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Viktor faced the window of his apartment, warm sunlight spilling in through the gaps in the curtain. He allowed his eyes to slip shut as he dragged the bow across the strings of his violin, feeling the vibrations in the air resonate. His fingers slid delicately across the short neck as he pressed down on different notes, feeling the sound deep within his chest.
It pulsated, ebbing up from somewhere intrinsically bound to himself, rattling the paintings on the wall dangerously. He focused on that feeling, breathing deeply through his nose and just trying to let the sound wash over him rather than control him.
The strings vibrated under his hands, and he could feel the bow twitch with the strain of his powers. Something fell off the coffee table and he flinched, holding the feeling in his chest and forcing down the vibrations until they were nothing more than something ebbing inside him.
He had been working hard to figure out his powers, slowly but surely gaining enough control of his abilities that he could start practicing the violin again without risk of ending the world. His family was both supportive and apprehensive, but Viktor felt that this was something he had to do if he was to come to terms with his abilities.
It was a long process and he still had a long way to go before he could manage a performance. But he was making progress, slowly but surely. He could at least get through a couple songs without getting overwhelmed. And he could even play the violin normally for a little bit too without his powers interfering at all.
As he played, Viktor suddenly heard a familiar whoosh behind him, and the sound rippled loudly, battering against him in an almost destructive feedback loop. He quickly jerked the bow away from the strings with an awful screech and placed his fingers down across the neck to mute the sound before his powers could explode.
He winced and closed his eyes for a moment, bracing himself for something to happen. Something fell with a heavy thud, but he couldn’t tell if that was from his powers or not.
The sudden burst of energy caused static to ripple in the room, and once Viktor had his own powers under control, he turned in time to see Five stumbling out of one of his spatial jumps like he had just been hit in the back of the head, blue static flickering around his limbs.
His form seemed to stutter for a second and he caught himself on the counter. A look of surprise painted his features, and Viktor couldn’t help but notice how pale he looked, a little green around the edges.
Just as Viktor hadn’t expected the sudden appearance of his brother, Five clearly hadn’t expected Viktor to be using his powers at the moment he decided to teleport in.
Whoops.
Oddly enough, their powers created a strange interference with each other, weird things happening whenever they were active in the same proximity.
The ripples of Five’s spatial jumps caused an odd sort of reverberation that when combined with Viktor’s powers usually created some unwanted, usually explosive side effects. The burst of his powers almost seemed to mimic a sudden sound burst of Viktor’s powers, in a way that Viktor could never predict.
Similarly, the energy that came from Viktor’s amplified sound waves actually caused strange ripples in space that could throw off Five’s jumps. Usually, it just forced him to land somewhere he didn’t expect. A few times it had forced him into a jump when he didn’t expect it to, battering him around like a toy boat in the ocean.
It was a strange phenomenon, one they hadn’t fully explored, although Viktor could tell that Five was itching to do more research once Viktor had a bit more control over his powers.
“Hey, Five,” Viktor greeted softly, smiling bashfully. “I didn’t think you’d be over so soon.”
Five was still leaning against the countertop, breathing deeply through his nose and clearly trying to swallow down a rise of nausea that came from his jump not going entirely how he wanted to. He looked back and forth a few times between where he was and where Viktor figured he intended to land. At least he made it to the right apartment.
He would be okay, this was something that Viktor was sure of, so he didn’t worry too much. Although he could never fully help the pang of concern whenever his brother was hurting.
“I thought you were just practicing the violin,” Five finally said, getting his bearings as he pushed himself up to stand normally. The color had begun to return to his face.
“Well, it’s kind of hard to do one or the other,” Viktor shrugged and delicately set his violin down, still smiling softly at Five. He had to admit that they had done better than the first time they had discovered their powers interfered with each other.
Viktor had broken three of his picture frames and cracked the window and Five landed outside the apartment in mid-air.
Five tried to give a heads-up when he was coming over after that. Viktor was still meaning to get his window fixed.
“Right,” Five brushed his hands on the front of his shirt. Viktor was pleased to see that he wasn’t wearing the academy uniform today. He had been branching out more and more, donning the uniform less each week.
Today he was wearing a patterned T-shirt with some sort of abstract design along with a similar colored flannel open over top. He was wearing a pair of cargo pants as well, a belt cinched tightly around his waist, almost digging into his sides.
Viktor was almost surprised that he wasn’t wearing another jacket on top, Five liked his layers.
“What made you decide to come over so soon?” Viktor asked, just to start up a conversation because he knew that Five wouldn’t. He crossed the small living room into the kitchen to put some coffee on. He figured Five would want some.
