#also i never noticed the way ben looked at klaus in that damn closet rip | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gilmores-glorious-blog · 4 years

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5 times Klaus regretted wearing a skirt +1 time he didn’t

Considering he was a child soldier who heard the screams of the dead, being queer was not the strangest thing about Klaus Hargreeves by a long shot. Still, he wasn’t quite sure what to think when he started liking boys as well as girls (and everyone in-between) at age eight. Or when he realized he wasn’t quite a boy a year later.

He knew not to tell anyone. That was the last thing this family needed. Besides, Klaus already felt so isolated from his siblings, he knew being ‘the gay one’ wouldn’t help matters. So, he kept to himself, and occasionally he’d find ghosts who were nice enough to talk to about things. There was one ghost in particular who he enjoyed to talk about boys with- a blond soldier, who told Klaus that he was also gay.

Once when he was nine, Klaus met a ghost who looked like a woman, but talked like a man. They told Klaus they were what was called a drag queen. Klaus’ eyes lit up as the ghost talked to him of dressing up in skirts and makeup. He was so entranced by it all that he could nearly ignore the gruesome strangle marks and bruises around the ghost’s neck.

That night, while Allison was off in the attic with Luther, Klaus snuck into his sister’s room and picked out her nicest skirt. He ran back to his room and locked the door behind him, ignoring the dead around him.

Klaus looked in the mirror on the back of his door as he put the skirt on. Smiling, he twirled around a few times and watched the pink fabric spin with him. He liked this. It was loads better than the stupid outfits his dad made him wear.

He was so caught up in his happiness that he didn’t notice the door was opening until it hit him in the face.

“Klaus! Oh my gosh, are you okay?” He heard his sister’s voice from the ground he’d been knocked to.

“What are you wearing?” Luther’s voice this time, a little behind Allison.

Klaus sat up tentatively and wrapped his arms around his knees. “Nothing?”

Allison glared at him. “You stole my skirt!”

Klaus jumped up and took the skirt off, disappointed to remember how he looked with just jeans on. “I only borrowed it! For a bit!”

Allison said nothing, just snatched the skirt back from him and looked it over as if to make sure Klaus hadn’t ruined it for the two minutes he’d had it.

“Why’d you even want to wear that?” Luther asks. “You’re not a girl.”

Klaus knew his brother didn’t mean for the words to hurt, but they did. A lot.

He shrugged, not making eye contact. “Dunno. Wanted to see what I looked like.”

Luther just looked confused. Allison rolled her eyes. “You’re so weird, Klaus.”

They left his room, leaving the door open. Klaus could smell his father’s cigarette smoke coming up from downstairs, and for what wasn’t the first time, he wanted more of that smell.

It took three years, but Klaus finally got his sister to let him borrow her skirt. He hadn’t asked for a while after the last time because of how badly it had gone, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked while wearing it. And how he felt while wearing it. Klaus wanted to feel like that more.

So he’d started to butter up Allison- mostly by letting her use him as a test subject for all her makeup. Klaus did genuinely enjoy that, though. It gave him more time with his sister, time he’d never had before, and on the rare occasions Allison didn’t screw up and leave him looking like a reject clown, he loved how it felt to wear makeup and have painted nails.

Klaus finally felt brave enough to make his skirt request one day when Allison had just finished painting his nails a dark blue.

“These match perfectly with that skirt of yours, Al.” He said, nodding toward the where said skirt was hanging in the open closet.

Allison gasped a little. “They do! You should put the skirt on!”

Klaus resisted the urge to pump his fist. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

Allison nodded eagerly, jumping off the bed to grab the skirt. “Of course!”

Klaus smiled, gladly taking the skirt from her and putting it on. It was long, meant to be floor length, and it nearly went down to his feet (he was a lot taller than Allison). The fabric was shiny and swishy and Klaus couldn’t stop twirling.

Allison clapped her hands suddenly. “Ooo! I just remembered something!” She grabbed her brother’s hand and started to drag him out of her room.

“What?” Klaus was curious, but wasn’t sure he wanted the rest of the family to see him in the skirt. Dad was in his office, though, and Klaus supposed everyone else would be fine with it. So he let his curiosity get the better of him.

“I think I’ve seen Mom wear heels that are the same color as the skirt!” Allison was leading Klaus’ towards their mother’s closet. He had to admit, heels sounded very exciting.

“They should be around here somewhere…” Allison muttered, tossing other shoes out of her way in search for this specific pair. “Oh! Here!”

She turned and presented her brother with a pair of stilettos that sure enough, matched his skirt and nails. Klaus grabbed them and put them on.

He promptly fell against the doorframe. “Shit!”

Allison laughed, taking hold of his arm and leading him out of the room. Slowly, Klaus sort of got the hang of walking.

“Christ, these are hard to move in!” He shakily let go of Allison’s arm, but he kept his own extended for balance.

“They’re not that bad once you get used to it. I borrow Mom’s heels all the time just to practice walking around in them.”

“Why in the world would you do that?”

