Work Text:
Klaus tosses his keys onto the table, humming along to Nina Simone, black painted fingers tapping along to the beat of the song.
He tucks the Walkman into his back pocket and sways to the music, spinning idle circles around his apartment as he slowly makes his way into the kitchen, shooting Ben finger guns and a wink as he twirls by the reading nook they’d made him (it’s just a pile of cheap, poofy pillows and soft blankets piled onto the window seat next to an overflowing bookshelf, but Ben had gone all misty eyed when Klaus had first shown it to him, so he doesn’t think Ben minds all that much).
Work, as always, had been an absolute drag , but Mrs. Jamison had stopped by and given him freshly baked lemon bars, so he can’t complain too much. Those things are better than crack .
Plus, he’d learned that hipster coffee shops actually paid decently enough for him to keep his cozy little apartment, and the customers weren’t really that bad. The free coffee, at least, was a good incentive. They made really fucking good coffee.
After a moment's contemplation, he pauses by the coffee table and pulls the headphones off, putting one of his favorite vinyls into the player, carefully settling the needle into place and letting The Doors fill the living room.
“Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen ,” he sings softly as he continues on into the kitchen. “Warm my mind near your gentle stove…”
He slides the plate of lemon bars onto the counter and digs around in the fridge for last night's takeout, popping it into the microwave to let it reheat.
“Tea?” He calls into the living room.
“Peppermint!” Ben calls back. “And don’t skimp out on the leaves. I couldn’t even smell it last time!”
Klaus rolls his eyes. “Complain, complain,” he grumbles. “Everything I do for you, and this is how you thank me.”
“Do it right and I wouldn’t!”
“Just for that, I’m making you lavender tea.”
“Klaus,” Ben groans. “You know I hate how that shit smells.”
“Exactly!” Klaus sing songs, grinning wildly.
“I hate you.”
“I love you too, mein bruder!”
He gets two mugs down, his own favorite with the cats wearing Christmas sweaters as well as Ben’s favorite, the huge monstrosity shaped like a pig that they had found in the dumpster behind Goodwill.
As the tea is steeping on the stove, he snags the chow mein out of the microwave and shovels a few bites into his mouth, wandering back into the living room and frowning unhappily at the far wall.
“Beeeeen,” he whines. “The paint is peeling.”
Ben doesn’t even have the decency to look up from his book. “I told you it would.”
Klaus makes a face and throws himself down onto the window seat beside him.
“Should I get more?”
Ben looks at him incredulously. “Klaus, it was ninety-five percent off for a reason. Just go to Home Depot and get the good stuff.”
“Home Depot doesn’t have the shade of pink I want, though,” Klaus grumbles, pushing his bottom lip out in a pout. “If I go get more, I can just cover it up, right?”
“Until that starts peeling,” Ben points out, and Klaus scowls.
“I hate you when you’re being logical.”
“Well, one of us has to use our brain cells productively.”
“I resent that.”
“I resent you .”
They stare at each other, silent, each waiting for the other to break, before Klaus groans.
“Fine, fine,” he says. “I’ll go get the good stuff from Home Depot tomorrow.”
Ben flashes him a winning smile and goes back to his book while Klaus hauls himself back up and goes to check on the tea, smiling happily to himself.
It hadn’t been easy, getting to where they are today.
Especially not the first couple of years. Christ, those were bad . They didn’t talk about those. Klaus didn’t even like to think about those.
Turned out all he needed to do was overdose in a dirty back alley, take an unprecedented jaunt into the afterlife and get scolded by little girl God to finally get his shit together.
At least, that’s what he tells Ben. Hell, sometimes that’s what he tells himself. He’s always been very good at lying. The truth, though, is that it was because of what happened after. He remembers with aching clarity what it felt like to wake up alone in that hospital room. No ghostly brother to yell at him, no concerned sister to hug away the chill in his bones, no mom to kiss his forehead and tell him he would be alright. He’d died and no one cared enough to show up. It was the one and only time he’d contemplated trying to find a more...permanent solution. But then Ben had floated back into the room, looking terrified and angry and hurt, and Klaus had realized with sudden, startling clarity that he didn’t actually want to die. He didn’t want to die, and fuck Reginald Hargreeves and his stupid fucking training that somehow only managed to make things worse - Klaus was going to learn how to control his powers and then he was going to live , not as scared little Number Four but as himself. Reginald was a shadow, the ghosts were the darkness, and Klaus was going to outshine all of them.
And he has been.
Things have been...good. Really good, actually. Maybe even the best they’ve ever been.
Sure, he misses the rest of his siblings, but he can actually hug Ben now and that (almost) makes up for it.
Klaus is coming up on his seventh year sober, which is absolutely mind boggling. Ben insists they celebrate every year and even though Klaus pouts and whines and argues, something in him warms and swells with pride (Ben also makes sure to smack Klaus upside the head if he does so much as breathe in the general direction of a bottle of alcohol, so that helps).
They’d found the apartment about three years after Klaus left the Academy. At that point, he’d been working night shifts at a gas station whose owner was kind enough to let him sleep in the employee break room (when he couldn’t find a warm body to go home with, of course), on the rickety little couch in exchange for half of his pay. The other half had been funding his drug habit.
In fact, the only reason he’d been able to afford the apartment was because it had been cheap as shit- it was in a pretty bad part of town, and most of its tenants were junkies or sex workers, and apparently people didn’t like that. For Klaus, though, it was perfect. Two small bedrooms, one even smaller bathroom with a leaky faucet, a cozy little sitting area with a window seat and a compact kitchen. If it meant he had to cut back a bit on the nicer drugs, well, he found he didn’t mind all that much. It was nice having a place to come back to.
Slowly but surely, the sparse apartment started filling out with little knickknacks and furniture they had either found in the junkyard or at garage sales.
Two years after they’d moved in, and Klaus had gotten clean. Six months after that, he’d gotten his job at the coffee shop (it’s been over six years, and he’s the manager now. Holy shit, he’s adult enough to manage something ).
That was when he started working- really, genuinely working- on his powers. It had taken a lot of research and an exhausting amount of work, but the first time he had managed to banish a ghost he’d cried out of sheer relief, at the knowledge that there was truly and genuinely a way out that had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol.
A week later, and he’d figured out how to make Ben corporeal, though it sure as hell hadn’t been on purpose. It had been one of his bad days, one of the ones where the cravings made him want to crawl out of his skin; where his mind wasn’t entirely sure what was real and what wasn’t, where every blink shoved him further and further into the mausoleum and he couldn’t focus enough to banish the ghosts that had taken over his home.
