Chapter Text
December 2002
Waking up feels welcome and foreign all at once for Vanya. She quickly catalogs the feeling of foggy weightlessness to what comes after a long day in her role as note-taker during Academy drills. Hours spent standing and simply observing, notating everything her father said in her clean practiced penmanship. It's one of the few ways she can be a part of her family's routine, but it leaves her feeling bone-weary to her very core.
Shifting where she lays, Vanya acknowledges how warm and comfortable she feels despite seemingly falling asleep in her day clothes. There’s a pleasant hum filling the room and soft fingers combing back her bangs and, for a moment, she wonders how late it actually is if Mom is still up. She very much doubts it’s morning already, the room beyond her heavy eyelids is still dimmed and no sound from her brothers or sister making its way to her bedroom yet.
A little more rest wouldn’t hurt, she rationalizes. Sleep never used to be an issue, but nights have been rough for Vanya since Five went missing six weeks ago. Not that she’d been having issues falling asleep, rather the opposite.
Every night since he ran away, Vanya has had her own mission. It wasn’t an Umbrella Academy mission but it was just as important to her; because, if she was successful, then she would have her favorite brother back. Staying up late was crucial to her mission, even if it was really hard after days spent assisting in her siblings’ training.
Their home spanned the space of an entire square block— forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, and a near-infinite number of dark hallways for Five to get lost or turned around in if he wasn’t careful. She knew his powers didn’t work well in the dark, and if he came home and couldn’t see where he was, then he may not be able to find them. He would think they didn’t miss him and would leave them all again.
So, Vanya does what she is able to. She makes sure the lights are on and makes him a snack to welcome him home. By the time she typically finishes her new nightly routine, it’s well past curfew and sleep comes quickly.
Today was no exception, so it seemed. But as she lay there, nuzzling into the warm touch of the fingers in her hair, Vanya was troubled to realize she couldn’t recall completing her task that evening, nor the exact sequence of events that led to her falling asleep.
She begins to walk herself back and remembers she had been waiting for Mom to come down from the top floor for lights out. That’s right. Ben had gotten a stomach ache after dinner. So Mom had made him some ginger tea to drink before bed and before she was scheduled to retire to her nook and recharge for the night. Vanya remembers hearing her mother’s heels clicking on the hardwood up on the third floor above her room... and then suddenly she was waking up.
The humming continues, but the tone is off. It’s still feminine, but the melody is one she’s never heard from her mother, so perfectly set in her routine. She realizes with a start that it’s not Grace humming and petting her hair, it’s—
“Allison?” Her voice waivers slightly. The words cut through her throat, seemingly rough from sleep. “What are you doing in my room?”
The two are still for a moment and Vanya blinks up blearily, the room slowly falling into focus. She was laid on her side, back to the wall, Allison sat at the edge of the bed with her arm out-stretched; perfectly manicured nails combing through Vanya’s straight brown hair.
It’s a scene out of Vanya’s dreams, to be so close to her sister who only ever seemed to treat her as a source of annoyance. It’s no secret to anyone in the house how little the two interact. For being the only girls in the family, Vanya had hoped their relationship would have grown as they did, but the gap between them only seemed to widen as Allison came into herself and her abilities, leaving Vanya in her shadow.
So it’s fair to say that, beyond falling asleep without noticing, the other girl’s presence in Vanya’s tiny bedroom is the bigger anomaly.
“I heard a noise. I think you were having a nightmare.”
Heat floods Vanya’s face. It wasn’t that far-fetched. Allison looks like she just finished her nightly routine— blue academy pajamas with her long curly hair in a high bun and a soft scarf around her hairline— and the bathroom is directly across from Vanya’s bedroom. If she had been tired enough to fall asleep right after lessons and without changing out of her day clothes, it wasn’t unrealistic to think she left her door ajar as well.
Nightmares had become a lot more commonplace as well but she didn’t feel like she was having a nightmare before waking up. If anything, she felt content. But also somewhat on edge. Her room felt charged with energy, like lightning about to strike. Or maybe it already had and she didn’t notice.
All in all, it was a difficult feeling to describe, even to herself.
Her confusion must have translated to her face because suddenly Allison rolls her eyes and gets up to leave.