Allison shrugged. “If I’m gonna be a famous movie star, I should know how to wear high heels.”

Klaus smirked. “Right, of course, how could I forget about your Hollywood plans.” He put on a high-pitched voice, “Look out world, I’m Allison Hargreeves!”

Allison slapped him, nearly causing him to fall again. “Just for that, I’m making you walk all the way downstairs to show Vanya your outfit.” She began to move down the staircase they had found themselves at the top of.

Klaus took this as a challenge. “Oh, you think I can’t go downstairs in these shoes? I bet you I can run downstairs in them.”

“Klaus, that doesn’t sound like a good idea-”

He ignored her and took off. “Vanya!” The more people around to watch him beat Allison at something, the better.

Surprisingly, Klaus made it almost halfway down before something went wrong. He saw that his shoe was caught in the skirt, but not in time to stop it.

“Klaus!” He heard Allison cry from above him as he crashed down the rest of the stairs, hearing the fabric of the skirt rip.

Jesus Christ, his mouth hurt.

Vanya and Allison reached him at the same time, and they worked together to pull him up from the floor.

“God, Klaus, you’re bleeding.”

Klaus spit out some blood and attempted to talk. “No shit.”

His brothers all came running, having heard the fall from where they were training. Ben immediately crouched in front of Klaus and examined him with concern.

“Dude, what did you do?!” Diego exclaimed.

Klaus tried to talk again, but it hurt too much. Allison answered for him. “He tripped while running down the stairs. Which I very clearly told him not to do…” She pointedly added, staring at Klaus, who spit blood at her and enjoyed watching her jump back with a shriek.

“I think you broke your jaw.” Five said with shockingly little sympathy in his voice. “I’m going to go get Mom, she’ll know how to help.”

“You know, you shouldn’t have worn those heels. Something like this was bound to happen.”

“Gee thanks, Luther, I hadn’t thought of that!” Klaus managed to speak. Damn, it hurt to be sarcastic.

“...Or the skirt.” Luther said, trying like always to get the last word in.

“Yeah, okay, I got it!” Klaus spat, raising his voice a little. It was the last he would speak for eight weeks, but at least Luther didn’t get the last word.

“Bennnnn!!!” Klaus hollered, knowing his brother was downstairs, but too high to be bothered to move.

He lay his head on his bed, waiting to see if Ben had heard him. Judging by the footsteps coming up the stairs and the annoyed mumbling, he had.

“What?” Ben said, opening the door. He clearly wasn’t in the mood for Klaus’ bullshit, but Klaus had his mind set on something and he needed his brother to do it.

“I…” Klaus sat up shakily, gesturing at himself with a flourish, “am going to come out to Dad.”

Ben’s eyes widened and he moved fully into the room, closing the door behind him. “You’re… you are? Really? Now? Are you sure?”

Klaus lit a cigarette. “Yeah! Why not?!”

“I can think of plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t, the most notable being our father isn’t exactly warm and cuddly, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Awww,” Klaus batted his eyes at Ben. “You’re so sweet. But I’m fine. The guy has hurt me enough, I can deal with a little more. Plus, he already hates me for the drugs and shit, so this can’t make things all that much worse.”

Ben bit his lip and looked nervously at his brother. “If you’re sure, there’s nothing I can do to stop you. But you have to be careful.”

Klaus put an arm around Ben. “I am fifteen, now, brother, and I have lots of money that I’ve acquired through all sorts of legal means. Plus, Pops still needs me for missions and publicity stuff. And we all know I’m the pretty one, so he can’t fuck me up too bad.”

Ben laughed a bit. “Right. You’re the pretty one.” He stood, ignoring his brother’s offended gasp.

“So. How are you gonna do it? Sit the whole family down for a chat?”

Klaus looked disgusted. “Hell no, that’s way too fancy. Plus I’m pretty sure everyone already knows, even though I’ve only officially told you and Diego so far. I’m probably just gonna dress up all feminine, go downstairs, and improvise.”

“As far as plans go, that’s about a three out of ten.” Ben remarked.

Klaus stood, throwing his extinguished cigarette aside. “Sounds good to me!”

Ben sighs. “What do you need me for? I mean, I’m glad you told me about this, but please tell me I’m not directly involved with your shitty plan.”

“I need you, brother dearest, to raid Allison’s room.”

Ben just stares at him. “No.”

“Come on! I gotta get femme stuff, and I haven’t bought any myself yet. And we both know Vanya doesn’t have any. I just need a skirt, a cute top, and some makeup.”

“And why can’t you acquire these things yourself?” Ben crosses his arms.

“Because she’s sick of me doing that, and she’ll get mad. But you’ve been elected Nicest Hargreeves, and she’ll never get pissed at you.”

Ben didn’t comment for a while, just stared at Klaus. Klaus thinks something about his whole sad, broken, victorian boy aesthetic must have convinced Ben, because the next thing his brother says is, “Fine.”

***

Half an hour later, Klaus is dressed in a sparkly pink skirt, a white crop top, and insane amounts of makeup.

