The house looked just the way Valentina remembered it: absurdly large, unwelcoming, imposing. Her mouth twisted into a grimace. Even the house seemed like it hated her, looming over her like some kind of monster. Fitting, she thought, since a monster lived there. Or used to, at least.

"You were right," Katya said at her side, "This place is huge." She stared up at the mansion, blue eyes wide.

Valentina laughed. "You haven't seen inside yet," she said, opening the gate. "Come on. Time to meet the family."

They walked up the rain-spattered front walk, holding each other's hands. Valentina felt her anxiety rise with each step towards the front door. Half the family hadn't even come to her wedding (the fact that Luther was on the moon notwithstanding), and the fact that she had to be back in a place so full of pain for her was not something she wanted to deal with. But then, this place was full of pain for all of them.

She pushed open the front door. The entrance hall looked just the same: big and marble and pompous. She sucked in breath between her teeth. The house was silent; not a footstep, not a voice. The sound wasn't too different from when she was a child - Reginald liked silence when the seven of them weren't training. Valentina almost wanted to scream just to shatter the silence.

She took a deep breath. "Come on," she said, "let's drop our stuff." She started to lead Katya towards the staircase leading towards the upper level, closest to the bedrooms. At least she remembered where everything was in this god-awful house. Like she could forget.

Halfway down the hall, they almost walked into a wall of wool and muscle.

"Holy shit, Spaceboy," Valentina said, staring at Luther. "You're huge." And he was. Taller than she remembered him (and he'd always been tall), and his muscles were practically bursting out of his clothes. "What happened?"

Luther sighed, as if he was expecting that. "Nothing," he said. His gaze shifted to Katya, looking her up and down before he said. "Is this...?"

"Katya," she said, holding out her free hand for him to shake. She smiled, though Valentina could tell she wasn't sure how to talk to him.

Valentina said, "My wife, yeah. Katya, this is Luther. Glad you guys could meet finally." If she were honest, Luther was the sibling she least wanted Katya to meet. Valentina and Luther never got along, even as children. They were always getting on each other's nerves as kids - she didn't like his bossy-ness, he didn't like that she went out of her way to go against Dad's plans. But they were still siblings.

Luther nodded. "It's nice to meet you," He reached out to shake Katya's hand, giving an awkward smile. She just nodded in response. That was pretty much how everyone was around Luther.

"Is anyone else here yet?" Valentina asked. She hoped Diego was here, though he probably wasn't yet.

"I think I saw Klaus somewhere," Luther said, looking behind him as if expecting their brother to appear in the hallway. "Haven't seen any of the others, though."

Valentina nodded, ready for this conversation to be over. "Thanks. I'll see you." She squeezed past him, Katya following, and walked the remaining few feet to her childhood bedroom.

Walking inside the bedroom was worse than coming into the house. Walking inside that bedroom was almost stifling, and Valentina felt every bit of the pain and helplessness she'd felt living there pressing down on her again. Growing up, her bedroom was her escape from her father, and the walls and furniture absorbed all the tears she'd cried.

Katya knew all that. Katya knew all that, and she held Valentina's hand tighter. Valentina took a deep, shuddering breath. "Man, this place is tiny, " she said with a watery laugh, trying to ignore how her throat was closing up on her.

Katya snorted. "All this space, and you guys had tiny rooms," she said, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because Dad was shit," Valentina said. "Come on, you can just put your bag anywhere." The only real furniture in the room was a twin bed, a desk, and a chair. The room had a built-in closet where every single one of Valentina's old uniforms hung, and a red rug on the floor that Mom added to make it "seem more homey". It wasn't a bad room, it just had bad memories.

Katya put down her suitcase and immediately turned to wrap Valentina in a hug. "I've got you," she said, "If you need me, I'm right here."

--

When Diego arrived, he did what Valentina wished she'd done.

He dropped his bag on the ground, took a deep breath, and shouted. One long, wordless cry, directed straight up at the ceiling, his fists clenched at his sides. Katya jumped at the sound of his shout, looking around like the house was being attacked. Valentina, though, jumped to her feet, rushing out of the dusty bedroom.

She ran down the hall, down the stairs, and barreled straight into Diego, enveloping him in a hug. He stumbled back a little, managing somehow to keep his balance after one-hundred-and-forty-nine pounds of sister smacked straight into him. He laughed, raising a hand and patting her back. "Hey Val," he said, "you gonna let me go anytime soon?"

"Nope," she said. "Not until this funeral is over for good." But she did let him go, stepping a few steps away. "It's good to see you."

"You saw me last week," Diego said, but he was smirking. The twins were close, and while they spoke often, they always felt weird being apart. It was like part of her soul was missing, when her twin wasn't around.

"Too long ago," Valentina said simply, and she knew when she said it that Diego agreed.

--

Once all the remaining siblings arrived, Luther took it upon himself to call a "family meeting' in the main room. They gathered around the fireplace, taking up every available place to sit. Klaus lingered at the bar on the far side of the room, mixing himself a drink. Valentina checked her watch. It was two-thirty P.M. She sighed.

Across from her, Allison sat with her own drink, avoiding Valentina's eyes. She refused to look at Katya too, avoiding them like they were going to shout at her if she so much as looked at them. Not that Valentina wasn't tempted. But she was trying to move past it - sure, Allison didn't come to Valentina's wedding, but she did have a job. It wasn't like Valentina was upset or anything.

Okay, Valentina was a little upset.

All right, maybe a lot.

It was her wedding, she had a right to be pissed off that her sister didn't show, in her opinion. It wasn't like she didn't invite Allison - of course she had. She even sent an invitation for Luther, who was on the moon at the time. And Allison hadn't deigned to show up. Valentina glared at her, as she avoided Valentina's gaze. Luther cleared his throat.

