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Allison heard the doorbell ring and walked downstairs, confused. Ray wasn't supposed to be back from work for a few more hours, and Claire's school didn't get out for another 20 minutes. Even then, her bus usually took upwards of an hour to get back since she was one of the last stops of the usual route, so unless something happened, neither of them should be back yet. Still, maybe Ray had ordered a package that needed to be signed or something along those lines. She should at least spare the delivery person the decency of answering.

As she opened the door, she was swiftly met with the fact that Ray had not in fact ordered a package, and the short man standing before her was an all too familiar face. "Viktor?" she asked, feeling a barrage of emotions and thoughts rage through her mind as she saw him. It was almost hard to stay pissed at him when he was trembling and avoiding her gaze, the set of his jaw registering as how he was when they had all reunited at dad's funeral and his anxiety was at its worst.

"Please, just let me say what I need to say before you send me away" he pleaded, his voice shaking. Allison realized with sudden horror that he was scared of her, much like he'd been back at that cabin when she'd tried to rumor him again and he attacked her out of fear. "My powers are gone, and I don't..." he continued, taking a deep breath. "I don't know if it's different for you, but just- I can't hurt you now, so please just-"

"Okay" the woman cut him off. He spared her a glance, just so he could read her expression. She still didn't seem thrilled at his presence, but the cold-blooded expression she'd had back when she was reading him the Riot Act was nowhere to be found. "What is it?"

"Um..." Viktor swallowed, rubbing a thumb over his knuckles in an attempt to soothe himself. He noted in the back of his mind to get back on anxiety meds as soon as possible. "I'm sorry" he started- That seemed like the safest way to trudge forward in this conversation. "For not telling you about Harlan. Honestly, there were so many other things on my mind that it didn't even register as something I should do- That doesn't make it okay, though. Um..." he took a deep breath again. "But, I do think you owe me an apology"

...

"Come inside, Viktor"

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Viktor hesitantly walked into his sister's home. This was his first time ever being in the house, and it was admittedly a lot bigger than he'd thought it would be. He knew Allison had become very successful in her career, but the image in his mind of what Allison's place would look like had admittedly been a lot smaller. Maybe it was because he'd lived in his own small apartment for so long or maybe it was because the Academy was so massive that he just sort of assumed normal homes were really small.

Allison led him into the kitchen, allowing him to very cautiously sit down at the dining table. He kept expecting her to rumor him or completely flip her shit again, but she walked over to her and Ray's coffee machine and began brewing a pot. In fact, it wasn't till a few minutes later when the coffee was done that she poured two mugs of the drink and walked back to the table. One with the creamer she and Ray used and one with a tiny bit of milk, as that had always been Viktor's preferred type of coffee. He was a bit caught off guard by how kind and considerate that small gesture had been considering she'd seemingly wanted him dead only a few days prior.

"You think I owe you an apology?" Allison asked, though it surprisingly didn't come with any hint of sarcasm or rudeness. Maybe it was all a façade, but it did succeed in making Viktor's anxiety die down a little bit as he took a sip of his coffee with a small, grateful expression.

"Harlan was my son, Allison"

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Allison raised an eyebrow at this, a small bit of what might have been guilt forming in the pit of her stomach. "What?" she asked, voice coming across as far more concerned than it had been in a while. Viktor swallowed again, that sense of fear returning to him. This conversation wasn't just walking on eggshells- It was more like walking on a bunch of coals and some of them had been torched. He had to carefully and strategically calculate his steps to avoid getting burned.

"Not in the way that Claire is for you, or even that dad was for us, but I helped Sissy to parent him back in Dallas" he clarified. "His dad was horrible to him and Sissy didn't understand how to help him a lot of the time because it was the 60s and they didn't have a word to put to what was so different about him, so I ended up helping him with a lot of his meltdowns" he continued, grateful that Allison had yet to cut him off. When he glanced up at her, he found that she was simply listening and drinking her coffee. "He was like my son, and you took him from me"

"...as payback for Claire" Allison muttered, realizing the full extent of how shitty her action had been. She'd spent so much time just ruminating over how much Harlan's mistakes had cost her that she never took the time to think of how her killing him would've affected her brother. Viktor just nodded in response. "Viktor, I didn't realize"

