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It was October 1, 2004, the Hargreeves 15th birthday and Ben was excited. Reginald usually let them have the day off on their birthday, probably because Pogo and Mom convinced him. Either way, they were given the day to do what they pleased, within certain limits. Reginald shut himself in his office, making it clear he was not participating in any birthday celebration. That was okay with Ben. He figured Dad wouldn't be much fun at a birthday party anyway.
Their birthdays usually followed the same pattern every year. In the morning, Mom made them a special breakfast. After that, Mom and Pogo usually gave them each a small gift; from Mom a cross-stitch or knitted item that she had made and from Pogo little trinkets that did one thing or another. Then they would exchange gifts among each other. They either made the gift or had Pogo get it for them since they weren't allowed to leave the Academy. This year, Ben had gotten some new books, all varying genres, from his siblings. He was happy with his gifts, always looking for something new to read about. After exchanging gifts, they used to sing “Happy Birthday” together, but after Five disappeared, they replaced that tradition with writing notes to Five wishing him a happy birthday and place them under his portrait. Then, till dinner, everyone went off to do whatever they wanted.
When they were little, they used to play games and celebrate together. As they got older, they split off and celebrated with only one or two other siblings. Allison and Luther will camp out together in one of their rooms, Diego usually hangs out with Mom, though sometimes he will join Ben and Klaus in their celebration, Vanya used to spend the day with Five in the library; Ben invited Vanya to hang out with him and Klaus but she said she would rather be alone. Klaus would usually plan what they were going to do, whether it was a dance party, some sort of game, or stuffing themselves with junk food. Ben let him do the planning because he knew Klaus enjoyed doing it and he trusted him to come up with something that they both would like.
Ben was currently sitting on his bed reading the book Vanya had gotten him, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. So far he was really enjoying it. He was waiting for Klaus to come to get him when he finished setting up their little party. He had something special he wanted to give him away from the prying eyes of their family. He patted his left pocket to make sure it was still there. He could hear music playing from Luther’s room and faintly hear the notes of a violin. Ben was so lost in his book that he didn’t hear Klaus come in until he crushed underneath him.
“Benny boy! Time for a celebration!” Klaus sang into his ear.
“Watch out! You’re crushing my book!” Ben exclaimed, lightly shoving at Klaus. Klaus sprung up and jumped around the room like a bunny on crack while Ben smoothed out the creases in his book and placed it on his nightstand.
“Are you ready? Are you ready to party? Huh, Benny? You ready to rock and roll?!” Klaus shouted, now gripping Ben by the shoulders.
“ Of course.”
“Alrighty, let's go then!” Klaus grabbed Ben’s hand and began dragging him through the corridors. Ben started to blush and could only think about his hand in Klaus’. Being sheltered 15 year olds, they didn’t get to be around other kids all that often and not for very long at that. So it’s no wonder that they attached themselves to each other. Ben knew that these feelings weren’t normal, especially for someone you call your brother. But to him, they never really felt like real brothers, just best friends who happened to be raised by the same man and taught to fight crime. They may all call Reginald Dad but they aren’t a true family. Besides, it never stopped Allison and Luther.
Ben is shaken out of his thoughts when Klaus starts to lead him upstairs he doesn’t recognize. Klaus opens a door at the top and reveals to Ben a room decorated with balloons, streamers, and lots of colors. The room isn’t very large and it has a small window on the back wall. Ben gawks at the setup. He can see a record player in the corner, board games stacked by the window, and tons and tons of food.
“Klaus…” Ben gazes in amazement. “ How the hell did you do this?”
“Got Pogo to buy party supplies and food, borrowed a record player from the library, and stole the board games out of the game closet.” Klaus grins and sits down on a pillow that's on the floor. Ben sits next to him on another pillow, still looking around in awe.
“So…… do you like it?” Klaus fidgets nervously with his hands, looking at Ben hopefully. Ben leans over and pulls Klaus into the best hug he can mange from his position. He feels Klaus’ body relaxed as soon as their arms wrapped around each other.
“I love it.” Ben whispered, trying to keep the tears in his eyes from spilling over. He sniffles and covertly wiped his eyes. He pulled away from the hug and can't help but smile softly at the huge grin on Klaus' face.
"Great!" Klaus bounced up from the floor and practically ran to the record player. Ben watched as he pulled a record from its sleeve and soon music he doesn't recognize fills the air. Klaus grabs Scrabble from the pile of board games and sets it up in front of them.
"Fancy a game?" Klaus asked, still grinning widely.
Ben chuckled and grabs tiles from the bag. "I'm going to kick your ass."
Klaus' laugh echoed throughout the tiny room and Ben's heart skipped a beat.
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The sunlight lighting up the room had faded away, forcing them to turn on a lamp they found. They played a few rounds of Scrabble before Klaus gave up and flipped the board. For the rest of the day, they danced and stuffed themselves full of junk food. Currently, they were lying on the floor giggling about a prank Klaus had played on Luther not too long ago. Their giggling died off and they were left in comfortable silence.
It was only broken when Klaus leaped off the floor and ran over to the window.
"I almost forgot." Klaus came back over with a small box. "This is for you. Happy birthday."
