21 November 1963
It seemed that unnecessarily elegant buildings were just something that ran in the family, because the monstrosity that Theodore tiredly stood in front of as the sun peaked over the horizon, practically screamed wealth. The pantheon-styled building with its green turrets and sloping roofs looked right at home between the cone-shaped shrubbery and blooming roses lining the driveway. Of course, the multicoloured party bus parked out the front completely cracked and shattered whatever delusion had been painted—and that wasn't even counting the infinite number of floral garlands twisting around the front columns in colourful spirals.
Uncle Klaus had barely jerked an eyebrow his way when the young man had followed him home. Not even when Uncle Five had angrily glared the drunken man into submission, when their nephew had more or less exchanged hands at the bus stop outside of Southland Life. Nor when Theodore had dozed on his Uncle's shoulder as they sat scrunched up on the mysteriously sticky bus. In fact, Uncle Klaus had merely hoisted the blue boy off onto one of his many, many followers with a half-hearted explanation and flowery words of praise and worship that Theodore had half-pie recognised to be lyrics from some pop song he'd heard back in the 2000s.
Not that Theodore could really blame the man; the small snippets that had been coming back to him about what he had done told him enough that he'd very likely scared the man (and his other family members) at the very least. In all honesty, he was just glad he hadn't been dumped on the streets or forced to return to Hobo junction following the failed dinner.
Aqua trimmed hands yanked Theodore inside, pulling him from his thoughts and through the twisting corridors at such a speed he could only catch glimpses of the different rooms. There was a lounge with the large bay windows and frilled cushions spilt about the place, the sitting room that was bare save for the large ornate portrait of Uncle Klaus in a Buddha-like pose and a decent covering of dust. There was a multitude of bedrooms that were decorated in a very bohemian-hippie fashion with beds crammed between mountains of stuff and so on. It was like Uncle Klaus had taken a house and just filled it to the brim with all the things he'd never had—like that weirdly shaped sculpture in the corner which looked almost sexual in its posturing and seemed to follow you no matter which way you turned.
Confusion warred with exhaustion as another pair of grabby hands hooked themselves through his other arm and he was all but frog-marched through the building and towards one of the many washrooms in the mansion, with his tour guides happily chirping in his ears the entire way. They almost sounded like the consistent buzzing that followed Uncle Klaus everywhere, like gnats in the summer. Mercifully, Theodore was left alone to wash (although the large windows that ran the length of one of the walls and the large pool-like quality of the bath appeared to be there in order to put the bathers' nakedness on display). Theodore may not have cared about his state of dress (or lack thereof), but that didn't mean he particularly cared for the eyes of another on him whilst he felt vulnerable. So it was that the little blue boy turned his scaly back to the stained windows and dropped into the lukewarm water left in the tub; sinking up to his ears and batted away a wayward petal brushing at his nose as he closed his eyes against the hangover still prickling at his brain.
The clothes that had been left out for him were a pair of matching aqua scrubs that his self-proclaimed tour guides of 'Destiny's Children' had left for him. Leaving the towel to hang over his head like a habit, Theodore stared blandly down at the clean clothes offered to him—they reminded him of a nurse's uniform if he were being honest. Of course, the (not-so-subtle) embroidery around the collar and hems gave off the same bohemian style that he had seen displayed throughout the rest of the house and tossed that thought aside.
Chucking aside the tent-like pants, he slipped the oversized shirt over his head and let the hem graze against the top of his thighs against his jeans, like a nightgown (replacing the torn shirt he had been wearing earlier). Next he slung Elliot's garish cardigan overtop of the whole thing, without a care if they looked good together or not. If he were being honest, it felt a lot like he was wearing pyjamas—which was never a problem—but a quick glance in the mirror also reminded him of his days in Grandfather's laboratory; wearing the spotted hospital gown that had barely been more than a thin covering.
Yawning widely, Theodore emerged from the bathroom where he was met with more enthusiastic patrons of Uncle Klaus' cult as they exchanged the dirty items in his hands for some fruit & motherly instructions to eat it all, as he was shooed towards the only closed door in the whole mansion. His hungover brain mulled over the sweetness of the fruit in his hands as his faceless (like in dreams where you knew the person, but you couldn't see their face) knocked primly on the door—a complete contrast to the laid-back persona they portrayed.
