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Chapter Text

They’d never been an ordinary set of siblings so mundane rules of society and the etiquette of growing up hadn’t really applied to them. Amongst the many things the seven of them had learned at far too young an age was how to get around the city effectively which, of course, involved learning how to drive.

Some of them had been better than others, they’d found.

Number One had annoyingly gotten the hang of it almost immediately and Number Two had excelled quietly and magnificently; Number Three had more difficulty due to becoming frustrated at her inability to control a machine and Number Four had decided his feet would be the least life-threatening option; Number Five had never even bothered to learn and Number Six had begrudgingly become adept at yet another skill he didn’t want; Number Seven had, much like five, initially decided she wouldn’t need to but after certain events, had become just as good as your average driver.

As the years went on and unspoken team rules and patterns were created, the driving fell mostly on either Number Two or Number Six with Number Four more often than not riding shotgun because he knew his way around the city the best.

And so the three of them got used to driving around with one another’s company, got used to their own ridiculous inside jokes, and got used to accepting each other’s presence without complaint.

Five vanishes and the rest of them get given names and it’s almost like their names are meant to make up for the loss of their fellow cog in the machine of The Umbrella Academy.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work.

The loss of a sibling means more attention on them, more pressure on them, and more expectations from them.

The loss of a sibling means Father takes them away on a higher number of solo training sessions or assigns them to individual missions more often and they’re just about dumb and naïve enough to believe that that sort of thing is what’s to be expected of them rather than something that’s being done for the sake of personal research.

And then Diego realises something isn’t right.

They’d made a promise to each other - him, Klaus, and Ben - that they would stick together and go for a car ride every week.

Only, one week, Diego and Ben arrive at their meeting point and Klaus isn’t there. Klaus might be careless and he might lie about completely unnecessary things but he had never, never been late to this and it was ridiculous to think that he’d had a change of heart or abandoned them.

So they miss one night's trip and ask their siblings but they all seem to be clueless, except Vanya, who says Father had taken Klaus for some kind of mission that he’d said would last a while; Diego and Ben thank her but they know something is wrong with that picture because Klaus would have told them if that were the case.

But they’re only kids so they stay silent and finish their chores and complete their studies and eat their food and wait.

It’s too many days later when Father’s voice echoes in the house and it takes all of a minute for Diego and Ben to find one another and share a hopeful look before practically gliding down the stairs and arriving at the front door.

“What do you think you’re doing, Number Two and Number Six?”

“We just wanted to see K- Number Four, Father,” Ben replies, because Diego still can’t speak to Father without faltering or stumbling over his words.

“Well, that won’t be possible. Number Four is tired and wishes to rest without disturbance. Now, go to your rooms!” The Monocle all but barks at them, then turns and pulls an uncharacteristically docile Klaus into the house before harshly whispering something in his ear that makes him flinch and nod slightly.

Diego and Ben share another look and rush up the stairs – in a dignified manner, of course – but rather than going to their own separate rooms, they quietly slip inside Klaus’ room and settle on the bed, waiting for him to join them and explain what’s going on.

Neither of them had been expecting to hear the quiet sniffles that cause alarm bells to go off in their heads before the door opens and Klaus drags himself inside, his eyes squeezed shut as he just stands there, his chin wobbling.

“Klaus?” Ben asks hesitantly.

Klaus’ eyes snap open and consequently widen as he catches sight of his brothers.

“What happened? Where does it hurt?” Diego inquires immediately, standing up, having seen Mother inquire the same whenever any of them come back injured after missions.

But Klaus only shakes his head and sinks to his knees, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands with a quiet groan and a stifled sob.

Ben follows suit within seconds, kneeling in front of Klaus and waiting for Diego to do the same before placing a hand on Klaus’ shoulders. “What is it? You can tell us.”

There’s an unintelligible mumble from behind Klaus’ hands before he starts shaking and his brothers decide to just wait it out, sitting there with a hand on either of his dusty shoulders and exchanging concerned looks intermittently.

Eventually, Klaus draws in a shaky breath and unfurls himself, glancing between them. “I’m sorry I missed ride night.”

“We missed you,” Ben replies quietly.

“Why are you cr- crying though?” Diego bites his lip after asking, wondering if he should have sounded more stable, stronger for his brother.

“Because they’re screaming at me.”

Ben frowns almost angrily, an idea forming in his mind. “Who’s screaming?”

Taking a gulp of air, Klaus gestures to the seemingly empty room around them. “Everyone. Anyone. They all scream anyway but they scream louder when they realise I can hear them.”

“Klaus, please, who are they?” Diego asks, hating the look in Klaus’ eyes that suggests he can see more than he should have to.

A bitter laugh escapes Klaus. “The dead, Dee, the dead…”

For once, he doesn’t even mind the nickname.

Ben stops chewing on the inside of his cheek and glances at Diego, knowing they won’t get anything else out of Klaus at this point. “Why don’t we go for that ride? Better late than never, right?”

When he looks to Klaus for confirmation, he’s met with a struggling smile and that’s more than enough for him so he turns to Diego and nods determinedly.

Diego stands and pulls Klaus up with him, more or less taking his weight entirely, the three of them making their way to the car they’d found and adopted as they'd learned to drive. Ben settles into the passenger seat with Klaus, because neither of them can trust him to stay upright for long without support, and Diego slides into the driver’s seat.

