM."
Klaus raised an eyebrow and shrugged as if to say, 'And you're point?', taking another swig. He passed it to Dave and Dave gave in, doing the same with a little smirk on his face. The thing with Dave was that he enjoyed acting amused by Klaus's more irrational behavior, but he'd always partake just a few moments later. It went along with what Klaus had said earlier- Dave was more of a "freak" than he wanted to admit… and Klaus meant that in the best possible way.
It still floored Klaus to think that Dave ever thought he may be too normal for him. Maybe he could fool himself, but he couldn't fool Klaus. Dave was just as unique as Klaus was- he was just simply more reserved in his personality. You had to dig a little deeper to find his more… eccentric corners.
"Nothing like beer after sexy time."
"I thought that was cigarettes."
"Oh. That too. Good idea." Klaus stretched out an arm behind him, feeling for his box of Marlboro's and pulling one out. Dave rejected his offer for one, so Klaus smoked alone while Dave watched. Klaus would admit- he knew Dave watched him every time he smoked. He had expressed before that he loved to watch Klaus do it, and Klaus played with it. He always felt like he was putting on a little show when he did now, loving to watch Dave's admiring gaze out of the corner of his eye.
"There was this girl," Klaus took another puff, watching the tendrils of air rise from the part in his mouth, his head falling back in relaxation. "She always had to rush to redo her nails after we fucked. It got really irritating."
Dave's body tensed.
"When was this?"
"Mm. Like, last year. We were only together a couple of times because, well, I don't know- it really stressed me out for some reason." Klaus gave a half shrug, closing his eyes and pulling another breath. His fingers tapped a nondescript rhythm on his own bare chest, trying to find a steady beat to calm the stirring anxiety wrapping around his heart-
The ghosts. They had been getting bad lately. There was some bittersweet sentiment to that- It sucked for obvious reasons, but Klaus had only allowed it to get this rocky because he was desperately trying to be better for Dave. Now that he had committed himself to another person, he didn't want to be totally twisted all the time. He tried to manage his stash accordingly, only popping pills when he absolutely needed to and smoking dope to cover all the rest of the side effects up. It wasn't as effective, but it meant he could live more in the moment with Dave which was 200% worth it in Klaus's mind.
"So… Okay." Dave pursed his lips and then nodded, drawing Klaus's attention back to him.
"What?" Klaus asked, a small smile growing on his lips. Dave was clearly perplexed about something- he could practically see the tangle of words winding around themselves in Dave's head, none of them able to make it to his lips.
"Nothing. I just didn't realize- I mean, it doesn't matter in the slightest-"
"Oh, that I can be attracted to the female race? Yeah. Guess we never did talk about stuff like that."
That started the conversation about past history to which Klaus just sucked in his lips and fidgeted uncomfortably while trying to quantify the number of people he's been with.
"Err…"
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"No, it's just- I don't know."
"You don't know how many people you've been with?"
"Romantically or sexually?"
"Uh… I don't know. Either."
"Romantically- never anyone officially. Sexually, it's anyone's guess."
Dave chuckled, shaking his head.
"You really did live something of a rock star lifestyle, didn't you?"
"You know, you have such a way of spinning the worst possible things in a positive way."
Dave shrugged.
"Klaus, I really don't care who you've been with, as long as you're mine now."
"Daw." Klaus swooned, rolling his eyes and pushing at Dave's cocky little grinning face. "What about you then?"
"Hmm?"
"Your people. People you've been with." Klaus coaxed, his head swinging to the side to look fully at Dave. His expression was not one that Klaus expected- in fact, it was kind of unreadable.
Now, Klaus thought he had gotten pretty skilled at deciphering Dave's expressions and reactions. The slightest clench of his jaw meant something rubbed him the wrong way. A specific flutter of his eyelids meant something piqued his interest. If he licked his lips, it meant he was debating himself inside his head. If his breathing staggered a certain way, it meant he was more tired than usual. If his eyebrows just barely creased the tiniest bit and his lips pressed into a tightly closed line, the muscles on his face becoming more defined, he was completely lost in what Klaus started calling the "Dave Dimension".
This though… Klaus didn't know what this was. Either way, there was obviously some discomfort.
