AN: I know it's been a minute, but I hope you enjoy! Let me know.

Chapter 9

End of Episode 9

Klaus reeled from his fight with Ben. His jaw ached, throbbed with each heartbeat. Despite the evidence that he'd been punched, his brain was unwilling to believe it. He'd been punched by a ghost, by a fucking ghost. Of course his brain had trouble.

He had tried to talk to his brothers, but they wouldn't listen. They didn't care. Diego was too bent on getting revenge for Detective Patch, and now that Harold Jenkins was dead, Five didn't seem to care about anything. Luther was useless, too. At least that made more sense. With Allison still recovering, Klaus didn't expect him far from her side until she woke up. He doubted anyone did.

And Vanya had powers! Jesus, how was he supposed to come to terms with that? All of their lives they'd been told Vanya was the only normal one, that she was plain, and that she had somehow escaped whatever curse they were all afflicted with, but nope! Turns out that not only does she have powers, but according to Luther, she killed Harold Jenkins and slit Allison's throat.

Christ.

There was only one person in the house he knew he could talk to, one person he knew he could always go to whenever he needed someone to help steady his head.

The elevator came to a sharp, shaky halt. He slid open the grate and walked briskly down the hall toward Andy. His bare feet clapped against the concrete, narrating each step until he made it to the main chamber. Klaus paused when he saw her.

Andy was suspended in the center of the tank, floating like a specter. The water made the lights that illuminated it a sickly green, which in turn forced her fair skin to be the same. Andy had been wearing a loose-fitting shirt and tight jeans. Now that she was floating in the water, her shirt, along with her long, nearly-black hair fluttered and swayed around her body. Her arms were raised as well, not completely out to her sides, but not affected by gravity, either. One leg was bent and slightly raised.

She looked disturbingly graceful and borderline angelic. It was haunting.

Klaus slowly approached until he was within arm's reach of the window. As he looked over her, his gaze landed on her arm. Without a jacket or long sleeves, he saw the scars of her suicide clearly. The bright pink marks were tinted by the same green light, which made them look sickly. He'd never really looked at her scars before. They churned his stomach. For all intents and purposes, she never should have survived. They were angry, illustrating how badly she didn't want to live as she gored at herself.

And where was he? He was in rehab because he got high and passed out behind the wheel. He had no idea she was being tortured, too. He had no idea that she was miserable enough to kill herself because he'd been so consumed with his own pain over Ben's death and how their dad treated him. It never even donned on him that she might have been going through something similar.

He felt guilty.

Klaus's mind flashed with memories of them together growing up, of all three of them hanging out, and times when it was just Klaus and Andy.

The times when he, Andy and Ben were hanging out in one of their rooms were his favorite. It wasn't uncommon for Ben to by lying nearby reading a comic book or something while Klaus and Andy would paint each other's toenails. They would sit facing one another with their partner's foot in their lap, and paint.

In that room, whether they were in his and Ben's, or Andy's, the three of them were safe. There were no missions, no training exercises, and no Old Man. It was their sanctuary.

How could it all go so horribly wrong?

Klaus lowered himself to the floor and took a seat. He wanted to beat on the glass, to wake Andy up so he could tell her what happened, but part of him didn't want to disturb her just yet. She'd only been in the tank for two hours. Honestly, Klaus had no idea if that was enough for her to recover after what she'd done for Allison, so he let her rest.

October 1 st , 2005

Dinner that evening was nothing special, nor did Klaus expect it to be. It was tense, awkward, and almost completely silent beyond the sound of the classical music playing in the background. It felt like time had stood still, but eventually, they were "released". Klaus, Ben, and Andy trudged upstairs.

"Andy's room, five minutes." He said to the two before he dipped into his own bedroom. He didn't bother waiting for a response.

Inside his room, Klaus dropped to his knees at the side of his bed and immediately began to push clothes out of the way. Crumpled uniforms, nasty socks in desperate need of a wash, and underwear just as bad were his barrier, but easily cast aside. He could ignore them, but he knew no one else would even want to try devoid of a hazmat suit.

When they were cast aside, he grabbed a pair of paper bags and pulled them out. A quick glance inside told him that the contents were still in place. A wide smile spread across his lips. Just as quickly as before, he leapt to his feet and charged to Andy's room.

The lady herself was sitting on her bed with a much prettier bag to her left and a massive square wrapped to her right. She smiled at him and scooted back until she could lean against the wall. She took the bag and square too, giving Klaus the ability to jump onto her bed, which he did. The springs groaned and squeaked while he bounced, but he didn't care.

They sat impatiently waiting until only a moment later Ben appeared. Klaus shifted until he could sit with his legs crossed, back to the headboard and the paper bags in his lap. Ben joined them on the bed and sat with his back facing the footboard. He produced something wrapped in a plastic bag from the left pocket and a small box from the right.

They looked at one another, each grinning, and then, in unison, they cried out, "Happy Birthday!"

Each of them had sat in such a way that the gift in their left hand was meant for the person to their left, and the same with the right. There was no reaching over each other to hand things off. As a result, they easily set each gift down in front of the person they were for.

