Weddings and Funerals (Klaus and Radar)
Jan. 25th, 2021 06:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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When the news first started spreading and passed through those personnel of the 4077th who paid attention to these things, nobody thought to take word to Corporal O'Reilly - what did Radar care about the death of some eccentric billionaire halfway around the world?
It wasn't until Colonel Potter - the only man in the unit who knew Radar's actual surname - overheard a conversation in the mess tent several hours after the news had broken that anybody realised just how much he would care.
Which was how Radar found himself signed off on compassionate leave in less than a day and whisked away on a flight home before he even really got a chance to say goodbye to anybody, before he even got a chance to call home and let them know he was coming.
It's late by the time he gets home, or at least it's dark out, he's not sure what time it actually is because he's fresh off a 14 hour flight and he's gone through so many timezones he barely knows what day it is, let alone time. He drops his duffel bag by the stairs and fidgets nervously with the hem of his fatigues as he moves towards the study.
"Hello? Anybody home?"
It wasn't until Colonel Potter - the only man in the unit who knew Radar's actual surname - overheard a conversation in the mess tent several hours after the news had broken that anybody realised just how much he would care.
Which was how Radar found himself signed off on compassionate leave in less than a day and whisked away on a flight home before he even really got a chance to say goodbye to anybody, before he even got a chance to call home and let them know he was coming.
It's late by the time he gets home, or at least it's dark out, he's not sure what time it actually is because he's fresh off a 14 hour flight and he's gone through so many timezones he barely knows what day it is, let alone time. He drops his duffel bag by the stairs and fidgets nervously with the hem of his fatigues as he moves towards the study.
"Hello? Anybody home?"
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Date: 2021-01-25 11:04 pm (UTC)He would probably be touched by the gesture if a) he was a little less high, and b) he didn't know Grace was a robot. Kind of took the warm fuzzy feeling out of things when you thought about it (unless you were Diego).
He had just dug out a bowl of mashed potatoes and a spoon when he heard a familiar voice calling out through the house. For a second he considered just ignoring it in favor of the mashed potatoes. He wasn't the only one in the house, one of their other siblings could deal with the meet and greet. He'd had a big day, after all! He thought he deserved a little peace and quiet and mashed potatoes.
But Ben was giving him a sullen look from his seat on the kitchen counter. Klaus was just high enough that Ben was more subdued and less talkative than usual -- or maybe he was just moody? Who knew. But that look said more than probably ten lectures about family and whatever. So Klaus heaved a dramatic sigh, cradling the massive bowl of mashed potatoes to his chest, and wandered out of the kitchen and towards the voice, knowing Ben was trailing after him. He found his brother fidgeting, heading for the study.
How long had it been since he had seen Walter...? Definitely longer than it had been since he last saw Diego, but probably not longer than he had last seen Allison. Ben would probably know the answer, but he was sure neither he nor Ben was in the mood for that conversation.
"Wow, hey! Look what the cat dragged in!" He said, plastering a smile on his face.
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Date: 2021-01-25 11:14 pm (UTC)Radar spun on his heel at the sound of Klaus' voice, moving so fast in his surprise that he nearly fell over (reason number 243 he was always such a disappointment to Reginald, despite his power being the ability to literally predict the immediate future, he was still capable of being surprised, and easily too).
"Klaus! Geez you startled me," he exclaims, but his expression quickly morphs into a smile "it sure is good to see you."
Of course almost immediately his face falls again and he adds "Just a pity it's 'cos of what it's 'cos of, you know?"
As much as their father had been hard on him growing up, and as little affection as he showed all of his children, Walter had always been a naturally loving kind of child, so he spent a lot of years trying really hard to get the approval that was never forthcoming from their father - it shifted a lot, as he got a little older, to trying to earn it from his siblings instead. Still, he was sad that his father was gone, even if he felt a little guilty that maybe he wasn't that sad. Not as sad as he'd been when they lost Five, or Ben, anyway.