He drives.

He doesn’t really know where he’s going but he’s perfectly content to drive all night if it means getting rid of that haunted look in Klaus’ eyes.

Since Klaus is usually the best out of them at navigation and Ben is busy with maintaining any sort of conversation with said brother to keep him sane and as far from crying as possible, Diego finds that, for the first time, he’s the one actively making sure Klaus gets back to the house rather than the other way around.

Chapter Text

After Ben died, Klaus lost hope.

He'd been the first to lose Ben even though he would never really lose Ben.

They'd been on a mission and it was nothing new that they were at risk but Ben had promised him an ice cream that would taste like everything good all at once only that morning.

It turns out having extra appendages makes it really easy to cook and bake and experiment with multiple things at once and Klaus had essentially persuaded him to start using his power for nicer things like making food so Ben had been figuring out how to relay his gratitude via Klaus’ taste buds.

And he'd finally settled on something.

And then died.

Klaus had, of course, been the first to know because he'd been acting as their lookout again, spending his time drawing away the ghosts around him in the notebook Diego had bought him, and there'd been no reason for any of his siblings to return until the task was complete so Ben randomly materialising beside him had been an instant sign of disaster.

He hadn't been expecting it - who would be expecting their brother to appear next to them as a ghost? - so reality had taken a minute to sink in and then Ben had glanced down at his blood-stained hands before meeting Klaus’ gaze and Klaus, Klaus had screamed louder than he'd ever screamed before.

Diego had been the second to find out because he knew there could be only one reason why Klaus was in such agony, and he'd dropped his knives, suddenly not caring about his surroundings and the looming threats that didn't even compare to such a terrible loss.

Vanya, back at the house, had tuned in on that scream because it had been so loud and unwavering and raw and painful that she couldn't miss it, especially with her passion for sounds and her conflicting concern for her siblings, and she'd been the third to know.

The rest had been a blur for Klaus; he'd rushed towards the fight and ignored everyone else and Ben's ghost had told him not to go but he'd gone anyway and he'd dissolved into anguish beside his brother's lifeless body, crumpled into a heap in the rapidly expanding puddle of his brother's blood.

He had loved Ben's usually unfaltering optimism. He had admired the way Ben could hate his own skin but love his brothers so much that he was able to overcome it and enjoy whichever random food Klaus had read about and wanted them to try instead. He had been inspired by how, in their utterly messed up household, Ben had managed to carry on living as if they were your typical set of siblings. And then he'd decided that nothing was worth it because all it got Ben was a gruesome end, and he'd lost all the hope he'd been so desperately and happily clinging onto. 

Diego had found him then and Diego was determined to find him now.

Hours later, Diego's hands are still covered in blood but he hasn't seen Klaus since he'd dragged him away from Ben but been unable to stop him from running off, and he needs to see him. He needs to know Klaus is alive. He can't let go of both his brothers on the same night.

So he drives.

He gets into their car and pushes the pedal down and makes his way around every part of the city Klaus might have run to. Every idea he has becomes a lost cause and he's about ready to give up by the time the sun gives up on him and decides to set. 

And then he realises Klaus is a colossal dimwit when he's upset and diverts his route to the nearest cemetery.

It's raining when he gets there but he pays the weather no heed because nothing is more important than Klaus as he sprints through long lines of graves and heads to the maintenance shed where he's certain his brother will be. He's right.

“Klaus!” he exclaims, kneeling beside the other boy, peeling Klaus' hands away from his ears and looking into his eyes.

Klaus doesn't focus on him at first, glances right past him before moaning softly, but eventually curls into Diego's jacket, clinging onto him as if his life depends on it, hiding his face in the probably uncomfortable, damp leather.

“I'm sorry,” Diego mumbles.

“Me too.” Klaus’ voice is hoarse and Diego faintly wonders if he'd been screaming the whole time.

“Come back with me,” Diego says, pleads, orders.

Klaus shakes his head. “I can't. I can't. He's- I didn't keep look- lookout and I-”

“No, you know that wasn't the reason for it,” Diego says firmly, sharply. He'd been thinking the same about his own failure to protect his brother but it had gotten him nowhere so, for the sake of Ben's memory, he'd stopped guilt-tripping himself.

But Klaus looks over Diego’s shoulder and bitterly whispers, “Then what was the reason?”

And Diego has no answer to give, instead choosing to swallow hard and shake his head. “I don't know.”

Klaus tilts his head and his expression falls further. “I'm so sorry, I didn't think- I got so caught up, I didn't- I didn't ask you! I'm sorry, Dee, I'm so sorry. Are… Are you oh- okay?”

Diego smiles. Not because he's okay but because Klaus found a way to get over his haunting pain and ask if he's okay, and that says enough about his love to let some warmth seep back into Diego's otherwise numb heart.

“Don't let me lose you too, okay?” Diego asks and this time, Klaus doesn't run, he just staggers to his feet and leans on the wall as Diego also pulls himself up, but with a little more grace.

Klaus immediately clings to Diego's arm, a whimper escaping him. And that means the dead are yelling at him so Diego grabs Klaus’ wrist and runs, runs as fast as he possibly can through the angry rain until they're out of the gates.

Hauling in oxygen, they both camber inside the car, Klaus sinking down and covering his head as Diego gets them as far from the cemetery as possible.