Five looked at Viktor curiously, one eyebrow raised as if he wasn’t sure what Viktor meant.
“I said on the phone that I would be over in an hour,” Five said simply, following Viktor further into the kitchen.
Viktor looked over at the clock on his wall. He didn’t remember when Five had called exactly, but he supposed that it must have been an hour ago and he had lost track of time. Five always seemed to be hyper-aware of the passage of time, Viktor didn’t doubt him being exactly an hour on time.
“I guess I must have lost track of time then,” Viktor filled the coffee pot with water and put some grounds in it, waiting for it to brew, “Sorry about that.” He told Five earnestly.
“It’s fine,” Five replied, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, a lightness to his shoulders when he shrugged. “I’ve jumped worse.”
Viktor tried not to snort at that.
“How was your morning then? Do anything fun?” Viktor tilted his head to the side and leaned with his back to the counter, looking at Five with a fond expression.
Five mirrored Viktor’s position, whether he was aware that he was doing so or not, Viktor couldn’t tell. But he pressed his back against the edge of the counter, face scrunching up in concentration as he thought about Viktor’s question. And that was something that Viktor had always been fond of.
Five took most questions seriously, always coming up with some sort of answer that was either way more serious than was meant, or not even remotely close to answering what was asked.
“Klaus tried to help make breakfast,” Five settled on, chewing on the inside of his mouth thoughtfully, “I wasn’t there to see it but I heard it was bad.”
Viktor snorted and laughed at that. Five smiled almost in shock at that reaction, although he settled quickly. He turned and looked away from Viktor.
“Your window is still cracked,” Five declared, clearly noticing the massive crack in the glass. Viktor had put a sheet of plastic up over the window so the outside air didn’t leak in, but that was about it.
“I haven’t had time to fix it,” Viktor insisted, just like every time Five pointed it out. Five frowned and hummed under his breath, huffing a little bit in disapproval.
“I’ll get it fixed eventually, don't worry,” Viktor promised, putting a hand on Five’s shoulder reassuringly. He tried not to smile at the way Five sank a little but didn’t push his hand off like he would have done a few months ago. They were all making progress in their own ways.
The coffee finished brewing and so Viktor pulled out two mugs from the cabinet, setting them down on the counter with a thump. He felt the sound wash over him with a small flinch, Five jerked slightly as well.
“Sorry,” Viktor mumbled just out of habit. He poured coffee for Five first and then handed him the mug. He took it and immediately stalked over to the living room to take his perch on the couch.
Viktor smiled at him and followed once he had his own mug of coffee.
“You can keep…” Five paused for a second and waved his hand in a loose gesture towards Viktor’s music stand as if he were uncertain how to continue. “You can keep practicing… don’t let me stop you.”
“I wouldn’t want to send you out the window again,” Viktor tried to joke, his awkward laughter already falling into nothing the moment the words left his lips. However, he noticed that Five was staring at his violin perched gently on its stand. He took a forced sip of the coffee.
Five said nothing to that. He hunched his shoulders and sank deeper into the couch cushions, shying away from Viktor a little bit.
His expression was tense, eyebrows furrowed and his nose scrunched slightly like he was thinking very hard about how to say something. His lips twitched almost unnoticeably, but Viktor had gotten pretty good at reading Five’s new body language.
“Oh,” Viktor followed Five’s gaze to his violin, suddenly realizing what Five wanted. “Do you just want to hear me play?”
Viktor knew by the look on Five’s face that he had been spot on. Five always got that look like a dog that had just been caught chewing on something he wasn’t supposed to whenever someone guessed what he wanted to ask before he could say it.
He should have realized earlier when Five had asked over the phone what he was doing today, he sounded casual, more so than Five ever normally was. When Viktor had said that he was practicing the violin, Five had quickly told him that he was going to come over in an hour.
Five used to love listening to Viktor play when they were kids. He would wait outside Viktor’s door listening while he would practice, just barely out of view if he would open the door. And once he stopped playing, he would blink away before anyone could see him.
Even now, Five still loved listening to him, although now he was somehow even less obvious about it. But he always seemed to want to come over whenever Viktor let slip that he was planning on practicing again.
“You can always just ask if you want me to play for you,” Viktor told Five fondly, putting a hand on his brother’s knee in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture, “It’s good to practice in front of an audience again.”
Five said nothing for a few moments and then huffed. “I wouldn’t want to interfere with your practice.” He seemed a little upset about it.
