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The Hargreeves children never had much growing up.
Sure, they all had their uniforms, a bed, a lamp, and a door to their bedroom but most of that could honestly be said to belong to their father.
It was a rarity to receive something that was explicitly your's and your's alone; normally it was a birthday gift or something that was bought with the change you managed to scrape up off the streets or from around the house.
And since it was so rare to have something uniquely your own, the children grew to be very possessive of the one thing that they held most dear to their heart. It was their's after all, who gave anyone else the right to touch it?
For Luther, it was a poster of outer space that their father had "given" to him (he really just tossed it into a wastebasket and didn't reject One's request for it).
For Five, it was a chalkboard that Pogo had given him after in-class learning sessions were no longer a necessity.
For Vanya, it was a beautifully crafted and practically untouched violin that their father had left to the dust for years.
For Allison, it was a necklace Luther had given her (and perhaps some of the makeup she hoarded but she was always sharing it with Klaus).
For Diego, it was an array of knives that came into his possession from numerous people.
For Klaus, it was a string of fairy lights that appeared mysteriously on his desk one day.
And for Ben, well... he wasn't quite sure if he had anything to call his own. He had books, lots of books, but they were all borrowed (or practically smuggled) from their father's extensive library. There wasn't anything that screamed "Oh that's Ben's" or "Dude don't mess with that! Ben will kill you!"
It made Ben kind of sad, in a way, not feeling important enough to be granted the responsibility or great honor of 'owning' something. But it also kind of humbled him and softened his appearance to others. You never had to fear the soft-spoken Ben when it came to anything involving the contents of the house. He was quiet, kind, reserved, and patient (a little less when it came to number Four); the perfect wallflower of a brother that was more focused on the approval of One and his father than what was actually considered to belong to him.
But then Ben died, and the prospect of never having anything left to his name was sort of... numbing. Of course, his family could see the title of a book and remember Ben reading it one day, but so could have Five. And their father. And anyone who really felt like it after he died because the small collection of 'smuggled' books that had found residency in his room were all put back to their proper place in the library. Number Four was slightly more bitter about it than he was though; he wasn't quite ready to accept the fact that Ben was never going to use those books again after only the first day of him being gone.
And now after thirteen years of being a ghost, Ben still didn't have anything. Well, Klaus tried to buy him books and flip the pages for him, but that required too much sitting-still-time on Klaus's part and while Ben appreciated the attempt, they still didn't technically "belong" to him. Klaus bought them or perhaps just got them... maybe even stole some... so if anything, they were Klaus's. And Ben was a ghost, you can't buy things for a ghost, it was unhealthy and a serious stage of denial, right?
He had nothing. Nothing but the clothes on his back and the small book from their father's library that had died with him. The only thing he protected with his life and made sure no one messed with was... Klaus. And you can't technically own a person without it being kind of concerning or, in Klaus's eyes, kind of kinky. Ok so maybe he didn't own Klaus, but maybe Klaus was kind of his? For the longest time, it was just him and Four against the world. No one else claimed him. No one else wanted him. He became Ben's little lost puppy that needed guidance and caretaking (even if he was limited by his abilities for obvious reasons). He loved Klaus, more than anything because, for an awfully long time, Klaus was his whole world. His anchor to reality, the bridge between the living and the deceased. And as crazy as Klaus drove him sometimes, Four's company was what kept his sanity. And he kept Klaus's sanity too. They were reliant on each other, were each other's strength; their souls were tied in a way that was beyond a ten-month relationship in Vietnam or a drug-induced one-night-stand. Two peas in a pod, inseparable by both life and death, right?
Sometimes Ben felt like Klaus either didn't grasp how much he means to him or perhaps just chose to ignore it. He hated the other men; the men who didn't know how to treat Klaus; the men who just wanted their next fix; the men who used him and littered his body with injuries; the men who taught him that there was no such thing as love, just fun in the moment (although Klaus had used his fair share of men as well but Ben's blaming them for the trauma that has spurred such actions). Except for Dave, Dave truly fell for his brother and Klaus fell twice as hard. It had left a bitter taste in Ben's mouth; he was gone for two hours and then suddenly his brother had found "the love of his life". Of course Ben understood though because Dave was alive; he could offer things to Klaus that Ben never could. He could touch Klaus and kiss Klaus and hold Klaus and cry with Klaus while Ben... simply could not. But now, Dave was dead too so at least Klaus wouldn't have completely abandoned him to stay in Vietnam with his lover. Ben didn't want to be truly alone, after all. High Klaus was better than no Klaus; and it only made him feel slightly apprehensive about their relationship when Klaus was hell-bent on becoming sober for Dave, not him.