He knows Klaus went there to drown out Ben by listening to anyone and everyone else, he's learned that about his brother much over the years, but it can't be pleasant to have the dead so close and so loud for too long so he just drives as if on autopilot, as if he's been literally programmed to care about his brother more than the rules of the road. 

Somehow, they manage to arrive back at the house before midnight. Not that it matters because training is cancelled for the next day so they could have gotten away with it just this once.

“Will you come in?” Diego asks as he turns the engine off.

Except he's not asking whether or not Klaus feels like going back inside, he's asking his brother to stay with him and support him as they mourn their other brother, and there's no way Klaus can say no to that.

“We have some ice cream to eat,” Klaus mutters as calmly as he can, which, strictly speaking, is almost the exact opposite of calmly.

But they're safely back at home and Diego thanks their rare and infrequent lucky stars for their trustworthy car and its reliability.

And so, they spend the night eating Ben's masterpiece of ice cream.

Klaus brokenly sobs into his and Diego coincidentally gets dust in his eyes as he eats his and Ben watches over his favourite people in the world with a sad, apologetic smile and proud love in his heart.

Chapter Text

Father had had a heart attack and all Diego could think about was how he needed to save Mother's reputation.

So he'd taken the monocle and planned to bury it far away but then he'd seen Klaus and his plans had changed.

Not at first, of course. Klaus had initially been more distant and aloof and had spent most of his time conversing with some ghost or hallucination - it was difficult to tell sometimes - but he'd eventually run into Diego, a lazy smile on his face.

And Diego hadn't hesitated much before agreeing to give him a ride.

So he stops at the edge of the ocean rather than some deserted country lane and he drops the monocle into the water, watching it hit the surface with a boring little splash, watching it sink and cause minimal disturbance, unlike its owner who'd worn it and caused utter devastation to their minds whilst growing up.

It’s not like he wants to remember all that but being back at the house had made it hard to forget and, everyone being there had made it even more painful. He takes his time staring at the water, thinking back to every time the smooth waves of their lives had been disrupted and thrown into chaos by someone whose heart had been as unfaltering as a rock.

“Hurry up!” he hears Klaus call behind him and sighs, turning back.

He climbs into his car - not the same car as when they'd been younger since that one had been destroyed by a combination of Father's orders and Luther's strength but it's almost the same car because he'd gone to the trouble of creating an almost perfect replica.

“We've decided on waffles!” Klaus declares and Diego blinks because it's just like when they were younger and Ben would whisper his choice to Klaus, who'd smirk and say something else entirely to Diego just so they'd drive to the wrong place and have to stay out, stay with each other, longer.

He glances in the rear-view mirror just in case but no, Klaus is alone and Ben is still dead.

“What are you waiting for?” Klaus asks as he follows Diego's gaze to the empty seat behind him and something akin to guilt flickers in his eyes.

Diego shakes his head and leans back for a second. “Do you have anywhere to be?”

Klaus ponders for a moment. “We need to be getting waffles and then my schedule is pretty free! Or expensive, depending on who looks at it…”

Ignoring that kind of confusing last part, Diego offers his brother a small smile, still partly thinking back to their childhood. “Why don't we have a ride night?”

Klaus stiffens, glances to his right as if trying to apologise, and then quietly opens the car door and starts to walk away. Without a word.

Diego processes that unexpected turn of events for half a minute before throwing his door open and running to catch up with the other man, not that it's hard because Klaus is stumbling every few steps and mumbling to himself.

“Hey, wait up!” Diego places a hand on Klaus’ shoulder and turns him around, frowning. “What was that about?”

Klaus starts to shake his head but stops himself mid-motion, taking a deep breath. “I just changed my mind about the waffles, nothing to worry about.”

Diego gives him a sceptical look. “Klaus, come on, who are you kidding, man?”

“Everyone,” Klaus replies, then rolls his eyes and glances behind Diego just like he'd done all those years ago in the cemetery, adding: “No, not you, of course, that goes without saying, obviously.”

“Who are you talking to? You're drunk or high or maybe even both and your powers don't work if you're not sober so who are you talking to?” Diego demands, not meaning to sound as harsh as he does.

But Klaus just shrugs and dislodges Diego's hand as he smirks. “Maybe I don't need sobriety to be pestered by someone who hates my being intoxicated more than they hate the terrible jokes I make when I’m actually paying attention what I’m saying…”

Utter confusion replaces Diego's previous mild confusion and he steps back, sighing. “If you're just going to be cryptic about it, you can forget about the waffles.”

Shaking his head, Klaus offers him a smaller, more lopsided smile. “Haven't you learned anything yet, Dee? We don't even want waffles and if we did, I wouldn't have told you.”

“Stop. Just- just stop.” Diego pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why are you talking like that?”

“Like what?” Klaus raises an eyebrow nonchalantly.

Diego clenched his jaw for a moment. “Like… Like we're still three kids breaking the rules.”

Klaus laughs.

Loudly and bitterly.

He steps forward and looks deep into Diego's eyes and, unlike so many times recently, his gaze is sharp and clear and focused. “I'm talking like that because we always have been three kids breaking the rules and we always will be… In some shape or form or the other, that is.”

Diego opens his mouth to reply but Klaus places a finger on his lips. “That's not necessary right now. Just drive us to that bakery we’d always go to, will you?”

