"𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑝 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑤𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒."
—𝑅𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑟𝑒

𝒩.

𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒 though Diego hadn't kept his promise—he, in fact, was not at the bottom of the steps when she arrived down there. 

Figuring that he was somewhere around there, Natalia decided to check the living room first.

In the first minute, she thought the room was entirely deserted—there wasn't a single person, robot, or chimpanzee in sight. But a few steps closer showed her that Diego was laying on the nearest couch, tossing one of his knives.

He quickly took notice of her as she stepped around the couch, and he sat up, sheathing the knife into his gear. He wrapped an arm around her hips as she sat down next to him, and gave her a small smile as she kissed his cheek.

She sighed, then tilting her head back against the couch.

"You really think Luther thinks one of us murdered him?"

"Did you see the look on his face?" Diego pointed out with a scoff. "The words he used? I don't think—I know he suspects one of us." A humourless chuckle came from his lips as he added, "Probably me the most."

"Why would . . ." She shut her eyes. "How doesn't he know that none of us would do that?"

"'Cause he's Luther," he replied. "And he thinks he's always right."

"Well," she sighed, "that's a trait you share."

"What're you suggesting?"

"I'm not suggesting anything." She shrugged as she opened her eyes and looked toward him. "I'm saying that both of you always think you're right."

Diego narrowed his eyes, and his voice lowered, "How dare you compare me to him. I'm way better."

She laughed. "Shut up."

Diego chuckled, his grip on her hip growing tighter. "Anyway, where'd you go?"

"My room," she answered as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I feel like it's a lot smaller than I remember.

"Yeah, well, we're a lot bigger than when we were seventeen."

"Diego, I lived here 'til I was twenty-four."

"Ah, right." He nodded before giving her a shrug. "Well, I got nothin' for you then, you just have a bad memory."

Natalia giggled. "You're the one that—"

She suddenly paused as the opening of Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now began to play, and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up towards the second floor.

"That's coming from our bedrooms," she realized, her gaze still wandering along the railings. "Who's playing it?"

Diego didn't answer, however, and she suddenly realized as she lowered her gaze that he was no longer next to her. She leaned forward to see that he was sliding the doors to a close at the right, and her eyebrows furrowed.

Tiffany began to sing, and her voice echoed along the walls, adding to the percussion and guitar.

"Diego?" she called. "What are you doing?"

"You know," he said as the doors shut. "I know we haven't planned our wedding or anythin' yet, but practicing for our first dance wouldn't hurt."

Natalia laughed as he walked back towards her with an extended hand. She pushed herself further back against the couch as she protested, "I don't dance, Diego."

"You do now." He grinned before grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet.

Natalia giggled as he guided her other hand to his shoulder before placing his hand on her waist and stepping them into a slow waltz.

"This doesn't exactly match the song," she murmured, though she made no more complaints as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Who cares?" he replied softly, placing a kiss on the side of her head. "Still music, princess."

Natalia shut her eyes, allowing herself to stop stressing about Luther's accusations and instead just enjoy herself. The upbeat music that bounced off the walls, the familiar smell of Diego's cologne, and the warmth of his sweater (along with the scratchy surface of his gear that met just the upper part of her cheek).

She dug her face closer into his neck, her lips stretching into a soft smile as she felt Diego press another kiss on the side of her head. Their steps were light, and Natalia had lost all sense of direction. 

"I love you," she whispered, and she felt all the more reassured as he tightened his grip on her hand and whispered back: 

"I love you too."

Suddenly, the music came to a stop as the lights flickered off and thunder shook the entire house.

Immediately, Diego wrapped an arm around Natalia's waist and pulled her close to him, drawing a knife out with his other hand. Flashes of lightning burst through the windows, lighting the room every other second.

"What the hell?" Natalia whispered as Diego kept a tight grip and looked around.

Diego released her, though he instantly took her hand, and, sheathing the knife, he pulled her out of the room.

The two headed towards the courtyard, where they were joined by the others, and Diego threw the doors open.

Natalia's eyebrows furrowed as she realized that it wasn't a storm that had interrupted them—it was some sort of blue vortex. It warped the air around it, distorting the scenery behind it, and mimicked thunder as it crackled.

A closer look showed that the middle of it wasn't transparent; it looked as though it was a portal to somewhere, some sort of yard with green grass and a tall picket fence.

