"I don't really give two flying fucks." Klaus breathed, gasping at the contact of the random but very attractive guy's fingertips sliding underneath his waistband. And it was true- The bathroom, the back alleyway, his house, this dude's house… right here in the middle of the bar against the bamboo table… Klaus didn't care where they fucked, as long as they did it.

"C'mere." The man (Possibly Brenton?) said, pulling Klaus by his belt loop. He giggled and did as he was told, stumbling into a back office that was conveniently vacant. As soon as the door was shut, Klaus's back was shoved against the wall. He smiled at the pain before his lips were occupied again, Brenton grazing his bottom lip with his teeth.

"Hold on…" He said, pulling away from where his body was pinning Klaus down. Four moaned in protest. He was impatient tonight. Klaus was acting on pure impulse (well, more than usual) when he went out looking for someone to mess around with for the night.

It had been three days since he got to San Francisco, and even though beaches, bars, and clubs were great, it still couldn't substitute for the lack of drugs. He had gotten a particularly large craving this evening and decided to replace it with whatever sort of physical contact he could. Maybe even a little pain if he was lucky.

The muscular, dusty blonde haired, typical "Mr. California" pulled out a small baggie, opening it with shaking fingers. He offered Klaus a pill to which he turned his gaze away from.

"Nah. I'm good. Hurry up."

"Impatient, much? You some kind of narc?"

"Do you want this or not?" Klaus raised an eyebrow, making a grand sweeping gesture at his barely-dressed body. A smile crept up on Brenton's face as he swallowed a pill and stuffed the rest in his pocket. He slid his hands into Klaus's, raising them above Number Four's head and slamming them against the wall.

Klaus was held prisoner and he loved it.

This could work. He thought, proud of himself for finding a distraction. Even better, a distraction that felt damn good.

He let his head fall back as he attained bite marks along his neck. He'd take bite marks over track marks any day.

Able to wiggle one hand free, Klaus moved it to fiddle with Brenton's jeans. One of Klaus's small, special talents? How fast he could unbutton any number of things with one single hand. Practice makes perfect.

Everything was great… fantastic, even… That was until he felt the guy's lips up against one very specific area of his skin- right below his earlobe where the angle of his jaw met his neck…

"You're little niches… I'm tellin' you, they're easy to find."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Klaus felt fingertips press slowly into the soft spots just beside his hip bones over his pelvis. His breath instantly hitched and he involuntarily jerked back as a warm buzz shot down his spine to his… "special" area. Dave chuckled from where he sat behind him, Klaus propped up against his chest between his legs.

"Oh, everyone likes that." Klaus tsked, rolling his eyes and letting his head drop back onto Dave's shoulder. His ridiculously beautiful boyfriend turned gleaming eyes down to meet his, wrapping the rest of his body in a fuzzy warmth. Shit… Even just how Dave blinked sent butterflies to his stomach.

"Mhm." Dave smirked, not convinced. He was trailing his fingertips down Klaus's forearms, leaving a pattern of goosebumps. They reached his hands and Klaus's started to get curious as to what he was playing at. Klaus didn't have "spots". He was sure he'd have realized them by now. He's been around the block a few times. If he had these little ticks that especially turned him on he'd-

"Nnng… Okay, okay." Klaus squirmed in Dave's embrace as fingernails were dug into the palms of his hands. "Fuck." He breathed heavily, trying to recover from the deep, pleasuring ache that erupted in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the way his pants were getting increasingly tighter purely for the reason of stubbornly wanting to prove Dave wrong. He was quickly losing that battle. "What in the halibut was that?"

"A 'niche'. You're niche, stupid."

"And how'd you come to figure that?"

Dave shrugged.

"I'm observant."

"Yeah, yeah. We get it, David. You're Captain Perfect."

"Pfft. I didn't say-"

"I know. I did." Klaus interrupted honestly, sliding his fingers to intertwine with Dave's. "Anything else you've 'observed', creeper?"

Instead of a verbal response, Dave nuzzled himself in Klaus's hair, breathing hot air on his ear. Klaus smirked and closed his eyes. Was it even fucking possible to love this human being more?

And then he moved slowly to that place- that place that might as well have been tattooed "Dave" after that night- that place that was solely reserved for Dave's lips and Dave's lips only- that place that somehow sent Klaus's entire body shivering in pure arousal- that little patch of skin right below his earlobe where the angle of his jaw met his neck…

Klaus gasped and before he even knew what was happening, he was yanked from underneath Brenton and stumbled into the center of the office, trembling. It was him that initiated the action, but at the same time, he was completely entranced- not in control.

"Woah… What-"

"I need…" Klaus took heavy breaths, trying to regain himself from the sudden freak-out. Why was breathing not working? Where was the air? Were his lungs working right? "Air. Need air." He mumbled before shoving his shoulder into the door to let himself out. He didn't even remember walking through the bar to get outside, but he ended up there, still struggling to pull in oxygen.

"Dude. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah… No, okay, no…" Klaus muttered more to himself underneath his breath. He bent over, hands on his knees. His head was spinning and his muscles contracted violently. "I'm just gonna- Yeah." Klaus said, clenching his fists and forcing one foot in front of the other towards the beach house.

"Want me to come?"

"Nope."

Again- Klaus had zero recollection of the journey there, but he got to his beach house fairly easily. It was the closing the door to an empty, quiet house that was the hard part. The only thing he could hear was his own heavy breathing in his ears to accompany his equally stressed chest movements. It was like someone had set Luther on his chest, forcing all of the sweet, sweet O2 from his lungs and forbidding any to be let back in.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." He wheezed, stumbling to the kitchen (he didn't really know why) and grabbing the counter. What was wrong with him?

Besides losing the one person who loved him unconditionally.

Besides being fraught with post-war trauma from a time period he didn't even belong in.

Besides fooling himself that he'd be able to survive without drugs.

Besides the ghosts that somehow still managed to find him no matter where he went.

Besides the fact that he'd never be good enough for the Academy.

