"Ben, we're so cool." Lavender laughed loudly as her and Ben left the area they'd just snuck up on the police together, terrifying him into letting Ray go.

"No, you're cool." Ben argued with her with a cheeky grin.

"No, you're cool!" Lavender said back as the duo laughed, Lavender not bothering to take into mind that people where looking at her oddly.

"Let's do that more often." she said while rounding the corner seeing Klaus hugging Ray.

"Klaus, baby, lover, sweet boy, precious honey, baby, love of my life, do you think this is really a good idea?" Lavender asked as she looked over at Klaus as they parked outside of the hard ware store.

"The hell are we doing here? Some
ol DIY?" Ben asked from the back seat.

"You just stay here, pumpkins." Klaus said as he got out of the car making Lavender throw the door open, hitting him with it as he fell with a shriek.

"Are you crazy? I'm not gonna let you go be sad alone. Besides, this homeboy of yours was a huge part of your life and you're a huge part of my life so naturally... we collide, right?" Lavender asked as she helped Klaus stand as he patted her head with a small grin.

"Okay, yes." he nodded as Lavender held the door open for him to walk in first.

"Don't do anything dumb!" Ben called out as Lavender gave him a look.

"You're dead, pumpkin." Lavender said to him with a look, it being her only comeback ever when it came to Ben.

"You smell that, Klaus? The smell of paint." Lavender said as she took a deep inhale on the store, holding Klaus hand as he did the same.

"Uh, yeah, can I help you?" a younger voice asked as Klaus and Lavender turned, seeing a boy standing there. He was younger, a few years younger then Klaus and Lavender. He was clean, sharp and feminine looking.

"Beautiful." Lavender said with a small gasp as she looked at the man.

"Dave?" Klaus asked, almost in shock as his breath caught in his throat. Lavender let his hand go, trailing behind as she knew he needed this. Lavender would always seeing Dave as Klaus's person like Five was Lavenders person. Five was Lavenders bestasted friend in the whole world, they'd spend decades together. He knew everything about her much like she knew everything about him... from the stories Klaus has told, Dave was his Five.

"I'll wait in the car." Lavender said, regretting coming in now because she felt like she was intruding on something that was just meant for the two of them. Klaus gave her a loving smile, rubbing her hand, the same one with her wedding finger before she left the building.

"Are we leaving him here to run away back to San Francisco?" Ben asked as Lavender climbed into the car, turning to him.

"Ben, do you have a best friend?" Lavender asked as she looked back at him as he raised a eyebrow.

"You and Klaus are my only friends." he said as Lavender laughed.

"But before you died, did you have any friends then?" she asked curiously as he shook his head.

"Not many of us every did. Dad always kept us inside and sheltered from the rest of the world, when we'd meet people we usually never saw them again." Ben said with a shrug as Lavender frowned with a nod of her head.

"Do you have friends?" he asked as she grinned.

"You're my friend." she spoke as his eyes light up.

"You're my friend too." he spoke back with a smile as the two look at the hardware shop again.

"I think Dave is Klaus's best friend." Lavender nodded as Ben agreed.

"They were, you should have been there, best of friends i've ever seen." Ben said as he tried to get a glimpse into the store.

"Everyone deserves a Five, i'm glad Klaus has one, or had one for a while at least." Lavender nodded as Ben looked at her.

"Can you have more then one Five?" he asked as Lavender nodded.

"You can... I have five Fives." Lavender said as they laughed together, "I miss them."

"Me too." Ben said with sad smile.

"You don't think their dead, do you?" Lavender asked worried, she wanted to think she would feel it if Five was dead but she wasn't sure.

"No, I don't think so, not after seeing Allison." Ben said as Lavenders eyes widened.

"Yeah, beautiful woman she is." Lavender hummed as the bell to the store rung, Klaus walking out.

"Paint?" Ben asked as Klaus got into the car without saying anything.

"Why don't you stay out of my business, Casper?" Klaus shot at Ben defensively.

"Your business is my business!" Ben shouted at him annoyed.

"Oh, well then, congratulations! Because you're fired!" Klaus said with jazz hands as Lavender looked at him worried then back at Ben.

"Klaus, why don't you just tell us what happened with Dave?" Lavender asked, grabbing his arm.

"I don't wanna talk, Lav, I don't wanna tell either of you anything!" Klaus said quickly as he shrugged her off making Lavender blink, never had he snapped at her like that, never did she expect him to either.

"It's wrong Klaus, it's selfish, you're just gonna confuse the kid!" Ben said from the backseat, trying to get his point across as Klaus yelled over him.

"Damn it, listen to me. When we were on leave in Saigon, Dave told me about the day he enlisted. It was the same day that Kennedy was murdered. And if you would just please leave me alone for five goddamn minutes, then maybe I can convince him not to sign up to that stupid war and maybe I can save his life!" Klaus said loudly with sad eyes as he turned back in his seat while resting his head on the steering wheel. Lavender moved over some, putting a hand on his back while using her hand to make him look at her.

"Listen to me, really good right now. I can't even began to understand what you're feeling, having someone so important to you die infront of you. I've lost people in my life, people that I love, people that took up my whole life... not in the same why you did but I get it. If one of them had the chance to live, if I had the chance to convince them not to do something because it would mess up everything, I would. So I understand, Klaus, I do. I just need to know you can handle this, it's not as simple as it may seem." Lavender spoke softly as he stared at her, the large circles of forest green looking at her softly and sweetly.

"I can handle it." he reassured her while giving her hands that were on his face a small squeeze before the sirens caught their ears.

"Ah, shit. Allison." Klaus said as he watched them go.

"Allison! Allie!" Lavender yelled as she ran into the large crowd, the smoke everywhere as people were being beaten and yanked from a diner into the street. Allison was coughing violently, struggling as she grabbed onto Lavender, relaxing in the slightest as she held her tightly.

"Hey, we gotta go." Lavender said as Klaus ran up beside her.

"Ray!" Allison yelled off into the distance as her husband ran far from her.

"Hey, we gotta go, now." Klaus said as his wife and him drug his sister off back toward their car.

••••••
me: really wanting that five and lav reunion.
also me: wanting to build it up so it hurts more when they finally see each other.