"I get that, Allison" he replied, voice a little angrier than it was earlier. "I understand that you were upset, and I know you didn't know the full extent of why Harlan and I were close, but you still killed him" he went on. "And then you blamed me for everything"

"Well-"

"No" Viktor cut her off firmly. "I know I've done some shitty things but I have always apologized and tried to be better, I really have" he insisted, his voice shaking more and more. He had an iron grip on the mug of coffee in his hand. "And I know that what I've done has caused you pain, but come on"

"Viktor, I-"

"I mean, 'We should've left you in the basement'?" he quoted her, unable to stop the tears from pricking at his eyes. "You guys did leave me in there if you fucking recall. I broke out"

"Vik-"

"SHUT UP!" Viktor shouted at her. The sight was all too familiar, eerily similar to that fateful day when he'd slit her throat. Only this time, he didn't have any powers. Nothing in the room was shaking. All that was there was a deeply hurt and traumatized man, and his sister sitting across from him with an ever-growing sense of guilt filling her stomach.

A moment passed as Viktor just sat there, breathing heavily as tears fell down his cheeks against his will. He'd been able to suppress a lot of these feelings back when the universe was collapsing in on itself since there was so much else to worry about, but now they were all relatively safe, and he was left to deal with the fallout. His anxiety only worsened as Allison stood up and walked around the table toward him.

Before he could react, she was wrapping his arms around him. He couldn't help but just break down further as she held him.

"How do I fix this, Viktor?"

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Viktor stilled in her arms. Allison wasn't sure what that meant, so she slowly let go of him and backed away. He'd said earlier that he didn't have his powers anymore, but she wasn't sure she completely believed him, and she didn't want to be right in the immediate blast zone if it had been a lie. Still, nothing around them was shaking.

"I asked you the same question" he said after a moment, a blank expression gracing his features. The tears were beginning to dry on his cheeks and he was so still that he could've passed as a realistic wax statue if the two weren't in the middle of a conversation. "You told me that wasn't possible"

"I know" Allison replied quietly. The guilt that had been growing in her stomach was washing over her in waves now. "I was angry" she added. "The truth is, I'd like for us to try"

"What? So you can feel better about yourself?" Viktor asked with a humorless chuckle. "For killing Harlan? For giving me a fake apology just to woo me into your stupid plan with dad? For being an asshole to me while the world was being eaten up?"

"No" Allison replied, her tone coming across far more desperate than she intended. "Because you're my brother and I love you and I don't want us to be fighting for the rest of our lives"

"I don't even know why I came here" Viktor said in a tired tone as he finished the last of his coffee and stood up. He walked over to the sink and rinsed the mug before setting it on the counter. Even this upset with the woman only a few feet away, he wanted to save her the extra work. Maybe a part of him still thought this was his own fault, them being such a mess. "This was a waste of time"

"Viktor, wait"

"What?" he asked, turning back towards her. He just sounded exhausted at this point. It hurt Allison to hear him this way. "Gonna rumor me again?"

"I'm sorry"

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Viktor didn't say anything for a moment, and neither did Allison. Those metaphorical hot coals were beginning to cool down, but they were still hot enough where stepping on one would've caused a burn. Allison didn't dare go forward, and Viktor was hesitant to as well.

"How do I know you're not lying again?" he eventually asked, looking at his sister with sadness. Another wave of guilt washed over the actress as her brother patiently waited for a response. What could she even say?

"You can't" she conceded. Viktor scoffed and began to walk back to the front door. That small devil on Allison's shoulder wanted her to rumor him to stay. She hadn't told him yet, but her powers hadn't gone away with the reset- The only effect on her powers that pushing the button had inflicted was that she was back to having to front any command with I heard a rumor. But, she also knew if there was any chance of rebuilding her and Viktor's relationship, that wouldn't happen if she started by forcing him to stay. "But, I'd like for us to try"

"Us?" Viktor asked, hand stopping on the front door handle. "Allison, I've already done what I could to try and fix things" he continued, his back still turned. "It didn't work. Please, just let me go. I need to figure out a living situation"

"Wait, you don't have anywhere to stay?" Allison asked, getting increasingly concerned for him. Viktor just shrugged.

