Photograph-(Kaspar)

[Indigo]

The retreat of his lips from her own was like the dull burn of plucking a bandage free from the skin beneath it. The tip of her tongue brushed between her lips and then disappeared taking with the sweetness of Kaspar as she knew it to be. The revelation of witnessing the darker side of how someone with what would seem an abundance of blessings in fame and talent could inevitably turn into a curse.

The world was not always a fan of the one in the spotlight. It would rumble, toss and nearly stop if for nothing else to remind all witnessing that no one was truly invincible. From the offset their flaws would come to light and the disappointment would eventually set in that they were sold on one thing when it was no better than the rest. The were was always two sides to everything and as the sound of his voice continued she was told of examples from his life that confirmed that.

The strength of word was brutally honest while sending a subtle vibration from his chest that found it’s way to her skin and disappeared within. She was thirsty while he continued. She wanted to drink in these offerings he was putting out for her to partake in, to savor each and see the warts and all. And just as she was dining on what he was serving the words painting the reflection of two boys so alike yet worlds apart came to a point and the sound of his mouth. Her head lifted enough to look at him and found his expression was pretty much as she expected it would be with the statement. She wanted to wrap her arms around the Klaus she had yet to meet and hold him tight.

“Ouch.” Her lips turned down. She could sense the ache that went with his revelation. “How did you respond to that?”

[Kaspar]

Kas seemed to collapse deeper into the couch, were that even possible, the brief flash of anger had well and truly gone leaving him looking slightly deflated but no less glorious. Once more he laid himself bare before her, the fallen Angel whispering sins and telling he lost her wings, showing her the way each feather was plucked free leaving him bloodied but no less beautiful or rare. “I kissed him, against that crown of blonde, it was stupidly long then more so than mine.” Again he paused, weighing up the options about continuing, there were so many more feathers, but this one was of the tender variety, the soft down that felt more personal and pure then the grand wing tips. This was his, and few would ever know of it. “What do you say to that, you know? What do you SAY? Did he mean that I was more like our father? Was that an insult or was he jealous? My brother is not really the jealous kind, I love him for it in fact so the only way I could take it was as something intended as cruel. Thats wrong, isn’t it? I was wondering if he was trying to say I was like Niklaus and it was him being unkind to me, trying to hurt me.”

His tone had shifted again, though his voice did not rise in volume it did in urgency, a hushed sort of whisper. Like a confession beneath the sheets, spoken quickly, barely stirring the air and certainly not interrupting a tender moment. This moment wasn’t tender though, was it? He was telling Indigo of the moment that had shook him, that had actually made him question himself for the first and possibly last time in his young life to date. “He did not want to hurt me, I knew that but I became worried at his intention so I asked. “Klaus, what are you saying? What does your name have to do with anything?” And he said, “I’m not going to live up to his expectations, he wants something from me I can’t give and YOU can. You could be it, Kas. I can’t do it, ok? I don’t want to be like him.”

Kaspar released her head from the cradle of his hand, stretching it out so he could see the tattoo upon his knuckle. “I shoved him out of the nook, I pushed him down and I raised my fist…” Fingertips curled into his palm, forming a fist and jabbing it lightly into the empty air. “I didn’t hit him, I swore at him and said, “We will never be Niklaus Kirsh, or Nik ******* Cherry. Ok?” I wanted to know why he’d said it, and I could only imagine Vater had gone on a drunken tirade aimed at quiet Klaus. I went to find him, and he DID receive my fist.” He saved her from the description of what occurred next, of how he’d let his fists fly, surprising his father where he lounged with a whiskey in hand. He’d got in a few decent shots, he hadn’t been strong enough to do much damage but he was fueled by anger. Nik had smashed that glass into his back, knocking him down and caught him with a nasty knock that split his eye open. “I have two scars from that night, Klaus has one and Nik probably doesn’t even remember it happened.” He lifted her hand in his, drawing it up to the small scar so pale it was barely visible just at the edge of his eyebrow. “So… God, please tell me to shut up? Even for me this is too much talk of myself. What can I ask you, hm? Tell me about your family?”

