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Ben was the first one to notice.
A week after the apocalypse, he'd awakened from a nightmare and gone to Klaus' room for comfort only to find the bed unslept in and the room empty.
With dread pooling in his stomach, he'd laid down in the bed to wait for Klaus…only to fall asleep just before sunrise.
He woke hours later to Klaus running a gentle hand through his hair and Them rumbling quietly in his chest.
"You snuck out." He muttered and his brother hummed softly, glancing down at him with red-rimmed eyes, his eyeliner smudged.
"Yeah. Needed some air."
Ben frowned, sitting up to get a better look at the other, who suddenly seemed to realize that he was showing real emotions because he stood with a flourish, a faux grin on his face.
"Any who, mom made breakfast. I'm actually supposed to be waking you so you can eat."
"Klaus-"
A yell from downstairs cut him off and he scowled but stood following his brother as he left the room.
However, as he followed, he couldn't help but hope Klaus wasn't slipping back down the path that he'd only just escaped from.
*/*
Vanya was the next to notice.
After nearly causing the apocalypse and regaining her memories of her powers, she tended to suffer from nightmares, which led to her sitting in the living room at odd hours with a cup of tea and a book, or a cup of tea and her violin.
That night it had been the former, a book she'd always wanted to read courtesy of Ben. She had just hit the main chunk of the story when she noticed a soft whisper of movement.
Glancing up, she found Klaus moving on silent feet towards the door, his face drawn and unusually solemn. He didn't even seem to notice her, staring at the hall leading to the foyer with a single-minded determination that he had never seen on him before.
Curious, she called out to him.
"Klaus?"
He started, hand twitching toward his side as if reaching for a weapon, though she knew he'd never carried one outside of their mandatory training.
Wide green eyes met hers, before the solemn expression was covered by a brighter, manic one that she had learned to associate with him.
"Van! What are you doing sitting like a creep in the dark?"
She pursed her lips, a niggling suspicion building at the back of her mind.
"Klaus, where…where are you going?"
He shrugged, giving her a guileless smile. "Just getting some air, Sister mine. Be back in a jiffy."
She nodded, slow and hesitant, watching as he sent her a jaunty wave and walked out the door.
After he was gone, she returned to her book, hoping beyond all evidence that her suspicions were wrong.
When Klaus returned at dawn, eyeliner smeared and eyes rimmed red, she wasn't so sure that they were.
*/*
Diego caught him as he was coming in.
He'd been headed to wake his siblings for breakfast only to be waylaid by the sound of the front door opening. Turning, he was ready to yell at the intruder only to find Klaus dressed in a long-sleeved black top and black leggings, his eyes rimmed red as if he'd been out partying and had yet to go to bed.
Worse, his cheeks were flushed red, and it wasn't from the cold.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"I…needed air."
Diego snorted, disbelief and suspicion clear in his gaze. "Whatever."
Something dark flashed through Klaus' eyes, but was hidden behind a smile before he could question it.
"Well, I should be getting to breakfast, brother dearest! Cold waffles are good for no one!"
That said he flounced from the room, leaving Diego to stare after him with a perturbed expression.
After a moment, the vigilante shook his head and continued walking up the stairs to wake the others. If Klaus wanted to waste his life, it had nothing to do with him.
*/*
Luther and Allison were together when they saw him.
They'd been sitting on the roof reminiscing about the past when they noticed a shadowy figure moving away from the academy.
"Is that-"
"What the hell is he doing?"
Allison pursed her lips, disappointment and anger building in her chest because they'd all promised to do better this time around and here was Klaus throwing it all away for a quick high.
Beside her Luther was furious, his blue eyes blazing as they locked on the figure below them.
"Family meeting. Now."
Nodding, the actress turned to head inside, leaving her brother to watch the retreating figure in the distance. For Klaus' sake she couldn't help but hpe their suspicions were wrong.
*/*
Five knew what the meeting was about the second he noticed that Klaus was the only one missing. Like the others, he'd noticed that the man was pulling away from them and sneaking out but had yet to actually catch him in the act.
Still, he couldn't help but heave a sigh because of all the things that had been prevented by stopping the apocalypse the relapse of Number Four was not one of them. The man was a perpetual disaster and honestly, he'd found himself surprised it had taken so long for him to fall off the wagon.
However, there was also a slight inkling at the back of his mind that there was more to what was going on they thought. Therefore, he decided to butt in as Number One and Number Two argued about the best ways to confront their brother.
"How about we just follow him? If he's really relapsing, we can stop it there and then and if its something else we'll know."
They shared a look, and he noted that Ben looked the most uncomfortable with the idea, but after a moment everyone nodded in agreement.
When Klaus snuck in at dawn, they were all in bed sure that that night they would discover what he was hiding.
*/*
Just as they suspected, Klaus snuck out just after 1am.
They waited, hiding the alcoves of the foyer before following him on silent feet.
The man moved surprisingly fast given his slender frame and his head lowered and his feet sure, but to their surprise he avoided all the places they thought he'd take them.