“You look pretty.” Allison smiles. Ben ended up having to fill her in on what was happening, but she was more than supportive. She just wanted to make sure her brother didn’t ruin her clothes again.

“Thanks, Al.” Klaus did love how he looked, but he was too nervous to appreciate it fully. His high had worn off and now he has no idea what made him think this was a good idea in the first place.

“Alright, you ready?” Ben asks.

Klaus takes a deep breath. He looks at his brother and sister, smiling at him. His gaze sweeps over the corpses starting to reappear now that the drugs are wearing off.

He makes eye contact with one of them, one he hasn’t seen in years, since the first time he wore Allison’s skirt all those years ago.

The blond soldier smiles at him kindly, with what appear to be tears in his eyes. He says something that Klaus can’t quite hear from across the room, but it looks like he says ‘you’ve got this, soldier.’

“Number four!” Klaus hears Reginald call from the library. He flinches, but reminds himself that the disdain in his father’s voice has nothing to do with the way he’s dressed- not yet, anyway.

He turns and looks at where Ben and Allison are huddled at the foot of the staircase. Ben gives him a thumbs up and Klaus walks into the library.

“Yes?” Klaus responds, a cheeky tone in his voice that’s hopefully hiding the fear that’s hidden there.

Reginald turns to look at him, and Klaus nearly passes out in the seconds it takes for his father to scan him up and down.

“What on earth are you wearing!?”

Klaus does a little twirl, “a skirt. Among other things.” He thinks if he dissociates himself from the conversation and just lets his instinct take over, it won’t be quite as scary.

“You can’t be wearing that.” Reginald replies instantly.

“Why not? I think I look quite dashing.”

“You’re a boy! It makes you look very queer, and that’s the last thing your reputation needs.”

Klaus resists the urge to look at his siblings again for encouragement. This moment is entirely yours, Hargreeves. They can’t help you now.

“But I am! Queer, that is. Not quite a boy.”

Klaus feels a hand connect sharply with his face.

It would hurt more if that same hand hadn’t hurt him loads of times before.

His father is still talking, still yelling, still hitting him. Klaus ignores him. He wants out of this skirt.

When Reginald didn’t accompany his children on missions, there were a few things that changed. Diego didn’t stutter as much, for one. And Ben wasn’t forced to kill quite as many people. Allison’s rumors weren’t quite as harsh, and Luther didn’t hit the bad guys quite as hard. They still got the job done- they were The Umbrella Academy, and even though they were getting older, they had a reputation to maintain- but they weren’t nearly as violent without their father there, encouraging them to hurt more people.

As for Klaus, when he went on missions without dear old Dad, he wore and did whatever the fuck he wanted. He knew as well as all of his siblings that he wasn’t in any way helpful to missions unless somehow the job getting done required communication with ghosts. (And even if it did, Klaus would almost definitely be too drunk or high to talk to the dead.) So it had been unofficially decided that when Reggie let the kids do missions on their own, Klaus didn’t really do anything unless completely necessary, and they were all fine with that.

Klaus still enjoyed tagging along on missions, though. He knew damn well that he was still a fan favorite, so to say. He was inexplicably more charming than any of his brothers, so interviews were mostly comprised of him and Allison being endearing and the rest of the siblings standing there looking tough. Today’s mission, Klaus was feeling bold enough to wear a skirt- one that actually belonged to him this time! Allison had bought it for him at their last birthday, and though she claimed to only be doing it so he wouldn’t keep stealing hers, it was a very sweet gift and Klaus was excited to finally wear it during a mission.

The job was taking longer than it normally would, and Klaus was passing the time by making out with a very cute boy he saw watching him in the crowd. Klaus didn’t particularly want to hook up with his fans, but anyone that actually knew him was too repulsed by what they saw to want to be close to him, so he took what he could get.

Eventually his siblings finished whatever they’d been doing, and Klaus was interrupted by a smack on his back.

“Come on lover boy, we gotta go.” Diego said.

“Fine,” Klaus whined. He took a pen from the boy’s pocket and scrawled his number on his arm. “Call me.” He winked and let Diego drag him away while rolling his eyes.

It wasn’t until they got home that Klaus realized the consequences of what he’d been doing.

The moment they walked in the door, Vanya was waiting there to greet them- which was odd, usually she was holed up practicing her violin.

“Klaus!” She said, sounding panicked, grabbing her brother’s arm before he could walk past her like he was going to.

“Uh… hi Vanny?” Klaus was unclear on what was happening.

“Did you intend to come out on national tv?”

“I’m sorry, did I what?!”

“Come here!” Vanya kept a hold of Klaus’ arm and dragged him towards the nearest tv, the other siblings trailing behind them with concern.

Klaus had no idea what his sister was talking about. He was a bit scared, very confused, and also in no way surprised if Vanya was right and he had accidentally come out on national tv. That is one hundred percent on brand for Klaus Hargreeves.