But now, the tables have turned. He is alive, sadly in his thirteen-year-old body, but alive. Unlike Dave. And although he doesn't want to be the petty kind of guy to point out the fact with smug satisfaction, he silently does. A lot. Because really, nothing can stand between them now, right? Klaus is sober, too young to be recognized by Dave even if he summoned him (if he is even dead with this morph in the timeline), and Ben is 100% alive and ready to rightfully declare dibs on his brother... even if he had already called first dibs a long time ago when everyone else abandoned him.
With that being said, it seemed that the new and improved Hargreeves family (Klaus included) didn't quite get the memo.
Ben stood off near the entry of the stairs (often doing so due to the habit developed from being a ghost) with a visible scowl working its way onto his face. He was observing (definitely glaring) at the center of the lounge where Klaus sat with his head in Allison's lap as she brushed her fingers through his hair and Five sat crisscrossed on the floor as he explained the concept of the space-time continuum. Luther sat on the other side of the sofa, Klaus's feet sprawled lazily on his thighs, while honestly trying his best to remain patient and considerate when listening to Klaus's ridiculous theories/questions for Five. Vanya sat in the chair opposite them, laughing shyly at Klaus's comments. And Ben, while wanting to be proud that his family actually looked like a family, wanted to be the one running his hands through Klaus's hair, to have his brother's head on his lap, to whisper soft things to him and make him feel more loved and appreciated than anyone else had ever or will ever make him feel. But he can't because they all look awfully cute with their sibling bonding and of course he could join them, but he just thought that maybe he and Klaus would spend some time together doing things they could have done before he died. So, with no other choice, he's brooding.
He was so wrapped up in his own negative thoughts that he didn't even hear Diego making his way down the stairs before stopping right next to him, a questioning eyebrow raised. "Uh, Ben, you good?" he asked, noticing his brother's frown as he stared at the rest of his family.
"I don't understand... now that I'm finally alive, wouldn't he want to do all the things we couldn't while I was a ghost?" Six replied weakly. Perhaps his feelings were unrequited? Perhaps it was all a delusion that he and Klaus were meant to be together. Perhaps the family didn't understand that Ben was by his side, literally attached by the hip, for the last thirteen years and can't just be not as close and reliant anymore.
"Maybe he just wanted to give you some space... I mean we haven't seen you since we were kids and you were stuck with him that whole time."
"Exactly but he was stuck with me too. We were stuck together, and that was okay..." Ben trailed off as his frown deepened, "He hasn't even come to me for his nightmares."
Understanding dawned on Diego as a slight smirk appeared on his face. One thing everyone noticed after Ben's return was that he was no longer the reticent approval-seeking doormat, he was quite opinionated now and made comments without really thinking how it may affect people. Not to mention that he had become quite the control-freak, especially when it came to Klaus. He was always a knowing voice telling Klaus what he should and shouldn't do, always following him around and watching his every move. The Seance didn't seem to mind it too much, probably accustomed to it from years of being haunted by Ben's mommy-ing ghost, but everyone else thought it was a little weird. Mildly concerning at best.
"Sounds to me that you're just jealous that he's taking advantage of you two being unbound now," Two commented in amusement.
Ben scoffed, "Jealous? I'm not jealous. He can spend time with whoever he wants to... I'm just protective. I saw everything you guys put him through-"
"Protective? No, no, no. I'm protective: I make sure Klaus is safe and happy but you don't see me going all momma-bird on his ass and watching my own family like they're a bunch of untrustworthy heathens. You're just possessive," he said with a slightly condescending chuckle.
"Am not!"
"Are too."
Ben huffed. That was definitely a new term used to describe him.
"Relax dude. Why don't you go and join them?"
"I've been doing that," the Asian boy groaned, "all week! But sometimes a man just wants some alone time with his-" He stopped as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. His what? What exactly was Klaus to him? He doesn't know and honestly, that's even more of a reason for his siblings to back off and let him find out.
"Woah- wait... Are you and Klaus like a-a t-thing?"
"What?! No, of course not! I mean not yet but we've been together so long that I thought it was obvious," Ben stammered, although his reply seemed to slowly turn into frustration towards Klaus, "It's not like I took care of his high junkie ass or was by his side no matter how much we argued or waited for his return from Vietnam only to find out that he met some other kind and caring asshole to-" he cut himself off as he heard laughter. Six pulled his eyes away from the scene in front of him to see Diego on the bottom step of the stairs doubled over in mirth. He blushed furiously and crossed his arms in insecurity, realizing that he might have said a tad too much.
"Sorry, sorry," Two choked out between his loud guffaws, "It's just I don't think I've ever seen you so angry, or jealous, or possessive or really anything before!"
The boy opened his mouth to protest but someone else interrupted.
