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Things were going way too well these days, and that should've been Ben's first clue that life would be taking a nosedive soon enough. This was their family, after all, and when did they ever get to have it easy?The threat of the apocalypse had come and gone. Ben wasn't blind to the fact that Vanya was powerful, and could've caused some serious damage if Alison hadn't been able to talk Luther down — or write furiously on her notepad and glare at him, considering she still hadn't recovered from having her throat slit — and, after receiving support from both Klaus and Diego (and Ben, although no one other than Klaus had known that at the time), had let Vanya out of her cage.What followed had been a series of teary apologies. Things hadn't exactly been easy — Luther was as stubborn as ever, after all, and their family still had a lot to work through — but they'd gotten there in the end. They'd worked through their issues, and had admitted the way they'd all wronged Vanya over the years. They'd also focused on the way they'd hurt each other, and were actively trying to be better. They trained Vanya to safely use her powers, helped Klaus through his withdrawals, supported Alison through the difficult healing process as she recovered from her injuries. Luther, as awkward as ever, apologised to Vanya, and while it had taken her some time to accept it, she eventually had.And Ben? Well, Klaus had sobered up, and he and Ben had continued to work on his new powers. After some time, he'd been able to manifest Ben so that the others could see him, and even make Ben corporeal at times. Their siblings had been shocked and amazed the first time he'd done it — while they'd come to accept that Klaus really could see and talk to Ben sometime before that, seeing it for themselves had been a shock — and had all pounced on Ben, giving him as many hugs as they could.Ben could now talk to his other siblings, and he could touch things — and he knew his brother was getting stronger every day, and as he did, these abilities would only grow. He could see the determination in his brother's eyes, and it warmed him to know just how far Klaus had come.The fact was, time had passed since the world had nearly ended, and things were better than they had been in years. They were all here, together, and maybe they could never truly forget the trauma they'd endured over the years, but at least they could start to move on from it.There was a rustling sound coming from Klaus's bed. Ben glanced over at his brother and smirked slightly."Took you long enough to wake up. What were you — "His voice cut off abruptly as he stared at the familiar yet unexpected face staring back at him.Unexpected, because he sure as hell hadn't thought he'd see a thirteen year old Klaus staring back at him."Uh, what did I do last night?" his brother mumbled, getting up and stretching, and choosing to ignore Ben who sat still, gaping at him.Klaus didn't even spare a glance at Ben's direction, his form tense despite his flippant words."Klaus," Ben managed, and his brother continued to ignore him. Actively try to ignore him, Ben noted, putting in way too much effort like he always did before he'd found his less than satisfactory methods of dealing with his issues, and like the way he had when ghosts had snuck through despite his efforts to keep them away. Klaus had gotten so much better at dealing with it these days, without the drugs to dull the world around him.Calling his brother's name wasn't going to be useful now, Ben thought, watching as the younger version of his brother walked towards the doorway. Whatever was happening right now, this definitely wasn't the same Klaus who had gone to bed last night, and he knew far too well how much his brother hated when the ghosts' called out his name.He stood up, and manifested in front of him. Klaus tensed, eyes widening in panic, and Ben bit back a grimace. He didn't know how to deal with this. Save for the first time Ben had appeared in front of Klaus, freshly dead and looking like something out of a horror movie, Klaus had never been afraid of him. Initially desperate to make him go away, yes, but not afraid. Even that first time, Klaus's fear had stemmed more from the realisation of Ben's death — Ben still remembered the way his brother had sunk to his knees, his mantra of "no, no, nonononnono" combining with Ben's desperate sobs — than actual fear of Ben himself.Right now, there was no recognition in Klaus's eyes, just plain fear, and it was that realisation that made Ben take an almost unconscious step to the side.Klaus took off past him and ran out the doorway, while Ben stood still, staring after him, and wondering what the hell had just happened.…Klaus paused at the bottom of the stairs, trying to slow his breathing. He could still hear the ghosts around him, howling and moaning like they usually did, and he tried to resolutely focus on an empty spot in front of him. He hated it when they stood in front of him, when he had no room to escape, and up there — whoever that had been, he'd blocked the doorway, and Klaus could feel the room closing in.At least he'd moved out of the way. Usually, they just stood there and screamed at him.His head was killing him, a consequence of spending the previous night getting pissed drunk at the first dodgy bar that had been willing to let a thirteen year old in, and he could still feel his heart racing. Still, he forced himself to calm down, to slow his breathing, to look like he didn't give a shit about anything because the last thing he was going to do was give his siblings anything to use against him.He'd been lucky last night, managing to sneak in without Dad or one of his siblings noticing — the thought of Luther finding him drunk of his ass made him shudder — and he wasn't going to ruin that now.He resolutely refused to think about the fact that, ever since he'd realised that there were ways of dulling his powers with methods that he doubted anyone in his family had approved of — alcohol for now, and a bit of weed here and there, but Klaus was definitely considering stronger stuff — Five had been the one to catch him sneaking back in numerous times. The little shit probably suffered from insomnia with the way he stayed up reading all night — seriously how could one person read that many books? — and Klaus still remembered the way his brother would glare at him disapprovingly and call him an idiot for doing that to himself.(When he'd stumbled home last night, and found Five's usual reading spot empty — of course it was, Five was gone, and he wasn't coming back, because maybe he'd realised that Dad was too fucked up to deal with and it just wasn't worth it, and maybe he'd found a nice, warm, safe place to live, away from all Dad's bullshit, or maybe he was dead — Klaus had wished he'd decided to take something a bit stronger).The ghost from upstairs was back again, still staring at him with wide eyes, but he wasn't screaming or wailing, and that made him easy enough to ignore. Klaus wished they could all be like that. He walked to the dining room, and peered inside, frowning when he saw that it was empty. That was weird. If anything, he thought he'd be late, and expected to hear a mouthful from Dad about it.Klaus stiffened — what if he was really late, and everyone had already finished eating? Dad would really kill him then. Klaus usually liked antagonising the old man, but he'd really been pushing it lately, and Klaus was too hungover to deal with the mausoleum right now.But no, that wasn't likely. If he'd slept in, surely Mom would've woken him up. Dad would never tolerate that, so — what? Where was everyone then?"Guys?" he called out, looking around. "Ben? Diego? Where are you?"There was the sound of murmuring coming from the living room, which stopped the moment he spoke."Who's that?" an unfamiliar voice called out. There were the sound of footsteps, and then a woman was standing in front of him, tall, dark and a complete stranger. There was something vaguely familiar on her, but Klaus couldn't put his finger on what it was. She was alive too — well, he was pretty sure she was — which meant she wasn't a ghost, and that just posed more questions than answers.The woman stiffened, her eyes widening in shock, and before Klaus could ask how the hell she'd gotten in here — seriously, Dad didn't exactly make a habit of inviting people over, and Klaus couldn't remember the last time they'd actually had a visitor — there was another person standing beside her, and Klaus's eyes widened in shock.Seriously, there was no way he couldn't be taken aback by the sheer size of the man standing in front of him. What the fuck was this guy on? That could not be natural.He took an alarmed step back, while the two strangers continued to stare at him in shock. He could feel his gut clench anxiously, and he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the residual nausea from the hangover. His family were no where in sight, and there were strangers in his home — including one who looked like he could crush him with one hand — and Klaus didn't like to imagine his chances against them."Klaus?" the woman choked, and Klaus took that moment to sprint out of the room.