The dark alley that Diego knew was home to several of Klaus' old dealers?
Not a glance.
The club that Ben knew was one of Klaus' favorite places to pick up john and drugs?
Nothing.
No, instead, their brother walked past all of them until he reached the one place they'd never suspected.
A cemetery.
A military cemetery.
Diego frowned, remembering the day that Klaus had broken down in the vet bar and wondered if this had anything to do with that. Ben, well Ben felt his heart ache for the former addict because suddenly he had a feeling, he knew who Klaus had been visiting.
"Oh." He breathed and the others shot him a look, but he couldn't bring himself to speak as Klaus stopped in front of one of the graves…and proved his suspicions right.
David Katz
June 17, 1945- July 3, 1968
Fallen Brother, Great friend, Loyal Soldier
You'll never be forgotten
The stone was smooth black marble and looked well cared for, a fresh bouquet of flowers laying in front of them.
Turkish and red roses.
Klaus took a seat before the stone, a sad smile on his lips. "Hello, moonlight. Sorry I was late. My siblings have been on my ass. They think I relapsed."
He fell quiet for a moment, reaching out to stroke the stone with a gentle hand.
"I haven't, you know. Relapsed I mean. I miss you too much to do that to you. I dreamt about us yesterday. Maybe it was because Charlie died and I visited Jamie, but I dreamed about the day the guys started calling me your wife. The day we realized we weren't exactly subtle and that our whole unit knew we were in love before we did."
A broken laugh left him, tears spilling over and down his cheeks.
Vanya felt her heart breaking for him, tears welling in her own eyes because Klaus should never sound this way.
So…bittersweet.
"Remember when Hal told us he'd lock us both in the latrine if we didn't kiss and make up because we were arguing over something stupid." He sniffled, wiping his eyes roughly as if that would stop his tears, but they just kept falling.
"You told him off. Told him you'd kiss me if him and Gonzalez got their shit together." Another broken giggle. "How the hell did you closeted assholes survive without me? Our unit had to have more gays than all of 'Nam."
He smiled, a bark of laughter leaving his lips at a memory none of them could see. Beside her, Allison could see Luther and Vanya tearing up, while Diego was frowning deeply. Ben wore a pained grimace, as if he were hurting because Klaus were hurting. The two were closer than anyone else that lived in that house, so she didn't doubt it. Still she wondered who these people he spoke of were…and when the hell Klaus had gone to Vietnam. She turned to ask Five who was staring at the former addict with a wide-eyed expression, as if he'd just solved an equation…and didn't like the results.
For a moment, Klaus was silent, tracing the engraved name with reverent fingers. When he finally spoke, his voice was empty, hollow.
"I hated you for a moment after you died, moonlight. I hated that I was stupid enough to fall in love with you, that I believed I was allowed to be happy. That I believed you when you talked about us going home, to our little cottage with two dogs and a bird, and baby Natalie. I hated you for dying and leaving me alone."
His voice shook. "And I'm sorry for that, baby. I'm so fucking sorry. I know I wasn't the easiest person to deal with, hell I'm not even sure how you managed it in the first place, but…" He released a shuddered breath, shaking his head, a blue glow slowly engulfing his hands unbeknownst to him. "But, thank you. Thank you for loving me, for showing me I could be something better. Making me want to be better."
He cleared his throat, sniffling and wiping his eyes, as if he were embarrassed by his own words, but Luther was more focused by the glowing form slowly coming into being existence behind him.
Tall, a inch or two taller than the willowy séance, his shoulders broad filling out the green military vest he wore. Messy honey blonde hair was shorn short on the sides a small tuft of curls at the top, and on his shoulder Luther noticed a tattoo similar to the one he'd occasionally glimpsed on Klaus.
173 rd Airborne Brigade-Sky Soldiers
Grinning skull and crossbones below it. The man was watching their brother with a soft expression, full lips curled into a sad smile.
"Cryin' at my grave there, Cheshire?" He said in leu of greeting and Klaus' head shot up, his green eyes wide.
"Dave?" He whispered, disbelief and longing dancing across his features.
The ghost smiled, stepping closer to the grieving man to run a blue tinged hand over his wet cheeks.
"I'm here, Cheshire. I here."
A rough sob left Klaus, before he gave a manic laugh, and…tackled the man to the ground.
"I missed you! I'm sorry moonlight, I'm sorry!"
Dave hummed, wrapping his hands around their hysterical brother who slowly calmed in his arms. Allison glanced at Ben, who was smiling at the reunion, dark eyes full of pride for an accomplishment they were unaware of.
Diego cleared his throat, his eyes suspiciously wet as he looked away from the reuniting lovers. When he spoke his voice was rough, full of suppressed emotion.
"Come on. Let's give them some privacy. We can interrogate Klaus in the morning."
They all nodded, turning to leave, and Ben glanced back at the couple, only to find his brother's beau staring don't back at him.
Then...the man winked.
A snort left his lips before he could stop it and he smiled.
Figure Klaus would pick someone that was as big of a dork as he was.