#michals

Diego wakes up in the motel room they’ve booked for the night. When he’d gone to sleep on the pull-out couch, with stains he hadn’t wanted to think about any further, Luther had been next to him, his weight and slow quiet breathing a comfortable reminder that his family was still there, still alive, still with him. Now though the other side’s empty.

Diego sits up with a groan and looks around. There is a pink sticky note stuck onto a milk carton on the table with Luther's round handwriting that still looks a little like he was preparing to get a good grade in calligraphy even though they had been 8 when Dad stopped making them do that.

To: Diego

Good Morning! Me Vanya and Klaus are headed out to do some research on Ben and the sparrow academy. Decided to let Allison, Five and you sleep. Hope your leg’s okay, if not painkillers are in the bathroom. There should be some toast, peanut butter and eggs left for breakfast and we’ll bring home dinner.

Luther.

Diego isn’t sure if he should be annoyed about actually not waking up when three of his siblings (two of them not exactly the quietest people alive) have gotten ready and left or relieved because his leg actually is still splitting from the pain of a tractor falling on it, which apparently isn’t healthy, who would have known?

He hobbles to the small (and kinda dirty) bathroom and gets the painkillers someone had left on the sink for him, swallowing two before he walks back to the living area thinking about what to do to help.

He decides to check on the other two remaining siblings first, they put Five in the ‘kids room’ a fact he would have probably protested had he not been already half asleep in Luther’s arm when they checked in. He’s still asleep on the small bed curled up in the spongebob blanket, another sticky note has been left on one bed post.

To: Five

Keep resting!!! We’ve got it handled, don't worry. We’re doing research right now. Vanya made you a sandwich if you’re hungry.

Luther.

Diego shrugs amused if Luther really thinks pink sticky note is going to hold their brother back he was dead wrong, though for now exhaustion was doing a good enough job of keeping Five at bay. The little guy seems really out of it, still he keeps the door slightly ajar as he leaves and makes his way to the bedroom where Klaus, Vanya and Allison had shared the bed.

Now he can only make out one body under the white covers curled up closely, only her dark curls visible pouring over the mattress and pillow.

He can’t see any pink sticky notes anywhere in the room. He wonders if Luther felt it was too awkward to leave their sister a note with their history and how awkward shit got last evening but still it felt like a shitty thing to leave both him and Five a message but not her.

“Way to go Luther,” he mutters quietly to himself.

“What?” she asks. Her voice is hoarse. “Oh,” Diego says and clicks his tongue. “You’re awake.” “Yes,” she mumbles and sits up. She looks like shit. Her eyes are all red and she honestly looks like she hasn’t slept at all last night. “Have… have you been crying?” Diego asks her like it isn’t apparent. Allison doesn’t even bother answering him, she just shrugs.

Diego suddenly wishes that Klaus or Vanya were here. Or even Luther would be better at handling Allison and her pain than him. He’s not good at this. He’s never been good at this. And he and Allison had never been all that close with each other anyway, definitely not touchy feely enough to talk about all the shit that had been going on.

“So…” Diego starts and makes a face. “Wanna get up? Have some breakfast maybe? Or… I could bring you something. Breakfast in bed.” “I’m not hungry,” she says. Her voice is flat now, like she’s trying to undermine how upset she still is. Last night she realized that Claire (her daughter; Diego’s niece; their family) is gone now, in this timeline. The only reason she even went back in time with them. Leaving behind what seemed to be a good life, though Diego hadn’t really gotten that much of a look at it. Shit. He has to talk to her about this, doesn’t he?