Viktor had a small feeling that Five was more-so talking about their powers rather than any practicing schedule Viktor might be under. It had been quite the learning curve lately, and balancing both of their powers at the same time proved challenging.
That didn’t mean Viktor wouldn’t play for Five. He could still play the violin mostly normally.
Maybe they should start practicing together more with their powers. The training rooms at the academy were still well intact.
“It’s practice to me all the same,” Viktor insisted, reaching out and setting his coffee down on the table in front of the couch. He didn’t usually drink coffee that much anymore anyway, it made him jittery. He only ever had some when Five came over because it felt polite.
He stood up and picked up his violin again, noticing out of the corner of his eye as Five took a sip of coffee, watching him with those hawk-like eyes.
“Any requests?” Viktor asked, mostly to be polite even though he knew what Five was going to say.
“Anything you want to play,” He muttered into his coffee. His cheeks had gone slightly pink, and Viktor smiled softly at his embarrassment.
Viktor flipped through his binder propped up on his music stand for something easy to play. He had found that softer songs allowed Viktor a little more control over his powers and what he was playing. Songs with less emotion behind each note and were more just a proof of concept also worked well. Experiments, etudes, and short tunes that were little more than an exercise on technique and movement were the easiest for him to play.
And, well, he figured Five would be okay with an emotionless performance.
Viktor flipped to a song in the front of his binder, smoothing out the sheet music with the palm of his hand, the edges of the page having gone soft and crinkled from years of use.
Five was watching him intently, staring in that almost creepy way that he always did whenever he was focused on something. Viktor tried not to let it affect him. He was used to Five’s staring habits by now (or, well, he told himself that he should be used to it).
He tucked the violin under his chin, bringing the bow to the strings. The first few notes of the song echoed, and he and Five both flinched at it, a crackle of blue static appearing out of the corner of Viktor’s eye, but they both settled quickly. He swallowed down the feeling of ripples crashing inside his chest, forcing it down low enough that he could hear the sound of the violin rather than his own echoing heartbeat.
The song carried gently through the living room, the walls seeming to cradle the sound like hands cupped underneath a flow of running water. Viktor tried not to latch onto the feeling, allowing it to wash over him without acknowledgment. He focused on the notes on the paper, although he had this piece memorized, he didn’t want to let himself get too carried away with the feelings of the music, only doing his best to mimic the written method.
Five had settled onto the couch with the coffee mug cradled in his lap, a soft expression on his face. One that Viktor hadn’t seen since they were both children living under the same roof.
He smiled, but Five didn’t seem to notice. Even his hawk-eyed stare had shifted into something that almost seemed distracted. Not distracted in the way he looked after a nightmare or a particularly bad flashback, but he looked at peace.
For Five that was practically unheard of. But Viktor didn’t comment on it, he just continued to play his violin.
He played until the song trailed to an end and then he quickly flipped the page and transitioned into a new song, another etude, one that was a little more upbeat, but still easy for Viktor to play without using his powers.
One song bled into another, both Viktor and Five melting into the sound of the music. It almost reminded Viktor of when they were kids, but now Five didn’t have to hide out in the hallway just to listen to Viktor playing because Reginald had other training for Five to do.
As he moved through the section of easier songs in the front of his music binder, Viktor found himself starting to get lost in the notes under his fingers.
The vibrations from the strings started so soft that he didn’t notice at first. It rumbled in his throat like a song that he just barely couldn’t sing. He felt it resonate in his chest, warmth spreading to his fingers as they pressed down on the tender strings, working to make the violin play.
He could feel the sound washing over him in waves like wind pushing through blades of tall grass.
Underneath the feeling of the sound waves at his fingertips, Viktor could feel a static buzzing welling up from somewhere that wasn’t him. It almost reminded him of the sound of fluorescent lights in the backstage hallway behind the Icarus Theater.
As he played, the static began to rise along with the pulsating waves of his own song. It caused his ears to ring, like pressure building up in a plane or underwater.
Viktor didn’t even realize what he was doing until the mix of static and sound resonance built up into a sudden pop of energy. At the same time, Viktor felt something release in his chest, the discordant sound of his violin screeching causing him to flinch. He saw out of the corner of his eye a flash of bright unstable blue and then heard a loud crash from the bathroom.
He pulled the violin away from his face with a jolt, falling out of the haunted stupor that he had apparently gotten himself into. Similarly, he noticed a few things in rapid succession.
First, one of the strings on his violin had snapped.
Second, Five was no longer sitting on the couch.
