"𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜."
—𝐽𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑

𝒩.

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐃, 𝐇𝐄𝐑 lips pulling down into a frown as she inspected Five's face. 

It was dirty—his cheeks, his forehead, the tip of his nose—his hair was dishevelled, and his uniform wasn't all that clean either.

She glanced over at Luther, who was rifling through a book he had found on the desk. She walked over to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer, where she kept a few blankets folded. She grabbed two—one thicker than the other—and walked back over to the space beside the bed.

She laid the thicker one down on the ground and then tossed the other blanket beside it. She took the pillow that Five wasn't using and placed it at the top of the blanket, and she gestured down towards it as she told Luther, "You can sleep on that for the night."

Luther gave a nod of thanks and a mutter that seemed quite similar before beginning to get himself settled. 

Natalia then crossed the room to the sink, and she took a clean rag and quickly wettened it. She quietly walked back over to the bed, making sure to avoid stepping on Luther, who was now laid down, and crawled onto the bed, just behind Five.

She gently pulled him so that he was laying on his back, every movement and touch tentative as she tried to not wake him up. Once she was assured that he was comfortable, she began to gingerly rub the rag against his cheeks, slowly, and continuously glanced over to his eyes to make sure they weren't opening. She made sure to be gentle against the cuts and scrapes on his knees and followed that by applying an antibiotic cream that she grabbed.

Once his face was clean and her rag was dirty, she used her free hand to lightly brush off the dust that littered his uniform.

After she was finished, she tugged the blanket over his body and then slowly slid off the bed. She glanced to the side to see that Luther was already tucked in, and she headed back over to the sink.

She washed the rag before hanging it over the side of the sink to dry and took a look at the clock. It was a little before eleven, though she doubted Diego would be home anytime soon.

She needed some sleep, she quickly decided as a yawn escaped her. A lot of it.

𝒩.

A lot of sleep, however, wasn't enough to help Natalia process whatever the fuck Five informed her and Luther of the following morning.

"An apocalypse?" she repeated in shock from her spot next to him on the bed. She wasn't all too sure if she believed him about his discovery from his venture to the future, but then again, why would he make it up?

He could also be crazy, but she decided to push that speculation away.

"When's it supposed to happen?" asked Luther, who was sitting on a chair opposite them. "This . . . apocalypse."

"I can't give you the exact hour, but . . ." Five, whose hands were clasped, sighed. "From what I could gather, we have four days left."

Natalia's eyebrows furrowed. Four days? Five had already been here for four days, and now he decided to pipe up about it?

Luther quickly spoke Natalia's incredulous thoughts aloud: "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"It wouldn't have mattered."

"Of course it would've!" Natalia interjected, fidgeting with her ring.

"We could've banded together and helped you try to stop this thing," Luther agreed just as fiercely.

"For the record," Five replied quietly, "you already tried."

Natalia exchanged a look of confusion with Luther before asking, "What do you mean?"

Five's gaze lowered to his hands as he pressed his lips together. His lips moved slightly, though they didn't part until he finally found the words to say: "I . . . found all of you. Your bodies."

Luther's eyebrows raised. "We die?"

Five nodded solemnly, lifting his head. "Horribly."

Natalia swallowed back her incredulity from before, and instead found her emotions to be replaced with nothing but pity and sorrow. She could hardly even imagine finding that, much less whatever other horrors that the apocalypse had yielded.

"You were together," he continued, his eyes lowering back to the ground, "trying to stop whoever it was that ends the world."

Natalia's eyebrows furrowed at the last of his sentence. "Wait, how do you know that?"

Five reached into his pocket and pulled out a black cloth, which was wrapped around something ball-like. He pulled out a glass eyeball—Natalia leaned away instinctively with disgust—and he raised it for the other two to see.

"This was clutched in your dead hand when I found you." He tossed it to Luther, who caught it before examining it. "Must've ripped it out of their head right before you went down."

Luther stopped inspecting the eyeball for a moment to stare at Five. "Whose head?"

"Like I said," Five replied, "I don't know."

Luther's eyebrows furrowed as he turned the ball over in his hands. "Well, there's a serial number on the back. Think maybe you could try—"

"No, that's a dead end," Five interrupted. He let out a humourless chuckle. "It's just another hunk of glass."

Their attention quickly drew to the door as it slammed open, and Natalia watched with widened eyes as Diego stormed in.

"Piece of shit," he muttered as he marched his way down the steps and towards them. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Luther stood up, catching Diego before he could charge at the boy, and the larger man kept a tight grip on him.

"Nope, let me—!" Diego struggled to escape Luther's clutch as he was lifted into the air. "Get your ape hands off of me!"

"I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down," Luther chided quickly as Diego continued to grapple.

Diego's body quickly relaxed, though the anger on his face remained just as strong as he panted. "Fine."

"Diego," Natalia said, getting up from her spot and stepping towards him with furrowed eyebrows of concern. "What are you talking about?"

Diego's stare was on Five, who seemed to not be particularly troubled about any of this.

"Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back," Diego said to Luther. "He was in the middle of that shootout at Griddy's, and then at Gimble Brothers, after the guys in masks attacked the Academy, looking for him!"

