So much had happened during the course of just a few weeks. The apocalypse, reversing the apocalypse, turning from 30 to 13 and then from 13 to 30 all over again… Just the normal day-to-day for the Hargreeve siblings, eh?

"I don't understand why you guys get your adult bodies back and I'm still stuck in this pre-pubescent prison." Five complained for what felt like the billionth time that day. They had only recently returned to the present time after fixing all the mistakes they made with Vanya and reversing the apocalypse. Since then, the siblings agreed that maybe the world was actually better off when they stuck together, believe it or not.

"But you're just. so. adowable." Klaus cooed, pinching Five's cheek and earning a slap on the head. "Ow… Feisty lil' thing."

He had to admit, he was grateful that he didn't suffer the same fate of being trapped as a preteen like Five. Puberty was not fun for Klaus and he quite liked living in this current body of his, even if he hadn't treated it as nicely as he probably should have for the past twelve years or so.

"So… what, we just move back into our old rooms like ol' times? Pretend that thirteen-year gap never happened?" Diego asked cynically, grabbing an apple and falling into a kitchen chair while taking a large bite.

"No…" Luther defended. "This time we don't have the stress of Dad… I mean… May he rest in peace, but c'mon. Plus, we are all here by choice this go-around."

"And drum roll-" Klaus cut in, banging his hands against the table dramatically. Five raised his cup of coffee off the trembling surface, not phased. "Benji!" Klaus sang, his hands dramatically reached out to a very live, very tangible, and very real Benjamin Hargreeves who sat across from him eating Frosted Flakes. It wasn't just a 13-year-old version either. It was a real-life, grown Ben that sat in their company.

When they reversed the apocalypse, Klaus had taken some other matters into his own hands- those matters being undoing the death of his brother dearest. He had brought it up to the rest of the family initially, but it didn't get the responses he was hoping for.

"Are you nuts?" Five had shouted, his entire 90-pound body shaking with rage. "You can't just pick and choose what you want to change! The repercussions would blow your pea-sized brain to bits!"

Rude. And even though his other siblings seemed thrilled by the idea at first, they slowly and sadly started to realize that Five was probably right… even Ben. He appreciated Klaus's determination to save him, but had claimed that he 'accepted his fate a long time ago'.

Klaus wasn't having any of it. Doing the "reasonable" or "safe" thing wasn't really his style. Doing whatever the fuck he wanted and worrying about the punishment later… that was more like it. And so, Klaus went about studying the timeline leading up to Ben's death and once he found something useful, he acted on it behind the other's backs.

They were mad at first, sure. Furious more like it. Even Ben had nearly beat the shit out of him at the moment that Klaus revealed what he had done.

"It's not. your. choice! It's not your life, Klaus! You don't get to decide… you don't- Damn it." Ben screamed at his brother in frustration, shoving his chest with each word, making Klaus stumble backward until he hit the wall and slid to the floor. That's when Ben stopped his shoving and hitting and instead slumped to the floor in front of Klaus. He didn't look mad anymore- just defeated. Not to mention, the rest of their siblings were all there too. They steered clear though, everyone a little taken aback from 13-year-old Ben's outburst.

"I'm sorry. I hated seeing you like that." Klaus whispered- all jokes and tomfoolery were lost from him. Ben put his hands on Klaus's shoulders.

"I know you mean well. I- Thank you… really. I'm just worried that other's will have to pay the price."

"I know, I know. You're all worry warts, but that's why I have to take the risks for you! If something happens, it's on me, okay? Can we just… see what will happen? Please?"

Ben didn't seem so sure.

"Pleeeeeaase, Benny?" Klaus poked at his brother's ribs, making him smirk. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh, worldwide destruction? Again!" Five shouted from the other side of the room.

"Shh… Sh." Klaus held his hand up to quiet him.

Now, here he was though, alive and well. The world wasn't destroyed because of it either which was a plus if he's ever seen one. The anger that anyone may have held against Klaus faded away quickly and they were overcome with elation for their brother's return.

