I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS

Fourteen Years Ago

Mr. Hargreeves liked to hold gala's twice a year starting when we were thirteen. Once at New Years and the other midsummer. He never told us who it was for but that we must attend and must always look our best. To be honest, it was the only time I ever saw him welcome company. I knew this was why he made us learn different types of ballroom dancing – it's so we wouldn't embarrass him in the eyes of the public.

Most of the time it was torturous because we were the only kids there. It also didn't help that the attendees would fawn over us as if we were God's greatest gift to this earth. Mr. Hargreeves would always introduce us at the beginning of the event as if we were debutantes coming out to society. Then he would make each of us dance. Luther would always dance with Allison; Diego would dance with Grace; Ben would dance with Vanya; and I would dance with Klaus.

This particular New Year's gala started off no differently. I was wearing a long-sleeved, navy blue, velvet gown that was tight in the bodice and then loosened and pooled to the floor around the waist. My hair was in an elaborate updo as I stepped down the grand staircase and stood across from Klaus. I liked dancing with Klaus, he always made it fun and we went through the motions with large smiles and dramatic affect much to our fathers' chagrin.

When the first dance came to an end, Klaus and I bowed to each other and then went to the food table to get something to eat. It took a lot of dodging the unwanted attention of some of the people but we made it there eventually.

"Do you think dad would notice if I drank some champagne?" Klaus asked.

I giggled, "Depends what you mean by 'some'."

"Just a glass... or three." Klaus said, pilfering two flutes of the bubbly liquid from a server that walked by.

He handed me one with a flourish and I took it without hesitation, "Why thank you kind sir."

"Anything for milady." Klaus said in a faux British accent.

"Would you two stop flirting? People are starting to look at you with disgust. You're meant to be siblings." Diego said as he came over and pulled a few grapes from the fruit tray.

I looked around and saw no such looks, "Are you jealous that you don't have someone like me to flirt with?"

"Someone like you? I'd rather kiss a porcupine." Diego muttered.

"I could help make that happen you know." I hinted at using my power on him.

"Diego, why do you have to be so mean? Just tell Malia how pretty she is and be on your way." Ben said, coming up to stand to the other side of me.

"Why would I lie?" Diego asked and then eyes me, "You look like a blueberry just threw up on you. Maybe I was wrong and THAT'S why people are actually staring."

I looked around everyone again but self-consciously this time, a few people were looking in our direction. I knew it probably wasn't because of what I was wearing but the seed was still planted and I hated Diego for putting it there.

"You know, there are approximately 1, 010, 300 words in the English Language, But I can't seem to string enough of them together to properly express how much I want to punch you in the gut." I adapted a quote that Alexander Hamilton said to Thomas Jefferson but I doubt he's even heard the original.

"What-"

I quickly looked around and socked him in the gut as hard as I could. He gasped loudly and Klaus and Ben held him up so he wouldn't fall to the floor and make a scene. So far, no one seems the wiser of the little display of violence and I was okay with that. He glared at me as he held his stomach in pain, Ben and Klaus still holding up most of his body wait. I released a satisfied smirk in his direction before going over to where Vanya stood by herself in a corner.

Lila and I didn't have very long to find a dress for such an event so we were limited to the first store we went into. Lila found her dress right away – a shiny blue, quarter sleeve that ended mid shin. I tried to get her to reconsider but she was adamant that it was the perfect dress for her. She wasn't as picky as me apparently. I've been through most of the racks and tried on a few dresses but none of them seemed like a good fit.

I sighed as I finished with yet another rack, "I can't find anything." I complained.

"What are you talking about? There are loads of dresses here." Lila said and pulled a hideous purple dress from the rack, "This one is gorgeous. Try it on."

I frowned as I looked at the poufy fabric, "Lila, if you're going to stick around, I need to educate you on proper fashion."

"What's wrong with it?" She asked, looking at the dress.

"Don't worry about it." I sighed again as I went back to peruse through the racks, "I just want to find something that..."

"What? That Diego would like?" Lila asked and then smirked, "I'm pretty sure you could wear a paper bag and he still wouldn't find you anything but breathtaking... It's almost sickening actually."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks but he hasn't seen me in any type of evening gown since we were teenagers. This may be an infiltration of the Mexican Consulate but I still want to look perfect."

"Alright then, what about that green one?" Lila asked, pointing over to the end of a rack I haven't looked at yet.