"What is it?" shouted Vanya as the group stared up at it.

"Don't get too close!" Allison warned, a hand on Luther's arm.

"Yeah, no shit," scoffed Diego.

"Looks like some sort of temporal anomaly," Luther guessed. "Either that or a miniature black hole. One of the two."

"Pretty big difference there, Paul Bunyan," Diego shouted.

"Out of the way!"

Natalia felt herself get suddenly shoved to the side as Klaus pushed himself through the group, and she caught a glimpse of red; Klaus had thrown a fire extinguisher into the vortex.

"What is that gonna do?" questioned Allison incredulously as they watched the fire extinguisher disappear.

"I don't know," exclaimed Klaus as he gave a large shrug. "Do you have a better idea?"

Suddenly, there was a large boom that reverberated around the courtyard as electricity harmonized, and their eyes widened as they realized that someone was pressed up against the portal.

It was an old man—perhaps around his fifties or sixties—and it seemed as though he was trying to squeeze through the small portal.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Everybody get behind me," Luther ordered, grabbing Klaus and pulling him behind before spreading his arms out.

"Yeah," Diego added, copying Luther's movements, "get behind us!"

It looked as if the old man was squished against an invisible barrier, though he was getting closer to them. His mouth was widened into a scream, but they heard nothing.

"I vote for running, c'mon!" Klaus yelled.

Natalia squinted her eyes and leaned forward to see that as the old man passed through the barrier, it seemed as though his appearance was changing; his frame was growing smaller, his white hair was turning black, and his wrinkled skin was rejuvenating.

He finally squeezed through and fell to the ground, and the vortex swallowed itself before disappearing. The sun shone on them once again, and the only sound was the crunch of leaves as the family walked toward the boy.

And as that boy clambered to his feet, his suit now oversized and his hair dishevelled, and Natalia realized that she recognized him.

"Does anyone else see little Number Five," Klaus questioned, "or is that just me?"

Five's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down to examine himself. He looked back up at them, clearly distressed as he muttered, "Shit."

Natalia's eyes widened as Five disregarded them and headed inside, and after exchanging bewildered looks, the family followed him.

They followed him all the way into the basement kitchen, and they situated themselves around one side of the table as Five muttered something about making a sandwich.

Natalia, who was sitting on one of the chairs, watched as Five grabbed a cutting board. She was still shocked at what she had seen—who wouldn't be?—and though she wanted answers, she figured it'd be best to let him rest for a moment.

Although, it seemed that Five was a little restless as he placed the board on the table and questioned, "What's the date? The exact date."

"The twenty-fourth," Vanya answered as he grabbed a bag of bread.

"Of what?" he pushed as he walked back to the table.

"March."

Five tilted his head and gave a small nod as he opened the bag. "Good."

"So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Luther, who was sitting in front of Natalia, questioned.

Five ignored him as he pulled out two slices of bread and placed them onto the cutting board.

Frustrated, Luther stood up. "It's been seventeen years."

Five stepped towards him, leering. "It's been a lot longer than that." He teleported onto the stool behind Luther and reached for the mini marshmallows.

"I haven't missed that," Luther muttered under his breath.

Diego sat down on the edge of the table and propped his feet onto the arm of Natalia's chair. He folded his arms. "Where'd you go?

"The future," Five answered as he teleported back in front of the table. "It's shit, by the way."

"Called it," Klaus, who was sitting on the middle of the table, interjected with a raised finger.

"I should've listened to the old man," Five sighed as he stepped towards the fridge and opened it. He grabbed a jar of peanut butter, and as he unscrewed the lid, he continued, "You know, jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice." He set the open jar on the table and glanced up at Klaus. "Nice dress."

Klaus grinned coyly. "Oh, well, danke!"

"Wait," Vanya interrupted, "how did you get back?"

"In the end," he began as he scooped some peanut butter out with a knife, "I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time."

Natalia squinted her eyes as she tried to process the information, her brain picking out every single thing she had learned in physics.

Diego's eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at the table. "That makes no sense."

"Well," Five quipped as he spread the peanut butter on the bread, "it would if you were smarter."

Natalia pushed Diego back down as he made to charge at Five. She raised her eyebrows at him, and once he had rolled his eyes and relaxed, she turned to the boy and asked, "How long were you there?"

"Forty-five years," he answered as he stuck the marshmallows on top of the peanut butter. "Give or take."