It's not like he has much of a choice.

This time the car is filled with silence, and the sound of the breeze rushing past after Klaus opens the window, but Diego can't bring himself to complain because different theories are rushing around in his head much faster than vehicles can travel. It's probably a good thing he's gifted at holding his breath because he forgets to breathe for most of the journey, lost in thoughts of the past and his attempts not to crash into anything because of said thoughts.

When they finally get to the bakery, Klaus pulls himself out of the car and leans down, whispering, “Ben says I should say ‘thank you’ but I'm just going to tell you that he means to say you're still a good person behind all that delicious bad boy leather.”

Then Klaus saunters off - most definitely to steal something to eat so he can save any money he has left for drugs - and Diego is left debating whether or not he should pay more attention to Klaus’ rambling, delirious or otherwise, because none of that had sounded like he was making it up for attention.

The sounds of glass breaking echo in the relatively quiet evening and Diego can’t help remembering a time when he himself would have dared Klaus to do such a thing because of something that had occurred in their training and because there’s nothing like good old vicarious glass smashing to soothe a child’s anger.

Klaus emerges from the shop carrying only two sandwiches Diego didn’t even know the bakery produced and what looks like an eclair. He doesn’t even glance at Diego but there’s no way to tell if that’s because he doesn’t care enough to or if he just doesn’t think Diego had waited to see what would happen; The uncertainty of Klaus’ actions has Diego feeling restless so he shakes his head to dismiss the thought and starts the engine.

As he drives away, feeling less like a taxi service and more like his teenage self, he wonders if the sincerity he’d heard in Klaus’ voice meant that Ben really had been there after all.

Chapter Text

Klaus finds and loses Dave overnight - in the eyes of the world, anyway - and not even Five, who's an expert at time travel, can guess exactly what had happened.

Truth be told, Diego can't properly work it out either but he knows something downright terrible has to have happened because Klaus doesn't say anything sarcastic in his attempt to be persuasive and justify using him as a chauffeur of sorts.

Of course, this only serves to worry Diego because he recognises that look of loss - he'd seen it in both Klaus' eyes so many times when they were younger and in his own reflection recently - so he agrees yet again and the two of them leave in Diego's car, this time with a substantially lower number of half-hearted jabs at one another's lifestyles.

Klaus doesn't make a single joke as he drives, choosing only to stare out of the window with a dim sadness in his eyes.

It's completely unlike him.

Diego wants to ask about the haircut and the dog tags and the army-style jacket and the unfamiliar tattoo but he doesn't because he can't visualise how he wants to phrase it so he can't form the right words. He's not sure he wants to know the answer, really, he just wants some kind of explanation and for Klaus to be as okay as he can be, all things considered.

He remembers Klaus fitting the role of the rebellious teenager and getting a small tattoo one night without telling anyone - only a small number four on his shoulder - but he also remembers their Father somehow finding out and forcing Klaus to get it removed, despite how painful it had been for him. The thing Klaus' current silence reminds the most of, though, is the way he'd snuck into Diego's room to escape the furious ghost of the tattoo artist who had inked the small digit onto his skin and paid a hefty price for it.

Klaus doesn't even say anything when Diego brings up the fractured jaw incident, which usually results in at least an eye-roll and a retort relating to knives or his police training. What's worse is that he actually gives Diego a straight - in only one meaning of the word - reply instead of his regular fabricated responses, and that means genuine trouble.

He thinks that maybe Klaus will explain as the silence drags on but, unlike when they were younger and a longer drive meant a better chance of an honest explanation, Klaus stays uncharacteristically solemn.

When Klaus makes him stop the car outside a Veteran's cafe, his suspicion that something is majorly wrong with this picture is confirmed because there's no way his brother had managed to take part in an actual war without any of them knowing. More importantly, there should have been no way he could miss something as important as that.

He almost drives away as well but as soon as he spots Klaus quietly sobbing with his hand gently pressed to what must be a photo on the wall, he turns the engine off.

Which ultimately serves to prevent his brother from getting roughed up by veterans more confused than he is.

Diego might be cool and collected inside the club but there's no way he'd be able to tell you what the conversation had been because he only really comfortably breathes again once they get outside.

Klaus glares at him through red-rimmed eyes as soon as they're under the sky instead of a roof. "What was that for?"

Diego sighs. "Klaus, you've got to be honest with me here. How much have you taken?"

Raw hurt erupts in Klaus' eyes but it's quickly replaced with angry defeat. "Oh, of course, I've taken something. Not like I'm capable of expressing actual emotion, is it?"

He then waves a hand dismissively even though Diego had only opened his mouth, and continues: "I'm always taking things to spite you, isn't that right? It's not that I'm genuinely running from my head or anything, nah, I just decide to- to poison myself! Yeah, I just decide to poison myself for the sake of it. But my deepest, most sincere apologies for the hassle it so clearly seems to cause you."

Diego blinks.

Ouch.

He can feel the pain radiating from Klaus and he so wishes Ben could have been here because he'd always been so much better at helping Klaus than Diego could ever be.

"Oh, drop dead," Klaus mutters bitterly, then glances up sharply, regret laced in his tone when he adds a small but authentic, "Sorry."

"Thank you," he says after a second, still not talking to Diego but rather, addressing the space next to him.