Sure enough, when they got to the tv, a news reporter was talking over a blurry photo of Klaus kissing the boy from the mission. The headline at the bottom of the screen read Umbrella Academy’s Klaus Hargreeves Secretly Gay?

No one says anything for a minute as they all listen to the reporter talk. Finally, Klaus says, “I didn’t think I was keeping it a secret.”

Ben laughs weakly beside him. “Yeah, guess the public just has a terrible gaydar.”

“Dad’s gonna kill you.” Diego whispers, getting a grunt of agreement from Luther.

“Probably.” Klaus agrees, still staring at the screen where the reporter was now discussing/judging Klaus’ choice of clothing. “I feel bad for the kid, I hope they don’t identify him.”

“The kid?” Allison remarks from behind Klaus. “Jesus, Klaus, do you not even know the name of the guy?”

“Didn’t cross my mind to ask.” Klaus responds, ignoring the sounds of horror from his siblings. “Vanya, where’s Dad?”

Vanya jumped a bit at her name. “Uh, I think he’s in his office. Do you want me to get him, or…”

“Hell no!” Klaus scoffed. He did not want to face his father about this. They had just gotten to a point where Reginald wasn’t constantly murdering Klaus with his stare for the first time since Klaus came out to him. But his Dad was definitely not going to love this latest development, since he had made it very clear that he didn’t want the world to know that Klaus was pan and non-binary.

Klaus turned to leave, avoiding his siblings’ disappointed and judgmental looks. “I’m gonna go smoke.” He muttered.

Klaus tried to pretend he wasn’t bothered by what they were saying about him. And he did a pretty good job of it, at least in front of his family. But that night, alone in his room, he broke down. His father hadn’t come out of his office the rest of the day, and Klaus was terrified. He opened up his old laptop and went to the ‘trending’ section of the news. Among articles about some political debate and what type of lettuce was safe to eat, his face was scattered. He clicked on a handful of the articles.

Klaus Hargreeves rumored to be gay.

The Seance caught kissing a boy!

Sorry girls! Looks like national heartthrob Klaus Hargreeves isn’t one for women.

Number Four, the Seance, seen wearing a skirt.

Klaus rolled his eyes at some of the headlines. He really didn’t want to make any sort of public statement on this whole disaster, but he would very much like to clear things up and make it crystal clear that he is ‘one for women’, thank you very much.

Not all the articles are that bad. They’re all somewhat insensitive, considering they’re all making assumptions about Klaus based off of one blurry photo, but some are decently respectful. Of course, Klaus only focuses on the ones that aren’t.

One of the Umbrella Academy members found to be a queer.

Seems to me that a lot of people are no longer going to have a favorite member of the Umbrella Academy.

The Seance may be able to speak to the dead, but he can not pull off a skirt.

Klaus Hargreeves should stick to talking to ghosts from now on.

Klaus reads them all in his father’s voice.

Abruptly, he jumps of his bed and rips off his skirt, throwing it across the room. He lets out a cry of frustration.

Klaus spends the rest of the night doing dangerous amounts of drugs and drinking every last bit of alcohol he had stored in his room. The last thing he remembers seeing before he passes out is the ghost of the blond soldier watching him with concern from the corner of the room.

It took him 26 years, but Klaus Hargreeves was finally trying to pull his shit together. Well, more accurately- it took Ben Hargreeves 26 years to convince his brother to pull his shit together.

Klaus had woken up in the back room of some bar/drug den, mostly naked with random people laying next to him.

His brother stood above him offering a condescending hand to Klaus, since he knew Klaus couldn’t actually touch him.

“Hey there. Your head hurt?”

Klaus tried very hard not to rub his throbbing head, as to not prove Ben right. “Christ, don’t you ever go away? There’s no way I’m sober right now, so why the fuck are you still bothering me?”

Klaus knew why, and Ben knew he knew why. And somewhere, deep down, Klaus was glad Ben didn’t leave. He was glad there was always someone there when he hit rock bottom over and over again. But Ben was also really bloody annoying, always telling Klaus to ‘eat a vegetable’ or ‘take a shower’. Stupid stuff like that.

“Klaus, why do you do this?” Ben asked suddenly, as Klaus was stumbling up off the floor.

“Do what?”

“You know what. All of this. Drugs, booze, hooking up with random strangers and then never seeing them again, living on the streets, the list goes on and on.”

“Ben, are you really still asking me this? You’d think after twelve years of it, you would stop trying to get me to give up all my lovable quirks.”

“They’re not lovable quirks!” Ben snapped, even though he knew his brother was only joking and embellishing his words like always. “They’re… they’re terrible, awful things you do to yourself and I am the only person who’s stuck with you through it all because you’ve pushed away everyone else, and do you know how hard it is that you don’t listen to me? That I have to watch you live your life- something that I didn’t get to do- so dangerously, so irresponsibly, like you don’t even care whether you live or die!”

“Well, maybe I don’t!”