[Indigo]

Kaspar was visible under a whole different light. She felt as if he had touched down finally before her and was sharing common ground. Not that she didn’t feel as though he was out of reach before but he finally offered something she could identify with. Feel, perhaps, that made her realize that her angel was not immortal after all and truly human just as she was along with Adley and Jameson. Her eyes chased her hand that was cradled in his own until it reached the proof that young his life left scars behind. Everyone had them and he was feeling safe enough to show her his, pointing them out in fact so that she wouldn’t have to search to find them.

“They are tragic yet beautiful marks.” Her fingertips caressed the length of the scar. “Of time served and lived.”

Twinges of burn and ache surfaced. She no longer was wounded but she would be haunted for some time to come thanks to what had left the pink fresh layers of flesh in the otherwise flawless landscape of silky smooth caramel flesh. Each would be honored as a badge from a war she didn’t sign up for, didn’t want. Just like Kaspar and Klaus she was an innocent bystander that was pulled into it because she happened to be there.

“You were young, unaware. You cannot be holding yourself responsible for what you were oblivious to. You acted when you became aware and that is all anyone can do, Kaspar. We aren’t born heroes. Heroes are made when ordinary people do the right thing.” She nodded and kissed the top of his hand. “Which you have done and are. Besides, no offense but your father sounds like he was in full dick mode during that time in your childhood. I hope he got it out of his system. Things like that rattle my cage and my inner ***** rises.”

Kaspar wanted to know about her family or perhaps more than anything else he wanted off the hook of the questioning about his life. He admitted he found himself more important than most of the planet he was currently hitching a ride on and she believed him. It wasn’t like she was aware that as awesome as he was that he too could be a major case of self-absorbed asshat if pressed. Being let off the hook could be considered cutting him a break but for him she would concede and let him out of the hot seat. She couldn’t blame him.

Family. It was something she was not entirely comfortable discussing either. Her life was no bed of roses. Outside of being left with more than a few thorns in her side she had less to offer up for proof that those she would be expected to identify as family even existed. Maybe that was a good thing. She was not so sure that she wanted to begin the summary of her life but she did feel that if he asked she should give him an answer.

”Mmm…” The sound gave her time to decide where to start. She would begin with what could feed the curiosity, if any, about her features. “My mother was a blonde, blue eyed flight attendant that enjoyed seeing the world from a bird's eye view.” She looked down to the beaded bracelet on her wrist. “My mother’s name was Agnete Skovgaard. I was told her surname means something along the lines of being from a farm or woods. She certainly never was one you would find out on a farm or in the woods. Pretty sure the woman wouldn’t know what to do if she was on either one. She was from originally from Denmark. Her parents brought her over when she was three?” She paused realizing that was wrong. “Sorry, four.” She shrugged.

Indigo hated to bring up the next part because it always brought up more interest in a countries growing issue with terrorism than the fact that the woman died and she lost her mother way too soon. To Indigo it didn’t matter that the country she was visiting was attacked, it really ranked low in her mind. She was too young to appreciate the impact of terrorism when it happened.

“She was on a layover before another overseas flight. She was staying with a friend who had to grab some files or whatever from an office.” Indigo had no interest in being in any buildings that were taller than she could safely jump out of and the following was the reason why. “Her office was in the south tower but for whatever reason my mom and her were closer to the top. Something like a hundred floors up?” Indigo swallowed dryly. “Anyways, she and her friend had enough time to call my Dad to tell him they were trying to get out but it was hard with the smoke and so many people. I just happened to be sick and home from school. While he tried to make phone calls that did nothing to change the course of events she told me everything was going to be okay, to get in bed and rest. She said she would skip her flight overseas and was coming home. It was loud but I heard that clearly despite the screaming and her friend crying.” Her eyes blinked. “She never came home. No remains were left to claim. I usually say she died suddenly in some hospital because it saves time having to explain I was too young to remember anything beyond that. It was the last time I heard her voice and it was the beginning of the end for my Dad.”

She stretched and went back to the last of what she had to share about family life as she knew it.

