[✓] 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝐿𝑈𝐷𝐸 | 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒

𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫. 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒

Valerie's eyes widened. There was no way she was going to risk Diego doing that, powers or not. 

Time slowed down around Valerie as she sped towards him. Everything was happening in slow-motion: Vanya screaming for Diego to stop; the look of slight regret forming on Diego's face; and the knife that was soaring through the air, now moving so slowly that it looked as if it were trying to move through jelly.

Valerie grabbed the silver handle of the knife as it crossed the halfway mark between the two of the men, slowing to a stop once it was safe and gripped tightly in her hand.

Time resumed back to normal. Everyone's wide eyes were still on Luther, expecting the knife to hit him. When they realized that there was nothing in the air and that Valerie was now on the other side of the yard, they all looked toward her, understanding what had happened.

Valerie shook her head as she threw the knife in front of Diego's feet and scoffed, "You never know when to stop, do you?"

—♫—

Valerie sat at the island in the kitchen, slowly chewing on a piece of bread as she watched Five rifle through the pantry. 

Klaus was sitting at the side, his bare feet leaning against the table as he clutched an electric guitar close to his chest.

"I told you ten million times already, Five," Valerie chuckled after swallowing the last piece of her bread. "You will not find any coffee here."

He turned to her, his eyebrows raised. "There has to be at least one goddamn packet of instant coffee or something."

"Trust me, I've already looked," Valerie told him as she pushed her plate away, folding her arms over the table. "There's nothing."

"When have you looked?" Klaus asked, his eyebrows knit tightly together as he tilted his head back. "You've been here for less than a day, and I didn't see you in the kitchen ever."

"First of all, I was in the kitchen, like, five hours ago," she corrected with a raised finger. "And second, I checked three minutes ago."

Five rolled his eyes as he turned to her before scoffing. "You've been sitting there and eating ten slices of bread for the last five minutes, how the hell would you have searched three minutes ago?"

"And you haven't even moved from your chair," Klaus added with narrowed eyes.

"Super-speed, remember?" she reminded, a small smile playing on her lips as she raised her eyebrows. "And also, you're as high as a kite, Klaus."

Klaus giggled. "Yeah."

Five groaned, shifting back to the cabinet and beginning to sort through all the spices once more. "Whatever. I'm still going to look."

"Where's Vanya?" Allison asked as she walked into the kitchen, peering her head around to see if the girl in question was in there.

"Oh, she's gone," Klaus answered as he looked over at her, shaking his head.

Allison frowned. "That's unfortunate."

"An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms" —Five turned around, slamming the empty coffee pot on the kitchen island— "but no, not one single drop of coffee."

"I told you," Valerie muttered, her eyebrows raised as she gave a small shrug.

"Dad hated caffeine," Allison pointed out with a creased forehead.

"Well, he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us," Klaus giggled as he wiggled his toes.

Allison looked over to Valerie, and the two of them exchanged eye-rolls. It was something they found doing often with each other around the other boys, both when they were younger and now.