A/N: Idk what I'm doing with plot tbh. Halfway done though! Also, 1k views? I'm honoured! Klaus is my king: love your 'name' and thank you! typos etc are bc i don't have a beta and it's hard to see my own mistakes so i can't really help it, sorry! y'all will just have to try and ignore them ;) WhisperArtist: Angst is a given! but thanks so much! and you're totally right!


3/6: To Remember The Dead


Father had had a heart attack and all Diego could think about was how he needed to save Mother's reputation.

So he'd taken the monocle and planned to bury it far away but then he'd seen Klaus and his plans had changed.

Not at first, of course. Klaus had initially been more distant and aloof and had spent most of his time conversing with some ghost or hallucination - it was difficult to tell sometimes - but he'd eventually run into Diego, a lazy smile on his face.

And Diego hadn't hesitated much before agreeing to give him a ride.

So he stops at the edge of the ocean rather than some deserted country lane and he drops the monocle into the water, watching it hit the surface with a boring little splash, watching it sink and cause minimal disturbance, unlike its owner who'd worn it and caused utter devastation to their minds whilst growing up.

It's not like he wants to remember all that but being back at the house had made it hard to forget and, everyone being there had made it even more painful. He takes his time staring at the water, thinking back to every time the smooth waves of their lives had been disrupted and thrown into chaos by someone whose heart had been as unfaltering as a rock.

"Hurry up!" he hears Klaus call behind him and sighs, turning back.

He climbs into his car - not the same car as when they'd been younger since that one had been destroyed by a combination of Father's orders and Luther's strength but it's almost the same car because he'd gone to the trouble of creating an almost perfect replica.

"We've decided on waffles!" Klaus declares and Diego blinks because it's just like when they were younger and Ben would whisper his choice to Klaus, who'd smirk and say something else entirely to Diego just so they'd drive to the wrong place and have to stay out, stay with each other, longer.

He glances in the rear-view mirror just in case but no, Klaus is alone and Ben is still dead.

"What are you waiting for?" Klaus asks as he follows Diego's gaze to the empty seat behind him and something akin to guilt flickers in his eyes.

Diego shakes his head and leans back for a second. "Do you have anywhere to be?"

Klaus ponders for a moment. "We need to be getting waffles and then my schedule is pretty free! Or expensive, depending on who looks at it…"

Ignoring that kind of confusing last part, Diego offers his brother a small smile, still partly thinking back to their childhood. "Why don't we have a ride night?"

Klaus stiffens, glances to his right as if trying to apologise, and then quietly opens the car door and starts to walk away. Without a word.

Diego processes that unexpected turn of events for half a minute before throwing his door open and running to catch up with the other man, not that it's hard because Klaus is stumbling every few steps and mumbling to himself.

"Hey, wait up!" Diego places a hand on Klaus' shoulder and turns him around, frowning. "What was that about?"

Klaus starts to shake his head but stops himself mid-motion, taking a deep breath. "I just changed my mind about the waffles, nothing to worry about."

Diego gives him a sceptical look. "Klaus, come on, who are you kidding, man?"

"Everyone," Klaus replies, then rolls his eyes and glances behind Diego just like he'd done all those years ago in the cemetery, adding: "No, not you, of course, that goes without saying, obviously."

"Who are you talking to? You're drunk or high or maybe even both and your powers don't work if you're not sober so who are you talking to?" Diego demands, not meaning to sound as harsh as he does.

But Klaus just shrugs and dislodges Diego's hand as he smirks. "Maybe I don't need sobriety to be pestered by someone who hates my being intoxicated more than they hate the terrible jokes I make when I'm actually paying attention what I'm saying…"

Utter confusion replaces Diego's previous mild confusion and he steps back, sighing. "If you're just going to be cryptic about it, you can forget about the waffles."

Shaking his head, Klaus offers him a smaller, more lopsided smile. "Haven't you learned anything yet, Dee? We don't even want waffles and if we did, I wouldn't have told you."

"Stop. Just- just stop." Diego pinches the bridge of his nose. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?" Klaus raises an eyebrow nonchalantly.

Diego clenched his jaw for a moment. "Like… Like we're still three kids breaking the rules."

Klaus laughs.

Loudly and bitterly.

He steps forward and looks deep into Diego's eyes and, unlike so many times recently, his gaze is sharp and clear and focused. "I'm talking like that because we always have been three kids breaking the rules and we always will be… In some shape or form or the other, that is."

Diego opens his mouth to reply but Klaus places a finger on his lips. "That's not necessary right now. Just drive us to that bakery we'd always go to, will you?"

It's not like he has much of a choice.

This time the car is filled with silence, and the sound of the breeze rushing past after Klaus opens the window, but Diego can't bring himself to complain because different theories are rushing around in his head much faster than vehicles can travel. It's probably a good thing he's gifted at holding his breath because he forgets to breathe for most of the journey, lost in thoughts of the past and his attempts not to crash into anything because of said thoughts.

When they finally get to the bakery, Klaus pulls himself out of the car and leans down, whispering, "Ben says I should say 'thank you' but I'm just going to tell you that he means to say you're still a good person behind all that delicious bad boy leather."

Then Klaus saunters off - most definitely to steal something to eat so he can save any money he has left for drugs - and Diego is left debating whether or not he should pay more attention to Klaus' rambling, delirious or otherwise, because none of that had sounded like he was making it up for attention.

The sounds of glass breaking echo in the relatively quiet evening and Diego can't help remembering a time when he himself would have dared Klaus to do such a thing because of something that had occurred in their training and because there's nothing like good old vicarious glass smashing to soothe a child's anger.

Klaus emerges from the shop carrying only two sandwiches Diego didn't even know the bakery produced and what looks like an eclair. He doesn't even glance at Diego but there's no way to tell if that's because he doesn't care enough to or if he just doesn't think Diego had waited to see what would happen; The uncertainty of Klaus' actions has Diego feeling restless so he shakes his head to dismiss the thought and starts the engine.

As he drives away, feeling less like a taxi service and more like his teenage self, he wonders if the sincerity he'd heard in Klaus' voice meant that Ben really had been there after all.


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