Besides that, if he wasn't good enough for his siblings, he had no one.

Besides the fact that he lost his best friend in the whole world because he was just holding him back.

Besides him not knowing what the fuck he was doing across the country, alone, with no plan, isolated from the only family he's ever known in a fragile-ass state of being…

What was he doing here?

Panicking, that's what.

"Oh…" Klaus breathed, finally coming to a realization. Dumbass. You're having a panic attack.

The recognition didn't help ease the phenomenon though. Instead, Klaus collapsed in a heap on the kitchen floor, hugging his arms around himself and groaning as he leaned down towards the floor. He felt nauseous. He wanted to puke, but he couldn't. He wanted to cry but he couldn't do that either.

He wanted Dave.

He wanted his family.

He wanted Ben.

Yes! Yes, Ben…

Klaus mentally slapped himself in the face and forced his limbs to move towards the phone hooked on the wall nearby. He knew the number. All he had to do was call and solely the sound of his favorite tentacle-teammate would calm him down. He knew it would.

But when Klaus had the phone clutched in his hand, something stopped him. Call it pride, call it stubbornness, call it stupidity… Whatever it was, it forced Klaus to hang the landline back up before sliding back down to the floor.

His siblings couldn't deal with him anymore. He chose to leave that life behind. If he couldn't go three measly days without running to Ben, then what did that say about him? That they were right to judge him all along, that's what.

No. Klaus toughed it through that night, as awful as it was. Once he got his breath back, that's when the sobbing came. It was for Dave mostly- that feeling of his warmth on his neck and his breath against his ear… He hated that he had to live without him. He hated that he wasn't shot too. He hated that the only person he's ever loved that much was born 50 years too early and killed in the same way… too early.

So, yeah. Klaus never hated on himself for shedding a tear for his soldier. And maybe it was needed because, after that night, he got right back up and started on his new life again. He even was able to let people touch him, chalking up the night with "Brenton" as a freak occurrence.

Guys, girls, whatever… Klaus got around town pretty quickly. It wasn't long before he was making other connections through his nightlife endeavors- arguably more important ones. Ones that got him small jobs and gigs to keep a steady-enough cash flow.

Well fist a cow and call me Pedro. This might work.

"Can we stop fucking around and just go talk to him?" Ben asked bitterly from behind the abandoned, parked tour bus.

"Woah, dude. Calm down, alright? We made it. We found him. We'll get there. Aren't you just a bit curious to see what he's been doin' for a week though?" Diego asked, cocking his head curiously at the sight of Klaus smoking a cigarette outside a bar against the orange light of the rising sun.

"Plus, shouldn't we wait until we can offer him a ride home definitively?" Allison asked, gesturing towards a lifeless Five that was curled up in Luther's arms. The kid had passed out cold as soon as the San Francisco sun washed down on them, exhausted from the cross-country jump. Ben could only imagine what kind of energy that took out of him.

"Offer? Who's offering? We're taking his scrawny ass back whether he likes it or not."

"Diego…"

"What? Yeah, he's pissed and he kinda has the right to be. He's not acting rationally though. This was all just an elaborate Klaus-scene to get our attention."

Maybe. Ben thought, and he was secretly hoping it too. If it was just one of Klaus's dramatic escapades, it would've been over within the first day though. A week had gone by. He never held a grudge that long.

And look at him- he looked calm. At peace, even. That wasn't the sight of a guy who was angry and starving for his siblings' attention. Klaus just sat on the table of the house's back patio with his knees pulled to his chest, watching the waves crash over each other on the beach that was his background.

Well, not his backyard. This wasn't Klaus's home. His home was at the Academy. Ben made sure to quickly correct himself in his head whenever he thought otherwise.

"Alright, this is-" Rediculous, the word ghosted on Ben's lips as he took a step forward to blow their cover and get the confrontation over with. Part of him was just itching to see his brother too, anger aside.

But then, a girl in one of Klaus's extremely thin shirts appeared in the back doorway, her hair disheveled and make-up stained under her eyes. She said something to Klaus, but the siblings couldn't hear over the sound of the surf. They watched Klaus clap excitedly and jump off the table, following her inside.

Hm. So he's been keeping busy.

Deciding not to start a potential family fight in front of Klaus's… "guest", they waited. But then they walked out together, and despite the pushing and shoving among the other six accompanied by:

"You go."

"No, you go!"

"Why me?"

"What am I supposed to say?"

…No one actually took the steps to go confront their rogue brother.

And so, somehow, they ended up following him around through his day. Surprisingly, instead of sitting inside the considerably nice beach house, he was out doing things… normal things. Things Klaus was always too high to do in order to take care of himself. It was really the reason Ben didn't step in and say something. He was just… surprised. He thought for sure his brother had tumbled into a dark cycle of drugs, rough sex, and drinking by now. Not that he didn't believe in him, but this whole week had just been such an impulsive move. He thought other impulses would follow.

Instead, Klaus was… a human:

Grocery Store.

Grabbing a coffee.

Running into someone he knew on the streets and stopping to talk for half an hour.

And then, the most intriguing part, a visit to a surfboard shop right on the coast. What they thought was a visit, turned into hours though, to the point where they left and got lunch before returning to find that Klaus was still in there.

"What's he up to?" Five asked, squinting his eyes through the binoculars he had bought from a tourist shop after waking up in Luther's arms.

And that truly was the question that they were searching for at this point. That was their driving motivation for quite literally stalking Number Four around the city for all its worth.

"You're the one with the specs. You tell us." Luther said. They weren't really hiding anymore- that got pretty tiring after hour two. Instead, the Academy -1 sat out on benches in the center of a small beachy shopping plaza, lost in the chaos of tourism and beachgoers.

"He's writing something… and listening to music. That's it. That's all he's been doing."

Ben nervously tapped his fingers on the table. He wasn't liking the thoughts that had been racing through his mind that day.

Klaus is significantly better off without us.