“KLAUSKLAUSKLAUSKL-” They were shrieking, and Ben was fretting, torn between snarling at the ghosts to leave and comforting his brother, the anger building and building and building, until-
“ENOUGH!” He’d roared, and reached out to grab Klaus’ shaking hand even though they both knew he would pass right through just like every other time they’d tried, but-
But-
But then-
his
fingers
made
contact.
Both of them had frozen and stared, wide eyed, at the point of contact before they threw themselves at each other, arms wound tight and trembling around one another and Klaus was sobbing, and Ben was crying, and neither of them let go until the next morning.
(“I’m sick of it,” Ben whispered and Klaus hummed questioningly, tightening his fingers in the fabric of Ben’s shirt. “I’m sick of watching everyone tear you apart and then leave you to pick up the pieces.”
Klaus felt tears prick at his eyes and his throat tighten. “We both know that’s your job, Benjamin,” he tried to say teasingly, but his voice cracked halfway through.
Ben smiled tightly, voice grim with determination. “It is now.”)
Klaus settles back down into the couch with the tea, handing Ben his stupid pig mug (Ben can’t drink the tea, but he loves the smells of all the different spices and the feeling of warmth in his hands) and gazes around their apartment- lets his eyes flit from the pink walls to the record player that he’d found in a thrift store, to the bookshelf that they had spent almost a week trying to sand and paint the bright red that Ben had wanted. The wall across from Klaus hosts an absolutely abysmal painting of dogs playing poker that Ben had badgered Klaus about getting for months , but Klaus had gotten his revenge by putting an equally as atrocious painting of poodles in frilly dresses right next to it.
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we, Ben?” Klaus asks softly, and Ben hums absently. He never says much, when Klaus gets in his melancholic moods, but they both prefer it that way. “I’m proud of us.”
At that, Ben stills before carefully bookmarking his page and setting the book on his little round side table, coming over to throw himself down on the couch beside Klaus, knocking their shoulders together.
Klaus sighs softly and shuffles down until he can rest his head on Ben’s shoulder.
“I’m proud of us too,” Ben says with a smile in his voice, and then adds because they’re still Hargreeves’s who are allergic to emotions. “Asshole.”
Klaus can’t help but grin, tilting his head to smirk slyly up at Ben, who stares down at him warily.
“No,” Ben says and Klaus laughs giddily.
“Yes!”
“Klaus-”
“Last one to Griddy’s has to clean the bathroom for a week!” He shouts, and then he’s shooting upright, nearly spilling his tea all over the table in his haste to set it down and get out the door before Ben.
“That’s not fair, you dick!” Ben yells after him but he’s laughing openly and there’s a warmth in his voice that didn’t always used to be there. It makes Klaus’ heart swell inexplicably.
So yeah, things have been going good.
But Klaus stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop years ago so, when it finally does, he’s not even a little bit ready.
***
It happens like this:
Reginald Hargreeves, eccentric billionaire and father (owner) of seven (six) extraordinary children, dies alone in a mansion built for forty-three.
Klaus only finds out because he has the news on in the background while he knits (he doesn’t like silence- never has, never will; even after he learned how to banish the ghosts, he doesn’t like being alone in his head for too long. Dark things hide in there, and he’s afraid of what might happen if he lingers on them for too long). The needles slip from his fingers, the yarn tumbles across the ground, and Klaus...doesn’t know how he feels. He’s detached, numb, as the newscaster talks and talks and talks about what a great man Hargreeves was, about his genius intellect, about his charitably , about how difficult it must have been to raise seven children alone, about how brave he had been in his creation of the Umbrella Academy, as if using his children as soldiers qualified as anything other than cowardice and psychopathy-
Ben is watching Klaus in concern and he isn’t sure why until he realizes his hands are glowing blue and half of his furniture is hovering about three feet off the ground.
Klaus turns the TV off, folds his hands into his lap, and everything drops back to the floor with a thump that echoes like a gunshot in the sudden silence.
It happens like this:
There’s a funeral, and all six of the siblings show up in varying states of shock, elation, and confusion. In true Hargreeves fashion, an argument breaks out within five minutes of them all being in the same room together.
Klaus watches the show quietly, sharing a look with a currently invisible Ben, who rolls his eyes and turns his gaze back to their brothers and sisters with a look that’s equal parts disappointment and resignation, both of them content to remain silent until-
“ Excuse me?” Klaus asks, wide eyed, and even Ben looks shocked at the accusation Luther is throwing out. “You think one of us killed him?”
“No, I-” Luther tries to backtrack immediately, but the guilt is right there alongside the grim determination to keep pushing (he wouldn’t be their Number One if he didn’t, really) and Klaus laughs outright as he pushes himself off the doorframe. “Where are you going?” Luther demands and Klaus laughs again, the sound bitter and cold.
“Oh, you know, just going to go kill mom now.”
It happens like this:
There’s a flash of blue light and suddenly little Number Five is standing there in clothes that don’t fit and Klaus can’t breathe, because that’s their brother, that’s Five and Klaus spent years trying to summon his ghost and now he’s here and Klaus is pretty sure he’s going to vomit because he doesn’t think he can handle having another dead brother, but-
“Five?!” Luther is asking, and Ben is murmuring in Klaus’ ear to breathe, just breathe, and it takes a minute but his lungs aren’t burning as badly anymore and joy is starting to replace the panic.
Of course, when Five explains it’s in clipped, angry sounding words that Klaus doesn’t understand, can’t even wrap his mind around because time travel is a thing, apparently, and it’s a thing his little big brother did, and now he’s the grumpiest littlest old man ever but he’s alive and that’s really all that matters. Or it was, because what happens next might be more important, or at least if it’s not it hurts like it is.
It happens like this:
Klaus gets kidnapped and tortured because Five is a little fucking shit with a million and one secrets, and no matter how much Klaus had begged and cried, they’d drugged him just enough to keep him tranquil, just enough for him to still feel the pain but lose access to his powers.
He doesn’t know how long they’ve had him when the pretty cop lady comes to his rescue, but he does know that Hazel and Cha-Cha need to research their victims better because they sure as hell don’t know how much to drug the ex-junkie; he’s stone cold sober, back to full power and waiting for the right time to strike when the cop silently unlocks the door.
