I probably won't be updating any of my fics for the next few days, long work shifts. I'll try get another one today if I can, probably The Day That Was, but it will likely be Tuesday before any more updates.
"D-Don't move!" Diego yelled as the man froze in place.
"Who are you, why are you watching us?" Luther demanded as they approached him. He had white hair and old eyes, eyes that had clearly seen their fair share of pain and suffering.
"Look, I'd love to tell you everything, but...bye!" The man said, dashing to the door whilst Luther and Diego looked in shock, quickly recovering, the two of them chased the man out of the bar, to see he'd vanished, seemingly without a trace.
"Where did he go? Do you see him?" Diego asked as he and Luther turned back to back, just in case he tried to use their confusion for a surprise attack on their unguarded back.
"No, anything?" Luther asked as Diego shook his head.
"Whoever he is, he's gone now. We best keep an eye out though, if he's watching us, who knows why he could be, he could be planning to attack us, to hurt us or any of our family." Diego said as Luther nodded.
"I'll tell Dad, then we'll tell the others later. Let's not tell Patrick, no need to worry him." Luther said.
"Why not?" Diego asked.
"If we tell him, he could get spooked, and nothing, I mean nothing, is more important this week than his marriage to Allison, than her happiness."
Diego just nodded, not saying anything. He saw the way Luther and Allison acted with each other in their youth, even now in the very few moments he'd caught between them. He knew if anyone would make Allison more happy than Patrick, it'd be Luther. Not that the big guy would ever let that happen, would ever let himself be happy with her when she could be happy with someone else.
"Come on." Diego said. "Let's get back to the party before they realise we're gone. I can already tell Dad will have noticed and will try debrief us on running out."
"We'll take him someone private and talk." Luther said. "No need to dampen the party with it. Just tell him we confronted someone watching us, they fled, we lost them. We'll be ready if he returns, give Dad a description, maybe he'll know who it was."
"Whatever you say, Number One." Diego gave him a mock salute as Luther frowned.
"Why are you always like this, Diego?"
"Like what, Luther?"
"This! Acting out, trying to upstage me, is it jealously?"
"Jealous? Of you? No, Number One, it's the fact that since being infants, dad has always bred us to compete with one another for his love and affection, and no matter what any of the rest of us do, none of us could ever compare with his precious golden boy, his always faithfully loyal Number One. God, do you know why the rest of us left? We knew he was an abusive bastard, and we had our own lives to live. The Umbrella Academy? That was the fantasy of silly children and an old fool. We all grew up, Luther. I'm sorry that you didn't." Diego said, striding past him as Luther stood in stunned silence, digesting his words.
Did his other siblings think that as well? Is that why they left? Did they really think Luther stayed out of a loyalty to their dad, to caring more for him than them? He stayed as Dad had trained them to save lives, to save the world, and he was going to make sure that happened. He would make sure he lived up to his potential, to his destiny. He just didn't see why the rest of them couldn't also see that. They needed to work together, to be together, to do what they were on the Earth to do, to save it.
/
"So, Vanya, tell us about your stories with Allison." One of Allison's friends said, as they finished laughing at another one of Klaus' anecdotes.
"Well...um..all of mine are Klaus' really. There isn't any really that we had different." Vanya said awkwardly as she looked down at her lap. Allison averted her gaze to be anywhere but at Vanya or her friends, whilst Klaus and the others smiled. Pogo frowned in his corner whilst Grace just beamed.
"Oh, Vanya and Allison were just darlings as children." Grace said. "They would always spend time together."
"Would we?" They both asked at the same time, confused.
"Absolutely. Like the time Vanya got sick, and Allison went to go visit her, it was so cute, checking on her sister." Grace said. Vanya, Allison and Pogo all looked at Grace as she said that.
"She did?"
"I did?"
"Grace." Pogo said, his tone slightly sharp, as Grace smiled again and stopped talking.
"What do you mean, I was ill?" Vanya asked as Pogo sighed.
"It's why your father created your anxiety medication, Miss Vanya." Pogo explained. "It helps keep you from spiralling again with your anxiety."
"Oh." Vanya said quietly, taking the pills from her pocket and looking at them.
Well, maybe just missing one wouldn't hurt, would it?
/
"What happened to you guys?" Patrick asked as they returned to the table, Reginald casting a sharp eye on them.
"We thought we saw an old friend, turned out it wasn't, mistake." Diego said as Luther nodded to his father, Reginald nodded back. Possible enemy. Got it.
"So, do you guys want another drink?" Patrick asked, swaying a little from how drunk he was.
