Chapter title is from the same song title by Toto

Unbeta-ed. Enjoy!

Five

The last time he checked on his brothers, they were in better condition than this.

There was an unmistakable worry painted on Ben's face that was directed to Klaus sitting beside him. Klaus, meanwhile, was fidgety on his seat, eyes unfocused as they darted at every corner of the dining room but clear enough to show that he wasn't under the influence of drugs. Klaus's attention stayed on a spot left of the head of the table. He rolled his eyes and was thoroughly bummed by whatever he found there that only he could see. A ghost?

Luther and Diego looked like shit, but the former was worse with his split lip and bruised nose. Diego might have looked better, though he wasn't fooling anyone with that gritted teeth and grimace of pain he could barely hide when he was moving about or settling his back against a chair.

What the hell happened in the span of five hours?

Both his sisters, at least, were faring well. Allison was situated comfortably on Vanya's side, and when she asked what happened to Luther and Diego, she received a vague response and a not-so-straight look. If not for her apparent good mood, it was evident that she wanted to give them her piece of mind. Five wouldn't even stop her.

"Fun day?" Stark asked as his eyes wandered around the table, stuffing his mouth with noodles.

Stark called for numerous Chinese takeouts, pizzas, donuts, chips, and cheeseburgers, much to Pepper's chagrin at finding out that nobody bothered with lunch as if she was expecting Stark to be the second responsible adult around. Bruce was absent, wisely staying where he was, and the Captain had already left earlier. Stark insisted that they eat on the dining table what basically amounted to junk foods, though it was a valid reason to get the coffee flowing at this time of the day; therefore, Five wasn't about to complain. Moreover, as someone who lived off of anything he could find decent to eat for years in the almost barren future, this was a feast to him; a feast that would heighten cholesterol but a feast, nonetheless.

When Stark didn't drop the 'old man' nickname, Klaus mistakenly thought Stark was already informed of Five's time-traveling situation. Five didn't bat an eye when he kicked Klaus on the shin to silence him.

There was the banter between Pepper and Stark, from one end of the table to another, though what Five could mostly gather was that Pepper had beaten Stark to the outing with the kids, that online shopping was a thing these days, and the frequent 'very initiative of you, hon' from Stark. Pepper was, fortunately, exhibiting admirable propriety against the saucy winks and double entendres thrown by her significant other across the table.

It took a huge effort to not cringe at Stark's ridiculous one-liners, and it made Five overwhelmed by the sheer normality of what passed as dinner.

He was the first to excuse himself from the table.

He went over his equations once more, finding it odd that he arrived at three distinct answers using the same formula. He got dressed for sleep but occasionally returned to the kitchen for his nightly fix. There was a fresh pot ready that he took advantage of, bringing a cup back to his room. By ten o'clock, his computations exceeded the limited supply of papers he has. He asked Jarvis for more—or better yet, a whiteboard and a marker. The AI told him they would be ready tomorrow.

Five wouldn't get to sleep for a few more hours, with the amount of caffeine he consumed for the third time tonight, so he did more digging on the internet, and by then, he deemed it one of the most useful inventions of mankind. Finding more about Stark and Stark Industries in between refills in the kitchen was a sure way to kill the time, he thought, unless there came something more important, namely Ben's presence.

"Water," Ben said, almost sheepish for interrupting Five. He reached for the tap and filled a glass. "It's late."

"I should say the same," Five said. "I'm reading."

Ben hummed against the glass. "There will be more of that tomorrow. Pepper and our sisters got us some. Been reading this one called Harry Potter. Remind me to lend it to you sometimes."

"Mine was the theory of relativity of this Earth," Five said flatly. "There are more pressing topics than fiction."

"Explains why there are textbooks on physics and astronomy. If you bothered to use your bedroom door, you'll find them there."

Five doubted that the titles weren't among the tablet e-books. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"Thank those who got you them." Ben shrugged, pulling a stool. "Hey, you mind if you share it with me?"