"None of which is any of your concern," replied Five calmly as Diego lowered the finger he had jabbed in his direction.

"It is now," Diego replied, and a look that Natalia wasn't all too used to seeing crossed his face—one that held back tears. "They just killed my friend."

Natalia let out a small gasp, and she put a gentle hand on his arm as she softly asked, "Patch?"

Diego's eyes flicked toward her, and he gave a short nod.

She pressed her lips together, now trying to hold back tears of her own, before looking toward the boy. "Who are they, Five?"

Five swallowed before answering, "They work for my former employer. A woman called the Handler. She sent them . . . to stop me. Then, as soon as Diego's friend got in their way—well" —he shrugged— "fair game."

"And now they're my fair game," Diego replied furiously. "And I'm gonna see to it they pay."

"That would be a mistake, Diego," called Five as Diego began to walk towards the door. "They've killed people far more dangerous than you."

"Yeah, we'll see about that."

Natalia sighed as the door slammed shut, and she sent the other two a small smile. "I'm gonna go with him."

She went towards the pantry and grabbed two granola bars—she figured Diego hadn't eaten anything, and she was starving—before carefully tucking them into her pocket. She then climbed up the stairs and left the room.

She rubbed the side of her stomach, though she was glad that the pain was beginning to lessen. Still, it slowed her pace.

She made it to the gym a minute later, and, though it was early in the morning, it was packed with people. Her nose scrunched at the scent of sweat and protein shakes.

"Talia!"

"Hey, Nigel," she greeted as he walked up to her, straightening up so that he didn't notice the slight hunch she had from her wound. "What's up?"

"Is Diego good?" he questioned, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand while glancing at the door behind him. "Seemed kinda mad when he left. Didn't even say hi to me, which is a felony in itself."

"Not sure, but I'm gonna talk to him." Natalia bit her lower lip, peering past him before shrugging. "I should hurry, though, I don't wanna miss him."

"Yeah, go, go." Nigel gestured for her to hurry. "See ya later."

Natalia nodded and muttered a goodbye before rushing towards the door, avoiding the water bottles and towels that were scattered across the ground. She waved toward Al as she passed him, and he nodded in greeting.

A chilly wind greeted her as soon as she stepped outside, and she immediately regretted not grabbing a jacket before leaving. Nonetheless, she wrapped her arms around her waist in an attempt to generate warmth, and hurried towards where Diego usually parked his car, praying that he hadn't left yet.

Luckily, his car was still there by the time she reached it. The engine was on, judging by the low rumbling she heard as she approached, though Diego's focus wasn't on the wheel—rather, it was on a strip of paper in his hands.

Seeing that Diego hadn't noticed her, she went around to the front passenger seat and opened the door, causing him to flinch.

"Jesus Christ, Nat," he sighed as she sat down, running a hand through his hair. "Don't fucking scare me like that!"

She sent him a small smile. "Sorry."

Diego swallowed before shoving the paper into the cupholder, and he sighed once more as he leaned back in his seat. His head fell back against the headrest, and his eyes closed.

Natalia gazed at him for a moment in concern before letting her eyes drift down to the paper in the cupholder. She glanced at his unmoving self once more before reaching out and taking the paper.

She flipped it so she could see the writing on it, and the name of the diner on the receipt was all-too-familiar. 

"Griddy's?"

Diego slowly opened his eyes, and he turned to face her.

"I found that," he muttered as she put the receipt back into the cupholder. "In the room . . . he was in."

Natalia frowned, and she reached over to interlace her fingers with his. "I'm sorry about Patch. I know you two were good friends."

"Yeah," he mumbled, and his small smile wasn't all too reassuring when she squeezed his hand.

Natalia released his hand and patted his knee before pulling her seatbelt over her body.

"What do you think you're doing?" Diego immediately questioned, straightening up as she clicked it into the lock.

"Going with you." She shrugged. ". . . Wherever you're going."

Diego shook his head and turned the engine off. "I'm going to hunt down the two shitheads who killed Patch. You're not coming."

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding?" he scoffed. "You seriously need to ask why?"

"Yes!" she said indignantly, folding her arms to cover the wound that Diego was now staring at. "I want to help you!"

"Help me?" he scoffed once more, shaking his head. "Natalia, all you'll fucking do is slow me down!"

Natalia pressed her lips together and pushed her back against the seat. She knew that he was just frustrated and upset, so she took no offence to his rage.

"Diego," she said softly, "you can't—"

"No, I am sick and tired of you trying to help!" he exclaimed furiously, slamming a hand against the steering wheel and causing her to flinch. "You are hurt, and you can barely walk by yourself, how are you supposed to help me kill those fuckers? All you'll do is get us both killed!"

"Diego—"

He panted slightly and looked down at his lap. "Go back to Luther and Five."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she shook her head. "I'm not gonna—"

"Get out!"

"Diego," she said sharply, and his head picked up at this. As he turned to face her, her voice softened, "I understand that you're angry about Patch, but you need to think rationally, otherwise you're gonna get yourself killed."

"So what?" he jeered. "You wanna come with me, limping and shit, with a bullet in you, and I'm the one not thinking rationally?"

"I am perfectly okay—"

"There is no way in hell that you're coming with me."

