-The Phantom-

-Together Again-

Through a dust covered window, the muted orange glow of the rising autumn sun peeking out from between shining skyscrapers slowly creeps across the rotted floorboards of (y/n)'s childhood bedroom. Tired (y/n) eyes force themselves to open once the warmth of the sky caresses her face as if saying it's last goodbye, the end of the world like a storm cloud ready to wipe the world clean at any moment. Shifting until she is laying on her back, gaze fixed onto the wooden arches bolted to her ceiling, (y/n) listens to the silence of her room as if it were her favorite song

"Shit-"

Furrowing her brows at the sudden noise, the woman presses her palms into the mattress beneath her and pushes herself up despite the protests of her sore muscles. Klaus. (y/n) remembers coming home last night after the ice cream truck disaster and being asked by her brother if he could spend the night with her. Something about how he didn't want to be alone, but knew that their other siblings would just make fun of him

When they were children, their late father would use cruel experimentation and volatile lessons to prepare them for anything that could be thrown their way. It was preparation, he said. To be strong he claimed he needed to break them down and build them back together again because, in his words, they were flawed machines in desperate need of tuning. However, children can only take so much torture. Klaus, (y/n), and Ben were the ones to crack the most beneath the pressure. The ones whose powers were the hardest to perfect in their fathers eyes. So, given the circumstances, they confided in each other and slept together when lessons were particularly brutal. It was easier to fend off the nightmares if you knew you weren't alone. Staring at the mess of blankets and pillows on the end of her bed, (y/n) finds a strange nostalgia at the familiar sight.

"Klaus?" she calls out for her brother, her gaze sweeping across the empty room before landing onto the fluorescent glow of the bathroom light pouring out onto her floor, "You okay in there?"

"Yeah-" his response comes out as a whisper, the man clearing his throat before continuing, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just-"

"Mhm?" she urges gently, rubbing the crust from the corners of her eyes as she swings her legs out of her bed

"I need you to flush...something"

(y/n) has to pause for a few full seconds, (e/c) eyes narrowing as she stares down the partially closed bathroom door a few feet ahead of her

"Flush something?"

"Just, come here-" his voice is quiet, "-please?"

"Fine" (y/n), still unsure of what this conversation was, makes her way to the door and lets herself in slowly, "But if you're seriously asking me to flush your-"

She never gets the chance to finish her sentence, cut off by the fragile looking man hunched over the porcelain throne. On his knees, hands gripping his sides as if squeezing himself together, Klaus lets his eyes meet hers once she enters. His face was slick with sweat and tears, freckled skin shimmering beneath the spotlight above.

"Klaus?" (y/n) gets down onto her knees beside him, reaching a hand over to gently wipe at the streaks running down his pale cheeks, "What's going on?"

"I can't do it..." he whispers, an embarrassed look contorting his features, "I need to do it, but I-I can't"

"Can't do what, Klaus?"

Seemingly unable to answer, he lazily points towards the toilet bowl beside them. Peering over the side of the white rim, (y/n) can make out a handful of bright blue tablets slowly dissolving into a pile of powder at the bottom of the bowl. His opioids. Turning to face him, she forces him to look her in the eyes through the gentle coax of her hand upon his face