"The Academy doesn't exist in this timeline and I don't have the money to afford my old apartment anymore" he told her. "Worst case scenario, I'll just stay at the hotel again"

"Why don't you stay here?"

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Viktor turned towards his sister once again, more confused than anything. Allison sighed as she stood up and walked over to him. He flinched, as though expecting her to hit him or something, but she instead just stood in front of him, towering a good five inches above his short body.

"There's a spare room upstairs" she said quietly. Viktor hesitantly looked up at her. Allison managed a small smile. "You can stay there if you want" she continued. "Plus, it would give us the opportunity- Give me the opportunity to try and fix things with you"

"Would Ray and Claire be okay with that?" Viktor asked, still not trusting the situation. Allison chuckled.

"I mean, I'll have to let them know so neither of them freak out when they find a stranger, but yeah I'm sure they'd understand" she explained. Viktor still seemed unconvinced. "Besides, I want Claire to get to know her cool uncle Viktor"

Viktor smiled at this. He was glad his family hadn't made a big deal about the whole trans thing, but little comments like that made him feel warm inside. He wasn't entirely convinced that this wasn't still a trick, but he was now far too tired to fight about it. Besides, he admittedly found the idea of living with Allison far more appealing than that of living with any of his brothers, at least until he could afford a place of his own.

"...Okay"

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Viktor had settled into the spare room quite easily. He didn't have any possessions except for the clothes on his body, so he hadn't needed to move anything in there. The room was mostly empty except for an old couch (it wasn't gross or anything- Just had been long since forgotten about), a desk with some scattered papers, and a few boxes of random items that weren't being used. Allison had told him to stay in there until she could explain everything to Ray and Claire, to which Viktor agreed. It's not like he had anything to do anyway.

Claire had been back from school for an hour, just working on her homework in the kitchen when Ray came through the front door with a cliché "Honey, I'm home!", which made Viktor chuckle quietly to himself, as did both Allison and Claire. The actress greeted her husband at the front door with a kiss, still very glad to have him back in her life.

"Hey" she said softly. "I have something to talk to you and Claire about"

"Uh oh" Raymond replied, though it was meant with nothing but humor. "Don't tell me you need to jump timelines again?"

"Oh, god no" Allison responded. "Never again. Just... Come sit in the kitchen?"

"Sure thing, love" the man agreed with a gentle smile as he walked into the kitchen area and sat next to his daughter. Claire was towards the end of that day's homework and quickly finished her last problem so she could turn her full attention to her mother, who patiently sat down and waited.

"So..." Allison started awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed in telling her family the news. "Claire, do you remember your aunt Vanya?" she asked, getting a small nod from her daughter and an increasingly worried expression from her husband. "Well, he's uncle Viktor now" she informed. Claire just nodded in understanding. "And, um..."

"What is it, Allison?" Raymond asked, growing worried. Allison's expression made it seem like bad news was on the horizon. Had Viktor died? Had he gone batshit again and killed someone else?

"He's gonna be living with us"

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Claire just seemed to find this piece of information vaguely interesting, but Raymond had some concerns. "Wait, so" he started, trying to wrap his head around this. "One of your brothers is movin' in here and you didn't talk to me about this first?"

"He just showed up at the front door earlier" Allison explained. "Basically just to tell me off cause I was a real dick to him in the previous timeline" she chuckled darkly. "And he mentioned he didn't have a place to stay so I offered up the spare room so he could have a roof over his head. Plus, it's a good opportunity for me to fix things with him"

"Wait, is he here?"

"Viktor!" Allison shouted so he could hear her from upstairs. Ray raised an eyebrow. He didn't seem annoyed, more surprised than anything, especially as they all heard the door to the spare room open and close, followed by some careful footsteps descending the staircase. Suddenly, the small figure of Viktor Hargreeves came into view, visibly nervous as the three people at the table were staring at him. "Come here"

"Hi" Viktor said awkwardly as he walked over to the table. Raymond eyed the man up and down. They'd never properly met- Ray had only vaguely heard about a sister blowing up a building back in Dallas (and based on the little "uncle Viktor" talk that Allison had just had with Claire, he easily connected the dots that this was that same person).