Tired as he was, Theodore barely heard the flowery exchange between leader and follower as he was handed off to his uncle. Stepping over the threshold of what he could only assume to be Uncle Klaus' room, he let his tired gaze wander over the many frilly and garishly patterned cushions & ottomans thrown haphazardly about the room. There was a matching portrait of himself over the unlit fireplace and several garlands hanging from the gold-encrusted mantelpiece. The larger lamps were covered by lacy cloth and the large windows by sheer curtains, giving the room a warm and cozy glow. It practically screamed 'KLAUS!' There was even little handwritten notes and quotes plastered to the walls from little odd things the Hargreeves family had said over the years (including himself).
Theodore frowned down at the frilly maroon ottoman in front of him after he had stumbled over it, like it had offended him in some way. But he stepped over it nevertheless and flopped down onto another not too far away, content in the sagginess of the item which enveloped him like a hug. He couldn't quite stop the contented purr falling from his lips as he curled up happily in the weak patch of sunlight, despite whatever Uncle Klaus was trying to say to him.
"…You're not even listening!" Klaus whined from the other end of the room when he realised that neither his (dead) brother nor his nephew were paying him any attention.
"He's like a little kitty!" Ben cooed as he sat perched on a nearby cushion, staring down at his purring nephew and wanting nothing more than to pet him like the feline he appeared to emulate. Theodore twisted around like a pretzel as he swatted at the air, his brows knitted together in annoyance at whatever was bugging him. The rumbling purrs interrupted for only a moments as he mumbled something about annoying buzzing flies.
"Buzzing?" Ben turned to Klaus in confusion as he leant out of the way of the wayward hand. "Didn't he mention that earlier?"
"Yeah…" Klaus perked up a little as he reached for the porcelain tea cup behind him. "Something about imaginary friends and buzzing"
"You don't think…?"
"What? That he can hear you? C'me on, Ben! He might be an alien, but even aliens can't hear the dead!"
"So what were all those weird looks for then, huh?"
"What looks?"
"Y'know those ones—the ones where he looked like he wanted to slap you"
"You'll have to specify"
"Y'know what I mean!"
"Oh now you're just making excuses!"
"Ask him then! Go on! See for yourself!"
"Fine! I will!" Klaus reached over and weakly hefted a floppy pillow at their nephew in a lazy effort to wake him up.
"Klaus!" Ben scolded when Theodore jolted upright as the cushion met his face.
"Wha—?" Theodore propped himself up just enough for them to see that his damp hair now sat askew atop his head as he turned confusedly to Klaus.
"Teddy!" Klaus sang as if he hadn't just thrown a cushion at his head. "What's with the buzzing thing?"
"Buzzing thing?" Theodore repeated tiredly as he flopped back down, trying to get comfortable once more when he saw that it was just Klaus lazily sipping at his tea.
"Yeah, you said something about buzzing and gah!" Klaus lazily mimed Thriller claws, though one hand still clasped onto the porcelain cup, so it was a little awkward.
"So?" Theodore rolled around, tying himself up into endless knots like he was made of play dough.
"So" Klaus rolled his eyes in Ben's direction as if this conversation was as painful as trying to pull blood from a rock. "What did ya mean?"
"Innit self explanatory? Your ghosty friends or whatever buzz like horse flies or one of those spirit box thingies" Theodore sighed as he situated himself and a hand snapped out to grab the offending pillow from where it had landed on the floor, now sitting-in snuggly against his chest. "It's kind of annoying actually"
The last bit Theodore muttered to himself, but Ben—who caught the words anyway—appeared both affronted by the notion that his nephew was annoyed with whatever buzzing he unconsciously emitted and happy that he knew something or someone was actually there (at least when Klaus was around).
"See?" Ben turned triumphantly to Klaus. "I told you so!"
"…That means shit!" Klaus defended weakly as he gestured with his tea cup, frowning when he spilt some booze over the back of his hand. "He thinks I'm the one who's buzzing!"
"No, he said ghosty friends! That's me!"