"I'm coming with—"

"You are not coming."

"I don't care what you say, I'm—"

"I can't lose you!" He stared at her for a moment after this outburst, and his eyes suddenly became rather moist. He sank down in his seat, shaking his head and covering his face with his hands as he softly wept, "Nat, I . . . I've al-already lost Mom and—and Eugene, and . . . if I lose you . . ."

"Diego, my love," she said gently, reaching out and placing her hand on his shoulder, "you are not going to lose me."

"No, Nat, y-you can't just keep saying that . . ." he murmured, his voice cracking. "Y-you almost died the other day . . . I can't live without you, I—I can't just . . ."

Natalia pressed her lips together, doing her best to resist the urge to cry. "Diego . . ."

He sniffled and rubbed his eyes as he straightened up. He cleared his throat before turning his hardened gaze back to her. "Go back. I don't want you coming with me."

"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," she replied firmly. "These people are out to get Five—I can't let them get to him."

"Leave it to me," he pleaded. "Please. Just go."

She shook her head. "I'm staying with you, Diego."

Diego stared at her for a moment before lowering his head. He gently slammed his fist against the steering wheel as he muttered, "Goddammit, Nat."

Natalia watched, now a little nervous, as he slowly lifted his head. A loud sigh passed through his lips before he started the engine again, and his glance at her seemed more like a glare before he began to drive.

The drive to—what she soon figured was the Academy—was silent, though the tension in the air was loud enough in itself. She kept herself busy as she looked out the window, though she couldn't help but cast a worried glance his way every now and then.

Her growling stomach caused her to suddenly remember the granola bars she had stashed in her pocket, and the silence was interrupted by the crinkle of a wrapper as she pulled one out.

"Diego?" she said softly, the abrupt voice causing him to glance at her with furrowed eyebrows. "You want something to eat?"

Diego swallowed as he turned to face the road, and he shook his head. "I'm not hungry."

"Honey, you should really—"

"Stop, Natalia."

She sighed and tucked the granola bar back into her pocket before turning towards the window once more. 

When they reached the Academy, Diego parked the car in its usual space, and the two got out. Natalia stayed a step behind him, still a little nervous as she watched his fingers curl and uncurl. 

Before they could step inside the home, however, Diego stopped in his place, and she did the same. 

He sighed as she turned to him with a questioning look. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I just . . ."

"I understand," she said softly, cupping his cheek and giving him a small smile. "It's all right."

He braved a smile as she kissed the tip of his nose. Then, he led the way inside.

The chandelier was still on the ground as they stepped into the foyer, and they went around it to head towards the staircase, avoiding the shattered glass.

Natalia held the railing tightly as they ascended, and when Diego moved to wrap an arm around her waist to support her, she shook her head and muttered she was okay. She supposed it was in her best interest to show him that she was recovering speedily.

The two of them stopped in front of his room. Diego's hand enclosed around the handle, he hesitated for a moment, and then his hand dropped to his side.

He turned to her with a long sigh. "Nat . . ."

"I'm okay, I swear," she reassured him, frowning as she watched his eyes lower to her stomach. "Don't worry about me. Worry about Five."

"How can I not worry about you?" he scoffed, though she was glad that his voice was softer than before. He took a step forward and placed his hands on her lower back, his eyes moving back up to greet hers. "Princess, you're all I care about."

Her arms slithered around his waist, and she sighed as she rested her head against his chest. "I don't want you to be alone, Diego."

"I know."

"I want to help you."

"I know."

"It's dangerous."

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't go."

"What?" she scoffed as she looked up at him. "You think I can't handle myself? I'm not strong enough?"

"Oh, you know that's not what I think," he chided, and she sighed as her fingers grasped onto the back of his shirt. "I'm just scared that I'll agree to this, and it'll be a decision I regret for the rest of my life."

"And I'm scared that I won't go and it'll be a decision that I regret for the rest of my life."

Diego bit his lower lip, and Natalia gave him the best pleading expression she could muster.

After a moment, he groaned and turned back towards the door. 

"Fine."

𝒩.

Natalia frowned as she watched Diego place his final knife into the briefcase he had pulled from underneath his bed.

"You really need all of those?" she questioned as he shut the briefcase and clicked the latches shut.

"Yes," he muttered as he got to his feet and grabbed the handle. He paused at the door frame, just next to her, and he chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "Last chance to stay here, safe and sound."

"Not taking it."

Diego only sighed before reluctantly motioning her to follow, and she did.

Klaus was standing next to the fallen chandelier as they entered the foyer, and, breathily, he asked aloud:

"What happened here?"

"You look like shit," Diego remarked as they passed him, though on the other side of the chandelier.

Natalia frowned as she inspected Klaus's appearance, and she didn't like the fact that she agreed with Diego on this one; Klaus's eyes were awfully red and puffy, his hair was a mess, and his entire face was pale (though this was a look she constantly saw).

"Why thank you," Klaus replied before furrowing his eyebrows. "Hey, where you two going?"

"Nope," Diego immediately answered.

"What?"

Diego paused to turn towards Klaus, and he shook his head. "I'm not giving you a ride."

"Oh, come on, man," pleaded Klaus as he walked towards them. "You know I can't drive."

