Playlist:

Fallingforyou/The 1975

Mystery of Love/Sufjan Stevens

Only Us/OBC of Dear Evan Hansen

Still Into You/Paramore


Never in a million years did you think that you would ever come back to this god damn house.

Ever since you could remember, your parents always told you that there was something strange about the man who lived across the street. He adopted seven children out of no where("Apparently those children were born on the same day to women who had no signs of pregnancy beforehand," your mother scoffed, "as if that's even possible.") and tried to trained them into becoming this group of crime fighting superhumans("That man is out of his mind," your father exclaimed, "those are children!"). And so like the sensible parents they claimed to be, they warned you to stay away from 'that Hargreeves man' and his 'Umbrella Academy'.

And naturally, like any child would, you did the exact opposite of what they told you to.

It was not on purpose, you never intented to wander near the Hargreeves' house one day when you went home from school(despite the fact that you might be able to get home a lot earlier if you hadn't, but as we said before, it was unintentional), you did not plan to talk to one of the kids that lived there(Number six, as you heard his father called him, very odd way to call your child but you guessed that it must have meant that he was the sixth oldest among the seven of them) and you most certainly did not return every day after that just to talk to the boy again(it was simply out of chances that he was there the moment you walked by, at least that' s what you told them when your parents question you at the table).

As days passed and your small conversations got longer each time, you learned that he indeed has a name("It's Ben, actually." he said when you asked him, fidgeting with his hands as he speak) and the numbers were not actually an indication to the their order of birth. You two got closer as days past and he started to tell you more about the Academy. He told you all about his family, about the missions they went on. Curiously, you asked "So you guys all have powers, right?"

Ben nodded softly and you said, "can you show me yours?" He did not say anything, lowering his head and looked away from you instead. "You don't want to see it," he said after staying silence for a while, "it'll scare you away."

You did not question him any further and neither one of you said anything else that day. Sitting next to him in silence, you secretly decided that you would not allow yourself to ever be afraid of Ben, no matter what his power was. It was years later when he finally dared to show you what he was capable of doing and you kept the promise you made to yourself. Upon seeing how nervous he was to see your reaction, you pulled him into a tight hug and reassured him that it did not affect how you feel about him, you had no idea how much he appreciated it.

Days soon became years and the children who talked in front of the doorsteps everyday slowly grew up. You didn't think anything would change at first, Ben was still your best friend and you two still talked about everything. But then you started to notice that something did change. You found yourself grinning like an idiot at everything he said and you noticed small details that you never paid attention to, like the way he hums whenever he thinks that no one could hear him. It soon came to a point when you realised that you may or may not have fallen head over heels for your best friend. Admitting that to yourself, you soon noticed the many subtle signs that he may or may not have loved you back.

You distinctly remembered the first time he held your hand. It was a cozy autumn afternoon and you were watching the leaves fell in the garden with Ben. You were in your own word when you felt Ben gingerly putting his hand on yours. You looked up at him and smiled. With flushed cheeks, he looked away while gently grabbing your hand in his. You couldn't help but chuckle and softly pulled your hand out. Ben reluctantly turned his head back at you, a flash of hurt in his eyes. However, his frown soon lifted and turned into a sheepish grin as you fully intertwined your hand with his.

There was no doubt that you went from friends to lovers at that very moment and it was like that's how things were ought to be. Ben sneaked out at night to be with you whenever he could and you made sure that you always had your windows opened for him. You two didn't get to do much stuff that couples usually do on dates but it was enough for you just being with him, talking about everything and anything in your room until daybreak.

Despite your best attempt to keep it a secret, it didn't take long for his siblings to discover that you two got together. You were just about to leave the Academy after being with Ben during the 30 minutes of free time he had each week(a ridiculously short period of time, you would say).

"I'll try to see if I can come over tonight, ok?"Ben said, holding your hand. "Ok." You smiled and leaned in to give him a soft peck. Clearly not satisfied, Ben pulled you towards him and kissed you much more firmly on the lips. You chuckled at his rare initiation for affection and kissed him back when the moment was ruined by a loud bang on the door.

"Hey Ben, do you hav.. Ohmygodimsosorry!" You snapped your head to the door just in time to see Klaus running down the corridor in such a frantic manner that you couldn't help but laugh.

