Diego drove until they reached a pier, then pulled over and parked the car. He turned in his seat to look at Klaus as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'll be back, I just need a minute."

Kat undid her seatbelt as well and reached for the doorhandle, until Diego spoke.

"Alone. I'll be back." He said quietly, before opening his own door and getting out of the car.

She sat back and frowned as Klaus leaned up between the seats. "How long have things been bad?" He asked.

She shook her head. "They're not...bad. He's just been stressed lately. He's been busy." She explained. "I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for him."

Klaus sighed. "It does. Just like when he was sleeping with that lady cop. I wonder if he tells her stuff."

Her heart panged at that. That had been a rough three months. They had just had a huge fight over her constant pleas to let Klaus stay with them, and decided to take a step back from their relationship for a little while. About a week later, Kat had moved inyo her small dance studio, and Diego was sleeping with a cop named Eudora Patch. That was the worst time in Katherine's entire life, and she nearly didn't make it.

"This is different. And Diego and Patch are just friends now. Besides, he wouldn't tell her anything that he hasn't already told me." She said, her voice not 100% confident.

She fixed her gaze out the window, looking at the man she loved. The man who meant more to her than words could convey. She couldn't help but think about what Klaus said. Did he tell Patch things that he didn't tell her?

Her attention snapped to Klaus as he leaned out the door and yelled. "Yoo-hoo, Diego! I hate to rush you through any kind of brooding moment you might be having, but come on, man, we're starving!"

We? Who was we? She hadn't said a word about food since they had been in the car.

Klaus took a deep breath and looked to the empty seat beside him. "I'm craving eggs. No! Wait, it's too late for eggs. Waffles. Huh? You like waffles, right? Ah. Of course you do. Everyone likes waffles."

Kat sat in bewilderment at the seemingly one-sided conversation happening in the backseat.

"Gunshots reported on the 400 block of Milton Avenue, Griddy's Doughnuts." A voice on Diego's radio announced, catching Diego's attention. The man finally turned and sped towards the vehicle, snatching his radio off the hood before getting in.

"Diego, thank you for joining us, we have decided on, drum roll, waffles." Klaus announced.

"I'm gonna drop you guys off at the bus stop. I gotta get back to work." He said sternly.

Kat's stomach and heart dropped. He was really just going to leave them? After the day they had?

"What, breaking bones and cracking skulls?" Klaus asked tearfully, a humorless chuckle escaping his lips.

"Saving lives, baby." Diego smiled, starting the car.

"You're going to work? I thought we... I thought we were going home and getting some rest?" Kat asked quietly.

Diego kept his eyes on the road, not wanting to look over and see the disappointment he knew was on her face. "This sounded important. I need to be there in case they miss something. You know how it is."

"Do I?" She whispered underbher breath. Unfortunately, he heard her.

"What do you mean? You know what my job entails, Kat."

"I just mean that you don't really tell me anything anymore. I feel like everything is just different." She explained.

"I'm sorry. I never meant for it to be like that. Look, I'm gonna drop you guys off, and we'll talk about everything later." He promised.

There it was again. The whole 'We'll talk later' spiel. It was the second time she had heard it that day, and she was sick of it. "No, I understand. No big deal, right?" She said, her voice empty and void of any actal caring.

Diego sighed as he rolled to a stop beside a bus stop. Kat quickly undid her seatbelt and opened the door, but Diego gently grabbed her arm before she could get out.

"Hey, I love you. No matter what. You know that, right? You and me till our hearts stop beating." He reminded her.

Her expression softened as he spoke, and she couldn't help herself. She leaned in, giving him a meaningful, loving kiss. As soon as he pulled away, she pressed her forehead to his. "Till we both stop breathing." She finished. "Please be careful. I'll be waiting for you at the Academy. I expect home in one piece before dawn." She told him before getting out of the car, shutting the door, and standing beside Klaus.

They watched with matching expressions of acceptance as he drove away, leaving them to wait or walk. Kat looked at her brother and nudged him. "Walk?"

"Walk."

Klaus wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders, and she wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked. It wasn't terribly far, so they didn't mind walking instead of riding the bus. Once they made it to the Academy they ran inside, definitely ready for some rest.

Luther was there, looking from the top of the stairs, watching the pair as they took off they parted ways. Kat went to the kitchen, and Klaus looked around cautiously before slipping back out the door.

Kat stood in the kitchen, with a glass of whiskey in her hand. She couldn't get drunk thanks to her abnormal healing abilities, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. Two hours later, she sat at the table with an empty bottle of whiskey by her side, and no buzz.

"Great." She whispered, standing up and discarding the bottle in the garbage. She trudged through the house, turning off lights as she went. She made it to the main living area to find Klaus passed out in his underwear on the couch. She smiled warmly at her brother and covered him up with a nearby blanket.

She made her way upstairs and entered her room, then frowned. It felt wrong being back in there for a night. Honestly it felt wrong not to be in her and Diego's bed back at the gym. They had spent to much time together in the past few years that being apart was unnatural...foreign.

She kicked off her shoes, stripped into a tanktop and underwear, and climbed into bed.