"Hello" Raymond replied, reaching out a hand, which Viktor cautiously shook. He looked back at his wife. "How many brothers do you have?"

"Technically six, but one of them died when we were young" Allison told him. Viktor chuckled nervously. "His doppelgänger is in Korea right now, last I heard"

"Sorry- His doppelgänger?"

"I can leave if you don't want me here" Viktor spoke up. Raymond looked over at him, causing him to swallow nervously. "I could probably stay with Klaus until I can afford my own place"

"No" Raymond said, hesitantly looking between Viktor, his wife, and his daughter. "You can stay here, Viktor" he allowed. Viktor couldn't help the small smile that came to his face at that. He understood why Allison loved the guy so much- He was a very kind man.

"Thank you"

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It was the second day of Viktor staying in Allison's home. Raymond and Claire were once again out of the house, at work and school respectively. Allison was up bright and early to bid them both farewell, as she did every morning. Now it was just her and Viktor alone in the house, so she decided to go up to the room and greet him.

She knocked on the door, wanting to respect his privacy (it was the least she could do for him at that point). After a moment of shuffling, Viktor opened the door with a small smile. "Hi" he said quietly. Allison returned the smile, glad that they were on speaking terms, even if those hot coals were still there.

"Hey" Allison replied. "Come downstairs for breakfast?"

"You made breakfast?" Viktor asked as he exited the room. Allison just nodded as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, her brother following close behind. When they got down there, he found that Allison had made pancakes and coffee- Two plates and mugs waiting on the table, ready to be eaten. "You didn't have to make me breakfast, Allison"

"I wanted to" the actress replied. Viktor scanned her face for any hint of deception but found nothing. "It's the least I could do" she added. Viktor smiled weakly at her.

"Thank you, Allison" he said as he began to cautiously eat his breakfast. Allison smiled at him, a genuine smile.

"So, I was wondering" the woman started carefully as she too nibbled at her food. "You need clothes, right?" she asked rhetorically. Viktor gave a slow nod. "Would you want to go clothes shopping with me today?"

"Allison, I don't have money"

"It's on me" Allison insisted. "I have more money than I would ever need in a lifetime- Why not use some of it to make sure my awesome brother has more than just one outfit?"

Viktor smiled at that. Allison was trying. She truly was.

"Yeah" he agreed after a moment. "Okay"

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They were in the men's clothing section of a nearby Target, casually looking around at what the place had to offer. They'd already deduced that Viktor was a size small (because short), so that helped them to find clothes for him easier.

"Are you seeing any shirts you like?" Allison asked after a while. All they'd gotten was a few pairs of pants and another hoodie, but strangely no shirts. Viktor shrugged, and visibly seemed uncomfortable. "Hey, what is it?"

"I don't want you to make fun of me" Viktor admitted, avoiding her gaze. This threw Allison for a loop. What on Earth was he talking about?

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

"At the wedding" he clarified, fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket nervously. The last thing he wanted was to get in a fight with her in the middle of the store. "You pretty much immediately made fun of what I was wearing" he explained. "So, I'm worried that if I find a shirt I like that you'll just laugh at me"

"Viktor, look at me" Allison said softly. Viktor hesitantly looked up at her, expecting to find anger or annoyance, but only found a gentleness in her features. "I'm not going to make fun of you" she assured him. "I'm sorry I was a dick at the wedding- I actually thought that outfit looked quite nice on you. I just wanted to get a cheap jab at you cause I was upset"

"This isn't just you being nice to get on my good side?"

"No" Allison assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We're here to get you clothes, right? So find some shirts that you'll actually want to wear, okay?"

"Alright" Viktor agreed with a small smile. The two walked over to the section that had the double-layered shirts where the sleeves were a different color sewed under the shoulder area. He liked those kinds of clothes- Along with button-downs, of course. "Would these suffice?"

"I think you'll look great in them, Vik"

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The two siblings got home and Viktor quickly went up to his room to change, a bit of his lingering stress leaving him as he felt the new, clean clothes replace the outfit he'd been wearing for the past few days.