And it wasn't even that thought that upset him, it was how he felt about it. Dismayed. Disappointed. Jealous. If his brother was dare-he-say happy, he should want this for him.

But also… what? You can't just leave in the middle of the night and go start a new life somewhere? Did his family mean that little to him? He knew he let him down, but-

"Wait! He's leaving." Five announced. Diego reached for the binoculars but Five's bony hand slapped him away.

"What made you the grandmaster of the binoculars?"

"We have to hide, dumbass!"

"Oh, we're fine." Diego dismissed, wrestling the field glasses from his hands and bracing his elbows on the table to take a look. Everyone else followed suit, watching the surf shop from their chosen safe distance. "Where is he?"

Ben: "Dude. You have the-"

Diego: "I know, I know. But-"

Vanya: "Quit shoving me."

Allison: "Why are you whispering?"

Vanya: "Oh… I don't know, it just felt-"

Luther: "Five. Scoot over."

Five: "I can't help that you've got your own zip code, buddy."

Diego: "Guys! Shh!"

Allison: "Explain to me why you need quiet to see with your eyes?"

And then, everything was over. Ben realized it before anyone else, seeing as his dysfunctional family got so distracted easily. Number Six froze, locking his eyes forward.

Diego: "It's like he vanished or something."

Five: "Christ almighty. Diego, give them-"

But the smallest Hargreeves trailed off when he too realized what Ben had. Everyone realized it now:

Klaus. Standing right there in front of them, arms crossed and face twisted in disapproval as he patiently waited for them to get their shit together. Ben took note of how he specifically made sure not to make eye contact with him. Instead, Klaus turned his attention to Number Two who still was bent over the table, searching furiously with the binoculars.

"Maybe he went out a back way, or-"

Five aggressively grabbed hold of the binoculars and angled them straight at Klaus who was literally only five feet away. Apparently, it was far enough for Diego to recognize his mistake though. Slowly, he lowered the tool from his face.

"Oh…"

"Good job. You found him, dipshit." Five muttered, yanking away the binoculars completely and tossing them behind him without care. Everyone put on their best guilt-faces.

"Hiya, buddy." Luther offered nervously, giving the unwavering Klaus an awkward wave. "Pal…"

"Shut up, Luther. What are you guys doing?" Klaus finally asked, his voice not as angry as Ben would've expected, but more tired and disappointed. Just seeing his brother so up close after what felt like an eternity was a strange mix of comfort and anxiety in the absence of knowing how to act or approach. He wanted to hug him… or slap him… or shove him… or any mix of those things. Instead, Ben stayed back, afraid that the wrong move might send Klaus away again, this time for good.

"Always wanted to see the West Coast." Ben jumped in when no one else would. He figured Klaus would appreciate something to lighten the situation more than anything. He knew his brother. He knew that's what he would do. "Heard they have some bomb-ass fusion cuisine."

"Yeah. It's amazing. How about I send you some and you can be on your merry little way?" With that, Klaus turned, slung his bag over his shoulder, and started walking back to his temporary house.

Ouch.

"Klaus. Stop." Diego called after him. All six siblings jumped up and fell into step behind their brother.

"I've got somewhere to be in an hour. Sorry. Not a good time."

"Not a good time? Bro. You can't just disappear on us like that and pretend it's okay. You could've been hurt, or kidnapped, or fucking dead for all we knew."

"Well, I'm not. Yipee. You cracked the case. But seriously, this isn't-"

"Fucking…" Ben muttered, not even sure what was to follow but it didn't matter. He rushed up to the front of the group and pulled on Klaus's arm to spin him around. Finally, his brother looked into his eyes and suddenly Ben felt why he was avoiding it until now.

So much was said in just that gaze.

You let me down. I'm done. Go away. I'm okay without you.

None of it was conveyed in a contentious sense. It was more lamenting something that was lost and moving on. Ben didn't know what his own eyes were saying, but he knew they must've been pleading "Why?", no matter how stoic he tried to force himself to appear.

"I let you down. We all let you down. We got so caught up in our own shit and were so excited by the fact that we felt like a functional family for once that we didn't realize that we weren't letting you be part of it. I'm sorry, Klaus."

"We're all sorry," Vanya added, the others nodding.

Klaus looked around at all of them before putting on a small, reluctant, but genuine smile. He placed his "Goodbye" hand on Ben's arm.

"Thanks." He offered sincerely.

Ben waited for more, but instead, Number Four turned and began walking again. Ben watched him in awe… So?

"Hey. Hey, wait." Luther went after him this time, standing in front and blocking his path.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"I- Yeah… Come home. We know you're angry and you have every-"

"I'm not." Klaus shrugged, pushing past his brother before Luther stepped in the way again.

"Not coming home or not angry?"

"Both, my dude." He answered nonchalantly. He set out again, apparently only set on reaching this damn beach house. The siblings all exchanged confused glances. This was… not what they were expecting.

"So, if you're not angry as you claim, why don't you simply come home?" Five questioned as they gave up on hindering Klaus's path and walking with him instead.

"Because it's not my home anymore."

That one hit everyone pretty hard, Ben could tell.

"And what- you drug dealers beach house is?" Diego accused as the very same house came into sight down the road.

"Mm… No… But it's pretty nice while I figure something else out." Klaus said as if he was having a conversation about something as casual as the weather. Everyone was speechless. There was no way he just didn't care this much… right?

"Obviously, you're upset." Five tried again.

"Obviously, I'm not." Klaus countered with a shrug. They approached the house and he opened the door for them all. Ben gave him a suspicious glare before entering the house.

It was nice. It was straight out of a catalog, really, except for the Klaus-clothes strewn across the floor. At least some things don't change.

"Why else would you pack up and hike it all the way to California to start this whole new life?" Luther asked, not convinced either. Klaus moved to his fridge and pulled out a can, popping the tab and taking a sip.

"Because it just wasn't really workin' out."