Ben’s face softened. “Klaus…” He took a deep breath and started again. “Klaus, I know it’s hard. I know our childhood was shit, and our dad was abusive as all hell, and the ghosts are unbearable. I know all that. But it could all be so much better if you tried a little bit. If you sobered up enough to get a job, so you could get money, so you could an apartment. Klaus, I don’t care if you buy the shittiest, most rundown apartment in the whole city- I will cry tears of joy if you have a place to live for once. Or... or you could do what Diego does! You could work for someone in exchange to live with them. Speaking of Diego, what about trying to live with him? You know he loves you like crazy, even though he doesn’t act like it. Talk to him, talk to Allison for god’s sake, she’s filthy rich and I’m sure she’d give you money. You don’t have to isolate yourself from your family! God, I don’t understand why you all pushed each other away! Do you know how much I would give to be alive with all of you right now?! Why don’t any of you appreciate this life that you have! Klaus, you have no fucking idea how terrible it is to be dead and watch the people you love throw away their life!”

Klaus didn’t know ghosts could cry.

He watched in horror as his brother curled up on the floor, wiping away tears. Ben looked so small, like he was as young as he was when he was alive. Klaus blinked and saw their father standing over Ben, yelling at him for not trying hard enough. He blinked again and saw an eight-year-old Ben, sobbing on the floor of a bank after murdering a group of people for the first time. He saw every other time he walked into Ben’s room and saw him doing that after a mission- too many times for Klaus to count.

“Okay.” He found himself saying.

Ben looked up at him, standing hesitantly. “Okay… what?”

“I’ll try to find a job.” Klaus meant it, shockingly. Ben was right, and he knew it. He didn’t like it, but he needed to do something to thank Ben for sticking with him.

The look on Ben’s face made it all worth it.

***

“Bennn why is finding a job so hard?”

“Klaus, we’ve been looking for thirty minutes. That’s nothing. And I still think we should go see Diego or Vanya or someone with a computer so you can research places to work, not just wander around until you find something.”

“No, no, nope. I am being nice and doing something for you, but I promise you that by the time this hangover wears off, I will have lost all motivation to do so. We gotta get me some paperwork or shit so I’ll be legally obligated to not back out of this.”

“When has the law ever stopped you?”

Klaus glared at his brother. “Giving up on this now…”

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m very proud of you. Let’s keep looking.” Ben reached out like he was going to pat Klaus’ shoulder, but stopped. Even after Ben being dead for nearly ten years, both brothers forgot sometimes that they couldn’t touch. Klaus would never admit it, but he would give anything to hug Ben again.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, the mood brought down by the cruel reminder of Ben’s death.

“Oh! Klaus!” Ben said suddenly, pointing at the window they were passing. Klaus followed his brother’s finger and saw the Help Wanted sign.

“Well that looks promising…” Klaus wandered over to see what the store was. “Goodwin Hardware… a hardware store? That’s so boring!”

“Come on, it’s the only place we’ve found. And at least there’s sharp objects you can play with!” Ben pleaded.

“Okay, calm down there Diego, I’m still going to check it out.” Klaus used the window as a mirror, adjusting his hair and overall trying to make himself a little less disheveled. He was wearing a blue button up and a silver skirt- both things he had found on the floor he woke up on, and he was pretty sure neither of them belonged to him the night before.

Klaus walked into the store, the jingle of the bell on the door nearly as loud as Ben’s gasp of excitement.

“Can I help ‘ya?” A gruff voice barked from the front counter. Klaus followed the voice to see an old white guy look up from the fishing magazine he’d been reading. Figures, Klaus thought- it was a hardware store after all, but Klaus had been hoping it was one of those cool, lesbian-owned hardware stores.

Klaus felt himself freeze up, seeing just a little too much of his father in the man’s face, but Ben whispered encouragement from behind him, and together they walked to the counter.

“Hi, yes, I was wondering about your help wanted sign? You see, I’ve recently decided to acquire a job, and this looks like a lovely place-”

“No.” The man said, returning to his magazine like the conversation was over.

“...No?” Klaus repeated.

“I don’t hire queers,” The guy glanced up again and gave Klaus a look like it should have been obvious what he was talking about.

Oh.

Klaus heard Ben mutter his name from behind him, the same disappointed tone in his voice that Klaus was used to hearing.

“Well, sir, I don’t think being gay hinders my ability to shelf tools.” Klaus bit his lip as he spoke, trying his hardest to remain polite. Do it for Ben, do it for Ben, do it for Ben-

“Listen, sissy, I told you the answer’s no. Now get out of my shop.”

Okay that was it. Klaus reached across the counter and tore the magazine from the man’s hands, throwing it behind him.

“You’re going to give me this fucking job!” Klaus hissed. He ignored the fact that Ben was telling him to stop, telling him that they would just find another opportunity.

The man grabbed Klaus by the collar and pulled him close, scraping him across the wood of the counter. Klaus flinched, being reminded once again of his dad.

“No, ‘m not. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get out of my store before I have to tell you a third time.”

Klaus spit in the man’s eye. A fist met his face.

He woke up in what had lovingly been dubbed “his” prison cell.