“My father, Darius Knight, was an airforce pilot born in the states to parents who immigrated from the Bahamas. Nassau? Back to the point, he couldn’t sing but loved planes so he who took up commercial flying once he retired from the military. Fate or whatever would have it that they crossed paths in Berlin and were one of those cases that they were too caught up in their careers and schedules to settle down together surrounded by a white picket fence for any length of time.” She glanced at him to make sure she didn’t put him to with how boring it sounded. “They never married. I am not on board with the idea of there being one true god. I never went to church.”

Just when she thought she was done she realized she forgot to add a couple things.

”I have a brother, Davion, who is out on the streets somewhere if he still is breathing. He is five years older than me and more than likely dead. I was raised in Toronto by my Dad’s brother, Phineas Knight. He is an artist and went missing a little over a year ago. No one knows what happened to him. He disappeared without a trace, which seems to be not so uncommon around here. Any remaining family members I haven’t really been in contact with. I hate hospitals, buildings too high to jump out of, two minute sex, people who can’t share, the color yellow and lies. Mushrooms on pizza is always negotiable, so is the side of the bed I sleep on. My first crush was on a girl but I love boys too. Then again you probably figured that out.” She winked. “All done. How about a drink?”Indigo was still tasting the orange that was in her mouth earlier but she was not against finding something more to soothe her parched tongue.

[Kaspar]

Her fingertips on the thin scar made his eyes flutter shut, letting her explore his features, beautiful and tragic, he didn’t consider it tragic, he’d moved on from the pain of acknowledging who his father was and who he might become. That’s what he told himself, every day, because while in truth he had picked up some of the less admirable qualities of Nik Cherry, they didn’t outshine his good qualities. His mother’s need to care for people, to hold them close and give back lived within him too. A hero? Even with Kaspar’s sense of grandeur and power he wouldn’t go that far, she clearly saw him in a very different way to that which he saw himself.

She saw the man who had cared for her without question, who had been gentle and adoring providing her comfort. Indigo believed him to be someone who would go out of his way to care for others and at times he did, but it wasn’t without reason, it always benefited him in some way to do so. Kaspar didn’t believe charity or kindness of any kind was random, was given freely. He knew too well that people often only did things for the praise they would receive even if they did not admit it. It made them feel good to give, to provide, made them feel important and worthy. Who out there could say they didn’t enjoy the reward of a good deed? Life was a series of devil’s bargains, where if played right everyone came out the victor just some better off than others.

As he had asked about her family he noticed the reluctance, for Kaspar’s charm to work he had to be observant, to be in touch with people’s emotions and had only grown more so after his turning. His eyes swept over her, picking up all the little signs that screaming “not this topic”, and yet it made him curious. “It’s ok, Indigo.” His arms rocked her close, supporting her if she wished to speak or not, but he knew she would. He had asked and she would give him what he wanted. As her story went on he made sure to smile at the appropriate moments, but largely he looked pensive. It explained a lot about why she was so free and easy with her love, why she was happy not to pin them down, not to make demands. It also seemed relevant to her desire to make them a sort of family, here together.

She wanted a home, a place to call hers with the people she wanted to claim as her own. Her heart would be broken were they to leave, no matter how laid back she was about what they got up to. Indigo loved them, and with them she was slowly replacing a mother taken away cruelly, a brother that was absent, a father figure weakened by despair and an uncle that gave her hope and she had disappeared just the same. “I’m sorry, beautiful one, for your tragedies. I’d say we all have our burdens to bare, some are heavier than others. I’m sorry to ask, but… What happened to your father? And I promise not to drag you up tall buildings, or put you into hospitals… As long as you keep yourself from injury, and don’t put me in the mood to take you skydiving without a parachute. I can’t make any promises regarding the colour yellow, that’s just too much.” He teased her, trying to lighten the mood. A drink sounded like a really good plan, so he nodded his agreement. “Should I, or…?”

[Indigo]

She had failed to mention what happened to her father? Indigo smiled realizing she had. It was pretty common that she did when it came down to it. ”He died of a heart attack. It was not long after my mother was gone. Uncle Phineas was my first angel. Yellow is non-negotiable. Just letting you know now.”

Losing her father in the place designed to save lives was the real reason she hated hospitals. They never did anything good for her and she wasn't interested in giving them the benefit of the doubt. The idea of a drink was agreed upon and she felt much more relaxed, off the hook in fact. A little more was learned about one that she shared time and space with. Kaspar in turn learned about her as well. It was a toss up as to who would make the drinks.