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Okay, so there was a guy who looked like he could crush Klaus’ head with his pinkie standing in the living room, and Klaus decided that he’d very much like to live. At the moment, living seemed connected with avoiding that fucking goliath at all costs, so Klaus was going to try and get the hell out of there as soon as possible.He made it as far as the doorway before his body collided with another figure, and he was sent sprawling on the floor.Klaus glanced up, hoping to see a familiar face — hell, he’d take Dad at this point — and couldn’t fight back a wave of panic at the sight of yet another stranger. This one was dressed entirely in leather of all things — and oh God, this guy had probably robbed a bargain bondage shop before coming here, and Klaus would’ve been intrigued if his whole family wasn’t currently MIA.He jumped to his feet, just as another unfamiliar face — a woman this time, dressed in pyjamas (seriously, these had to be the weirdest — robbers? Kidnappers? — that Klaus had ever seen).The woman stopped dead in her tracks, and blinked a few times, as if clear her vision. She was definitely the smallest of the bunch, and decidedly less threatening compared to Messrs Bondage and Steroids over there, so Klaus decided he’d take his chances.With a loud war cry, he barrelled forward, throwing himself at the woman. She let out a cry of alarm and moved out of the way, and Klaus took that as an opportunity to make a beeline for the staircase.(If he’d bothered to look behind him, he would’ve seen that none of the ‘strangers’ had even moved from their initial positions — all too busy trying to process what the hell was going on).He sprinted upstairs, struggling to catch his breath. He had to find someone. Surely Dad had to be around here somewhere? Or Mom, or Pogo?“Klaus,” said the ghost from earlier, who’d obviously decided that staying quiet was no longer trendy, “Klaus, you need to listen to me.”The ghost needed to learn that, if he wanted to be heard, he needed to be a bit more violent and scream-y. Right now, he was definitely easier to ignore than some of the ghosts Klaus had come across, and Klaus knew better than to acknowledge the spirits around him.(It always made them mad, but they were mad anyway, so why did it matter?).He reached the landing at the top of the staircase and ran to Allison’s door, flinging it open.“Allison!” he yelled, hoping he’d find his sister inside, glaring and telling him off for coming in without knocking. Nothing — the room was empty. It looked different too, but Klaus didn’t think about that too much, already making his way to the next room.“Diego?!”No, Diego’s room was empty too. A quick search of Luther’s proved the same, and Ben’s, and Vanya’s — he made a point to stay away from Five’s, already knowing that he’d find nothing in there — and felt despair and panic hit him at full force.Where was everyone? What had these people done to his family?“Klaus, you need to stop,” the ghost was saying. “I’ll explain everything to you, you just need to calm down.”“Shut up,” he muttered, agitated. So much for not acknowledging him.There was the sound of hurried footsteps, and suddenly the they were back, all standing around the top of the staircase, and blocking his only point of exit.
‘Shit.’
The man dressed in leather took a step forward, his eyes wide and cautious, as if he had something to be afraid off. Dickhead shouldn’t be invading people’s houses and stealing their siblings then.“Klaus?” he said, because of course the guy knew his name.Klaus took a shaky step backwards. Maybe he could make a run for it, and lock himself in one of the bedrooms. It was pretty high up — whenever he snuck out, he’d always tried to make his way downstairs first — but maybe he could use some bedsheets to build a rope or something, and sneak out through the window. That was a thing they did in movies, right?“Who are you people?” Running was definitely an option, but he was still curious, and worried about his siblings.“How did this happen?” murmured the darker woman, while the other one shook her head, looking bewildered.“What did you do with my brothers and sisters?!” he demanded, while they continued to look lost. They’d also lost like, a bunch of opportunities to grab him and make a run for it, so they obviously needed to rethink their current occupation.“Okay,” said the big one, and Jesus, Klaus couldn't get over the sheer size of the guy. What, had his mother bottle fed him steroids as a baby? “So, Klaus is a kid again — because we’re obviously all seeing this — ”The other man rolled his eyes. “Yes, now would you just get to the point?”“I would if you just let me! I was saying that, we should probably explain to him what’s going on — ”“Oh my God Luther, what the hell do you think we’re trying to do right now?”“Well it looks to me like everyone is just standing around.”“Guys,” said the smaller woman, “he’s looking really freaked out. We should probably do something.”They turned to him, almost in sync, and Klaus remembered that he should probably be making a break for it.Well, no time like the present.He grinned shakily at them and took another step backwards. “Well guys, this has been great and all, but I’m just going to — ” Hide under the bed? Jump out the window? Barricade himself in Ben’s room, and hope there were still some donuts left over from the last time they’d snuck out to last him until he could think of a better plan? “ — uh, go somewhere else. You guys obviously have some issues to sort out, so…”(If it came to barricading himself in one of the rooms, he really didn’t like the idea of being trapped in an enclosed space with his screaming and bloody dead entourage. It brought up uncomfortable memories of the mausoleum, and Jesus, that was the last thing he wanted to be dealing with this early in the morning).“Wait! Klaus, hold on, just — ”“Klaus, please stop.” Oh God, it was the ghost again — weren’t these people bad enough? Did he really have to deal with him too? “It’s really not what you think, everyone’s fine, it’s just — ”Yeah, no, he definitely wasn’t going to listen to the dead guy of all people.This time he actually had been fully prepared to get the hell out of there, and definitely would’ve if the door behind him hadn’t opened abruptly, an irritated voice drifting out.“Goddammit, why is it so hard to get some sleep around here — ”Klaus felt himself go cold. “Five?!”His brother — because yes, oh God, that was Five — stopped abruptly and stared at him in shock.
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Klaus would never admit it, because he felt like it was getting dangerously close to delving a little too deeply into his emotions, but his efforts to dull his powers had increased considerably since Five’s disappearance.Oh, he’d definitely been experimenting here and there, trying different things, knowing that he was teetering on a dangerous edge, and that if his father or siblings found out, things would get bad. But then Five was gone, and even though Klaus told himself that there was no way the little asshole would go and get himself killed, there was just that nagging what-if.It hadn't helped that his siblings wouldn’t shut up either. He understood that they were upset, but he hadn’t been able to hold himself back from snapping when Vanya had timidly asked him if he could try and find out if Five was still alive. He didn’t want to know, and couldn’t understand why any of them would want that confirmation anyway. The thought of seeing his brother dead — it wasn’t like he or Five were the closest of siblings, but he was still his brother. There was no way in hell that Klaus wanted to be faced with proof that he was never coming back.Except, well, Five was here. He was standing a few feet away, looking bewildered as he stared at Klaus, as if Klaus was the one who had mysteriously popped back again after being gone for weeks. For a moment he felt a wave of panic, wondering if this was Five’s ghost — but as he stepped forward and reached out with a shaky hand, and felt it connect with the Five’s solid arm, he realised that this was real, that his brother was alive and standing in front of him, and he felt the sudden urge to cry.He probably would have started crying if he hadn’t suddenly remembered the situation he was currently in, and the crowd of strangers who had most likely kidnapped the rest of his family.He paused, glancing between the group and Five, and then realisation hit him like a truck. The reason why Five had disappeared so suddenly — oh God, it was all their fault. They’d kidnapped his brother!