"Angry about what?" A voice asked from behind them. Ben immediately stiffened and shot Diego the 'don't-you-even-dare' look before turning to meet the many expectant looking faces. The curly-haired boy was now sitting up and watching with piqued curiosity.
"Um- uh..." Six stumbled over his words, unable to think of a good lie with Four's shining green doe eyes and rosy plump lips.
Luckily, he didn't have to think for long before Reginald came storming into the room and shouted, "Stop this incessant chatter! Off to bed, now!"
Everyone begrudgingly wandered upstairs without another word (with the exception of Luther who mumbled a "Yes father.")
Ben entered his room with one last longing glance in Four's direction, only being met with the back of his head as he whispered something to number Two before retiring to his own room.
He flopped on his bed with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Was Diego right? Was he just giving him space to get accustomed to human interactions again?
He didn't have to think about it for too long before he heard his door quietly creak open. Ben squinted against the dark outline of Klaus before the door was shut and the boy swiftly moved towards the bed. He absent-mindedly lifted his covers for the taller lad to join him.
For a moment, they didn't say anything. Just staring at each other's eyes and Ben's anxious heart began to thump loudly in his ears.
"Hey," Four said with a playful grin.
"Hi," Six breathed.
More silence. Louder thumping.
"What were you and Diego talking about today? Your face kinda looked like a tomato."
Ben bit his lip. "Nothing wildly important..."
Klaus looked unconvinced with slight disappointment in his tone as he muttered, "Oh okay."
He wanted to say something. Oh God, he needed to say something; there was so much he has been wanting to say and now he has the perfect opportunity but any of the fire he had earlier completely died on his tongue. It grew terribly uncomfortable as the silence stretched on but Ben just couldn't will any words to leave his mouth, like he had swallowed an argument too big and now it was choking him.
"Ben?"
"Y-Yes?" he practically wheezed.
"I've really missed you," he said, scooting closer until he curled into the smaller boy's chest, his wild curls tickling Ben's chin.
"What makes you say that? Ben asked, trying desperately to keep his calm and collected attitude. He wrapped his arms around his brother and looked down at him in concern.
"I don't know... It's just been different. No more you and me going on adventures, everyone else is there now too," Klaus replied softly, something reminiscing about the way his lips grazed his bare neck peeking from his pajama shirt as he spoke.
"I highly doubt 'looking for your next hit' can be considered an adventure," Ben scoffed, nuzzling the top of his head.
"But they were wild sometimes, weren't they?" The reply sounded dreamy and a hint of longing; whether it be for drugs or the fun times together, he wasn't sure.
"It was definitely never a dull moment."
The silence stretched between them again, this time a little more comfortable as the two boys grew drowsy.
"Hey, Klaus?"
"Yeah?"
"You know I... You know I love you, right?"
"Of course I do, Benny-"
"No, I m-mean..." he stammered as he tried to find the right words, seeing Klaus lean his head back slightly to meet his eyes, "Like I really love you..."
Klaus's face remains blank, just peering at him. Ben feels his skin crawl, wanting to take back everything he said because the anticipation was killing him and now he's thinking that the actual Horror is stirring nervously in his stomach.
Finally, Klaus blinks and glances lazily at the smaller boy's lips. "Yeah," he said, shifting up slightly so they could be eye level, "I know."
And then he closes the distance between them, laying a tender kiss upon the unprepared boy's lips before pulling back to stare up at him with a fiery green intensity. "I've always loved you, dummy," he says with a sigh as he buried his head back into Ben's shoulder.
Ben opens his mouth to say something, but he just can't. No words forming, he's just shocked and happy and slightly annoyed that Klaus one, didn't tell him sooner and two, wants to go to sleep after giving him his first kiss without even letting him kiss back.
Just as he's about to flusteredly call him an asshole, Four comments, "I can't believe you let Diego call you a momma bird."
~0~
"So if like... I burned down a whole creepy graveyard close to here for fun-zies, would that badly affect the timeline?"
"Of course it would," Five replies with a scowl, "You idiot why would you burn down a cemetery?"
Klaus shrugged, sitting up, "I don't tell you how to live your life."
Allison laughs at that, patting Klaus's head affectionately, "Always the arsonist."
Luther scoffs, "Definitely not something we should be encouraging him for..."
"Ok, what if I ship Luther's no-longer-monkey-looking-ass back to the moon tomorrow? Time-line would definitely be better, right?"
"Why you little-" One hissed, reaching towards the smug brat sitting next to him.
Before he can even touch him though, Diego leans over the couch and advises, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Ben will kill you."
"Damn right," Ben grumbles, suddenly appearing at the back of the couch as well.
"Aww, Daddy Bentacles cares about little ole me," the medium cooed, reaching up to pinch his brother's cheek.
Ben catches his wrist though and mutters with flushed cheeks, "If you ever call me that again, I'll kill you too."