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Wolfgang is giving birth and no one is entirely sure what to do.
Honestly, the idea of giving birth to another cluster is not something that any of them had really put much thought into. Even if they had, they definitely would not have placed any bets on Wolfgang being the one to do it.
And yet here he is, screaming and thrashing on the bed as what feels like a hot drill bores into his head. The pain is unbearable. It is like nothing he has every felt before in his life and he lets out a sobbing roar as another bolt of hot agony bows his back and forces him into a sitting position. In his hazy thoughts, a regret forms that instead of going out in a hail of bullets and bringing 20 men down with him, he is going to die naked on his bed while psychically giving birth to octuplets.
“Stop being dramatic. You are not going to die here,” Kala whispers to him in soothing German from her spot on the bed next to him. Soothing hands begin to massage his shoulder and Wolfgang can feel Capheus’s reassuring smile from behind him. Another spasm wracks through him and his grasping hands find purchase in Nomi’s sure grip and, for a moment, he feels anchored.
“It’s all going to be alright. We’re here and we’re not leaving,” Riley reassures him in Icelandic from her seat at the end of the bed. He meets her gaze and she gives him a small smile but he can see the worry in her eyes. The flashbacks to a different birth are flitting at the edge of their minds. Wolfgang can feel a chill encroaching on the edge of his senses, mountain ice reaching for him-
Sun slams the memory shut with a small touch to Riley’s shoulder and the musician gives her a grateful smile before shooting Wolfgang an apologetic look. Wolfgang manages to shake his head and tries to tell her that there is no need to apologize but then pain is flaring again and this time he is pulled into a vision.
He is standing in a familiar church that is falling apart around him. The night air is cool on his hot skin and he can feel a chill from the dirt beneath his feet. Angelica is sitting on that damned filthy mattress in front of him and she is giving him a kind smile. She is heaving in the same way that he is and he can no longer tell if the hands on his shoulders are Capheus’s or Jonas’s. Angelica’s stare never leaves his face as she reaches for the pistol next to her.
‘Be strong’ she mouths at him before putting the gun in her mouth and-
The pain has him roaring as he is yanked back to Berlin. Lito is babbling at him soothingly in a mix of Spanish and German. Wolfgang half hears something about a bazooka but it’s getting hard to hear now past the pounding beat of his heart in his ears.
Will is pacing through the room in boxers and a tank with a look of crazed worry on his face muttering about Jonas’s absence and “Why the hell is not showing up?!” Wolfgang hasn’t seen Will so worried since before Whispers was dead. And ah, Wolfie lets himself slip back into the joyful memory of shooting the twisted fuck straight between the eyeballs, His/Nomi’s hands completely steady and a satisfied grin on his/her face. The pain eases for a moment under the remembered relief of being able to let Will safely wake from his coma.
But then it is back with a vengeance and Wolfgang has to squeeze his eyes shut or it feels like they are going to burn out of their sockets. This time the pain is accompanied by a sharp pull and the stinging smell of his disinfectant in his nose. He can feel himself slipping but he yanks himself back before he loses himself.
“Wolfie.” He blinks open his eyes to see Sun face level with him. She is speaking to him in calm German but Wolfgang can see the stress in her eyes. “You must not fight it. You have to let go.”
Wolfgang nods, knowing she is right. So when the next spasm hits, he grits his teeth and tries not to fight against the pull. Angelica’s face flashes before him again and he knows that this it. The pain crescendos and the he feels himself being swept away but he still is holding on. There is a fear in him, the sound of his father’s laughter, the ring of a gunshot in ruined church-
“Let go, Wolfie,” seven voices whisper at once, “We’re with you.”
Wolfgang lets go.
He is in a hospital. He knows by the acrid stench of disinfectants in his nose and the buzzing florescent lights beating his eyes from above. He knows that he is in Johannesburg in the Republic of South Africa. He also knows that the name of the dark skinned woman that has stopped dead in front of him is Diani. Wolfgang looks at her dead in the eye and he knows that she is currently in med school and doing an internship at this hospital.
“Have you lost your clothes, sir?” Diani asks with the raise of an eyebrow and somewhere Nomi and Kala laugh and Lito decides he likes this girl. Wolfgang grins and shakes his head but before she can respond he is letting himself be pulled away.
He is now in a temple with some of the most beautiful architecture that he has ever seen. Morning light is streaming in and making everything glow. Wolfgang is freezing but he can feel a warm flush of embarrassment from Kala for being naked in such a holy place. He moves his gaze and his eyes meet those of a young monk who is regarding him curiously. His name Gyatso and he asks “Why are you naked during a Tibetan winter, my friend?”
Wolfgang is moving again so the only response the monk gets is a wide grin.
The night breeze coming through the window of the small apartment in Rio de Janeiro is hot after the thin, frigid air of the Himalayas but Wolfgang is paying more attention to the young man sitting at the table in front of him. Lito and Riley both agree that he is very good looking with tan skin, obvious muscle, and a crown of unruly brown hair. Will, however, is concerned by Raphael’s black eye and the dark bruising around his throat. Sun notices the empty bottles of liquor that surround the Brazilian and the half-gone bottle of rum that he is nursing.
