Chapter Text
There were very few things Klaus missed about the future, but Ben was a big part of it. After almost thirty years of the two of them practically being joined at the hip - inseparable even by death - when Klaus had come to the realisation that Ben hadn’t traveled back in time with him, it felt like losing him all over again.
If there was anything tempting Klaus back to the future it was Ben. Six years on and he still caught himself glancing over expecting Ben to be standing there making a sarcastic comment or thinking he had seen Ben from the corner of his eye lounging on the sofa reading a book.
There were a few times that Klaus had considered using the briefcase – just to pop back to see Ben one last time and maybe invite him back to the past as well (and figure out if it was possible for ghosts to time travel as well) but he never did.
What if something happened to the briefcase and he couldn’t get back?
What if he ran Hazel and Cha-cha again and they actually killed him this time around?
What if the rest of his siblings didn’t want him at the academy because they thought he was still high and he ended up dying of exposure or got stabbed in a mugging while he slept on the streets again?
The risk was always too high, so instead, he kept the briefcase locked away in the attic away from any temptation or prying hands. Giving up on the idea of going back to the future meant giving up on seeing Ben for another fifty years, but it was a sacrifice Klaus knew he had to make.
Why would he go back to being a homeless junkie with no prospects, and where the only member of his family who actually gave half a shit about him was dead? Fate had thrown him a second chance at a new life, the opportunity to actually get clean, and to find someone who actually loved him ghosts and all. He couldn’t throw all that away.
If you had told Klaus six years ago that’d he’d settle down, go sober, and start a family in a little cabin in the mountains of upstate New York, he would have laughed in your face then asked for a hit of whatever you must have taken. But Ben, ever the optimist, would have taken you for your word because he never lost faith in Klaus. If Ben could see him now, Klaus knew he’d be happy for him, and the idea of that alone made Klaus swell with pride.
There were times he missed his other siblings as well - Diego had been there to drag him out of a few sticky situations and if he ever came across Klaus high as a kite and semi-conscious during one of his patrols, Diego always let him crash at his place. (Although Klaus would disappear as soon as he woke up to avoid the millionth “have you considered trying rehab again” chat, much to Ben's displeasure.)
He missed doing make-overs with Allison and listening to Vanya play the violin, he missed hanging out with Diego and Five. Hell, there were even a couple of occasions when he missed Luther and all the opportunities there were to wind him up.
But right now, the only thing Klaus missed about the future was morning lie-ins.
After a year in Vietnam, it had taken a long time for both him and Dave to adjust back to civilian life and a normal sleeping pattern without being on edge for the possibility of attack at any moment.
And then, just when things began settling down, Libby and Benji came into their lives.
Excluding the few times Dave’s sister had babysat the twins, Klaus couldn’t remember the last time that he hadn’t been woken up before the crack of dawn.
Right now, he could hear quiet giggling from the next bedroom and with a groan, he rolled over to bury his face in Dave’s chest. He loved his children to death but god, small children were exhausting work.
“Give ‘em ten minutes,” Dave murmured into Klaus’ hair.
Klaus hummed in thought. “Five,” he countered after a moment.
Dave shifted slightly and wrapped his arms around Klaus’ waist to draw him closer, “You’re on.”
Klaus just nuzzled closer in response, letting his fingers come up to gently trace patterns on Dave’s chest. Life was so blissfully mundane now – dozing softly in the early mornings, safe in his partner’s arms, listening to their children playing quietly next door. Klaus sometimes wondered what he did to deserve all this.
That peace and quiet lasted for a whole six minutes until their bedroom door swung open and one of the twins climbed on their bed with them. Libby wiggled her way in between her parents and began poking Klaus in the face until he acknowledged her.
“Okay, okay! I’m awake!” Klaus said with a laugh, pulling his daughter into a hug a press a kiss on her forehead as Libby giggled in delight.
“Where’s Benji?” Klaus asked once Libby’s laughter subsided and she’d settled into a comfortable position between the two of them.
“Playing moon landing,” Libby said as she took the edge of the duvet with her tiny fingers and began to play with it with a look of deep-set concentration.