“You kidnapped Five, you assholes!”Five opened his mouth and closed it. He was obviously so traumatised that he couldn’t even speak, and it made Klaus feel even angrier. Five could be a stuck up jerk at times, but he was his stuck up jerk.Even though Klaus’ body was thrumming with nervous energy, it felt different than before. He had confirmation that his brother was still alive, and maybe these assholes had taken the rest of his family, but surely he and Five could find some way to save them together.He moved in front of his brother, arms crossed in front of him, and trying to adopt he's most threatening expression ever.“You assholes thought you could kidnap Five and then…” He paused, his brow furrowing slightly. “…Return him because he’s just that annoying, and then overcompensate but kidnapping everyone else…I think? Hey Five, is that what happened?”He turned to his brother, who finally closed his mouth, and turned to glare at the group of kidnappers.“Okay, what the hell is going on here?”“You think we know?” the leather wearing one said. “He just showed up like this!”“Is he okay?” the smaller woman asked, wringing her hands nervously.“Why does he look so young?” the other woman demanded.Jesus, did they have to keep talking? They were almost as bad as the ghosts.Five turned to him, a serious expression on his face, and Klaus wondered why he wasn’t attacking the kidnappers or something.“Five,” he hissed, “I think they’ve taken everyone! I can’t find Ben, or Diego, or Allison, or anyone.” He really wanted to give his brother a big hug, even though it would probably result in a kick to the gut that he’d never be able to dodge because it was Five, and the guy had ridiculous reflexes, but he had enough sense to know that they should probably wait till they were away from the big group of dangerous people.“What year is it?” Five asked him.Klaus’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! They broke you!”“Klaus! What year?”Klaus scowled slightly, and shot the group a wary glance as he answered Five. None of them had moved, and Five didn’t look particularly worried, and this was all making Klaus feel very uneasy. It didn’t help that his head felt like someone had beaten it with a baseball bat; hangovers were a bitch.“Time travel?” Five muttered to himself, eyes narrowed. “Or…some sort of age regression, possibly? Though I don’t know how this could’ve happened…” He turned to the group. “How was he last night? I went to bed early, and you were probably with him longer.”“I don’t know,” Leather said, sounding frustrated. “He — he wasn’t like this the last I saw him, he was normal.”The rest of them nodded, and Klaus bristled slightly, because seriously, normal? Who did this asshole think he was?“Tell them you were fine when you went to bed as well,” the spirit from before, who decided he had nothing better to do than hang around, said. Klaus ignored him, because he had no business being a part of this conversation.“Why does he look so young?” the one who was obviously on steroids asked. “Is this like what happened with you?”Five snorted. “This is nothing like what happened to me. This — ” He gestured to himself, “ — is a result of time travel. My consciousness is still at it’s proper age, it’s just my body that looks younger. In Klaus’s case, well, I can’t say for sure, but it looks like he’s regressed completely, in body and mind.”“And what does that mean?” the taller woman asked.“It means that Klaus has currently regressed to his - I’d say, thirteen year old self by the looks of it — and with none of his adult memories in tact.”There was a moment of silence, and then the group exploded. Their voices were loud, mingling in with the screams of the dead, and Klaus flinched and moved closer to Five. His brother glanced at him, still frowning, and Klaus buried himself closer.“Five,” he said, taking his brother’s hand. Five glanced down at it, eyes narrowing, and Klaus almost expected him push him away. He thought that might kind of hurt, because he’d spent weeks missing FIve, and he liked to think that Five cared enough to miss them back just as much — but his brother simply tightened his grip slightly. “Who are these people?”He shot another nervous glance at the group, who were still talking. Five was still watching him, his head cocked to the side consideringly, and then he moved in front of Klaus, their hands still linked.“Would you idiots shut up?” he snapped, and Klaus wondered if he was really hearing the protective edge to his brother’s voice. “I think Klaus probably has some questions that he’d like answered.”He glanced back at Klaus, and nodded his head. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “This really isn’t what you think. They’re — well, believe it or not, they’re our idiot siblings.”Klaus glanced back at the group, taking in the several stunned faces that were staring back at him, and decided that this really didn’t make any sense.
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Diego still wasn’t quite sure what the hell was going on. He’d seen some strange things in his life, particularly in the past year, but this — his brother suddenly turning into a kid again, and a real kid apparently, not just one that looked the part like Five — was really pushing it.He still remembered walking towards the kitchen that morning, hoping to have a quiet morning while he finished his breakfast (a rarity in his household), and then suddenly faced with the shock of finding his brother like that.Klaus had been staring at them without a hint of recognition, tense and obviously scared, and so damn tiny. It was strange, because Diego hadn’t remembered him being that way during their childhood. Oh sure, he’d always been built a bit delicately, and the constant drug use and malnutrition definitely hadn’t helped over the years, but his brother had also shot up like a weed the moment they’d hit their teenage years.“Klaus?” Diego said, his eyes wide in shock. His brother stared back at him, somehow thirteen years old again, and scared out of his wits.“Who are you people?” Klaus demanded, taking a shaky step backwards. Yes, his brother obviously didn’t recognise him, and God, that hurt. More than Diego expected it would have, to be honest, but after everything that had happened — everything they’d learnt about what Klaus had faced during the week leading up to the near-Apocalypse and throughout his whole life, shared by Klaus slowly and hesitantly in the months that had passed, with encouragement from Ben — Diego didn’t want to see his brother scared or in pain ever again.Klaus was a kid again, and he obviously had no idea who they were, and none of this made any sense. They should be helping him, but none of them had any idea what to do, and they were all arguing amongst themselves, because now was apparently the perfect time to revert back to old habits.And then Five had appeared, and taken control of the situation, and Diego thanked the fucking Heavens for that. Five’s appearance had apparently settled Klaus somewhat, and as the two spoke, Diego realised the reason for that. If Klaus really had reverted back to his teenage self, obviously they’d be unfamiliar to him. Five on the other hand…well, he looked exactly the same. As far as Klaus knew, this was still his brother. Diego felt a wave of jealousy at that, but forced it away, because as much as it hurt to think that his brother didn’t recognise him, he was still glad that Klaus was comforted by Five’s presence.They walked into the living room together. Everyone still looked shell-shocked. Luther had that lost puppy expression on his face, that had become a little more endearing and a little less, ‘hey maybe it’s okay to kick that puppy’ since the Apocalypse, and Allison and Vanya were standing close together, shooting frequent distressed looks at Klaus. Diego knew that Ben had to be nearby, and didn’t know how his brother was taking all of this. Klaus hadn’t mentioned Ben at all, and Diego was pretty sure that if Klaus hadn’t recognised them, he wouldn’t recognise Ben either. He probably thought he was just some random spirit.Klaus and Five were walking close together. Diego noted that Klaus was still holding Five’s hand — and crazily enough, Five actually seemed to be letting him. Diego knew his brother cared about them a lot — he’d fought his way back from the Apocalypse and the Commission just so he could save them, for Christ’s sake — but it wasn’t like Five went around showering them with affection. The closest he came to being soft with anyone would probably be Vanya, and it wasn’t like Five went around holding hands with her.As if feeling Diego’s gaze on them, Five turned around, glanced down at his and Klaus’s linked hands, and then back at Diego. He scowled, and Diego would’ve smirked, or said something to tease him if he wasn’t still so shocked about everything that was happening.They reached the living room, and sat down. Allison and Vanya sat next to each other, Luther took the chair next to them, and Five and Klaus sat down on the couch. Diego settled in next to them, and Klaus shot him a wary look and then shuffled closer to Five.Diego bit back a sigh and shot an expectant look at Five. He wanted answers now, and Five looked like he might be the only one who could actually give them to him.