"Or not. That's okay too." Klaus assured him, but not really meaning it. He wanted for it to be okay, but he knew himself well enough to know that if Dave plainly chose to keep some dark secret from him right now in the most opportune moment to share, he'd feel a little let down.
"No, no… I only really had one guy I was really 'romantically' close with other than, like, girlfriends in high school and obviously that never really took off anywhere."
"Mm. When was that?"
"Started four years ago... Ended about two."
Man. Two years. The longest Klaus has been with anyone was three weeks.
"Just didn't work out?" Klaus gently prodded, wiggling himself closer to Dave and pressing their foreheads together. He tried to pull any clues from Dave's face since his words weren't giving him much to work with.
"Nah." Dave said in the lowest possible husky voice. "Just didn't work out."
Mm. Okay. Ominous.
Klaus wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy, but he perked up when he heard his name somewhere in the distance. Well, not "Klaus", but…
"Boots!"
"Did you hear that?" Klaus asked, pushing his palms into Dave's chest and stomach to elevate himself like a Meerkat on alert. Dave "oof-ed" and chuckled through gasps of breath that Klaus was forcing from his lungs.
"Jesus, you nut." He shoved Klaus off, Number Four seamlessly rolling over and standing to make his way to their "cave's" opening.
"Boots! Daveyyyyyy!"
"Teddy's calling us."
"Ugh." Dave groaned, rolling over and burying his head in one of their many stolen pillows. Klaus skipped over and threw himself over Dave, straddling his torso and nuzzling into his neck. Dave jerked away the best he could, bursting into laughter while finding himself caught in Klaus's all-encompassing hold.
"Alright, alright. I'm up."
Unfortunately for them, Teddy wasn't making a social call- Their "day off" turned out not to be a "day off" at all.
A few hours progressed into a hot, hellish day stuck fifty miles outside the city. Reports had come in early that morning of VC camping out in a small village spreading through the base until the officers decided to do something about it. Dave and Klaus's squad was one of the unlucky few who got to go…
Along with Eugie's.
The little shit hadn't been too big of a problem lately. If anything, there were just copious numbers of dirty looks, attempts to shove, and bitter comments directed towards Klaus in the past few weeks. He hadn't really paid mind. He often attracted negative attention from people all throughout his life. This wasn't Klaus's first "bully". Eugie was also the last thing he was thinking about when he had such a prime specimen that captivated his attention twenty-four hours of the day.
Still- Klaus had a feeling that Eugie never got over the incident where Klaus had stopped him from harassing the Vietnamese citizens and everyone else knew it too. Klaus may have been Number Four in every other respect, but he was number one on Eugie's radar.
Whatever. It happened. He was used to it, and Eugie was just a dweeb. It was funny sometimes, in fact. Klaus already knew himself to be above the cowardly dickmuffin, so when Eugene would make a nasty comment, Klaus would retort right back. Dave would shake his head at him disapprovingly, but then that would be the end of it.
Today, dear Eugene must've woken up on the wrong side of the barracks though, because he was scheming from the very start of the morning. He still kept the company of those two big lugs- young kids with dumb looks who probably had the intelligence to equate to only one whole person combined, if lucky. They were gathered together, giving Klaus looks that he was obviously meant to see, then turning away quickly and muttering bullshit to each other.
Whatever. Klaus didn't care. Besides- Dave was telling him all about how obsessed he was with playing baseball when he was a little kid, wanting to be in the Major Leagues when he was older (a dream that faded when the harsh hand of his own father's reality hit). Anyway, Klaus was living for the little-Dave stories. He even got a promise to be shown pictures when the war was over.
What a beautiful sentiment. When the war was over.
"You think your Mom will like me?"
"Of course, she will."
"Are you sure? Parents don't usually like me."
"What parents?"
"The other kids." Klaus pouted like he was a child again, joking but honestly remembering how he always left a bad impression on his friends' guardians growing up. He lost a lot of buddies that way. That stuck with a kid at that age.
Dave gave him a sad smile.
"She'll love you."
"What about Lizzie?"
"Oh. Please. I'm terrified to get you guys together."
"Yeah?"
"I"ll be fucking outnumbered."