"Yeah? Well, he also said you were annoying! So ha!"
"Oh what would you know?"
"More than you!"
"Yeah right!"
The pair bickered back and forth as they often did; the sound of Theodore's rumbling purrs turned snores the soundtrack to the brotherly moment. Soon enough the conversation shifted to lesser things until they came back full circle to the issue at hand. Possession. Specifically, Ben's possession of Klaus. "…I hate to disappoint you, Benny boy, but you are not getting in this body! No way!" Klaus slurred as he fought the exhaustion pulling at his lids. Ben knew it was only a matter of time.
"Well, you're gonna have to fall asleep eventually" Ben replied smugly.
"This is nothing! Once in Rio—oh Rio!—I spent eight straight days up"
"Without chemical assistance"
"Listen—! The point is, I'm not gonna let you in! If you wanna possess someone so bad, take Teddy!"
"Why bother when I have a willing body right here?" Ben refused, sparing a glance at their nephew who had somehow acquired another cushion and was clinging to it like it was a teddy bear. A teddy bear with a teddy bear! Ha! Ben smiled at the thought.
"I am not willing!"
"You will be!" Ben taunted as Klaus began to nod off. The sound of his ghostly movements must've alerted his drunken brother as he shuffled closer to him.
"Gah!" Klaus jerked upright in time to see that Ben had moved closer to him, "I hate your face!"
"I hate all of you!"
"I just—"
"Sh! Sh! Sh! Shh! It's okay, fall asleep…" Ben cooed as he shifted closer with every chance he got. Whenever Klaus closed his eyes, the ghostly Hargreeves stalked forward until he was practically sitting in Klaus' lap. His plans however, were foiled by the ringing of the grandfather clock in the corner of the room hidden beneath some exotic tree and lace.
DING DONG!
"Hey! Ben—! Jesus Christ—! Will you please just—!" Klaus jolted upright and backwards when he was roused by the grandfather clock, only to be met with his smug brother right in his face. Booze slipped from his flowing tea cup and decorated mostly himself and the carpet in his surprise. The pout that decorated his lips at the loss of the spiked tea made Ben grin wider, if at all possible. "Look, I'm going through a lot right now!"
"You're always going through a lot!" Ben retorted.
"Ben!" Klaus threw up his hands in exasperation. "The love of my life is going to die and I can't stop it! I've tried every trick in the time travellers playbook—!"
"Here we go" Ben rolled his eyes as his brother moaned and groaned. In the background, Theodore could be heard mumbling some sort of gibberish as he turned over.
"—I told him I loved him, I told—I told him his future…"
"And the only thing you succeeded in doing was freaking him out"
"God! I hate this! Not being able to do anything!"
"Klaus, the way you're feeling right now is how I feel everyday. All I do is watch you make the same mistakes over and over and over and over and over again. Welcome to powerlessness"
"Oh my God! That must suck! I'm sorry…"
"…You wanna make it up to me—?"
"—No! You cannot possess me! No!"
"C'me on! Please! Just for a few minutes!"
"Why? What's so damn important?"
"Jill! I—I…wanna talk to her"
"Jill…that's the, um, the Moroccan girl with the limp, right?"
"Seriously? We've been over this"
"But I so rarely listen to you~!"
"Klaus!"
"…Alright, fine!"
"Yes!"
"But wait—!" Klaus suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Ben by the lapels, pulling him in close enough that if he were still alive he would be able to smell the horrible stench floating on his brother's breath. Perks of being dead. The sudden motion caught Ben off-guard, but his moment of shock was tossed aside in favour of the excitement and anticipation rushing through him. At this point he'd probably agree to anything anyway if only that meant he could get inside of his brother. Ew—not like that! Ben shook his head at the thought, refocusing in on what Klaus was trying to tell him. "—We need to talk about ground rules"
"Ground rules, okay!" Ben nodded enthusiastically. "Let's hear 'em!"
"Rule #1…" Klaus began his long list of 'ground rules' as he led Ben out through the mansion to the rolling gardens where most of his cult spent their days tending the flora planted there. Ben should've known that Klaus' 'ground rules' would be entirely too long and dramatic since he fought against rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time as he followed after his brother like a lost puppy, just waiting for their treat.