Five poured him a cup of coffee and pushed it towards his brother who murmured his gratitude.

"It's bitter, but I can see now why you like this." Ben put two more cubes of sugar.

Five watched him amble towards the refrigerator for milk and created a mixture that suited his taste. The coffee was brown when Ben decided that he liked it.

"Not that I mind the company, but why are you still up?" Five asked. Out of the rest of his siblings, he found Ben to be the most preferable to be alone with. Before his disappearance from the Academy, time often passed them by together in companionable silence, both occupied by whatever books on their hands.

"Can't sleep."

"Is that why you're wandering around?"

"I'm not." Ben wasn't looking at Five when he said it. "Just thirsty."

Ben was searching for something… someone, Five concluded. "You're looking for Klaus," he stated.

"Not so much as looking," Ben admitted. "I'm waiting for him. I thought he'll sneak in again. He said he was antsy from staying away from his vices. Glad he's holding out this long. Maybe he fell asleep already. Dunno."

Five frowned. "He seems distracted earlier."

"He is. He keeps saying it's nothing as if I didn't catch him staring at an empty space." It's worrying me, was the bit left unsaid. "I kinda wish I'm ghost again so I can see what it is."

"Don't," Five snapped. He caught his tone, before repeating more firmly: "Don't say that."

"Hey, I don't—Geez." Ben grinned ruefully. "I'm not saying I want to be dead again. I'm talking about the somewhat omnipresent thing you're allowed as a ghost and the fact that you see what you used to think aren't real. Not fun to be not seen and believed to be there by the living, though, so being alive tops it all hands down."

Five took a big gulp of his drink. "What does it feel like, being on the other side?"

"It's neither cold nor warm," Ben said in recollection. "You're frequently confused where you are. You don't know when and where you'll appear because it all depends on Klaus. I think I was lucky that Klaus was just as lonesome that he needed my company." He stared distantly, way beyond where Five was. "You know what? They were nothing on watching your brother waste away his life because nobody was there for him. Klaus is just as disconnected as Vanya, when you think about it, with all the things he could see that none of us could."

It was Klaus's curse, the same way each of them with their powers. Luther, whose ability was the least special, was honed to be the leader by their father and turned out to be the most molded to absorb Reginald's principles. Diego was stuck to be second only to Luther, equally seeking their father's approval that he never got and causing him to be attached to an artificial person programmed to be what Reginald wasn't. Allison's came from the nature of her ability, where lies become truth, and after growing up under the relish of her powers, everything else was easy. She wasn't wrong to question if all she built had been based on lies. Five's ability to time travel gave him the thrill of recklessly diving between timelines, and look where that led him, stuck alone on a wasteland for four decades and a half. Ben was destroyed by the very same creatures he manipulated, leading to his early grave. Vanya was cursed with the destructiveness of what she was capable of, pushing Reginald to do his worst. There was no excuse for what he did, but somewhere in Five's mind, he understood what forced him to.

"I wasn't there," Five said, an apologetic edge in his voice. He was sorry for his own self and family. He had gotten ahead of himself and didn't heed Reginald's warning.

Ben looked at him funny, probably thinking he was unintentionally guilt-tripping Five. He wasn't. Five's regrets for leaving, missing Ben's death, and not being there as the semblance of a family they managed to build had fallen apart piece by piece, that was all his own. "I guess if there's an upside in you being stuck in the future, it's that you missed all the family drama," he said ruefully.

Five's lips quirked. "Refill?"

Their lives could have been one giant soap opera of a dysfunctional family, and Five wouldn't mind. At least he was part of it this time around.

Jarvis

He wasn't a deeply religious man, but on his deathbed, the concept of Heaven and Hell had been constant in his head. He had been aware of how his mind wandered during his final weeks, drifting on distant memories of his younger years, mostly of Ana who had already passed on five years before. In her final hours, she had hoped that she would go on to paradise where everything was perfect, where she would wait for him patiently. Jarvis assured her that a person like her wouldn't have any problems crossing the realm of her God. She was a good person, and he confessed that he didn't know how he deserved a wife like her.

