||Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody - Stephen Chbosky||
"Diego, this is a set up" Luther said through his mouth that was full of scrambled eggs.
"Maybe, but we should go anyway" Diego replied as he pulled on the orange button-up shirt that he had stolen from Elliott's closet.
"Says the guy who's already been stabbed once this week" Luther commented.
"Oh, don't worry, me and him are gonna have words" Diego told him as he started buttoning up the shirt.
"Wait, so you think the father that convinced your sister that she didn't have powers, locked her in the basement, turned Luther into a monkey, got your brother killed and locked Klaus in a mausoleum is going to help you?" Willow asked as she grabbed the invitation out of Luther's hands, reading it.
"I'm sorry Diego, I think you're cool and all, but this is dumb. Even for you" Willow commented.
"I agree with her" Luther replied.
"We don't even know her" Diego said, putting on his belt.
"True but I know more about this situation than Vanya does" Willow replied as she flopped down on the couch.
"She has a point" Vanya mumbled, referencing to her lack of memories. "And Five knows her, and Klaus of course"
"You already know how this is gonna go. Dad is gonna play all his little mind games on us, get into our heads and turn us all against each other" Luther told his brother and sister.
"Luther, we're not twelve anymore. We're grown ass men. And women" Diego replied, glancing over at Vanya and Willow.
"Hey, we can handle him. Wanna know what's different this time?" Diego said softer, getting closer to his brother.
"What's that?" Luther asked.
"You got me. We go in as a united front. No more 'Number One', 'Number Two' bullshit. From now on it's team zero" Diego told them as he sat down.
"That's quite sweet" Willow commented.
"Team Zero?" Luther repeated.
"Team Zero. All the way" Diego said again, putting his arms out for fist bumps, but put them down again after they both rejected him.
"Do you know if Klaus got an invitation to the dinner yet?" Vanya asked.
"No, I don't think he did yet" Willow replied as she sat up.
"You're coming too, right?" Luther asked
"Oh, no I don't want to intrude on any family business" Willow said.
"But you're family now" Vanya told her.
"Yeah, you should come sis" Diego added.
"Alright then" Willow agreed with a smile. "I should probably get back to Klaus"
"I'll walk you back" Diego told her.
•••
"So, how did you find me?" Klaus asked as he walked into the garden with Dave following closely behind him.
"I found this pamphlet with your face on it" Dave replied with a small but nervous laugh.
"Well, I'm glad you came" Klaus replied.
"Hey, listen, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the other day" Dave apologized.
"Pfft, don't worry about it. It's good for the ego to take a punch every now and again" Klaus assured him.
"Yeah but still, that's not the kinda guy I am" Dave replied, still following behind his past boyfriend.
"I know. I know" Klaus replied, turning to face him and giving the young man a small smile before walking out onto the grass.
"Hey, the other day you said a bunch of stuff about the war and about my uncle, how did you know all that stuff?" Dave asked, running slightly to catch up with him.
"Oh, that's easy. I'm a prophet" Klaus replied. "It's all right there in the pamphlet"
"Yeah, but I mean no disrespect, but this stuff isn't real" Dave argued.
"Oh okay, well then how come I know everything about you?" Klaus asked, glancing over at him.
"Yeah, like what?" Dave challenged.
"Like...I know your favorite food is a plain hamburger with two pickles" Klaus told him, clicking his fingers.
"Everybody likes a hamburger" Dave argued, not wanting to believe what he was saying.
"Oh, come on. Your favorite song is 'The man who shot liberty valance' and your favorite book of all time is 'Dune'" Klaus told him.
"Ha! Wrong. I've never even heard of Dune" Dave replied.
"Oh you will, and you'll love it, trust me. And you're welcome, by the way" Klaus said, throwing his glass into the nearby bush.
"What else?" Dave asked.
"What else, what else, what else...I know that sometimes you feel like an outsider in your own family. You hope that being a soldier will
prove something to them and prove something to yourself, but I'm here to tell you Dave, that that's not gonna work and you're gonna end up wishing that you didn't" Klaus told him.
"You have no idea what the hell you're talking about, I'm joining the military because it's the right-" Dave started.