"I don't c—"

"C'mon, Diego," Natalia mumbled, patting his back. "It won't take long."

Diego groaned.

"Okay, great," Klaus sighed, tapping Diego's chest. "I'll just get my things. Two minutes."

Noticing Diego's scowl, Natalia wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder from behind.

She planted a kiss on his neck, hoping to relax him a little. "It'll only take a few minutes, I'm sure."

Diego glanced down at her and sighed. "Those few minutes could be spent finding those shitheads."

She scoffed. "A few minutes won't change anything. Help your brother."

"Whatever," he mumbled, and she shut her eyes.

Once Klaus came back with a vodka bottle and wearing the fur coat she had given him for Christmas, the three of them headed out to the car.

She spotted Diego's jacket in the backseat of the car through the window, and she quickly opened the door and grabbed the coat.

"Honey," she called as Diego headed to the driver's seat, "put a coat on. You'll get sick."

Diego's lips pressed into a small smile as he took the coat from her and slipped it on.

Seeing that Klaus had already made himself comfortable in the front passenger seat, Natalia took the backseat and pulled her seatbelt on.

Diego sighed as he sat down in the driver's seat, glancing back at her with a frown, though he said nothing as he strapped the seatbelt over him and started the engine.

Natalia leaned back in her seat, folding her arms as she moved her gaze to the window. She wasn't sure what to expect for the rest of the day, but she was sure it was going to be nothing good.

"Where am I driving you?" questioned Diego to Klaus as they merged onto the road. "The bus stop again?"

Klaus shook his head, mumbling, "Just drive."

Natalia sighed as she tilted her head back onto the seat, watching the buildings and people as they passed by.

A light rain began to pour a couple of minutes into the drive. The raindrops splattered onto the window, and she looked through them to see the blue-grey clouds that had crowded overhead.

Natalia's frown deepened as she looked over to Klaus, who hadn't spoken a word since his first direction. Usually, by this point, Klaus would've gone through about ten different topics worth of non-stop blabbering—and not that she was dying to hear about the time he had waxed himself with chocolate pudding, but his silence was quite worrying, especially paired with his behaviour and appearance.

Her concern worsened as she watched him pull out a vodka bottle from his coat and yank the cap off before raising it to his lips. That was never good.

Diego seemed to have the same worry as he glanced at his brother. "You okay?"

Klaus didn't reply, rather just bringing the bottle to his lips again and taking a deep drink.

"Wow," Diego remarked, almost humorously. "This is a first. My brother Klaus is silent. Last time you were this quiet, we were twelve; ran down the stairs wearing Grace's heels, tripped over, and broke your jaw."

Natalia smiled. That was one of the first memories of Klaus that she had; it had happened only a month after she had arrived, and it served as a great warning of who was about to become one of her best friends.

"How long was it wired shut again?" Diego questioned Klaus, who then, to Natalia's surprise, answered:

"Eight weeks."

"Eight glorious weeks of bliss," Diego quipped.

"Hey, just . . ." Klaus suddenly piped up, straightening up. "Just drop me off here."

Natalia looked towards the right side of the road, where a couple of shops and a laundromat were. She had no clue as to why Klaus was interested in stopping there, though she had learned long ago to question him less.

Once Diego had parked in front of the sidewalk, Klaus opened the door and stumbled out, not even bothering to utter a goodbye.

"You sure you're okay, man?" Diego called, though Klaus made no sign that he heard as he headed towards one of the doors.

Natalia, however, was still more than worried, and a frown curved her lips. "Diego—"

"Come," he interrupted, patting the empty seat beside him, "sit up front and let's go."

"But Klaus—"

"Nat," he sighed as he turned around to face her, "we don't have time."

"Please," she pleaded, giving him the best puppy-dog eyes and pout she could muster. She shifted forward in her spot and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just check on him. For one minute."

Diego chewed on his lower lip for a moment, and she made sure to keep her imploring expression. He set his jaw before groaning and turning back to face the front.

"Why do I listen to you?" he muttered as he turned the engine off, prompting her to lean forward and kiss his cheek.

"Because you love me."

"Yeah, yeah," he murmured, though his glare was more playful than anything as they got out of the car.

Natalia made sure to step around the small puddles that had formed, though she was glad that the rain had stopped.

The two of them walked over to the door they had seen Klaus disappear in, and Natalia's eyebrows furrowed as she noticed the white lettering on the door:

WELCOME TO
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

"Veterans of foreign wars?" she repeated out loud, her tone just as confused as her expression. "Why would he go in there?"

"It's Klaus," Diego sighed, giving her a large lift of the shoulders. "Nothing he does makes sense."

They stepped inside to see that it was a bar, which was quite busy despite it being the middle of the day. A few men—all of whom most definitely looked as though they were veterans, with their badges, tattoos, and muscles—were seated at the tables, and the rest were dispersed around the bar.

Natalia's eyes drifted past the couple of men playing billiards to see that Klaus was standing in front of a board full of photos. He had taken his fur coat off—she quickly spotted it at the bar counter—and his full attention was being paid to the photos in front of him, though she wasn't sure what interested him so much; he never was a fan of history back in their school days.