Klaus goes for the vent instead of the door to stay out of any potential line of fire and drags his aching body through, taking the briefcase with him (it’s the least they owe him after that clusterfuck and he sure as hell hopes it’s enough money to get the new couch he and Ben have been wanting).
“Protect her, Ben,” Klaus murmurs as he staggers towards the bus that’ll drop him closest to the Academy and feels his power surge in his chest in response with a vicious sort of vindication- Klaus knows the assassins will be dead in a heartbeat.
Klaus opens the briefcase.
It happens like this:
Klaus is dropped into 1968 with nothing but the bloody clothes on his back and the briefcase clutched to his chest.
Then-
And then-
Dave.
Klaus spends the happiest ten months of his life in the middle of an active war zone, filling all of his empty spaces with DaveDaveDave .
It’s exhilarating and terrifying and mind boggling, being in love. Dave is everything Klaus never thought he could have- he’s beautiful and funny and intelligent and kind and so goddamn brave . He wears his heart on his sleeve and, slowly, teaches Klaus how to as well.
(Klaus tells him everything- about the Umbrella Academy, about his family, about his own powers, about Ben. Klaus tells him about the mausoleum, too, voice raw and shaking, but Dave holds him as he trembles and kisses away the tears on his cheeks. By the end of it, Klaus is afraid, so afraid, because he doesn’t think he can handle it when Dave inevitably calls him liar and attention-whore but Dave just smiles and presses his lips into Klaus’ hair and murmurs,
“I believe you.”)
It’s only ten months but it feels like so much more. It feels like the rest of his life, it feels like forever.
(His heart beat-beat-beats in his chest, every thump fearlessly proclaiming I love you-I love you-I love you.)
(He never stood a chance.)
But-
But then-
Then-
Dave
gets
shot.
Klaus goes home with Dave’s blood on his hands and screams trapped in his throat and tries to figure out how to hold himself together when his world is shaking apart.
*
Klaus stumbles into the Academy and runs headfirst into Luther, who snarls and bristles with the type of righteous fury only Number One can possess. Klaus doesn’t know why , can’t make much sense of anything, really. His mind is slow and jumbled, body moving on autopilot to get him somewhere safe.
Dave’s blood is still on his hands.
He rubs his palms down his pants, near frantic, lungs tightening as he struggles to breathe because there’s not enough air in the room and it won’t come off-
He doesn’t even realize Luther is talking to him until he’s slammed against the wall, head throbbing and ears ringing.
“What?” He slurs, groggy and confused, eyes tracking the helicopters flying behind Luther’s back to make sure they’re friendlies and not about to drop a dozen bombs on their heads, but one must’ve gone off somewhere close already because there’s a high pitched noise in Klaus’ ears-
“Where the hell were you?” Luther demands and Klaus startles and blinks his eyes back to his brother (Luther is here, why is he here, this isn’t right, it isn’t safe-)
“What?”
Luther’s face goes through a complicated series of emotions and he drops Klaus like he’s on fire, watching in disgust as he slides to the ground.
“I can’t believe you,” Luther snaps. “End of the world and you’re high.” And then he’s stomping away before Klaus can say anything, before he can even try to comprehend what happened, heart beating a painful staccato in his chest, mind hazy with confusion.
He curls into a ball, back pressed firmly against the wall and eyes squeezed shut as gunfire rattles the air around him, arms curled over his head to protect it.
A voice says his name, soft and concerned, and Klaus’ eyes fly open.
“Dave?” He asks in a wobbly voice, trying to blink the tears out of his eyes to make sense of the blurry figure approaching him.
The figure pauses before coming to crouch in front of Klaus, reaching a hand out to hover over his shoulder.
“No,” the person says firmly and Klaus shudders and curls tighter around himself. “It’s Ben. Can you make me corporeal, Klaus?”
Klaus’ breath hitches in his chest and he bites his lip against the sob trapped in his throat, shaking his head.
“Okay, that’s okay,” Ben soothes. “Can you go upstairs and run yourself a bath? We can get you nice and warmed up, yeah?”
Klaus’ brow furrows in confusion but he nods and slowly levers himself upright, mind latching onto the only clear instruction it has.
He drags his aching body up the stairs and into the bathroom, fumbling with the tap until he’s able to turn the warm water on, resolutely not looking at his bloodstained hands.
He undresses slowly, shivering as the cool air hits his bare skin, and levers himself into the tub as it fills.
It’s...nice, he thinks distantly. He didn’t realize he was cold until he was sitting in the heat of the tub, and the warmth helps soothe his tense muscles. He sinks down to rest his head against the lip of the tub and closes his eyes, knowing Ben will tell him when to turn off the water.
“I missed you, Ben,” Klaus murmurs absently. His mind is far away, floating off without him, and suddenly he’s bone-deep exhausted.
There’s silence again, before- “...I missed you too, Klaus.”
Klaus hums softly and rubs his hands together underneath the water, scratching his nails lightly along his palms.
“Read to me?” He asks hopefully, blinking his eyes slowly back open to peer over at his brother.
Ben watches him, silent and contemplative, before nodding and pulling his book out of the inside of his coat pocket, eyeing Klaus again before beginning to read.
Klaus settles further into the tub and lets his mind drift further to the soft sound of Ben’s voice and the warmth of the water against his skin.
*
Five is talking.
The whole family has gathered in the living room, and Ben keeps shooting him concerned looks but doesn’t stop sticking his hand through Luther’s face to try and cheer Klaus up. Klaus appreciates the gesture, really, but every beat of his heart makes him ache with what could’ve been (he doesn’t think he’ll ever be okay. Every breath hurts , like his body can’t figure out why it’s still going when the person it kept going for is gone).
“So,” Five is saying. “Now that I have the briefcase, I can use it to jump forward and figure out what causes the apocalypse. Then it’s a simple matter of jumping back and making sure it never happened. I just need to work on-”
“No.”
Five blinks and then narrows his eyes, turning his cool gaze on Klaus. “You seem to be under the impression that this is under negotiation, Klaus. I’m giving you the courtesy of telling you what I’m going to do; this isn’t a debate.”
“I won’t let you,” Klaus hears himself say like he’s far away, voice calm and detached.
The concern on Ben’s face grows.
Five rolls his eyes. “You’re mistaken if you think you can let me do anything.”
Diego is watching him intently, brows furrowed, but it’s Vanya who speaks.
“Why don’t you want him to, Klaus?” She asks timidly.
“I met someone. Someone very important. And I can’t live in a world where that doesn’t happen.”
