SONG: Shelter - Finneas

Luther agreed to help me install my lights and we decided on sometime tomorrow. I gave him my phone number, told him to give me a call whenever it was a good time for him, and was on my merry way to Klaus' room. On my way there, I passed an open door to a room I hadn't gone in before, with soft blue light seeping out from the inside. It caught my attention as I hesitantly looked in.

I saw Klaus with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing more, running water for a bath and dancing and humming along to a song coming through some headphones he had on his head. I cleared my throat, gaining no attention whatsoever. Then I knocked, gaining the same reaction. I eventually just laughed to myself and walked in, shutting the door behind me and walking up to him. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, I caught him right before he went to unwrap the towel from around his waist, putting a hand on his back. He jumped and looked over at me, pulling off the headphones.

"Hi," he said. He looked... Not high for once. I glanced at the bath tub, determining we could both fit inside it.

"Mind if I join?"

It wasn't long before we were both unclothed, something we had been a lot while being together apparently, and in the tub with bubbles floating at the surface, covering any bits we might've been able to see otherwise. He was so long his legs stretched out over the end of the tub, but mine just stretched barely past his waist.

"You're so tiny," he smirked at me.

"Shut up, you egg," I glared jokingly. He grinned, leaning his head back over the edge of the tub so that all that was visible was his neck and jaw. I mentally pinched myself for staring just a bit too long at him. He was just... A beautiful man without even trying to me.

My mind started to wander as we sat in a comfortable silence, stretched out across each other. All I could think about whenever I was around him was just how happy he made me. Unlike my tranquility around Vanya, Klaus made me feel rambunctious and daring; confident enough to accomplish anything I dared strive for. Not to mention just how caring he was--for everyone, even if he wanted to act like he wasn't. From what I'd seen, he seemed to care more about the people around him than himself. He was funny, charming, great at almost everything, if you catch my drift.

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" I blurted out, snapping him out of some kind of daze he'd been in as he lifted his head back up to look at me.

"What?" he asked, most likely unsure if he heard me correctly. I wasn't even sure if I heard me correctly. I'd literally just met him three days ago, but he just felt like shelter to me. I took a deep breath, thinking carefully of how to use my words the right way.

"Klaus-"

"That's me," he nodded and I smiled at him, lifting my hand from inside the water to cup his cheek.

"Correct, darling," I said in an almost sardonic way before dropping my hand once more, causing a small splash, "Klaus, I really like you. I really like this," I gestured to us, "I really like myself when I'm with you. I don't really... Know how labels work. It's been years since my last and only relationship and we never even made it official. But... I would like to with you... If you wanted to, of course," I said, becoming more and more sheepish with every word until I was shied away and not even looking him in the eye.

"I don't really... Mess around with labels that often. Too many negative connotations with them," he replied. I felt my heart sink as heat flushed to my cheeks.

God, what was I even thinking? I'm a knob thinking he'll go for someone like me seriously.

"But," he drew me away from my negative thoughts, placing his finger under my chin to lift my head. When I looked to him, he was leaned forward, only inches away from my face, "I'm willing to give it a try with you," he smiled at me.

Instantly, my heart sprang back to my chest and began beating to the point that I thought it was going to explode out of my chest. Does that mean--Did this mean? Are we?

Before I could vocalize any of my thoughts (thank Christ), he closed the gap between us with the softest and sweetest kiss I had ever received. I returned it gladly, trying to make the moment last as long as possible before we were forced to break away.

"So does that mean we're...?" I trailed off, biting my lip to try and suppress my happiness, but I couldn't help the curl of the ends of my mouth.

"Yes," he chuckled at me, "Yeah, we are. And if you don't stop biting your lip we're going to have a problem," he smirked.

"Okay, okay," I said, looking down to hide the fact that I now couldn't stop smiling.

"You know, I think this is the most relaxing bath I've had yet," he said, leaning back into the tub, "We should take them all together."

"I literally can't tell if you're being serious or just horny."

"Does it matter?" he grinned.

"I guess not," I said, leaning forward to kiss him once more before stopping myself as I heard something outside the door. I looked over to see slow movement from under the door and furrowed my eyebrows. I wondered what sibling would be moving that slow before turning back to him. He was just staring at me, some indescribable look in his eyes, "What?" I laughed, forgetting all about the noise.

"What?" he repeated, smiling.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Oh, I just snuck some bubbles onto your head and you look like you're wearing a little hat now," he smirked. I immediately reached for the top of my head, though I didn't feel anything there, "Hah! Tricked ya'!" he laughed at me, to which I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh," I said before lifting some bubbles from the bath and blowing them into his face.

"Oh, it is on," he said after wiping them all away. He blew some back at me and I laughed, trying to cover my face so he couldn't get me, but he just ended up reaching over and tickling my sides instead. Needless to say, we were making a mess in the bathroom with the water and bubbles. That was until I heard what sounded like gunfire and froze, looking around. I turned back to him with a confused expression.

"Did you hear that?" I asked and he hummed, shaking his head.

"No, what?" he asked. I looked back towards the door, remembering the slow feet. If I went to check it out alone, I could use my powers on any intruders, but if I went with Klaus or there were people there, I'd be rendered completely useless.