His time came in a summer evening, and there Ana stood, with her young face and ginger curls, wearing her favorite flowery dress. She beckoned him to come with her, and Edwin readily followed.

There was no paradise afterward, only a one-way mirror where he could watch the state of the living after he left it. Ana apologized that it wasn't what he expected, but frankly, anywhere with her was paradise. Edwin was happy to remain like this if it meant forever, so long that he got Ana beside him.

Maria appeared next to Edwin after his funeral, but Howard was missing. When Edwin asked, his mistress said that Howard attached himself to their killer because their deaths turned out to be not an accident. She didn't elaborate, saying there were two places she would be fleeting back and forth to, one by Howard's side and one by Tony's. Edwin recalled mourning for his late master and mistress, mourned for Tony who couldn't grieve for his parents. Maria bid him and Ana farewell and said that they would be seeing each other around.

There was something informative about observing people while invisible. You learn about an individual: their ticks, their triggers, their reasons, their stories. There was no concept of time in the afterlife; therefore, boredom was never an issue. Sometimes he spent it talking to Ana or some ghosts that he met.

Oftentimes, he would watch Tony.

Edwin's duty as a butler of the family might have been over, but not to Tony. It wasn't unlike when he was alive, watching Tony built and built day and night as he forgot to eat and sleep that even Ana would express her own concern. Tony was the closest to a son they never had, and it had pained them to see how distantly he grew with his father, and even his mother whom Tony was more fond of between his parents.

What Edwin didn't like was Tony's mourning during evenings for two months since his passing. It frustrated Edwin to no end, not being able to do anything but stand there and watch. When he tried to touch Tony's shoulder, his hand passed through, and it dawned to him that he would spend his eternity watching Tony like this.

Edwin held optimism that Tony would overcome the grief. And he did, little by little until the indifference that he saw in Tony developed into an integral part of him. Tony was detached from the people around him and the world, except for his inventions. He might not have liked to hear it, but there was more Howard in him than Maria.

Tony was of a brilliant mind, and as Edwin watched him excel even more and had those around Tony gravitate towards that bright man, Edwin also saw how more and more layers Tony placed. It was too late to realize that Tony had been an adult years ago in all sense but the age.

Edwin and Ana were with Maria, watching as Tony drank, got involved with various affairs with women, sleeping minimally within three days, eating whatever he could find—if he could remember—and if he wasn't drowning himself in alcohol, it was caffeine. Never once did Maria show her disapproval, nor did they see her smile.

There was happiness for Edwin here but not for his mistress.

Tony spared Stark Industries with littlest of his attention, and his lifestyle went on. Edwin then noticed, slowly, how there were more and more ghosts that he could see around. They were less solid than him, Ana, and the mistress, and they spoke a foreign language. Their grotesque forms were disturbing for they weren't dissimilar to corpses of war after a bombing, and what threw Edwin unbalanced was that they were spirits angry at Tony.

It all clicked when Tony was kidnapped in Afghanistan for three months, injured by the same explosives from Stark Industries.

The three of them were there, helpless as Tony was detained in a cave, a piece of shrapnel precariously near his heart. There was an ugly churn in their nonphysical bodies, expecting Tony to appear next to them as he flitted in and out of consciousness. It was when Maria's stony face cracked, crying for her son.

Edwin wasn't a religious man, but he prayed to any deity that was listening to save Tony. By some miracle, somebody listened and gave Tony the strength and will to survive and engineer a weaponized metal suit, of all things.

The kind man who kept Tony alive during his captivity made a brief appearance. They thanked them, and Maria pulled him in a tight embrace, murmuring her gratitude fervently. His name was Ho Yinsen, and he smiled at their kind words. There was contentment in his weary face as he bid his goodbye, saying that he best be on his way for his wife and daughters were waiting for him.