Third, Viktor had lost control of his powers, again.
Viktor heard another crash from the bathroom and the door suddenly swung open. Five stumbled out, hand grasping the edge of the doorframe, blue static only just dissipating from the tips of his fingers.
“I meant to do that,” Five declared as he made his way shakily back to the living room. He breathed in sharply through his nose, visibly swallowing down his nausea. He stumbled a bit drunkenly and plopped himself back down on the couch.
Viktor would have laughed if his ears weren’t still ringing.
“Sorry,” Viktor muttered, setting his violin back down and taking a step away from it. “I got carried away.” He eased himself into the other armchair, trying to rub the pounding out of his head with his fingers at his temples.
Five waved his hand dismissively as if he didn’t just get sent across the apartment by Viktor’s powers interfering with his own. He shivered and shifted uncomfortably, Viktor noticed him rubbing his arm and he figured that if he were wearing short sleeves, there would be a bruise already forming. Five’s eyes trailed down to where Viktor had set his violin, clearly noticing the snapped string.
“Oh,” Five said, almost speaking to himself, “It’s broken?”
He sounded concerned in a way that Viktor wasn’t used to hearing.
“No, no, it’s fine,” Viktor insisted, quick to reassure him. As smart as Five was, he never was taught any instruments when they were younger, so he would have no way of knowing. “I needed to get new strings anyway, this was bound to happen.”
He failed to mention how he seemed to go through violin strings much more frequently than any normal violin player. Especially recently, although he figured he probably should have noticed something was up through the majority of his childhood when his violin strings seemed to last a month or two less than they were supposed to.
Five leaned forward to pick up his mug of coffee that he had—thankfully—set on the table a bit earlier. He could probably feel the pulsing of Viktor’s powers before Viktor was even aware of it and figured that something explosive like that would happen. Or he had been so entranced with the music that the mug of coffee had gone unnoticed.
By the look on Five’s face when he brought it to his lips and then quickly pulled it back away, the coffee had gone cold.
Still feeling a little embarrassed even though he knew that Five didn’t hold it against him, Viktor tried to think of a way to make this visit into something a bit less awkward. Clearly, any other violin playing would be off the table, not that Viktor would be keen to continue after triggering Five’s powers with his own.
“There’s that cafe down the street that you like, we could get some better coffee,” Viktor offered awkwardly before Five would force himself to drink the rest of the cold disgusting coffee.
Five stared down at the mug as if he were having some inaudible conversation with it, “There’s a music store a few blocks down from there too,” Five told Viktor, although Viktor had no idea how Five knew that, or why he was bringing it up.
Then Five gestured to the violin as if he could tell that Viktor wasn’t following.
“Oh, new strings,” Viktor confirmed, and Five nodded. Viktor smiled softly, “Sure, let me get my jacket.”
As he moved toward the coat rack by the door, Viktor passed by Five and plucked the mug from his hands to put it in the sink. Surprisingly, Five didn’t protest, although Viktor just assumed that he had happened to catch him too much by surprise for him to really do anything about it. He stood, movements still a little jerky, as if he were struggling to fight against the crashing waves of space, but he followed Viktor.
Right as Viktor was locking the apartment door behind them, Five paused, a look on his face that screamed mischief. Viktor had almost forgotten that his fifty-eight-year-old brother had once been the cunning thirteen-year-old that he currently looked like.
“Hey, Viktor,” Five rocked a little on his heels as he stood behind Viktor, his eyes staring right through Viktor like he was a bird of prey stalking its next meal.
“Yeah?” Viktor didn’t know if he really wanted to know what Five was about to say.
“You know we could probably do some pretty cool things if we combine our powers,” Five smiled and Viktor could already see the gears in his head turning, “If you ever wanted to check out the training rooms, I think they’re still pretty much intact since we were kids… considering you’ve never been in them before.”
The offer was about as well hidden as a large pill wrapped in a slice of see-through ham, that being said, Viktor had a small feeling he knew exactly what Five was implying.
However, he also knew that an offer like that could be dangerous, and Viktor wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to do with his powers just yet. Right now, all he was focused on was trying to figure out how to control them. Training for something specific, let alone training to hone his abilities with someone else seemed way out of his skill range.
Five’s wolfish grin didn’t help ease his anxieties all that much.
But, well, this was Five he was talking about.
“Maybe I’ll have to check them out sometime,” Viktor decided, unable to stop himself from chuckling at Five’s barely repressed smile that he hid with the collar of his flannel.
Viktor figured that he could afford to break a few more violin strings.