Chapter Text
The next day was more of the same. Klaus’ body just felt so heavy, and since he’d already slept so much, there was no chance of the unconscious it provided. He was left with very little to actually distract him from his own mind or the ghosts. Indecision, and the fact that he couldn’t muster up the energy to get up, meant he just laid there, one leg hanging off the edge of his bed, swinging it back and forth, hoping that would burn off some of his restless energy so he could sleep again.
“Moving is so much work.”
Beside him, Dave gave a groan of agreement. Klaus hadn’t actually been sure if he was awake or not, all he could see was the top of his head where it rested on his shoulder. But then Dave looked up at him and he looked as tired as Klaus felt. Dave reached up, gently playing with a strand of Klaus’ hair by his ear before replying.
“We should probably get up and at least brush our teeth.”
He sounded reluctant, like he was admitting defeat, and Klaus knew he was right. It was too easy to get out of the habit and forget entirely. That didn’t mean he wanted to. Might as well joke around to delay having to choose.
“You trying to tell me my breath stinks?” Klaus asked in mock afront.
“Maybe a little,” Dave said, hiding a grin against Klaus’ shoulder, and he had no right to be that cute.
“I hate to break it to you, but you’re the one with the bad breath,” Klaus said, jostling Dave slightly since he couldn’t really shove him while in this position. “Mine is fine.”
Dave smiled up at him, moving his hand from his hair to cup his cheek, brushing his fingers tenderly across his face before replying. “It’s absolutely disgusting.”
“How dare you?” Klaus barked out a surprised laugh before rolling over on top of Dave, pinning him, both of them unable to stop laughing.
“How’s this?” Klaus asked as he covered his face in kisses. “Still disgusting when I do this?”
“Yes!” Dave exclaimed, laughing as he half-heartedly tried to squirm out from under him. “Truce, truce, I surrender!”
He wasn’t sure when it happened, but the moment shifted into something else as their eyes met, something tender. How could Klaus not kiss him properly after that? It was slow and fond and it made him feel like his heart might burst from how full it felt. It was so hard to put into words no matter how much he wanted to share it with Dave. He hoped Dave understood, that he felt the same. That would make it a lot easier.
“You’re right,” he said when they finally broke apart, jokingly pulling a face. “That was gross, we should definitely brush our teeth.”
The burst of energy they’d had was already fading, but they both managed to stumble sleepily into the bathroom. Klaus felt like he was moving on autopilot, just going through the motions, staring, unseeing, into the mirror. Eventually, Dave leaned over and bumped his shoulder with his own
“Hey, I meant to ask,” Dave said, failing to make it sound casual as he finished and put his toothbrush away.
“Hm?” Klaus said around his toothbrush, trying not to look panicked. That was an ominous beginning, and he wracked his brain to try to think what it could be about, what he might have done wrong.
“Do you know what happened to the other guys in our unit?” Dave asked.
“Ah,” Klaus said with a wince. He spit and busied himself with rinsing off his toothbrush so he didn’t have to make eye contact. “I, uh, never really got around to looking into it.”
“Oh,” Dave said, and Klaus felt like he’d disappointed him in some way.
“We can go look it up later,” Klaus said quickly. “It’s not like I didn’t care, I just—“
“Oh, no, it’s okay, I get it,” Dave said, hand on his arm to reassure. “I’m not entirely sure I want to know the answer. It’s not like I can help them. I desperately want to know, but at least right now I can pretend they all got out of there okay.”
“So, do you want to look it up or what?” Klaus asked.
“Later maybe?” Dave suggested. “I guess I’m scared. And I just can’t help but feel guilty. I kind of abandoned them.”
“What?” Klaus asked. “If anything, I’m the one who abandoned them. I got out of there immediately once I thought you were gone. You practically got kidnapped.”
“I’m glad you did get out of there. Honestly, I would have been upset if you hadn’t. You shouldn’t have had to go through any of that.”
“Eh, it was no big deal,” Klaus said, as if they both didn’t remember the horror and the nightmares that would likely haunt them for the rest of their lives.
“I didn’t have anything back home. I’m not really sure anyone expected me to come back alive, so it made sense that I was there. And while I was on the battlefield, that was one less kid forced into fighting. I was okay with that. It felt like all I could really do, but it would never really be enough.”
“You gave your life for them,” Klaus pointed out.
“Except I didn’t, really,” Dave said, looking away now. “There were a lot of good people who died in that war. On both sides. They deserved to be saved more than me.”
“Nope,” Klaus said, grabbing his arm and turning him to face him. “None of that. We can’t save everyone. Five found a loophole to get you out of there. If he could have saved others without destroying the timeline, he would. He acts tough, but he really does care. You got lucky. So did I. Just focus on that.”