I was about to dismiss her suggestion for the umpteenth time but when I looked at it, I paused. This dress wasn't hideous. In fact, it was quite beautiful. I took it off the rack to get a better look. It was a simple cut when you viewed it from the front but also perfectly elegant. It had long ribbon that tied around the neck to keep my shoulders bare and cinched at the waist to accentuate womanly curves. I absolutely loved it and I told Lila as much.

"There. Can we go now?" Lila asked, obviously bored.

"Yes, we can go."

We got back to Elliott's apartment and ran past the boys and into the bedroom so we could get ready. Lila didn't do much but put her dress on, so I sat her down and did her make up. As I did her eyes, she watched my facial expressions closely.

"I've only had my mum do my make-up once... for a dance at school." Lila said, "This feels different."

"Different how?" I asked, finishing up. Lila shrugged and didn't say more. "I'll only tell you this once more. Just so you know it wasn't a onetime deal and that the offer will always be on the table but you can talk to me about anything."

After that, I turned away and started to get ready myself. Through experience, I've noted a client would pull away if I came on too strong, so I just left it at that. She would tell me when she was ready, if she ever would be.

"Okay, I'm going to finish up here before I put my dress on. You can wait with the other two if you want."

She got up to leave but stopped at the door, "I kind of get it you know. You being a psychologist. You were probably good at it."

I smiled, "I was."

Lila left me alone and I continued. There wasn't any time to do anything fancy with my hair, so I left it in a pony with my bangs straight across and framing my face. I finished my make-up quickly, keeping it elegant and simple and then changed into my dress. I was having trouble tying it when I heard the door open. I assumed it was Lila.

"Oh good. Lila, can you help me tie this? I really didn't think this through." I said.

I froze when calloused fingers brushed over my bare shoulders before taking the ribbon from hands and deftly tying them in a neat bow at the base of my neck. I turned around when he was done and set my hands delicately on his chest, his moved to my waist.

"You're beautiful."

I looked down between us at my dress, "You think so? It took me-"

"A hellishly torturous time to find the bloody thing?" Diego asked.

I frowned, "She really thought it was that bad?"

"She did but I think it was worth it."

I stepped back and twirled around to give him a show and then check him out, "You look pretty dapper yourself, you know."

"Thank you. We should probably go though, I think Five is getting antsy."

Diego took my hand and pulled me from the room. We got into the car and drove to the address that was listed on the invitation. It looked busy and there was quite a lot of security so we would have to sneak in. We parked a street over and crept onto the property, hiding behind a stone wall, looking for a good opportunity to hop over and blend in with the rest of the crowd.

"Quick question but even if we do get past all this security, how are we going to get past the lady at the front door? She has a guest list."

"We have Malia to help with that." Five said, "Let's go."

Diego hopped over the fence and helped me over next. My dress was knee length and my heels were two inches, if I wasn't careful, I would break my ankle or give someone a show. Lila and Five hopped over after us and we hid behind a vacant parked car so Diego could tell us the plan. He used fancy jargon that Five had to dumb down for Lila's benefit but the plan was simple enough. Get in, get Mr. Hargreeves, get out. I followed Diego further into the parking lot and looked back to see Lila and Five arguing. About what, I wasn't sure but I sent a sharp whistle their way to grab their attention.

"Now's our chance. See you inside Five." I said and pulled Diego and Lila into a standing position.

"Why isn't he coming with us?" Lila asked as we casually walked toward the front entrance.

"They won't let a child inside. He'll find his own way in." I said quietly before smiling at the lady with the guestlist, "Hello, we're the Peabody party."

She looked through her list, "I'm sorry, you don't seem to be on here."

"Oh, there must have been some kind of mix up, maybe you could chec... wait a second. I didn't know he would be here tonight." I said as I looked down the driveway.

"Who?" The lady asked.

I looked back into her eyes, "That one actor everyone seems to love..."

"You mean Rod Taylor?" She said excitedly, "Where is he?"

My hazel eyes flashed to a crystal blue for a quick moment, "Down the drive near that blue car."

"Oh my gosh! It IS him!" She exclaimed and then started calling his name as she waved.

"Time to go." I muttered and then gestured for my two companions to follow me.