“But if Five is able to go back, this week won’t have happened at all. We’ll all be in our new lives and you’ll be none the wiser,” Allison points out. And it’s logical. It makes sense. But the idea of never having met Dave, of never having been loved like that, of never having someone to love like that is- it’s- it’s unthinkable.
“I don’t care,” Klaus says. “Find another way.”
“Or what, Klaus? What are you going to do?” Five snaps irritably.
Klaus blinks once, slowly, and folds his hands into his lap. For the first time since he got back from Vietnam, they’re steady. “I’ll stop you.”
Five laughs, cool and unamused, and grabs the briefcase.
*
Life is made up of before’s and after’s.
Before and after the mausoleum.
Before and after Ben died.
Before and after Klaus got clean.
Before and after Five came home.
Before and after Dave.
Klaus has learned. He’s grown. He’s evolved. And after Dave?
He breaks.
*
The house is shaking, trembling, crumbling, just like Klaus’ world did when Dave died.
He thinks, vaguely, that he can hear someone (multiple someone’s?) saying his name, but there’s power surging in his chest and filling that awful emptiness that’s made its home there.
The ghosts are cackling madly and reaching for him, touching , grabbing, and snapping into place.
For a moment, there is complete silence.
There’s a flash of blue and suddenly Five is in front of him, face pale but determined; Klaus merely smiles and flicks him away with a glowing blue hand, watching distantly as he hits the wall and crumples.
He doesn’t get back up.
“I told you,” Klaus says in a voice that’s not his- there’s thousands of them, maybe millions, and they’re all coalescing into one and it feels incredible, like everything they were ever meant to be- “No.”
Someone is screaming in terror, in grief, and suddenly everyone is bowled over by a shockwave of painful, blinding white.
Klaus picks himself- themselves- back up and peers at Vanya curiously.
Oh, she’s glorious, eyes a startling silver somehow made more beautiful by the tears sparkling in them, wind whipping her hair around her face, grief and agony and anger writ in every movement.
Klaus tosses his (their) head back and laughs and laughs and laughs, and it really is funny, how cute it is that she thinks she can do anything to them. They’re hundreds of thousands of years worth of knowledge and what is she compared to that? An ant, insignificant and small-
just like those that she used to cry about as a child whenever one of them accidentally stepped on-
NO!
(Klaus is screaming, screaming, screaming, but they keep laughing.)
Vanya shrieks again but this time they are ready, and her shockwave meets an impenetrable wall; a storm raging against still blue seas.
They (Klaus?) smile and raise their hands in front of their face to examine glowing blue fingertips, smile widening into something sharper and much more dangerous. The glow gets brighter and they
throw
their
hands
forward .
*
Vanya is rage, pure and incandescent, but Klaus is death , and none of them stand a chance.
*
It’s quiet.
Calm.
Peaceful.
The world is black and white but Klaus brings color, he brings life.
Each exhale breathes a soft flicker of blue into the air, each step colors the grass; everything his fingertips touch becomes lively and bright.
(It’s nice, being something warm and hopeful and carefree; being something outside of himself.)
He hears footsteps, soft and gentle, following behind him. A strong hand settles on his shoulder and he knows who it is before he turns, has a name on his tongue as he does, but-
“Dave?”
He’s wrong.
“You have to go back, Klaus,” Ben says softly, eyes wide and earnest.
Klaus swallows heavily and wriggles his toes in the soft grass beneath his feet.
“I don’t want to,” he murmurs.
“I know,” Ben says, smiling sadly. “But you have to. It’s you, Klaus. It’s always been you.”
Klaus frowns in confusion, but Ben gently turns him to the side and points in the direction of the rocky cliffs with the raging waters below. Klaus never goes there. Can’t go there. The storm batters the cliffs, just as it always does, growing stronger and stronger with each passing moment.
“I can’t,” he says, fear pressing in on his lungs and weighing down his body. “Ben, I can’t. I can’t go back. I don’t want to.”
“You can stop it, Klaus,” Ben pulls him into a tight hug. “You started it, but you can stop it, too. You can save them.”
No, they whisper.
“It’ll hurt,” Klaus whispers into his brother's shoulder.
“Doesn’t it always?” Ben asks softly, and Klaus feels the burning prick of tears in his eyes. “But just like every other time, you’ll push through.”
“But Dave, he’s-” Klaus gestures in the opposite direction, toward the meadow with the small cottage that he can just make out from where he’s standing.
“I know,” Ben says again, lips pressed into an unhappy line. “I know , and I’m so fucking sorry. But...you know what you need to do.”
A sob bubbles past Klaus’ lips but he nods, letting the tears fall freely.
(It hurts, being in love hurts so much more than he ever knew.)
“I know,” he whispers, voice wobbling.
NO! They wail.
The cottage looks so nice. Nice and warm and welcoming. It looks like home.
Klaus turns and runs in the opposite direction, away from the meadow, away from the cottage, away from Dave.
His heart aches , throbs with every step closer to the cliffs edge.
With an agonized scream, Klaus squeezes his eyes shut and
j
u
m
p
s
*
Klaus comes back to himself with a gasp, hands falling limply to his sides.
The corporeal ghosts disappear just as abruptly as they had appeared, and Klaus takes in the damage with a growing sense of horror.
His legs give out and he crumbles to his knees with a breathless sob.
The Academy is in ruins, and he can’t even see his siblings through the rubble.
Dead, his mind supplies hysterically. They’re deaddeaddead-
A sound. A gasp of breath. Movement, brick shifting and shuddering.
A body, huge and imposing, so big it can only be Luther, pushes itself upright. A chorus of shuddering gasps follows, and then-
“Get off us, you big fucking ape-”
“Seriously, Luther, I can’t breathe-”
“Why is it so quiet-”
“Wait, where’s Five-”
A flash of blue in front of him, and Klaus follows dirty shoes up to schoolboy shorts and a ripped sweater vest until, finally, his eyes find Five’s disgruntled face, blood smeared on the side of his head but otherwise, miraculously, fine.
“This whole fucking time,” Five snarls. “And it’s been you.”
Five’s hands reach for him and Klaus flinches, braces himself against the blow that’s sure to come, but-
Hugging.
Hugging is a thing.
Hugging is a thing that Five is doing, his little arms surprisingly strong around Klaus’ trembling form and that’s all it takes for Klaus to break down in tears, arms winding around his little big brother as he sobs.
