Chapter Text
On the Hargreeves' twelfth birthday Grace and Pogo watched silently from the couch as everyone tore into their delicately wrapped presents while sitting in a semi-circle on the living room floor.
Allison unwrapped a box of expensive makeup, smiling up at Pogo and her mother before catching Klaus' wandering eyes staring.
Diego's eyes brightened as he opened two beautiful throwing knives with dark leather handles and the number two carved into the sides. Immediately looking up to his mother with a large grin.
Ben carefully opened the wrapping without damage, smiling widely as his gift was revealed to be the sequel to his favorite book. He nodded up to Pogo happily before holding it close to his chest.
Five tore his gift open to reveal a cluster of books and miscellaneous items. Looking down at the mess he smiled and thanked Grace and Pogo. Klaus watched, making a confused face at how Five was not only getting a bunch of junk for a birthday gift but liked it too.
Vanya unwrapped her small gift, a necklace with a silver violin charm. She held it in her hands, looking down at it with pride.
Luther opened his present, making a surprised expression as he realized what it was. He held up the gift, examining it. A beautiful record player, Luther grinned and rested it in front of him.
Klaus was staring at the record player in awe, his green eyes looking at every design and texture put into its creation. He reached out to touch it but was met with a swat of Luther's hand. He bitterly glared up into Luther's face.
"Klaus, you have your own gift, this is mine," Luther said defensively before turning to look at Allison who hid her giggles. Klaus curled back to his original position, hissing a response.
"As you wish number one." He shook his head and reached to his own gift. It could fit in the palm of his hand so he tossed it up and caught it. His siblings looked at him impatiently as he finally began tearing open the wrapper.
Klaus looked down at his gift, a dark blue bath bomb. His eyes drifted to Diego's knives clasped tight into his brother's hands, then to Allison's new makeup, hundreds of dollars worth. He looked at Ben already beginning to dig into his new book and Five ruffling through his new stuff with a large grin. Eventually, he turned to look at Vanya who already had her necklace sparkling around her neck and Luther's beautiful record player that stood out in the sunlight.
"Thanks for the gift," He said through clenched teeth.
"I'm glad you all enjoy your gifts, now you have until dinner for free time," Pogo said while getting to his feet. "Happy birthday everyone." He smiled slightly.
They all grabbed their gifts and headed their separate ways, aside from Klaus who continued to blankly stare at the bath bomb, rolling it in his hand. He deemed it was worthless compared to the gifts his siblings received as he put it in his coat pocket. He got to his feet, lingering around before he caught a familiar woman in his eyes.
She stood in a black and white blouse with a dark brown skirt, staring out the window singing quietly to herself. It was odd to see her appearing outside of the kitchen, but it wasn't the first time she showed up in the living room. Klaus would look at her quietly, sometimes listening to her eery foreign singing. Today he wasn't in the mood for that, turning around to directly face a new ghost. It moaned loud with what was left of it's torn up face, reaching out towards Klaus. He leaped backward, sprinting past the ghoul and up the stairs.
Luther was in his room with Pogo, setting up the record player on a shelf. He was talking about music when he caught Klaus staring from outside his door. He let out a groan as he turned to look at his brother.
"What do you want Klaus?" He asked, frowning. Klaus stepped in closer into Luther's room.
"Well you see, I was wonderin' since you don't have any music for that thing," He signaled to the empty record player. "If you'd maybe wanna go buy some music for it?"
Luther looked to Pogo, who looked back at him. Luther opened his mouth to answer with a no but was cut off by Pogo.
"I think that it would be a good bonding experience for the both of you," He exclaimed loudly, causing Klaus' eyes to brighten. Luther stared at him with an open mouth before coughing into a closed fist.
"You're right Pogo." He said coldly. "I'll go with you Klaus, as long as you don't act like an imbecile." Klaus saluted to his brother, a large smile drawn across his face.
"Yes Number One, I'll be on my best behavior!" He shouted before heading out of Luther's room.
Once he was gone, Luther immediately turned to face Pogo. He gave him a silent look asking why he would say that. Pogo patted his shoulder and left in the same direction of Klaus, leaving Luther to growl to himself.
He slowly made his way downstairs where Klaus was waiting in his school uniform and converse shoes. The school uniform was mandatory for everyone but Allison, and Klaus was always trying to get as close as he could to break it without getting caught. He was tapping his foot, waving at Luther.
Luther watched Klaus wince as his eyes drifted to something to his left before shaking his head and looking back at Luther.
"Come on buddy, hurry up!" Klaus whined as Luther walked over. He clapped his hands as he got closer. "Let's go!" He yelled.
"Alright, alright," Luther mumbled. "Where is the record store?"
"This way, follow," Klaus commanded, heading out the door. Grace called out to them from inside.
"Be safe!" The boys heard her call before the door closed behind them. Klaus headed into the crowd of people walking down the street, weaving in between strangers while Luther tried to follow. Luther watched Klaus move around empty spaces as if he was seeing something there, making Luther uncomfortable as he walked through the area his brother avoided.
The record store hadn't been as far as Luther assumed, which was a relief as it meant he had to spend less time with Klaus. They were greeted by a ginger-haired teenager who looked to be around 15. She lingered around wiping down shelves and organizing records.
"Hello!" She called out cheerfully, looking at the two boys entering the store. She walked over to them, keys dangling from her lanyard. "Can I assist you with finding anything?"
Luther stayed quiet, glancing at Klaus who immediately spoke up.
"Oh yes, what's the best thing you've got?" He asked, grinning widely.
The ginger girl thought to herself. "Well we have a deal on all the records over there, buy two get one free." She pointed to an overfilling bin. Klaus nodded thanks and ran over, Luther following slowly.
Klaus was already digging through the records when Luther approached, he grabbed one off the top.
'Tiffany, I Think We're Alone Now.'
He looked at it before putting it aside to a pile of records they would buy, already stacked high from Klaus.
"Spice Girls!" Klaus exclaimed while shoving a record to Luther. "Allison likes them," Luther hummed a response, holding a pile of his own records.
Both boys grabbed their choices and headed to pay. The records were expensive but worth it as the giant smile never left Klaus' face.
Hands full of records the duo began to walk home. Maybe this birthday wasn't so bad for Klaus, the tall boy thought to himself with a smile.