"Oh, I think it was nothing, but I just remembered that I was supposed to ask Luther to help me with my lights-"

"What happened to your lights? And right now?" Klaus asked, I shrugged as I stood from the bath, grabbing one of the many towels he kept nearby.

"If I don't right now, I'll probably forget to," I said, drying myself off as I stepped out of the tub, "Again," I added.

"Fine," he sighed, leaning down in the tub. The look of disappointment on his face was heartbreaking, especially seeing as I'd give almost anything to stay with him, but I knew Vanya was here somewhere and I couldn't just sit by while I heard what sounded like gunshots. Even if it was just a false alarm, I'd feel better if I checked. As soon as I got all my clothes on, I bent down to plant a quick kiss on Klaus' lips, making him smile up at me, "Meet in the bedroom when you're done?" he winked.

"Sounds like a plan to me," I smiled as I stood straight back up and made my way out of the bathroom, taking one last glance back at him to see him put back on the headphones he'd been wearing when I found him in the bathroom to begin with. I heard more suspected shots being fired and, once I was far enough away from the bathroom, began running in the direction they were coming from, running straight smack into Diego.

"Other way," he said, grabbing onto my arm and pulling me along with him. I ran as fast as I could to keep up with him before hearing shots behind us, fired right at us. I noticed pretty quick that we were running straight at a balcony railing and not for any stairs.

"Uh, Diego-"

"When I say jump, jump!" he exclaimed as we made it to the railing. I did as he said and he threw me up just high enough so that we both went flying over the rail. He quickly grabbed onto me, almost shielding me with his own body as we fell, fortunately landing on the sofa. We both immediately rolled off and as soon as we realized our position, pulled about three feet away from each other, hiding behind some kind of table that was difficult to see in the soft lamp lighting.

I looked at him, watching as he lifted a finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. We both heard footsteps descending on the side closest to me, and I felt him pull me to the other side of him before he leaned over to try and see the people who were apparently shooting up their mansion. I also tried to look, but couldn't get a great view of them through his head. He actually didn't seem too terrible right now. He leaned over to me once more, mouthing something that looked like "stay here" before moving around me to get around the room. I waited until I heard the guns firing before I strategically removed the light from the lamps around us, suspending us in a darkness that was comfortable for me. I crawled around to the other side of the sofa, now getting a better glimpse of the intruders through the moonlight. They were both wearing suits and masks, and they would not stop shooting.

Not until Luther appeared behind them and pushed one, grabbing the other by the collar and throwing them across the room connected to this one with a heavy grunt. The one he had pushed turned, cocking their gun and began aiming it at Luther before Allison appeared, kicking it directly out of their hand with a yell. I turned away and moved towards Diego as I let the lights turn back on, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up. We were just in time to see Allison being choked out by the one she had been fighting. I ran up to and jumped on the back of the very tall person, trying to get their attention off of Allison, but ended up being slung to the side like a ragdoll before Diego gave it a shot. The man (I determined it was a man while on his back) didn't go down, however, until Luther ran back in and punched him in the gut before throwing him in the same direction as his partner.

"Who the hell are these guys?!" Allison shouted

"Nobody good," I answered.

"You're welcome," Luther said to Diego and I.

"We were doing fine," Diego defended.

"Oh, yeah, you really had them--"

"Oh, you ever heard of a rope-a-dope?" Diego asked, barely finishing before more shots were fired at us and we all ducked. I knew I should get back to Klaus and find Vanya to warn them both, but I wasn't really sure how I was going to get out of this situation. I quickly made my way to the nearest cover, before seeing Diego crawling on the floor and instead sliding down to help him out of the line of fire. I didn't know what I'd do if one of these guys got hurt when I could've done something. I pulled him to the side, where the bullets couldn't get to, and he looked at me, out of breath, "Thanks," he said, seemingly surprised that I helped him.

"I know you'd have done the same," I said, waving it off. I looked around to see Luther and Allison running into a hallway connected to the room we were in on the opposite side of the room. I looked at Diego and stood up, looking around for somewhere to go. I ended up running into a hallway connected to the side of the room we were in and hiding in there with Diego. He looked over at me and pointed.

"Stay hidden--out of trouble. You're even more useless if you're dead," he whispered before running off and I rolled my eyes. Of course, I'd save him and he'd say something like that. It didn't bug me that much, though, knowing that that was just the kind of person he was. Too much testosterone.

"Guys? Is everything okay?" I heard a familiar voice call after a moment and made my way through the hallway to be able to see into the foyer. I watched Vanya walking down the main staircase and through the foyer, towards the room we'd been attacked in, "Hello?" she asked. I looked around to make sure nobody was around before sprinting through the foyer to her.

"Vanya!" I whisper-shouted at her, reaching her and placing a hand on her shoulder as she turned to me. I held my index finger up to my lips to keep her quiet. She nodded, closing her mouth as I looked around to make sure we were alone before back to her, "the mansion is under attack. Have you seen Klaus?" I asked in a hushed voice, to which she shook her head. I frowned, hoping he was still safe before her eyes widened as she looked behind me.