“So… Ray seemed like a good guy,” he starts and as soon as it’s out of his mouth he wants to kick himself for saying it. “I mean… I bet he brought you breakfast in bed.” Great. Making it worse. Allison looks away. “He was a good guy,” she says, then finally voice breaking. Shit. “Good,” Diego says and hums. “Wouldn’t want you to be with someone who wasn’t.” What else can he say? “Hey, Allison? I’m sorry.” “Why?” She asks. “For the shit I said. At Dad’s funeral about your marriage, the other one you know? That was… could’ve handled that better.” “Diego, that was years ago,” “For you. Just a few months for me. And no matter how long I was being an asshole.” “Being an asshole is kinda your deal,” Allison tells him and huffs. “Yeah…” Diego bites his lip. “It is, isn't it?” This is going really bad. “But… maybe I don’t want it to be my deal anymore. And maybe…” he stops himself. “Shit, Allison, everything’s just so messed up. And it’s bad… but like... it's the worst for you. And I’m sorry.”_ _He sits down on the edge of the bed partially because his leg _is _hurting him - thank you very much for asking Luther, too bad you forgot about asking about Allison’s heart - and partially because he wants to be on a level with her, feels like that’s better than just awkwardly hovering over her. “I’m sorry about Claire, Allison.”

“Has anyone seen Five?” Allison asked, frowning as she lifted the lid of the cafetiere and peered inside. “I made him some coffee this morning and he hasn’t touched it.”

Klaus waved a hand dismissively, propping his bare feet up on the table. “He seemed fine this morning, I knocked on his door and he told me to fuck off or he would strangle me with my own intestines.”

“Usual Five then,” Diego shrugged.

“It’s not like him to leave his coffee though. I mean it’s 4pm and no one has seen him yet?” Allison fretted, pouring the cold coffee down the sink and rinsing the grounds out.

“Allison chill, this is Five we’re talking about,” Klaus reassured.

“He could be hurt somewhere,”

“He’s a grown man, he can handle himself. You know how much he hates it when you baby him,” Diego said, and Klaus nodded in agreement. “Yeah the little dude managed to live through the apocalypse, I’m sure he-”

“What’s with all the noise?”

“Five!” Allison exclaimed, turning to the door. “Oh, Five,”

“Shit bro, you’re not looking so hot” Diego hummed, leaning across the table to inspect him more closely with a grimace. “Or rather, you’re looking a bit too hot, and not in a sexy way but in a kinda sticky way.”

“Thanks,” Five deadpanned, eyes narrowed and murderous. Although the effect was dampened by the fact he was currently standing barefoot in his pyjama’s, his comforter wrapped around him like a human burrito and face shiny with sweat. He padded across the kitchen and stared forlornly at the empty cafetiere in the sink. “Wow, this day is just getting shittier and shittier.”

“Hey, hey. I’ll make sure some more. Although I think you might also need some Tylenol,” Allison cooed.

“And a plague doctor,” Diego added.

“I’m fine,” He hissed as he swayed on the spot, and he flung a hand out to grab the edge of the countertop to steady himself. “I’ll have you know that this is what peak performance looks like,” He said, voice thick and nasally.

“You look like you’re ready for the grave bro, and believe me, I’ve seen a lot of dead people in my time,” Klaus said sympathetically.

Five’s eyes lit up when Allison presented him with another mug of coffee, and he reached out to grab it, using the other hand to hold his comforter around him. He sipped at it and frowned, grimacing. “Tastes strange. You sure this isn’t a mug of that herbal shit you drink Diego?”

“It’s camomile tea and it’s good for the body, I’ll have you know,”

“It’s coffee, I promise. Your usual Columbian blend,” Allison retrieved the bag of grounds from the cupboard and shook it as proof. “You sure you’re feeling okay? You seriously look awful.”

“I’m good,”

“You sure?”

Five rolled his eyes and had another sip of his coffee, only to slam the mug down on the countertop with urgency and clamp his hands over his mouth, his comforter falling down and pooling around his feet. Klaus shrieked and pushed his chair back, while Allison grabbed a nearby bowl and held it under his face. Five waved her away with a grimace “I’m good. False alarm.”

“Peak performance, huh?” Diego said, looking highly amused at the spectacle currently unfolding in front of him.

Five stuck his middle finger up at him.

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