When the three of them had arrived back at Elliott's place, Thea, Five and Diego made their way up the stairs – Lila nowhere in sight. Thea had asked Five what had happened to the girl but her brother had just waved her question away, sending a pointed look Diego's way.
Thea had pursed her lips, slowly understanding the situation. So, Five finally snapped and confronted her, huh? I guess his patience would only last so long...though I do hope she doesn't end up being as bad as I'd feared...
It was early morning and Thea felt the exhaustion like a weight upon her shoulders. She'd hardly slept since this entire ordeal had begun and she was yearning for a few hours of decent shut-eye.
Her thoughts were soon cut off, however, when she finally reached the top of the stairs and froze when her eyes landed on her brother, who faced them with a guilty expression.
"Luther?" she asked, surprised.
She took in his appearance, narrowing in on the bruises on his face. At least the cuts didn't get infected.
"Hello," Luther replied with a sheepish expression, waving his hand a little awkwardly at the tense atmosphere.
Both Five and Diego looked mostly non-plussed at Luther's reappearance, however, Thea hadn't moved from her position at the top step, eyes a little guarded as she stared back at her brother.
"What are you doing here?" she finally asked, getting straight to the point.
Luther didn't say anything for a few moments and Thea believed he wouldn't reply, but then, he opened his mouth and said softly.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was thick with emotion, the corners of his eyes drooping slightly in sadness.
"For what, exactly? You'll have to specify your many wrongdoings," Thea said a touch bitingly. Her jaw was tight and her eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.
Luther winced at her tone of voice, knowing that he had really messed up if she was still so calm.
'Thea isn't at her scariest when she's shouting at you, it's when she gets real calm – all low voice and narrowed eyes that shit really hits the fan.'
Klaus' sage advice had been completely forgotten until this moment and Luther – all packed muscle and looming height – cowered in front of his tiny sister who was glaring up at him with an expression that he could only compare more to an angry kitten than anything else.
Thea's glare intensified as if hearing his thoughts. Which, okay, she probably did.
That thought snapped Luther back into focus as he remembered his sister's vivid descriptions of 'frying brains' of those who offended her.
"I'm sorry I told you guys I didn't care about the apocalypse. It was selfish of me," he said softly, his eyes earnest and urging his sister to see the truth.
He'd done a lot of soul-searching after Ruby had abandoned him and realised some tough truths.
"If the world is going to end again, then I realised what I really had to lose. I spent so long trying to do the opposite of what Dad would have wanted that I forgot to realise that the world ending would mean my family ending, too."
It was silent in the room, both Five and Diego were staring at Luther like he'd grown a separate head – likely from his uncharacteristic profoundness. Luther gave them no notice and focused on the little blonde who was now striding his way.
He tensed, prepared to take the hit if Thea wished to blow off some steam but was surprised – and not ready – for her arms to instead wrap themselves around his waist and squeeze tightly.
"Thea?" he asked in confusion, hesitantly wrapping his own arms around her body and trying not to crush her.
Her arms couldn't even wrap themselves the entire way around his waist and instead, her hands clutched the fabric of his shirt. She practically disappeared in his embrace and a crooked grin tugged at his lips at the sight of a crown of blonde hair just peeking through the gap.
"You bloody moronic, idiotic, selfish big oaf," Thea mumbled from where her face was pressed against his stomach.
She pulled back and glared up at him, though anybody could see the brightness in her eyes. "I have a million other insults for you but I'll refrain because I accept your apology."
Luther's grin widened and his shoulders sagged in relief. "Great. I'm glad."
"Did you say sorry to Diego and Five, too?"
Luther paused, his eyes awkwardly searching out the other two. Diego gave him a thumbs up with the most sarcastic smile on his face possible while Five waved away his look uncaringly. Luther looked back down at Thea.
"Yeah, we're all good."
Thea grinned and pulled herself from his arms, patting his hand as she did so.
"I'm relieved. It would have been a shame not to have the family punching bag around in our final moments," she teased.
"Punching bag?" Luther asked, his head cocked to the side cluelessly.
Diego snickered. "Do you mean literally or metaphorically?" he asked, eyeing up Luther's huge form.
"Both," Thea giggled too, finding her tallest brother's lost-puppy expression amusing. She waved his enquiring look away. "Don't mind, I'm only joking."
"But I don't understand the joke," Luther replied slowly.
"I'm not surprised," Five drawled and Thea laughed again.