“I’m sorry,” he cries. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”
“Shut up,” Five mumbles, but it lacks its usual heat.
“But I almost-”
“We almost caused the apocalypse,” Five snaps sharply. “All because we suck at being siblings. So shut up and stop blaming yourself. We’re all idiots.”
Luther comes forward, slow and hesitant, before resting one large hand on Klaus’ shoulder.
“He’s right. We’ll figure this out.”
“Together,” Allison adds with a warm smile, hugging Vanya closer to her side. Vanya offers a small, shy smile and nods.
“You’re all saps,” Diego grumbles, but shoulders Luther aside and ruffles Klaus’ hair fondly. “But they’re right, bro. We’re here for you.”
Klaus swallows heavily and pulls back enough to scrub the tears from his eyes.
Behind them, Ben hums softly, eyes surveying his siblings with a soft, proud look on his face, and Klaus can’t help but offer him a wobbly smile.
He almost, almost, makes Ben corporeal but he doesn’t know if his family could handle the shock of it right now.
He’s tempted to do it anyways, gathers his power in his palms and lets it flow through him, comfortingly cool, but a voice stops him, gentle and achingly familiar-
“Klaus?”
*
After a tearful reunion that left even Diego hastily swiping a tear off of his cheek, Klaus and Dave had slipped outside of the wreckage wrapped around one another, neither willing to let go just yet (or ever. Klaus doesn’t think he’ll ever let go). Five, with a combination of the briefcase Klaus had kept and his own power, managed to undo all the damage Klaus and Vanya had done to the Academy until it stood once more, whole and undamaged.
“Try not to do that again,” Five says dryly before turning his attention to Dave. “Hurt him,” he lowers his voice into something terrifyingly casual. “And I will use this,” here, he holds up the briefcase. “To bring you back to life and find new, infinitely more painful ways to kill you.”
“Five,” Klaus whines. “Please do not threaten my boyfriend.”
“Not a threat, a promise.”
Klaus groans and buries his face in Dave’s neck. Dave absently pets a hand through Klaus’ hair with a hum, peering at Five with an amused smile.
“I won’t hurt him,” Dave says softly. “I love him. I’ve been waitin’ fifty years to see him again. ‘Sides, I’m a lot more scared’a him than I am of you. No offense, but ghosts are his thing, and after seein’ what he did to-” Dave gestures vaguely towards the Academy. “I think it’s in my best interests to keep him happy. Not takin’ into account how much you’d have t’fuck with the timeline to make that happen, and somethin’ tells me you don’t wanna do that.”
Five tilts his head, eyes slitted appraisingly, before nodding firmly and holding out a hand.
“Welcome to the family, Dave,” he says with an overly-pleasant wolf’s smile.
Dave shakes Five’s hand with a grin. “Wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else.”
Five hums, eyeing Dave for a moment longer before blinking away to do- whatever Five did.
“You handled that well,” Klaus murmurs into Dave’s neck, pressing a soft kiss to the delicate skin below his ear. “You handled him well.”
“Oh, he ain’t that bad.”
“You’re right, he’s worse.”
Dave snorts and tilts Klaus’ chin up, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Love you, darlin’.”
“Love you more.”
“Impossible.”
“We’ll see.”
They both stare at one another silently before breaking into quiet laughter, warm and comfortable- it makes something in Klaus’ chest go soft and gooey, and he catches Dave’s eyes with an adoring smile.
A throat clears, and Klaus glances over to see Allison watching them with a gentle, if slightly confused, smile.
“Let me guess,” Dave says with a winning smile. “Allison Hargreeves, movie star?” He holds out a hand, which Allison shakes with only the briefest of hesitation. “Never met anyone famous before.”
“Hey!” Klaus cried, outraged. “I’ll have you know I came out live on the Tonight Show when I was fourteen.”
“I dunno what that is, but I don’t doubt that at all.” Dave smirks, and Klaus huffs and grumbles to himself and tries to ignore the way his cheeks are heating underneath Dave’s attention. He’s a grown man, he doesn’t blush because his boyfriend has a sexy smirk, dammit.
“Klaus talked about us?” Allison asks, sounding surprised, and Klaus shoves away the jolt of hurt. It’s fair, really. He hadn’t seen any of them in years, at least not until the funeral.
“Oh, all the time,” Dave says with a warm smile and, because he’s apparently a mind reader, hugs Klaus closer to his side. “He missed you guys a lot.”
“Yeah, uh, about that- I don’t really understand?”
Dave frowns. “Don’t understand what?”
“All of it?”
“Wh-” Dave narrows his eyes slightly, and Klaus shrinks under the attention. “Klaus, darlin’, how long have you been back?”
“Oh, uh, I dunno,” Klaus wheedles. “About a day now?”
Dave stares at him incredulously before hugging Klaus tightly to his chest. “Shit. I’m sorry. I thought- I assumed- it had been longer.”
“Pretty sure your blood is still in the tub,” Klaus tries to joke, but it falls flat and he hunches in on himself.
Dave lets out a harsh breath and then smiles at Allison, soft and strained. “We’ll explain. I promise. But first I’m gonna make ‘im eat somethin’ and get some rest. We can talk soon, m’kay?”
Allison glances between them but nods slowly. “Yeah, sure. Why don’t Luther and I go make some sandwiches or something? I’m sure everyone is hungry after all...that.”
“Sounds great,” Dave says, smiling gratefully as she nods and drags Luther inside with her. “You okay, darlin’?”
“No,” Klaus mumbles, and then sighs. “Yes?” He scrubs his hands over his face, suddenly feeling exhausted, the kind of exhaustion that settles deep into his bones. “I don’t know.”
“That’s okay,” Dave soothes. “Lets just head inside, yeah? Get something to eat, and then you can sleep while I explain everything.” Dave pauses and frowns. “Will you be able to keep me- you know, visible n’stuff while you’re sleepin’?”
Klaus laughs softly and nuzzles his face into Dave’s neck. “Oh, baby, Ben and I figured out how to do that ages ago. Only reason I’m not keeping him visible is because my family doesn’t know he’s here, and the first time I tried to tell them was an absolute shit show. Granted,” Klaus admits only slightly guiltily. “It was at his funeral and I was higher than Luther was when he was on the moon. So.”
“We...aren’t gonna get into that now,” Dave says, voice even and slow like it always gets when Klaus has just revealed something about his past that Dave doesn’t like. “Lead th’way to your bedroom, darlin’.”