He went back downstairs with a smile on his face- A sight that was nice for Allison to see on him. She knew he would probably never fully heal from everything that had happened over the past few timelines, but it was still nice to see him at least temporarily happy.

"Claire gets home from school in about 20 minutes" the actress informed. Viktor nodded, and Allison swore she saw the smile flicker away for a moment before returning, though this time it seemed more fake. She sighed. "I'm sorry"

"Why?" Viktor asked as he walked over to her. Allison frowned at him.

"It's not fair to you" she replied. Viktor tilted his head in confusion, so Allison swallowed her pride and decided to give him a clear answer. "That I get back the people I lost, but-"

"Sissy and Harlan are still dead" Viktor finished for her, his smile gone now. "Yeah" he added, a mix of dull anger and sadness in both his tone and facial expression. "I know"

"Viktor, I'm sorry"

"You don't have to keep apologizing" the musician replied with a small shrug. "It is what it is. It won't do me any favors to keep being mad at you for it" he said. Allison flinched at the sentiment because she had done just that in the last timeline herself. Viktor sighed. "I didn't mean it like that" he backtracked. "I know you were hurting, I'm not-"

"No" Allison cut him off. "You're right" she continued. "That's what I did. And it hurt you"

"Allison-"

"You said it yourself, Vik" she pressed on. "I killed your son. I gave you and the others a bullshit apology just to pull through on a plan that put you all in danger. I said some really shitty things to you. Fuck, Viktor, I..." she took a deep breath. "I fucking rumored you again"

"It's in the past" Viktor replied, his voice firm. "Okay? I'm not mad at you"

"I'm mad at myself, Vik"

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"In the nicest way possible, Allison, that's not my problem" Viktor told her firmly. The actress said nothing, and Viktor briefly worried that she was going to yell at him- Rumor him- Give up on him. But, none of those things came.

"You're right" she eventually said with a defeated shrug. Viktor wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond, so he was relieved when the front door opened and Claire walked in.

"Hi, uncle Viktor!" she said excitedly. Viktor managed a crooked smile in response. Allison said nothing- Didn't even spare her daughter a glance.

"Hey, kid" Viktor replied, giving Allison a grateful glance for explaining the whole your aunt is now your uncle thing so he didn't have to. "How was school?"

"Boring" Claire replied with a sigh. A part of Viktor felt a touch of sadness with this- He hadn't been there for Harlan when the boy was growing up. He didn't get to help the kid through things like homework or bullies- And when he finally did get him back, how swiftly the man was taken away. "I have a lot of math homework"

"Maybe your uncle Viktor can help you with it" Allison finally spoke up, not even looking at her brother as she left the room and went upstairs. A sense of dread built in his stomach at that, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment. Not with his niece looking up at him with expectant eyes.

"Yeah" he said, looking down at the girl with a forced smile. "I can help"

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Raymond got home shortly after Claire had finished her math homework (with the help of who she now deemed her "really smart uncle Viktor"), so Viktor finally had the chance to go find and talk to Allison.

He found that her and Ray's bedroom door was open, so he stood in the doorway and gave a small knock on the door frame to alert her of his presence. The actress, who had been sitting on the bed, looked up with a startled expression but relaxed slightly when she recognized her brother. A sad expression came over her face and Viktor sighed.

"Allison, I thought we were making progress" he told her, not sure what else to say. "But it's like, no matter what I do, you're still going to be cold with me" he continued. "If you want me to leave, I-"

"I don't want you to leave, Viktor" Allison cut him off. He scanned her face for any trace of deceit (despite the woman's acting abilities, he could still usually tell when something was off) and found nothing. "It's just hard, you know?" she asked him rhetorically as he sat down next to her on the bed. "I've forgiven you, but now it's... I'm having a hard time forgiving myself, Vik"

"Get over it, Allison" Viktor told her, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. At this point, he didn't care if whatever he said hurt her feelings- She was being cold to him anyway. "Honestly, I get it" he continued before the woman could reply. "You fucked up, you feel bad about it. Believe me, I know how much that sucks. But you don't get to give me the cold shoulder because you feel shitty about yourself" he told her firmly. "Not if you want me to stay"

"I want you to stay, Viktor"

...