"Klaus, I just said… I- We'll work it out. You can't just give up the moment-"

"Benny, Benny…" He interrupted, setting his drink down and holding out a hand. "Listen to me! Okay? I know I should've called. I know. That was selfish of me to make you worry. I'm sorry. But… The house, the Academy… I don't jive well and it was ridiculous for me to keep pretending like I did. It doesn't mean I don't love you guys, I just- It's better for everyone if I just do my own thing. Can anyone really argue the fact that I was just holding you all back?"

"Yes." Ben immediately answered.

"Really?" Klaus said, raising an eyebrow at him and cocking his head to the side. It was his brother alright- eyeliner, slightly-out-of-it gaze, and fidgety mannerisms all included- but something (Ben couldn't exactly say what) was purely not the Klaus he knew. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit and it was quite frankly starting to scare him. "Because I meant that for you most of all."

Ben's heart dropped.

"How could you think that?"

"How could I- Ben, how could I not think that? Before, you were tethered to me. You had to babysit my high-as-fuck, ungrateful ass 24/7 because what else were you gonna do, right? But now, you're alive!" He theatrically acted as if he was bringing Frankenstein to life right on the stone counter. It wasn't outrageous that Klaus was being playful in a very non-playful conversation, but this time it really hit Ben as more than his brother just trying to lighten the mood.

"So, what?"

"So, you can't truly live if you're constantly worrying about my burden- I- No, don't interrupt. I know I'm a lot. Trust me, it's okay. I'm just saying, no hard feelings, but you're better off without me. I'm just sorry that I was too greedy to do this earlier."

Ben was without words. How could he say this? How could he be so damn accepting of these awful and very untrue thoughts? How could he just have moved on so quickly?

"So just like that, you're expelling yourself from the family?"

"No…"

"From them. From me. After seventeen years of being attached at the hip and it's just oh-so-easy for you to drop me at a moment's notice and have the audacity to say that it's in my best interest?" Ben spat, not caring that he was starting to sound like an overbearing boyfriend at this point. Klaus's face fell.

"Ben…"

"No. Fuck you! You don't get to decide what's best for me. What's best for us is finally being a fucking family for once and we can't do that without you, so-"

"If I don't get to decide what's best for you, then you don't get to decide what's best for me." Klaus said, and how in the fuck could Ben argue that? He turned his own words against him… Sneaky bastard.

"Klaus, it's not the same without you." Vanya timidly jumped in.

"Yeah, it's like a self-pity cloud spread over the whole damn house. Luther and Diego are infectious without you there to counteract it." Five jumped in, earning a punch in the arm from Number Two and an eye roll from Number One.

Klaus chuckled.

"You'll live."

"And what will you do?" Ben pressed, still pissed but in a way that it was only there to bury his fear that this might actually be it- he might be losing his best friend.

"I don't know. You know me, I'll just go with the flow and see what happens. Hit the beach, try Sushi Donuts... Oh! I've been designing surfboard illustrations for this one guy I met at a club. Pretty cool. Visit beach bars, fuck some chicks, fuck some dudes, stay sober…"

"Is that why you're drinking before 6 PM?" Five cut in over Klaus, earning an unamused scowl from the previous-junkie. Klaus dumped the rest of the can's contents in his mouth and threw the empty shell at Five's head who slapped it out of the air just in time.

"It's sparkling water, dickwagon. Still been sober for almost two weeks now. Thanks for the confidence."

The room got silent and Klaus raised his eyebrows, waiting for anyone else to come at him with more challenges, but what could they argue? He was doing so well… so great without them. All this time it seemed like Klaus was pulling back on the Academy with his wild conjectures, erratic behavior, and impulsive actions but maybe the Academy was just holding Klaus back from behind happy… siblings included.

The reality of the thought stung. Ben swallowed the lump in his throat. If he knew this would've happened when he came back to life, he would've stayed dead. He felt like he traded his other siblings for the one person he's spent the bulk of his life with and he knew that Klaus could see that too.

This couldn't be how their story ended.

He was suddenly aware of Klaus's eyes drilling into his in the silence. His brother looked like he was offering space for Ben to say whatever else he needed to say, but he didn't know what to do. Klaus started instead.

"Well thanks for coming, and I'm sorry I can't give you what you came for, but I really do need to go. You're welcome to hang around for a bit, but I'm probably going to be bringing back someone later tonight, soooo…"

"Is this it then?" Ben finally found his voice.

"Is what it?"

"You're never coming back? That's what you're saying?"

Klaus stared and Ben swore he could see a flicker in his eyes- a break in his composure. But as soon as he saw it, it was gone. Klaus chuckled and shrugged playfully.

"Yeah. I guess that's what I'm saying."

"We'll just never see you again?" Allison asked, not even bothering to hide her pain behind the question. Klaus turned sympathetic eyes to hers.

"Well never say never. You're my sibbies." He said, achingly sweet which just made it harder. "There will be… You know… Weddings and funerals."

Diego scoffed and shook his head, turning away and walking straight out of the house. Ben knew he couldn't handle any other emotion other than accusation and anger. This was hurting all of them, and for the sake of saving the mushy emotions, Diego was the first to tap out.

"You're really happy? Happier than you would be at home?" Luther asked, raising an eyebrow. Klaus drummed his fingers on the counter.

"Happy's a strong word, big guy. Let's start with pretty good."

Luther broke into a sad smile, putting a gloved hand on Klaus's shoulder before turning and walking out as well.

Don't leave! Ben willed in his head. This can't be over!

Allison was next to rush forward, enveloping Klaus in a tight hug. Four smiled and returned the favor, rubbing her back.

"Klaus, I'm so sorry for the way we ignored you. You didn't deserve-"

"Hey, Allison…" He stopped her, leaning back to see her face but keeping loose arms around her waist. "Stop. It's okay. Really."

"Come home." She whispered, brushing a curly lock of hair from his face. Klaus gave her a regretful smile.

"It's for the best. Trust me."

Allison rolled her eyes.

"Who's going to steal all of my clothes?"