Diego takes a deep breath. "How have you gotten so tanned since I last saw you? You never used to even go outside unless the moon was up…"

Klaus glances at him with his eyes narrowed, clearly still sceptical. "You'd never believe me if I told you."

That hits hard.

Diego used to be one of the only two people in the world Klaus would go to with his problems and secrets because they were the only ones he trusted. Instead of wallowing in guilt and self-pity, however, Diego shrugs slightly. "Try me."

Even Klaus seems shocked. But he nods. "I fought in The Vietnam War for just under a year."

Oh.

It can't be drugs because Klaus' stories were never consistent when he was high and he seems too fixed on this for it to be mindlessly contrived anyway. Diego just breathes for a moment, reconsidering the shorter hair and the new but somehow fully healed tattoo, as well the dog tags and the military jacket, before making his decision.

"I believe you," he declares softly.

Klaus' eyes light up and suddenly Diego is enveloped by relief and gratitude and love - he didn't even know it was possible to physically feel any of those things. Klaus has oddly warm skin and Diego makes a mental note to check that out later but he then pushes that aside in favour of wrapping his arms around Klaus, both alarmed at how little of him there is and grateful to be holding him like this again.

"Thank you," Klaus whispers and, this time, he is talking to Diego. "Oh, thank you so much."

"You can thank me after I buy us waffles," Diego replies, coughing to clear the lump in his throat.

Klaus grins at him as if they're both ten years old again and Diego finds himself ignoring the fact that the world is possibly ending in favour of recalling the best waffle place nearby.

Taking shotgun this time, Klaus ignores the seat belt and leans forward onto the dashboard, acting as a map until they get to the only place that sells three different kinds of waffles and, if Klaus orders Ben's favourite as well as his own, well, Diego isn't going to stop him.

Instead, Diego tells Klaus more about Eudora Patch and almost feels bad for the guilt Klaus shows but he doesn't get to actually regret opening his mouth because Klaus clarifies that it's not his fault, it's just that he hates seeing the dead increase in number, so Diego carries on talking and reveals more than he'd ever thought he could.

It's not like he's the only one, Klaus ends us rambling about beautiful hair and strong arms and an emotional soul for what might be far too long in the opinion of anyone else. It's a good thing Diego loves hearing his brother lecture him about whatever with genuine excitement replacing the constant tension in his voice. And it's an even better thing Klaus feels the same way right back at him.

Old habits die hard, he'd surmise later.

No better time to share some brotherly bonding than whilst the end of the world is approaching, right? And no better place to carry out said bonding out than in the replica of the car they'd formed those bonds in and the sweet little bakery they'd loved for the entirety of their sour childhood.

Chapter Text

Vanya falls unconscious but Diego is more focused on how Klaus is crying and Ben is alive.

Oh, and the fact that they’d become teenagers again within moments.

Allison runs over to Luther, who would have dropped Vanya had it not been for Five's quick reflexes and Allison's sisterly love, but Diego doesn't bother to interfere with any of that.

Instead, he slowly walks towards Klaus and Ben, even though both of them are murmuring to each other rapidly, clearly not meaning for anyone else to hear, perhaps because anyone else simply wouldn't understand.

When he gets close enough, the two of them step apart, send him matching smiles, and then pull him into a hug; Diego smiles happily at the feeling he’d so dearly missed.

“Ben…” he finds himself gasping, shocked at how real and solid his brother is, unlike how they'd just seen him, as some sort of ghostly blue apparition.

“Diego,” Ben whispers back, tears in his eyes and genuine joy behind them rather than anything mocking.

“And I'm Klaus,” Klaus inputs, but not rudely.

They laugh and it's so weird to hear them laughing before they've hit puberty that they all stop pretty quickly, but then dissolve into hysteria again because they'd all been comically in sync.

“You really weren’t ever lying, were you? Oh, you absolute-” Diego clears his throat, offering Klaus an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Klaus, really.”

After Ben nudges him pointedly, Klaus sighs. “You’re the last person that should be apologising. And, um, I believe a ‘thank you’ is in order.”

“Did-” Diego coughs away the emotion lodged in his throat and replaces it with a small smile- “he used to order you around even when- when he was, uh…”

Klaus cocks his head and lets out a small chuckle. “When he was blue and ghostly? Yeah. He used to try.”

“And then I Patrick… Uh, Patrick something-ed you!” Ben argues smugly.

Despite his clear temptation to reprimand Ben on how he should know the names of iconic people by now, Klaus just grins, the hollow look that’s usually present in his eyes replaced with something close to elation.

Although that might be the lack of drugs and alcohol in his system, Diego notes. If there are any perks of going through life all over again, one of them is definitely that he has the chance to prevent his brother from being reduced to a traumatised, homeless junkie.

Just then, Luther starts rapidly talking behind them and Diego realises he’d forgotten just how irritating that voice could be. He wants to stay and listen and respect his - kind of older - brother, he sort of really does, but there’s definitely something else he’d rather do with his time.

“I have a suggestion,” he announces.

Both of his brothers look mildly surprised before sharing a look, Klaus then turning back to and winking at Diego before he and Ben swivel and start to sprint. Diego huffs in annoyance but the three of them being on the same page again is comforting enough to send any potential dejection away as he chases after them, taking a second to wonder why he’d run around in a leather holster of sorts when he was so much quicker without the weight of it.