“God, my head…” He rubbed at his face, feeling a lump from where the man had hit him.

“Oh. You’re awake.” Ben said from across the room.

Klaus remembered all that had happened. (Although why he went to jail when he was the one who’d gotten hit, he wasn’t sure. Probably had something to do with the fact that his cop-in-training brother used arresting Klaus as an excuse to check up on him.)

“Ben, I’m sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to make this into a whole thing-”

“But you did! You egged that guy on when we could have just left and kept looking! Jesus, Klaus do you ever know when to stop?!” Ben rubbed his eyes and turned away from Klaus, making it clear the conversation was over and Klaus was left with a bitch of a hypothetical question.

He picked at the fraying silver of his (not his) skirt. He closed his eyes and saw a tv headline, saw his father’s hand hitting him, saw the floor fall out beneath him, saw his brother and sister’s judgmental faces.

Maybe he should stop wearing skirts.

+1.

Klaus had made a promise to himself that he would stop wearing skirts. Nothing good happened when he did. The only time he’d broken that promise since the hardware store incident was at his father’s funeral- sort of as a final fuck-you to Reginald. And hey, things couldn’t get any worse, right? At least that’s what he thought until his baby brother showed up, rambling about doomsday.

But, Klaus had made that promise in 2016. And this was 1968. So technically, Klaus hadn’t made the promise yet. Besides, this skirt was really cute.

So Klaus bought it, bullshiting some excuse about buying it to send to his little sister back home (as if Vanya would ever wear this), because as nice as the Saigon residents were, he wasn’t about to tell them he was a gay soldier sneaking away from camp with another gay soldier.

He and Dave weren’t fully sneaking around, exactly. Everyone in their unit had a break this weekend, it’s just that most of them weren’t in Saigon. Klaus wasn’t sure where they were exactly, but he knew that he and Dave weren’t in risk of being seen by anyone they knew. So they only had to worry the normal amount about being gay in the 60s! Yay!

Klaus sat waiting outside their motel room, because Dave was a sap and wanted to pretend like he was picking Klaus up for their date, even though they were staying in the same space. Not that Klaus minded- he loved that Dave was such a romantic. It was just one of the many, many things that made him different- and better- than any partners Klaus had before.

It felt wrong, comparing Dave to other partners. They weren’t even on the same plane as him. Klaus had never been with someone because he cared about them before. He’d never really been with someone at all, actually. Three weeks didn’t exactly count as a long-term relationship, especially when he was only doing it for a place to sleep. The point was, Dave was different. Dave was special. Klaus knew it from the moment he saw him. Something about him looked familiar, like Klaus had known him before in a different time.

It wasn’t like Klaus was planning on staying in the middle of a war that happened twenty years before he was even born, but he didn’t exactly have a reason to go back to 2019, either. And he realized about an hour into his time in Vietnam that he did have a reason to stay there- a blond, hot, blue-eyed, Jewish reason, to be exact. And look, it happened to work out well for Klaus (surprisingly, since things so rarely did) when a month later he learned that his reason for staying wanted him too.

Klaus was so lost in thought that he almost forgot how boring it was waiting for Dave. ...Almost.

“Hey!” He stood, rapping on the motel door. “Hurry up!” Klaus didn’t care if Dave wasn’t ready to go out yet- in fact, it was probably more fun that way.

“God, Hargreeves, don’t you have any patience?!” Dave’s voice came all the way from the far side of the room, but Klaus could still hear the affectionate tone it carried. Dave only called Klaus by his last name when he was doing so in a teasing manner. Klaus called Dave by his a lot more, ever since he learned that David Katz was allergic to cats, and he never let him live it down.

“Nope! None at all. Now c’mon, or I’m just gonna leave without you.” He wouldn’t, obviously, and Dave knew it too.

Klaus heard footsteps on the other side of the door and he had a brief moment of panic about what he was wearing. Shit, why did he break his promise? Dave had seemed fine up until now about Klaus’ gender expression and the way he dressed or wore makeup or acted feminine, but what if he really wasn’t? Klaus knew it was already hard for Dave to be comfortable in his sexuality, and he didn’t want to be the reason Dave retreated back into the closet. The last thing this tentative gay soldier needed was a reminder of just how queer the man he was dating is. Klaus very nearly tore the skirt off, even though he wasn’t wearing anything underneath it, but the door opened before he could make that very stupid decision.

He froze as Dave, wearing the same button-up he’d worn the first time they’d kissed and a new pair of pants he must have bought that afternoon, quickly gave Klaus a once-over. They made eye contact and Klaus instantly relaxed upon seeing the fondness in Dave’s eyes.

“You look beautiful.” Dave smiled.

Klaus entered the room, shutting the door behind him with one hand as he held Dave’s face in the other. He kissed him, smiling wide against Dave’s lips.

“What was that?” Dave asked when Klaus pulled away.

“A kiss, you idiot.”

“No shit, Klaus, I just didn’t know why you did it.”