Klaus pursed his lips and thought about it.

"I always did think Ben would look fabulous in teal chevron sundress you have."

Allison laughed but it turned into a pained gaze. She refused to let go of her brother, so Klaus made the first move to do so, kissing her forehead and giving her hand a squeeze.

"Say hey to Claire from Uncle Klaus, yeah?"

She nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek. Painfully, she turned and followed the others. Vanya got her hug in with a slew of attempts to make him come back. She tried to empathize with her whole being-left-out situation, but Klaus still insisted that she was meant for the Academy, more than he ever was. If anyone was taking his place, he was glad that it was her.

Five wasn't one for cheesy goodbyes. Instead, he shook his head at Klaus in disappointment.

"You'll be back." Five muttered as if he knew it for sure. Ben could tell there was the slightest tinge of uncertainty in there though.

"Wanna bet?"

"You always lose our bets, Klaus. When will you learn to stop making them?" Five asked, a smile breaking over him. Klaus broke into his own and giggled.

"There was that one time-"

"Alright. I'll admit you have a strange intensive knowledge of exotic fruits. Other than that though-"

"Get outta here, Five." Klaus smirked, not being unkind but rather saying it as his own Five-tailored goodbye. Five sighed and tapped his hand on the counter twice.

"Good luck, Klaus."

He turned and left. And that was it, save for Ben, leaving the two alone in the aching stillness of the very organized, very un-Klaus-like house. Waves crashed in the distance. Ben always did love the beach. Now every time he was at one on the East Coast, he'd just think of the brother he lost. The brother he pushed away.

"'M sorry," Klaus spoke up. He could tell that he really meant it, but that didn't help.

"I just don't understand how you can be so… detached about it."

Klaus sighed.

"I just finally accepted that this is what was meant to happen. You will too."

"No. Because it's not." Ben argued. "You're just giving up all that time we spent-"

"It was a great seventeen years. Well… Save for the drugs, overdosing, living couch to couch and all that. Otherwise, I wouldn't give it up for anything. Things are different now though. It's-" Klaus abruptly stopped. Ben desperately searched his face for some emotion other than apathy. This couldn't just be killing Ben, right? He meant more than that to Klaus… right? "It's time to move on."

"What if I moved here and-"

"Ben…"

"No, really. I-"

"Benjamin Hargreeves. This family needs you. You've always been an integral part of the team. You're their rock. I just slow everyone down. This is better. It's okay. I'm okay."

But what about me? What if I'm not okay? Ben couldn't help but think. He'd never say it out loud though. Klaus left because no one cared to invest time into his happiness and now that he was finally obtaining it on his own… How could he get in the way of that?

"Will you call?"

Klaus gave a one-shoulder shrug.

"I'm sure. Yeah. Maybe not a first… to give everyone some room and stuff."

Ben clenched his jaw and looked down at the pristine tile flooring. He tried to imagine life without his total disaster of a brother. He couldn't.

Apparently, more time than he thought passed because Klaus spoke up.

"Ben?"

"I just-" He wanted to go into a whole onslaught of questions, but he still was stuck on that one. "How can you leave so easily?"

Klaus gave him a disgusting look of sympathy. He didn't want his pity. He wanted him to stop playing house and come back to his home- his real home.

"You know me. Got a talent for pushing things down pretty-"

"Yeah, but not me." Ben couldn't help but burst out. "Never me."

Klaus sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Ben waited for his response, not able to bear the thought of turning and leaving his brother here across the country forever.

"I've gotta get ready. I'll call sometime, 'kay?"

And then Klaus was the one to turn and go, disappearing into one of the bedrooms and leaving Ben alone quite literally and metaphorically. He stayed there, frozen in the kitchen for a while before he found some strength in himself to painfully move outside where his siblings stood waiting.

"Hey…" Allison was the first to offer an arm around his shoulder, rubbing his arm through his hoodie. "You okay?"

"Was I just dumped?" Ben asked, his dark humor showing through. Allison chuckled sadly.

"It would appear so."

~X~

Had it really been a month already? It seemed too long but also too short to be true all at once. It was neither a good or bad thing, it just… was fact.

Klaus left home a month ago. He's been going it alone for longer than he initially expected to be able to, and he was proud of himself for the fact. Just the thought that he was indeed able to function as a real human being without his ghost-life-coach was comforting for him to know. His whole life, he never thought he would've made it this far.

Life had been fun if he had to describe it in simple terms. He stayed at the surf shop, digging into his illustration skills that fell to the wayside after the hardcore drugs started taking over. He had a few friends there that he worked with and it was fun enough, especially when he was making money while doing it.

The nightlife was great- it was California after all. If anything was satisfied here, it was his broad and wild sex drive. Nothing to complain about there.

The beach was nice. Klaus liked to just lie out on the sand in his backyard most evenings, watching the sun sink below the horizon and smoking a cigarette.

So, yeah… Things were… good.

To say they were great, however, would be a stretch.

After his family had left that night three weeks ago, he broke down immediately. It was emotionally tolling to keep up that 'I-don't-care-anymore' persona. Part of him did accept that just wasn't cut out for the Academy life, but an even bigger part of him hated the idea of letting it go. He may have put on a strong face for his siblings, but inside, just seeing them in the flesh (especially Ben) created a world of turmoil and doubt within him.

Maybe this was wrong.

Maybe he overreacted.

Maybe he did belong at the Academy, and he was just being a stubborn little bitch.

Maybe things would change if he went back. Maybe his siblings were serious about making changes. Maybe there was hope for a functioning family of Seven.

But after Klaus broke down with his hands shaking and tears stinging his eyes, he wiped those disbeliefs away and toughed through it.

The only thing he was foreseeing was it continuing to be a problem for the month to come. Every time he glanced at a TV in the bar or flipped across a channel at home and saw a news story about the 'New and Improved Umbrella Academy Saving the Day', it sent spikes through his heart.

