Okay, so I adore Ben, but I felt like Klaus needed to call him out on his bullshit in this scene. Because, honestly, as far as we have been shown, Luther has done f**k all for Klaus. Only hours earlier he had drunkenly choked Klaus when he wasn't able to manifest their dad and threw him across the room when Klaus was trying his best to comfort and look out for him - not cool Luther, not cool. So yeah, definitely felt this was necessary because Klaus deserves so much better when it comes to his siblings and their treatment of him.
Klaus stumbles down the dark street, shivering at the cold night air and feeling ten types of awful.
He hugs himself, scratching his nails across the exposed skin of his arms in an attempt to appease the itch that sits just under his skins. The craving for something, anything, to dull the pain that rocks his body with tremors.
Ben follows at his side, a cold presence in his periphery that has goosebumps rising along his bare arms. But Klaus takes comfort in the cold, glad to have his brother by his side again after ten months without him. Ben had been the biggest thing Klaus had missed during his foray into the past – the absence of his brother making Klaus feel like he has lost him all over again. Although he didn't miss the way Ben would nag him about needing to 'come clean' and 'stop wasting his life'.
"You can do this Klaus, Luther needs you." Ben predictably encourages a few minutes later when Klaus begins to slow, his feet stumbling over the cracked asphalt.
However, Klaus only makes it a few more steps before he stumbles to a stop, a wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm him. He hunches over, arms dropping to wrap around his stomach as he rides it out the cramping in his stomach.
"I just–" He pants out with his hands on his knees before the nausea gets worse, leaning over further and trying to breathe through the pain. He reaches up to clutch at his aching head, willing the dizziness to pass.
"Ugh, this is… this is pointless." He announces when he can stand upright again, turning to face Ben but unable to meet his brother's eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment he is sure Ben's expression will show.
"You know what, I'm goin' home– I have to go home." He decides, unsure what exactly possessed him to chase after Luther in the first place when his brother had made it clear he wanted to spend the night making bad decisions – and who was Klaus get in the way of that?
So decision made, he starts heading back towards the Academy, only to find Ben blocking his way.
Klaus chuckles without humor, "you know, I could just walk right through you, right?
"I'm well aware." Ben returns dryly as Klaus then proceeds to walk through him, throwing his hands out in a tada gesture as he continues walking back the way they had come.
"But you need to keep trying," Ben calls after him, "Luther needs your help."
"He could be anywhere by now doing god knows what," Klaus complains, turning to face Ben again. "And you know what? This is probably a good thing! The big guy needs a life, and tonight he is out experiencing the real world!"
"He's not ready for it." Ben returns. And yeah, Klaus can admit that Ben has a point considering Luther is the most closeted of them all. But how is it his problem that his 30-year-old brother suddenly decides to get a life and can't hold his liquor?
"Well, who is? Was I? Were you?" Klaus throws out, wanting Ben to drop the conversation, even as he immediately regrets the words.
"Look– I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he backtracks, before sighing, "I know you weren't ready to die violently at a young age."
Ben just crosses his arms, radiating disapproval.
Another wave of nausea hits Klaus then and he has to swallow back the acidic taste of bile at the back of his throat.
"Oh, sobriety isn't easy." Klaus half sobs, wanting nothing more than to just lie down on the ground and curl into a ball of misery. He sucks in a breath, trying to regain his equilibrium and still the shaking in his hands.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He demands when Ben continues to stare him down, hating feeling like he's disappointed his brother, even though it's a near-permanent thing when Ben is around him; watching him steal, watching him get high, watching him OD. A constant cycle of fuck-ups and disappointment.
"It's not my responsibility! I– I didn't sign up to save you or him."
"You're right. You didn't." Ben responds, matching Klaus' tone, his dark eyes flashing with anger. "But if you were in trouble, there is nothing in this world Luther wouldn't do to save your scrawny little junkie ass."
The words feel like a slap to the face and Klaus sways back a little, feeling betrayed and more than a little hurt by the comment – especially from the one person he thought would have his back.
Because, after everything they had been through together, did Ben know their siblings couldn't care less?
After everything Ben had just witnessed Klaus suffering at the hands of those two psychopaths in masks because not one of his siblings had even noticed he was missing.
After being dismissed his entire life by Luther as a 'disappointment' or 'fuck up'.
And Ben was lecturing him on not giving a shit.
The anger comes then, a sudden rush of it that has him straightening up, using his height to stare down at Ben, meeting his brother's gaze straight on.
