𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Five ~

"Songbird, can I come in?" Klaus asked. Dusk looked up to see him outside her door. She nodded and gestured him inside as he took a seat on the bed. "I can't believe Five's back after all these years. It doesn't make sense as to why he came back. He hated Dad," the raven said, meeting Klaus's eyes. He just shrugged his shoulders, taking a puff from his lit blunt of weed before offering it to her, but she shook her head.

"Sebastian had a habit of taking drugs. He tried to rope me into doing them," Dusk explained. Her words were true. When she first met her ex, he was stone-cold addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and other women. And somehow, Dusk had managed to pull him away from all of that. Or... at least she thought she did. If he was capable of cheating on her behind her back, who knew what else he was doing? "Damn. Dusk, I know it's hard for you with your breakup. But at least you found out he was cheating while you were engaged. If you found out he cheated once you tied the knot, that would've been way worse," Klaus said, exhaling a breath of weed.

"Klaus! Dusk! We're doing the funeral!" Diego called from downstairs. The two of them looked at each other, faces falling before getting up and walking to the backyard. The Hargreeves family stood close together, watching as Luther opened the urn containing their father's ashes. The sky continued crying with rain, the drops of water landing on their umbrellas. "Did something happen?" Grace asked, with a smile that felt unsettling. "Dad died, remember?" Allison asked, confused as to why she didn't look sad. "Is Mom okay?" Dusk asked, looking over at Diego.

"Yeah, she's fine. She just needs to rest. You know, recharge," Diego answered, looking at the ground. Pogo nodded at Luther, letting him know they were ready whenever he was. He lifted the urn, letting the ashes fall, but the ashes bunched together in a small pile on the wet cement. "Probably would have been better with some wind," Luther muttered. "Does anyone wish to speak?" Pogo asked, looking at the children. Everyone remained silent as they stared at the pile of ashes.

"In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He leaves behind a complicated legacy-" Before Pogo could finish, Diego scoffed. "He was a monster. He was a bad person and a worse father. The world's better off without him," Everyone looked over at him in shock, but some of them knew it was the truth. He was barely a father to them. Instead, he was more of an angry professor. "Diego!" Allison hissed. 

"My name is Number Two. You know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it," Diego continued, not caring about anyone else's emotions. "Would anyone like something to eat?" Grace asked. "No, it's okay, Mom," Dusk said sweetly, disguising the satisfaction she was getting from Diego's words. "Look, you wanna pay your respects? Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was,"

Luther shot him a warning look as Diego rambled on. "You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One. After everything he did to you? He had to ship you a million miles away! That's how much he couldn't stand the sight of you!" Something inside Luther Hargreeves snapped right at that moment. He threw his fists at Diego, and the two of them began brawling at their own father's funeral. Pogo called out to them, desperately trying to end this, but to no avail. Eventually, he gave up and went back inside while the rest of the siblings watched with glee and frustration.

"Hit him! Hit him!" Dusk and Klaus chanted as the fight continued. Luther threw a punch at Diego, but luckily, he missed, but Luther ended up hitting Ben's statue, knocking it off the stone platform and decapitating it. "There goes Ben's statue," Allison sighed before going inside. Diego pulled out one of his sharpest throwing knives and threw it in Luther's direction, striking him in the arm and creating a large gash. Satisfied with his win, Diego headed back inside. As did Luther, Grace, Vanya, and Dusk.

Klaus stood up from the wet stone bench he was sitting on and walked towards the pile of ashes, bending over. "I bet you're loving this! The team at its best, just like old times," Klaus said, taking one final puff from his blunt and sticking it in the ashes.

"Best. Funeral. Ever!"

~~~~~~~

"Well, that was certainly the most fun I've had at a funeral," Dusk said sarcastically as she, Klaus, Vanya, and Five sat at the dining table later in the night. "Luther and Diego are immature as always," Five muttered as he stood up and began searching the shelves. "Guys, I'm going to go. I think I stayed here long enough," Vanya sighed. "Are you sure? You don't have to leave quite yet," Dusk questioned, sadly looking at her sister.

"I'm sure. Besides, I have practice in the morning," Vanya nodded, gently hugging her before she walked out of the room. A short while later, Allison walked in, still in her black attire. "Where's Vanya?" She asked. "She left not too long ago," Klaus answered. "Damn it! An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, but no, not a single drop of coffee!" Five sighed exasperatedly. "Dad hated caffeine," Allison recalled. "Well, he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us!" Klaus pointed out.

Five let out another sigh before grabbing the keys to one of the cars. "Where are you going?" Dusk asked, grabbing his hand before he yanked it away. "To get a decent cup of coffee," He quipped. And there he goes acting like a tough guy again. Diego soon walked into the room, saying his goodbyes. Klaus sat down his guitar and got out of his chair. "Are... Are we leaving?" Klaus asked. 

"No, I'm leaving, me by myself," Diego clarified. "Oh, fabulous! I'll get my things!" The junkie said before running off to his room. While the junkie was distracted, Diego took his chance to finally gain some much-needed solitude and ran outside, hoping to get to the car before Klaus came back. He quickly started the car and sped off as Klaus ran out the side door calling out his name. "Diego! Wait up!" He called out as the car exited the driveway. "Asswipe!" Klaus spat, walking back inside. "What's wrong? I thought you were going with Diego," Dusk asked as she grabbed a bottled water from the fridge.

"The asshole left before I could get in the car," he answered. "Bummer. Well, I'm going to bed, so hopefully, I see you tomorrow?" Klaus looked at the raven as she brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Yeah. Hopefully," He slowly nodded. He felt Dusk's arms wrapped around him, and he could feel his heart melt as he felt the warmth of her body against his clothing. "Goodnight, Klausy," she said as she walked away.

"Goodnight, songbird," Klaus called back. But he wasn't going to bed yet. He would stay up till sunrise if he could. Almost as if on cue, his stomach grumbled, and his mind instantly went to breakfast food. "I guess its frozen waffles for dinner tonight," he said, looking across the kitchen. Only visible to him, there was a figure wearing everything black. For years, Klaus dealt with plenty of unwanted spirits haunting his every waking moment, leading to his dependency on anything that could cloud his mind. And for sixteen years, there was one ghost he could not get rid of...

His brother, Ben.