We only see each other at Weddings and Funerals
The Hargreeves tried their best at traditional funeral garb- but as family consisting of;
A monkey butler, a robot mom, a moon recluse, a famous movie star, a junkie, an old man in a boys body, a vigilante, a violinist, and an Artist-
They don't really do traditional that well.
But thats what Winnie loved about them. Even in a time of death, they don't forget their personality.
The Hargreeves filtered out into the courtyard, one after another.
Diego had Winnie tucked up besides Mom so she wouldn't get wet. (Winnie lost her umbrella to Klaus in a game of 'Rock Paper Scissors'. )
"Did something happen?" Mom asked. A sweet smile on her lips as she stared at all her children.
"Dad.. died." Allison told her. "Dont you remember?"
"Oh yes, of course." Mom said surely. Winnie shifted slightly on her feet, looking up at the woman holding her.
"Mom, are you ok?" Winnie asked.
"Yeah-" Diego cut in. "Yeah, shes fine. She just needs to rest. You know- recharge."
Diego looked at his girls with a soft smile. His little pun didn't get past Winnie so she was trying to suppress a smile. Mom was still holding Winnie tenderly, like a true mother-daughter relationship.
How could anyone say his Mother wasn't alive? If they could just see how she acted around Winnie- they would believe. Diego was sure of it.
Rain continued to pour down on the mourning family. Diegos and Luthers hair flattened against their skin, as they were the only two that were left without an umbrella.
Pogo walked his way up to the edge of the group drawing the attention if everyone. He nodded his head at Luther. "Whenever you are ready, dear boy."
Luther nodded shakily and uncapped the earn. Winnie felt her eyes gloss over with tears, as Luther flipped it over. But she wouldn't cry or else her family would worry.
Ash spilled out into a clump in the mud. They stared at the mound uncomfortably, all thinking along the same things.
That was Sir Reginald Hargreeves. A pile of Ash. That was what the man who raised them, was reduced to.
Klaus winced at the awkwardness of the situation. Vanya, Allison, Grace, and Five stared stoically at the ground. Winnie breathed a shuttered breath and Diego smirked coyly at Luther.
"That probably would've been better with some wind." Luther said weakly.
Always the leader, but with no one to lead. He stood alone, and had no idea what to do. The irony was killing Diego.
"Does anyone wish to speak?" Pogo asked. His eyes glanced the crowd but none met his own. "Very well."
"In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that, I am forever in his debt. He was my Master... and my friend. I shall miss him very much." Pogo spoke sadly.
Quiet fell on all the Hargreeves, until little Winnie stepped forward.
"Dad took me out once." Winnie said softly. Mixed feelings of her family aside, Winnie still loved her father.
"I had broken most of the fingers in my hands, so he took me to get ice cream. He was so silly in that ice cream shop." Winnie giggled and sniffed.
"It was like he'd never seen pistachio ice cream."
"I remember him telling me I should just keep painting. Through pain and sorrows- my art was apart of me. And that my injuries should never keep me from my own passion."
"He was such a wise and sweet man."
Winnie eyes were so soft as she stared at the ash. That memory was her fondest one of her Father.
It was a memory that made the other Hargreeves children go cold.
"Winnie.." Allison said. Winnie eyes snapped to hers innocently and Allison bit her tongue.
"Dad was the one who broke your fingers." Vanya forced out quickly. She didn't want that fact to be unsaid.
Winnie clammed up. She looked away from the ash and started playing with her fingers- the ones slightly malformed from not letting them heal. From 'working through' her injury.
"I know.. I just thought it was sweet he took me to get ice cream..." Winnie confessed.
She knew. She knew. She knew. But she loved him so much.
"He was a monster." Diego spat out. Klaus chuckled airily. "He was a bad person and a worse Father. The world is better off without him."
"Diego." Warned Allison.
"My name.. is number two." Diego corrected her, irritated.
"You know why? Because he couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had mom do it."
They all remembered that day. Especially Number Five.
—
Little sweet children ran around their play room. Giggling and pushing one another, and trying to make the most of their time.
They didn't get to play often, so they were going to make the most of it. Well, the majority were. Two in particular were relaxed doing their own thing. One other had just yet to show up from breakfast.
A little girl stood in the middle of the room placidly. Her white blonde hair was tied in a braid and she finger painted at an Easel. A little boy with floppy brown hair was propped up against her legs and reading Shakespeare.
The other children rushed past them, playing tag like it was for their life. The curly haired girl dove under the legs of the easel and popped her head out onto the other side.
"What are you drawings Eight?" The girl giggled and looked upwards from the ground.
Eight laughed at the silly girl beneath her. Three could always make Eight laugh, no matter the situation.
"My bear! Winnie the Poo!" Eight exclaimed. She plucked off her finger painting to show Number Three proudly.
Crude and Childlike as it was, the painting was beautiful. At the center was definitely a Winnie the Poo bear, but the background was what caught Three's eyes.
It looked like... everything was on fire and in rubble. Like the bear stood alone in the wreckage of something big.
But that was silly. All number Eight wanted to paint was Winnie the Poo.
"I like it!" Three cheered with a wide grin. Her front tooth was missing but she didn't care.
"Children!" A sweet voice called suddenly.