"Luce! Behind you!" she shouted, to which I turned around to watch the man with the bear mask run up to me with what looked like a mace or a Morningstar in his hand, swinging it roughly at us. I took a deep breath, lifting my arms to block my face, but trying not to let my fear get the best of me as the weapon latched onto my arm, throwing me off my feet and to the side. I landed with a throbbing and stinging feeling in my muscles, opening my eyes to see him swinging it at Vanya. I looked at the chandelier above us and blew out, watching as the lights went entirely out and we were submerged in darkness. I hoped Vanya hadn't seen. I could see her duck his swing in the darkness before sprinting to me.

"Hey, asshole," I heard as I sat up with an aching pain in my arm, looking over to see Luther as Vanya reached me.

"Oh, my God. Are you okay?" she asked, helping me to my feet.

"Yeah, listen, you need to get somewhere safe and away from these psychos," I whispered to her as we moved away from the scene unfolding before us.

"There's more?" she questioned.

"Only one, and I don't know where they are," I said, hiding behind another wall, 

"Well, come on. You need to get to shelter too," she said, and I remembered once again that nobody here was aware of my powers.

"I have to go find Klaus first. I doubt he's even noticed what's happening," I said, it was true, and it would be much easier to fight my way to him if nobody else was around.

"Probably not. Just... Stay safe, all right?" she said. I held up my pinkie.

"I pinkie swear," I said as she hooked our pinkies. I looked back out at Luther and the intruder to see them going at it together. I wished I could help, but there was nothing I could do without revealing myself to them, especially Vanya. Luckily, by the time I finally ran off, I watched Luther slam the masked man to the floor, making me feel just a little bit better about leaving him.

I made my way back to the bathroom Klaus and I had previously been in, running in hastily.

"Klaus-" I started but stopped as soon as I realized he wasn't even in there. I ran up to the tub--completely drained. Great. The towels were also gone, which was a good sign, meaning he'd at least gotten out of here--and robed. I ran out, searching down the halls. I looked inside each room, though I knew which one he was most likely in. His own--Duh.

I sprinted to his room, about to reach for the handle when suddenly there was a sharp pain in my skull and everything went black, but not before I saw a familiar purple bear mask.

☂☂☂

I woke up to what felt like an earthquake as my body slammed hard against something metal before up against what felt like another body. I groaned in pain as I opened my eyes, a throbbing feeling in my skull. It was dark, but I knew I was in some enclosed space and I could vaguely see another figure beside me. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I couldn't, all I could let out were muffled words. The figure muffled something back, though it wasn't coherent, I knew it was my name, and I knew exactly who it was. I tried to move my hands, but could only reach them both up to his face as they were duck-taped together, as were my feet. He did the same and I shut my eyes as his hands caressed my cheeks and I just melted into the moment.

It didn't take long for me to realize that we were in a car, and even less time for the car to stop entirely. It took a while, though, before the trunk popped open and there stood two familiar people. I looked at them while Klaus screamed out of fear and I tried to scream angry terms at them that were just caught due to the tape.

They moved us inside, throwing us into two chairs and keeping us tied against them.

"You make any kind of noise, other than answering our questions, you'll regret it," the bunny-mask said with a feminine voice before ripping off the tape from our mouths, "Names. Now," she demanded.

"Like ours or yours?" Klaus asked.

"Let's change the question. Are either of you Luce Lancaster?" she asked, arms crossed. Klaus looked at me as my eyes widened. I hadn't used that name in over five years.

"No," I said with a glower. The bear mask took a step closer, tilting his head to the side.

"Really? Then why'd he look at you?" he asked.

"My name's not Luce Lancaster," I said with as much of a poker face as I could muster.

"Okay. Too bad our orders are not to hurt Luce Lancaster--Seeing as you aren't her, huh?" Bear Mask said though I knew he could be lying. I felt a sting on my cheek as my head snapped to the side, realizing bunny mask had slapped me.

"Stop lying to us. We got a photo of you in the order-"

"I don't go by that name anymore," I growled.

"Anymore?" Klaus asked and I looked over at him, my mouth gaping like a fish.

"Okay, enough games. We can't touch you, orders," Bunny Mask said, pulling out a pocket knife and pointing at me, "But the junkie, on the other hand," she pointed at Klaus.

"Don't touch him," I growled.

"No?" she asked, moving closer to him and pressing the knife sharp against his collarbone, "And what are you gonna do about it?"

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Where is Number Five?" Bear Mask asked and I looked at him.

"I don't know. Haven't been keeping tabs on that kid," I answered seriously.

"Bullshit. We know you've been in contact with him-"

"Distantly," I looked at the bunny mask. She shrugged and dug the knife into Klaus' skin enough to draw blood as he winced, "Stop it!" I shouted, earning a slap from the bear mask.

"Where is Number Five?!"

"I don't know! Just stop hurting him!" I screamed, looking up to watch as the lights flickered and they backed up to notice. I looked over at Klaus, who looked just as confused before looking at me, "I-" I started, looking over at the two masked people, "Don't hurt him."