“I did it because you complimented me and I am desperate for validation. Don’t flatter yourself or anything, I kiss everyone who says I look nice.”

Dave laughed, “you better not.” He was the one to kiss Klaus this time, pushing him against the door.

“Hey.” Klaus held onto Dave’s shoulders and moved him far enough away that he could lock eyes with him. “I love you.”

Dave didn’t hesitate, didn’t flinch away or act disgusted, even though it was the first time Klaus had said it and he had been sure the response would be negative.

“I love you too, Klaus.”

#ahhHHHHHH I FINALLY FINISHED THIS #i hope y'all like it i got very carried away with it #also if you notice the tense inconsistencies #... no you don't #klaus x dave #klaus hargreeves x dave katz #klaus hargreeves #the umbrella academy #tua #tua fic #the umbrella academy fanfiction #klaus x dave fic #eli.writes

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white-fire · 3 years

Text

《In a dream we walked as if in reality》

Chapter 7

November 5, 2002.

In a toy factory, a robbery was committed. Umbrella academies should have stopped him. The criminals shot at them, but they failed to kill anyone. And then, when Ben Hargreaves tried to use his power, someone shot him from the back.

***

-POV Shynarim-

《If you want to find your brother, then come to Walter Street, to the Mack Hotel.》

Throwing the note in the trash, before tearing it, I headed to the first floor. Luther is not here, Five and Diego are injured, only Klaus is left. He was stolen, and you have to save him. Where are Luther and Bayan by the way? I don't care, I can handle it myself, even if I feel some kind of fatigue and pain in my nose. It's weird that it doesn't bleed, that little girl hit me hard.

The first floor was destroyed. There were bullet marks on the couch, and these two ... I tried not to look at their bodies, I did not try to look at their blood. There were two pistols on the couch, and she took one of them. After making sure that there was no one here, I ran out of the house, simultaneously checking how many bullets were left.

The hotel was not that far, only 20 minutes ... running. There was no need to waste a second, what if Klaus was being tortured? What if ... he's dead? No, no, it's not that easy to kill him. It’s my fault, I didn’t notice how he was dragged away. No, I didn’t understand that there are actually these killers, or even more! Heck!

I went to the hotel. It was an ordinary building, not such a big building, more like a two-story house. The girl who was behind the admin counter noticed me and complained. How would you find the kidnapper, huh? So those two were in tuxedos, so he was too? What is Klaus wearing? He said then that he was going to the shower. Either a robe or a towel. Okay, let's ask.

" Hello, I was called for an audience, to one company manager, and he said that the audience would be held here " the girl nodded " So, he was wearing a dark blue suit, and next to him was his brother ... In a bathrobe " I smiled broadly " Can you tell me where his number is? " There was no need to talk about the audience. Okay, I hope she bites. She was silent for a while, then looked at the notebook.

" Yes, this man came here. Top floor, room 124 " she smiled. After congratulating her, I headed to the second floor of the hotel. It was easy and strange that this girl did not begin to suspect me from my clothes. Sweatshirt and jeans. She probably didn't want to think about it. Or ... she thought of something else. Well, to hell with her. We must first save ... brother? No, friend.

And here is number 124. Leaning my ear against the door, I realized that it was too quiet there. Even footsteps were not heard. It seems that he noticed me, and now he is hiding near the door to shoot. The danger is there. As it is. Klaus can't be heard either. Heck. Sighing, I took the pistol from the pocket of my jeans. There are only three cartridges. So three attempts. To kill him? No, I'll knock it out, then I'll interrogate. Yes, and the forces have recovered, so I can steal his gun too. Biting my lip, I slowly turned the door handle, and potentiated it towards myself, holding out my right hand with the pistol in front of me. It was dark. Blackout curtains covered the sun, lamps were broken, everything here was destroyed. Oh God, blood! My heart started pounding wildly as a pool of blood sent me towards the closet door. No, he is not dead. He didn't die. Klaus is alive. Only passed out. He's alive. Alive. Yes? With trembling hands, I reached for the cabinet handle. The heart is still beating fast. I open the closet and ... Something wrapped in a sheet falls out of it. By the figure, you can say that this is a person. The door suddenly closes abruptly, and in front of me stands-

" Harold Jenskins ... " I say, watching him raise the pistol. He smiles. His hands do not tremble. Feet are shoulder width apart and his clothes are smeared with Klaus's blood. How sickening to see blood. CREATURE. No, Klaus is alive. He's just ... He's just unconscious.

Damn you all, and besides, the sheet is wrapped tightly: you will not see if he is breathing or not. As I feel sad and desperate, a wave of anger sweeps over me. How dare he kill him? And also those damn killers who shot Vanya's head. And the day is not over yet.