It wasn't until the pair were finally stood in front of the large French doors that Ben turned excitedly to Klaus (who was still listing rules) filled with anticipation. This was going to be the first time in 30-odd years since he had felt any semblance of physical connection outside of his brother and he couldn't wait. Had the taste of air changed? Did dirt still feel like it used to? What was eating like again? Were hugs still as warm and comforting as they used to be? So many questions buzzed through his head as he impatiently waited for his brother to let him in, so to speak. "…No cutting of the hair!" Klaus warned, his rules finally coming to an end. "I love my look right now. Also, no touchy-touchy down there" He gestured to his crotch, something which Ben rolled at his eyes at. "Well, maybe I won't mind y'know, but just don't look because I'm shy! And finally, I'm dairy-free. Trust me on that!"
"Thank you" Ben grinned wholeheartedly, unable to fully express himself as he prepared to dive into the possession.
"Oh whatever! Just—" Klaus swung open the doors before turning back to his dead brother. "Just make it quick!"
Taking a running jump, Ben slipped inside Klaus—ick!—where he quickly took control of the reins, pushing Klaus' subconscious to the side with barely contained joy. The body the two shared jolted for a moment of two as it became accustomed to the extra soul now residing inside before it grew still and Ben turned giddily to the open air. For the first time in 30-odd years, Number Six finally breathed and it was exhilarating. Hands, his—their hands petted gently across his body like he couldn't quite believe what was going on. Full of wonder and awe, Ben quickly discarded the subconscious desire to disobey his brother's rules—helped along by the twinge in the back of their shared brain from Klaus—in favour of exploring the beautiful gardens he had traversed many times since their arrival. Only this time the experience was entirely different.
Now Ben could walk through things instead of through them, like the little side gate that squeaked and whined on its hinges as it was opened. Meandering past some of Destiny's Children, he made his way over to the orchard where the grapefruits were gathered together. Splitting one of the ripe fruits open, he took a large bite from the flesh—a bite which he immediately regretted as the sourness hit him like a brick to the temple. Next he moved onto the piles of upturned dirt and compost that lay in organised piles along the flowerbeds, ready and waiting for new homes. Tossing aside the split grapefruit, Ben hurdled the blooming flowers and toed off his boots as he moved to dig his toes into the squishy dirt piled there. "I love dirt!" Ben sighed happily, scrunching the squishy mulch between his toes before he collapsed to his knees and fell flat on his face, spitting out some bark chips as he did so.
"Hello?" Murmured a gentle voice above him that cut through his contented moans as he lay in the dirt. Ben bolted upright at the chiming of her tones, eyes wide in not-quite disbelief at the girl who stood haloed by the mid-morning sun.
"Oh, hello Jill" Ben greeted, trying to play both himself and the eccentric cult leader that was his brother. At least he could blame his odd actions on that.
"Cool if I join you?" She gestured to the dirt pile, lips twitching up into a tentative smile as her eyes traced the line of dirt covering one side of his face.
"No—I mean…yeah, of course" Ben stumbled over his words as he blinked dumbly up at her. He was finally actually properly talking to someone outside of Klaus! To her!
Both giggled like little children as they lay back in the dirt, uncaring for the stains on their clothes as they created dirt angels. Ben felt himself flush and beam with happiness at every minute touch and graze of their fingertips. Her laughter mingled with his—well, Klaus'—and sounded like the blessed birds singing in his ears. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the pair rose from the dirt and made their way further into the gardens where some seating (litters of ottomans and hammocks) had been set up in a somewhat secluded area. The pair sat across from each other as they feasted on fresh strawberries grown from the gardens. All the while Ben had been unable to take his eyes off of Jill; unable to look away from the dimples in her cheeks when she laughed nor the feeling that bubbled in his chest when he was with her. "You're different today" Jill noted as Ben sucked on the strawberry in his mouth in an almost sensual manner.
"Really? How so?" Ben replied, forgetting for a moment that Jill saw Klaus and not him. Slight panic set in as he began to scramble for an excuse as to why he seemed different.