All the children stopped what they were doing to look at this unknown speaker. A tall woman with blonde hair and a honeysuckle smile stood at the playrooms door.
Little number Seven was just behind her, trying to put distance between her and whoever that was. If the other children noticed Sevens discomfort, they didn't say.
It wasn't weird to have a new woman pop in from here and there. Their nannies always changed when they couldn't get Number Seven to eat her breakfast.
"Hello children. Im Grace. Im your new Nanny." The woman said. "Whats your names?"
"Im number One!" An eager boy shouted. He ran up to the woman and bounced from toe to toe.
"Im- Im N-Number Two." A Mexican boy stuttered out. He walked up slowly to the new woman as well, wary but curious all the same.
"Im number three." The curly haired girl chimed from still under the easel. A bratty disinterest settled over her- all the new nannies were the same after all.
"Yeah and thats Four, Im Five, Six, Seven, and this is Eight." The boy propped against Eights legs snarked.
His face was still buried into a book, but even the unobservant could see a goofy grin on his face. Eight bursted out laughing right on cue, always loving when he didn't beat around the bush.
"Nice to meet you all." Grace said. "But isn't it odd that you only have numbers for names?"
"Uhuhhh." Number Six said. He nodded his head in interest. He thought the same thing when he was learning about actual numbers.
"Im fine with it." Five said, and sat down his book. His face morphed into a childish scowl at this new topic.
"Thats cus you like numbers." Eight told him offhandedly.
That wasn't why, but he liked how she nodded her head like she understood. So he didn't say anything.
"What are you suggesting pretty lady?" Four asked. He crossed his arms and looked up at the blonde woman.
"What if I give you all names?" Grace offered. "Sir Hargreeves already said it was alright."
The children lit up with glee. They bounced around and chittered amongst themselves. All of them decided to gather at the feet of Grace and waited excitedly for what else she would say. No one had offered or even suggested something like this before.
Five stayed near the back, and Seven joined him a second later. She wanted to be included but was still terrified from her earlier morning.
"Shes not Alive." Seven whispered to Five, once all the other children were distracted.
Five looked at Seven. "What do you mean?"
"Her heads got twisted around." Seven told him. "But she put it back!"
Five didn't know for certain what Seven was talking about, but he knew she couldn't lie. She never lied. He nodded and thought over all the possibilities.
It took him a long while. His head swam and seven went to join the others. Wasn't alive? What could that mean?
He saw gleam in her eyes from the light and it struck him. Grace was a robot! Her eyes were too smooth to be real.
Terror struck him and he rushed into the crowd of other children to reach Eight. She was too trusting to be around something programmed.
"Eight! Eight!" He said when she reached her. He caught her little hand in his own.
He was greeted with a smile.
"Im not Eight silly. Im Winnie now!"
"Winnie?" He asked. His brow furrowed and he tasted the word in his mouth. "Like your bear?"
She nodded happily, with a grin so bright. She wasn't as smart as he was, which would annoy him forever- but she made up for it in tenfold with that bright smile.
"Mmhmm. And thats Luther and Allison and Klaus and Ben and Diego and Vanya." Winnie listed and pointed to all the others.
She was so proud and happy that she now had something to call her own. Something unique. It made her so giddy and Five a little more upset.
He was the only one that was supposed to make her happy.
"Now what should we call you?" Grace said and cut into his thoughts. He didn't realize but he had shoved himself to the front of his siblings to get to Eight/Winnie. Right in front of Grace.
"I dont want a name." Five growled at the robot. "Five is just fine."
Everything went quiet as all the other children stared at him. The hostility came out of left field, and stirred up several conflicting emotions.
Luckily, Winnie took her usual loving stance. "I like Number Five. It suits you."
A blush spread across his cheeks and a few others stared on with jealousy. Winnie pushed a kiss onto his cheek and left him stuck to his spot.
She liked his reaction. She would have to kiss more people if it was going to be that fun.
"Well that settles that." Grace laughed at the group. "Thats everyone."
"N-not everyone." Diego mustered. Eyes shot to him. All of the Hargreeves minus Five was given a name. Except maybe..
"Oh! Grace hasn't gotten one." Allison caught on. She pointed at the tall woman.
"Of course I do. Im grace." She disagreed politely.
"Nu-uh. Thats your start name." Klaus said. "Like ours was numbers." Everyone murmured in agreement.
Their logic didn't totally make sense, but group mentality dictated that it wouldn't matter. Grace was getting a new name. This was already calculated and Grace adjusted.
"So what shall my name be?" Grace asked. The children stared inward of themselves.
"Henry." Winnie said. They giggled at this. Diego, however, offered something different.
"M-Mom."
Diego had struck a chord within them all. An unsaid agreement settled over the Hargreeves.
They had never had a mom, and didn't realize how much they wanted one until now.
That would be her name, no matter what.
"Yeah. Mom. Welcome to the Hargreeves." Winnie said.
—
"Winnie? Lets go inside." Five said. He knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Pay your respects all you want- but at least be honest about the man he was." Diego announced angrily.
He stepped forward from their half circle, and Winnie reached out to him. But before she could do anything, another hand caught hers. It was Five.
Without another word, Winnie was gone from the environment- which means things were going to get messy. Fast.
—
Sorry this is a long chapter.
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