Natalia's expression of shock was mirrored on everyone else's face. Forty-five years?

"So what are you saying?" Luther questioned in disbelief as he fell back onto his chair. "That you're fifty-eight?"

"No," Five corrected snarkily as he looked up, "my consciousness is fifty-eight." He placed the bare slice of bread on top of the other and pressed them together. "Apparently, my body is now thirteen again."

Vanya shut her eyes, shaking her head as she inquired, "Wait, how does that even work?"

Five picked up his sandwich with one hand and placed the other in his pocket. He took a couple of steps forward as he mused, "Delores kept saying the equations were off. Eh." He shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich as he turned back towards them. "Bet she's laughing now."

"Delores?" Vanya repeated in bafflement, though the boy ignored her. 

"Hmm." Five picked up the Nations Gazette, which had news of Reginald's death featured on the front page. "Guess I missed the funeral."

"How'd you know about that?" Luther questioned.

"What part of the future do you not understand?" Five scoffed. "Heart failure, huh?"

"Yeah," answered Diego.

"No," corrected Luther with a glance back at him.

"Hmm." Five raised his eyebrows as he placed the newspaper back down, and he clicked his tongue. "Nice to see nothing's changed."

"Uh, that's it?" Allison questioned incredulously as Five walked past them and headed towards the stairs. "That's all you have to say?"

"What else is there to say?" he called, not bothering to look back at them. "The circle of life."

"Well . . . ," Luther muttered. "That was interesting."

𝒩.

Natalia fiddled with the zipper of her jacket as she sat on the edge of the couch in the living room. She was chewing on her lower lip, glancing up at the clock every now and then, and the ticks from it seemed to be growing louder and louder.

Reginald's funeral was to be held in the courtyard a couple of minutes from then. It wasn't going to be anything fancy—they were just going to dump his ashes in his so-called 'favourite spot' (thanks, Luther).

Unfortunately, it seemed as though Mother Nature knew of the dismal mood; she had granted them rainy weather, and the clouds that hung over darkened the Earth.

Natalia leaned back against the couch, her fingers letting go of the zipper and finding loose strings that came from the stitching of the couch cushions. Her eyes shut as she let both the sound of the ticking clock and the raindrops that pounded against the window fill her ears.

She was a little worried about this funeral. The last time there had been a funeral in the courtyard—Ben's—it hadn't ended all too great, and that was a funeral of someone they all loved dearly.

She knew that Allison and Vanya, and probably Klaus knew funeral etiquette. Diego and Luther on the other hand . . . she was more worried about.

"Hey, baby. You good?"

Natalia opened her eyes and looked to see that Diego was taking a seat next to her, his coat already on, though unzipped.

"I'm fine," she sighed, reaching over and interlacing her fingers with his. "You ready?"

"Oh, I've been waiting for this for a long time."

Natalia wasn't trusting the gleam in his eye nor the maliciousness that tugged at his smile. "Diego, please don't—"

"I'll handle myself just fine, honey," he reassured her, squeezing her hand. "You don't need to worry."

"I do need to worry," she muttered.

Diego ignored this. "Have you been to a lot of funerals?"

"Since Ben's?" she sighed, her lips forming a frown. "No. Only a couple, but they weren't anyone close to me. You?"

"Just one," he answered, his thumb caressing over hers. "Guy who used to go to the gym—died of lung cancer."

"Sorry," she whispered.

He shrugged and gave her a small smile. "Didn't know him all that well. That was, like, six years ago, anyway."

Natalia bit her lip before checking the clock again. "We should go."

Diego sighed before nodding, and he pulled her up with him. Before they could leave the living room, however, he stopped, causing her to turn to him with confusion.

He offered a small smile as he cupped her cheeks. "You gonna be all right?"

"I'll be fine." She nodded, though with furrowed eyebrows. "Why?"

"Just because . . . I know Ben's funeral was hard," Diego murmured. "I don't want you to—"

"Diego, Ben was one of my best friends," she pointed out. "Reginald was . . . not."

Diego gave a small chuckle before nodding and gently kissing her lips. "All right. Let's go."

Grabbing an umbrella on the way, they met the others at the entrance to the courtyard and followed them out.