Natalia shared a look of confusion with Diego before they began to head toward Klaus. And as they grew closer, she noticed the tears that were trailing down his face.

"Is he crying?" murmured Diego to her, and she shrugged.

The two were quiet as they came up behind Klaus, who hadn't noticed their presence at this point. Diego placed a hand on his shoulder, and he flinched.

He sighed as he glanced back at them. "Just go away, please."

Natalia frowned, watching as Klaus turned back to the board and rubbed his eyes. "Not until you talk to us."

"Is that a threat?" Klaus sighed, dropping his hands back to his sides. "You threatening me?"

"Hey, guys."

Natalia's eyebrows furrowed as she turned to see an older man, who wore a vest that carried a few war pins.

"This bar?" He raised his eyebrows, gesturing around them. "It's for vets only."

"I am a vet," replied Klaus, who was still facing the board.

Natalia's face scrunched up. Since when?

"Really?" the veteran chuckled, clearly as disbelieving as she and Diego. "Where'd you serve?"

"None of your business!"

The veteran shook his head, and all sense of humour vanished from his expression. "You got balls comin' in here, pretendin' you're one of us."

"Oh, I have every right to be here, just like you," grumbled Klaus as he slowly turned to face the man. "Asshole!"

As the veteran made to step forward in anger, Diego reached a hand out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hey. Slow down, Marine. All right? My brother's just had a few too many."

Natalia shifted in her spot, suddenly feeling uneasy as a few more men walked up.

"Let's just call it a day, all go our own way," Diego continued lightly.

The veteran nodded. "Sure thing."

"Thank you." Diego turned to his brother. "Klaus—"

"As long as you apologize."

Klaus giggled.

Diego turned back to face the man with raised eyebrows, and Natalia knew that, at this point, all he wanted to do was cuss him out.

Instead, he nodded. "Fine. I'm sorry. He's sorry. We're all sorry. So . . . are we good?"

The veteran pointed at Klaus. "I wanna hear him say it."

Diego furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, man, I'm just trying to—"

"No, no. He's right, Diego," interrupted Klaus as he waved a hand and turned to face them. "He's right. He's right. I'd like to apologize . . . that you . . . are depriving some village of their idiot!"

Klaus immediately ducked as the veteran swung a punch at him, and he grabbed onto the man's vest before headbutting him. The veteran stumbled backwards, but it was only a matter of moments before another came rushing up.

Natalia's eyes widened, and she immediately stepped in front of Klaus. She thrust her hand outwards and grabbed onto the man's neck before kneeing him in the stomach.

She ignored the pain that had flared up in her stomach as she moved towards the next man, hearing Diego and Klaus fending off a couple of others behind her.

She groaned as the man landed a blow to her jaw, though she didn't let that daze her as she elbowed him in the chest and then immediately did the same to his nose before pushing him to the ground.

One more man came up to her, though he hesitated—probably because she was a woman and he was old-fashioned. She took that hesitation to her advantage, however, as she swung a punch to his cheek and side-kicked him down.

The fight was over faster than it had started. She felt a hand grab her arm and begin to drag her towards the door, and she looked to see that it was Diego, who had his other hand clutching Klaus.

She brushed him off once they reached outside, and she took a moment to breathe as she leaned back against the wall. She shut her eyes, her hand on her stomach, and groaned.

"God, you okay?" asked Diego, his eyebrows furrowed as he came to her. He lifted up the bottom of her shirt to inspect her wound as he shook his head. "I told you—"

"It's fine," she said through gritted teeth, swatting his hand away. "I'm fine. Just give me a second."

"No, Natalia, I'm driving you back—"

"Just give me a second!"

Diego fell silent.

She tilted her head back and took a deep breath, letting the chilly wind cool her rather hot cheeks. It took half a minute for the pain in her stomach to die down—though every move made it flare up a little—and she sighed.

"Sorry," she muttered to Diego, who only shook his head in return.

She placed a gentle hand on his cheek and tilted his head up, frowning when she saw the growing bruise on his cheek and his split lip. Her finger brushed over the dried blood on his lower lip.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." He pressed his lips into a smile, though she knew his smile enough to know this one was far from real.

Once the three were back in the car, Diego began to drive.

Natalia kept her silence as she turned to face the window, and her hands were constantly either rubbing her stomach or jaw. She knew that if she made one groan or grimace, Diego would turn the car around and accept no more convincing.

Fifteen minutes later, the familiar neon sign of Griddy's Doughnuts was in sight. Diego parked the car beside the building that was just across from it, and the engine silenced.

And when Klaus giggled, Diego sighed, "You got a big mouth, you know that?"

"Oh, wow," quipped Klaus, sending Natalia an amused expression that she did not return. "What a truly shocking revelation, Diego."

"Everything's a big joke to you, right?" Diego scoffed, and he grabbed the baggie of pills Klaus then began to open. "Would you stop it?"

Klaus scrunched his face and pouted as Diego pulled the baggie away, and he slammed his fists against his lap in protest.

Diego scoffed. "Why are you putting this shit in your body?"

Klaus blew a raspberry.

"Check this out. Hm?" Diego lifted his shirt and slapped a hand against his stomach. "My body is a temple."

"Oh, not this shit again," mumbled Natalia, though her comment only received a glare in return.