Ben sat up and took the box from Klaus' hands. He wondered why he didn't give it to him during the gift exchange but he figured Klaus had his reasons. The box was one of those pre-wrapped boxes that only require you to take off the top. Ben lifted the lid and gasped when he saw what was inside.
Nestled in a bed of tissue paper, was a leather braided bracelet with bright glass beads within the woven strands. The beads reflected green, blue, and golden light across the ceiling. Ben reached a shaky hand towards the bracelet, the leather soft between his fingers. There was a single charm hanging, a simple silver circle with something engraved on it. Ben examined the charm and felt his heart stop when he read the words etched into it, 'K & B Forever'. He could feel the tears streaming down his face as he held the gift, his heart bursting with love and joy.
"Ben?" Klaus asked quietly. "Are you okay? Do you not like it? I can return it and get you something else if you want? I guess it was stupid to get you jewelry, I mean you’re not a jewelry guy." Klaus continued to ramble, his voice progressively getting shakier.
Before Klaus could freak out anymore, Ben reaches into his pocket and pulls out a necklace with a heart dangling from the end. He wanted to finally tell Klaus how he felt and thought the necklace would properly convey it. He knows the heart is cheesy, but he thought it would make it obvious how he felt.
Ben held it out to Klaus, who just stared at it in shock.
“I got this for you.” Ben said. Klaus reached a slow and shaky hand towards the necklace. He pulled it towards him and held the heart between his fingers. Ben felt his heart jump when Klaus gasped as he read the inscription on the heart. It said ‘Meine Liebe, Mein Liebling’. It was ‘My Love, My Darling’ in German. He knew Klaus could understand it because he was helping him learn German so he could be closer to his birth country. The phrase made the gift all the more cheesier.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you how I felt for a while now and this seemed like the best time to do so. I don’t know if you feel what I feel and if you don’t we can pretend this never happened, but if you do, I was hoping you’d be my boyfriend.” Ben stared at Klaus after his confession, trying to gauge his reaction. Klaus was still staring at the necklace and Ben could see tears welling up in his eyes. Klaus didn’t move and after a minute, Ben got worried.
“Klaus?” Ben said softly and gently touched his shoulder. At the touch, Klaus jumped and looked at Ben. There were still tears in his eyes and Ben felt his heart clench painfully. “I’m sorry if it upsets you, I can take it back if it bothers you. I thought I would-”
Ben’s words were cut off as a Klaus surged forward and kissed him. He froze and Klaus pulled away after a second. Ben looked into Klaus’ eyes and saw them lit up with joy. There was a short pause before the both leaned in and reconnected their lips. Ben felt as though his heart was going to burst. It felt right kissing Klaus. Sure it was a little wet and sloppy, but that’s what you get when you're both 15 year old shut-ins. To him, it was perfect. He moved closer and instinctively put his hands on Klaus’ waist. He then felt Klaus drape his arms over his shoulders. They stayed like that until Ben pulled away. He doesn’t remember closing his eyes, but when he opens them, he sees Klaus looking back at him with a dopey grin on his face. Ben was sure his face had the same grin. He huffed a little laugh and gave Klaud a quick peck on the lips.
“So…,” Ben said after a few moments of silence. “I’m gonna guess you feel the same.”
“ Of course I do dumbass. I couldn’t have been more obvious.” Klaus laughed. “I thought you were the smart one.”
Ben snorted and gave Klaus hip a small whack. “Shut up asshole.”
“You love me.” Klaus teased.
“Yes, I do.”
Ben leaned back in for another kiss but stopped short when they heard the dinner bell ring. Klaus groaned in disappointment and Ben chuckled before pulling away.
“Come on. If we don’t hurry, Luther’s going to eat all of Mom’s mac and cheese.” Ben started moving towards the door when Klaus grabbed his hand to stop him.
“Wait. Aren’t you going to put on my gift?” Klaus asked with an exaggerated pout on his face. “You also have to help me put on your gift.” Ben looked at the bracelet still clutched in his hand and quickly slipped it on. He then took the necklace from Klaus’ hand and unclasped it. Ben brought it around Klaus’ neck and reclasped it. When Klaus turned around, Ben felt his heart jump.
“How do I look?” Klaus struck a pose and Ben couldn’t help but lean in kiss him again. The kiss lasted a couple of seconds and when they pulled away, Ben tucked the necklace into Klaus’ shirt.
“You look beautiful, but we can’t have Dad seeing it. You know what would happen if he did.” Ben explained when Klaus pouted.
Klaus sighed. “I know.”
Ben grabbed his hand and squeezed gently. “What matters is that we know it’s there and we know what it represents.”
Klaus smiled softly.
“Now let's go. Maybe Luther will be kind and leave us some food.” Ben, with his hand still grasping Klaus’, pulled his to the door and down the stairs. Klaus’ laugh echoed through the room, leaving a whisper of the day behind. Ben would look back to this day as not only the best birthday but the best day in general. Later when they were eating dinner and Ben looked over at Klaus he could see the chain peeking out from his shirt collar. The simple glint of the chain filled his joy and he knew that nothing could tear them apart.