Edwin remembered staring at Ana, and only then did she explain that she could have been there, too, as she waited for him, and so Edwin understood what, or rather who was keeping them.

He didn't mind. Tony might not be able to see them, but they have to be there to support him. Edwin was glad when Tony took at heart Yinsen's last words for him about not wasting his life. He struggled, but he found his purpose, found a better use for his genius mind. It was a dangerous motivation that placed his life on the line more times they could count.

Tony ultimately uncovered his true enemy who used the Stark Industries to manufacture weapons that powered wars and caused the deaths of the ghosts that lingered around him. Obadiah Stane was a spiteful spirit that even after death he was jealous and full of hatred. He was chained for a while, incapable of moving on due to not finding peace, but he was powerless against them, Tony's guardians, and the hoard of hateful ghosts of people that he indirectly killed. Stane's downfall on the other side caused peace to some of the ghosts that haunted Tony, while there were some who lingered still, but they were less malicious and often young victims who weren't mature enough to know what was happening and what to do next without guidance.

Edwin learned that as a well-formed ghost, he was given a semblance of ability to keep away the obstinate spirits who would want to trouble Tony. Tony didn't have the extrasensory perception, Edwin was sure, but vengeful spirits could sometimes find a way to intend harm if they were immensely determined, like Ivan Vanko who had given them a hard time. In the end, they prevailed in keeping Tony undisturbed from the other side.

The days and years that passed Tony also flew by Edwin, Ana, and Maria. Tony found true loyalty from his long-time best friend, Colonel Rhodes, and an honest companionship from Pepper that put a satisfied smile on Maria's face. He got a friend in one Happy Hogan, and while Tony's circle was small, it eventually grew amidst his fame as Iron Man. Edwin was there when Tony improved the AI named after him and incorporated it into his Iron Man suit. JA.R.V.I.S.'s voice might not have sounded the same as Edwin's, but it was gratifying to be commemorated this way.

Tony became part of a team of heroes that defended the Earth. An unlikely group of people that worked out against aliens. Edwin would have called it bollocks if he hadn't seen them for themselves, but in the ever-changing world where Tony was living, what was even impossible?

He might have been in life-threatening situations that had his friends and love-ones waiting with bated breaths for his safety, but Tony was happy in his profession where he found meaning to the life he used to be detached with. The indifference he grew accustomed to was no longer there, especially when he took in the seven children that seemingly came out of nowhere one day.

There were doubts on Tony's ability to handle them. Edwin, meanwhile, knew how hard Tony was trying to do it right. Tony's decision was spontaneous like most of his past decisions were, but Edwin was confident that he made the right call. Tony needed the kids just as they needed him, and while the results were yet to be apparent, Edwin hoped for fewer nights of Tony's fitful sleep.

What Edwin wasn't counting on, though, was one of the kids being able to see and hear him.

"You can see me?" he asked once the initial shock wore off. "You can even hear me!"

The boy eyed him wearily. "I thought the tower didn't have a ghost. I thought Tony doesn't have any ghosts with him."

"There had been some here before, but they've been fended off." He could see the dead, Edwin realized in excitement. The boy could see the dead. "This—you have powers."

"So are my six other siblings," the boy said in mild disinterest. "You didn't answer me."

"What did you ask again?"

"If there's a vacuum cleaner."

"Oh. There is. There are scrub and mop as well," Edwin said helpfully. "What is your name?"

"Klaus," the boy said, almost hesitant to tell him. "You're weird."

"No, I'm Edwin Jarvis. Nice to meet you, Klaus."

"Damn, I'm not even spared from the dad jokes." Klaus pulled a face. "And you're weird," he repeated. "For a ghost."

"Am I?" Edwin humored him. There was a giddiness in knowing Klaus, a living boy who could see a dead man's spirit. "What makes you say that?"

"For one, they don't introduce themselves to me like an English gentleman," Klaus said dryly, settling for the broom and mop.

"You haven't met an English ghost?"