"All that shit you do," he continued, looking back to Klaus, "it's just weakness."

"Oh, wow, beautiful," Klaus muttered, his hand reaching into his coat pocket, surely to grab more pills. "Well, weakness feels so good."

"Hey!" Diego hit the back of Klaus's head, causing the blue pill in his hand to fly to the ground. "What's goin' on with you? Huh?"

"Don't hit me, asshole!"

"Don't tell me everything is all right, because I saw you in there!" Diego accused, jabbing a finger at him. "You were crying like a baby!"

"Because I lost someone!" he exclaimed, causing both Natalia and Diego to stare at him in shock. He let out a sigh, lowering his gaze to his lap as he softly continued, "I lost someone. The only . . . The only person I've ever truly loved more than myself."

Natalia frowned, her hands now resting on her lap as she watched Klaus in pity. She wondered who this person was, and why Klaus hadn't brought up them or their death until now, though she didn't pry. Clearly, the death was still fresh, and she didn't want to worsen the impact.

Klaus braved a smile as he dug out another pill. "Cheers."

As Klaus swallowed his pill, Diego muttered, "Well, you're luckier than most. . . . When you lose someone, at least you can . . . see them whenever you want."

Natalia's frown only deepened. She knew Diego was thinking about both Grace and Detective Patch.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him tilt his head and adjust the rear-view mirror. He then looked back towards the rear glass, and Natalia quickly followed his gaze.

Just leaving Griddy's Doughnuts were a man—who Natalia soon realized was the bear-headed attacker, Hazel—and another older woman—Agnes, the waitress. They bid their goodbyes to each other, and Agnes headed back into the diner.

Hazel walked to his car, an older model that was a light blue, and gently pounded his fist against the top, a small grin on his face.

"That's our man," Diego breathed out as Hazel bent over to insert the key into the driver's door.

Klaus slumped down in his spot to look at the side-view mirror. "Hey, I know that guy."

"How could you possibly know that—"

"He and a really angry lady tortured me," Klaus interrupted, causing Natalia to utter a small "What?" in surprise. "I barely got out with my life."

Natalia exchanged an incredulous look with Diego before turning her attention back to the assassin as his car's engine revved.

"We gotta get this guy," Diego muttered, then starting the engine.

They followed closely behind the blue car, though they always stayed a car or two behind so as to not be too suspicious.

They finally arrived at a motel about ten minutes later, and Diego parked the car behind an ice cream truck while the blue car parked in a space in front of the motel.

Once Hazel had left his car and entered his motel room, Diego muttered, "You two stay here. I'll be right back."

Before Natalia even had the chance to ask what he was going to do, Diego left the car and snuck his way over to the blue one. He dropped down to his stomach and reached underneath the car, though she wasn't able to tell what exactly he was doing. Her best guess was putting a tracker.

He returned to the car a minute later, and he quickly settled back into his spot.

"Oh, Klaus, seriously?" Natalia sighed as she watched him pull his vodka bottle out once again.

Klaus mumbled something back while screwing the cap off, though she couldn't tell what he had said (she had a feeling it included the words 'fuck' and 'you').

She shifted up in her seat and peered over Diego's shoulder to see a black device in his hand, which had an antenna sticking out the top.

Diego glanced back at her. "It's a tracker."

"Yeah, I figured as much," she murmured before sighing. "Do you think they saw you?"

"Nah, baby," he reassured her. "I'm stealthy. Like a cat."

She rolled her eyes. "Right."

She leaned back in her spot before moving her gaze to the window. Her eyes quickly fixated on a bedroom window, which had its teal curtain pulled back to reveal Hazel, along with a darker-skinned woman with a choppy bob cut—Cha-Cha, she assumed.

Diego seemed to have noticed them too, and as they pulled the curtain shut, he muttered, "Bingo."

"You do know that killing these people is not gonna make you feel any better," Klaus murmured before taking another swig.

"Thank you," sighed Natalia.

"Yeah," agreed Diego, who had begun to sheathe his knives, "but when it's done . . . I'm gonna sleep like a baby."

Klaus raised his eyebrows and humoured him, "Sure you will."

The door to their motel room suddenly opened, and Hazel came out, holding a wooden ice bucket. He then turned left and disappeared from their sight.

"Stay in the car," ordered Diego.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asked incredulously. "This guy tortured me."

Natalia scoffed. "Yeah, I'm not letting you go by yourself."

Diego looked back at her and shook his head. "I have a plan."

Natalia only sighed and leaned back in her seat as Diego opened the door and left.

They watched as he made his way towards the staircase, and Natalia looked towards Klaus. "There's no way we're letting him go alone, right?"

"He's stupid," sighed Klaus before taking another swig. "He'd die without us."

Natalia nodded, and she quickly got out of the car.

The two of them swiftly headed towards the blue stairwell and found Diego at the top landing, a double-bladed knife in hand.

And just before he could spring into action, Klaus called, "So, what exactly is the plan here, big guy?"

Diego's back stiffened as they came up behind him. "I told you to wait in the car."

"Yeah, but you also told me that licking a nine-volt battery would give me pubes."

Natalia wrinkled her nose as Klaus drank from his bottle. "And you believed him?"