…Klaus shifted uncomfortably. Oh sure, he usually loved being the centre of attention, but right now all the stares were just making him feel uncomfortable. He felt like they were boring into him, and paired with the spirits in the room — God, he was already missing the numbing effects of the alcohol from last night — he was feeling ansty and unsettled.“So…” he said, because no one seemed to be wanting to take the initiative. He had his brother back, he reminded himself, which totally made all this craziness worth it. And Five didn’t look too worried about the apparent disappearance of their other siblings, so unless these people had somehow brainwashed him, Klaus didn’t think he should be too worried.Five was acting strange though. He seemed different from before. The Five he remembered could only be described as cocky. And he didn’t really like to hang around the rest of them much; he seemed really close to Vanya for some weird reason (and Klaus didn’t say that to be mean. He liked Vanya, he really did, she was his sister after all, but…well, she was kind of boring), and Ben, because who didn’t like Ben? He was pretty sure that even Luther liked him, which was a feat in itself.Now, Five still exuded that same self-confidence, but it seemed different. Less cocky and more…just like someone who knew who they were. And he was way nicer. Klaus was pretty sure if he’d ever tried to hold Five’s hand before he’d disappeared, the guy probably would’ve tried to break his jaw or something. Klaus had already been there and done that, and he didn’t want to end up lying in bed with his jaw wired shut ever again, thank you very much.“Klaus?” Five pressed.“Oh, right,” Klaus said quickly. “Um…so you said something about our, uh, idiot siblings?”“Idiot siblings?” the darker woman muttered. “Really, Five?”Five hummed. “Yes, these are our siblings. The year is 2019, and you’re all in your thirties. You somehow reverted back to your teenage self sometime during the night, and strangely enough, your memories seem to have regressed as well.”“Do you want to, I dunno, ease him into it a bit?” Leather-guy muttered.Klaus snorted. “Oh sure thing Five, that definitely happen. And what, did you turn into a kid again as well?”“Physically,” Five said, nodding. “Mentally, I’m fifty eight.”Klaus grinned. “Man, look at you! Developed a sense of humour while you…uh, what exactly happened to you? Did these guys kidnap you or not?”Five’s eye twitched, and yeah, he was starting to act like good ol’ number Five again. “Klaus, I’m telling you the truth. You’re supposed to be thirty years old. These people — ” He gestured around the room, “ — are our siblings. Luther — ” He pointed at Steroids, “ — Allison — ” the darker woman, “ — Vanya — “ the shorter woman, “and Diego.” Bondage guy, because of course that had to be Diego.Klaus slouched back in his chair, rolling his eyes. Who did Five think he was kidding? His siblings would probably say that Klaus was pretty gullible (which Klaus thought was ridiculous, because him, gullible? Really?) but even a complete idiot wouldn’t fall for this.At least he was no longer scared out of his wits. He was pretty sure his siblings weren’t in any kind of danger.“Klaus,” said the shorter woman, leaning forward, her eyes wide and concerned. “Come on, you know it’s us. Look at us properly, okay?”“No way are you Vanya,” Klaus said, rolling his eyes. “Vanya’s quiet, and hardly ever speaks to anyone that’s not Five.” There was a quiet strength about this woman that Klaus didn’t think his mousy little sister could ever exude.“People grow up, Klaus!” the other woman said. At least she looked the part; he could totally imagine Allison looking like this, all glamorous and tall and curvy, with expensive looking clothes and fashionable hair.“Riiiight,” Klaus drawled. “So what happened to Luther then? Did Dad start spoon feeding him steroids or something? And Diego, what, did you get a job at the local sex store?”“You’re a kid, so I’m not going to punch you for that,” Leather guy said stiffly. “But seriously, just listen to what we’re saying, okay?”“Diego would’ve chucked a knife at me or something,” Klaus shot back. “So you’re obviously not him.”“Klaus — ”“Nope, not buying this,” Klaus crossed his arms in front of him defiantly. “You can’t even play your parts right! If you were really Luther, you’d be going on about how I was a huge disappointment to be turned into a kid again, or something, and if you were really Allison, you’d be all over Luther, and not sitting with Vanya! And Vanya would never speak up in a group meeting, hell, half the time she doesn’t even show up! And where the hell is Ben, huh? What, you couldn’t find a good stand in for him?!”“Klaus, come on man,” Leather-guy sighed. “Look at me okay — look at me! You don’t see the resemblance? I know it’s been a while, but I’d like to think that I still look like myself.”“Your tattoos,” Five said suddenly.Leather-guy’s eyes widened, and he reached for his sleeve, pulling it upwards. He held out his arm, and Klaus found himself staring at a very familiar umbrella tattoo.Oh. Well that was…huh.He glanced up, warily observing the room as both ‘Luther’ and ‘Allison’ — who might actually be Luther and Allison, what the actual fuck — revealed their tattooed-arms.Klaus settled back in his seat, blinking slowly. “Oh. Well that changes things.”“Klaus?” Leather-guy — Diego — asked, watching him with concern.Klaus swallowed. “Uh, just give me a moment.”They sat in silence, exchanging more concerned expressions than Klaus had ever seen in his life.“Okay, moment’s passed,” Klaus said at last, because there was no way he could stay quiet when this was staring him right in the face. Christ, he didn’t know where to start. “So — this is 2019? I’m thirty? You guys are all thirty? Holy shit your old — holy shit, I’m old! Or I used to be — hey, how’s life been treating you guys? Allison, are you famous yet? Luther, how did you get so big?! And Diego, loving all the leather bro, please tell me you let me borrow it from time to time — ”“Klaus, slow down,” Allison said, looking amused. Klaus closed his mouth, shrugging lightly, and not feeling particularly self conscious. He liked talking, and his siblings generally didn’t like that he liked talking, but he was used to that. That was life in the lovely Hargreeves mansion.Only…no one looked particularly annoyed like they usually did. They looked amused, and…kind of fond? Nah, he had to be reading that wrong. But they definitely weren’t annoyed, and come to think of it, no one had told him to shut up either. Weird.“Yes, it’s 2019,” Allison told him. “We’re not exactly sure how this happened though — any ideas, Five?”Five shrugged. “No clue, to be honest. This isn’t exactly something I’ve come across before. It could wear of naturally.”“Could?” Diego said, incredulously. “Seriously? We can’t just leave him like that.”“Aww, you’re worried about me!” Klaus cooed. When all else failed, a bit of humor always went a long way in making him feel better (or at least helped him hide how nervous he really was). “That’s cute, Diego, really.”“Of course I’m worried!” Diego snapped, and Klaus blinked, startled. Okay, he hadn’t been expecting that. “We don’t know how this happened! What if there are side-effects? What if it makes him sick or — ”“We can’t ignore this,” Luther said, leaning forward.Vanya turned to Five, frowning. “Five, isn’t there anything we can do?”Five sighed. “I’ll look into this, but this is unknown territory to all of us. I’ll try and find out whatever I can, but right now we need to observe what happens.”None of them looked particularly happy about that, and Klaus wasn’t sure what to think about any of this. He didn’t think he’d ever been great at reading his siblings, but right now he felt like he was observing a group of strangers. Their reactions, their expressions, they were completely unfamiliar to him.“Where’s Ben?” he asked suddenly, realising that his favourite brother was missing from the group. Having Ben here would surely make things a little more familiar. Ben, the closest thing he had to a best friend, couldn’t have changed that much, right?Everyone stiffened, their eyes widening, and Klaus thought, ‘Great, MORE weird reactions.’“He’s on a mission,” Luther blurted out.“Luther,” Allison hissed, her voice incredulous.Luther shrugged, looking slightly helpless.“What?” Klaus’s shoulders slumped. “A mission? Seriously?” God, Dad was still sending them on those things? And speaking of which, where was Dad? Klaus was surprised the old man hadn’t burst into the room yet, ready to cart Klaus off to the mausoleum while muttering about what a disappointment he was.Maybe dear old Dad had a personality transplant too. Klaus shook off the thought almost immediately; if there was one thing you could count on, it was that Dad would always be an asshole.“He’ll, uh, be back soon,” Luther said, sounding panicked for some reason. Vanya raised a hand to her forehead, grimacing, and Diego shook his head in disbelief.