"By people who love you?" Klaus asked with a small confused smile, wondering what exactly could be so scary about him and this teenage girl meeting. Dave raised an eyebrow.
"By chaos. By trouble. By people who relentlessly tease me."
"Sounds fun to me."
"That's what I'm worried about."
Lieutenant Mads hushed the whole clan with his harsh barks. Klaus found it pretty humorous that even when he simply announced lunch, it sounded like he was a rabid dog.
"LINE UP, GATHER ROUND, NO PUSHIN', NO SHOVIN'. EVERYONE WILL GET C-RATIONS. COME GET YOUR LUNCH BOYS."
Klaus winced at the ringing in his ears.
"GET YER CORN. GET YER BEANS. FUCKIN' CORNED BEEF. BREAD PUDDIN." Klaus imitated the LT in an overly gruff, southern voice. Dave snickered and held his finger to his lips.
"Shhhhhhh."
Klaus hummed happily, loving when he pulled giggles from Dave.
"I'll get yours."
"Thanks, c-yeeeeeew. Thank you." Dave stumbled to correct himself when his eyes flickered to Teddy, Don and Al nearby.
Thanks, cutie. He meant originally, "smoothly" correcting himself… A big emphasis on those quotations. Klaus smirked and pushed himself up, making his way to the bustle of soldiers scrambling for shitty lunch.
Klaus juggled two metal, sectioned trays in his hands, eyes cast down in concentration on spilling the disgustingly gelatin contents everywhere.
And he would've been fine if it wasn't for the foot that was kicked out in front of him like some little shit in middle school. Klaus didn't even have time to realize what was happening until the ground was rushing up and his stomach lurched in alert.
If there was one thing Klaus could thank his dickface of a Dad for, it was his quick reflexes. Klaus caught himself and staggered to stand again, only losing a can of corn. Klaus jerked his gaze over to the assailant, not all too surprised to find the idiotic grin on one of Eugie's blocky goons.
"I'm gonna tell my Mom on you, Private Hallow." Klaus mockingly whined with the same childlike energy that the stupidly kiddish act warranted.
"It's… Swallow."
"Oh. You're right. That's much worse."
This "Swallow" character that reminded Klaus a whole lot of Frankenstein or Lurch from the Addam's Family narrowed his beady eyes, sniffing roughly like an animal that smelled pray. Klaus's eyelids fluttered in disinterest. Jesus. Even he was above this.
He promised he'd get both him and Dave lunch so damnit, that's what he was gonna do- with both cans of corn. Klaus walked back to the serving table to swoon his way into getting an extra one, leaving the spilled contents of the first on the ground where "Lurch" still sniggered. Even more notable was the grinning bafoons behind Franken-dick… Eugie and his other robot, "Polinski". Klaus knew that the two lugs, basically children and hardly legal to be here, would never be the mastermind behind any of this harassment. They followed Eugie like dogs though, and Klaus couldn't really blame them. In an environment as fucked and chaotic as the Vietnam War, if someone was offering you an olive branch of protection, it'd be hard to say no, even if it entailed acting like a complete, mindless dunce that bugs the hell out of other innocent bystanders in Eugie's self-indulgent games.
Klaus sighed. Not worth getting wrapped up in.
Look at him, all mature and stuff. He swore, Dave made him a better person. Sometimes Klaus didn't even realize how much he did simply in hopes to make Dave proud.
Klaus was able to charm one of the nice serving ladies into an extra serving pretty easily. He had gotten to know quite a few of them, ever the social butterfly. He was walking back all over again, through a crowd of milling soldiers, when his heart dropped with a stabbing pain of irritation.
Seriously?
"Lurch" was clear in the reflection of someone's discarded tray that was angled in the sunlight on the ground. The giant mass of a man was inching up behind Klaus again, not realizing that he was already caught. Klaus watched him with unimpressed, half-lidded eyes as he followed Klaus's stride like a cat waiting to pounce.
Fucking idiot.
Klaus was about to turn on his heel and trip Lurch instead- he saw the movement in his head pretty clearly- but then his eye caught something else-
Eugie again. The wiry little fuck stood a few yards away, this time without the stupid, empty smile. This time, his eyes drilled a hole straight through Klaus and down into the pits of Hell themselves. The way those slate-gray orbs locked on Klaus's being… there was so much hate there. What the Hell did Klaus do to this dick?