He didn't deny that part of him still yearned to be a part of it- a part of his family, his team… But something always held him back from picking up the phone or buying a one-way plane ticket back. It may have been his tenacious idea of proving them all wrong and sticking to his word. It may have been the memory of what his whole situation felt like right up until he left. It may have been his persisting belief that they were better out without him.

Whatever it was, it built a high enough wall for Klaus to never make the true jump. This was his life now. This is what he decided, and he was doing fine.

Mostly…

About halfway through his time there, he did have a minor instance of relapse. He agreed to a little glass of beer, and everything went downhill from there. Beer turned into tequila that later turned into ecstasy. The whole week was shot- completely controlled by Klaus's fight to get sober again.

He did it- Thank God. He was walking on thin ice though. Not a day passed by where he didn't get the sudden urge to find the nearest dealer and blow whatever cash he had on whatever he could find.

Some nights, the ghosts would find him. They'd scream. They'd beg. They'd try to touch him. Klaus didn't get sleep those nights. Without some kind of anchor- another person or another trusted ghost like Benny was, there was nothing to focus his other energy on and he'd spiral into a dark place that he unwillingly shared with the dead.

Then, some days, he'd just be plain sad. Before, it was just a constant numbness, but that lack of feeling was to push down the otherwise overabundance of said feeling. Depression, anxiety, loneliness… You name it, Klaus has got it. Could you blame him for some of the shit he's seen?

All of these instances ended in Klaus gripping the house phone tightly in hand, his home phone number playing on repeat in his mind. If he so much as heard his siblings' voices though, he knew he'd break. He'd buy the nearest ticket home and that would be the end of his independence.

And so, Klaus hadn't called like he promised to. He did say that he'd wait a while anyway. It was so empty not having Ben's 24/7 voice of reason though. He tried to fill the silence with music, TV, clubs, people, sex, and whatever else, but he couldn't help that he just missed his brother terribly.

Keep going, Klaus. You got this.

But did he? After a month, he thought his homesickness would fade, but it seemed to only get stronger. The damn news anchor on the TV wasn't helping either.

"…have done it again. Still keeping a wide breadth away from the media, one of the Academy members- fans may remember him as 'Space Boy'- did quickly comment after a job well done yesterday."

"It just made sense for us even after all those years apart. We don't regret anything- the distance has definitely made us stronger and it's helped us work out some of the problems preventing us from being a true team before."

"But what about The Séance? He's no longer part of the team, am I correct?"

Klaus watched Luther's face fall on the TV, even below his mask (they toned down from their old masks and adopted a simpler all-black… thank the lawd).

"Uh, yeah."

"Does he ever plan on-"

Klaus flipped off the TV.

Ugh.

Ring… Ring… Ring…

Klaus jumped at the sound of the phone. He never did like this thing. It was much too loud for a small house. He stumbled over boxes to reach it, expecting a call from his friend about their plans for tomorrow night.

"Yyyyyyelllow?"

A beat of silence over the phone.

"Hey."

Klaus's heart stopped- he swore it did. He swallowed thickly, his chest tightening.

"Oh. H- Hey Benny."

More quiet. He awkwardly twisted the phone cord around his finger.

"How've you been?"

"Okay… You?"

"Yeah, um. Good. Good. There's a stray cat that likes to come around. I named him Tyrone."

He heard Ben chuckle.

"Out of all the things you could tell me about the past month, you're telling me about Tyrone the cat?"

"What else would I talk about?"

He could visualize Ben shaking his head and rolling his eyes while wearing a smile.

"So… If you don't mind me asking. How'd you get my number?"

"I- Well, okay. Five found it after some searching through California phone books. Anthony's name."

"Ah." Klaus said, fidgeting with his hands. He was so out of his element here. Was this what he and his used-to-be-other-half were reduced to? Awkward phone conversations and painful small talk? This is what he wanted, right? "…So. Why now?"

"Apart from the fact that it didn't look like you were planning on doing it yourself anytime soon?"

Klaus shuffled his feet and guiltily looked down. He did feel bad about that, but this feeling he was having now was exactly the reason- hearing Ben's voice made his insides ache.

"Yeah." Was all he could manage.

"Well, uh… Our birthday is in a few days."

"Oh shit. Yeah." Klaus realized. Time flies when you're trying to start a new life.

"Yeah. Anyway, it's not really- It's- Well, you know how Allison gets. I tried to stop them from making it into a big thing, but they really want to do something since it's my 'first birthday being back alive' kinda thing. Five too- since he missed all the other ones. They suggested going to Gigi's like we always used to with Dad, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I remember." Klaus said, glad that Ben couldn't see his painful, reminiscent smile over the phone. He'd take the diner's waffles over crack any day

"So… You should come. We can pay for the ticket and everything, just-"

"Oh, uh… It's not that I don't want to, dude. I just- I'm actually moving that day."

"Oh… Like… out of Anthony's house?"

Klaus detected the ache in Ben's voice from his rejection.

I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, Benny.

"Yeah, I figured it was time to get my own. It's a small little apartment outside the city, but… Yeah, I rented a van and everything so I can't really… You know, I'd love to, but-"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay."

An awkward silence ensued.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"How's, um… How's everyone else?"

"Claire came to visit the other day. Man, she's so cute. Definitely has Allison's sass, you'd love her."

Klaus chuckled at the image of a little Allison. He had a feeling that he and Claire would get along swimmingly.

"Diego hasn't been around all too much. After you left, he started 'working' again. Some nights he sleeps at his old place instead. Luther's super engrossed in Academy stuff. All he can talk and think about is 'the next mission'."

"So, he's back to being your average Luther?"

"Kinda, yeah. Vanya has a concert coming up. We're all going to try to go and maybe not blow up the world while we're at it this time."

Klaus scoffed.

"But what's an orchestra concert without world-wide destruction?"

Ben chuckled.

"Five's just… Five. I think he's kinda lost as a 13-year-old kid without any motives. He'll be okay though."

"Mm."