Klaus could make so many innuendos, but he’s just too fucking tired to bother.
He tangles his fingers with Dave’s and leads him to his childhood bedroom, absently plugging in the strings of fairy lights lining the walls.
Dave looks around curiously, eyes taking everything in, and Klaus tries to imagine seeing it from the perspective of someone who's never seen it before.
Everything is covered in a thin layer of dust, and he’s pretty sure no one has even stepped foot inside since he left. His clothes are still strewn just about everywhere they can be, walls covered in writing (every time a ghost had screamed its secrets at him, he’d scribbled them down on whatever empty spot he could find), there’s at least three lamps and no curtains on his windows, and every wall has its own string of fairy lights; his bed frame is home to even more.
“It’s a mess, I know. Jesus,” Klaus grumbles, making a face at the empty liquor bottles poorly concealed underneath his bed behind what might be the biggest stuffed unicorn he’s ever seen.
“It’s...very you,” Dave says, but he’s smiling over at Klaus, this soft little thing that never fails to set butterflies loose in his stomach.
Klaus smiles and drapes his arms over Dave’s shoulders, leaning in and resting his forehead against Dave’s, breathing him in.
“I missed you. Christ, but I did,” Klaus mumbles, letting his eyes fall closed.
Dave’s arms wind around his waist and pull him close until they’re pressed flush, hands resting at the small of Klaus’ back. “Missed you too, darlin’. Probably more than I miss bein’ alive, if I’m bein’ perfectly honest.”
Klaus’ heart lurches uncomfortably in his chest, but he knows he’ll adjust- like with Ben, this is just another thing they’ll learn how to adapt to, how to work into their tightly knit family of two, how to make a life with.
(And maybe, some day, they can all learn how to be siblings again. Maybe someday Dave, Klaus and Ben can expand their little family to include their brothers and sisters. It’ll take a lot of hard work, he knows, but he thinks it’ll be worth it.)
“We could see if Five-” Dave cut him off with a gentle kiss.
“No need. Don’t wanna risk messin’ anything up, ‘specially not now that I’ve got you back. I’m happy how I am, long as I’m with you.”
Klaus swallows and squeezes his eyes shut against the sudden burn of tears.
“Klaus? Darlin’, did I say something wrong?”
Klaus laughs lightly, shifting to drop his forehead onto the top of Dave’s shoulder, fingers curling lightly in the stiff material of his army vest.
“No, no,” he assures thickly. “Just- I think it’s all catching up, everything that’s happened today. And you. I get to keep you.”
He can hear more than see Dave’s smile. “Damn straight you do. I’m yours, Klaus Hargreeves, n’I’m gonna be yours forever, or until you don’t want me anymore.”
“Oh, I’ll always want you. Sorry, but you’re stuck with me, David Katz- maybe even for the rest of my life.”
Dave’s arms tighten around him. “Think I can live with that.”
Klaus breathes deeply for a moment before raising his head to look Dave in the eyes and murmuring, “You feel like home. You feel like forever.”
Dave’s smile is bright and blinding and beautiful, just like he is, just like he’s always been. “You’re my forever too, darlin’.”
Klaus’ heart beats faster in his chest (thud-I love you-thud-I love you-thud-I love you) and he matches Dave’s smile with a beaming one of his own.
“Guess we better make it official then, huh?” Klaus fumbles in his pocket and then steps back, folding to one knee. Dave inhales sharply even though he doesn’t need to, those beautiful baby blues going wide and watery as they stare down at Klaus, reverent and unblinking.
“David Joseph Katz,” Klaus asks, holding up the simple silver band he’d picked up on their last trip to Saigon before- well. Before. “Will you marry me?”
There’s shocked silence, long enough for that ooey-gooey spot in his chest to start squirming with dread, and then-
“Never wanted to do somethin’ more.”
*
When Klaus wakes, Dave is nowhere to be seen, but Klaus can feel the pull, the gentle tug of his power, and knows he’s nearby.
Klaus stretches languidly, for the first time in what feels like years waking up actually, genuinely well rested, and turns his gaze on Ben, who’s perched on top of the dresser watching him like some sort of creepy guardian angel. It makes Klaus’ heart swell warmly in his chest.
“You like this guy?” Ben says as soon as he sees Klaus’ eyes open.
“I really do,” Klaus says with a dopey smile. Ben narrows his eyes slightly.
“Do I need to give him the shovel talk? Maybe let the Horror out to play for a bit?”
Klaus considers Ben for a moment before sitting up, meeting his eyes and saying in a rare moment of open honesty, “I’ve found him, Ben. My person. The one who makes me happy. And you don’t have to do anything, because I’m his person, too.”
Ben regards him quietly before his face breaks out in a wide, open grin. “I’m happy for you, then. He seems like a good guy.” He pauses for dramatic effect before adding, “He’s been trying to explain everything to everyone for almost an hour now.”
Klaus hums and flops back into the bed, burying his face in Dave’s pillow and grinning as Ben huffs when he doesn’t get the reaction he was hoping for.
“C’mon, Klaus,” Ben wheedles. “Your precious Dave, alone, with all of our siblings.”
Klaus snorts. “Benji, you are sorely mistaken if you think Dave can’t take care of himself. Don’t fall for that Georgia peach act, he’s all man and trust me,” he adds, twisting his head to the side to give Ben a lewd smirk. “I would know.”
It’s a testament to how numb Ben has gone to Klaus’ shit over the years that he doesn’t react, glosses right over the statement with a thoughtful, “Well, he did handle Five pretty well.”
“Pretty well? Ben, he handled Five perfectly,” Klaus sighs dreamily. “It was hot.”
Ben makes a face, the same one he always makes when he’s decided he’s had enough of Klaus’- well, everything, and it sends a pang through Klaus’ chest, so sudden it’s almost painful.
Klaus swallows at the sudden burn in his eyes and says, “I, uh, I missed you. A lot.”
Ben watches him closely. “Yeah, I kind of listened to what Dave was saying, but I left halfway through to come sit with you. I get the gist of it. How long…?”
“Almost a year. I was there for almost a year, Ben.”
Ben’s eyes go wide, lips parting soundlessly over words he struggles to voice.
“I...how- why? Why didn’t you come back?”
And shit, no, fuck- that’s hurt in Ben’s voice. God dammit, Klaus thought he was done hurting his brother.
He hurries over and kicks his bedroom door closed before making Ben corporeal, the dresser creaking ominously under the sudden weight.
