Archive of Our Own ^beta

Klaus liked the park. It late April so the change of snow was low and the weather was getting warmer. He liked watching the kids try and fly kites or play frisbee with their families. He liked watching the dogs in the dog section. He liked that he wasn’t crowded by walls.

“Hey Klaus, you want a hotdog?” Eudora asked and Klaus looked up from his drawing of Diego with a flower crown.

“Sure.” He said and she smiled at him. She was a good friend.

“Alright. I’ll be right back.” She said standing and heading towards the vendor who was on the actual path. They had set up their blanket in the warm grassy field that made up most the park where they were surrounded by the other park goers. There was a police scanner on the blanket but Eudora had turned it way down so that it wouldn’t disturb the others around them. Klaus reached over and flicked the volume up, hoping to hear even a brief snippet of Diego’s voice.

“10-53 on Lincoln Ave. Can anyone get there fast?” A dispatcher was saying

“10-4, Cruiser 46 is right around the corner.” Diego’s voice said.

“10-4.” The dispatcher replied Klaus smiled and laid back. The sun was warm on his skin and he was content. Eudora nudged him to get his attention and he sat up to eat his hot dog. It was nice to spent time with her, she worked nights so that she could spend the day with him and Diego worked days so that he could stay home at night. Klaus felt slightly bad that they couldn’t spend their time together, he knew Diego loved Eudora and it seemed the love was mutual.

“How are you doing Klaus?” Eudora asked and Klaus shrugged. He itched for a hit of something. He wanted a glass of whiskey. He wanted a smoke. He wouldn’t get any of these because he needed to stay clean.

“I’m okay.” He said and she smiled at him.

“That’s good. The therapy helping?” She asked and he shrugged. His therapist, Mr. Greaves creeped him out a bit. Klaus could never put his finger on why so he didn’t say anything to Diego or Eudora. He didn’t want to get the man in trouble without proof that Mr. Greaves had done something wrong.

“10-53 all cleared up. No one was hurt.” Diego’s voice crackled through the radio making Eudora jump

“Did you turn that back up?” She asked drowning out the dispatcher’s reply Klaus and he nodded

“Worried about Diego?” She asked and he nodded again. She gave him a smile that said she was amused

“You are a very good brother.” She said before taking a bite of her hotdog. Klaus scrunched up his nose at the word ‘brother’. He knew they were and so it shouldn’t have rubbed him the wrong way to be called Diego’s brother. Still it did and he wasn’t sure why. He nibbled on his hotdog and watched a little boy ride on his father’s shoulders around the grassy field. A tickle of something cold slid down Klaus’ neck and he slapped at it absentmindedly only to realize there hadn’t been anything there. Immediately he tensed, scanning the area for whatever had triggered his paranoia. There wasn’t anyone paying any obvious attention to them. They were surrounded by families enjoying the warm sunny day.

“What’s wrong?” Eudora asked and Klaus shrugged. He couldn’t verbalize his fear of someone watching them. If he did then Eudora would be on edge and it would ruin the day. He forced his body into a relaxed state but kept his eyes roving. Looking.

Waiting for something to happen.