“Jesus Christ, Luther,” the ghost from earlier huffed. The guy was still hanging around, watching their conversation like he had any business being here.Also, since when did ghosts start learning the names of his siblings? They were usually too busy screaming his name to worry about anyone else.“Klaus,” the ghost started, and then paused, shaking his head. Klaus ignored him. Seriously, you couldn’t give these guys the attention they wanted or they’d turned into a screaming, ear-splitting, headache-inducing horror show like the rest of his little entourage.Well, Klaus had way more questions. He wanted to know all about the future, and what his awesome self was getting up to. It was a bit weird that they were all here, because there was no way he was still living with Dad, right? Klaus had a lot of plans, and they involved getting the fuck out of here the second he was legally able to. He and Ben were going to get an apartment together, and they’d never speak to Dad again, and watch movies all night, and wear whatever they wanted, and do whatever they wanted, and things would be great.His stomach chose that moment to make itself known, quite loudly, because apparently having nothing but a liquid diet all night, and then skipping breakfast, eventually caught up to you.Allison’s eyes widened. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” she asked. “Come on, I think Mom said something about making pancakes for breakfast. Why don’t we go see if she’s finished yet?”“Mom?” Klaus said, perking up. The thought of his mom made him feel warm. Things were still so confusing, but surely Mom would her same loveable, comforting self?“Yeah, let’s go,” Diego said, standing up and stretching. He smiled down at Klaus, and Klaus wasn’t sure if he should smile back or just stare at the weirdness of this whole situation.He turned to Five, deciding he was going to stick with the one brother who actually looked familiar right now. Although how did Five look so young? There was no way that thing he’d said about being fifty-eight was real, right?God, he had so many questions.“You’re coming too right?” he asked his brother, feeling suddenly nervous. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be around his siblings, and he’d accepted that these really were them, but he just didn’t know what to expect from them anymore, and he didn’t like that uncertainty.Five hesitated and then shrugged. “Yeah, why not. I need a cup of coffee.”Klaus perked up. “Oh, me too!”“You’re too young for coffee,” Five said, standing up.Klaus stared. “Uh, and you’re not?”“I’m older than everyone in this room.”Yeah, Klaus definitely had questions about that. Also — had Five forgotten about all the times he’d caught Klaus drunk off his arse? Too young for coffee, seriously?“Breakfast guys, come on,” Vanya said, latching onto Allison’s arm and dragging her towards the kitchen. Klaus stared after them bewildered. Okay, he had questions about that too, because what the hell had happened to Vanya? Klaus liked the change though; confidence looked good on his sister.Klaus walked with them, standing close to Five. Maybe things would start making more sense once he’d actually had something to eat. And right now, Mom’s pancakes did sound pretty damn good.
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“Mom!” Klaus cried the moment he walked into the kitchen and found her standing there, warm, and familiar, and smiling the way she always did. He broke away from the rest of the group, and ran towards her, throwing himself at her. His arms wound around her waist, and he almost sobbed when he smelt that familiar flowery perfume, the one he’d always tried to borrow when he was sure that no one was around to catch him.“Klaus, sweetheart,” Mom said, “you look different.”She sounded a bit confused, but her arms wrapped around him anyway, warm and secure. Klaus tightened his grip, burying his head in her skirt. He didn't want to let go, not ever. “It’s a long story, Mom,” Diego said. “I’ll fill you in later, okay?” Dad would have to know too, wouldn’t he? Klaus felt dread well up inside of him at the thought, because there was no way Dad would be happy about this. He’d obviously find some way to blame Klaus for this, as if it was his fault that he’d suddenly reverted back to a teenager (was it his fault? Had he done something to end up this way?).He’d spent the weekend in the Mausoleum for snapping at Dad that he wasn’t going to try and locate Five, and he wasn’t looking forward to going back in there.Thoughts about Dad were a real mood-killer, and Klaus found himself stepping away from Mom, despite how desperately he missed her warm familiarity.“I’ve made pancakes, sweetheart,” Mom said, beaming at him. Klaus forced himself to muster up a weak smile, because Dad might’ve been an asshole, but Mom didn’t deserve his sudden bad mood. “Why don’t you sit down and have some breakfast.”He turned around to face the group of unfamiliar faces behind him — and maybe that wasn’t the right term anymore, because he was starting to catch glimpses of the people they were, familiar features standing out against their older faces — and smiled as widely as he could.No need to show them that he was less than comfortable in this situation. Klaus had always done a good job at masking his real emotions, and he wasn’t about to stop now.“So, are we heading to the dining hall or not?” Mom had laid out a tower of pancakes on the table, with pitchers of juice and coffee next to it, but they couldn’t be eating here right? Dad would lose his shit.Allison shook her head. “We don’t eat there anymore.”Well then. Klaus glanced around the room, feeling slightly lost. This was a major change to his routine, and he just wasn’t used to that. They'd pretty much been doing the same thing since...huh. To be honest, he wasn't even sure. Allison stepped forward, placing a hand on his back, and guided him towards a nearby stool.“These look good,” Diego said, his voice a little too loud and forcibly cheerful, and if Klaus had more energy he would’ve told Diego that he was a shit actor. Oh, Klaus had no doubt that the pancakes were incredible, because Mom had made them, so of course they were, but Diego was also way out of his comfort zone right now.“Thank you, dear,” Mom said, and then left the room, probably to do whatever she spent most of her day doing.Klaus watched her leave, and hid his hands behind him so no one would see him fidgeting. For the first time he realised that his pyjamas were far too big — they had probably belonged to his older self — and were hanging off his thin form like a bag. The others were starting to sit down at the table, and Allison gently directed him over to it. Older-Allison felt kind of weird — a calming presence, kind of like Mom, and not as impatient and snappy as her younger self had been. Klaus didn’t really know how to act around her. He didn’t know how to act around any of them.“Are you sure this is okay?” Klaus asked, as he sat down at the table, making sure to sit next to Five. He still felt the most comfortable around his brother, even if Five was telling the truth about him apparently being fifty-eight (and how the hell had that happened?).“Of course it is,” Vanya said, smiling softly at him. All of them were soft, and nice, and it was weirding him out. “We’re just having breakfast. You must be hungry, right?”"You should eat something," Luther said, a little too quickly, gesturing at the food on the table. "Take as much as you want. There's plenty of food."Klaus gave Luther a weird look. He was used to his brother acting all superior and sure of himself, and all this nervous energy was just baffling. And since when did Luther care if he ate or not? His brother was usually too busy staring at Allison, or fighting Diego, or doing whatever Dad told him to bother with anyone else in the family. He was pretty sure that numbers 4 to 7 were pretty inconsequential to Luther, which might have bothered Klaus if he wasn't sure that pretty much every other member of his family acted the same way. Even Klaus couldn't be bothered most days - oh sure, he loved them, they were his family, but it's not like he willingly spent any time with them.Not that they'd let him, he thought with amusement, remembering the way Allison would always yell at him when he borrowed her clothes or makeup, or the way Luther would snap at him to go away, or how Diego would huff and roll his eyes in irritation.Yeah, in this family you looked out for yourself, and maybe extended some of that affection to maybe one other person (Ben was his, and Vanya was Five's, and Allison was Luther's. Mom was obviously Diego's, and Dad, well, he didn't give a damn about anyone.They were all staring at him. He felt suddenly self-conscious, and focused his attention on the food, grabbing a few pancakes and placing them on his plate. He felt nervous and jittery. He didn’t like being stared at, and the ghosts in the room were bad enough. These weird, older versions of his siblings really didn’t need to join in too.“You guys okay?” he asked, laughing a bit forcibly. “If you stare any harder your eyes might pop out.”Vanya flushed and looked away, Allison smiled weakly, Luther and Diego looked embarrassed, and Five looked like he didn’t have a care in the world other than the cup of coffee clutched in his hands,.