It was then that Klaus realized he'd get much more pleasure in taking down the "brains of the operation" rather than the blind henchman. He hatched a new plan in his head just as he watched Lurch's reflection "lurch" forward and kick out his heel into the back of Klaus's knee.
Klaus let his leg buckle underneath him, even emphasizing the impact by doing exactly what Lurch was looking to do- throw him off balance so that he lost his tray. But Klaus, a forever thespian of sorts, threw the tray as if it was Lurch's impact that caused him to do so…
…Right at Eugie's head.
To say the least, there was a beautiful, horrible cascade of a C-Ration-splattered masterpiece that painted itself across Eugie's shock-twisted face. The entire yard of soldiers seemed to tense into a still moment of anticipation until a few laughs reluctantly broke out from around them.
Klaus straightened himself, still holding one of his trays up unharmed. He bit his lip and tried to send the strongest brain signals he could down to the muscles in his face, telling them to not smile as much as he wanted to.
"Sorry. Clumsy-me." Klaus gave a half shrug, eyes intent on Eugie's that were currently being wiped clean with his hands that visibly shook with anger.
"You fucking kidding?" Eugie spat, taking his forearms and wiping wet, undescriptive meat from his shoulder. Klaus gave the tiniest instance of a smirk.
"What goes around comes around. Next time you need someone else to do your dirty work, have them finish the job right."
Shhh. Shut up, Klaus. Let it go.
"I don't need anyone to do shit, Hargreeves. If I want to kick your ass, I can do it myself."
Klaus backed up a few paces to grab another tray of food against some of the ladies' rejections.
"I really enjoy this back and forth flirtation between us, Eugene."
"Fuck off."
"Baby, if you want my attention-"
A few of the guys tuning into the drama chuckled around them, their heads swinging back and forth between Eugie and Klaus.
"I'm warning you, fuckface."
"I love it when you talk dirty to me."
Klaus took two steps forward.
"I will take you down right here."
Eugie took two steps forward.
"In front of Daddy Maddy?"
"Ooooohoho…" Some of the guys started to kick up with sounds of entertainment around them.
Two steps. Two steps.
"I don't give a-"
"Because he's welcome to join in."
Ugh. Klaus could never stop himself once he was on a roll. It was like a drug in itself- his mouth running amuck and causing trouble.
"Why don't you go run back to your faggot boyfriend."
Uh oh. Klaus knew Eugie was just trying to push his buttons- He wasn't worried in the slightest about Eugie actually knowing about Dave and his relationship, but that didn't matter… He insulted him. And that put Klaus over the edge.
A lot happened very fast. He was lunging forward, Eugie was lunging forward, Lurch and Polinski were closing in, and a crowd was amassing. Even faster though, were the hands closing around Klaus's biceps, yanking him backwards.
"Enough, Klaus." Dave's voice said lowly into his ear as he dragged him back still practically kicking and screaming, totally ignoring him.
"Oh look! And there he is!" Eugie called. "Lucky, lucky. Right in the niche of time, huh painty-waist?"
"All this sexual tension you've got bottled up really isn't healthy for a growing boy, Eugene."
"Fuck off." Was all he kept saying. Klaus was getting dragged further and further away, so he yelled louder and louder, drawing everyone's attention. He didn't care. All he currently occupied his mind with was getting in the last word with this good-for-nothing, scrawny asshole.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That's as big as you're gonna get, isn't it?" Klaus poked the bear, trying to strain again Dave's firm hold.
"Klaus. Stop, for God's sake."
"When you want to address this obvious burning passion between us, you know where you can find me!" Klaus giggled, getting a pretty large hoard of others to join in with him. Eugie's face was beet red now… not with embarrassment, but with pure, boiling rage.
"Klaus!" Dave berated again.
And then he was yanked into a maintenance shed full of typical schoolyard stuff- Hoola-hoops, balls, rakes, brooms, broken swings, chalk… Neither Dave nor Klaus was paying attention to any of that though. They were both much to fired up about two separate things.
