A/N: This might be my first posted 5+1, go figure… Anyway, I love this show and I love these three so here's a fic (most of which is planned out so updates should be quick!) 3

1/6: To Escape The Dead

They'd never been an ordinary set of siblings so mundane rules of society and the etiquette of growing up hadn't really applied to them. Amongst the many things the seven of them had learned at far too young an age was how to get around the city effectively which, of course, involved learning how to drive.

Some of them had been better than others, they'd found.

Number One had annoyingly gotten the hang of it almost immediately and Number Two had excelled quietly and magnificently; Number Three had more difficulty due to becoming frustrated at her inability to control a machine and Number Four had decided his feet would be the least life-threatening option; Number Five had never even bothered to learn and Number Six had begrudgingly become adept at yet another skill he didn't want; Number Seven had, much like five, initially decided she wouldn't need to but after certain events, had become just as good as your average driver.

As the years went on and unspoken team rules and patterns were created, the driving fell mostly on either Number Two or Number Six with Number Four more often than not riding shotgun because he knew his way around the city the best.

And so the three of them got used to driving around with one another's company, got used to their own ridiculous inside jokes, and got used to accepting each other's presence without complaint.

Five vanishes and the rest of them get given names and it's almost like their names are meant to make up for the loss of their fellow cog in the machine of The Umbrella Academy.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work.

The loss of a sibling means more attention on them, more pressure on them, and more expectations from them.

The loss of a sibling means Father takes them away on a higher number of solo training sessions or assigns them to individual missions more often and they're just about dumb and naïve enough to believe that that sort of thing is what's to be expected of them rather than something that's being done for the sake of personal research.

And then Diego realises something isn't right.

They'd made a promise to each other - him, Klaus, and Ben - that they would stick together and go for a car ride every week.

Only, one week, Diego and Ben arrive at their meeting point and Klaus isn't there. Klaus might be careless and he might lie about completely unnecessary things but he had never, never been late to this and it was ridiculous to think that he'd had a change of heart or abandoned them.

So they miss one night's trip and ask their siblings but they all seem to be clueless, except Vanya, who says Father had taken Klaus for some kind of mission that he'd said would last a while; Diego and Ben thank her but they know something is wrong with that picture because Klaus would have told them if that were the case.

But they're only kids so they stay silent and finish their chores and complete their studies and eat their food and wait.

It's too many days later when Father's voice echoes in the house and it takes all of a minute for Diego and Ben to find one another and share a hopeful look before practically gliding down the stairs and arriving at the front door.

"What do you think you're doing, Number Two and Number Six?"

"We just wanted to see K- Number Four, Father," Ben replies, because Diego still can't speak to Father without faltering or stumbling over his words.

"Well, that won't be possible. Number Four is tired and wishes to rest without disturbance. Now, go to your rooms!" The Monocle all but barks at them, then turns and pulls an uncharacteristically docile Klaus into the house before harshly whispering something in his ear that makes him flinch and nod slightly.

Diego and Ben share another look and rush up the stairs – in a dignified manner, of course – but rather than going to their own separate rooms, they quietly slip inside Klaus' room and settle on the bed, waiting for him to join them and explain what's going on.

Neither of them had been expecting to hear the quiet sniffles that cause alarm bells to go off in their heads before the door opens and Klaus drags himself inside, his eyes squeezed shut as he just stands there, his chin wobbling.

"Klaus?" Ben asks hesitantly.

Klaus' eyes snap open and consequently widen as he catches sight of his brothers.

"What happened? Where does it hurt?" Diego inquires immediately, standing up, having seen Mother inquire the same whenever any of them come back injured after missions.

But Klaus only shakes his head and sinks to his knees, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands with a quiet groan and a stifled sob.

Ben follows suit within seconds, kneeling in front of Klaus and waiting for Diego to do the same before placing a hand on Klaus' shoulders. "What is it? You can tell us."

There's an unintelligible mumble from behind Klaus' hands before he starts shaking and his brothers decide to just wait it out, sitting there with a hand on either of his dusty shoulders and exchanging concerned looks intermittently.

Eventually, Klaus draws in a shaky breath and unfurls himself, glancing between them. "I'm sorry I missed ride night."

"We missed you," Ben replies quietly.

"Why are you cr- crying though?" Diego bites his lip after asking, wondering if he should have sounded more stable, stronger for his brother.

"Because they're screaming at me."

Ben frowns almost angrily, an idea forming in his mind. "Who's screaming?"

Taking a gulp of air, Klaus gestures to the seemingly empty room around them. "Everyone. Anyone. They all scream anyway but they scream louder when they realise I can hear them."

"Klaus, please, who are they?" Diego asks, hating the look in Klaus' eyes that suggests he can see more than he should have to.

A bitter laugh escapes Klaus. "The dead, Dee, the dead…"

For once, he doesn't even mind the nickname.

Ben stops chewing on the inside of his cheek and glances at Diego, knowing they won't get anything else out of Klaus at this point. "Why don't we go for that ride? Better late than never, right?"

When he looks to Klaus for confirmation, he's met with a struggling smile and that's more than enough for him so he turns to Diego and nods determinedly.

Diego stands and pulls Klaus up with him, more or less taking his weight entirely, the three of them making their way to the car they'd found and adopted as they'd learned to drive. Ben settles into the passenger seat with Klaus, because neither of them can trust him to stay upright for long without support, and Diego slides into the driver's seat.

He drives.

He doesn't really know where he's going but he's perfectly content to drive all night if it means getting rid of that haunted look in Klaus' eyes.

Since Klaus is usually the best out of them at navigation and Ben is busy with maintaining any sort of conversation with said brother to keep him sane and as far from crying as possible, Diego finds that, for the first time, he's the one actively making sure Klaus gets back to the house rather than the other way around.

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