Archive of Our Own ^beta

Creaking open the bathroom door, Klaus stands like he got caught by Grace, but his hands are gentle, worried, almost.

"Hey," he says, walking over to the edge of the tub, sitting down. The water is no longer blue; it has faded to a crimson hue. Ben seems to be unsettled, per usual, his mind elsewhere.

"Today sucked, yeah?" Klaus says, an attempt to perk him up, something to get Ben to look at him. His hands grasp against the edge of the tub, looking at his brother. "You got the brunt of it. I know you hate doing that, but we did well, I think."

Klaus blocked out some of the mission; all of them have the same monotonous tone. He thinks them boring, and, depending on the locations, scary. But this isn't his time to complain. It's Ben's. His brother, shaken the entire ride home, had to be gently coaxed upstairs by Grace, not even caring about the nervous looks shot between Allison and Luther, and Viktor standing at the edge of the stairs, worried, sick, maybe.

He's trembling, pawing, scratching at his stomach.

Klaus notices the way the water ripples when he does so, and he winces. "Hey, hey, Ben," he begins.

He's not good at this, comforting people. He's good at deflecting, laughing it off, but he's not good at comforting. Klaus snaps in front of his brother's face, and Ben seems to stop.

"It hurts," he says, voice softer than a whisper; he has to strain his ears to hear it.

It always does, lately. Klaus thinks.

The sleepless nights shared between Klaus and Ben have doubled since his stomach has been bothering him. Ben was in his lap, listening to the stories of his adventures, the stolen records. Always with a book in his hand.

"Yeah," he says, instead. "If you can't sleep, I can; we can go out tonight," Klaus attempts. "It's not my scene, but I know this super cool library that's open all night if you want to go there."

Ben shudders, turning his head. There's still a tremble that possesses his body, how his shoulders shake, his body a constant, persistent shake. "I don't know," he rasps. "I don't think I'd make it-- it out of the window." At that, his hands move back to his stomach, pawing at it.

"Ben-o-rino! I can help!" Klaus says. "That's what I'm here for!"

Ben lets out a noise, moving his head back to the crimson water, his knees submerged. He doesn't have them pulled up to his chest, Klaus notes; he can see the subtle bob when they poke through the water, but that's it. He holds onto his stomach, weary, but then he turns back to face Klaus, something in his eyes that isn't pain and regret.

Even if it's still there.

"Ok," is what he says.

"Yes! Knew I could count on you, Ben!"

Ben rolls his eyes, but cracks the softest smile. "Sure," is what he says, softly sighing.