“It’s just weird seeing you this way,” Diego said.Klaus shrugged. He guessed they had a point. It was weird seeing them this way too.“So where’s Dad?” Klaus asked, looking around. He was honestly really surprised that the old man hadn’t shown his face yet; he couldn’t remember a morning when he hadn’t been greeted by Dad’s cheery mug.For some reason his question made Luther sit up ram-rod straight, looking slightly panicked. Klaus took another bite of pancake, staring at his brother, bewildered.Luther opened his mouth, and then Diego had rammed an elbow into his side, making his brother double over.“What was that for?!”“He’s dead,” Five told him, calmly taking a sip of his coffee.“Five!” Luther cried, incredulous.“What was I supposed to say, that there was a mission?” Five rolled his eyes. “Besides, I don’t think that Klaus will be too upset.” His brother glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. Klaus sat still in his seat, not sure how to react. Dad was dead? Like, actually, honest-to-God dead. Gone forever. Well, not forever since he was the poor, unfortunate sucker who could see the dead, but he hadn’t seen Dad all morning. Besides, he was sure the old man had better things to do than haunt his failure of a son.But how was he supposed to feel about this? His Dad was dead, and he should’ve been upset. He should probably be crying about it. That’s what kids usually did when they’re parents died, right?Except…well, Klaus knew what grief felt like. He’d grieved when Five had disappeared, had felt himself falling apart with the knowledge that he might never see his brother again — or worse, that he might see him and then know for sure that his brother was no longer amongst the living.Dad had tormented him his whole life. He’d called him a failure, he’d belittled him, humiliated him, locked him up, driven him to the point of insanity, and Klaus…Klaus didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He glanced up at his siblings, all of which were looking incredibly concerned about him. And wasn’t that weird? He’d never seen any of them looking that way at him, and now they all were, and Klaus wasn’t sure what the hell to do with any of it.None of them looked particularly sad at the mention of Dad’s death though, not even Number One, and Klaus decided to latch onto that instead. Sure, they’d obviously had more time than him to process the knowledge of their Dad’s demise, but he was pretty sure that if the topic of a love-one’s death had popped up, Klaus would always feel sad, no matter how much time had passed.If none of his siblings gave a damn about Dad’s death, then why should he? Klaus shrugged, and took a bite of pancake. “Does this mean no more Herr Karlson? Damn, I’m going to miss the old man’s sweet voice.”Diego let out a snort of laughter, and Five smirked, and everyone just looked a mixture of amused and relieved. No one told Klaus to shut up, or to stop being annoying, and Klaus felt himself relax slightly. This was weird, but Klaus had been dealing with weird for his entire life, and he was pretty sure he could handle this.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Klaus finished the last bite of pancake, and placed his fork down on his plate, staring expectantly at his siblings. They stared back, clearly unwilling to give him any help in this situation.He bit back a sigh. “So…training, I guess?”He saw Allison and Vanya exchange glances. In the end it was Allison who spoke up. “What?” “Training,” Klaus repeated. That was how the day always went. Breakfast, then straight to training, with about a half another break in-between, and then a quick lunch. Maybe Dad was dead, but he doubted dear old Number One would be willing to just let that tradition go.Except, Luther looked just as confused as everyone else right now. Five sighed, taking a sip from his second cup of coffee that morning, and turned to him. “We don’t do that anymore. Dad’s dead, remember?”Klaus swallowed. “Yeah, but — ”“So, we do what we want. Do you want to train, Klaus?”“Well…no.” Fuck no, if he was really going to be real about it, because training was probably the last thing he’d ever choose to do.Five settled back in his chair, smiling. “Well, that settles it. What do you want to do?”“Uh…” Well, there were a lot of things he’d like to be doing. Getting drunk of his ass sounded like.a good idea, or maybe sneaking out and trying some of that harder stuff he’d been wanting to get his hands on…but he was pretty sure his siblings wouldn’t exactly agree to any of that.As if reading his mind, Five rolled his eyes. “Within reason, of course.”“And getting drunk isn’t within reason?” Five snorted, and Diego immediately leaned forward, his expression stern. “Hell no.”Klaus shrugged. “Well, it was a worth a shot.” He glanced down at his outfit, suddenly aware of how his clothes hung off him. In his earlier panic, he hadn’t exactly noticed how huge his outfit was — pajamas that clearly belonged to his older self — and now he was more than aware of how the sleeves had to be bunched up to his elbows, or the way the pants trailed on the ground.“I’m going to go upstairs and get changed,” he said, shimmying down from his chair onto the floor. He turned around and left the room, acutely aware of his siblings’ eyes on him. God, they sure stared a lot in the future. Klaus hoped it was because of the suddenly-a-kid-again development, and not a regular occurrence. He made his way up the stairs, taking in his surroundings. He hadn’t had a chance to do it before, what with him preparing to take on a group of potential sibling-kidnappers. The house pretty much looked the same, which was honestly kind of eery. The only thing that had changed was a massive picture of Five hanging on the wall, and seriously, who the hell had agreed to that? Had Five just shoved it on the wall, and expected everyone to agree? He was pretty bossy.On the other hand, Dad was dead and would probably hate the house being anything but the precise way he’d left it, so Klaus was totally cheering Five on for defacing the walls with his own face.He made his way to his room, and looked around. It looked exactly the same as the way he’d left it, which was honestly kind of worrying. Seriously, he hadn’t thought to redecorate at all in the last few years? And also, what the hell was he still doing here when he was apparently in his thirties? It was honestly kind of sad.Klaus opened his wardrobe, and was instantly met with a bunch of flashy, eccentric outfits that clearly belonged to his older self. He rifled through them, grinning slightly. They were everything his father would’ve hated, which obviously meant his older self was doing something right. There wasn’t much in here though, and most of what was there was clearly too big for him.In the end he grabbed a bright pink top that looked like it was supposed to be a crop top, but could be worn as a regular tshirt on him. Bottoms were a bit of a problem though, because he was pretty sure everything would be far too long on him. He was lucky that while his older self clearly seemed taller, he hadn’t seemed to have grown any bulkier over time. He ended up grabbing a black sparkly skirt (and the fact that he owned a skirts was kind of awesome, although Klaus wasn’t fully sure that he hadn’t stolen it from Allison) and tied a knot around the waist to make sure it was secure.He decided to say fuck it to shoes, and made his way back downstairs. It felt kind of weird, because he’d always loved dressing up like this — he and Allison had even had a few fashion shows, whenever she was in the mood to put up with him — but he’d never really had a chance to dress like this around the house. Old Daddy Dearest always lost his shit. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if his sibling would like it, but he’d never really made a habit of letting them decide his lifestyle choices.A quick peak into the kitchen found that most of them were gone, except for Allison, who was helping Mom with the dishes.She glanced up when he walked in and grinned. “Cute outfit.”“Danke.” Klaus did a little twirl. “Didn’t have much to work with, but I did my best.”Mom looked up and beamed at him. “Oh, you look lovely, sweetheart. Aren’t your feet going to get cold though?” Klaus shrugged. “Well, I couldn’t really find any shoes that could fit.”“I’m sure Vanya’s will,” Allison told him. “But maybe we could go to the shops and get you a pair. Maybe even a few outfits, those do look a bit big on you.”Klaus blinked. “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t have any money.”