2019
Diego returned to his house and Guinevere looked into her husband's eyes.
"What is it?" Guinevere asked.
"M-my f-father," Diego stuttered.
Guinevere glanced at their twins who were in the middle of The Lion King. "Liam, Layla, go into another room, please."
Liam stood and grabbed his sister's hand.
Guinevere stepped closer to Diego and cupped his face. "What happened to your father, dear?"
"He's dead. The bastard is finally dead."
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Diego, be honest. Are you okay?"
He nodded slowly. "I really think I am. Listen, I gotta go back to the house. To the Umbrella Academy. Come with me?"
"Of course. You don't have to ask. But can we go tomorrow? I'm exhausted."
Diego chuckled softly. "Of course we can go tomorrow, Gwen."
The next morning, Diego and Guinevere got their children ready to go and got in their car.
They drove to the mansion and Diego opened the door for his wife.
Guinevere climbed out and the twins unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of the car.
Layla took her father's hand. "Daddy, did you live here when you were Liam's and my age?"
Diego nodded, smiling at his daughter. "I did, sweetheart. Listen, you and your brother are about to meet my family. I want the two of you to be on your best behaviors, okay?"
Liam and Layla nodded. "Okay, Daddy."
The family walked into the house and Guinevere comfortingly squeezed her husband's hand.
Diego smiled at her. "Go on in. I've got some things to do. Liam, Layla, stay out of trouble and be good for your mother." He went upstairs.
Klaus noticed the familiar brunette and grinned as he sauntered up to her. "Hello, dear! Who are these lovely little ones?"
Guinevere smiled. "These are Diego's and my twins Liam and Layla."
"Twins?! My, my. Come, you two. Oh, Guinevere, may I?"
Guinevere nodded. "Sure. But no drugs or alcohol around them. Understand?"
Klaus nodded. "Of course. Come, children."
He walked off with the twins.
Another figure entered and Allison, who noticed, said, "Would ya look at that." Vanya turned to find Allison standing in the doorway. "Everyone was taking bets on whether you'd show."
"Did you win?" Vanya asked.
Allison gave a small, rueful shrug. She stepped forward to embrace her sister awkwardly.
"Are we supposed to... how's this go?" Allison questioned.
"I have no idea," Vanya admitted.
Allison gave Vanya a quick, obligatory hug. As though reconsidering, she pulled Vanya closer. Vanya closed her eyes as she rested her chin on Allison's shoulder.
"I'm glad you're here," Allison told her sister.
"Least someone is," Diego said.
The sisters broke apart to reveal Diego, glaring at Vanya. He ignored his wife's pointed look.
"Eat shit, Diego," Allison retorted.
"You're seriously gonna defend her?" Diego shot back. "After what she did?"
"You're seriously gonna do this today? At Dad's funeral?"
"Dad knew what she was." He turned away in disgust.
Vanya stared after him, dismayed before turning to Guinevere. "I-I'm sorry, I don't recognize you."
Guinevere smiled. "Guinevere Hughes. Diego's wife. The little boy and girl you saw are Diego's and my twins Liam and Layla."
"Diego's wife? If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you take his last name?"
"I chose to keep the name I'm known by on stage."
"On stage? What do you do?"
"I'm an actress. Broadway. It's nice to meet you, Vanya. Just so you know, I don't blame you for the book. I might've been a little angry at first, but not anymore."
"Thank you for that. Your twins are adorable."
"Thank you. They're the lights of my life."
"How old are they?"
"They're four."
"Four's a good age."
Liam and Layla ran back to their mother and said in sync, "I'm hungry."
Guinevere smiled at her twins. "All right, let's get you two something to eat."
She made her way to the kitchen, followed by the twins and prepared a snack for her children.
"Gwen!" Diego called from the drawing room.
Guinevere handed her twins their snack and made her way to the drawing room, the twins on her heels.
She sat on the couch, Layla on her lap and Liam next to her.
Luther stood. "If we're all ready, I'd like to get started. Do the kids really have to be here, Guinevere?"
Guinevere nodded. "Yes, they do. Why have you gathered everyone together?"
"Dad died."
"It was all over the news."
"Right. So, I figured we could hold the funeral at Dad's favorite spot."
"Dad had a favorite spot?" Allison asked with a frown.