As it is, they reach the car at the same time. Or rather, they reach the space where the car had been at the same time. And then they promptly realise that, of course, the car Diego hadn’t grown up and fashioned yet wouldn’t be there.

Diego bites his lip and looks around awkwardly as Ben laughs. In the end, it’s Klaus who solves their problem by staring at and then slowly pointing to a rather rusty car. “We can take that one.”

“Steal it?” Diego asks, his tone making it clear that he doesn’t want Klaus to indulge in theft anymore.

But Klaus shakes his head. “Nah, it’s not stealing if the owner’s ghost is inviting me to take it, is it?”

Ben looks shocked for a moment, as if he’d forgotten he’d no longer be able to see ghosts too, but recovers and reacts the fastest anyway, nodding enthusiastically and pulling Klaus towards the car. Naturally, Diego pushes past them and climbs into the driver’s seat as Klaus and Ben follow and eventually settle into the passenger’s seat, squashed together but clearly not bothered about it.

“Where to, guys?” Diego asks, turning the engine on.

Ben puts a hand over Klaus’ mouth as he answers: “My room, please.”

For a second, both Klaus and Diego stop breathing. It’s understandable that he’d want to go back there but going back there holds the risk of running into one Reginald Hargreeves and they’re not sure how good of an idea that is.

Before either of them can voice that thought, Ben lets out a rather satisfied giggle. “See? I can give you false information just as well as Klaus can.”

Klaus groans, finally pushing Ben’s hand away and giving him an incredulous look. “Seriously? It took an apocalypse for you to get enough confidence for that?”

Diego interrupts at this point by pressing down on the accelerator and causing them all to be thrown back. “Sorry!” he mutters, adrenaline roaring in his veins before he can figure out how to slow down.

When he turns to his brothers, Klaus is frozen, with Ben clinging to him like some sort of koala. He can’t even tell which of their expressions is more hilarious and he wishes he had one of those camera phones Eudora was always trying to convince him to buy so he could capture the moment.

“What about that ice cream place?” Klaus suggests, starting to poke Ben’s hair as if in awe of its existence.

Diego nods. “Sure. It won’t be as good as Ben’s masterpieces though.”

Ben abruptly snaps out of his shocked daze and bats Klaus’ hand away with an affronted look before staring at Diego slyly. “There might be a lot less crying with this one, though.”

They almost crash.

Very narrowly avoiding hitting a lamppost, Diego coughs yet again. “You, uh, you saw that?”

Klaus rolls his eyes, going to put his feet up on the dashboard but realising he’s not tall enough before settling on folding his arms. “Which part of Ben haunting me did you not understand when I told you?”

“The part where you’re not sober,” Diego replies honestly.

“I am sober!” Klaus argues defensively, then groans when Ben clears his throat and reluctantly adds: “Okay, so I wasn’t sober before meeting Dave. But Ben never needed me to be sober anyway…”

Ben nods at this point. “I guess I just had more reason to stay attached.”

Diego takes a minute to focus on getting a space for their car, ending up parking perfectly and switching the engine off. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe it sooner,” he says, and he’s not sure who exactly he’s addressing.

It doesn’t matter anyway because all three of them hear it and dwell on it for only a few seconds before clambering out of the car and linking arms just like old times, Ben in the middle so he can get the full experience of being able to feel again, the three of them wearing matching, nostalgic smiles.

The owner of the car's ghost beams at them and offers a thumbs-up to Klaus, who smiles back at him and chooses not to mention it to his brothers in favour of maintaining their comfortable silence.

They’d never been an ordinary set of siblings so mundane rules of society and the etiquette of growing up hadn’t really applied to them. And now, as they take childhood in their stride for the second time, despite everything they’ve gone through, all three of them can agree they wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

Chapter Text

Sacrificing the sleep he barely ever gets anyway, Klaus secretly learns how to drive.

Not by himself, of course.

It turns out there are actually dozens of ghosts who don't want to drive him insane and just want to teach him to literally drive - mostly so he can take them to visit their relatives but Klaus is willing to do that if he gets what he wants out of the exchange as well.

It takes a painfully long time to master even the basics and he gets caught every so often, both by his siblings - mostly Ben, who's used to his untimely adventures - and various citizens who he almost crashes into and manages to talk out of pressing charges but for the most part, he's pretty adept at sneaking out and returning without being noticed.

Just like old times, but with a cleaner twist.

Most of the skills involved are easy enough, relatively speaking, to learn from ghosts but then he has to try and make sense of how to park and it totally goes over his head no matter how many different dead people try and teach him.

The old Russian lady from before finally decides to wrap a new scarf around her head and start talking sense but even she can't explain in simple enough terms. Granted, Klaus gets incredibly distracted by the fact that he'd never become fluent in Russian and yet he can understand her perfectly, but the absence of that confusion with ghosts who natively speak English doesn't make a difference so he decides to stop listening to any of them.

Which is why he ends up sneaking into Ben's room one night.

"Ben?" Klaus whispers, not wanting to switch the light on and annoy him despite being there for the sole purpose of disturbing his sleep.

It takes a few more - or rather, an awful lot more - repeated whispers for Ben to finally stir and groan. "Klaus? This had better be good, I swear…"

Klaus giggles and makes his way to Ben's bed, flicking the bedside lamp on and grinning down at his groggy brother. "This is your chance to prove you're a good teacher."