"Is that so?" Klaus sneers, the words soft but menacing all the same. "Wow, Ben. For someone who spends most of his undeath with a front-row seat to my fucked up life you are forgetting a lot of moments when my dear older brother couldn't give two shits about my scrawny little junkie ass."
Ben's expression falters at that – shifting into something softer, regretful. He opens his mouth to speak but Klaus doesn't give him the chance, too worked up to stop now he's started.
"What about the time I was kidnapped from the house and tortured for two days, hmm?" Klaus throws out. "None of my wonderful siblings even noticed I was gone, least of all Luther."
"Klaus–"
"And my well-being really seems to be his top priority when he's choking me and throwing me across the room for actually trying to help him."
"He did what?"
Klaus scoffs, throwing his arms out. "Come on, Ben, don't act surprised. You were there for the whole thing!"
"No Klaus," Ben says, his voice quiet and grim. "I only manifested when you left the house."
"Oh, and isn't that convenient."
"No, really. I didn't– I wasn't there." Ben starts pacing in front of Klaus, looking so distraught that Klaus hesitates in his tirade, thinking back to that moment in the living room when he had walked in on Luther drunk off his ass and tries to recall if Ben had been by his side during the whole awkward encounter with their brother
But it's difficult – at this stage of withdrawal – to really focus on anything but the thought of getting high again.
"It's been hard since you got back - from wherever you went." Ben continues quietly, stopping in front of Klaus and meeting his gaze again, his dark eyes full of worry and fear. And just like that all of Klaus' anger drains out of him.
Because he knows Ben wouldn't lie about something like this. Not when the consequences of existing, as Ben does, without an anchor leads to the sort of deranged apparitions that still give Klaus nightmares.
"I'm sorry," Klaus says, feeling horrible for not realizing sooner how much his brother must have been suffering in his absence, invisible to the world without Klaus to play medium.
"No–" Ben's eyes widen and he steps in closer, "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of that."
"It's fine."
"No Klaus, it's not. It was a shitty thing to say and I'm sorry. I'm just… I thought you might never come back. I thought I might just fade away alone and I can't– I don't want to see this family tear itself apart again now we are finally back together."
"Hey, hey… it's okay, man." Klaus is quick to reassure, hating it when Ben gets like this. When he seems to take the weight of the world onto his shoulders. Klaus reaches out, hand hovering just over Ben's shoulder, wishing with every fiber of his being that he could touch his brother.
Ben sways towards him, clearly wishing the same, the distance between them never more apparent than in moments like this.
They stay like that for an indeterminable moment before Klaus forces himself to pull back. But as he moves his hand down he feels his palm brush up against something soft, and the unexpected sensation has him freezing in place.
Because what he can feel against his skin feels very much like the fabric of Ben's hoodie.
Klaus is sure he is probably hallucinating, imagining things in his withdrawal, but he can't stop the small spark of hope growing within him, that maybe, just maybe–
He hesitates for a moment, steeling himself for the disappointment he is sure will come, before he lowers his hand the last inch. He expects it to fall through Ben but instead, it settles on the slope of Ben's shoulder. And Klaus can feel it.
Klaus finds himself mute with the shock of it, unable to tear his eyes away from the spot his hand rests. And as he continues to stare he starts to notice how his hand is glowing slightly, the underside of his palm radiating a soft blue glow that grows stronger the longer he watches.
And Ben somehow hasn't noticed yet – isn't even looking at him, his eyes downcast as he remains caught up in his own little bubble of misery.
But Klaus can't find the words to speak, and it's only when he has been standing there for a good thirty seconds doing nothing but staring at his hand that Ben looks up, a small frown on his face, probably wondering why Klaus hasn't moved.
Then the touch seems to register with him.
His head whips to the side so fast Klaus would have been concerned for his health if his brother hadn't already been dead.
"What– how?" Ben asks in a whisper.
Still struck speechless, Klaus merely shakes his head in response to Ben's question, no idea how he is managing to do this but not wanting to question it right now when it means he can touch Ben.
When it means – that after more than 10 years – Klaus can finally touch his brother again.
With that thought in mind, Klaus steps forward and wraps his arms tightly around Ben, hugging him with all the fierce longing and grief he'd been clinging to since his brother's death, not wanting to waste another second.
Ben is tense in his arms at first, shock still evident in the way holds himself before he all but melts into it, his arms coming up to wrap just as tightly around Klaus.