Luther looked between his siblings and sister-in-law, confused at their expressions. "Yeah, you know, under the oak tree. We used to sit there all the time. You guys never did that?"
Klaus shook his head. "No, Luther. None of us ever got to have playtime with our dear old daddy. That was just you."
Klaus walked towards the couch, a glass of whisky in one hand and a joint in the other. He sat at the empty end of the couch, next to the twins and Liam started playing with the robe he was wearing.
Guinevere glanced at Klaus. "Keep those away from the twins. Liam, on my other side, please."
Liam hopped off the couch and sat on the floor on the other side of his mother.
"Will there be refreshments?" Klaus asked, turning back to Luther. "Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a favorite."
Luther shot him a look. "What? No. And put that out. You know Dad didn't allow smoking in here. Guinevere's right. It's dangerous for kids."
Guinevere sighed. "Look, Luther, your father isn't here. Please, just keep going."
Allison frowned, seeing Klaus' outfit. "Is that my skirt?"
Klaus looked down at the skirt. "What? Oh, yeah, this. I found it in your room. It's a little dated, I know, but it's very breathy on the bits." He gestured to his crotch.
A small smile crept onto Guinevere's lips. Klaus was by far her favorite brother-in-law.
Luther changed the subjects, wringing them back in. "Listen up. We still have some important things that we need to discuss, all right?"
"Like what?" Diego asked gruffly.
"Like the way he died."
"And here we go."
"Diego..." Guinevere warned.
Vanya's brow furrowed. "I-I don't understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack."
Luther nodded. "Yeah, according to the coroner."
"Well, wouldn't they know?" Vanya asked.
"Theoretically."
"Theoretically?" Allison repeated.
Almost instantly, Luther became defensive. "Look, I'm just saying that at the very least, something strange happened. The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange."
Klaus shifted slightly, taking a sip of his alcohol and gargled. "Oh. Quelle surprise."
Diego eyed Luther suspiciously. "Strange how?"
"Told me I should be careful who I trust..."
Diego stood from his spot next to the fire. "Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles."
"No, he must have known something was going to happen."
Guinevere shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Unless your father could have seen the future, he couldn't have known."
Luther zoned in on Klaus. "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad."
Klaus scoffed sarcastically. "I can't just call Dad in the afterlife and be like, "Dad, could you just stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?"
"Since when? That's your thing."
"I'm not in the right... Frame of mind."
Allison narrowed her eyes. "You're high?"
Klaus laughed, waving his hand. "Yeah. I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?"
Guinevere frowned. "He doesn't seem to like it. You shouldn't force him to do something he doesn't want to do."
Luther pursed his lips. "Whatever. But then there's the issue of the missing monocle?"
Diego rolled his eyes. "Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?"
"Luther, does," Guinevere replied. "Honey, I've warned you about language like that around the twins."
Luther ignored her and looked at Diego. "Exactly. It's worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge."
Guinevere eyed Diego, seeing a nervous look in his eye. She could tell he was hiding something and would find out what it was.
Guinevere asked, "Why would anyone take the monocle? I understand it could be used or a keepsake, but stealing? Luther, that's quite an assumption."
"You're putting words into my mouth, Guinevere," Luther replied.
"I'm not trying to. How do we know you didn't take the monocle yourself?"
"I didn't take his monocle."
Klaus laughed and asked, "Where are you even going with this?"
Diego met Klaus' eyes. "Oh, isn't it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad."
"Your wife might've too," Luther said.
Diego's eyes narrowed. "Leave my wife out of this. She had nothing to do with Dad's death."
"You do," Klaus realized, still focused on Luther.
"How could you think that?" Vanya asked.
Guinevere's eyes narrowed. "I understand that none of you liked your father, but Luther, don't go blaming your siblings, or me, for your father's death."
"Good job, Luther," Diego said. "Way to lead."
The siblings, Guinevere, and the twins got up and as Klaus stood, he said, "You're crazy, man. You're crazy."
"I'm not finished," Luther protested.
"I'm going to murder Mom," Klaus replied sarcastically.
"That's not what I was saying. I didn't-"
Guinevere pointed a finger at Luther. "Don't blame me again. You know nothing about me. And trust me when I say you don't want to get on my bad side."
Diego nodded. "She's right. Come on, you three."
The family left, leaving Luther alone in the drawing room.