"I'm going to bed, Allison" Viktor said, standing up and walking towards the door. "'Night"

Chapter Text

Viktor had a nightmare that night.

He wasn't sure exactly when he fell asleep, but at some point during the night, he found himself back on the bottom floor of the Academy, with Allison talking to him in a cold tone as she explained why she saw fit to kill his son. He opened his mouth to say something but was suddenly silenced by the taller Hargreeves' power.

He couldn't breathe or force open his mouth- He was choking, but Allison didn't care as she just screamed at him more, the sound far too loud than he was typically prepared for.

Suddenly, the setting around him changed to that of the cabin in the woods.

He saw a younger version of himself- Longer hair, more feminine attire. This younger self was screaming at Allison, telling her to go. Things around them were shaking. He winced as he recognized what this was.

Allison was afraid of him, and so she opened her mouth and began to speak.

"I heard a rumor"

A slash. Blood. Allison's body collapsed to the ground. This younger Viktor rushed to her side, panicked and hyperventilating as Leonard entered through the back of the room with a sick grin on his face.

"Stop showing me this" Viktor begged, pleaded into the void as the scenery changed once again.

A facility in Dallas, chained to a chair. His powers going haywire as he retreated into his mind. Ben (his Ben) coming to talk him down. His brother fading away in his arms.

This time, when the setting faded away, he was just left in darkness.

"Please" he pleaded, unable to stop the desperation in his voice. "I don't wanna see this"

"Oh, but you need to" a voice said, stepping into his view. It was Allison, dressed as she was at the wedding with an emotionless expression on her face. "You are a monster, Viktor" she told him, continuing to walk toward him until she was right in front of his face. She leaned down so they could see eye to eye. "And we'd all be better without you"

With that, he shot awake in bed, breathing heavily.

Needless to say, he didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

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When Viktor got up the next morning, he found himself greeted by an empty house- Claire was at school, Ray was at work, and Allison was out on set for a film she'd gotten cast in. Upon going downstairs, he found a note on the kitchen counter with $40 next to it, reading "Eat something, please - your sister"

He smiled and pocketed the forty dollars before grabbing his jacket and leaving the house. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with his day, but he supposed it had been long enough since he'd seen any of his other siblings, so that seemed like a good place to start.

But, which one?

Luther had been nicer to him lately, but he was also hung up on his currently missing wife. Diego was always fun to annoy, but he was probably busy starting his new life with Lila. Klaus had pretty consistently been one of the nicest to him, but he had also been pretty distant in the past few weeks. And then there was Five, who was kind to him, but also probably didn't want to deal with anyone as he settled into retirement.

With a hefty sigh, he pulled out his phone and dialed.

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"Mon frère!" the familiarly flamboyant voice of Klaus answered from the other end of the line. Viktor couldn't help but smile- It was nice to hear the man's voice. They'd never had any real tensions over the years, not like he'd had with almost everyone else in his life. "How's my favorite brother doing?"

"I'm your favorite, huh?" Viktor asked with a chuckle. "God, our family's really gone to the shitter"

"Diego's too... Himself, Five won't shut up about his retirement, and Luther puts pineapple on pizza" he said, fully serious, which got another hearty laugh from the smaller Hargreeves. "You're chill"

"I ended the world-"

"Nonsense" Klaus dismissed. "Bygones, right? Hey, uh... How about you come over by the hotel- I'm at the hotel, can you believe that? It still exists in this timeline. Wild" he muttered with a laugh. "Anyways, you should come by... There's someone I want you to meet"

"Is it Chet? Cause I already-"

"No, you'll see" Klaus cut him. "I can't spoil the surprise, Vik"

"Okay, I'll come over" Viktor agreed after a moment, putting Klaus on speaker phone as he flipped over to buy a ride-share. "Do they still have a buffet there? Cause I haven't eaten"

"You know it"

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Upon entering the all-too-familiar Hotel Obsidian, Viktor quickly spotted his brother at one of the tables, talking and sharing a laugh alongside a tall guy with dark hair and hazel eyes. The man had a handful of dog tags dangling off his neck, mirroring Klaus'.

