ben hargreeves (superdead) wrote in valloic, @ 2020-08-14 11:17:00 |
|
|||
But he hadn't been expecting a forest. Or some blonde girl, or the whole spiel of craziness she started in on.
Or a video?
Oh and the whole - having a body - thing.
Which was a huge distraction as he tried to pay attention to what he'd been told. Though not nearly as much as being told his family was there. That Klaus was there.
Ben hightailed to the apartment building and up to the one he had been told was Klaus'. He paused in front of the door. A hundred different thoughts pulled him into a hundred different directions. But Ben knew that wasn't going to change anytime soon. He lifted his hand and knocked.
Klaus had gone to sleep the night before the same as nearly every night of the almost six months he'd been in Vallo.
He woke up entirely different.
He'd heard about this happening but hearing about it and experiencing it were two different things, and by some grace he'd managed to text Alexis to say he wouldn't be coming into work though he had no idea what explanation he'd given her. If he'd given one at all. Because how did one say they suddenly been a cult leader back in the 60s and had narrowly avoided a second apocalypse but had also lost lost his brother all in the course of a single night.
He wanted a drink, his grasp on sobriety becoming more tenuous by the minute. But he had no alcohol at home and was unwilling to face the world so instead he settled for splaying himself across the couch, Jules Waffle curled up on his chest. Klaus listened to the the kitten purrs, trying to will anything into making sense, but at the same time, not wanting to face the reality of it all.
Of Ben.
When he heard the knock, Klaus sighed. "Alexis, I can't come into work today and I can't…"
He couldn't what? Answer the door? Much to the cat's chagrin, Klaus sat up, not worrying that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He padded over to the door, fully aware of how pathetic he looked as he let it swing open, bracing himself for Alexis's reaction.
But it wasn't Alexis at the door. He stared at the man standing there, stunned momentarily into silence, certain he was imagining things.
"Ben?!"
Klaus looked - like shit. But his eyes were clear, for which Ben was grateful for in a way that had nothing to do with being seen. Though he supposed that didn't really matter anymore. A thought which was, well, kind of a lot to take in. So he shoved it aside for now. There would be time later to have a mild to complete melt down over the fact he had ghost died but somehow shown up in a whole other dimension in a fully functional human body.
"Uh - hi?"
Okay, not his best moment.
"So the craziest fucking thing just happened," he started, paused and then just half launched himself at his brother and hugged him. Tight.
"I know," Klaus replied, although he didn't know if Ben was talking about the same thing, or Vallo, or maybe that weird version of himself that was alive in whatever alternate timeline they seem to have accidentally created. Klaus didn't know and for the moment, he didn't care. He hugged Ben back, perfectly aware that his eyes were watering up.
He didn't care.
"Ben, you're… alive. And back!" he said, only after he finally pulled away far enough to get a good look at his brother. "I took good care of Jules Waffle while you were gone," he added as the cat wandered over, weaving between Ben's legs.
"You're really here?" He said, somehow phrasing the thought as both a statement and a question simultaneously. "I thought you were gone forever this time. But your room is still free." He gave a solemn nod, so that his brother knew he wasn't just going to move anyone into Ben's room.
Ben didn't particularly want to let go, but it seemed Klaus wanted to look at him. Which, well, he didn't look any different than when they'd last seen each other and Ben was so fucking thankful whatever had happened to make him a real live person here hadn't seen fit to shove him in the seventeen year old body he'd died in. Small miracles. Also there was a cat - Jules Waffle which was a ridiculously perfect name - clamoring for attention.
Ben moved more into the apartment and kneeled down to pet the cat. "Hey Jules Waffle. You been taking care of Klaus too?" He laughed softly when the cat meowed in response.
"Alive, yeah… it's fucking weird man," he admitted before he raised a brow. "What do you mean back?"
"Oh, man…" Klaus said, staring at Ben. "You don't remember, do you? You were here when I got here. Just you and Vanya though you were still a ghost and then I got here then we moved into this apartment and adopted a cat, then you disappeared and I tried to go on a bender but Diego and Allison's fiancé found me…"
Vaguely he seemed to recall that some people returned with memories of Vallo and others didn't. "I can fill you in later, if you want," he shrugged. "But what matters now is that you're here, and not gone forever."
He hugged Ben again, knowing they'd have to tell their siblings, but right at that moment Klaus selfishly wanted Ben to himself, even after years of having just that. He'd woke up thinking his brother was gone for good only for him to show up at the door.
"This place is a trip," he informed his brother. "Even when you're sober."
While Ben had no hope of really following a word Klaus said, there was comfort in it being said anyways. The cadence of Klaus' voice grounding him, reminding Ben that while he still had millions of questions they were both there and that was the important part. The rest? He'd figure it out eventually.
Ben hugged Klaus back tightly. It had been hard, only having Klaus for company, and at times Ben knew they could be downright awful to each other as a result. But at the end of the day, he loved his brother. And while he had been prepared to move on - if only knowing by doing so he was giving Vanya a chance - he was suddenly very, very glad to be here. He hadn't wanted to leave Klaus, even if by all accounts he should have done so well over a decade ago.
His stomach grumbled. Loudly. And Ben laughed. "So I know there's a million things you probably need to tell me, but can we do it over waffles? Being dead for seventeen years makes a guy hungry."