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Date: 2021-01-26 04:37 am (UTC)“Oh, yeah, real pity. We’re all.. real broken up about the old man.” Klaus put his free hand to his chest, giving Walter a good two seconds of an empathetic look before he cracked with a laugh. “Well, I suppose the real pity is it took him so long, am I right, Walt? He always was a stubborn bastard, though.”
He knew better than to think Walter was as blasé as he was about Reginald’s passing, but, well, when had that ever stopped him from being an asshole?
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Date: 2021-01-26 10:20 am (UTC)"Hey, come on, he's still our dad..." Walter protested, though his heart wasn't really in it. Dad wasn't even the right word, he couldn't imagine ever having used it to the man's face, Reginald Hargreeves was a 'father' sort of man, not a dad. Still, though he know it would fall on deaf ears and though he had his own resentments buried deep in his normally forgiving soul, he'd feel even worse if he didn't put up some kind of rebuttal to Klaus' words.
It seemed safer to change the subject, though, or they'd just get into an argument and the last thing he wanted to do with any of his siblings right now was argue with them (it was why he'd actually been hoping that nobody would be around, and that he'd have a chance to change out of his fatigues before anybody spotted the neatly stitched O'Reilly where a Hargreeves should have been.)
"How are you, anyway?" He asked, a little awkwardly because he'd never been very good at small talk "What are you doing these days?"
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Date: 2021-01-26 07:27 pm (UTC)So Klaus let Walter change the subject, sauntering towards him to sling his free arm around his brother's shoulders, with as little regard for personal space as he's always had. "Oh, you know me. I'm doing good, doing a little of this, a little of that. Here, have some mashed potatoes." He hefted the large bowl to Walter's chest, expecting him to take it from him. "Mom might have a few screws loose up in the old bucket, but she at least still knows how to make a mean bowl of potatoes."
"Aren't you going to ask him how he's been? We haven't seen him in years, Klaus." Ben finally spoke up, hands stuffed deep in his jacket pockets, hoodie up -- which meant he was still in a sour mood. But Klaus took it as a good sign that he was talking to him, even if it was to kind of... bitch at him. Oh well, you know what they say about beggars and choosers and all that.
He gave a little pat to Walter's fatigues, the name patch not quite catching up to the rest of his brain just yet. "I take it you're still doing the whole Army thing? You know, I was a little unsure at first, but green really is your color. Really brings out the shine in your eyes."
That was... kind of asking how he was? Sort of? Oh, shut up Ben, he's trying.
(kind of)
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Date: 2021-01-26 07:48 pm (UTC)Any other sibling might have pushed the potatoes away or otherwise refused them - but Walter? Walter who always asked for seconds every meal growing up and who'd been living on army rations for the past however-many years? He'd grabbed the spoon and shoveled a big mouthful into his face before Klaus had even finished speaking. Mom's mashed potatoes. Heaven.
(Any other sibling might have pushed Klaus away, at that, but Walter was used to how physical he could be and he'd never really minded it. Come to think of it, Hawkeye actually reminded him of Klaus in a lot of ways).
He had to quickly swallow down his second mouthful of potatoes before he could actually answer the question, though he did so with a rapid nod and a faint hint of colour to his cheeks at the compliment. He never knew if Klaus' compliments were meant to tease or not, but they still sounded like he was being nice.
"Oh..uh..thanks? Yea I'm still in the army... came straight here from Korea. I'm the company clerk of a MASH unit out there."
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Date: 2021-01-26 10:32 pm (UTC)"Company clerk, huh? Hey, sounds pretty impressive." Not that he had the faintest idea what any of those words meant together. He understood 'army' and 'Korea', and he's sure that's all he really needed to know. Arm still hooked around Walter's shoulders, Klaus started to pull him towards the kitchen. He figured Walter wouldn't say no to some extra helpings of food, not to mention there was less chance of Diego or Luther finding them in there. Those two were in bad enough of a mood as it was, and Klaus would rather avoid a second shakedown from Luther if he could help it. (maybe he should have waited until tomorrow to add a few more trinkets to his pockets..)