"I guess we should get this started," he said, looking around at all of them. Half of them were looking anywhere but at him. He took a breath. "So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words," he shrugged, "just at Dad's favorite spot."

Allison frowned, looking up at him. "Dad had a favorite spot?"

Luther frowned at them. "You know, under the oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time." He looked around at them. "None of you ever did that?"

Valentina shook her head. "Nope. Not even once." She had no idea Dad and Luther did that - it seemed hard to believe, though she knew Luther was the favorite.

Luther gaped at her as Klaus moved to join the rest of them, a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other. "Will there be refreshments?" he asked, waving one hand in the air. "Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner."

"What?" Luther dragged his gaze to Klaus. "No. And put that out, Dad didn't allow smoking in here." Of course, Klaus was the only reason that Dad had to make that rule anyway. Valentina didn't point that out, though.

Allison pointed at Klaus. "Is that my skirt?"

Klaus looked down at the black leather skirt he wore, gesturing with his cigarette-holding hand. "Oh, yes, this. I found it in your room. It's a little dated, I know, but it's very breathy on the bits." Katya put a hand over her mouth, laughing as quietly as possible, as Luther's eyes snapped to her.

"Listen up," he said, "Still some important things we need to discuss, all right?" Klaus waved his hand again, and slumped onto the other couch, across from Katya.

Diego looked up at Luther. He sat in a chair beside Valentina, who shared a couch with Katya, while Luther stood next to him, practically on top of the old fireplace. "Like what?" he asked.

"Like the way he died."

Diego rolled his eyes. "And here we go," he said, slumping a little in his chair. Valentina leaned forward a little and frowned at him. What was he groaning about?

"I thought they said it was a heart attack," Vanya said. Valentina was surprised that she showed up; she thought Vanya would want to stay far away from this house, from all of them. Apparently, she was wrong. She was glad to see Vanya, though. Unlike her twin.

"Yeah, according to the coroner," Luther said.

Katya tilted her head to one side. "Wouldn't they know? I mean, it's their job..."

Luther cast only a passing glance at her, saying only, "Theoretically."

"Theoretically?" Allison asked, frowning again.

Luther sighed, like they were all idiots for not understanding him. Valentina struggled to stop herself from gritting her teeth. "I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened. The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange."

"Strange how?" Valentina asked. Dad was pretty strange and terrible, just as a person. How much weirder could he get?

"He sounded on edge," Luther explained. "Told me I should be careful who to trust."

"He was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to loose what was left of his marbles," Diego protested. He sounded a little bored.

"No," Luther insisted. "He must have known something was going to happen."

"How could he have?" Valentina asked. She pulled her legs up onto the couch, leaning against the arm. Katya put a cold hand on her ankle. Valentina scowled at her. "I mean, Dad couldn't see the future. As far as we know."

Luther glanced at her. "We can find out," he said, then turned to Klaus. "I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad."

Klaus made a scoffing noise, leaning forward. "I just can't call Dad in the afterlife and be like 'Dad, could you stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?'" He shook his head.

"Since when?" Luther asked. Valentina stared at him. Everyone knew about Klaus'...drug issues. He'd been messing with that shit since they were kids, after all, how could they not know? Apparently, Luther was less observant than Valentina thought.

"I'm not in the right frame of mind," Klaus started, but Allison interrupted.

"You're high?" she asked, leaning forward to look over Vanya at him. Her eyebrow was raised, and the ice in her glass clinked when she moved.

Klaus laughed. "Yeah! I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?" Valentina couldn't help but laugh too - Klaus always was the best for drawing laughs out of people.

"Well sober up," Luther said, his old "leader voice" coming out, "this is important."

Klaus scoffed, and Valentina mumbled, "That's what you think," under her breath. She was with Diego: it didn't matter, let it go, there's nothing to find here. Dad's dead, let's move on. Please.

Luther paid no attention to either of them. "Then there's the issue of the missing monocle."

Diego groaned again. "Who cares about a stupid monocle?"

"Exactly," Luther said, nodding, "It's worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him." He paused and looked around the room. "Someone with a grudge." Valentina felt like she was going to throw up as she stared at Luther. If he was getting at what she thought he was... Oh, she would kill him.

Klaus frowned. "Where are you going with this?"

"Klaus, think about it," Valentina said. She put her feet back on the floor, leaning forward. "He's accusing us - all of us except you I guess, Katydid - of killing Dad."

The room fell silent. Beside her, Katya stared at Luther with wide eyes. Bile rose in Valentina's throat, and she swallowed thickly. Even saying that felt like she was bringing Dad back into this room and back into her life even more than being in this house did. She needed out. She stood up as Vanya said, "How could you think that?"

"Way to lead," Diego mumbled, getting up and reaching for Valentina's arm. He met her eyes, asking without asking if she was okay. Valentina shook her head.

"That's not what I'm saying," Luther said, reaching out as if trying to hold them back.

"You're crazy," Valentina heard in the background. She thought it was Allison, but she had no idea.

"I'm not finished," Luther protested as Diego began to lead Valentina from the room. Katya now stood at her other side, looking back at Luther with a face Valentina would hate to be on the other end of.

Klaus was walking out ahead of them, waving a hand back at Luther. "Sorry, I'm just gonna go murder Mom. I'll uh, be right back."

"Come on, Val," Diego said, "take deep breaths." She tried too, closing her eyes and letting her twin and wife guide her as she breathed deeply.

She almost wished she hadn't come back.

—

2369 words.
Sorry it took so long to get this up! Senior year of college has been kicking my ass, so my writing time has been significantly cut down. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!
💛Elspeth