“Ugh, see if I help next time.”
“Wait, no! Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just…” She doesn’t know how to describe the odd feeling to her sister when she gives her an expectant look, waiting for her to continue. Vanya shakes her head, “Nothing. Sorry.”
“Whatever. You should probably change,” she’s looking at Vanya’s rumpled uniform. She tries not to squirm under her gaze. “It’s after curfew, everyone else is asleep.”
She jumps out of bed and finally registers the time, “Oh no! I’m late.”
“I just said it was after curfew! Where are you going?”
“Just the kitchen. I’ll only be a few minutes, you don’t need to tell Dad.” It’s a plea. Allison was a huge stickler for the rules, only surpassed by Luther. She almost never passed up an opportunity to tattle on her and the others if it meant making herself look better.
“What’s so important it can’t wait until morning?”
“It’s for Five.”
Allison’s demeanor softens. It encourages Vanya to continue.
“I make him his favorite snack. You know, those sandwiches he likes? I just think that, well, he’s been gone for a little while and when he comes back he might be hungry, so…” she trails off with a shrug, her point surely made.
Allison laughs, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re still doing that.”
For the second time tonight, heat resurfaces in her cheeks. The tone didn’t sound patronizing, but Vanya can’t help but feel embarrassed. Five hasn’t been gone two months and everyone is acting like he’s never coming back. Dad called his disappearance no great loss, and the others refuse to even talk about him after they were told he likely fell victim to his own ego, torn apart by his power.
She shakes her head to stop her thoughts from spiraling. As ill-thought-out as his plan may have seemed to the others, Vanya knew her brother had been planning to test his abilities to time travel for months by that point. If he was confident he could do it, she believed him. To Vanya, there was no other option than for him to be out there somewhere— somewhen— alive and safe. He just needed a beacon to light his way home.
“I’m sorry, I have to go before it gets too late.”
She turns to leave but then Allison weaves her arm around Vanya’s, and her heart skips a beat at the unfamiliar touch.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh,” she tells her, “I’ll go with you.”
Vanya wants to decline, initially. She still feels like she is being mocked somehow with how this is the most friendly Allison has been towards her in weeks. Ultimately she accepts the gesture as together they stand to go.
Outside her bedroom, moonlight spills into the far end of the hallway, lighting the familiar path. It’s as they’re rounding the corner to the stairwell that she sees something odd— loose items on the ground and swept against the far wall. It must have been a rush to the shared bathroom, she thinks. Mom will probably have it all cleaned by morning.
Bafflingly, this trend continues around the next corner as they make their way to the entrance hall landing and begin their descent down the stairs. There are Dad’s collectibles and Umbrella Academy memorabilia dragged across the space. She pauses as the peculiarity sets in. It looks as if the floor shifted and gravity pulled them down to the end, before righting itself again. Allison must have picked up on the oddness of it as well because her grip on her arm tightens and she begins visually scanning the open space. They’re on the middle platform on the main stairs when Allison moves in front of her.
“Something weird is happening. I’m going to look around,” she pauses, “Stay here. Don’t get in my way.”
In her pale blue pajamas and white satin slippers, Allison makes her way down the stairs while Vanya does her best to make herself appear as small and hidden as possible. However, she can’t help the sense of intrigue that overtakes her whenever the Umbrella Academy is involved. She may not have been trained for combat and high-stress environments like her siblings but she likes to think she has picked up a fair amount simply by observing.
Allison is crouched low at the foot of the stairs so Vanya takes it upon herself to do some visual reconnaissance from her current vantage point. Unfortunately, she can’t see much downstairs but she can at least confirm Mom is still in place charging in her nook, which means the mansion’s security system hasn’t been triggered.
She's about to slink down to tell Allison when movement in her periphery grabs her attention. The large windows to her left view out into their secluded courtyard, lit only by moonlight and a few fogged outdoor laps. Out in the middle is a lone figure and it takes her a moment of squinting before she is able to identify they are wearing an academy uniform. They’re facing away from her but the dark hair removes Luther as a possibility. She knows Klaus has been sneaking out more lately since they share a bedroom wall that shakes each time he opens his window to climb out, so he seems the most likely candidate; that is, until she sees the figure turn slightly as an electric blue light flickers around their fists.