"Who's going-" Ben didn't even get to finish his question before Klaus began to tear greedily into his presents.

First, he opened the biggest, obviously. It was a vinyl record, Jimi Hendrix's Greatest Hits. He beamed. About a month ago when the trio were out, he'd spotted it and made the comment that he'd like to have it. Andy remembered.

"Thank you!" He said in an exaggerated way. Klaus set the record aside and launched himself at Andy, taking her to the bed as he placed ridiculous kisses on the side of her face, practically smothering her in them.

"Get off of me!" She laughed as she shoved at him.

Still grinning, he pushed himself back into his seat and motioned at her. "Go ahead."

Andy looked over the paper bag and little box. She seemed to struggle over the thought briefly before grabbing the box Ben had given her. It wasn't wrapped, just a plain little white box, so she opened it easily. Inside was a pair of earrings, little studs with a blue stone. Andy's face instantly lit up.

"Oh, thank you!" She immediately threw her arms around Ben's shoulders and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Klaus snickered as his brother blushed a little and shied away as she regained her seat.

"You're welcome," He mumbled.

As Andy took out the silver hoops she was wearing and began to replace them with the blue studs, Ben reached for Klaus's paper bag present. He opened it up and glanced inside. Klaus was practically vibrating with excitement.

Ben reached in and pulled out a mass of fabric. He set the bag aside and took hold of the shoulders of the shirt. He gave it a sharp snap which let it fall open completely. He immediately scowled. Klaus couldn't hide his laughter, and he didn't bother trying.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked. She couldn't see the logo, only the back of the rather short green shirt.

Still scowling, Ben turned it around and held it against his chest. The words Swamp Thing were sprawled across the chest and the monster itself was partially visible. He would have been completely visible if Klaus hadn't taken it upon himself to cut the shirt in half. Held up to Ben's chest, it would have clearly left almost all of his stomach completely bare.

"So your little beasties can get out." Klaus explained.

Ben's glower deepened while Klaus erupted with laughter. Andy slapped his arm, but it did nothing to dampen his mood. He thought it was hilarious. Come on, a Swamp Thing mid-drift shirt for a guy who had a portal to all sorts of Lovecraftian-like monsters in his gut? That was awesome!

"Come on, bro," Klaus held out his arms wide. "Give me some love."

He blew Ben a few kisses, but his brother wasn't completely willing to bury the hatchet just yet. If Klaus thought he'd genuinely hurt Ben's feelings, he wouldn't have bothered. He knew Ben was just embarrassed, not actually offended.

"You're an asshole." Ben replied. "Makes me glad I got you that."

He pointed to the small plastic bag which Klaus promptly opened. It was a pair of bejeweled barrettes, the kind made for little girls who hadn't reached double-digit age. They were bright pink, bedazzled in matching gems, and had a pair of gold crowns on them, too.

"Oh, they're beautiful!" He gushed like an idiot and promptly removed them from their piece of stock card. "I'm going to wear these every day."

And true to his word, he gathered a handful of his tangled curls to the left and clipped it in place. He did the same to the right a second later. Klaus tilted his head to the side, flashed a smile, and fluttered his lashes.

"I'm a princess," He said. Ben and Andy smiled and shook their heads at him. "Come on, Andy. One more."

She grabbed his paper-bag-present and opened it up. Almost immediately, she rolled her eyes, but her smile grew as she pulled the gift out. It was a pair of arm floaties, the kind people bought little kids and toddlers who couldn't swim.

"Thank you," She said sarcastically.

Andy hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him over, placing a kiss on his cheek. He kept his smile. It was Ben's turn to open his present. He reached into Andy's much-prettier bag and removed a few comic books. His face lit up. Klaus didn't know if they were any good or not, but judging by Ben's excitement over them, they must have been ones he wanted.

"Thanks, Andy."

The embarrassment from before was gone as he hugged her tightly.

Klaus leaned back against the headboard once again and took his record into his hands. He couldn't wait to listen to it and almost wanted to go to his room right that minute to do so, but he didn't. He wanted to stay in Andy's room more. In there, it actually felt like their birthday. Once he stepped past the threshold, he knew that feeling would dissipate.

As he turned the record over, Klaus saw something out of the corner of his eye. There was a small box sitting on her end table, wrapped with a bow. His brows creased curiously. He reached over and grabbed it.

"What's this?" He shook it and heard something rattle around inside.

"Oh, that's for Vanya." Andy said. He eyed her. "It's just some rosin and new strings for her bow." She shrugged her shoulder. "I think she might like it."

Klaus grinned as he looked at her. Andy was a really good gift-giver. She knew what people wanted, and she did her best to accommodate. Klaus bought gag-gifts. Well, maybe not "bought". Most of them he stole.

Their birthday wasn't celebrated within the walls of the Academy. The Old Man didn't care about it, or any other holidays. It was usually Mom and Pogo who would do something. Like that morning, Mom made them all Birthday Waffles: waffles with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips. They were diabetes on a plate, and so good. Pogo generally got them all a card. He never really left the grounds, but he usually did something simple for each of the kids.