It was then that Natalia got a good look at a courtyard that she hardly recognized, though it was through a hail of bullet-like rain. With no reason to take good care of it, the greenery of the courtyard had fallen victim to time. Ivy and branches crept up the fading brick that surrounded them, and every step they took was accompanied by the crunch of dead leaves.

Her eyes quickly caught sight of the statue of Ben, which was a little rusted, but still gleaming in the little light given. A small smile appeared on her face as her gaze roamed over it.

Natalia hoisted the umbrella higher so that it covered both her and Diego, the latter now already a little damp.

The group, who had been joined by Grace, surrounded Luther at the middle of the courtyard, standing almost exactly as they had twelve years before, with the same gloominess hung in the air.

Luther, who had opted out of taking an umbrella, turned to face them, his wet hair now sticking to his forehead. He was holding the glossy black urn that carried Reginald's ashes, and it seemed as though he was afraid of dropping it, judging by how tight his gloved hands were clutching it.

Grace, strangely, had her red lips stretched into a smile, though it faltered slightly as she looked around and took notice of their grim faces.

"Did something happen?" she questioned.

Everyone's eyebrows furrowed as they turned to her, and it was obvious that they were all thinking the same thing: Was she okay?

"Dad died," Allison answered before she scrunched her face. "Remember?"

"Oh." Grace's expression immediately became sullen, and she gave a small nod as she cast her gaze downwards. "Yes, of course."

"Is Mom okay?" Allison asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine," Diego reassured her. He turned his gaze to his mother, his eyes softening as he continued, "She just needs to rest. You know, recharge."

Pogo, a cane in one hand and a black-and-white striped umbrella in the other, joined them, and he nodded to Luther. "Whenever you're ready, dear boy."

Luther shifted his gaze from Pogo and to the urn in his hands, and his jaw clenched. He took a couple of short steps forward before lifting the lid, and he tilted the urn down so that the ashes began to spill out.

The ashes landed in a small pile amongst the orange-coloured leaves, the light grey quickly growing dark as it was met by rain.

Seeming to be severely underwhelmed, Luther looked up at them. "Probably would have been better with some wind."

Pogo pressed his lips together before asking, "Does anyone wish to speak?"

Natalia glanced at Diego as he gave a light scoff, and she elbowed him in the ribs. Still, she joined the others in remaining silent; she had nothing good to say about Reginald.

Pogo looked around at them before sighing. "Very well." He shifted slightly in his spot, adjusting his cane before beginning, "In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master, and my friend, and I shall miss him very much." Pogo was silent for a moment as he swallowed. "He leaves behind a complicated legacy—"

"He was a monster," interjected Diego, his gaze set straight in front of him.

A wheeze left Klaus's lips at the interruption, the smoke of his cigarette accompanying.

"He was a bad person and a worse father." Diego's jaw clenched, and his eyebrows were knitted together tightly. "The world's better off without him."

Natalia shut her eyes. Her worst fear had come true.

"Diego," she chided softly, though she was only met by a harsh stare.

"My name is Number Two. You know why?" His lips twisted into a humourless smile as he answered his own question: "Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it."

At the mention of her, Grace's smile returned. "Would anyone like something to eat?"

"No, it's okay, Mom," Vanya answered gently.

"Oh." Grace nodded. "Okay."

"Look, you wanna pay your respects?" Diego continued loudly as he ducked out of the umbrella and took a few steps forward, turning to face them. "Go ahead." He turned to Pogo and gestured toward him. "But at least be honest about the kind of man he was."

"You should stop talking now," interjected Luther angrily.

Diego turned his head towards him, his eyes squinted for a moment before he began, "You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One."

"I am warning you."

"After everything he did to you?" Diego continued as rain dripped down his face, stepping closer to the larger man. "He had to ship you a million miles away."

"Diego," Luther said through grit teeth, "stop talking!"

"That's how much he couldn't stand the sight of you!" Diego spat as he jabbed a finger into Luther's chest.

Enraged, Luther shoved Diego's arm away before swinging a punch, though Diego ducked just in time. He threw another punch that Diego leaned back from.

As the two men exchanged punches and grunts, the rest of the family began to back away from the wall.

Natalia scrunched her nose as she watched the two brawl, and, though it was a sight she wasn't foreign to, she most definitely wasn't happy about it.

"Boys!" Pogo chided angrily. "Stop this at once!"

They didn't listen.