Raphael glances up at Wolfgang and gives a sad laugh. “Great. Now even my hallucinations are naked,” he slurs to himself in drunken Portuguese. The front door opens and Nomi growls at the way Raphael stiffens in fear at the angry shout from his boyfriend. Raphael tries to stand but stumbles and slips of the chair. Wolfgang reaches for him but he is already leaving Rio.
He now is in a freezing Parisian alleyway and he already knows that Aurèlien is an idiot. Capheus and Lito are cheering about the freerunner’s moves as he flips and jumps down the pavement. Even Sun is admiring the Frenchman’s athleticism. Kala agrees with Wolfgang though that freerunning at night in January was a surefire way to end up breaking something.
Aurèlien sticks a backflip in front of Wolfgang and is startled by the German’s presence. He gives him a onceover before meeting the older man’s eyes. “Dude, where are your clothes?”
Hina sees him first in her mirror as he appears behind her. She gives a startled cry and spins around in her chair.
“Who are you? How did you get backstage?” Her Japanese is fast and nervous. Wolfgang can feel her adrenaline in his veins. He hears the noise of the crew moving around outside the dressing room as they prepare for her interview. This is not the popstar’s first interview on national television but he knows she still feels nervous. She would much rather be on stage then in front of a reporter. Nomi is sure that she has heard her music playing somewhere in San Francisco and tries to hum something.
“Hello? Are you just going to stand there naked?!” Wolfgang just grins and winks.
The music from the record player is soothing as it fills the apartment. Stockholm’s night bustles slowly outside as Wolfgang meets Sofia’s stare. Her jaw is agape and she seems very concerned by the sudden presence of the naked German in her and her girlfriend’s loft. Nomi, Kala, and Lito all give small ‘awws’ as Wolfgang looks down at Nova’s sleeping form on the couch.
“Who the fuck are you?” Sofia tightens her grip on the broom and Sun prepares to catch the pole if the blonde choses to swing. The attack never comes though as the Swedish chemist’s eyebrows draw together. “Wait. Do I- Do I know you?”
The club is raging when Wolfgang appears but he still can pick out Florencia instantly through the throng of dancing bodies. Her dark hair is falling around her and she is grinding on some tall, blond man. Lito approves of the Argentine woman’s moves and Wolfgang chuckles with Riley at the memory of Lito dancing.
The police woman, and Wolfgang shakes his head at yet another cop even if Will already likes her, looks up and instantly notices the naked German on the dance floor. Wolfgang and Lito laugh at the look on her face and Wolfie has to wonder if he looked so confused when Angelica appeared before him in a club much like this.
Florencia stops the swaying of her hips and moves to take a step towards him but he is gone from Buenos Aires before she even moves a step.
Will is instantly alert the second Wolfgang takes in his surroundings and realizes he is in Chicago. Millennium Park is slowly being buried in a nighttime snow flurry around him, creating a beautiful winter scene. Wolfgang and his cluster, however, only have eyes for the young man sitting at table in front of him with his screwed shut and a gun in his hand.
Will is already putting on pants and getting ready to run to the park. He is just as scared as the rest of them by the self-hatred they can feel from Austin. Tears are running down the man’s face now and he is lifting the gun.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Austin’s eyes fly open and he gasps out a “What the fuck?” at the vision of Wolfgang before him. They are now in Wolfgang’s apartment and the cluster- minus Will- is surrounding them. Nomi and Lito are smiling at the man.
“This is not the answer, Austin,” Lito tells him.
“There is nothing wrong with you,” Nomi whispers gently.
The air is cold again and Chicago surrounds them and Austin is sobbing now but his hand is off the gun and he is looking into Wolfgang’s eyes.
“You’re not alone anymore.” A look of confusion passes over Austin’s face as he takes in Wolfgang’s words.
“What-“he starts but Wolfgang is already gone.
The pain is already receding and the sweat is drying on his skin as he comes back to himself in his apartment. Kala and Nomi are hugging him and gushing about how proud they are. Capheus is still smiling and so are Riley and Sun. Lito is babbling on about his impression of the new cluster- “They are going to need a lot of help, mi amigo.” Will is absent but Wolfgang knows that he is making his way to the broken boy in the park and he sighs in relief.
Exhaustion hits him and he has to lie down. The other sensates crawl into the bed with him, comforting in their presence. Kala snuggles up next to his side and whispers, “They are all beautiful, Wolfie.”
He gives her a small smile, “Yeah, they are.”
“I like the police woman, personally. That girl know how to work her hips!” Lito comments from where he is resting against Wolfgang’s legs and the cluster laughs. Wolfgang relishes in the shared feeling of happiness and contentment and as the darkness of sleep folds around him, the last thing Wolfgang sees is Angelica’s face smiling at him.
Wolfgang smiles back.