"Asshole." Klaus snorted in bitter amusement when the rickety barn door-type hatch shut behind them, shutting the two of them off from the rest of the troops. Conversation resumed from outside where everyone sat eating the lunches that Klaus and Dave never were able to get to. Klaus had dropped both trays as soon as Dave was brought into the equation.
"You don't know when to stop, do you?" Dave asked, finally releasing his bruising hold on Klaus's arms and running his hands over his face in frustration.
"He started it!"
"Are you five?"
Klaus actually had to stop for a moment and remind himself that Dave wasn't comparing himself to his brother, Five, but to a five-year-old.
Gasp.
He didn't know which was worse.
"I was just having fun!" Klaus defended himself against what he felt was a very abrupt, unfair, misdirected accusation. Why was Dave all pissy with him and not Eugie? His first reaction was to be defensive about something that clearly wasn't a big deal, but also, a tinge of painful confusion also tainted the cavity in Klaus's chest when Dave wouldn't stop tensely pacing, only darting his eyes over to Klaus to shoot more angry phrases at him.
"Why are you stooping to his level?"
Klaus frowned in disbelief, his mouth slightly open in surprise at Dave.
The audacity. Now, he wasn't even so mad at Eugie anymore. All of that energy was slowly being redirected whether he wanted to or not. After all, it was Dave who he was trying to offend when things got more heated.
"You're not my mother, David. You can't just drag me out of situations you don't like. That's my business."
"Is it seriously too much to ask for you to just stay out of trouble from time to time?"
"Pff-Yeah!" Klaus chuckled without an ounce of any kind of gleeful amusement. This was bullshit, is what it was. "Why the hell are you so worked up over this?"
"I don't like you tangling with him!"
"Dave- He's- he's… a coward. A dweeb! He's practically harmless!"
"He fucking frags people!"
Klaus froze, eyebrows raised and body still tensed from being fully engaged in their heated argument. His eyes flickered over Dave's features for a second…
Then Klaus cracked up.
"Excuse me? Is that some kind of sex thing, or-"
"Fragging:" Dave started, his voice strained with frustration but still in a tone like he was about to define another "Vietnam Dictionary" term. "Killing off fellow soldiers in a way where it gets covered up in the other chaotic killings of war. He's murdered, Klaus. I've seen it. In the first days I met him, that's why we've never gotten along. I threatened to take him out next time I saw any funny business."
Klaus blinked.
…Oh.
"Okay, well that's…" Klaus searched for words, but all he could think of was how dumb he now looked for doubting Dave's mistrust of the guy. Still, though… ", heavy, but you're saying you're all worked up because you think Eugie might murder me?" Klaus tried not to roll his eyes, but he did… just a little. "I think I'll be alright."
"Klaus-"
"As I think I've displayed, I usually can take care of myself."
"Klaus."
"Usually. And plus, I have you!"
"And what if I'm not enough!?" Dave shouted so suddenly that Klaus jumped out of his skin. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes went wide.
Holy hell…
There's no use in Klaus regarding his thoughts in return, because they came right out into the open before he could even process them.
"What's this really about, huh? You've obviously got something you're not telling me about."
"Don't turn this on me."
"But it is about you, Dave! You just won't tell me why!"
"I don't-"
"I let it go before because whatever. You need your space and your time and not everyone can be go-go-go, I get it. But now, I can't. So please, for fuck's sake…" Klaus's angry ranting stumbled to a pause so that he could take a deep breath and calm himself down before he was screaming right back and alerting the whole damn country about their fight. "How can you expect me to take you seriously if you won't tell me the root of the problem?"
Ooh. He sounded so sophisticated. Maybe he should be, like, a psychologist… or a therapist, or something.
"I just did."
"Don't give me that." Klaus shot right back. Even now, he could see the dishonesty in Dave's eyes- he was hiding from Klaus. "Don't treat me like I'm stupid. You can fool other people, but don't do that shit to me."
Dave tensed and opened his mouth like he was close to arguing Klaus again. His eyes were hard and set, no sign of him yielding to Klaus's wishes.
And then he softened. This new Dave that Klaus liked significantly less than his Dave returned back to the persona that he was much more familiar with. His muscles unraveled, his eyes lightened, and his face slackened in defeat. He sighed and broke his intense eye contact with Klaus, turning around and pacing the room.