And then…

"Vanya, too. All of us… All Seven, finally working in some type of dysfunctional harmony… That's what's different." Allison whispered with her healing vocals from where she smiled and nudged Vanya who still looked exhausted from everything that had happened in the past weeks. She weakly smiled despite this.

"Aw… Guys!" Klaus swooned in a high voice, looking around at his family. "Look at us!" He reached to sling an arm around Diego and Five who sat on either side of him. Diego just let it happen at this point, eating his apple as if he wasn't nearly being strangled by the eccentric man to his right. Five went rigid and Klaus waited to be shoved away, but that little tween frame of his actually soon relaxed into Klaus's grip and an annoyed yet slightly fond smirk crept up on his face.

Klaus may make it seem like he projects everything as a joke and that nothing he says should be taken seriously, but this was one of those moments where there was strong truth behind what he said. He did love that the siblings were all getting along again. You'd never catch him saying it with a straight face, but no matter how he said it, he meant it.

Later that night, Klaus stripped off his tight band tee and leather pants, replacing them with billowing, soft gypsy-like pants and a black tank top. He stretched his arms above his head. Then, instead of dropping them to his sides, they fell over his ears.

"Shut uuuuuuuuup! Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. I don't give a damn if your sister fucked your husband and poisoned your fucking Tilapia! What do you want me to do about it, Nancy?" Klaus shouted to seemingly no one, but only he could see the crazed, shimmering apparition at the other end of his room. She had been there for nearly half-an-hour now and it was driving him insane.

The ghost dubbed "Nancy" screamed, making Klaus jump and press his hands to his ears harder. Then she disappeared as fast as she appeared in the first place. Tentatively, Klaus relaxed and lowered his hands. He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, groaning when his fingers came back smothered in black. He moved to his dresser and used make-up remover to clean his hands and face, finally slipping into bed afterward.

For a long while, Klaus stared at the ceiling while repeatedly tossing a bouncy ball up and down. He needed something- some monotonous action- to distract him from the murmurs in his head. Actually, maybe it was more to distract him from the absence of one particular voice.

He missed Ben. Of course, Ben was more with them now than ever before and Klaus would take him alive over dead any day, but for over a decade, Ben was a part of Klaus. He followed him everywhere, was always there to talk to. Even if they didn't talk, Klaus would always find comfort in his presence.

Now… He felt more alone than ever. He felt like he was eternally missing something. Ben was his anchor. His voice drowned out the others. He helped fight away the demons- the literal ones and the deeper, metaphorical ones.

A knock sent Klaus into a scared spasm. He accidentally chucked the bouncy ball across the room, sending it straight through the glass window with a crash. Klaus winced and sucked in air. Woops.

"Entrez Vous!" Klaus called out, proceeding the visual of the dark form of his door popping open. A silhouette stood in the threshold and Klaus could instantly tell who it was. A smile crept up on his face. Of course, they were on the same wavelength. They shared everything for years and now still, they shared thoughts and emotions.

Number Four shifted over on his bed, making space. He patted the mattress and raised his eyebrows suggestively, kissing the air towards his brother, Ben. Number Six rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, unmoving.

"I will not take one step until you wipe that provocative grin from your face and stop making this weird."

"Oh, take the stick out of your ass and get over here." Klaus complained, letting himself flop down on his back to stare up at the ceiling again. He felt Ben climb in next to him, also facing the ceiling. The two brothers were quiet while bathed in blue moonlight, but that was enough. Just being close to one another again soothed the separation anxiety that they both were experiencing.

"I never thought I'd miss your constant, incessant, self-destructive habits."

"And me your perpetual desire to mother me into oblivion."

Ben chuckled and shook his head.

"It's too empty having a room all to myself."

"Well, you can certainly borrow some of the people in mine." Klaus remarked, gesturing to all of the invisible spirits around his room. Ben turned his eyes to him sadly.