Ben just frowns, sitting up. "What are you on about?"

"You're great at driving-"

"I am not driving you anywhere right now," Ben interrupts, finally more awake.

Groaning dramatically, Klaus puts his hands on his hips. "You're not driving ME anywhere, Mr Uptight. You're just gonna sit beside me and teach me how to park without getting charged for minor property damage, savvy?"

Ben considers this for a moment, then furrows his brows. "Wait, so you can drive now?"

Klaus waves a hand dismissively but whatever he was going to reply with flies out of his mind when he catches sight of his palms and starts yet again mourning the loss of his tattoos.

Rolling his eyes, Ben blinks any remaining sleep away and grabs the sharpie that permanently lives on his bedside drawer purely for times like this before standing up, taking Klaus's right hand without saying a thing.

"What are you-? Oh…" Klaus beams sheepishly as Ben writes the word 'hello' on his hand as neatly as he can, then takes his left hand and quickly writes 'goodbye' on it.

Once Ben is done, Klaus' beam rekindles itself. "Thank you," he says sincerely, then adds: "And yes, I can drive now. Well, I can get moving and carry on going but I'm not very good at the stopping part yet."

"And so you need my help?" Ben concludes, twirling the sharpie in his hand with a smug look on his face.

Klaus gives him a pointed look. "Exactly which part of this scenario has inflated your ego?"

Ben shrugs. "Oh, just that you're finally begging for my help instead of ignoring me and begging alcohol to solve everything instead."

"Low blow," Klaus replies, mimicking Ben's voice with a grumpy look.

"Oh, get over it. I think I deserve one kinda rude remark in exchange for teaching you to park, don't I?"

Hope graces Klaus' face again, his prior annoyance forgotten already. "Really? You'll help?"

Ben snorts, finally putting the sharpie down. He grabs his jacket and slips it on as he nods to Klaus. "Of course. I know why you're doing this, after all."

At that, Klaus folds his arms indignantly. "Oh, really? And why's that, Mr Clever Clogs?"

Rather than replying like your average person, Ben just switches the bedside lamp off and slips out of the door, clearly assuming Klaus will simply follow him. And he's not wrong, obviously.

"Seriously?" Klaus whispers as the two of them make their way past the other bedrooms, managing to get outside without being noticed.

Ben just gestures to the car and smirks, causing Klaus to lightly punch his arm before giving up and climbing into the driver's seat, smoothly starting the engine as Ben slides into the passenger seat and glances at the mirrors to check they're positioned right.

"Are you sure you don't want me to demonstrate first?" Ben asks, clicking his seatbelt into place pointedly.

Klaus shakes his head. "Nope. I got this. Just tell me what to do with the stick when we have to stop, okay?"

Despite looking sceptical, Ben sits back and lets Klaus drive around for a bit, snickering to himself when Klaus mutters things at ghosts he can't see any more until Klaus finally turns to him. "Okay, Engie Benji, instruct away!"

"I keep telling you I don't know who that is," Ben sighs.

"And I keep telling you I'll show you when it starts to air," Klaus replies automatically, then gives Ben a pointed look. "Are you going to tell me how to stop or wait until a wall stops us?"

Spurred into action by that, Ben guides Klaus through changing the gear to the right setting and then easing the speed down until he can control the vehicle's movements properly.

Of course, Klaus decided to park on top of someone's letterbox during their first attempt.

They leave a little apology note but swiftly move on, trying again and again until the sun lights up the sky and they're both pretty exhausted.

"One last time? I think I've got it properly now!" Klaus doesn't really wait for a reply before speeding up again, driving to the nearest supermarket with a mostly empty parking lot so he can try again.

The little German boy who'd appeared in the backseat about an hour ago shouts something similar to a battle cry when he starts to slow down again. Klaus bites his lip as he thinks back to Ben's words and focuses solely on manoeuvring the little car into a parking space.

It works.

The car ends up perfectly central in the unusually tight space and Klaus breathes a sigh of relief, nodding at the proud-looking little boy before turning to grin at Ben, only to find him fast asleep.

"Oh," Klaus says blankly, frowning guiltily at his brother.

Ben is none the wiser. He continues to stay that way even as Klaus giddily drives them back to the house, even as the car is deftly parked in its usual spot, and even as Klaus struggles with carrying him back to his room, ultimately tucking him back into bed without either of them getting injured.

Klaus dimly registers the ghosts muttering something about manners and improper ways but he pays then no need as he sits down to catch his breath for a moment, suddenly feeling utterly drained of energy. Maybe he should exercise more, he thinks to himself as he yawns widely, lazily stretching his arms above his drooping head...

The other siblings all notice that both Ben and Klaus are missing at breakfast but none of them raise the issue, choosing to act as normal so their Father doesn't make it into a big deal.

"You'll check on them, right?" Vanya asks quietly when their Father gets up to leave, and nobody needs to ask who she's referring to.

Diego nods, worry shining in his eyes. "I'm already on it."

As soon as breakfast is over, Diego slips upstairs and heads to Ben's room, taking a moment to process what he sees as he opens the door: Ben is turned to face away from the door, clearly deep in sleep, and Klaus is sitting cross-legged on the floor, his back against the bed and his head drooping down onto the mattress, seemingly asleep as well.