“I’ll pay.” Allison placed the dish she’d been wiping down on the rack, and walked over. “Let’s go ask Vanya too, I’m sure she’d love to come.”Yeah, cos apparently Vanya liked shopping now. Klaus really didn’t know what his sister liked, other than violin (because that was pretty much common knowledge by this point). And apparently Allison now liked organising shopping sprees where she was willing to pay for everything, and this was just weird because, since when did Allison enjoy spending time with him and Vanya? “Uh, is Luther coming too?” Now that would make more sense.Allison gave him an odd look. “Of course not. Can you imagine Luther willingly spending time in clothing stores?”Yup, really, really weird. But hey, if Allison was offering, then who was he to say no? As if he’d ever say no to free outfits.Still though, there had to be some sort of catch right? Well, it wasn’t like had any idea what that was yet, and what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him (or maybe the saying was what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them, but…eh, details).“Yeah, okay, let’s go.”Allison perked up. “Great! I’ll go ask Vanya if she wants to come, and find some shoes for you to wear.”Klaus wiggled his toes. “I’m fine like this. It’s actually quite freeing.”“Klaus, you have no idea what people dump on the ground these days, you aren’t coming out unless you wear a pair of shoes.”Luther and Five walked into the kitchen, talking quietly between themselves, and Klaus took a moment to marvel at how huge his brother had gotten. He needed to ask about that later. Was it a side-effect of his powers?Also, Five and Luther standing side-by-side was kind of hilarious. “What’s going on?” Luther asked Allison.“We’re going shopping,” Allison replied. “Vanya too, most likely, so you boys can find something to entertain yourselves with for the rest of the afternoon.”Klaus put his hands on his hips and smirked up at Luther. “Do you like my outfit?” Luther had always found Klaus’s fashion choices strange, and Klaus still remembered the constipated look on his face when he’d walked in on one of Allison and Klaus’s fashion shows. He’d also gone running straight to Dad, because he was pretty sure reporting them to the old man had become a hobby for Number One.But Luther simply smiled, a little awkwardly if he was really going to nitpick, and said, “It looks nice.”Okay, what the actual fuck?Klaus didn’t even bother to try and hide his shock. “Why are you being so nice?” Luther was starting to look even more confused, which was honestly a really weird look on him. Klaus was used to smug, and condescending, and uptight, but this bewildered confusion was just strange. It made Luther look a lot younger, and a whole lot more naive than he actually was, but then what the hell did Klaus know about this Goliath version of his brother?“Am I not supposed to be nice?” he asked.Allison was looking kind of sad now, and Luther was frowning, looking like he had no idea what to make of Klaus, and Klaus just felt very, very confused.Five sighed and walked over to him, and pat him on the shoulder. “Just go with it. You’re an adorable thirteen year old, and they’re more than a little pathetic — milk it for all it’s worth.”Klaus grinned. “You think I’m adorable?”“No,” Five said flatly, “but it’s Allison and Luther, so I’m pretty sure they’re already establishing themselves are your surrogate parents.”“Okay, and that’s just weird.” Klaus turned back to Allison and Luther, who were still watching him with concerned eyes. Milk it for all it’s worth, huh? He could do that.…Klaus, Vanya and Allison were gone, and Luther had headed off upstairs, and the house was oddly quiet for once. It was weird — Five had spent years in the Apocalypse, being so completely and utterly alone, and now that he was back, life never seemed to slow. You’d think that with the Apocalypse now behind them, things would’ve quietened down, but there was just so much going on. They needed to train Vanya to use her powers, and help Klaus gain better control of his, and all learn to live as a family, because that was one thing they’d never really figured out. Maybe they could've gone their separate ways, but none of them seemed willing to go back to being alone again. Klaus’s age regression was just the latest thing in their already chaotic lives.It was strange, and Five usually liked strange. Strange was interesting. Strange gave him something to focus on, something to do now that his life often felt listless and stagnant. He was happy that the apocalypse was over, of course he was; it had been his life’s focus for the past few decades. But a part of him knew that Klaus hadn’t been wrong when he’d called the apocalypse his ‘addiction’.Five loved his siblings, even if he wasn’t always forthright with that. But he’d never been a particularly affectionate person, except towards Dolores, and the closest he’d ever come to being openly affectionate was towards Vanya during their childhood.Five had always been a bit of a tough love kind of person — probably the most extreme case of tough love there was, to be honest. And that was why he should have been confused about his sudden willingness to reciprocate Klaus’s need for affection. He should’ve hated his brother’s sudden clinginess; for Christ’s sake, he’d let Klaus hold his hand, and hadn’t even considered chopping it off. That had to be weird, right?Except. Well, Five wasn’t even close to being an idiot, and he knew why he was so willing to indulge his brother. If adult Klaus had even tried it, Five would’ve jumped away without a moment’s thought. But this Klaus was young, and a bit too tall for his small, bony frame, and hadn’t gotten quite as good as his older self at masking his emotions, and he was everything Five remembered before he’d landed himself in the Apocalypse.When Five looked at Klaus he thought this is what I should’ve had. He should’ve had the chance to grow up with his siblings, to experience the changes they’d undergone over the years as they grew into the people they’d become. He shouldn’t have had to see them again after so many years and have to come to terms with the group of strangers they’d become. Because they were different. They were just as broken as before, they’d just gotten a bit better at hiding it, but it was a different type of broken. One that was almost harder to overcome because they weren’t children anymore, and they didn’t have that childish hope that things might someday be okay, that they might be able to escape and build a life for themselves.It was irrational, really, because it wasn’t like they’d all been one big happy family while he’d been gone, but it still hurt because Five would’ve still wanted to be here. It was painful, and they’d gone through shit that no child should ever have gone through - but they’d all gone through it together, and Five had been alone.It was irrational, and stupid, and he’d only ever voiced these insecurities to Dolores — and he knew that’s where they’d be staying — but he couldn’t help but feel them. And Klaus…Klaus was a connection to everything he’d left behind. The brother he’d grown up with, the annoying little shit who could grate on Five’s nerves, but was still family no matter what, and Five had lost all of that when he’d left.Five sighed and rested his chin in his hands, staring contemplatively at the wall. This situation was certainly taking him out of his comfort zone, but he could adapt. He always did. And someone had to take charge in this group of numskulls.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Klaus didn’t think anything else could surprise him after what he had experienced that morning, but the sight of Mom climbing into the backseat of Allison’s car definitely did.“Mom?” Klaus said incredulously. She beamed at him. “Hi, sweetheart.”“Er…what are you doing here?” Had she not realised that Allison’s car wasn’t an extension of the house? Because Klaus didn’t think he’d ever seen Mom leave the Academy grounds, and having her here, sitting cheerily beside him in a vehicle that would soon be taking them far away from the mansion, was more than a little confusing.“Mom’s coming along,” Allison said, climbing into the front seat. Vanya got into the passenger side. Klaus blinked. Huh. Well…obviously he liked the idea of Mom coming along with them. But it was still weird, because he was almost certain she’d never left the Academy before.“You looked confused, sweetheart,” Mom said, her brow furrowing slightly in concern. “Is something the matter?”Dad was dead now, right? Dead and…and Mom was free, to do whatever she wanted. However that worked for robots. Klaus couldn’t imagine anyone not enjoying a trip to the mall (his brothers didn’t count), and honestly, he liked the idea of standing side-by-side with Mom as he browsed the different shops.“Nothing’s wrong,” Klaus told her, smiling and settling back in his seat. “I’m just glad you’re coming.”Allison and Vanya both glanced back and gave him and Mom fond smiles, and Klaus felt warm and content. Things were going well. …Too well. Generally, things didn’t work out in his favour for long.…Okay maybe he’d been a bit overly paranoid, because time was flying by and he was having a blast. