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Of all the crazy things that have happened in his life, this might actually be the craziest. And yes, Klaus is counting his nearly lifelong addiction to drugs
and
the fact that his sister almost caused the end of the world in that list. Klaus sighs and scrubs his hands over his face; he’s keenly aware of Diego watching him, his leg bouncing in an anxious rhythm. Klaus wants to give this to him—but
god
, does he hate it, too. He’s let Diego wear him down and now Klaus is just exhausted.
“I’m too sober for this,” he laments under his breath. Diego tenses across from him. “I’m not even sure it’ll work. It’s not a foolproof process.”
“I know that,” Diego replies. His voice is hoarse; he’s been crying again.
Nothing had been quite so heartbreaking as getting back to the present—day saved, apocalypse averted—to find that while some things were fixed, others weren’t. Things like Claire still being alive, but Eudora still being dead. Diego had locked himself away for two straight weeks, only coming and going long enough to eat and not speaking to anyone.
In fact, the first person he’d spoken to was Klaus. To ask that he contact Eudora.
And, after countless times turning him down, now they’re here. Klaus’ hands shake so he clenches them into fists. He presses them against his thighs and tries to even out his breathing.
“Okay,” he whispers. “I’m...I’m gonna try, now.”
Diego only nods.
Klaus closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The stench of decay briefly overwhelms him and it’s a struggle not to gag; no matter how many times he catches that scent, he doesn’t think he’ll ever be used to it. Next comes a bone-deep chill that has Klaus chattering his teeth. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to focus.
He’s not in the mausoleum this time. He’s not in a graveyard, getting high. He’s not
surrounded
by the dead. Their voices will not overwhelm him this time. He’s so deep in his focus, so lost in making sure that no extra spirits come to him, he’s not expecting it when a chilly hand lands on his shoulder.
Klaus whips his head to the side and stares at the woman sitting beside him on the couch. She looks almost tangible, just the edges of her fizzling in and out of reality. She’s smiling sadly.
“Eudora?” Klaus murmurs.
She nods. She’s beautiful, hardly a hair out of place. If it wasn’t for the bloody, gaping hole in her chest, she’d look positively normal.
“H-hey,” Klaus says. He looks over at Diego, who’s staring intently back at him. “She’s here,” he tells Diego.
“Oh.” Diego’s eyes widen.
Klaus looks back at Eudora. “Uh, he wanted to talk to you.”
Eudora smiles at Klaus, then turns her attention to Diego.
“Go ahead,” Klaus says when neither of the other two speak.
Diego inhales slowly. “I’m so suh-sorry.”
Klaus drops his gaze to his hands and tries not to wince when Diego’s voice cracks, when he stutters. He feels, unsurprisingly, like he’s intruding on something intensely private. He wishes he could be
literally
anywhere else. He’d take Vietnam over this.
“Eudora,” Diego starts again. His voice is even more watery than before. “I’m…”
Eudora reaches out and pats Diego’s knee; it doesn’t make contact but Diego shivers and stares at his knee. “It’s okay,” she says in a voice only Klaus could hear.
This is why he hasn’t tried making money off his power. It’s too much. Too personal, even with
Diego
, someone he’s known literally since they were born.
“I didn’t mean for you to duh-die.” Diego lays his own hand on his knee and if she were tangible, it would cover Eudora’s. “I...I didn’t know. I didn’t get your message until it was too late.” He’s crying now.
Eudora is too. Her tears glimmer like crystals, and they disappear as they drip off her chin. “It’s okay,” she says again.
Klaus wishes Diego could hear her. His own throat has closed up with unshed tears and he’s not sure he could speak if he wanted to.
“If I had known, I would’ve had your back. You know I would’ve. I wouldn’t have let you die.”
“I know.” But when Diego fails to hear her again, Eudora turns to Klaus. “I need him to hear me.”
“I haven’t figured out how to make that happen,” Klaus admits apologetically.
Eudora’s gaze hardens. Not in anger, but determination. “Can I use you?”
Klaus bites his tongue. His immediate reaction is
no no no
. He’s been possessed before; it’s not something he’d care to repeat. But for Eudora—the woman who, at one point, did save his life and a bit of his sanity. For Diego, his brother, someone he’s been with through thick and thin. He looks at Diego, who’s silently crying now, tears streaming down his face. Klaus’ heart hurts.
