Chapter Text
Klaus hated to see his siblings in pain. So often, the ghosts that appeared to him would double over, coughing and wheezing, screaming in agony and despair. It was all he could see whenever Allison got hurt on a mission, or when Vanya would get a fever from the medication she was on for her nerves. It encompassed his every thought whenever Diego and Luther started fighting over something petty, when Five would jump too far and ended up falling into walls.
It was the worst whenever Ben was in pain. With the others it was scary, but with Ben, it felt like the world was crashing down around him. And it'd become an almost permanent fixture in their lives, Ben's pain.
In an effort to force Ben to control the Eldritch inside of him, Dad would force him to go for weeks without letting Them out, each time making him wait even longer till he was allowed on a mission. With each week, Ben's stomach pains grew until he'd be doubled over in pain, tears streaming down his face, trying to stay quiet with the screams in his throat.
And Klaus could only watch as his brother fell apart in front of him every time.
When it got to the point that Ben couldn't leave his bed from the pain, Dad would take him on a solo mission to finally let the Eldritch out, and he'd return a day later, with a smile on his face and the pain forgotten.
But Klaus could never forget the look on Ben's face when the tentacles tried to escape, ripping up his insides just to taste blood.
A cold autumn breeze carded through the trees in the courtyard, a soft rattle from the dry leaves permeating the air around the five children in uniform. Klaus sat on the bench watching as Luther and Diego sparred, listening to Allison read out loud to practice her enunciation as Five teleported to each corner of the courtyard. The old man with half a face didn't seem likely to bother him, which he was grateful for.
Vanya was probably watching them from her bedroom window instead of doing her maths studies, because she wasn't allowed to practice with them. Klaus didn't feel sorry for her, he'd happily swap with her if it meant not having to stare at a decomposing head.
Dad had told him to talk to the ghosts when they appear, to ask them what they want, but often they'd just scream at him until he could find the time to roll a joint. Obviously the better way to deal with it would be to control his powers but that just wasn't possible.
The doors opened and Ben ran out to the courtyard, a smile on his face and a book in his hands. His smile widened when he noticed Klaus sitting on the bench, joining him. “What have I missed?”
Klaus shrugged, tearing his eyes away from the tree he'd been staring at to avoid the ghosts. “Not much, Dad yelled at Five again last night because he wouldn't shut up about time travel, Diego and Luther had another argument that ended up with Mum having to get repairs, and Vanya tried to get included again, but Allison told her not to bother.”
Ben rolled his eyes, opening the book on his lap. “It's like I wasn't even gone.” Klaus laughed a little too loudly, attracting the glares of their other siblings but he didn't care. It was the complete opposite.
Every month, Ben would spend one or two days in the basement when the Eldritch's bloodthirst became too much. Dad told everyone that he was on solo missions, but Ben told Klaus everything.
Although, Ben didn't seem to be too bothered by the whole ordeal, always managing to still be okay and his normal self whenever he came back. Klaus envied him.
His own 'solo missions’ never ended with him being okay. Klaus was always an emotional mess whenever he came back, and Ben was the only one that cared. Maybe it was natural that they'd confide in each other when the others just brush them off.
“When are you going on your mission, Klaus?” Ben asked, because he could always tell what Klaus was thinking, because he's Ben.
“Next week… I don't know what he expects from me, he knows it'll be the same as it is every other time he's locked me up in that hellhole,” he muttered, leaning on Ben's shoulder to read the page the other was on. “This book is boring.”
Ben nodded sympathetically, turning the page and continuing to read. “It'll only be for a night, and then when you come back, we can ask Mum to make us some hot chocolate and we'll talk it out in my room,” his lips turned up into a smile as Klaus sighed, closing his eyes and letting the sun turn the darkness pink. “But you have to promise me one thing, Klaus,”
Shrugging, Klaus sat back straight, trying to avoid eye contact with the three new ghosts that appeared in the courtyard.
“Don't let them get to you, the ghosts. They're angry, and scary, but I don't think they want to hurt you.” The page turned again as the wind picked up, Allison running inside to get her coat. Klaus laughed again, a little more cynically. “I'm serious Klaus.”
The old man turned to face him, eye manic, lips curled. He hissed his name slowly, walking towards the bench, before he disappeared. “... I guess I'll try…”
He really was naive if he thought he'd seen the worst of Ben's pain.
4 weeks after Klaus's most recent visit to the mausoleum, they had salmon en croute for dinner. As usual, the seven of them stood by their chairs as their father walked into the room, waiting for him to sit before sitting themselves and beginning to eat.
Most dinners went this way, they'd eat, Ben would read, Luther and Allison would stare at each other across the table like a pair of star-crossed lovers, and Klaus would roll up a joint. And Dad wouldn't care in the slightest.
Sometimes Ben would take the joint away from him if he knew Klaus didn't need it, but when Klaus looked up to see what Ben was thinking, he froze.
Ben's face was the palest he'd ever seen, his eyes red and swollen. He was biting his lip so hard it looked like he was going to split it. Klaus frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong.