Diego turned towards them. "We were eight."

Klaus shrugged. He then attempted to step up onto the top landing, though he was stopped as Diego pressed a hand against his chest and pushed him back.

Diego sheathed his knife with the other hand. He then grabbed a fistful of Klaus' shirt and placed his other hand on Natalia's shoulder before guiding them both down the stairs.

"What?" Natalia complained. "Come on."

"For once, I need you two to listen to me, okay?" Diego coaxed, "Now, go back to the car. If I don't come out in two minutes, that means I'm probably dead."

That made Natalia stop in place. "Diego, what?"

Diego pushed Klaus so that he stumbled down the rest of the stairs himself, and he turned to Natalia. "But I will come out in two minutes, so no need to worry."

"Diego, you promised—"

"I promised that you could come. Nothing else. I'm not putting you in danger."

She sighed and cupped his cheek, letting her thumb brush against the growing bruise. "I can't let you go alone."

He shook his head, and his voice was soft as he replied, "And I can't let you come with me."

She sighed and bit her lower lip. She knew she wouldn't be able to convince him any further; she was lucky enough that he had let her come here in the first place.

She leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. "Be careful."

He winked. "Always."

Natalia remained stationary as Diego began to head up the stairs once more. Seeing this when he glanced back, Diego motioned for her to leave, and she let out a long sigh.

She turned around and descended the rest of the stairs to see Klaus standing just a few feet away, fiddling his thumbs.

He looked up at her before quirking an eyebrow. "There's no way we're leaving Diego, right?"

"You're damn right we're not."

Once Natalia was sure that Diego wouldn't catch them sneaking up again, she grabbed Klaus' shoulder and began to lead the both of them up the stairs. Just as they reached the top of the staircase—Diego was a few feet in front of them—the revving of an engine filled the air.

Natalia's heart lurched as the sound of gunshots rang, though she couldn't be more grateful as Klaus managed to pull Diego back towards the stairwell.

"Diego," Natalia said hurriedly, "are you—oh, shit."

Diego was clutching at his arm, pain clearly displayed as he scrunched his face and groaned. She peered at the blood leaking from his arm, though she didn't get a good enough view before Diego firmly clamped his hand over the wound.

"Oh, man. See?" Klaus scoffed as Diego turned towards him, a grin playing on his lips. "You used to think I was an idiot."

"I still think you're an idiot," Diego breathed out. He then began to dash down the stairs before Natalia could stop him as he muttered, "They're getting away."

"You're welcome," Klaus mumbled as he followed.

"Jesus," muttered Natalia as she quickly followed them down the steps.

They reached the bottom just in time to see the light blue car drive out of sight, though Natalia had a feeling that this wasn't where their adventure would stop.

"Shit," Diego groaned. "Get in the car."

They turned to the car, but quickly realized that it was unusable; the tires had been shot full of holes and were now deflated.

Klaus leaned against the ice cream truck, a humoured expression on his face. "Was this all part of your master plan?"

𝒩.

Natalia gripped the back of Diego's seat in the ice cream truck they had stolen, worriedly watching the road as Klaus drove down.

The ice cream truck, unfortunately, only had two seats in it, and Natalia had gotten the short end of the stick, so she just had to pray that she wouldn't get hurt while Klaus drove like a maniac.

Diego had the tracker in his hands, and they were following the little red dot to lead them to Hazel and Cha-Cha. He was refusing any care Natalia tried to give him because of his arm, and she had given up on trying.

"We're getting closer, we're getting closer," Diego muttered, glancing down at his tracker before returning his eyes to the road.

Suddenly, Hazel and Cha-Cha came into sight, at the far end of the road.

Natalia's eyebrows furrowed as she realized that Five and Luther were standing on the left of the road, though she didn't question it; they were always up to weird stuff.

"I see them!" Klaus exclaimed.

"Go faster!" Diego shouted as he shifted forward in his seat.

"No, please don't!" Natalia groaned, though Klaus only listened to Diego's instruction.

As Klaus accelerated, Natalia tightened her grip on the chair and bent her legs to balance herself.

Hazel and Cha-Cha began to shoot at them as they drew closer, causing them to wince, but the bullets only ricocheted off the metal of the truck.

The truck slammed into Hazel and Cha-Cha, throwing them to the ground (and, unfortunately, not killing them).

Klaus, for some reason, didn't press on the brake pedal as the truck continued sliding forward, and the truck crashed into the back of Hazel and Cha-Cha's stationary car.

As they lurched forward, Natalia nearly fell to the ground, though she managed to catch herself just in time.

The same couldn't be said for the other two; both Diego and Klaus had hit the dashboard with loud groans.

"Good God!" Klaus cried out. "Oh! Ow!"

He recovered quickly and opened the door before stepping out. Natalia grabbed onto Diego, and carefully helped him as the two of them stumbled down the steps.

Luther dashed up to them, and he helped Natalia as they both slung an arm around Diego before heading towards the car while Cha-Cha ran towards the briefcase that Luther had thrown into the field.

"Wait," Diego groaned as they rushed forward, "my shoes hurt."

Natalia's face scrunched. "What?"

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Klaus panted as they made it toward the car.