"What on earth?" he says aloud, without thinking about it.

Klaus gasps, springing upright and immediately groaning, one hand reaching for his neck before he's even opened his eyes.

"Klaus, what are you doing?" Diego asks, making a note of the sharpie words that have somehow reappeared on his skin.

"Did we miss lunch?" Klaus inquires sleepily.

Diego takes a second to laugh before shaking his head and stepping forwards, holding a hand out in front of Klaus. "Breakfast just finished. Now come on, stand up."

Yawning carelessly, Klaus takes his hand and pulls himself up, then grins at Diego. "You didn't eat anything, did you?"

"What else do you expect me to do at breakfast?"

Klaus shrugs. "I'm pretty sure you'll have spent the whole time deeply missing my spectacular presence," he drawls.

Raising an eyebrow, Diego shakes his head. "I might have missed Ben but you... Well, it was a nice break."

"You wound me, dear brother," Klaus whispers hyperbolically, but then just nods in agreement, copying the serious nature of Diego's expression as he says, "I second the fact that we'd miss Ben but not each other."

Diego just rolls his eyes and glances at their still-sleeping brother. "Why isn't he getting up?"

"He had a late night," Klaus replies swiftly, "as did I."

Not letting Diego verbalise the questions it's obvious he has, Klaus jumps onto the bed and practically falls on top of Ben, who jerks awake and twists them around so he's on top of Klaus, an arm at his throat.

"Calm down there, sleepy head." Klaus just pushes Ben's arm off his neck, clearly not bothered by that at all; it takes both his siblings a moment to remember that he's had far worse, both willingly and otherwise.

"What's going on?" Ben asks as he sheepishly pushes himself back, directing the question more towards Diego.

Except Klaus ignores that and answers anyway. "We are going to go for a drive and treat Diego to an ice cream sundae as an apology for making him worry."

Ben makes a face. "It's not like that was my fault."

It's obvious Klaus had been expecting that because he sits up and grins smugly. "Which is exactly why you're not the one playing chauffeur today!"

Now it's Diego's turn to be confused. He glances between the two of them sceptically. "What are you talking about? We all know you're absolutely terrible behind the wheel."

Klaus slaps a hand to his chest and lets his jaw fall open as he gasps. "Diego! You continue to wound me!" After clearing his throat, he continues: "You'd think that going to the effort of figuring out this whole driving business would get at least one 'thank you'..."

Diego frowns further, still not getting it. "What?"

Even Ben, who's only just about awake, is exasperated enough to roll his eyes. "Our resident idiot here spent a billion nights sneaking out and learning to drive, Dee, I think that part is pretty clear."

Klaus tactfully ignores the insult in Ben's reiteration because Diego's expression of curiosity, realisation, and what might be horror is absolutely worth it. If only he'd been allowed to keep that camera he'd found a few weeks back.

"Did you seriously do that?" Diego asks quietly.

Klaus jumps up and smoothens out the wrinkles in his shirt. "Let's go find out, shall we?"

And so they do.

They make their way down to the back door, briefly stopping to assure Vanya that they are indeed okay before taking the usual path to their car, with Klaus walking round to the driver's seat this time, taking a deep breath before climbing inside and glancing to his brothers with an expectant look. "Coming?"

The answer is obviously 'yes' but it takes a while for them to settle in because Diego and Ben aren't used to sitting with one another. Once they do settle down though, Klaus starts the car and smiles gleefully, which is both endearing and extremely worrying.

"You're sure about this?" Diego asks Ben, who just elbows him and glares, implying that any doubt is pointless and rude.

Diego holds his breath - not that it means much - as they set off and speed up, easing along the familiar roads to the ice cream place with minimal turbulence.

"See?" Klaus asks after a while, as the ice cream place comes into view, half his attention focused on the very distinct lack of ghosts around them and the other half focused on monitoring Diego's reaction.

It's a reaction and a half. He seems utterly thrown by this turn of events and actually says nothing until Klaus slows down, at which point he still doesn't say anything but grabs onto Ben as if expecting them to crash, which of course doesn't happen, Klaus successfully parking the car as smoothly as his brothers can.

"This is the part where you say something nice," Ben whispers to Diego, internally laughing at his disbelief.

Foregoing words entirely, Diego swiftly walks over to Klaus and pulls him into a tight embrace, making him gasp and cough for a second before he can reciprocate and grin at Ben over Diego's shoulder. Ben gives them a few moments before joining in with the hug, squishing all three of them together with a proud smile on his face and gratitude in his heart.

He'd die all over again if it meant they could have more times like this.

When they finally pull themselves apart, Diego clears his throat. "Thank you," he manages, and that's all he needs to say.

Klaus beams happily, looping his own arms through both Diego and Ben's arms, starting to walk towards the little ice cream shop. "It's about time I repay the favours you technically haven't done for me, isn't it?"

Diego has no words, formed or not, to express the extent his love in that moment so he chooses to just nod, accepting that freezing cold, soft, and fruity payment is probably the best kind.

Sure, it's not exactly conventional to eat chilled desserts in the place of nutritional meals but sometimes, that's simply what it means to live life and, since the three of them have seen more than enough of death in their lives, they're happy to just enjoy the weird times they can have together, not caring if they have to throw away what might be considered ordinary in favour of embracing mundane pleasures, and each other.