“Okay,” he exhales. “Just.” Klaus ignores Diego’s look of confusion as he moves. Klaus reaches for Eudora, takes her hand and even though she’s not physically there, he pulls her close. It’s uncomfortable, the sensation of a ghost coming through him. It’s even worse when she doesn’t pass immediately through and instead settles into his space.
Bit by bit, he can feel her latching onto his energy, taking hold in the real world as much as possible.
When Klaus opens his mouth next, it’s because Eudora is in control. It’s her words, her voice that come out of his trembling mouth.
“It’s okay, Diego.”
Klaus would laugh if he could. Diego looks like a frightened cat. Almost looks like he’s going to make a break for it, except Eudora’s reaching out with Klaus’ body and patting his knee. Diego shakily takes her—his—their
hand.
“I don’t blame you,” she says. “For any of it. You saved the world.”
Diego shakes his head vehemently and sends tears flying. “No, it d-doesn’t matter.”
“It does,” Eudora says oh so softly. “You did the right thing.”
Diego sobs and squeezes Klaus’ hand hard enough to hurt.
“I need you to understand this, Diego,” Eudora continues. “This isn’t your fault. It was never your fault.” Klaus can feel his own face pulling into a frown. “You can’t beat yourself up over this forever.”
Diego’s lip quivers. “I don’t kn-know if I can stop.”
“You can.” Eudora’s voice is confident. “You’ve always bounced back. From everything.”
Klaus can feel Eudora slipping, his powers stretched too thin coupled with the emotionally drain taking its toll. He tries to warn Eudora mentally and she seems to understand, her thoughts pinging back at his vaguely.
“Diego,” Eudora says again. “I love you, okay? I always did. And I’m sorry things ended the way they did, but it’s going to be okay. You’re going to move past this.”
Diego’s sobbing has stopped but the tear tracks on his cheeks look clammy. He looks up finally and as Eudora starts to slip from Klaus’ body, as if sensing the urgency, Diego surges forward.
He crashes into Klaus in an abrupt kiss. At first, Klaus can’t really feel it. He knows Eudora can, is happy for her, until his powers run out and she’s gone and Klaus is left kissing Diego.
Something he keeps doing, rather than pulling away. He brings a hand up to cup Diego’s stubbled cheek and gentles the desperate kiss. He lets Diego pull back and press in again and again, lets Diego cry against him.
“I’m sorry,” Diego gasps as the last kiss breaks. “Fuck, Klaus.”
“It’s fine,” he croaks. “I understand.” And he does. His heart
aches
, and he wishes he could make it all better. He wishes he could make his brother stop crying. Wishes he could make this world one his brother wants to be in. “I understand,” he says again, stroking his thumb over Diego’s cheek.
Diego blinks and a new wave of tears clings to his eyelashes. “Can...Can I?”
Klaus knows what he’s asking. He nods slightly.
Diego kisses him again. It’s warm and wet, both their lips uncomfortably chapped. It’s not the most wonderful kiss Klaus has ever had, but he doesn’t need it to be, doesn’t want it to be. He can feel the tension seeping from Diego’s body as they keep kissing, as they open their mouths to one another. They make out gently like that for a few minutes. Klaus only pulls back when Diego does first, and they’re both breathing heavy.
Klaus speaks before Diego can. “Don’t say you’re sorry.”
Diego looks surprised.
“Don’t
be
sorry,” Klaus adds. “I’m not.”
Diego nods slowly. “Okay.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to summon her again,” Klaus says while they’re still close enough for their noses to brush. “I don’t know that she’ll want me to.”
Diego nods again. “Yeah, that’s...that’s fine.”
Klaus takes his hand from Diego’s cheek and wraps it around him instead, pulling his brother in for a hug. “I’m sorry, Diego.”
Diego curls both arms around Klaus’ back and clings to him. The angle is terrible, a stretch that’s exhausting Klaus’ back. So he turns his head to whisper into Diego’s ear.
“Why don’t we go lay down?” He suggests.
Diego nod. “In a minute.”
“Okay,” Klaus says, resigning himself with a sad, amused smile to his backache. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And if Diego hugs him a little tighter at that, well.
Klaus means it. He’s not going anywhere.