We entered quickly and looked around for Five. He was already inside, no surprise there, and he was standing by a table with a flute in hand. He was smiling at all the people who were giving him strange looks. We made our way over to him and I grabbed a flute of champagne as a server walked by. I took a sip and hummed in delight – this was the expensive stuff.

"I don't see dad anywhere." Diego said, scoping out the main floor.

"We should just keep an eye out for the majestic 12. I got the upstairs and Diego, try not to do something stupid." Five said before walking away.

Lila went to follow after him but Diego stopped her, "Where do you think you're going? Ditching again?"

"What are you talking about?" Lila asked.

"When I got up this morning, you and Malia were gone. Malia was meeting that scumbag I'm going to kill but what about you? Where did you disappear too?" Diego asked.

"You aren't going to kill him." I said, taking another sip and turning to Lila, "I'm curious too though."

"I went to the pharmacy to get more gauze. I noticed we were out. I also didn't want to be around to listen to you two to go at it again. Happy?" Lila asked, not impressed with our lack of trust.

The music started playing an upbeat tune and Lila pushed us both toward the dance floor, "This is a wonderful song. How about you two go have a bit of fun alright?"

I turned back to say something but she was gone in the crowd, "That was weird, wasn't it?"

"It was but she wasn't wrong. This is a good song." Diego said and held his and out to me.

I eyed it before flicking my gaze to his, "We haven't danced together before. Your partner was always Grace and mine was always Klaus."

Diego took my hand and pulled me close to put his other hand on my lower back, "And I was jealous of him each and every time."

Our breaths mingled as I searched his gaze, "Is that why you always said those mean things to me?"

"It might be."

He spun me out and ran his hands lightly down my arms before taking my hand and spinning me back into him. Despite never dancing together, we meshed flawlessly. I loved dancing with Klaus, it was silly and fun. Dancing with Diego sent different feelings ricocheting through my system; he was sensual and sultry. They were both great dancers in their own right but I think I definitely preferred dancing with Diego.

"Do you remember that New Year's Gala when we were sixteen?" I asked.

Diego dipped me and pulled me closer to him when we stood, "Of course."

"Did you mean it when you said it looked like a blueberry threw up on me? You said that's why people were looking."

"No, I didn't mean it." He said and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Baby, you were stunning then, like you are now and that is the only reason anyone would ever look at you."

He spun me out and pulled my back into his chest and I turned my face to the side to meet his eyes over my shoulder. I loved this side to him. He was being sweet and steamy at the same time and I just wanted to find a hidden closet and have my way with him. Now was not the time but it would definitely be happening tonight.

He spun me out and then pulled me back in so we were chest to chest. I giggled as he rocked us back and forth. I was thankful for all those dancing lessons just so I could experience this moment with the man I loved. After we saved the world for the second time, I was going to make sure there were plenty of dances in our future.

"It can't be." I heard him whisper as he stopped dancing.

I pulled away in confusion but let out a small gasp when I followed his line of sight. Across the hall, through the crowd was Grace. She was as beautiful as she ever was and I felt a pang in my chest when I realized how much I missed her. Diego was right though, it was impossible. Wasn't it?

I followed him through the crowd and through an archway. I wanted to speak to her too but I felt Diego needed this moment and stood off to the side, watching. I wasn't sure what to make of this but I knew it wasn't a coincidence that Mr. Hargreeves had Grace, or a version of her, as our mother figure.

"Mom." I heard Diego say and wanted to hit him in the head for his idiocy.

"Never heard that one before." The woman said with a grin. She had a deep southern accent like she lived in Dallas her whole life. She probably had. When Diego didn't speak, the woman raised a brow, "Everything alright?"

"You're real..." Diego took a step toward her. Why was my boyfriend a moron?

The woman chuckled, "If this is your idea of a come on, it's not going well. Especially when it's in front of your lady friend." She waved to me.

I took that as my cue to step forward and I hooked my arm through Diego's as he stuttered through his next sentence. I decided to save him before he was sent back to the nut house. Even I might send him back there after this.

"Sorry ma'am, we were actually just wondering if you knew a Reginald Hargreeves?"

"Reggi? He's actually my date this evening." She replied

"Your date?" Diego said, sounding more than disgusted and I discretely pinched him in the arm as hard as I could.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, of course not." I said through my teeth while trying to smile through pain. Diego decided to pinch back.