"The right thing to do" Klaus finished for him, having heard that exact sentence many times during his time in Vietnam.
"I don't even know why I came here" Dave said, his voice breaking as he turned to walk away.
"Listen, February 21st, 1969 in the A Shau Valley, you take fire trying to hold hill 689...you never come off that hill, Dave. That's...that's it" Klaus told him.
"You're lying" Dave argued "You're some kind of of con artist"
"Here, look, look, look, look" Klaus said as he took off his dog tags and handing them to him. Dave looked at them in confusion. "They're all I have left if you"
"Even if I believed you...which I don't...this is what I signed up for. It's a honor to die for my country, that's what you peaceniks don't understand" Dave replied.
"But you don't have to" Klaus tried to reason with him.
"Yes, I do" Dave replied.
"No you don't" Klaus said back.
"I've already enlisted" Dave revealed.
"What? That's not supposed to happen yet" Klaus said in confusion.
"The other day after I saw you, my uncle took me down to the recruitment office. He made me sign up. I ship out next week" Dave told him.
"What?" Klaus breathed out, not being able to say anything else.
"So save these for the next dumb kid you're trying to recruit" Dave said as he shoved the dog tags back into his hands, before turning and walking away.
"Dave? Dave, come back" Klaus called after him as Keechie approached him and handed him the letter from his father.
•••
"Thank you for walking me home" Willow said to Diego as the two walked down the streets of Dallas.
"No problem, I couldn't just let you walk home by yourself. Why kind of brother in law would I be then?" Diego replied.
"Still, I appreciate it" Willow told him, giving him a small smile.
"Well you're family now. And family protect each other, right?" Diego replied.
"Right" Willow said with a nod.
"So, how did you two meet? You and Klaus, I mean" Diego asked, wanting to know more about what his brother had been up to in the 1960s.
"He tricked my grandmother into thinking he was a prophet. Then he asked me on a date, we moved to San Francisco, my grandmother died and then we went to Mexico and basically travelled the world together until he brought us back here" Willow told him.
"How romantic" Diego replied sarcastically. "And don't forget the part about starting a cult"
"Oh, how could I ever possibly forget?" Willow asked sarcastically and the two laughed.
"In all seriousness though, I'm glad he wasn't alone these past three years. And he was with someone who actually cares about him, and I can tell that you've taken good care of him " Diego told her.
"Thank you" Willow replied, giving him a small smile. "What about you knife boy? What's your love life like?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Well I kind of had this thing with a girl and I thought she liked me but turned out she was just using me" Diego replied with a frown.
"Aw that sucks dude" Willow commented as she opened the gate of the mansion.
"I know. I'll see you later, alright?" Diego asked as he turned to walk away, she nodded and gave him a small smile before entering the mansion.
"Honey, I'm home" she called out with a chuckle as she walked throughout the house, looking for her boyfriend.
"Klaus? Babe where are you?" She called out when she couldn't find him.
"He's outside" Keechie informed her.
•••
"Baby you will never guess what happened-" Willow started but her words got caught as she saw her husband. He held a piece of paper in his hands that were shaking uncontrollably and he had tears brimming in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked as she walked up to him, putting a hand on his cheek and another on his shaking hands.
"D-Dave" Klaus stuttered out.
"Dave? What did he do to you?" Willow asked as she guided him over to the nearby wall, sitting him down and taking the invitation from his hands.
"H-He didn't do anything to me. He enlisted early and I can't stop him from enlisting" Klaus explained, leaning his head on her shoulder.
"Oh God, I'm sorry honey" Willow said, rubbing a hand soothingly on his back, allowing him to cry onto her shoulder.
"I tried everything I could think of and...it still wasn't enough" Klaus mumbled.
"Unfortunately, some things just can't be changed. And it sucks, but you did everything you could" Lola told him reassuringly.
"I know" Klaus said with a small nod before lifting his head up and taking the invitation off of her "what's this?"
"Some thing you're Dad wants you to go to, all of your siblings are going" Willow told him. "you should probably go, if you're feeling up to it"
"Yeah, yeah I'll go, it seems important" Klaus said. "only if you come with me though"
"Of course" she agreed "but no promises that I won't punch this dude"