"I think we should call it a night, Patrick, big day tomorrow and everything." Luther said as Reginald nodded. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was someone failing to reach their potential, and alcohol was definitely a vice that prevented people from attaining potential in his eyes.
"You're all being silly." Patrick argued, spilling some of his latest drink. "We need to go party more!"
"Patrick, really, it's been a long night. We should go." Diego said, some of Patrick's friends had already slunk away, and the others looked ready to head home.
"Nah." Patrick said, leaving them and pushing his way across the dance floor to the bar, crashing into a large man stood at the bar.
"Watch yourself." Patrick told the guy, splashing more of his drink onto the man, clearly angering him. The larger guy looked over at Patrick and before Patrick could say another word, swung his fist towards Patrick. A fist that was caught by Luther.
"Hang on, our friend here has just had too much to drink, why don't we just call it a night, go our separate ways, sound good?" Luther asked.
"If he apologises." The man said as Patrick chose that moment to vomit, all over the man's shoes.
"Here we go." Diego grinned, coming over to them as the man shoved Luther backwards.
"I'm sorry you're making me do this." Luther said, swinging a fist and knocking the man backwards, causing him to crash into the floor in a heap, unconscious.
There was silence for a moment, a silence that Luther and Diego took to grab Patrick and head towards the door, where Reginald was already stood, looking disapprovingly. Then, pandemonium reigned as punches began flying and shouts and screams rained through the air.
/
"So, that was an eventful night." Klaus remarked as Allison's friends headed off, leaving just Allison, Vanya, Grace, Pogo and himself.
"How was it? It was an awkward disaster." Allison moaned as she put her head in her hands.
"Come now, Miss Allison, surely it wasn't that bad?" Pogo asked.
"It was. I didn't want this to happen, it's why I didn't want to invite any of you but now it has it'll be the end of my social standing out here. They'll know all about the Umbrella Academy's secrets before long, especially if they corner Klaus at the reception, oh God, everyone will be judging me."
"Even more than they do now?" Vanya asked.
"What?" Allison questioned, confused.
"Everyone knows you were in the Umbrella Academy already, don't they? I mean, it isn't exactly hard to piece together, they'd know what you did in your childhood already, why would it change now they have a few stories from behind the scenes? They'd still see you as Allison, a badass strong woman with great acting ability." Vanya blushed as Allison smiled.
"Thanks, V." Allison told her as Vanya returned her smile.
"Does anyone want some cookies?" Grace asked to the room.
"You know what? Cookies would be wonderful right now, Mom." Allison told her. Maybe tonight wouldn't entirely be awkward, especially if it was just her family.
"Patrick!" Luther's voice came as the front door barged open, Luther and Diego carrying Patrick between them as Reginald stood disapprovingly in the doorway.
"What happened?" Allison asked, rushing over to help, seeing Patrick grinning at her she faltered. "Is he….drunk?"
"As he can be." Diego remarked. "Not sure what he's drank but he's drank far too much of it. We'll get him to bed."
"How could he do this?" Allison stressed as she saw Diego and Luther coming back down the stairs. "He knows the rehearsal is tomorrow, he can't have gotten that bad, could he? Why weren't you watching him?" She rounded on her brothers and Father.
"Don't take that tone with me, Number Three." Reginald scolded her as Diego and Luther looked at her sheepishly.
"What happened?" Allison asked her brothers, ignoring Reginald's scoff of disbelief.
"We saw a guy. Some old man, he was watching us, he seemed to have been for a while. Diego and I went to confront him, he got away, we got back to the table to find Patrick was already like this, drinking heavily." Luther told them.
"Old man? Who?" Klaus asked.
"We don't know." Diego huffed. "I tried to get him to stop but he fled, helped especially by the fact Patrick started a bar brawl."
"He did what?" Vanya asked.
"Hit a guy, fists started flying, we made sure to get him out of there, didn't want anything ruining your day tomorrow." Luther told Allison with a bashful smile as she returned it with a blush.
"Thank you Luther, Diego, both of you." Allison told them.
"Hey, what are brothers for?" Diego grumbled good-naturedly.
/
Five walked into his sleazy motel room and sighed. Well, so much for not being spotted by his siblings. He had to be more careful if he was going to attend the wedding itself. Part of him argued he'd pushed his luck enough already, that he should just go finish his assignment, then return to the Commission, ready for the next job. Another part demanded he stay, family honour meant he had to go see her on her big day, didn't it?
"What to do? I just wish Dolores was here. She'd know what to do." Five muttered to himself.
"Well, Five, care to explain why your mission isn't already completed?" A voice said behind him. Turning with a small groan, Five saw the Handler before him.
"Well?"