Klaus just watched him, patiently (but inside, not-so-patiently), waiting for him to gather himself.
Finally, he spun around.
"You're right."
"…Okay."
"I- I haven't been… trying to keep it from you or- or- or-"
"Hey." Klaus soothed in his own sudden change of tone. He rushed forward to where Dave was anxiously fidgeting which was much more of a Klaus-characteristic than it was a usual for him.
Klaus took his hands in his and pushed their foreheads together. Just feeling Dave again, this time in a much more tender way than the last, diffused any last bit of tension that Klaus was holding onto. He wasn't mad in the slightest- now, he was just worried. He wasn't backing down though. Dave's secret, whatever it was, wasn't just a harmless inconvenience now. It was something that was affecting their relationship.
A small pang of guilt pierced Klaus's chest when he reminded himself of his own secrets that he was keeping from Dave.
One thing at a time.
Dave took a deep breath, turning his gorgeous blue chasms of light into Klaus's green ones. Dave's thumbs ran over the backs of Klaus's hands.
"Remember when we were talking about our past relationships?"
"…Yeah. Like… Five hours ago."
"Yeah, that's the time." Dave chuckled, raising a hand to brush through Klaus's hairline. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath with the feeling, so goddamned relieved to be back to a safe spot with Dave.
Now that the fight was over, Klaus didn't realize how much it freaked him the fuck out. He wouldn't have ever been able to imagine them arguing like that until it actually happened.
"So, the… The guy's name was Bryant."
"…Okay."
"But everyone called him Mick."
Klaus's pulse stopped. His veins went cold and a feeling all-too-familiar gripped his heart- it was the feeling he got when the dead were too near for his liking. When the line between the corporal world and the darkness was blurred into confusion.
A face blurred into his memory. A face that Klaus didn't recognize from the world of the living, but the dead.
"But-" Dave patiently waited for Klaus to connect the dots, holding him against his forehead still. "That's the- I've seen- He… He died?"
Dave swallowed thickly and nodded, offering a sad smile. Klaus pulled back from him, tearing his eyes away to trying to process this all but also be there for Dave in the way he should be… And how was that exactly?
Klaus couldn't imagine the pain of losing someone like that- someone that meant… that.
God… If Klaus ever lost Dave?
"I'm sorry." He whispered, turning back to Dave's eyes that patiently waited. Dave shouldn't be waiting for him, Klaus should be patiently waiting for Dave- for whenever he was ready to confide everything he's been keeping inside all this time.
Dave smiled again, but there was nothing happy about it.
"I uh- I knew him from college. Mizzou. We had a- Well, it wasn't super conventional. We would do "dating" things, we'd tell each other everything, we were each other's best friend but it was open too. I got a job elsewhere for a while, then he'd get some opportunity somewhere else so we never made anything 'official-official'. Anyway, we had always had this unspoken pact that someday we'd settle down though, just the two of us."
Klaus nodded, hanging onto every word.
"But then- I mean, I've told you that I'm from a small town, yeah?"
"Yeah." Klaus said in a voice so soft that it didn't even sound like his own. He was honestly scared to hear the rest. Part of him selfishly didn't want to, just because it involved Dave getting hurt.
"They're not too, er- Progressive in towns like that. They're traditional. Conservative. They don't like things they don't understand."
Klaus unfortunately saw where this was going.
"Anyway, there was this group of dingbats that I went to high school with. Not unlike Eugie and his shit-for-brain sidekicks, actually."
Ooh. Klaus saw why their current situation might have sparked some heightened emotions in Dave then.
"They never left the town, always lurking when they weren't working in the local processing factories. They acted like they fucking owned the city or something. I don't know, it was sad quite honestly. It was all they had, so people let 'em have it. They were always up on me though, ever since school. Then, they started following Mick and I one night on the way back from Cargo's… Oh, it's just a local joint… And then the harassment kind of just took off after that. Wherever we went, they seemed to find us. The usual bullshit, ya know? Driving by and screaming 'fags' or 'cocksuckers' or whatever. Sometimes they'd throw things or show us their blades in their jackets. Stupid stuff. One night it-"
Dave stopped and Klaus could tell this was getting to him. He instinctively raised a hand to Dave's face, running his fingertips along his cheekbone lightly.