"It's just hard to picture that... that's just naAsty." Diego said, jumping on the word nasty as I moved to hold his hand and as inconspicuously as possible, bent his finger back.

"You're a little weird, aren't you?" Grace said with a light chuckle.

"Yes. He is." I said through a wince as he stepped on my foot and I bent his finger further in a direction it wasn't meant for.

"Do, uh...do you know where he is?" Diego asked, digging his heel into my foot.

I tried so hard to hold in any sounds of discomfort. I was going to kill him. I'm surprised this woman didn't notice what was going on. She noticed the odd behaviour but couldn't quite make out the reasoning for it even though I knew she was trying too. My right toes were in so much pain, I almost missed what the Grace look-alike said next.

"He said something about a quick meeting and that he would be right back. That was twenty minutes ago."

"Never good to keep a lady waiting." Diego gritted out through a fake smile.

"Tell him that if you find him." She said, raising her martini in 'cheers' and then walked away.

"Get off my foot." I whispered lowly, nearly groaning in pain.

"Let go of my finger." He said harshly.

"On three?" I suggested.

"One, two, three." We both let go and glared at each other, "Don't look at me like that, you started it."

"Oh really? 'mom?' 'you're real' 'your date' 'that's nasty'." I repeated the idiotic things he said, "I was trying to give you a hint to shut your damn mouth but you just kept going."

"Are you done?" He snapped.

I crossed my arms, "No."

"Are you hungry?" He asked, still with the attitude.

"Yes."

"Let's eat something. We can argue later."

"Fine." I said and tried not to stomp my way to the food table.

I felt better after eating some food and my toes stopped hurting but I still decided to keep conversation to a minimum. The sun started to set soon after and there was still no sign of Mr. Hargreeves or Five or Lila for that matter. It was just Diego and I as we milled around from room to room. We were doing yet another lap around the main floor when I felt something amiss. That feeling in my chest started to weigh heavier and heavier and I knew something was about to happen or already had.

"Diego. We need to find Five... now." I said urgently.

"You feel something."

I nodded, "And it's not good."

"When is it ever." Diego sighed and then took my hand, leading me to the staircase.

Five was likely still up there since we hadn't seen him. Half way up the stairs I heard thumping and we paused for only a second before running the rest of the way up. Down the hallway, we saw a giant guy with white hair pounding on Five. He fit the description of one of the three that killed Hazel and attacked Vanya.

"There he is." I said and stepped forward to help him but whipped toward Diego when I heard him gurgle. Another one of the men Five described had a belt wrapped around his neck, pulling him backward. "Hey! Stop strangling my boyfriend! I was going to do that!"

"Really!" Diego rasped as he tried to get free.

The third man Five described walked forward with metal knuckles and went to punch Diego in the stomach but I stepped out of my heels and ran at him. I ducked under his arm, taking the blow. It hurt and made me gasp but I locked my hands around his arm, keeping him in place. I lifted my knee and gutted him, letting him fall to the floor and then kicked him in the face.

I split the man's lip but he barely moved and I stepped back when he looked as if he wanted to kill me. He probably did. Diego flicked a knife toward the guy who was coming at me for the kill but it got lodge in the side of a grandfather clock. Diego must not be able to see clearly if he missed that bad.

I steeled myself for the impending fight and got into position. I could take him. He tried to punch me but I blocked and swung at him. He blocked as well. I eventually got the upper hand and started kicking his ass but he found the ribbon that tied my dress together and pulled it before wrapping it around my neck a few times and yanking hard. I fell to the floor, only being held up by the man's hold on the green ribbon. I brought my fingers up and tried to loosen it but it wasn't working.

Lila came into my field of spotted vision then and I tried to call to her but I couldn't make a sound. I heard Diego tell her to help me and she was about to but then heard Five in trouble on the other end of the hallway as well. She looked at Diego, at me, and then turned to help Five, grabbing Diego's knife out of the clock as she went.

I didn't have time to be shocked at her fighting skills as the black spots got larger and larger until darkness is all I could see. I knew I was still conscious but barely. I also knew I stopped struggling, no longer able to find the energy to get myself loose. I didn't have to fight anymore though because the ribbon went slack and I was able to pull it off.

My hands shook as I pulled at it roughly, coughing as I did so. I took in some much-needed air as I turned to see Diego fighting the mother fucker that tried to strangle me. Diego shoved him through a window, slammed a vase over his head and gave him a few more blows before knocking him out at the other end of the hallway.