"You know, I'm lovin' the color, but not too sure about this fit. It really doesn't do anything for you at all, Walter. You give me ten minutes and Grace's sewing kit, and all the ladies and gents won't be able to keep their eyes off you." Klaus reached to kind of adjust Walter's fatigues, tilting his head thoughtfully -- until finally, finally the name caught his eye. His eyes lit up and he pulled at the name, "Oh--! Well, hello~! Looks like someone was a little rushed getting dressed. Wally, you naughty boy. Are you going to tell me who this O'Reilly is, or am I going to have to come up with an elaborate fantasy all on my own?"
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Date: 2021-01-26 10:53 pm (UTC)"Oh, well It's not that - I mean that place doesn't really run without me, but it's not.. I mean I'm only a corporal." He knew he was babbling a little, but he was torn between wanting to brag about how important he was to the unit and be honest about how little progress he'd really made in the time since he joined - they were equally true, in their way, and as much as Walter wanted his family to be proud of him he also just plain wasn't the type to be boastful, so it didn't come easily to him.
He didn't realise right away where Klaus was leading him, but he still let himself be steered along (story of his life, really) - mostly he hoped they were heading in search of somewhere to sit because he was pretty tired, and more food would be nice. When he did click that they were headed to the kitchen he was reminded of how much he loved his siblings sometimes.
"Klaus," he says laughing "It's a uniform, it's supposed to look like this, if you go-" oh. There it is. Walter flushes crimson at both the embarrassment and the implication - how he dearly wished there was an O'Reilly he could tell Klaus about, he wished there was anybody he could tell Klaus about, anything to avoid having to tell him the truth.
"Uh, no, it's not- there's no O'Reilly. I mean there is, but it's not another person, it's me, it's my uniform... I... " he trailed off, dropping his head and finishing his sentence in a mumble "Idon'tusethenameHargreeves"
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Date: 2021-01-27 12:08 am (UTC)He did his best to be subtle as he glanced over to Ben with a silent 'what???' in his eyes.
"I... think he said he doesn't use the name Hargreeves." Ben filled in for him.
Oooooh..
"Oh, well that's disappointing. Here I thought you were about to tell me about some kind of hot and sweaty love affair of yours. I suppose there's always time for that later, though." Klaus sighed, steering the both of them through the kitchen doorway. "You know, I thought about dropping the old man's name for a while there, but always seemed like too much trouble. I mean, they all know me by Roxy Cane down on 32nd street, but that's for a completely different reason."
He gave a wink with a wide, cheeky smile, and guided Walter to the kitchen table. "I would ask if you're hungry, but I'm guessing it's a safe bet on the answer to that."
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Date: 2021-01-27 12:35 am (UTC)Walter practically held his breath, shoulders tense, waiting for Klaus' reaction - when it turned out to be a blasé dismissal of a disappointing truth, he didn't know whether to be relieved or offended. He settles for relieved, since he knows it could have gone much worse if, for example, Luther or Diego had seen it first. They'd probably consider it some kind of betrayal (honestly, Walter wouldn't blame them, he felt bad for doing it himself) or some way of disowning the rest of the family, when it wasn't about that at all.
"It was just when I first went and everybody heard Hargreeves they never left me alone," he explained, even though Klaus didn't ask "They all wanted to know what powers I had and what it was like, it got so's I could barely do my job! So I talked to my CO at the time and we thought maybe if I used a different name it wouldn't be so bad... so I did... most people call me Radar anyway."
He opened his mouth to ask about 'Roxy Cane' and then paused and immediately thought better of it and closed it again.
"Oh I could eat..." actually he was starving after his long journey, the potatoes had just put an edge on it.