His Only Reason

Circus Freaks

You tilted your mug of coffee from side to side, watching the contents slosh back and forth.

"Two teenagers found me when I, uh... landed. Colleen and Mark. I was hurt, so I had to go to the hospital."

"Why?" Vanya asked, frowning. "What happened to you?"

"You know," you answered awkwardly, shrugging. "There was a lot of fighting that happened beforehand." 

You ran your fingers over the scar on your stomach, which was slowly beginning to lose its bright red color. Colleen had taken the stitches out of it herself before you left. Originally you had been skeptical, but apparently her family did that all the time. She had taken stitches out of her father before, when he had gotten too drunk one night and brawled.

"Anyway, when I woke up, there was a man there. His name was Peter, and he was Colleen's father. They looked nothing alike - Colleen told me that Peter said she was a carbon copy of her mother. Her and Mark were cousins. Peter took him in after a bunch of racists burnt down his parent's house - he was the only one that escaped. Peter found him in the bushes."

"Shit," Vanya muttered, and you nodded. 

"I know. That's why I want to get back to 2019 so badly - this place is full of horrors." You sighed, finishing off your coffee. "Colleen was like a sister to me. Mark, a best friend. I didn't spend much time around Peter, but he seemed... kind. Colleen told me once that when he got drunk, he went looking for a fight. I think he was trying to act civil around me since I was his guest."

"And you're okay with never seeing them again?" Vanya asked, and once again you recognized that flash of desperation in her eyes. "Even though you love them?"

"Vanya," you said carefully, leaning back in your seat. "I'll never be okay with it. But there are people that I love more. Like you, and Klaus, and even Diego."

"What about Five?" she asked. You had become so accustomed to your siblings teasing you about how you behaved around each other, it took you a second to realize she was serious.

"I... him too," you said carefully. "But what I'm trying to say is this: we're your family. We're not perfect, and we've made a lot of mistakes, but we care about you. I know it might feel like we're using you for your powers, but that was Dad's gig. I promise."

She nodded slowly, her eyes locked on you.

"All right, I'll come with. But I'm not going anywhere without Sissy or Harlan."

"Okay. I don't even know if we'll be able to get out of here on time anyway," you admitted, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I promised that we cared about you, not that we could save the world. Come on."

You both stood, leaving your drinks on the table, and you linked arms with her before heading to the car.

"Have a good chat?" Five asked sarcastically from where he was leaning against the vehicle. You sent him a fake smile as he opened the door for you.

"What a gentleman," you said as he sat in the driver's seat. "You know where Luther is, right?"

"Yup," Five responded, starting the car. "He got really into boxing. Don't know why he didn't earlier."

You closed your eyes, desperately trying to picture Luther, but all you could think of was a hulking, blurry figure. Of course, he had always hated when others got in fights.

"Wasn't he more of a gentle giant?" you asked, and Five scoffed.

 "Yeah, I'm sure he'd like others to believe that," he muttered. "He can't deny that fighting with Diego gave him a thrill, though. I saw it, at Dad's funeral. He almost enjoyed it, up until Diego threw one of his knives."