"Okay, okay. Let's not confuse him anymore," she said and patted Luther's arm in mock sympathy. "Let's just be thankful you have a nice face to make up for the lack of cognitive capability."
Thea walked away before she could laugh any further at Luther's befuddled expression and entered the kitchen area. She spied an apron hanging up on a hook beside the cooker and grabbed it for herself, tieing it around her waist. She turned to face her brothers with a smile.
"Do you think Elliott would mind if I borrowed his kitchen?"
"What are you doing?" Five asked, hands in his pockets and looking at her apron with a cocked brow.
"Cooking breakfast? What does it look like?" she asked, turning to open the cupboards and rummaging through the meagre food inside.
She grabbed the carton of eggs and a loaf of bread, figuring it would be good enough. She didn't want to impose too much on Elliott, anyway. Cracking half a dozen eggs into a tub and whisking them up, the poured the mix into the pan before filling the toaster with bread.
Reaching over to switch on the coffee machine, she set up four mugs on the counter ready to be filled with a fresh brew. Thea turned to ask her brothers a question but paused at their staring.
"What?"
Diego smirked. "Nothing, sis. Just funny seeing you so domestic," he teased.
Thea rolled her eyes. "Who do you think looked after Klaus, huh? Do you think he even knows how to scramble eggs on his own?" she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder with a roll of her eyes. "The only answer to that question is a resounding no."
"Now, sit down and tell me what's going on," she directed, waving her hand towards the table, expecting the boys to all follow her order.
They did so without complaint, Diego slouching back in his seat while Luther tried balancing his significant bulk upon the tiny kitchen chair. Five leant forward on the table with his chin rested on his hands, staring at her as she continued cooking breakfast.
"So, Dad just left?" she asked, starting the conversation.
After Five had come back to find her in the hallway, they'd quickly escaped the house to avoid being caught somewhere they shouldn't be, spatial jumping away to the empty garden where Diego had been waiting, Lila nowhere in sight.
At the time, Thea hadn't asked any questions about the other girl, taking note of Diego's pinched expression.
The situation regarding the men that had attacked them was something she'd brought up, wondering if they should have done something about them – tie them up or kill them even – but when five had whispered to her, vulnerability in his tone, telling her that he didn't want to kill people unless he was absolutely forced to, she couldn't deny his wishes.
While Thea knew in her mind that her brother was years older than her, it was sometimes difficult to compartmentalise the fact that he had lived most of those years killing for a profession and from the way he had confided in her, it was evident he wasn't particularly proud of his past.
Thea wouldn't shame him for it and she loved him infinitely – honestly, nothing could make her love him less – and so she was all too happy to follow along with his wishes.
Besides, none of them was seriously hurt in the end and Thea always enjoyed promoting peace over war. Plus, Thea couldn't help but wonder if they were only doing their job just as Five had done in the past...
"Are you so surprised? I mean, this is Dad," Five said, emphasising the title as though it explained it all.
Which it did. Reginald Hargreeves was the stereotypical distant father figure. Distant? Try non-existent.
"And that trio of Dutch sociopaths that keep following me?" Diego cut into the conversation, moving the topic onto their attackers last night and gaining Luther's confused frown.
"Who?" he asked.
"They're Swedish, you idiot," Five drawled, leaning back as Thea placed a plate in front of him.
She did the same for the other two, listening to their conversation while dishing out the scrambled eggs and buttered toast. She made sure to heap up Luther's plate in particular, rationing out the rest for Diego and Five.
"Hired guns paid to eradicate us before we do any more damage to the timeline," Five continued, his tone nonchalant despite the rather grim news.
Ah, so I was right. They are just following orders.
Finished with the food and pouring the coffee into the mugs for each of her brothers, Thea finally sat down beside Luther – the space had been left on purpose – and facing Five. She munched on a piece of toast, joining in on the conversation.
"Why now?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand as she chewed.
"Is that all you're having?" Diego asked, frowning at the two slices of toast on her plate.
Thea blinked, taken aback by the shift in conversation and tilted her head, glancing down at her plate. "Yes?" she asked, confused.
She tapped the white mug, "I have coffee too. Now eat up," she directed, pointing the bitten toast towards his plate. "Don't waste the food I so graciously made for you."
Diego shook his head but did as she said, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs, eating even quicker once he registered how tasty the food was. Luther was doing the same thing beside her, shovelling eggs into his mouth like he was scared they'd disappear.