When it came to the children themselves, they gave each other presents, but it wasn't for everyone. Basically, they bought presents for the siblings they actually liked, which meant Klaus knew he wouldn't get anything from Allison, Diego, or Luther. Vanya tended to give them cards, something small and inconsequential, but something all the same. Klaus also knew that Diego, Luther, and Allison didn't expect anything from him. He would at least wish Vanya a happy birthday, though. The only people he actually got anything for were the two sitting with him, and even then, Klaus knew they weren't "real" presents.

They stayed in her room for a while. Andy even blew up her floaties and slid them up her arms. She wore them proudly along with the earrings Ben had gotten her. Klaus couldn't stop laughing at her for it. Ben was happy reading his comics and Klaus happily sang Purple Haze, badly.

Not a bad Sweet 16.

October 1 st , 2007

Ben stood off to the side with his shirt pulled partially up. He stood in front of a floor-length mirror poking the plastic wrap covering his fresh tattoo. Klaus sat beside Andy, watching the tattoo artist finish applying her ink with fascination. He'd watched Ben's, too. He'd tried to watch his own, but he kept bending too much and his artist was getting annoyed. Fair enough.

When the final lines had been put in place, the artist set his gun aside, sprayed a copious amount of alcohol onto a paper towel and cleaned off the piece. Andy hissed and squirmed a little, but remained in place until he smeared some clear goop over it and taped it up like he had with Klaus's and Ben's.

The artist was sure to give them proper care tips, but they didn't need them. It wasn't as though they were tattoo-virgins. They'd been inked since they were ten, Andy as soon as she joined the Academy at thirteen.

Before they left, Klaus and the others stood in front of the mirror that had held Ben's attention for a while. They each lifted their shirts to reveal what they'd done. For their eighteenth birthday, each of them got a star on their hip. It was nothing special, a simple design with a thick outline only a few inches big, but it was just for them. All six of them had the umbrella, but only Ben, Klaus, and Andy had the star.

Present:

Klaus thought back to all those times, those brief seconds of happiness in the sea of shit, as he stared at Andy in the tank. Every once and a while, whenever the filtered water caused her shirt to flutter, he'd catch a glimpse of the star peeking out over the waist of her jeans. It was nothing more than the tip, but it still brought back those memories all the same.

As he sat there, having lost count of the minutes that had passed, Andy began to stir. He perked. Inside the tank, he saw her stretch, arms above her head and her body long. A moment later, she relaxed once again and opened her eyes. He could tell when she saw him because she seemed confused at first. Klaus simply smiled and waved. Her confusion disappeared quickly after and she smiled back, waving softly in return.

Klaus pushed himself to his feet and approached the glass that separated him. Without hesitation, he pushed his face against it, put his lips to the cold, unforgiving surface, and puffed out his cheeks like an idiot. Andy silently laughed at him and shook her head at his stupidity. He grinned, stepped back, and pointed up. She nodded. Klaus caught sight of her leaning down to untie her ankle as he jogged up the steps. She emerged an instant later.

"Hey," He said as he took a seat on the platform.

"Hi," She grinned. Andy climbed up the ladder to sit beside him.

"Feel better?"

"Much," She sighed. "How's Allison?"

"Still sleeping, but she's stable."

"Good."

"That was amazing." He said.

Andy looked away out of embarrassment, but he could see the blush in her cheeks. She picked at her jeans a little.

"It was okay." She muttered. "I'm actually surprised it worked." She met his gaze. "It's not like I kept up with my training when I left. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't pass out on the way back to the Academy."

"That happen a lot?"

"If I exert myself, yeah." She nodded. "I mean, small stuff, that's easy."

Andy's attention shifted back to the tank. Klaus followed her eye. When she began to wave her hands, the water responded. It pulsed and shifted, and soon an orb began to separate from it. It was roughly the size of a basketball, a perfect circle of solid water.

"Stuff like this," She continued, but Klaus kept his attention on the orb. It had begun to crystalize. Little flashes of white formed and spread, and it was then he realized that she was freezing it. "This isn't hard to do." He grinned as he watched the orb soon turn into a solid block of ice. "It can be really fun, actually."

Without warning, Andy clapped hard. The orb immediately exploded, filling the room with flurries. Klaus chuckled and Andy smiled as the flurries slowly trickled down. He held out his hand and caught some of them, marveling at the way they melted in his palm.

"But healing people," She finally looked at him again and her smile faded. "It's really hard. It takes a lot of effort and I guess I just never built up those muscles."

"What's it feel like?"

Andy didn't immediately speak. Instead, she seemed to give his question genuine thought before coming to an answer.

"Have you ever had the flu before?" She asked. He nodded. "You know that feeling when your body is just so weak, so heavy that you can't even move?" He nodded again. "It feels like that."

"Hm," Klaus mumbled. It felt like detoxing for her. Klaus knew exactly how rough that could be.

"So," She said with a sigh, drawing his attention again. "What brings you down here?"

Klaus formed an awkward grin and proceeded to tell her the story of Ben cold-cocking him and Vanya having powers.