"Is it bad?"

"Mm… You know… bloody, macabre imagery forcing its way into my skull accompanied by waves of anguished shrieks straight from Hell itself!" He cried out with exaggerated horror, making Ben chuckle. "Your run-of-the-mill night terror-y stuff."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a tad melodramatic?"

"Moi!?" Klaus gasped, clasping a hand to his chest as if it was the craziest thing he's ever heard. "Sir, the audacity!" He screamed dramatically, forcing Ben to jump forward with a hand to Klaus's mouth so that he didn't wake their other siblings.

"I will say, it's nice to be able to shut you up now."

"Mmhmmph mm mmm." Klaus made muffled noises underneath Ben's hand.

"What?"

Klaus shot out his tongue and licked Ben's palm slowly, making his brother yank his hand back.

"Ah! Klaus…"

"It means I love you." He proclaimed as Ben wiped Klaus's saliva on his sheets. Klaus laughed at the mix of disgust and amusement on his brother's face, but his childish giddiness soon subsided. Ben caught the shift in mood.

"What?"

"I thought maybe…" Klaus averted his eyes downwards so he didn't have to stare into those dark, expectant and sympathy-saturated ones of Ben's. He stuck out his bottom lip like a guilty child, admitting to breaking a vase or something- ever the actor. "Maybe now that you weren't tied to me forcibly in any way that you'd-"

"Hey, woah. Why would you think that?"

"None of the other kids like to play with me." He said, still in this dramatized, child persona.

"That's not true and I didn't stick around all those years because I had too, Klaus. I mean, yeah, you're the only one who I was able to talk to, but I wouldn't have wanted any of the others. You and me, Man- for the past thirteen years. Nothing will ever break that. The only difference now is that I can have a life at the same time and stop being up your ass 24/7."

"But… but… Ben?"

"Yeah?"

Klaus dropped his voice into a deep, husky, seductive undertone.

"What if I like you up my ass?"

Ben pushed Klaus's too-close-for-comfort face and erupted into laughter, rolling his eyes.

"You're the worst. Don't make me change my mind."

"You couldn't if you tried." Klaus noted confidently, also giggling at this point. He felt like a weight was lifted from his chest- an elephant that he didn't want to address or even acknowledge earlier.

There was a long stretch of quiet space. Ben remained on his back with a hand behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling and Klaus was curled up, facing him, his face half-buried in his pillow as he tried to focus on Ben's presence to get him past the voices and into sleep.

But then…

"Ugh! I can't do this!" Klaus erupted, taking his pillow and erratically throwing it across the room. Ben raised an eyebrow at him. "I need to get out. I have too much energy."

"Klaus, you always have too much energy."

"C'mon. You can't sleep either."

"That's true. So, what?"

"Let's go out, broski! Hit the town! You're once again over the legal drinking age and not to mention actually alive, so let's live!"

"I thought you were trying to stay away from that kind of scene."

"You'll be with me!"

"That never stopped you before."

"Huh, okay, yeah. I see where you're coming from, buuuuuut this is about you! Benny, c'mon! Drinking only. No drugs."

"NO drugs." He affirmed, sternly drilling holes into Klaus's pupils.

"No drugs. Some alcohol. Plenty of strippers. We can get you laid and everything, just like Luther!" Klaus gasped in realization. "I should start a business."

"No, hey. We go out and do some harmless dancing and that's it, alright?"

"Fine, Dad. Whatever tickles your pickle, although, never mind because I guess you don't want your pickle tickled tonight-"

"Klaus, stop saying things."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n." Klaus saluted his brother as he hopped out of bed, undressing to re-dress in more party-worthy clothes. "Hurry. Go get ready. Let's have some fun."

And so begins my christening into a brand new fandom. I fell in love with Klaus and can't wait to keep working with his character. Let me know what you think- I appreciate all reviews!