Klaus didn't really know what to make of that. He kind of expected them to seem… closer. Of course, he only had the information that Ben just told him, but with how they all operated as a team on TV, it really seemed like they had their lives figured out and were thriving without Klaus just as he had hoped.

Maybe they weren't as cohesive as he thought. He shouldn't be excited by the fact, but a small part of him couldn't help it…

"Are you sure? That you can't come, I mean."

Klaus sighed. Let it go, Ben. Let me go.

He felt a little bit like a hypocrite for thinking this.

"Sorry."

Ben sighed. This was starting to hurt too bad. Klaus felt like another minute and he'd be on a plane bound for his lovely mess of a family.

"I've gotta go," Klaus said hurriedly, needed out of this as soon as he could do so. "I'll call more. I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"Take care of yourself, Benny-boy."

"Yeah. You too."

Click.

That simple, unfulfilling, yet impactful conversation weighed on Klaus pretty heavily. Every time he tried to go out and have fun, he'd get distracted and return to the house alone to stew in these new doubts and longings for home. Just the fact that he still referred to the Academy as home said something… didn't it?

But Klaus's new thing as to keep pushing through, so that's what he did. In a few days, one day before the birthday he's shared for the past 31 years, the van he rented was packed with the stuff he had acquired in the past couple of weeks. It wasn't much, but Klaus wasn't one to be tied down to things. He was giving himself two days to fully move out. Today he'd start with the smaller stuff before heading to the surf shop and tomorrow he'd grab the rest.

It was very early morning and admittedly, Klaus had checked flights for both today and tomorrow. There was one boarding at 2:50 PM that'd get him home this evening, or one in the morning tomorrow at 10 AM, but they were undoubtedly full at this point and even if they weren't, he could bring himself to take that leap.

Instead, Klaus got in the car and drove. His new apartment was twenty minutes away…

He drove 32 hours.

With a quick motel break in between for the night, Klaus finally slammed the door shut on the van that he pretty much just stole, stepping into the crisp newly-October air. He stretched, not wanting to ever sit that still for that long ever again.

The Academy doors stared at him, the house uncharacteristically quiet. It was a little after 8 PM (in this time zone, anyway). He had split the time pretty equally, 17 hours the first day and 15 hours the second. The only thing keeping him going through the awful journey was the sight of Ben's face when he saw that on pure, instinctual impulse (which was pretty much exactly how he left in the first place), Klaus did come home for their birthday like some sickeningly repulsive Hallmark movie.

Surprise, bitches.

He stepped up to the house and already being bombarded with sensory memories up the wazoo. Klaus pulled his house key that he never dared to get rid of and unlocked the front door, stepping into the house and smelling vanilla.

"…oh-so-happy to have most of you here again." He heard Mom's voice saying from somewhere downstairs. She was probably baking a cake like she used to do when they were young. It smelled like it, anyway.

"Happy to be here, Mom." Diego's voice wafted in.

"I do wish all of you would be here."

"Us too." Allison joined in.

Wish granted, dear Mamá.

Klaus had no problem admitting that he was just plain excited to be back. He didn't regret leaving in the first place just as much as he didn't regret doing a total 180 last second and driving here from California.

Footsteps came up from the kitchen and the culprits of the voices appeared, stopping dead in their tracks upon seeing their supposedly-lost brother. Allison's mouth literally fell open. Klaus gave a little wave, the black feathers on the rim of his jacket tickling his hand. He missed being able to wear layers too.

"'Sup."

He walked past them to the stairs, guessing he'd at least put his bag down in his room before anything. They all just watched him in awe. When he was at the top, his old door in sight, he heard Diego.

"Wh- Klaus?"

He didn't quite feel like explaining though. He was exhausted from the drive and just wanted to drop his stuff and get a mental snapshot of Ben's face to hold with him forever to tease him with in the future.

Diego's voice must've prompted Luther and Five, because both of them appeared in their doorways, faces matching the ones from downstairs.

"Uh… Hi." Five managed to get out. "Didn't think you'd come."

"Wasn't planning on it," Klaus responded, opening his bedroom door and trying to hold back the pathetic smile that crept up just from the sight of it. He told himself he didn't get tied down to material beings, but he did love his room. He made sure to plug in his strand lights before leaving again.

"Did you fly?" Luther asked, suddenly in his doorway. Klaus ran his hands through his hair.

"I wish. Happy B-day, by the way." He announced eccentrically, patting Luther's big chest before brushing by him. He missed the giant, lovable monkey-man.

"Uh… yeah. Yeah, you too. I'm glad you came. You should head down to the kitchen though. Someone's missed you quite a bit."

Klaus saluted to Luther, making his way there and gathering a small following of siblings as he went. They all had questions as they walked.

"How long are you staying?"

"How's Cali?"

"Ben said that you weren't coming… Why the change of heart?"

"Ugh, some breathing room. Please, my people. All in good time." He hushed them, entering the kitchen to the sight of Ben and Vanya whose backs were turned as Vanya tried to hang streamers solely with the use of her powers.

Even the back of the kid's head made Klaus happy.

"I just want to relax, if it'd please the masses. 32 hours was not easy on the body."

And just at the sound of his voice, Klaus watched Ben's body go rigid. He didn't turn around though, as if his brother was scared that Number Four wasn't actually there.

"I am fully expecting cake and leftovers though, in case you were wondering." Klaus continued as he approached Ben pretty quickly. He took no time to casually sling one arm around Ben's neck, the other one braced across his chest. He pulled himself up until one leg was wrapped around his brother's waist and then came the other until Klaus was literally venus-fly trapping Ben, attached to his back.

Six's arms moved up to grip the ones wrapped around his shoulders and neck. He chuckled as his knees gave out under Klaus's unexpected weight. He wobbled but managed to keep standing and supporting the menace that enveloped his entire body.

"Happy birthday, bitch." He muttered, closing his eyes and relishing the moment.

"Ditto." Ben managed to choke out. Klaus realized his one arm was slightly strangling the smaller Hargreeves, but he'd just have to deal. He wasn't done with his much-need all-limb-inclusive hug.