“I can.”

Her body pulled away from his but before it did she turned and kissed his cheek. She bent over and picked up his phone and set it back down on white leather chaise.

“What can I get you to drink?” Her eyes stayed on him, her body still planted at the side of where he was sitting.

[Kaspar]

A heart attack, not uncommon but sad in its own right, especially after one had recently lost a mother. He would feel adrift if he’d lost his mother, now it would hurt him but not in the same as when he was young, he’d needed her presence to calm the household, to keep them all from slipping out with the tide and being pulled under by a rip that caught them. She kept their heads above water, kept them breathing and fighting, his father was the riptide. Alone, he would’ve dragged them down without fail. “I’m sorry for that, I wish I could’ve met Phineas. He sounds like an interesting man, and I mean this place just screams artistic extrovert.” He gestured to the room they sat in, a lot of it still from Phineas’s original design aesthetic, now littered with their joint belongings.

The man acted disappointed, jutting out his bottom lip as she pulled herself free of him, offering drinks and returning the damn phone to him. “A beer is fine, I bought more, they are in the fridge.” He rubbed at his face, groaning as his phone beeped at him, signalling the arrival of a message. While she moved off to gather them drinks he gingerly lifted the device, peeking through his fingers to see who wanted him now. “Oh… Speak of the Devil, it’s Klaus. He says i’m an asshole, what a shock!” Kaspar grinned as he texted back, informing the man that he was in fact the asshole. He hesitated, not sure whether to type the next part, to tell his brother they’d been speaking of him but he did. “I was talking about you, I got asked about the worst thing that ever happened to me. You know what story I told?”The reply took a while, not his brother’s normal quick fire response. He was about to put the phone down when that beep came again. “You’re not Nik.” Ah, so he did know.

He settled back into the chaise, waiting for his pretty little lap warmer to return, “Thank you, I love you arschloch. Remind me of the benefits of not killing our father? I might need the reminder as he is arriving here in a day or two. He’s now demanding to meet my “friends” and has gotten agreement from Wifey to come along, and bring Will. I’m not sure I want him exposed to that crap at 5 months.” Sent, and he discarded the phone to the floor once more, Klaus would think before composing his list no doubt and provide some soothing words. Kaspar wasn’t ready to read them, he wanted a beer and a caramel coloured beauty in his arms, he wanted to kiss her and make her flush, turn her molten beneath him. Distraction, he wanted her distraction.

[Indigo]

Sorting through the endless selection of beer that seemed to accumulate in the Hive, as did wine, she finally located his usual behind the cottage cheese and the humus she was thinking ought to be tossed out. She eyed the container then the beer and shrugged closing the door. The glass of zinfandel was cradled in her palm as she made her way back to Kaspar. Extending the beer to him she sat down and lifted the glass up.

“To stories we have lived that we shall never forget and live to tell again.”

There was something about sharing with him what she did that gave her a sense of relief. She could move forward now that the hurdle was cleared. It explained why she was not interested in settling down, accumulating 2.5 kids and having an address label that attached her to some douchebag in the suburbs who shared a mini-van title that was bought so she could be the soccer mom. It wasn’t in the cards for her and never would be. It felt too good to fly, to be free and more recently “high”. This was a much better place now that she had found it, thrived in it.

[Kaspar]

His arms reached up for her, accepting the beer, laughing at her toast. “Prost, beautiful.” He took a deep draw from the beer, the way he leaned back and sighed after making him look like he should be on a commercial, smacking his lips playfully for her. “Mm, mm. I needed that.” The man took another sip, his phone had beeped a message tone, and it was starting on the second reminder beep. He gave it a glance, choosing to ignore it for the moment. His mind was on other things, and he wasn't prepared to let it slip back to the inevitable daddy issues he and his brother shared. Kit was the only one who seemed somewhat oblivious to it, content to bask in the glory of the rocker lifestyle, riding coattails into her own fame. Well, she had it and she was still largely a screw up, or miserable. She was older in years only, sometimes he felt like Klaus was the most responsible figure in his immediate family and that in itself should've been a bit of a worry.