“Sorry,” Dave said, dropping his head to rest on Klaus’ shoulder. “Survivor’s Guilt, I guess.”
“You do deserve this,” Klaus said, nudging his head up so he could place a kiss to his lips, tasting the toothpaste. “But if that doesn’t do it for you: I deserve this. Focus on that instead.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dave said, unable to disguise a chuckle. “I can do that.”
-
It seemed they were both having a miserable day, and after their talk, neither of them were up for very much. Instead, they curled up on the couch again and settled in for another movie marathon. They were only halfway through the first when they heard keys in the door.
“I don’t remember anyone saying they were coming over,” Klaus said, dragging himself reluctantly to his feet.
The door opened before he could get there and Claire sprinted excitedly inside.
“Uncle Klaus, Uncle Klaus,” she exclaimed, practically running full force into him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Claire,” he exclaimed back, returning her hug.
“Knock, knock,” Allison called from the doorway as she followed her daughter inside.
“And Allison! For a second I was worried you’d driven yourself,” Klaus winked at Claire.
“Don’t you dare give her ideas,” Allison laughed.
“It’s so good to see you,” Klaus said as Allison approached, and he pulled her into the hug as well. “I didn’t know you guys were coming, you should have said something.”
“We weren’t sure we were going to be able to make it, but thankfully our layover is long enough,” she said, squeezing Klaus tightly. “Luther said you had a guest and we just had to come by and meet him.” She was already trying to crane her neck to see around him.
“Hello,” Dave said, moving to stand beside Klaus, reaching out to shake her hand and looking a bit nervous. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“You too,” Allison said, taken a little aback by how overly sincere he was. Klaus would have to explain the movie marathon and Dave becoming one of her biggest fans later.
“And it's a pleasure to meet you too,” he said, extending a hand to Claire.
‘Ma’am?’ Allison mouthed silently to Klaus and all he could do was shrug.
“I heard you’re, like, really old,” Claire said and Klaus laughed.
“The oldest,” Dave agreed. “I’m super, super old.”
“I’m going to have to explain video games to you, aren’t I?” She asked with the determination of a child. “It’s okay, Uncle Luther didn’t know how to play either. Come on, I have a game about dinosaurs. Uncle Ben said you might miss them.”
Dave turned and waved to Klaus as he was led away into the living room, and he looked so pleased to be taken under Claire’s wing like this. It was adorable.
“I told her to make him feel welcome,” Allison whispered to Klaus.
“I think he does,” Klaus said, grateful to them both.
“Come on,” she said, hand on his arm. “I brought lunch, you can help me get it ready.”
“You, dear sister, aren’t subtle at all,” he said, following her into the kitchen. “Trying to get me alone for a little gossip?”
“Of course!” Allison said with a smile. “If you’ve figured it out, then you won’t mind if I skip right to asking for all the exciting details.”
“What is there to say?” Klaus said, gesturing to the other room.”You saw him, he’s gorgeous!”
“Come on, you can give me more than that,” Allison said. “At the very least, it must be nice to have him back.”
“How do people usually feel when the love of their life comes back to life?” Klaus asked.
“Aww,” Allison exclaimed, covering her mouth.
“What?”
“It’s just really nice to hear you say it, is all. I’m happy for you,” Allison said with complete sincerity.
“Enough about me,” Klaus said evasively. He liked talking about himself, sure, but not when things got so personal. “What about you? How are things going?”
“Good. Really good, actually,” she said. “It’s just such a relief to be able to see Claire again. And I should be getting back to acting soon. I’ve missed having something to do.”
Something to do. Somehow that stuck with Klaus. Maybe that would help him, too. Maybe all he needed was the right thing to keep his mind off the ghosts. He didn’t want to leave that burden entirely on Dave, it wasn’t his responsibility, and just sitting around wasn’t getting him anywhere. But right now, his sister and niece were visiting, so he stowed the thought away for now and the two of them returned to the other room. At least there he was distracted, feeling so incredibly fond and proud of how well Dave seemed to be getting along with Claire.
“No, Uncle Dave, you can’t hold the controller like that,” Claire said with an exaggerated sigh.
“How about this?” Dave said, hodding the controller in an even more awkward way.
“No!” she cried, giggling.
“So,” Allison said, sitting down next to Dave. “Your boyfriend here is a bit tight lipped, so I’m relying on you to give me all the details.”
“Allison!” Klaus exclaimed in mock-betrayal.
“What was it like trying to get to know my brother? And who made the first move?” Allison continued, completely ignoring him
“Oh, definitely me,” Dave said, grinning at her enthusiasm. “He was adorable, really. He even seemed a bit lost for words.”
“You too?” Klaus exclaimed, dropping down next to Claire. “Lies and slander. Come on, kiddo, you can show me the game instead. Dave’s grounded now.”