Work Text:
Klein groaned in bed, slowly sitting up, arching his back. His back popped in several places and Klein sagged a bit before swinging his legs off the bed and standing up.
Klein padded out to the kitchen, hearing Azik humming in the kitchen. As he entered, he caught sight of someone else, locking eyes with them for a brief moment.
Leonard Mitchell.
It was then that Klein registered his current state of undress and adrenaline rushed through his body as he pivoted on his foot and disappeared back into the bedroom. Why is Leonard here? Klein couldn’t help but lampoon, bemoaning all his life choices that led to his coworker seeing him naked. In Azik’s house no less.
Now that he thought about it, he vaguely remembered Azik mentioning that the Nighthawks wanted to interview him.
Klein groaned and thumped his head against the wall. He wouldn’t be able to look at Leonard any more without thinking of today. Klein inhaled and instead of heading back out to face Leonard and Azik, he turned and climbed back into bed.
“Was that Klein?” Leonard asked, staring down the hallway.
Azik looked up from the stove where he had a stew of some kind going. “Yes it was.”
“And he was naked.”
“Great observational powers you have,” Azik commented dryly. It seemed Klein had infected him with some snark.
“Why was he here? Why was he naked?”
Azik looked up from the porridge to look at the Nighthawk. “Because he’s my lover and because he was undoubtedly unaware we’d have a guest.”
Azik watch Leonard blink in shock. “Lover?”
“Yes,” Azik said, not elaborating, not that he felt he had to. He owed the Nighthawk nothing. He had answered the earlier questions truthfully. The man simply hadn’t been specific enough.
Leonard blinked again, his head tilted almost like he was listening to someone. “Right. Sorry,” Leonard said after a brief moment of silence.
“Anything else? I do believe I have answered your questions already.”
Leonard nodded and pivoted on his foot. “Right.”
Leonard hurriedly left.
Out of everything Leonard had expected to see coming to interview Azik for his opinion and connection to Klein, actually seeing Klein was not within it. Especially, not a naked Klein.
Now it made sense as to why Azik was being so cagey with the answers. He was hiding their true relationship.
“Be careful of him,” Leonard heard the Old Man say.
“What? Why?” Leonard asked, stopping for a moment as he turned to look back at Azik’s house, having made some distance down the path and away from the house.
“He’s powerful and dangerous,” the Old Man said, refusing to elaborate any further despite Leonard’s prodding.
“Is Klein in any danger?” Leonard asked, concerned with his newly made Beyonder coworker.
It was silent for a moment. “No,” the Old Man said.
Leonard nodded and continued on his journey back to the Nighthawks’ office. He would normally report the fact that Azik was a rogue Beyonder but he had no way of proving it without exposing himself and the Old Man.
Meanwhile, Klein was lying in bed, wondering how his life had gone so wrong for him to end up here.
He heard Azik enter, but didn’t get up, settling deeper into the bed.
Azik laughed softly. “Come on, dear. You have to go to work today.”
Klein closed his eyes in suffering. “I’m going to die.”
Azik laughed again and exited the room, throwing a, “Breakfast is ready,” over his shoulder as he left.
Klein groaned and let himself sink into his sheets, mortified out of his mind.