Another sip of his beer, drinking down the concerns of family matters. His arm wrapped around Indigo, drawing her back towards his chest and carefully situating both them and their drinks so they could once more sit comfortably entwined. He wasn't ready to give up the contact, and he was drawing to a point that no he longer really wanted to talk, he wanted blissful silence other than heavy breaths and soft moans. He'd would accept quiet whispers, but that was it. The drink was helping slightly to cool his temperament, to let him hold out a little longer from silencing her with a kiss, she was in a mood to share the truth and he would hear it, he would find out more about her to better meet their mutual needs.

He figured he owed her one more question, it was an important one because of what the men were that she had chosen to live with. He had spent time thinking about the topic, speaking briefly with Adley and Jameson about the issue of immortality should it ever arise. Did they tell her? Give her a choice? Did they want to make her one of them? She should have at least the chance to have the life she wanted before any of them went deciding her fate, Kaspar wasn't fussed either way but Adley had grown an interest in making her linked to him eternally. Kaspar wanted to know what she might miss out on if she said yes, if her time was cut short and she no longer had the human means to procreate or wed with her caramel skin kissed with sunlight. “Did you ever think about all the crap, though, Indie? Did you ever want it? Normality? A husband, kids? A wife?”

[Indigo]

She wrinkled her nose at him and sampled the wine in her glass. While she did her body found its way next to his which she had noticed was no less comfortable than it was before she got up to get their drinks. While the sweetness of the zinfandel coated the inside of her mouth she gave what he asked some thought.

“I have normality.” She glanced at him curiously. “I don’t think I am the marriage type. I certainly don’t feel the need to be attached to anyone to feel normal, nor share offspring with another to feel complete. No offense.” She hoped he wouldn’t take what she said wrong. It was no way intended to be pointed at him. “I can’t say never obviously but it isn’t on my bucket list of things that I must do. I haven’t felt the need or desire.”

[Kaspar]

He laughed boisterously at that, her uncertainty over whether her statement might offend him, as he had some grand plan to be a family man. He had a family, but his plans were another matter entirely. Sometimes life surprised you, and you just had to take the hit and turn it into something great. “Look, i’m very pleased with what I have and while it may not have been the original timing or exactly planned, I suppose I wanted a family. Ja, I did, I mean I wanted the chance to have a mini me who I could help shape and they would then help shape the world. That’s kind of amazing when you think about it, right? I don’t believe a family has to be traditional in any sense, it can be what you make it and for me that is my son, Wifey and those I choose to keep close.” He put down his beer, picking up the phone for the last time, reading over Klaus’ brief and amusing list, plus his sweet reminder that no matter what Nik threw at him, he would always be himself and did not have to bend to the man’s will. “Ah, I think I really am the evil one…” He put the device on the table, once more glancing at his knuckles, his tattoos on both hands representing the two sides that when together created a balance necessary to survive, light and dark.

Both played a heavy part in his life, impacting his decisions and colouring his world. It was his opinion that you could not have one without the other, you needed contrast and shadows to make the world a more interesting place. The light was blinding, the darkness suffocating. He needed both to feel alive. He was tired of waxing lyrical in his head about the meaning of life, about his family and hers. He wanted contact, without barriers or restraint. Thoughtless, he wanted mindless and numbing glory. Kaspar swallowed the last of his drink, urging Indigo to do the same with a fingertip tapped against the bottom of the glass. When she’d drained the last drop, brushing a droplet of wine from her lower lip, the man reached to uncurl her fingers from around the glass putting that aside with his own. “I’ll make family where and whenever I want it, and right now I want you three. You’re not something fleeting, I want you to stay in my life for a while, ok? Now no more talking, none, not a word unless it’s my name screamed like a prayer.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, he didn’t need to wait anymore. He had her, and her eternal consent to whisk her away in a whirlwind of kisses and tantalising touch. His lips found hers, finding them sweet with wine, drawing her into a kiss that said “no more talk”. His arms lifted her against him as if she weighed nothing, carrying them both breathless to fall into the silken sheets upon that massive bed, he didn’t want to say another word until the others came back to join them.