Luther whacked Diego on the side, causing him to stumble a few steps with a shout. He quickly straightened up, lifting his fists in challenge as he yelled, "Come on, big boy!"

Breathing heavily, Luther swung a punch, which Diego ducked from before landing a blow in Luther's gut. While Luther was doubled over in pain, Diego pounded on his back, earning more grunts before jumping and landing a final blow that caused Luther to shout in agony.

"Stop it!" Vanya shouted.

"Hit him!" Klaus encouraged. "Hit him!"

Luther quickly straightened up and tried to punch Diego once more, but the other man simply avoided the hit before landing a few punches himself.

As the fighting continued, Natalia glanced over to see Pogo shaking his head, huffing as he turned around and headed towards the exit.

Her eyes returned to the fight as Luther grabbed a hold of Diego's collar and threw him to the ground. Luther rushed over to Diego as the man clambered to his feet, and missed yet another punch before getting kneed in the stomach by Diego.

Diego kicked him once more. He threw his fist to punch him, but Luther managed to grab it before it could make an impact, and he held it tightly as he used the other arm to grip Diego's jacket and whip him around.

"Get off me!" Diego grunted as he punched and pulled at Luther's arm.

He managed to get a good hold of Luther's hand and pull it off his jacket. He kept the hand grasped tightly between his own, though he let go when Luther made to swing his other fist at it.

Diego quickly punched Luther in the face before stumbling over to Ben's statue, the two of them panting heavily.

"We don't have time for this," muttered Five before walking away.

"Come here, big boy!"

Diego watched as Luther charged toward him, and he moved out of the way just as Luther jumped into an attack.

Luther's fist, however, met the metal of Ben's statue, which then fell backwards from the impact. It hit the ground with a loud crash, and the head broke off and flew back.

A small gasp escaped Natalia's lips as she watched the head roll a couple of inches before coming to a stop, and she felt tears build up in her throat.

"Oh," sighed Klaus.

"And there goes Ben's statue," murmured Allison, who then turned towards the doors.

Upset, Natalia turned to follow her but stopped in her tracks when she noticed Diego.

He was standing across from Luther, a few meters away, and his head was slightly tilted back as he caught his breath. In his hand, was one of his knives.

"Diego, no!" Natalia shouted, though she was too late.

The glint of silver caught her eye as it flew mid-air before slicing Luther's arm. He gave a shout of pain and stopped, panting as he clutched at the wound. He hardly chanced a glance at the others as he hurriedly stumbled his way towards the door.

Natalia stared at Diego for a moment, who she knew was avoiding her gaze, before shaking her head and following Allison inside.

She closed her umbrella as soon as she stepped inside and tossed it to the side before running a hand through her hair.

Unzipping her coat, she immediately headed back to the second floor and to her room, where she sighed and laid down. She began to spin her ring as she squinted her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

Yes, she knew something bad would happen. No, she did not expect it to be that.

Today was just full of surprises, huh?

Her door creaked open a little less than five minutes later, and Diego, whose hair was soaking wet, stood in the doorway.

"Hey."

Natalia instantly sat up, scoffing as she pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare 'Hey' me!"

"What, are you mad?" he questioned with furrowed eyebrows as he stepped in.

"Am I mad?" she repeated incredulously, another scoff escaping her lips. "Am I mad?"

"I thought you agreed with me on this!"

"I agree with you that Luther's being an idiot about this murder thing! I agree with you that Reginald was a bad father! I do not, however, agree that a funeral is where you need to talk shit about someone and have a full-on brawl!"

Diego sighed, rubbing his eyes as he tried, "Nat, baby, I—"

"No, don't call me those names right now!"

"Come on," he murmured exasperatedly.

She lowered her voice as she pointed out, "I asked you to keep your temper in check. And this whole day, you haven't."

Diego shook his head. "It's not that easy."

"It is," she scoffed. "All you have to do is keep your damn mouth shut!"

"You're seriously that angry?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "You could've killed him."

"If I wanted to kill him, I would've."

She had had enough. She got up, rubbing the back of her head as she tried to rid it of the headache that was beginning.

"Where're you going?" Diego called as she headed towards the door.

"Away from you."

She heard the footsteps as he got up and came behind her. "Natalia—"

She whipped around, pointing a finger at him as she chided, "Until you can act like the responsible, thirty-year-old man you're supposed to be, I don't want to talk to you."