The embrace is cold, a reminder that Ben is still dead, but it's real and the best fucking feeling Klaus has ever experienced so he only clings on a little bit tighter.
He can see the glow in his hands getting stronger, the blue light spilling from him into Ben's body and it reinforces the realization that he is somehow responsible for this. And for the first time in his life, he actually feels grateful for his abilities.
Hugging his brother feels like the best high of his life, and in that glorious moment, he forgets everything – all the pain and heartache he has brought back from Nam, all the
looming pressure of stopping the upcoming apocalypse and general horror of his abilities.
It's just Klaus and Ben and he wishes he could live in this perfect moment forever.
But eventually, reality intrudes again – in the form of two drunk girls, who stumble past on heels that are far too high and with voices shrill enough to wake the dead.
"Get a room!" One of them calls out at them, before dissolving into giggles with her friend. And as much as Klaus hates them interrupting his moment with his brother it makes clear his abilities make Ben tangible to more than just him.
He meets Ben's eye as he pulls back and the wide-eyed look of astonishment is enough to have Klaus realize the full possibilities of his newfound gift.
"They can see me?" Ben whispers a moment later, looking shellshocked.
"Looks like it," Klaus confirms, a little giddy as the possibilities this new ability could give him – could give Ben.
"How?" Ben asks again.
"I'm not sure but... I've been trying to get clean," Klaus tentatively admits after a few seconds, knowing Ben has heard those words from his mouth before only to find him high a few hours later. But this time he is more serious than he has ever been in his life, the thought of fighting against his addiction feels less daunting than before.
Because now he has a reason to stay clean.
And maybe – if he's lucky – this was his chance to get Dave back.
"I want to get clean." He reaffirms, wanting Ben to realize how this time it isn't just an empty promise.
"I'm really proud of you," Is all Ben says in response, his hand squeezing Klaus' shoulder and Klaus looks away, choking back the flood of emotion hearing those words invoke. Because as much as he may pretend he doesn't care what people think, his brother's approval means everything.
"Tell me that when I'm actually sober, Right now I just feel like I want to die." He quips back once he's regained control over his emotions.
They laugh, Klaus feels the vibrations through the side of his body where he is still pressed against Ben – unwilling to completely let go.
But as quickly as this strange new power rose within him, Klaus can feel it ebbing away, retreating back into him.
He lets himself lean a bit heavier into Ben's side, trying to hold onto the feeling but the effort of it exhausts him and he is forced to let the power go – his brother becoming less corporeal until it's just empty air where Ben stands.
His hand falls from where it had been resting on Ben's shoulder and he feels hollow without the solid weight of his brother next to him.
"I'm sorry," He murmurs softly, feeling like he's let Ben down. "I tried to hold it as long as I could but maybe if I try again I could–"
"Klaus, stop," Ben demands, stepping in front of Klaus. "What you did was amazing. I– just having that was–" Ben trails off but Klaus knows what he is trying to say, the heavy feeling of disappointment easing at Ben's words.
"You know what, let's go home. Luther can deal with his own shit." Ben announces after a few moments and it startles a laugh out of Klaus.
"What happened to helping him, huh?" Klaus asks with a grin, amused at how quickly Ben changed tracks from his previous insistence at finding Luther.
"That was before I realized what an asshole he had been! I thought of all our siblings, Luther would be better than that."
Klaus briefly considers turning around, heading back to the Academy and spending the night practicing his new ability with Ben. But the last couple of minutes have changed something in him, and for the first time, he considers the bigger picture. He knows they need Luther for whatever crazy scheme Five is cooking up, but that means getting his brother back home and mostly sober. Even if Klaus has no idea how he's going to actually manage it.
"As much as I want to agree with you, I think you were right." Klaus sighs, forcing himself to start walking, even though his limbs feel like jelly, exhausted from manifesting Ben on top of withdrawal pains.
"Wow, who would guess you would actually listen to me one of these days," Ben teases, falling into step with him easily.
"I guess it takes a while to get through my thick skull."
"If only I could get the rest of our idiot siblings to listen to me, huh?"
"Oh, I think that could be arranged," Klaus suggests impishly, waving his fingers for emphasis.
The vindictive smirk that takes over Ben's face makes Klaus glad he isn't any of their siblings, but he is certain that whatever Ben is planning to unleash on them will be entertaining to witness.
But he supposes they better save the world first.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought! And check out my other TUA fics if you like this one (all focus on Klaus, Diego, and Ben cause I shamelessly love them).