"Mister, I've met a lot of ghosts my entire life—English, American, Russian, Asian—but very few of them are as polite as you," he said. "They usually harass me the moment they realize I could see them."

"Now that's rude," Edwin said disapprovingly. The idea of ghosts alone scared kids of Klaus's age, what more an actual one causing trouble? "What do you do?"

"Pretend they're not there, but that's easier said than done, yeah? Let's just say I improvise in distracting myself." Klaus was thoughtful for a second. "Why haven't I seen you around?"

"I'm often where Master Tony currently is, but this floor is also where I'd like to think I live."

"Huh. You don't happen to be related to that guy, are you?" Klaus asked, pointing at the ceiling.

"I'm in fact the person the AI is named after," Edwin said agreeably. "I used to be the butler of the Starks, and the AI was initially created as a household assistant."

"How did that work out? He doesn't have a body."

"Yes, but he can do the basic errands such as placing calls and orders."

"Makes sense." Klaus glanced at Edwin, stared as if waiting for Edwin to say something. When he remained quiet, the boy sighed. "And you?"

"Oh, I've been around for eighteen years with my wife and Master Tony's mother since I died. They're not here at the moment, but you'll see them around later. I'm sure they'll be glad to know that a boy can see and talk to them. Not that we grow weary of each other's company, but we can only do so much as ghosts."

"That long?" The boy grimaced. "You got a pretty intense grudge or something?"

"No, not at all. I died in my own bed, and so was my wife before me, though I can't say the same for my late mistress," Edwin shared. He never asked again about Howard and Maria's deaths, but it was clearly a foul play. "But I assure you, we aren't tied here by a grievance."

"Lemme guess." Klaus crossed his arms challengingly. "You weren't satisfied with your life. Servitude and all that."

"Ah, no. I'd like to think I lived fruitfully and had my fair share of excitement," said Edwin with a beam. He recalled working with Agent Carter who had been active in her prime years. Edwin was happy that she didn't miss out a lot in her life despite that. "Being here is a choice that my wife and I made long ago: staying by Master Tony's side."

"I don't believe you." Klaus was bafflingly defensive. "You can't be here and want nothing. The fact that you're here, happy that you're talking to me says otherwise. Spit it out now while I'm here so you won't bother me later upstairs."

"Is it really that unbelievable that I'm merely delighted to know someone like you who's capable of talking to me?" Edwin asked gently after careful consideration. "Haven't you encountered a late close relative who might be the same? In my experience with fellow ghosts, it was typically a grandparent. Didn't you—"

Klaus gave him a scowl before angrily running through him towards the elevator.

"That was very tactless of you," Ana said reproachfully later when Edwin told her what happened. "You were asking if the boy lost a family. What if he had? That's not nice."

"I know. I suppose I got excited. We never encountered a person like him, somebody who truly has the sixth sense."

"And he's a boy who, judging by the reputation of ghosts to him, doesn't have pleasant encounters with the likes of us," she said, ever the voice of reason. "You should apologize."

He did—or tried to. Klaus was determined to ignore his presence around the dining room. Edwin hadn't been in the same room with Klaus and his siblings before. And Klaus said they all have powers? Intriguing.

Edwin also couldn't help but observe that together with Tony and Pepper, they make a huge family of nine.

They broke separately afterward, with Klaus rushing on his way to his room without looking at his way, purposely avoiding him. Edwin could easily follow, but that would be intruding. He waited patiently for Klaus to emerge until he made up his mind to leave the boy be.

Two hours before midnight, Klaus came looking for him, clad in his pajamas and a blanket around his shoulders, on the same floor they first encountered each other.

"What you said earlier," the boy began first, almost breathless. Had he been running? "About fending away the ghosts. Is it true?"

Klaus was a growing boy who needed at least eight hours of sleep, yet Edwin couldn't find it in him to send Klaus away. Certainly not an interesting, curious kid.

"It is." Edwin smiled amiably, asking, "Now what would you like to know?"

TBC