How old will they be when I have to stop reminding them about table manners? Honestly, they ate better than this when we were children.
Though, she supposed having Reginald Hargreeves staring you down would make any child behave themselves.
"Five, eat," Thea stressed, narrowing her eyes at her smallest brother who had only been cradling his coffee. Five sighed but took up a fork and began eating the fluffy eggs.
"Now everybody is eating, finally," she said with exasperation. "I'll ask again. Why now?"
"Yeah, I was doing all fine until you showed up," Diego said bitingly, looking pointedly at Five.
The boy rose a brow. "You call being locked up in a psych ward, doing fine?" he asked condescendingly.
"I was here for a year and no one messed with me," Luther said between chewing, his cheeks stuffed like a squirrel.
"I'll raise you almost two years," Thea chimed in with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Though it was awfully boring."
Diego seemed to use that as proof for his argument – which Thea had not intended – and gave Five a pointed look, his hands splayed out in front of him like it was a closed case.
Five shook his head, annoyed. "Even if it was my fault – which it is not, thank you very much – the fact remains that we only have six days until the end of the world-"
"Again," Luther cut in but shut up at Five's scathing glare.
"As I was saying," he hissed. "We have six days remaining and the closest anyone's gotten to Dad was me, last night."
There was a moment of silence at his words, each one of them pondering that information.
Thea supposed that they really hadn't made many strides in furthering their investigation and despite breaking into their father's building and crashing the Gala, they still were no closer to understanding his involvement or the cause of the oncoming apocalypse.
"Well..." Luther trailed off; his expression sheepish. "That's not...exactly true."
Diego, Thea and Five all blinked at his words, staring at him intently.
"And would you like to share exactly what that vague statement means?" she prompted; brow raised.
"I saw him," he admitted after a seconds hesitation.
"Saw him?" Diego repeated. "You saw Dad?"
Luther nodded and began recounting his experience when he'd first arrived back in the sixties. "I was dropped in that alleyway and had no idea where anybody else was. So, I scrounged up enough money to afford a bus ride from Dallas all the way back home."
Thea was shocked and leant her elbows against the table as she took his words in. "Home? You actually went back to the Academy?"
Luther nodded but yelped when he was smacked upside the head - or at least, she tried to with their massive size difference.
"Luther! Have you never watched a time-travel movie before?" she asked, purposely leaving out the book option, knowing her brother never wasted time on reading.
"No?" he asked, confused and rubbing the side of his head.
"Oh stop acting like you even felt that hit, you big baby," she chastised, knowing that even a proper punch from her would do nothing to the man. "And well, if you had, you'd know that the worst thing you can do when lost in time is to interfere with your own timeline!"
"Z's right, if not a little off-centre," Five agreed whilst also mocking her limited knowledge.
So what if all my knowledge comes directly from pop-culture!? Give me a break.
She scoffed. "I'm not claiming to be a know-it-all in time-travel. That's your area of expertise," she said with enough sarcasm to remind him that he had also fucked up in that area.
"Besides, I know enough to not make such a rookie mistake like Spaceboy over here," she pointed a thumb towards Luther.
"Mistake? What do you mean?" Luther asked in genuine confusion. "I thought I could introduce myself to Dad and convince him we had somehow travelled back in time. If anybody could help, I figured it would be him."
"Damn, Luther. Even I know that was a shit plan," Diego said with a smug smirk.
"Look, just tell us what happened next," Five ordered, trying to get their bickering back on track.
Luther thought for a moment, his brows furrowing as he recounted their father's reaction. "I tried convincing him that he adopted us all in the near future, but he wouldn't believe me."
Despite Luther's reasoning for his actions stemming from disregarding what their father would have wanted, it was clear by the forlorn expression on his face that Reginald's dismissal had wounded him deeply.
"He thought I was a part of the CIA or KGB..." he trailed off again and Thea wondered if whatever their father had said next was even worse than before.
Placing her hand upon his with gentle care, Thea looked up at his face. "Can I take a look?" she asked politely.
Luther pondered for a moment before nodding, giving his permission.
"Okay, just think about what happened and I'll see it clearer," she instructed, to which he did.
Thea gave a little mental push before watching the projected thoughts; which were much easier to access when the person actively thought of them, almost speaking them aloud for her to directly witness. Once she was finished, Thea frowned.