"You're…dorkier"
"Oh"
"No, no I like it"
"Y'know I haven't been able to take my eyes off of you since you joined"
"I don't believe you" She dismissed going for another strawberry as her joyous smile disappeared.
"It's true!" Ben retorted, wishing more than anything to see that smile again. The one that hid a kiss in the corner. "You love your garden, you sing to your turnips. You're so good with people. Everybody comes to you for advice and you give it so freely, and…I—I love the way you tug on your earlobe when you read"
"I had to buy a cream for it" Jill reached for her ear at the same time that Ben did his own.
"I know"
Both dissolved into giggles once more, only these were ones fuelled by more than just the childish delight of playing in the gardens with a friend. More than just the giddy rebellion in dirtying their crisply clean clothes. It was so much more, and yet it could not be described."Can I…" Ben asked hesitantly, "Can I smell your hair?"
"Sure?" Jill replied a little off put by the odd request. Leaning in close, Jill tilted her head to the side as Ben inhaled deeply. Her perfume of sweat, dirt and strawberries wafted over him and Ben returned to his giddiness once more; hands fisting on his pants as if he was physically restraining himself from doing more. "God, you're incredible…"
"You're—you're incredible too" Ben chuckled into her ear.
"Wanna do it?" Jill asked as the pair sat back.
"Do what?" Ben's brow knotted in confusion at the sudden confidence in the shy girl.
"Have sex—"
Wha—? Ben choked on his spit at the proposition, unable to form any words as he blinked dumbly at the girl in front of him whilst she continued to talk, unaware of his current thoughts. He was also trying very hard not to listen to Klaus wolf whistling in the back of their shared brain.
"—The holy union of our multiple spirits"
"Sure, but, uh—" He spluttered unable to come up with a proper excuse. A dark traitorous thought flitted through his mind reminding him that Jill saw Klaus and not him—that she loved Klaus, not Ben.
"But what?"
"Uh, there's something you need to know—nn!" Ben went to say, but was cut off as he suddenly found himself fighting Klaus for control.
"Are you alright?" Jill asked concernedly.
"Yeah" Ben grunted, physically fighting his own body. God! What must she think? "Never been better"
"Good" She chuckled before suddenly moving to straddled him, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist.
"Jill, you don't—Oh—!" Ben tried to explain only to ending up gasping when she latched on tightly causing a vivid blush to spring up along his pale cheeks. "—You don't know the real me"
"Oh yeah?" Jill smirked, now clearly flirting with the flustered ghost boy.
"Yeah"
"I know everything about you—"
"—Jill—"
"—I have poured myself over your teachings, I have sung your Vedas, I have committed every part of your body to my memory"
"But Jill, that's not me" The dark thought solidified with her words, forming into a pit as she sat in her lap and sang his brother's praises. "I'm somebody different, I'm…I'm a virgin"
"What about last week?"
"Huh?"
"You, me and Keechie? In the sex swing? We practised the suspended, extended, four-part unification"
"Klaus! You're so filthy!" Ben cried, shaking his head as he silently mourned for his lost chance.
"Yes, you are, Daddy!" Purred Jill, misunderstanding what he was trying to say. Her hands ran through his—their long locks, knotting her fingers amongst the long hairs as she planted her lips on his.
"Oh…oh, hey—Oh!" Ben spluttered eloquently into the kiss.
"Mmm…" Her delicate lips moved hungrily from his to his neck where she began to deliciously suckle at the skin there.
"Wait, just—Ooh!" Ben moaned as Jill moved to pull his earlobe between her teeth. His own hands fluttered in the air about her as he tried to figure out what to do. "O-okay—okay—"
"—Hey Daddy!" Interrupted the familiarly sharp voice of his brother, Diego. "You got a sec?"
"Diego!" Ben (not-quite) cheered as Jill pulled back and glared up at the man before them.
"C'me on, we gotta go" Diego gripped Ben by the forearm and hauled him to his feet, unwillingly to wait.
"Yeah…" Ben readily agreed, before turning to a put-out Jill. "I'll be right back"
"Okay" She nodded disappointedly.
"I promise"
"C'me on"
"Coming!"