"Hermano!" Klaus shouted with a dopey grin as he spotted the shorter Hargreeves and stumbled over to him, pulling him into a hug. "Come, eat something" he instructed, guiding Viktor over to the buffet counter and then pointing to where the other man was. "We're sitting over there"

Viktor got a plate of food- Nothing much, as he'd never had a particularly large appetite due to his anxiety issues, but an adequate amount considering he hadn't eaten that day- And walked over to where Klaus and the other guy were.

"Viktor, do you remember when me, you, and our shitty sister were in Dallas- You know, in her salon and we like... Danced?"

"Vaguely..."

"Do you remember me mentioning my boy toy from when I had accidentally thrown myself into the Vietnam War?"

"I'm just a boy toy to you, Klaus?" the man teased, the smirk on his face giving away that he wasn't actually taking it personally. With that, Viktor's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait, this is-"

"Viktor, meet Dave" Klaus cut him off with a smile, gesturing between the two. "Dave, meet Viktor"

"Hi" Dave greeted with a polite smile. "Don't worry- I'm keeping your dumbass brother out of trouble"

"You love me" Klaus teased him with a playful shove. Viktor looked between the two, still processing what was happening.

"And you're lucky I do" Dave responded with a laugh. "I'm pretty great"

"Lo sei davvero, tesoro (You really are, honey)"

Chapter Text

Dave had gone back up to he and Klaus' room to tidy up a bit, leaving Klaus and Viktor alone together, a situation they were both perfectly content with- As much as Klaus absolutely adored Dave, it was nice to have someone else he could interact with. Viktor also appreciated being able to talk with a sibling who he wasn't walking on eggshells around.

"So, what have you been doing in this new timeline?" Klaus questioned. "I know you've been staying with Allison- Bold move on your part, by the way. I commend you for your bravery- You been doing anything else, brother o' mine?"

Viktor chuckled. He truly did miss his brother's chaos more than he realized, and he was glad he decided to call Klaus. "I mean, I've just been trying to get my bearings here" he replied with a weak smile. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, you're back at the Hotel. That's something"

"Oh, it's actually a funny story..."

Chapter Text

Viktor ended up spending the night at the Hotel.

It was eerie, being back there after everything but he somehow found himself feeling safer there than he had at Allison's.

This was the first time he truly realized just how unsafe he'd been feeling at Allison's. He wondered if that's what had caused him to have nightmares because he slept peacefully at the Hotel.

A bit too peacefully, as it would turn out, because he woke up at two in the afternoon the next day to his phone buzzing.

He groaned and turned on the screen to see what it was, only for the phone to stop ringing right as he did. He sighed and opened his notifications and... Oh shit.

Allison • 47 missed calls

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As Viktor tried to process what he was looking at, his phone began to buzz again.

Allison, of course.

He answered and was immediately met with the sound of his sister panicking.

"Viktor" she breathed, frantic. Viktor felt a lump forming in his throat. "Where are you!?"

"I'm at the Hotel" he told her. "I came to see Klaus last night and ended up staying here" he explained. "He found that boy he met in the Vietnam War and they're together now. They seem pretty happy"

"You didn't think to call or leave a note before just disappearing!?" Allison asked, not even processing any of the information her brother just told her. Viktor frowned, though he understood she couldn't see the expression on his face.

"Why would I do that?"

"So I don't think you're dead"

"I'm not dead" Viktor said flatly. Allison felt frustration bubbling in her stomach but pushed it down. She was trying to fix things with Viktor, not make them worse. She had to be considerate of that.

"Viktor, I'm responsible for you right now"

"No, you're not" Viktor replied, slightly bitter. "I'm an adult"

"But you're living under my roof" Allison told him firmly. "If something happens to you, everyone's immediately going to look at me"

"I don't think that has anything to do with me living with you" Viktor spat.

"Viktor-"

"No, I'm serious" he told her. "If I were any of our siblings and I found out that Viktor turned up dead in a ditch somewhere, you're the first person I would suspect"

With that, he hung up his phone and tossed it to the other end of his bed, breathing heavily.

He knew that what he'd just said was hurtful, and he knew he ought to apologize, but he was too mad at his sister in the moment to force himself to call her again and utter the words 'I'm sorry'

He sighed, pocketed his phone, and got up to find Klaus.