"Oh, Luther...I'm so sorry he said those things," she apologised sincerely.
What Reginald Hargreeves had said to Luther, the biting remarks and cruel dismissal must have cut deeply into his fragile psyche.
To have taken so much effort, holding out on such a thin string of hope that the man who had been so horrible to them their entire lives, may just turn around and do the right thing – to simply listen – had instead stomped on the very notion of having children – she recalled the derision at which he'd said the word – before describing Luther's appearance in a wholly rude manner.
Calling him a failure to his face.
"You know, we all think he's a dickhead anyway," she said, attempting to lighten the mood. "The daddy-issues support group will welcome you with open arms."
Luther cracked a smile at that and Thea grinned back. Mission Success.
She turned and told an abbreviated version of the story to Diego and Five, leaving out the rather demeaning words said and just imparting the details about Reginald's suspicions and seeming paranoia.
"That's pathetic," Diego said and Thea wasn't sure if he meant Luther's cross-trip journey or their father's response.
"Yeah, well, at least he didn't shank my ass," Luther shot back with surprising bite and Thea snorted into her coffee.
"Nah, bro, he shanked your heart," Diego said back and Thea snorted again, finding their back and forth banter both hilarious and entertaining.
Elliott walked into the room before their bickering could continue. The man paused at the sight of them all sat around his kitchen table, staring at the colourful robe Luther was wearing, in particular.
"Is that my bathrobe?" he asked, face pinched.
"...no," Luther said with a mouth full of eggs, looking like a child caught stealing from the cookie jar.
Thea shook her head and smiled at the man letting them stay in his home.
"Elliott, I hope you don't mind I used some of your food. There's a plate made up for you over there." She pointed towards the kitchen counter, where she had left the man his own little breakfast.
"Though I'm afraid the eggs might have cooled down a little by now."
Elliott blinked dumbly before walking over to the plate and taking it with a grateful smile.
"Thanks," he mumbled and began eating almost ravenously. Thea watched him shovel the food into his mouth and wondered if he couldn't cook very well.
Perhaps his wife used to cook for him? Though, to have so much food in your house and no intent on using them... she supposed cooking him something easy like breakfast – even if it was literally just scrambled eggs and toast – was the least she could do.
"Look," Five interrupted once again, his thick brows furrowed as he sat back against his chair and watched them all like they were animals in a zoo.
"Who cares what he shanked," he sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What matters is that he knows something about time travel."
"Um..." Elliott butt in, fork halfway to his mouth piled high with eggs. It seemed he'd been listening to their conversation while eating and he looked at Five with wide eyes. "Why don't you just do your thing, and uh, time travel us out?"
Thea, Diego and Luther all groaned in unison at the unspoken forbidden question. "Not this again..." Diego muttered and Thea put a hand to her forehead.
"He's going to blow his top soon..." she whined, eyeing the way her brother's eyes had narrowed even further.
Five's jaw was clenched in frustration - whether it was from repeatedly being cut off mid-conversation or the fact that he was being asked the same question for god-knows-what time regarding his abilities.
He shot up from his seat, pointedly brushing down his uniform blazer for non-existent creases and spoke through clenched teeth. "Would anybody like to explain?"
"First time he tried he got lost in the future-" Luther started, waving his fork around as he spoke blandly.
"Subsequently becoming stuck in an oncoming apocalypse we knew nothing about," Thea carried on with exasperation.
"The second time he ended up without hair on his balls," Diego chimed in, sarcasm and mockery heavy in his voice.
"And the last time I tried I scattered my family throughout multiple points in time in Dallas, Texas, possibly triggered a Doomsday," Five finished with utter sarcasm, pouring himself another refill of coffee.
"The second Doomsday," Thea tacked on.
"Yes, thank you, Z. I was struggling to keep count of the number of catastrophes I'd inadvertently caused."
Thea shrugged, sending him a small smirk at his annoyed tone.
"Any more questions, Elliott?" Five asked, causing the man to stutter out his denial, eyes darting between all four of the siblings in an awkward fluster.
"Guys, you're all missing the big picture here," Diego said. "Dad is the ringleader of a sinister cabal that's planning to kill the President."
"Do you even think about the words you say before actually opening your mouth?" Thea asked in genuine disbelief.
"A Cabal?" Luther repeated in bewilderment.
"Ignore him," Five commanded, waving away Diego's annoyed glare. "Look, the way I see it, we're left only one option."