“I didn’t- I thought about it. I really, really did. But I was scared. I didn’t know how to operate that thing. What if I opened it and ended up somewhere worse?” Klaus’ hands hover over Ben’s, unsure if the touch will be welcome. “That’s not even the real reason, though. At least it stopped being the main reason after a while. I met him. I met Dave. And he’s- god, Ben, I love you. I do. But he’s...I couldn’t…” He flaps his hands uselessly. “It was fucking terrible, fighting in that war. But it was simple. Easy. And that’s what I wanted with Dave. A simple, easy life. And we could’ve- we would’ve- had it. I hated not having you around. Really, I did. I tried to talk to you all the time. But. Dave started to fill up all those empty spaces losing you had left behind. And I know that sounds terrible, but-” Ben finally took mercy on Klaus and hopped off the dresser, cutting off his rambling with a tight hug that Klaus can’t help but melt into.
“It’s okay,” Ben says, hugging Klaus closer when Klaus lets out a wobbly little laugh. “I can’t say I understand, because I don’t and I won’t ever get to. Not in that way, at least. But it’s okay. I don’t understand it, but I get it. I get you. And I hate that you were willing to leave me here without you, but more than that, I’m happy that you’re happy. And if staying there with him is what kept you happy, then I’m glad you did.”
For what’s probably the millionth time, Klaus can’t help but marvel at how lucky he is to have Ben.
He loves the rest of his siblings; truly, he does. But he doesn’t really like them all that much, and coming back after so long has made him remember why. They’re all so selfish. So absorbed in their own individual lives, in their own little worlds, that the smallest drop of rain may as well be a fucking hurricane. It’s why the dick measuring contest between Diego and Luther never ended, it’s why Allison rumored her way through Hollywood, it’s why Vanya wrote that stupid fucking book, it’s why Five accidentally trapped himself in the apocalypse. Every action, every reaction, every word- a butterfly effect, muscle memory that’s lingered because of Reginald fucking Hargreeves and his bullshit lessons and manipulation tactics to pit them against one another; a spiraling effect that none of their siblings had ever managed to shake.
He knows this story. He’s read it a thousand times before.
And maybe Ben has spent too long in Klaus’ company, or maybe he’s just learned and adapted and grown, but he gets it.
Oh, Klaus is selfish too. So, very selfish, and he knows it. He’s aware of it, he can own up to it. It’s one among many, many faults. He preserved his own happiness over his brothers, he stayed because he felt loved, and realistically, Ben has every right to be upset that Klaus, his only connection to the real world, was willing to leave him alone. But. But Ben isn’t like the rest of his siblings. He understands that Klaus wanting to stay with Dave had absolutely nothing to do with him.
The rest of their siblings will warp the beautiful, bright thing he has with Dave and turn it into something cold and cruel and ugly. They’ll call it abandonment, they’ll call it betrayal, they’ll call it selfish, and they won’t even understand why he laughs at the irony of it.
(he’s eighteen and he’s overdosing in the dark alley behind Griddy’s and he’s sobbing and shaking and he’s so very alone and it hurts, but the last time he called, no one picked up the phone and he thinks, maybe, he’s going to die out here alonealonealone)
Ben is simple; he’s stability, he’s calm, and he’s always, always there when Klaus needs him to be.
And god, did Klaus miss him.
They stay like that for a long moment, and if Klaus maybe has to wipe his eyes on Ben’s jacket, well. That’s between them and the leather.
“Should we head down?” Ben asks quietly, and Klaus groans.
“Do we have to?” He whines, and Ben snorts and rolls his eyes.
“You can’t hide up here forever, Klaus.”
“I can give it a valiant effort, though!”
“Klaus,” Ben says in that tone of his that means he’s Serious Ben now, and Klaus sighs but steps back and lets go of his powers. Ben fades back into invisibility with a grimace, but doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to.
“Soon, Benny-Boy. We’ll let them know soon, okay? Then you can rejoin the land of the living and spend as much time with them as you’d like.”
Ben smiles wryly. “Let’s focus on one problem at a time.”
Right.
Klaus time travelled to the Vietnam War after being kidnapped, fell in love, came back and nearly ended the world, and then had a tearful reunion with his ghostly boyfriend.
Klaus tips his head back with a sigh.
It’s going to be a long fucking day.
*
Klaus can -not easily but he can- admit when he’s wrong.
Usually when it comes to his siblings, he’s not.
But.
But he hasn’t seen them in years and as much as it truly, genuinely shocks him (it shouldn’t, it really shouldn’t, because he’s not the same person he was when he was seventeen, either), they’ve changed.
When he comes downstairs, he’s expecting yelling. He’s expecting anger and threats and cold eyes.
What he’s not expecting, is-
“I swear t’god, it’s the truth,” Dave is saying with a laugh. “He threw himself up on that bar n’he danced his heart out and sang some song about girls runnin’ the world that none’a us had ever heard before, and he won our entire troop free drinks for the whole weekend.”
“No fucking way,” Diego immediately denies, but he’s grinning.
“I swear on it!” Dave defends, and Five hums.
“Sounds like him,” he says with a thoughtful look on his face. “Was that at The Rex?”
Dave tilts his head, brow furrowing, before his face lights up in a warm smile. “It was!”
“I’ve been there a couple of times,” Five says with a small smile. “Nice spot.”
“It is pretty neat,” Allison says, and then straightens when all of their siblings turn to look at her. “What?” She asks, frowning. “We filmed one of my movies in Vietnam.”
“I didn’t know that,” Luther says quietly, and Diego huffs.
“Stop with the kicked puppy look, Luther- none of us knew.”
Luther leans over and smacks delicately at the back of Diego’s head; Diego immediately retaliates and then they’re off- despite everything, it really is like they’re ten again and arguing over who gets the last of mom’s waffles. It brings a smile to Klaus’ face, bright and unbridled.
“So, Dave,” Vanya asks politely, steamrolling right over Luther and Diego’s bickering. “Why don’t you tell us a little more about yourself? About how, um…” she trails off, and Dave frowns.
“About how what?”
“How you ended up with Klaus,” Five says bluntly, and Klaus’ breath freezes in his lungs. He tucks himself more firmly against the doorframe and hunches his shoulders inward, honestly debating whether or not he should book it back upstairs. But the cool whisper of Ben’s hand on his shoulder steadies him and he waits quietly, breath held in anticipation.
“How I ended up with him?” Dave asks, sounding vaguely confused and maybe even a little defensive.