It had been over a month since Ben last went on a mission, or hunting, Klaus realised, eyes widening as he thought of the kind of pain he must be going through. He'd once explained the feeling of the portal opening like being sliced open with a surgical knife, the Eldritch prodding at his insides like, well, like tentacles trying to tear their way out of his skin. But Ben was holding Them back.
Klaus went to gently place his hand on Ben's knee, to give him something else to focus on instead of the pain, and so he knew someone cared, but before he could, Ben screamed, the Eldritch bursting out from his middle, wrapping a tentacle around Klaus's wrist hovering in the air.
It didn't hurt, per se, but he could feel a strange prickling sensation as the suckers latched onto his skin.
The table erupted into chaos, Vanya running to hide behind the sofa, Five teleporting out of the room as the other three moved behind Dad.
“Number Six! Force it back inside now!” Dad shouted, loud over Ben's crying. “Control it, boy.”
The prickling sensation soon stopped around his wrist, replaced with a strange numb sensation as his mind grew increasingly fuzzy, similar to how he felt when he'd get high, only this didn't feel good at all.
The last thing Klaus could remember was falling to the floor slowly, trying to tell Ben it was okay.
He woke up in the infirmary, tubes inserted in his arms, a pounding headache making his eyes hurt as he tried to figure out what had happened.
“Oh you're awake, Number Four,” he tried to sit up to see where Dad was, only to feel his shoulders being pushed down gently. “I wouldn't move too much, you've suffered massive blood loss. You must heal soon,”
Mum smiled at him from the side of his head, pressing a glass of water against his lips for him to drink. “What… What about Ben? Is he okay? Can I see him?”
“You mustn't worry about Number Six, he has been dealt with,” Dad stepped into Klaus's view, an eyebrow raised as he explained. “It is more important you get better, the Academy needs every single one of its students in peak condition.”
“What do you mean? Is he okay? Please, I have to know, I want to say sorry!” Klaus watched as Dad left, ignoring his pleas. “Mum, please can you tell him?”
She smiled warmly, running her fingers gently through his tangled hair. “Ben is perfectly okay, Klaus. I'm sure he'll be really happy to hear that you're awake, but you have nothing to be sorry for, you know Ben wouldn't appreciate hearing that from you,” her chiding made Klaus frown, facing away from her. Of course he had something to be sorry for. If he hadn't tried to help, Ben wouldn't feel the guilt he undoubtedly felt over the accident. But it wasn't Ben's fault! He had to know. “I'll tell him to come and see you, how about that? It's been a few days, I'm sure he'd love to see you.”
Klaus nodded slowly, listening to her footsteps receding down the corridor. He still felt kind of high, and if it'd been a few days, that must've meant he'd been given some kind of medication. He wondered if the ghosts would bother him yet.
How could Ben be okay? Not that Klaus didn't want him to be, of course he was happy about that, but… That just didn't seem to be right. Ben always beat himself up about all the people they’ve hurt on their missions, about how he wished he didn't have to do most of the killing. Maybe he was growing up, or more likely Mum was lying to make him feel better.
A different pattern of footsteps came down the hall to the infirmary, and the door opened as Ben almost ran in. “Klaus! You’re okay! Dad said I wasn’t allowed to see you yesterday cause you were asleep, but I was so worried!” He pulled a chair over to the bed, panting softly. “I’m so sorry, They kept trying to get out and I didn’t want Them to but They promised not to kill you and-”
“Ben, it’s okay,” Klaus interrupted, tapping his hand on the bed in lieu of reaching for him, his arms were just so heavy. “I’m fine, no one got killed, and it was not your fault, so stop apologising. How long have I been out?”
Ben explained how, when he fainted, Pogo tranquilised him so the Eldritch would go away, and then he was taken back down to the basement and given some time to sort out what happened. “And They said They were just hungry, and normally They would just kill but, but They could tell I didn’t want any of you dead, and you were the closest person so They just took some of your blood, but didn't know when to stop, which honestly sucks, any more and I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened to you. I stayed in the basement for about two days I think, I came back up yesterday.”
Klaus listened intently, glad that the Eldritch didn't kill him, but more concerned about something else. “But you were in so much pain, Ben, I'm sorry, it was basically my fault They came out, I can't imagine the pain…”
Placing his hand over Klaus's, Ben groaned, putting his head on the bed. “Klaus, it's fine. Dad said that the pain is the gateway to achieving true control. I just hope he's right.”
“Are you kidding? He can't give you painkillers or anything? Can't let you decide when the pain is too much? If you can talk to Them, maybe that's how you control Them, by compromise and not starvation!” He held onto Ben's hand tight, feeling himself getting more and more angry with each new solution he could think of. “Ben, I hate… I hate how much it hurts you, it scares me, Ben,”
They stayed in silence for a few minutes, Klaus's words hanging thick in the air. Sometimes, when he was high and Ben had recently been on a mission, they'd both lay on one of their beds, in complete silence, letting each others’ warmth and closeness say all that needed to be said, and it would be enough. Sometimes, they'd fall asleep like that, and Mum would leave them both a cookie on the nightstand for if they got hungry during the night.
They stayed in the infirmary for the rest of the day, Ben only leaving when he was called to dinner.
The ghosts came back.