And then suddenly she is flying down the stairs and rushing past Allison’s harsh whisper and failed attempts to slow her down, because Vanya has already rounded the final corner that leads to the enclosed yard. The cold December air meets her face and exposed knees and is pushed from her lungs all at once with the impact of her wrapping her arms around the form of her no-longer-missing brother.
The moment of relief is short-lived as Allison runs out seconds after her, “Vanya, what is wrong with you—” only to cut herself off in her own surprise.
“It’s Five,” she says as if introducing her sister to her own brother and she laughs because nothing else is important other than the boy in her arms.
Allison blinks and then walks to meet them in the grass, immediately soddening her pristine white slippers.
“Where the hell have you been, Five?” She asks sternly, but Vanya hears her voice waiver at his name and she realizes it’s the first time she’s heard anyone else say it in weeks. At the question, Vanya recognizes she would also very much like to know where he has been.
“I was so worried! But I knew you’d be back,” she tries to assure him, “We missed you so much.”
She steps back, then, noticing he hasn’t moved since she nearly tackled him in her excitement. For a second she thinks he might be overwhelmed by the emotional welcome— she may have gotten a little excited but surely he must be a little happy that she missed him so much— but then she looks at him. Like, really looks at him. The outdoor lighting was dim but she could still make out the sallow tint in his face and under eye shadows that appear near bruised. His hair is a mess of greasy locks and bits of dried matted blood and his uniform looks just as disheveled and grimy. He is holding his side as if in pain and he still hasn’t responded to either of them.
“Five, hey,” Allison is closer now, stepping into his line of sight. When he doesn’t respond again she waves her hand in front of his face.
“What are you doing?” Vanya asks before putting a protective hand on his shoulder.
“Something’s not right,” She shakes her head, “I don’t think he knows where he is.”
“Of course he does! He’s home.” He may look a little worse for wear but he was back! That’s all that mattered. Why couldn’t Allison just see that?
“I’m going to get Mom to wake Dad. He’ll want to know Five is back.” She turns to leave, “Stay with him. He doesn’t look good.”
No sooner had the words leave her sister’s lips than Five let out a whine, unlike anything she’s heard from him before. Vanya turns just quickly enough to see his eyes roll back and his knees give way like a marionette with its strings cut. The two girls reach out to cushion his fall and in the end, Vanya finds him cradled in her lap, her socks and skirt a muddy mess below her. Allison’s sleep pants fare no better, mud and grass stains surely knee-to-toe as she leans forward to check Five’s pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when she seems to find one.
“He’s fine! He’s just tired,” Vanya tightens her hold, refusing to let go. “He’s fine.”
Allison just shakes her head at her and stands, eyebrows furrowed. Vanya doesn’t know why she looks so angry.
“Don’t move him too much. We don’t know if he’s hurt.”
“He’s fine ,” she insists but Allison’s already gone; Vanya’s platitude falling on deaf ears as the white doors slam closed in her haste. She busies herself by carting her fingers through his dirtied hair and watches the small white puffs of breath that breach his parted lips. It must have started raining because she now finds herself wiping intermittent droplets of water from his cheeks.
There is the sound of squeaky hinges behind her as the doors fly open once again and four figures come towards her in the frozen grass.
“He’s fine,” she informs her mother as she appears at her side. Grace smiles sweetly at her before reaching to brush her fingers delicately across her own cheeks, bringing back moisture.
“Don’t cry, Vanya dear,” she soothes, “Your brother is home now. We’ll have him good as new in no time.”
Her lap is left cold when Five is taken from her and into her mother’s arms; her carry is steady and smooth despite her heels and petite stature. In the less than fifteen minutes since she awoke from her nap, Vanya feels like hours have passed. She sits there in the mud for a bit, simply watching Pogo hold the door as her mother and father rush Five almost certainly to the infirmary.
There’s a hand on her shoulder and she follows the baby blue of their academy pajamas up until her eyes meet Allison’s once again.
“You should probably change,” she says “Dad wants a full report of what we saw.”
Oh . She smiles wetly, sniffling loudly through congested tears. Her first mission was successful.
Vanya follows Allison back inside for their debriefing.