Diego ran over to me and took the ribbon fully off my neck and pulled my face to his, giving me a long deep kiss. I had to push him away to breath in the oxygen my body was still trying to catch up on though.

"You okay baby? You okay?" He asked, cupping my cheek.

"Yeah. I'm good." I said hoarsely, "But I'm definitely never wearing ribbon again."

"Come on, up you get. We have to find Five." Diego said and helped me to my feet.

He helped me down the hallway, the staircase and then out a back door. I leaned on him as we hurried around to the front just as we heard sirens. Five was there on the front lawn, watching a black car pull away.

"Was that him?" Diego asked, stopping us beside him.

"Yeah..."

Lila appeared on the other side of Five and I was brought back to upstairs; she was going to let me die in order to help Five. I didn't care that she wanted to help Five – I would gladly sacrifice myself for any of my family – but Five also wasn't in immediate danger of dying. He would have been okay for a few extra moments that it would have taken her to at least distract the asshole who tried to hang me.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that dad is avoiding us." Five said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I hate to be the boring one guys but it's time to get the hell out of here." Lila said, referring to the cops making their way on site.

"When you say we, who exactly are you referring too?" Five asked snidely.

"There is not a whole lot of ambiguity in that sentence." Lila said, offended.

"Listen. I don't know who you are or where you came from but whatever it is, I'd advise you to return post haste."

"She's right Five. We have to get out of here." Diego was eyeing the cops.

"You were going to let my sister die." Five sneered at her.

"To save your life you kinder-shit. If I hadn't stepped in, the only thing that would be left of you is that blazer and a pair of bloody socks." Lila defended.

"That's the problem, you're too good. You ask too many questions; you know too much and you fight like you know what you're doing." Five accused.

"He's got a point." Diego said.

"Malia?" Lila asked, hoping I would jump to her defense but I just looked away from her, "Right, So I know how to handle myself and that makes me the bad guy?"

"Whoever you are, you're in my way and if I see you again, I WILL kill you." Five threatened and then walked away.

Lila just shook her head in disbelief, following Five with her eyes before looking at us again, "We need to go guys."

"Malia was almost strangled to death and you helped Five when I begged you to help her." Diego said, letting go of me to step toward her. I stayed put, holding my hand to my sore throat. "We both accepted you in this family and gave you something you said you always wanted, friendship and love. So why did you leave us... leave her to die?"

"Because he's a kid and you're grown ass adults. Why don't you try bloody acting like it?" Diego nodded and followed after Five and Lila turned back to me, "Do you hate me now too?"

"I-" I tried but no sound came out so I took a deep breath and tried again, it came out quiet and rough and painful, "I don't hate you Lila but I don't think I can trust you anymore either. It's hard to put your trust in someone when you know you're being lied too."

I jogged over to the wall that Diego just hopped over and he helped me over as well. We started walking down the street to the car but I was still in my bare feet and the street was gross. I stepped on a few rocks as well before stopping to sit on a bus bench. Five and Diego turned to me when they realized I was no longer following them.

"I can't walk anymore. My feet hurt and my chest burns." I rasped, my voice not much more than a whisper.

"Come on. I'll carry you." Diego said and picked up me with an arm around my back and another under my knees. He caught up with Five and we walked silently for a moment.

"Are you alright Malia?" Five asked.

"I'm alright, all things considering."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I should have helped you before running after dad."

Through all my time knowing Five, which technically was a little over three years, he's never regretted any of his decisions. Not one of them. He didn't even regret travelling to the future because it gave him what he needed to save the world, even though we have to do it all over again. So, this meant something to me but I didn't want him to feel guilty for leaving me back there.

"Don't say that. Who knows, maybe I would have done the same if the situations were reversed."

Five shot me a small smile, "Although thinking that does make me feel better, you and I both know you wouldn't have."

I shrugged, "You're right, I probably wouldn't have."

We got to the car and Diego helped me into the back before getting back there with me. Five sat up front and drove back to Elliott's place. Diego let me lean against his chest and I played with his fingers that rested on my stomach, fighting sleep. I wasn't able to fight it for long though and my head lulled to the side. At one point, I felt myself being jostled, picked up, and carried but I wasn't concerned enough to fully wake up. I was with my brother and my boyfriend; for now, I was safe.