"Get in the car," muttered Luther as he opened the passenger door and let go of Diego.

Natalia quickly helped Diego settle in the car comfortably, and she pulled his seatbelt on for him before doing the same for herself.

Klaus settled in the front passenger seat while Luther got into the driver's seat, and as soon as the larger man's hands settled on the steering wheel, Klaus screamed, "Luther! Go! Go!"

𝒩.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that you're stupid. This always happens."

"Whatever," Diego mumbled as Natalia finished suturing his bullet wound. "I'm fine."

She took a moment to glare at him before packing up the suturing kit. "You could've died."

"But I didn't."

She rolled her eyes as she shoved the kit back into the cabinet and then grabbed some gauze and medical tape. "Yeah, thanks to Klaus!"

"Pfft, I wouldn't have died if he didn't—"

"Yes, you would've, Diego."

"Well, whatever," he said dismissively as she ripped off a square of gauze from the roll, "it's over now."

"Is it?" Her eyebrows raised as she placed the gauze over the wound and tore the tape. "Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're going to go searching for these two the second the sun rises."

Diego's lips pressed together and judging by the silence that followed, she was right.

She scoffed as she taped down the gauze. "Yeah."

Diego remained quiet as she stuffed the gauze and tape back in the cabinet. She rifled through a few more cabinets and drawers until she found a navy blue sling, and she brought it over to him.

"Nat, they killed Patch," Diego murmured as she fitted his arm into the sling. "What am I supposed to do?"

She sighed. "How about honour his name? Honour what he stood for? Because it sure as hell isn't this."

"Natalia, you know this isn't—"

"Whatever," she interjected, stepping back once the sling was on. "I'm done trying to stop you."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Are you seriously mad at me?"

"No."

He shook his head. "You seem like it."

"I'm not, Diego. I'm just . . . frustrated," she insisted, her lips falling into a frown. "Unfortunately, I'm used to this."

"Unfortunately?"

"Yes, unfortunately!" she exclaimed as she folded her arms. "It's not every girl's dream for her fiancé to be risking their life almost every damn night! And—" She paused, and a heavy sigh left her lips. "I'm not having this conversation with you again."

She bit her lower lip and turned around, now using the infirmary around her as a distraction. Her eyes searched around for an open cabinet, an open bottle—anything that could keep her from turning back around and getting frustrated all over again.

"What if . . . What if this was the end?"

She slowly turned around to face him, her eyebrows knitted together tightly. She wasn't all too sure what he meant by 'end.' Had he somehow figured out what Five had told them that morning? (She made a mental note to actually mention to him what Five had said at some point).

"What do you mean?"

"Let me get my revenge . . . and I'm finished." He gave a small shrug, and his eyes lifted to meet hers. "I won't go out in the middle of the night anymore."

She scoffed. "Like I'd believe that."

"I'm serious."

"No" —she shook her head, stepping back towards him— "this is just a way to trick me so that I won't get mad at you for doing this."

He gave her an imploring look, and he rested his uninjured hand on her hip. "When have I ever tricked you?"

"Okay," she said slowly, though she wasn't thoroughly convinced, "even if you mean it, there's no way you're going to stick to it."

"I promise, baby," he said softly, his eyes pleading with hers. "I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, so I better start now."

She pressed her lips together, and she had a feeling he was buttering her up just a bit. "I still don't feel good about this."

"And, look" —a grin began to grow on his face, confirming her suspicion— "as soon as we're married, we're going to be having babies left and right—"

Her nose scrunched. "What?"

"—and I'll need to be home for that."

"First of all, as soon as we're married?"

"Well, not as soon. I mean, we have our honeymoon" —his grin was replaced with a smirk, and he squeezed her hip— "you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that—but I'm sure we'll get the process going then."

"Second, we're having three," she scoffed, lifting three fingers to emphasize her point. "At most."

"What's that?" he said playfully, raising his uninjured hand and cupping his ear. "Three at least? What? Natalia, you want a whole football team of children? Wow."

She laughed before waving a stern finger at him. "Diego. Stop trying to change the subject."

His smirk changed into a guilty look. "That obvious?"

"You know what," she sighed, "you're an adult, you do what you want. I'm not your mom, I can't tell you what you can or can't do. But it'd still be nice if you listened to my opinion."

"There's no opinion I trust more than yours, princess. But this . . . this is different." He shifted in his spot and winced. "Hey, are there any painkillers around here?"

"Sorry." She sighed, mentally cursing herself for forgetting to give him something.

She hurried over to the medicine cabinet and combed through all the pill bottles until she found the right one. Once she had, she twisted the cap off and shook two pills out.

After filling a paper cup with water, she walked back over to Diego with raised eyebrows.

"Will this suffice or would you rather a raw egg?"

Diego rolled his eyes as he took the pills from her hand and swallowed them dry, not bothering to take the water from her hand. "Should we go home?"

"With all that's happened . . . I think it might be better just to stay here." Natalia frowned, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

He gave a small nod.

Her growling stomach made her aware of the fact that she had only had a granola bar in the morning, and she quickly realized that Diego hadn't eaten anything at all. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Come on," she sighed, taking his free hand and helping him off the hospital bed, "I'll make us something, and then we can get to bed. It's been a long day."