Every single emotion that Klaus had been denying for the past month- yearning, aloofness, alienation, loss- it all melted away the second he was reunited with his bossy, sarcastic little geek of a brother.

"Okay. Okay." Ben tapped on Klaus's arms, telling him to let go. He did, falling back to the ground on his own feet and letting Ben turn around and punch his shoulder.

"You said you weren't coming!"

"Wasn't planned. I got in the car to drive to my apartment and accidentally drove here. Whoops." Klaus shrugged, ruffling a beaming-Vanya's hair and moving around towards Mom who was so surprised she dropped the box of candles for the cake.

"All of the children! How wonderful. I'm so happy to see you, dear."

"Ma," Klaus greeted, letting her give him a tight hug.

"How long are you staying?" Ben asked reluctantly, afraid to hear the answer. Klaus swiped a dollop of frosting off the cake, popping it into his mouth. He was starving.

"Mm… I don't know. Couple days. A week. Forever."

"What?"

"Wait- really?"

"Klaus, don't fuck with us."

Klaus smiled up at Ben but then turned guilty eyes downwards.

"I don't know. I might have overreacted a bit. If there's room in the circus, you've got one more freak if you want him." He said raising his hand. "It's me. In case you didn't get it. I'm the freak."

"We got it." Diego dismissed, returning to Klaus's unexpected offer. "No take-backs, right?"

"No take-backs." Klaus agreed, reaching for another swipe of icing, but Mom's hand stopped him.

"You can wait like everyone else." She scolded, a disapproving smile on her face. Klaus pouted, but followed suit, falling into a chair and pulling his legs to sit crisscrossed. Luther awkwardly offered up the question everyone else was avoiding asking.

"…So… Do you want to talk about this, or-"

"Nah… Maybe later." He said, watching Mom turn her back as his hand shot out for an opportunity. Diego was wicked fast with a toss of a spatula though, smacking the back of his hand. He retracted it quickly and shot Diego a hurt look. "Owwww… And oh, by the way… I did only rent that van for a couple days to be returned back to the shop in California... so, now that I'll be returning it however many miles away and a day late…"

Diego sighed, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a few bills and forked them over to Klaus who gladly took them.

"Welcome home, Klaus." Diego muttered sarcastically. Klaus kissed the money and held it up dramatically in front of him.

"Thank youuuu."

Luther still didn't want to let go of his previous question.

"Klaus, I really don't think ignoring this again would be the right-"

"Look. It sucked. I felt like with the rise of everyone else, I was just falling further behind. You've already all apologized, which, I don't even know if that was necessary, but I think having time to figure myself out alone was part of what I needed. I got it, I'm over it, I'm ready to annoy the living daylights out of every single one of you again. Can we leave it at that and just eat cake?"

"Sounds good to me." Five said, pulling a chair up next to Klaus and giving his returned brother a small, approving smile. "I was right by the way." He muttered under his breath. Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Technically we never really bet on it."

"Fine. Stakes are raised double next time though."

"Fine." Klaus agreed, turning his attention back to Allison who squeezed his shoulder comfortingly before going to help Diego and Mom set out plates.

"Well… The apologies certainly were necessary. Especially from me. I'm sorry, Klaus."

"Ew. The angst. Not on our day of birthing, big guy. Save the sultry sulking for a rainy day."

Luther scoffed and smiled before giving in. Klaus was being truthful- he was over it. He just wanted what he had truly wanted in the first place- to feel like he was a part of this clusterfuck they called a family. And now, he felt like he had that. It may have taken a shit-ton to get there, no matter where the fault was due, but he was getting better at letting go of the past.

He felt his chair kicked under him and looked to his other side to see Ben resuming his usual spot- right next to Klaus. Four swallowed thickly, a sudden surge of guilt building up. He could see in Ben's eyes how hard the last month had been on him and he hadn't expected or intended that at all.

'Sorry.' He mouthed to his bentacle-buddy. Ben's face fell, telling Klaus to save the unneeded apologies.

'Shut the fuck up.' Ben mouthed back, making Klaus smile. He blew Ben a sarcastic kiss earning an eye roll.

"Ready for cake?"

"Born ready… Quite literally." Klaus said, realizing that this was, in fact, the day that he was born. He and all this beautiful, fucked up specimen around him. Looking around at them all (quickly, because he didn't want to seem too pathetically corny) he realized that as helpful as it was to get a month of alone-time, he was living a lie if he thought he belonged anywhere else other than wedged between the 58-year-old, 13-year-old boy who could teleport and time travel while in love with a mannequin and the previously brought-back-to-life guy who summoned a squid-like hell-beast through his abdomen.

Yeah… This was more like it.

This definitely should've been two chapters, but I hate the fact that I'm SO bad at judging my chapter lengths and since I called this the last one, I stubbornly just toughed through it and made it hella long soooo, hope you enjoyed!

The next Klaus-fic I'm writing will be about Klaus spiraling into a very dark place and letting his vices consume him without Ben constantly there to be his conscious (to no fault of anyone but Klaus this time). Ben and the other siblings end up finding him in such a bad state that they decide that they have no other choice but to send him to an institution before they wind up finding him dead.

Keep on the lookout! Thank you for all of the support on this story. It was a pleasure to be able to write!

XxKlausxX: Me too! There better be some changes in dynamic Season 2. He deserves more credit, especially seeing as he is the only one with reasonable solutions sometimes.

asms2: It's so intriguing to me that Allison doesn't use her powers even once in Season 1. There's GOTTA be something in Season 2. And I don't think the location of their house is ever specified so, in my mind, I also keep it unspecified. For this chapter's purposes though (like calculating the drive-time) I just put it in Chicago without really saying so.

I will take a look at that episode! I just watched Moonwalkers with him and Rupert Grint and man, drugs are incorporated to all of his roles it feels like haha.

CassieLaufeyson: It has arrived! Hoped you enjoyed!