ANCHOR｡ DIEGO HARGREEVES

13.

THIRTEEN; A VISIT FROM ALICIA

Sabrina had been sleeping most of the day. After Diego had brought her home the previous day, she'd crashed after eating some toast and drinking some apple juice from a wine glass. It was lucky Diego's boss was so fond of the woman, seeing as he got the day off to take care of her. He had even removed his knife holsters and put them aside, electing to spend the day in the sweatpants and hoodie he had taken from Luther's bedroom. They were a little big, but they were the most comfortable clothes he'd ever been in. He was...relaxing. He hardly ever did that. 

He smiled a little as Sabrina snored softly into his chest, her arm wrapped around his torso. Her hair was pulled back into what was supposed to be a bun, but it was now closely resembling a pancake. Two empty mugs of cocoa were on the coffee table, with a nature documentary playing softly in the background. It seemed to be the only source of entertainment Sabrina collected. Diego didn't really mind, he was just enjoying being in her company. 

He'd never been to her apartment before last night. Now, being inside, his expectations of the place Sabrina lived were well met. There were numerous potted plants everywhere that had died from lack of care and attention, as well as old movie posters that covered the peeling wallpaper. There was a refreshing smell of lavender throughout the home, one that tickled Diego's nose and calmed his senses completely. 

He decided he liked being there.

Gary the pitbull was curled up at his other side, snoozing calmly and snuggling closer as the man scratched behind his ears. To put it lightly, it was the closest thing to home that Diego had felt in a long time. He felt like he was appreciated and needed, which was something he craved but never admitted to wanting. 

Sabrina stirred a little, before cuddling closer to him, shivering slightly. Diego responded by pulling the blanket over her legs a little further. He had already called into her jobs to say that she wouldn't be in for a few days due to an injury, and had made sure that she was stocked on food. He would take care of her, which he was more than happy to do. He still listened out for distress calls on his radio, but luckily nothing major was happening in the problematic city he lived in. 

A sudden knock at the door cause both of his companions to shoot up. Gary began to bark, and Sabrina was quick to hold her head and groan. Diego rubbed her shoulder in assurance and stood up so she didn't have to. "It's alright, I'll get it."

"Thanks, Big D," she said, still half-asleep, before she crashed onto the pillows of the couch and shut her eyes once more. Diego chuckled softly and strolled to the front door, reaching for the knob and twisting, opening it to see a tall blonde woman with a kid at her side. 

"Can I help you?" He tried his best to be polite, but there was a twinge of impatience in his voice. It wasn't like he intended to be that way, but there were only few people who didn't notice it or didn't care. 

"Who are you?" the boy asked, and Diego glanced down to see the same mischievous glint in his grey eyes. "I'm Jack!"

"Hey, Jack," Diego tried to smile in a friendly way. "I'm Diego. Nice to meet you, kid. And...you are?"

"Alicia," the woman quirked an eyebrow, assessing the man in the doorway of the home. She never known Sabrina to have people at her place; though she was a social person, she was never keen on allowing others into her personal space. Clearly, this guy was special. "I'm Sabrina's sister. Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping on the couch," Diego nodded towards the lounge, and Alicia pushed past him, dropping the bag she was holding on the kitchen bench on her way. Diego tensed a little, the small part of him not knowing whether or not to trust the mother and son. "She's not feeling great, just take it easy on her."

"Why didn't she call me to tell me what was wrong?" Alicia muttered, kneeling beside the couch and rubbing Sabrina's upper arm. "Hey, Brie. You alright?"

"I got shot," Sabrina slurred, and Alicia's eyes widened and she shot up in utter shock. Her lips trembled as she tried to form words, looking back at Jack in horror. 

"Honey, why don't you go find the toys Aunt Brie keeps in the spare room for you?" she swallowed before speaking to her son, who nodded and ran off down the hallway. Alicia then turned back to her sibling and inhaled sharply. "Brie, what do you mean?"

"I said what I said," she mumbled, turning a little and groaning in pain. "Ah, shit."

Diego stepped forward, his hands tucked in his sweatpants pockets. "She went out looking for trouble and found it in an alleyway with some members of a gang. They shot her twice before I got to her."

"Diego's my hero," Sabrina hummed, her eyes still tightly shut. She shivered once more, holding the blanket close to her body. "He was in the Umbrella Academy, did you ever hear about that? I didn't really know what it was until he told me."

"The Umbrella Academy?" Alicia repeated, finally meeting Diego's eyes. She was in a state of distress. He didn't blame her -- she'd just learnt her sister had gotten into some serious shit. In his opinion, she was handling it remarkably well. "So-...you're like her?"

Diego nodded. "Yeah."

There was a short period of silence between them, where David Attenborough's voice took over the room, his speech about alligators in Florida filling the air.

"Can I talk to you for a moment in the kitchen, please?" Alicia asked in a small voice. Diego hesitated, before nodding once more. The two moved into the separate room that overlooked the lounge, and the sister's voice lowered a little more. Her hands were shaking as she held them in front of her body, and her breaths were getting shorter as the seconds passed. "Is she...is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Diego crossed his arms and leaned against the bench. He was acting quite confident, but in truth he was worried too. He was aware that Sabrina would heal, but he knew that it would take time, and that before long she'd want to get into the same stupid shit again. He needed to protect her this time around. "We used to get hurt like this all the time when I was a kid. My mom got her all fixed up, though. She knows what she's doing. Lucky for Sabrina that we got to her in time; she's up and walking already."

"Thank you," Alicia whispered, pulling the man into a grateful embrace. Her eyes were teary and her heart was racing, but the assurance that her sister was going to be okay seemed like the most important thing in the world. She sniffled a little as she tried to compose herself, probably before her son came crashing back through the door. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

Once she pulled away, Diego's eyes flickered down to the tiled floor and he scratched the back of his head. He inhaled once, the smell of lavender hitting him once more. His lips twitched a little, and he cleared his throat. 

"Yeah, me neither."

★☆

ANOTHER shITTY update!! wayoooo !!! let's gooo!! i'm just really in the mood to write this boooooookkk yeehaw i love brie and diego sm ,,, (dibrina? briego? i think i like briego a lil more tbh) 

thanks for reading!!! brie wasn't as vocal in this chapter but i thought i'd touch on alicia and jack a little more cause they're still hella relevant