"Hey, angel, don't do this," he said softly, grabbing her hand and lowering it, though he didn't let it go. "Okay? I don't want you to start a whole fight—"

"Oh," she scoffed as she ripped her hand out of his, "I'm going to start a fight, huh?"

"No, I didn't word that—"

"You know what'll start a fight between us?" she questioned as she took a step closer, her voice lowering. "Arguing and insulting people I love! Throwing a knife at your own goddamn brother! Getting Ben's statue destroyed!"

Diego sighed. "I didn't mean for that to happen to Ben's statue."

"You ran right in front of it and waited for Luther to punch you. What did you think was going to happen?"

"I just thought he'd hit the metal and that's it!" he protested with raised hands. "I didn't think he'd be that strong!"

"He has super-strength!"

When Natalia huffed and turned on her heel, Diego called, "Come on, princess, don't—"

"Don't call me that."

"Oh, come on." He followed her just out the door, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her back to him.

She swatted his hand as she pleaded, "Leave me alone."

He began to follow her towards the staircase. "For how long?"

"For the rest of the day."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I can't do that."

She glared at him from over her shoulder. "You'll have to."

𝒟.

Diego ran a hand through his hair, which was now dry, thankfully.

It had been an hour since Natalia had told him to leave her alone, and he was going a little crazy. Sure, he's been away from her for hours—days, even, before but it was really just the fact that she didn't want him near that made him suddenly want to be as close as possible.

He wasn't really sure where she was. If he guessed, however, it was probably talking shit about him with Allison or Klaus.

In the other hand, was something that he had never before touched in his life: Reginald's monocle.

He had found it tucked away in Grace's jacket when he was guiding her inside from the funeral. He questioned her, though that was only met by a reassuring smile.

Did Diego suspect his mother of murdering his father? Absolutely not.

But would Luther? Abso-fucking-lutely.

So, with gentle coaxing, Diego slipped the monocle into his own pocket for safekeeping. But what was he going to do with it?

He leaned back against the headboard of his childhood bed, examining the small circle as the light glinted off the chain. He glanced up at the door to double-check that it was closed and locked; he wouldn't want Luther catching him with it.

With a sigh, Diego shoved the monocle back into his pocket and glanced out his window. It was already dark, and since Natalia currently wanted nothing to do with him, why waste his time here?

After grabbing his bag, he made his way down to the basement kitchen, where Natalia, Klaus, and Allison were around the dining table.

"All right," he addressed Klaus and Allison, "I guess I'll see you guys in, what, ten years? When Pogo dies?"

Allison scoffed, her arms folded as she moved to the side. "Not if you die first."

"Yeah, love you, too, sis," Diego replied as he grabbed a marshmallow from the bag Five had left out. He turned to her as he continued, "Good luck on your next film." He dropped his voice to a mutter as he stepped closer, "Hope it turns out better than your marriage, huh?"

He knew Natalia was now more outraged than ever, as was Allison as she glared at him, though he ignored both women as he popped the marshmallow into his mouth and headed towards the exit.

"Come on, Nat," he murmured as he passed by her, though he only got a scoff in return. "Let's go home."

Natalia got up from the chair she was sitting in and took a few steps forward to reach his side before whispering, "You're out of your mind if you think I'm going with you."

"How else are you gonna get home?" he questioned as he came to a stop and turned to face her, his expression doubtful. "Allison and Luther are stayin' here, Five and Vanya are gone, and Klaus doesn't have a car. I'm your only option."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll take a cab."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, and you know what else?" she leaned closer to him, her furious eyes set on his. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight, asshole."

Diego's expression faltered, and his voice weakened, "Don't . . . Nat, it's not that serious."

Natalia only flipped him off before heading back towards his spot, and Diego groaned.

Great. Just what he needed. An angry fiancée.

Klaus quickly replaced her spot as Diego began to head towards the exit once more. "Are—are we leaving?"

Diego turned his head towards him, though he continued walking, and muttered, "No, I'm leaving. Me by myself."

"Oh, fabulous!" Klaus exclaimed, clapping his hands while Diego sighed. "I'll get my things."

While Klaus hurried away to collect his belongings, Diego stepped outside, meeting brisk wind and the harsh scent of cigarettes.

He headed around the building and towards the side, where he had parked the car, his steps a little heavy and his breathing more staggered.