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun.He’d always loved the idea of a shopping spree, but how many times had he actually been able to have one? It’s not like Dad actually gave them an allowance or anything. And in order to spend large amounts of time at the mall, Dad would actually have to give them free time, which was never really more than half an hour at a time. Sure, Klaus had taken to sneaking out more and more as of late, but it’s not like running off to the mall was the first thing on his mind. Bars, clubs, parties — that was where the fun was at.The closest he’d ever come to this were the few times Allison had let him borrow her clothes (usually when she was particularly bored, and the siblings she’d much rather be spending time with weren’t available). They’d had fashion shows, and done each other’s hair, and nails, and makeup, and Klaus had dreamt off a day when he’d be able to have his own nice dresses and sparkly makeup, and just feel pretty whenever he wanted to.He was in awe now, staring around with wide eyes as he took everything in; the rows and rows of little stores and boutiques, the bustling crowds of people, the bright lights. He was practically skipping ahead, his hand tucked in Mom’s as he pulled her along, and — and it just felt so right. Him, Mom and his sisters, together, having fun, and genuinely enjoying each others company. He already had heaps of bags clutched in his hands, all paid for by Allison — and he’d felt kind of bad at first, but everything was just so exciting and overwhelming, and Allison seemed genuinely excited by all of it. She’d encouraged him to try on various different outfits, and had cooed about how adorable he looked. He glanced down at his feet. He was wearing a pair of bright pink shoes with small heels, which went nicely with the top he was wearing. Allison had bought a pair of heels as well, but a pair of big stilettos, and Klaus had stared at them and thought, ‘Hell no.’ He was still pretty traumatised after the whole ordeal of falling down the stairs in Mom’s heels and breaking his jaw. And besides, he liked his new shoes. They were way nicer than the pair of sneakers that Allison and Vanya had forced him to wear before they left the house. They’d belonged to Vanya, because she had the smallest feet besides Five (whose shoes were a bit too small for him). Klaus loved his sister, and her adult self was actually pretty damn cool, but the girl had no sense of fashion.They passed by a clothing store, and Klaus spotted a dress in the window that would look perfect for Mom. He stopped and tugged at her arm.“You would look fabulous in that,” he told her, eyes wide.“I already bought a dress,” Mom pointed out, smiling.“You can have both of them, then.”“It is very pretty,” Allison said, coming to a stop beside them. Vanya nodded, although seemed less engaged in the clothing side of everything compared to him and Allison. She was still having fun, although Klaus thought it had more to do with the company than the actual shopping. He and Allison had managed to convince her to buy herself two new shirts though. “You should go try it on.” Klaus skipped forward, dragging Mom along behind him. Mom did try it on and Klaus was right — she did look fabulous. Then again, he was pretty sure Mom would look fabulous in anything, which was actually pretty unfair. “My son thought I looked very nice in this,” Mom told the sales lady, as she handed her a bag with the dress in it. Mom sounded so happy as she said this, and Klaus decided that anyone who said that Mom didn’t feel real things because she was a robot could fuck off; his Mom was amazing."She has a teenage kid and she gets to look like that?" Klaus heard the sales lady whisper to her co-worker as they headed to the exit. "Life is so unfair."They all went down to the food court after that, because Allison and Vanya were both hungry. Klaus really wasn’t — he’d never had a big appetite — so he rocked back in his chair as his sisters finished their lunches.“So what’s been happening with you guys?” Klaus asked. He still didn’t know much about their personal lives, and a lot must have happened, right? They were thirty now — a whole seventeen years had passed since he’d last saw them.“Not much,” Vanya said, shrugging slightly. “I teach violin.”“I’m an actress,” Allison told him.Klaus grinned. “No way! Like, proper, Hollywood movies?”“She’s really good,” Vanya said, smiling at their sister.“I can’t believe you’re a movie star.” It made sense though. Allison had always had big dreams for herself, and he wasn’t surprised that his glamorous, larger than life sister had made it to Hollywood. Just like he wasn’t surprised that Vanya taught violin — he’d always imagined her doing something with music later in life.Allison grinned at their sister. “Vanya’s pretty amazing too. Just made first chair.” Vanya flushed and ducked her head slightly. “You do play wonderfully, sweetheart,” Mom told her fondly.Klaus didn’t know much about music, but he was pretty sure that first chair was a good thing. He asked them a few more questions; what the others did — Luther had been on the moon, Diego was some sort of vigilante, which kind of explained the leather bondage look, and Ben was…on some mysterious mission, and that was all he’d really gotten out of them on that topic — whether either of them were seeing anyone (Vanya had immediately grimaced and looked uncomfortable, and Klaus was a bit curious about what that meant, but he really didn’t want to push).Allison was divorced, apparently, which sucked for whoever her ex was because his sister was all sorts of amazing these days. Klaus was less interested in him, and more interested in the fact that his sister had a daughter. He was an uncle, and how cool was that?He avoided asking any questions about himself, because he wasn’t really sure he wanted to know the answers. Things were nice, and easy and fun right now, and Klaus didn’t want to ruin that.“You need to eat something,” Allison told him, her voice slightly stern. Oh yeah, Klaus could totally see her being a Mom. She had that Mom voice down to a T.“Not hungry." “Why don’t you have something sweet?” Vanya suggested. “There’s an ice cream stand over there.”“He needs to have a proper meal, Vanya,” Allison said. Yup, definitely a Mom.He stood up. “Ice cream it is then. You guys want anything?” Both his sisters shook their heads. Allison handed him some change, and Klaus was starting to feel slightly guilty again about the whole mooching off his sister thing, until Allison gave him another stern look and said firmly, “You’re eating something Klaus, even if it is just ice cream.”So he headed off, humming softly under his breath, and didn’t notice the familiar ghost until he was standing in line.The ghost from earlier that day, who didn’t seem to know how to take no for an answer — Klaus was going to call him Hoodie for now — was still here. It wasn’t exactly strange to see the same ghosts hanging around, because none of them really understood the meaning of boundaries or personal space, but there was something about this guy that was just weird. Probably the whole not-screaming thing. What sort of ghost was this guy? Did he not understand the unwritten ghost rules of screeching constantly, looking creepy and deranged, and just generally making complete asses of themselves?Klaus debated whether or not to address Hoodie for a while, and then decided that the ice-cream line was pretty long, and he was actually pretty curious by this point.“Why are you still here?” he asked. He saw the couple in front of him give him weird looks, but didn’t really care. He was used to people thinking he was completely insane.Hoodie stared at him for a moment, and then shrugged. “I’m bored.” He sounded slightly amused.“And you’re not going to…act creepy? Start screaming? Demand things?”“Nope.”Yup, definitely a weird ghost.The line moved forward, and soon Klaus was staring at the large selection of flavours, feeling excited. He went by his usual method of picking the prettiest one — one scoop of rainbow ice cream, with sprinkles — and then handed over the money, and left the line excitedly.He glanced sideways. Hoodie was still staring at him, and had a slightly wistful look in his eyes. Klaus glanced down at his ice cream, back up, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’re not having any of this, by the way. You’re a ghost. You can’t eat this.”Hoodie snorted, looking amused. “I don’t want your ice-cream.”Klaus rolled his eyes. Yeah right. Hoodie couldn’t fool him. He couldn’t take his ice-cream either.“I’m serious,” Hoodie said. “It looks like it massacred a carnival, dude. I don’t want it.”“It’s pretty.”“You should’ve gone with chocolate.” “Boring.” Klaus took a large lick of his ice-cream. It was delicious — take that, annoying-stalker-ghost. “Also, you’re a ghost, and I don’t have to listen to you.”Although it was kind of nice to talk to a ghost, and not have them damaging his eardrums, dripping blood everywhere, and threatening his life.People were staring at him strangely. He saw one lady steer her kid away as they passed him. Rude much? He made his way back to the table where Mom, Allison and Vanya were waiting, ignoring Hoodie who trailed behind silently.