Ben whispered in embarrassment, "I hope he won't tell anyone about.."

"GUYS! BEN HAS A GIRLFRIEND!"

"Never mind."

Although his siblings teased you relentlessly(it was all in good fun, a bit annoying to have six people doing that though) and you could sense the obvious disapproval from Reginald Hargreeves(at this point, you refused to acknowledge him as their father because despite fulfilling his duty as a caregiver, no father would ever treat his child the way he did), your relationship was strong even when you became adults. You did not hesitate even for a little bit when he took out a ring from his shirt pocket and asked you to marry him. The wedding was small and only attended by close family and friends. Your parents were skeptical of Ben at first(and quite shocked that you had been going against their orders for so long without them noticing) but soon came to accept it when they saw how happy you were with him. Reginald, on the other hand, did not even show up at the wedding. It upset Ben greatly, that he had done whatever his father asked of him yet still not earning his approval. That was the moment he decided that it might be time to move on and stop circling his life around his father's wishes.

You two were 20 by the time you got married. Moving into your own place right away, life got rough and paying the bills could be a struggle sometimes but it was all worth it to be by each other's side. His siblings would call every once in a while(mostly Klaus and Vanya, occasionally Allison would come by as well) and you would sometimes passed by the old building when you visit your parents at your childhood home but you never step back into the Academy.

It wasn't until Reginald Hargreeves's death that you finally returned to where everything started.

Sitting in the grand living room, you held Ben's hand firmly as an attempt to comfort him. Reginald's death hit him hard and the awkward silence with all of his siblings did not help easing his nerves at all. "I guess we should get this started," Luther finally broke the silence as he stood up. He went on to talked about a ceremony and the others chimed in about some minor details. You tried to focus on what Luther had to say but you looked at Ben and could tell that he was clearly not listening. You gently squeezed his hand to which he gave you a weak smile and patted the back of your hand to assure you that he's ok.

"Listen up," Luther said and you turned your attention back to him, "we still have some important things that we've to discuss." He then turned to look at you, think in silence for a while and said, "I think it might be best that only family will hear about what we'll be saying next."

You stared back at him in disbelief, even a little bit hurt upon getting the hint that you were still an outsider despite being married to his brother for years. Klaus was not having none of it, "I mean technically in-laws are still part of the family, right? And let's not act like (y/n) haven't been around for ages now."

Ben was already in a bad mood and it only got worse upon hearing what Luther just said, "Even dad felt sick when he saw my powers and (y/n) didn't even do so little as flinch, I saw them as family way before the idea of marriage even crossed my mind." Ben said, trying his best to contain his annoyance. "I understand that you are concerned but I'm not having this conversation if you're excluding the one person who have been by my side throughout all these years."

Ben's anger shocked you, he was always so soft spoken and reserved that you didn't expect him to lash out on his brother(one that he looked up to for so long). Needless to say, his siblings definitely did not expect him to react so strongly and the conversation went dead. "I think (y/n) should stay." Allison said, nodding towards you slightly. Diego didn't say a word yet he made no move to oppose it either and Vanya bumble something about not leaving anyone out. Luther remained silent. Letting out a defeated sigh, "Ok, fine."

Later that night, you were alone with Ben in his old bedroom. You were unpacking your stuff on his bed when you felt a wave of nostalgia and you couldn't help but smile when you thought of how far you two had come. "Remember when Klaus caught us kissing right here?" You turned to Ben, relieved to see him smile when you brought up the incident. "How could I not," Ben said and sat down next to you, "they didn't stop talking about it for weeks." You two just sat together like that for a while and it reminded you of all those times when you were a kid.

"Earlier back there," you cupped his cheek as you said, "you didn't have to defend me like that, it's fine."

Ben leaned into your touch and reached up to hold your hand, "But you are family to me, I won't let anyone doubt that."

You stared into his eyes and was warmed by how determented he was. You leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Pulling back, you chuckled at how he still blushes even after being together for years. Despite growing up, you could still see that young boy you fell in love with in the man in front of you. If only you knew that you would find a family in the boy who lived across the street many many years ago when you were just a young child looking for a friend.