“You don’t want to play with him?”
Libby shook her head defiantly, “I want breakfast.” She turned her attention from the duvet to look up at Klaus with her big brown eyes, “What’s for breakfast, daddy?”
“I don’t know, Pumpkin. You’ll have to ask tate.”
Libby immediately wriggled out of Klaus’ arms and started poking Dave, “Tate, what’s for breakfast?”
Dave laughed as caught Libby’s hand and pressed a kiss onto it. “What do you want for breakfast, babydoll?”
“Waffles!”
“We had waffles yesterday, we can’t waffles twice in a row.”
Libby furrowed her brow in concentration for a moment before exclaiming, “Pancakes!”
Dave hummed in agreement before pulling himself out of bed. “Okay then, let’s go get Benji and make some pancakes,” He said as he scooped Libby up into his arms, leaving Klaus to carry on dozing for a little while longer.
Twenty minutes later and the house was full of the sweet scent of cooking pancakes. Klaus couldn’t help but smile at the reflection of how simple and domestic his life had become. The biggest problem he now faced in life was trying to get Libby and Benji to stop fighting - as opposed to trying not to get his or Dave’s brains blown out, or trying to guess which dumpster he should sleep behind to minimise the risk of stabbed, mugged, or raped.
He stretched and rolled out of bed. Their cat, Grapes, was basking in the morning sun on the windowsill and Klaus gave her a quick scratch on the head before grabbing a paisley shawl to throw around his shoulders (which he was pretty certain he had stolen from a girl at a festival in exchange for a spliff,) and dragging himself down the stairs to join the rest of the family and get in on the pancake action before they were all gone.
Dave was standing over the cooker, humming along to the radio as he cooked. Libby and Benji sat at the table, legs swinging the chairs that were still far too big for them and chattering to themselves. Klaus slipped behind Dave and wrapped his arms around in middle, pressing a kiss into his back.
Dave turned in Klaus' arms, bring his hands up to the other man’s face and capturing him in a soft kiss before pulling away just enough to murmur, “Morning, sunshine.”
Klaus grinned and leaned up for another kiss in response, before turning his attention over to the children. He pressed a kiss on the top of both of their heads as he made his way around the table to sat down opposite them.
“Daddy, can we go to the rocks today and play aliens?” Benji asked as he did so.
Space and aliens had become Benji’s latest obsession after Evie, Dave’s sister, had told the twins about the moon landing. Now that was all Benji wanted to do - reenact the moon landing with his and Libby’s toys, or go up to some boulders that were near the house and pretend it was the moon or some alien planet that needed to be explored.
Sometimes Klaus considered telling them stories about the Umbrella Academy - he knew that Benji would be absolutely blown away by the idea that his uncle actually lived on the moon. But he also knew that one Umbrella Academy story would lead to another and he wasn’t about to dredge all that trauma for storytime until the twins were old enough to properly comprehend the full gravity of the situation.
Libby groaned at her brother's idea, “we always play aliens! It’s boring!”
“It’s not boring! It’s cool!” Benji protested. Klaus just sighed and ran his hands down his face. Breakfast time was far too early to deal with one of the twin's squabbles.
“Okay! No pancakes for children who fight!” Dave announced as he placed a stack of pancakes in front of the two of them. The distraction worked a treat - the second the plates touched the table, Libby and Benji had forgotten their argument in favour of scoffing down breakfast.
This was the simplicity of Klaus’ life now - Dave would make breakfast; Klaus would be pretty-little-stay-at-home-mum and look after the kids and the cat while Dave was at work; they would all sit around the table for dinner; the twins would spend the evening playing and recounting all their adventures from the day to Dave; they’d get the twins ready for bed, tuck them in and read them a story; and finally Klaus and Dave would get a few hours to themselves before also turning in for the night.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
It was a perfect cycle they’d developed together and Klaus was determined that no one who wanted to would hurt his family - and there would be a good fair few if word got out about two gay men raising a family together, it was still the 1970s - but for now, Klaus was perfectly content.