" Nothing to say, right? " He says with a smile, " I wanted to know all your weaknesses from that diary, however, you stole it " his eyes look only at me. Breathing fast, so now he is not sure. His clothes are covered in blood, yes, but ... Why are his hands not in blue, or why are they not red? The person's face is not that soft " So ... decided to start with the weakest member of the academies. Him " nodded towards Klaus. Scum. Why doesn't he shoot? " I expected to see the Five here, however, you came " the Five? He had never seen him. Even if he did, the Five himself had to say about it. No. He's lying. Wants ... To divert attention! His weapon was immediately in my hands, and I pointed my pistol at Harold, and the other ... At that damn hitman who also pointed his weapon at me. His hands, or rather his knuckles, were in blue. I always wondered if the killers were being chased by their victims? Klaus must have seen a lot of his victims. Poor man, he is afraid of the dead, not even hearing them. The killer looked like a Russian. Dark hair, frown and blue eyes.

" His pistol is empty, so don't try " he said in English.

" Можешь на русском болтать " I said in his language. He grinned. Maybe he's lying? He swallowed, an ordinary person might not have noticed, but I did. He's lying. Of course he is lying. I can't shoot with two pistols. Due to their recoil, my hands may break or something like that. Harold was about to take one pistol out of my hand, but after giving it a trip, I shot in the length of his vertebra when I fell on my stomach (I quickly put another pistol in my sweatshirt pocket). Brr, it's unpleasant to see blood. But, he himself is to blame. So how many minutes have passed? Two? There are three left ... The killer was about to pull the trigger, but the sheet moved. Klaus is up! And oh God, he was pretty beaten. Fingal is under his left eye, his lip is broken, his nose is bleeding slowly, and his shirt was ripped and blood was leaking from his wounds. Was he cut? Why? What the heck? He looked at me, then at the killer, and ran up to me, standing next to me. He's alive ... Haha ...

" А ты живучий как таракан " said the killer in Russian, and Klaus looked at him blankly. He moistened me with a pen, and moistened ... into emptiness. The Russian rolled his eyes. Another two minutes passed. There is only one left.

" Who else is there? " I asked Klaus. He began to list, and about Gospad, how many people this killer and his friends killed. Zoya Popova, Adrian Soffer, Charlotte White, Davy Jones, etc.

" Hitler, and our Ben ... " Ben? Our Ben? Did he kill Ben? I noticed Klaus clenched his fists, and his voice became rougher when he mentioned him. All these years WE ALL did not understand how he could die. And he ... he was ... KILLED BY THIS BEAST. I was about to pull the trigger, but I was stopped by what Klaus had named before Ben. Hitler. The one who started the second world war. A fascist who died in 1945.

" Who are you anyway? " I asked. His weapon ended up on my hand. He raised his hands. " How could you kill Hitler? You don't look like an old man. And those two too "

" The Five hasn’t told you yet? " He asked, feigned surprise. I don't like all this. They know the Five, somehow they found out where he lives (although they could have followed him), Klaus was stolen, killed Hitler, and it turns out that Ben was also killed! " Okay, okay, I'll tell you. As you know, the Five disappeared when you were ... 16-17 years old. He lived in the apocalypse for over 45, possibly more years. But, do you wonder how he survived there? How could he come back? Obviously no one helped him. Until Handler shows up, he's not lying " He looks straight into our eyes. Yes, and he speaks in English, so that Klaus would understand " He worked for the Interim Commission for more than 10 years, killed many people. He is actually a legend with us. However ... in 1963, when he was supposed to assassinate President John F. Kennady, he left. Betrayed the commission without killing the target. And I had to kill the president "

" I don't give a damn about this president. YOU killed BEN. YOU DECLINED HIS LIFE. HE WAS 13 YEARS OLD THEN, DAMN YOU HAVE TAKEN YOU !! " shouted Klaus, slowly approaching him. His hands began to glow with a blue light, and the room was full of ghosts that were blue. These ghosts surrounded the killer, holding different weapons in their hands. An old Russian woman, apparently Zoya Popova, was holding a shotgun. The killer widened his eyes in horror, stepping back from the ghosts. And not only he was shocked. Klaus can do that? Now he uses clearly not 2%. And the maximum ... 30-35% " Temporary Commission, the same to me! You deceived the life of MY BROTHER, and YOU will pay FOR IT! " and .. I had to turn away and close my eyes so as not to see how these ghosts were killing him. I heard him moaning and moaning, I even heard a shot. Hell, even Hitler was involved. This hotel was indeed full of ghosts.

...

Someone touched my shoulder. It was Ben. He smiled the same way as a child. I remember how he and Diego said to the talking doll Alison 《Luther is sniffing Daddy's panties》. Yes, it was strange, of course, but to see the washed-out and flushed faces of Luther and Alison was funny to see. Then, of course, Reginald punished us, but it was worth it ... We were then 8. I still remember how he helped Diego get rid of his stuttering, I remember listening to Vanya when she played the violin, I remember talking with Aruzhan for different Topics.

" I missed you, Shynarym ... " he said and hugged me tightly. Then Klaus joined. Those ghosts are gone, and the hitman and Harold were dead. But, not up to them now. Even for a minute, but still saw Ben. And I hope one day I will hug my family in the same way ...

#tua #the umbrella academy #tua fanfic #tua oc #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves

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