He glanced behind him, hoping that maybe Natalia had regretted her decision and was running to catch up.

She wasn't. There was nothing behind him.

He really didn't understand what Natalia saw in them—in Allison, in Vanya. Klaus, meh, he was a pitiful brother who could provide a laugh or two. But the other two? Diego saw no reason fit to like them.

And why would she choose them over her own fiancé? Sure, he may have chosen a few harsh words, but they weren't worth giving him the couch over.

And, okay, sure, he had thrown a knife at Luther. But as he had said to her before, if he wanted to kill Luther, he would've done it!

He sighed as he reached his car. He opened the front door and tossed his bag to the passenger seat—the seat Natalia should've been in—before sitting in the driver's and slamming the door shut.

He jumped in his spot as the back passenger door suddenly opened, and a "Hey!" reached his ears.

His muscles relaxed when he realized it was just Klaus, and he rolled his eyes as he waited for his heart rate to normalize.

"Diego," Klaus breathed out as he slid into the seat, shutting the door. "You know, every time I close my eyes" —he grabbed Diego's shoulders— "I see a diarrhetic hippo about to shit on my face. It's terrifying!"

Diego wasn't sure whether he was amused, annoyed, or a little bit of both. Either way, he gave in and muttered, "Terrific" as he ignited the engine.

Diego peered into the side-view mirror, making sure one last time that Natalia wasn't coming.

Seeing nothing, he instructed, "Lean back" before pressing the gas pedal.

"So," Klaus began as Diego merged onto the street, "what's up with you and Nutella? Seemed like you two were happy campers at the beginning of the day."

Diego sighed, his grip on the wheel tightening. "None of your business."

Klaus gave a small shrug. "It's kinda my business."

"It's not."

He pouted. "Okay, fine, Mr. Grumpyhead."

"One more word and I'll throw you out of the car."

"I'm done!" Klaus exclaimed, pushing himself as far back as possible into the seat. "I'm done. Promise."

Diego pressed his lips together tightly. Before he could start his patrol, he had one thing set in mind: He had to get rid of the monocle. Lord knows what Luther would do if he found it on him.

There was really only one place that he could think of that was discreet enough.

He turned onto the dock a little less than fifteen minutes later, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there were no other cars parked there, though that wasn't unusual.

Ignoring Klaus's questions, he parked the car, though he didn't bother to turn the engine off. He dug through the duffel bag and pulled his police scanner out—just in case—before getting out of the car.

He placed the radio on the hood of the car before walking up to the edge of the dock, only stopped by the short yellow barrier.

A gentle breeze blew past him, and he let his eyes wander around for a moment. The water was still, only a few ripples here and there, while the lights from the bustling city around it reflected onto its quiet waves.

Slowly, he put his hand in his pocket and fished out the monocle. He let it shift around in his palm for a moment before the monocle itself fell, dangling from the chain that Diego kept between his fingers.

As he watched the light hit the chain, he couldn't help but hear Luther's voice in his head:

"Do you ever remember a single time that Dad wasn't wearing his monocle?"

No. Diego didn't.

But that didn't mean that someone in their family had murdered him. That didn't mean anyone had murdered him.

"Yoo-hoo, Diego!" suddenly called Klaus from behind. "I hate to rush you through any kind of brooding moment you might be havin', but come on, man, we're starving!"

Diego looked over his shoulder to see that Klaus was practically hanging out of his seat, though his glare was enough to get Klaus to lean himself back inside and shut the door.

Diego's gaze returned to the monocle.

He could practically see Reginald's sharp eye just behind the glass, leering at him. Scolding him with every glint that came off the gold rim.

Before he knew it, the chain had slipped through his fingers, and the monocle fell. His eyes followed as it hit the water, sending a small splash upwards, before sinking into the unknown.

"Gunshots reported on the four hundred block of Milton Avenue, Griddy's Doughnuts."

Immediately, Diego turned and headed towards the car, a new sense of purpose now in mind.

He grabbed the radio off the hood before getting inside the car.

"Diego," Klaus drawled as he sat down, "thank you for joining us, we have decided on—drum roll—waffles."

"I'm gonna drop you off at the bus stop," Diego told him as he put his seatbelt on. "I gotta get to work."

"What," Klaus chuckled softly, "breaking bones and cracking skulls?"

"Savin' lives, baby."