"You really don't have to-"
"Yeah, I do. And I want to." Dave assured him, his voice back and strong again- unwavering.
That's my Dave.
"One night it went too far. They threw something at my car and it was dark and I swerved and there was a riverbank-"
Klaus's hands flew up to cover his own mouth in shock. He couldn't help his outrageously dramatic reactions, so much was making sense now.
"No!" His muffled protests came. "The water-"
Dave smiled despite the darkness of the story, obviously enjoying Klaus's reactions.
"Mhm."
"And I made you go in the pool!"
"It's really not a big-"
"Oh my God, yes, it is," Klaus said into his hands. "I'm sorry."
"No, no. Klaus if it really bothered me that much, I wouldn't have let you. And I wasn't lying about that story when I was a kid. There are multiple reasons that water is just… fucking… Satan's domain." Dave tried to assure him, putting his strong hands on Klaus's shoulders to keep him from jittering. He gave Klaus's body a soft squeeze which instantly muted some of his tension.
"Okay…" Klaus mumbled. "Sorry, go on."
Dave sighed and shrugged.
"I mean… You can probably put the rest together. Besides, I don't remember much. I had a lot of short term memory problems when they pulled me up out of the water. I could, and still, just remember flashes. Hitting the water, the awful impact. Mick trying to kick through the window. His hand grabbing mine beneath the surface right before we went completely under. I-"
Dave's voice broke again and Klaus couldn't take it much longer. He let his body fall forwards into Dave's chest, wrapping his arms around him.
"When I woke up, he was already long gone."
"I can't believe you kept this bottled up."
"Sorry."
"Don't you fucking dare say that."
Dave laughed, his abdomen contracted beneath Klaus's own. Four rested his chin on Dave's shoulder, squeezing him with every ounce of strength he had.
"I hope you know this doesn't, like… Change anything, or- I just mean- If there was a reason you didn't want to tell me before, which is totally fine, but I-"
"It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. And I feel better now. A crapton better. I just don't talk about stuff like that. Easier to not." Dave said, pulling back to see Klaus's face again. "Until it becomes a problem. Like today." Dave added, giving a half-roll of his eyes at himself and reminding them that of their surroundings- hiding in a shack not far from a few platoons of soldiers milling about and eating lunch outside after having their first fight.
What was it about again?
Oh yeah.
"Well… I'll stay away from Eugie… The best I can." Klaus added hurriedly at the end, earning a small smirk and another eye roll from Dave. And then,
"I'm sorry for freaking out. For yelling and shit."
"It's okay. It was kinda hot." Klaus admitted with a mischievous, teasing little glint in his eye. Dave chuckled and nudged Klaus in the ribs, making him snort with a short chortle of laughter.
"Freak."
"So… If I get you mad enough, will you get rough with me?"
"Oh my Christ, Klaus." Dave covered Klaus's mouth with his hand, then leaning in and removing it to replace it with his lips. Klaus smiled into the kiss, glad the atmosphere had naturally lifted itself back up to their usual light-hearted nature. "We said we'd talk about that some other time."
"It's another time, Sonny."
"I'm not hurting you."
"Is it 'hurting' if I like it?"
"C'mon. I'm hungry, kid." Dave dismissed, giving Klaus a short kiss on the lips again before walking out, giving him one last nod of his head out the door to tell him to come with. Klaus pouted but followed, feeling like a weight was lifted off of both of their chests. There had always been this unspoken fence between them when certain things came up… Dave's past relations, his hometown, water… Now, Klaus understood everything.
There was also a new level that their relationship reached in general. It was a reminder that the honeymoon phase and all that lovey-dovey crap was great, but Klaus and Dave were still very different humans and things were bound to spin out of control sometimes. Things couldn't always be fine and dandy, but as long as they stuck through it side-by-side, Klaus could deal with that. He felt like with Dave, he could deal with quite literally everything.
"And I'm getting our lunch this time."
A TRIPLE upload? Yes, confession: Have been totally flying through chapters on AO3 and then kept putting off FFiction. Sorry to anyone still reading. I'll stay on top of both.