“Oh, no, really, we like you a lot,” Allison assures. “You’re just very….” She waves a hand at Dave. “You know. And he’s very….” she wiggles her fingers in the air. “You know.”
“I don’t think I do,” Dave says, voice stern and cool.
“We like you, and we love him,” Diego says like it’s obvious, and Klaus sags in relief, smiling privately to himself. “You’re just very different.”
“Oh,” Dave relaxes, a warm smile working its way onto his face. “We are, aren’t we?” He chuckles. “But I ain’t all apple pie, y’know. I can’t really say how we ended up together. Not gonna call it anythin’ like fate, but he could’a dropped in anywhere. An’ he dropped in on me. I’m glad he did. Maybe he would’a jumped on any gay man at that point, but I don’t think so. He found me, and we made it work. Boy, did we have t’work for it, too. Time period didn’t exactly make it easy on us, but it was worth it, I think.”
“I’m reluctantly impressed in his commitment to you,” Five admits grudgingly.
“Oh?” Dave hums. “Why’s that?”
“Calm yourself, soldier,” Five rolls his eyes. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.”
“What he meant,” Vanya says with a little glare in Five’s direction- and Klaus has to take a moment to marvel at how far she’s come, now that she’s discovered her powers and settled into her skin. “Is that he’s impressed because of where- when?- you two managed to, um, fall in love.”
“Ah,” Dave smiles softly and nods. “Like I said, wasn’t easy. But he’s more than worth it. I love ‘im, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop. Klaus is a lot easier to love than he gives himself credit for. Just needed someone to show ‘im, I guess, and I’m honored it got to be me.”
Allison presses a hand over her heart with a murmured “awww,” at the same time that Diego gags dramatically.
“That’s disgustingly cute,” he grumbles, looking disgruntled, and Klaus has to hide a giggle behind his hand.
“It’s not disgusting,” Allison huffs, looking offended. “It’s just cute.” She glances over. “Right, Luther?”
“Oh, uh, right,” Luther nods dutifully. “Very, um, sweet.” And he looks awkward as hell but, Klaus notes with some surprise, he also looks like he means it.
“Time to make a grand entrance?” Ben asks with a knowing smile, and Klaus smirks.
“Always.”
He pushes himself off of the doorway and marches purposefully into the room, hestating only slightly when everyone’s eyes land on him and conversation stops, suddenly feeling lost and unsure. Years, he has to remind himself. It’s been years, you don’t know your place here anymore, you don’t know them anymore, and they sure as hell don’t know you-
But Diego is smiling, small and genuine, and Five looks reluctantly impressed (Dave must have said something before Klaus and Ben got downstairs), and Vanya looks like she just really wants to give him a hug and Allison looks like she might want to join her, and Luther has this sad little kicked puppy look, guilt and apology in his eyes and Dave- he’s just as beautiful as he always is, a beaming smile on his face as he holds out a hand for Klaus.
It gives him the courage he needs, and he throws himself forward, half into Dave’s lap and half on the chair.
“Hey, everyone,” he says with a cheeky grin.
“Hi,” they all chorus, and Ben snorts and grumbles a quiet “did they practice that?” to himself.
“I see you met my beloved,” Klaus says as he leans over to kiss Dave’s cheek.
“We did and he’s great, whatever,” Five says, and then jabs his pointy little elbow into Luther’s side, making Luther grunt. “But someone has something they want to say to you.”
“But he’s not the only someone,” Allison says sternly, shooting Five the scariest Mom Look that Klaus has ever seen and Five actually shrinks a little bit under it.
Luther ignores them both, meeting Klaus’ eyes with big sad ones and saying, “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I know I handled it...poorly, when you got back. I shouldn’t have made assumptions, and I shouldn’t have gotten angry. I hurt you, and I’m sorry I did. I’m going to work hard to make sure I don’t ever again.”
Before Klaus can react, Five is speaking as well. “I...maybe didn’t handle the situation properly. I could have been more...delicate, I suppose, and more aware of your state of mind as well as your reasoning behind not wanting me to use the briefcase.” His face scrunches up like he’s sucking on a lemon, but he adds, “I’m sorry.”
Klaus has gone still, staring wide eyed at his siblings. “I-” He starts, and then has to clear his throat and start again. “It’s fine. Really. I guess I wasn’t handling things the best either. Um. I should have told you guys what happened instead of freaking out like that. It looks like Dave told you everything, which I appreciate because I don’t think I would’ve gotten through it all. But, uh, in the spirit of honesty or whatever it is we're doing here, I should tell you…” He feels the familiar trickle of power settle into his bones, eager and waiting, and glances over at Ben. “You ready, mein bruder?” He asks, and Ben takes in a shaky breath that he doesn’t need and nods.
“In the spirit of honesty,” Klaus repeats, and Ben ignites in bright blue light that fades just as suddenly as it started. “Ben’s been with me since we were seventeen.”
There’s a series of gasps followed by complete, deadly silence.
“Hey, guys,” Ben says hesitantly and for one long, agonizing moment, nobody moves. But then-
“Holy shit, Ben!” Diego cries, throwing himself at their brother, and suddenly the floodgates are open, because everyone is following suit.
Klaus smiles and shifts himself around until he’s pressed up against Dave’s side, tucked underneath his arm, and watches as his siblings scramble over one another to get to their dead brother, their voices muddled and loud as they all try to talk over one another.
Five is the only one who didn’t join; he’s sitting in his chair still with a gentle smile on his face, eyes glassy as he watches their siblings. It’s a look Klaus doesn’t think he’s ever seen before, this soft and delicate little thing, like he’s looking at something precious that he thought he lost.
Klaus’ heart aches at the sight, at the reminder of what his little big brother has been through, and reaches over to squeeze Five’s hand, fingers hovering for a moment before finally touching. Five startles slightly before glancing over, eyes darting down to Klaus’ hand before moving back to his face, something vulnerable and lost in his expression. It’s gone as fast as it came, though, and he smiles again, squeezing Klaus’ hand tentatively back.
And just like that, something snaps into place inside Klaus’ chest.
They’re not perfect- Christ on a cracker, they’re the farthest things from perfect. They’re a traumatized, dysfunctional, angst ridden mess, but for the first time in...possibly ever, they’re a family.
And here, tucked into Dave’s side, fingers curled loosely around Five’s as their siblings talk animatedly amongst each other, something bright and warm settles into his bones; it feels like joy, like comfort, like love, like-
Like home.