"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Luther mumbled around his food.
"It's time to get the Umbrella Academy back together."
Thea paused at his declaration, feeling the beginnings of excitement thrumming through her veins. Unknowingly, her lips had stretched into a wide grin.
"Great, a family meeting," Diego muttered under his breath while Luther slouched even further in his seat.
"Can one of you get Allison, then?" he asked helplessly.
Thea was about to open her mouth and ask how Luther even knew where Allison was – but was cut off by Diego's nosiness.
"You two still a thing?"
Luther's face pinched even further at the question, staring down at his left-over food in depression. "She's married..."
"Woah," Diego said, sitting back at the surprising news while Thea had shot forward, her eyes wide.
"She's what!?" she exclaimed, surprising everybody into looking her way.
"Okay, first, how long have you known where Allison was and why the hell didn't you tell me!?" she accused Luther, who could only wither even further into himself at her anger. She didn't give him a second to answer, however, as she continued on.
"And what the hell? Allison got married again, before me!? Come on..." she muttered, throwing her hands into the air.
"Is that so surprising?" Diego asked; a brow cocked in amusement at how dramatic she was acting.
"Of course it is! I thought for sure after the fiasco with Patrick that she'd instead spend her years pining away for..." she trailed off, snapping his mouth closed and purposely not looking Luther's way.
What she was going to say was that after Allison's marriage with Patrick had soured, she was quite sure her sister had given up on love, especially when reuniting with the rest of the family and seeing Luther again.
Thea always had the sneaking suspicion that while Allison may have cared for Patrick, she didn't hold the same depth of feelings for him as she did for Luther. Thea couldn't really blame her, your first love was difficult to move on from and sometimes, people just never did.
While her comment about getting married before Allison was mostly a joke – after all, the only person Thea would willingly marry was no longer here – she meant it more in a hyperbolic sense.
That the chances of Allison and Luther ever growing out of their weird 'will they, won't they' phase seemed just as likely a scenario.
In a hurry to move past the topic and not rat out her sister's secrets – no matter how badly kept they were – Thea looked towards Five.
"Allison might know where Klaus and Ben are," she said with hopeful eyes.
The boy stared back before nodding once. "Okay, I'll go get her then." He glanced at Luther, "Can I trust you to get Vanya without squeezing her to death?" he asked sarcastically.
"I'll try," Luther grumbled.
"What about me?" Thea asked, sitting at full attention, eager and ready.
"Wait here," Five instructed and before she could argue against him, he spatial jumped away to avoid her ire.
"Coward," she muttered petulantly, kicking the chair leg with a pout.
Diego snickered at her childish actions, patting her head in what Thea interpreted as condescension. She swatted his hand away and rose to her feet, collecting the empty plates and mugs. She ignored Luther's grabbing hands and shot him a stare.
"Go collect Vanya. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary. Besides, we still need to find Klaus," she reminded once again, refusing to let them ignore her twin's absence.
Luther sighed but stood as well and didn't waste any time before he shuffled out of the kitchen door to do as she said.
This left Diego and Thea in the room alongside Elliott. The man looked a little awkward as he stood in the doorway, unsure what to do with himself.
Thea was busy filling the washing bowl with warm, soapy water. While that was running, she quickly nipped into Elliott's bedroom to change back into her normal outfit, feeling happier now she was no longer constrained in the dated dress worn to the gala.
Entering the kitchen again, she rolled up her puffy sleeves to ensure they remained dry and got stuck into cleaning the dirty dishes. The menial task helped work out her anxiety, her mind focused on doing a good job and so she couldn't ruminate within her thoughts for too long.
Thea spent the following fifteen minutes in this fashion, cleaning and drying all of the dishes used and putting them into their correct places in the cupboards and drawers. Once that was done, she felt a little lost.
Pursing her lips and rocking back and forth on her heels, Thea stood in the middle of the living area, buzzing with anticipation. Glancing to the side, she caught sight of the pinboard of blurred photographs of her family and her eyes automatically zeroed in on the thin outline of Klaus.
Fingers outstretched, Thea lightly brushed against the photograph, her mind quiet and calm as she stared at the grainy image of her twin. We'll be together soon. I'll find you.
Pulling back, Thea was just about to consider tidying up the organised mess that was Elliott's desk – papers strewn everywhere and machines blinking wildly – when the sound of heavy footsteps caught her attention.
Moving towards the balcony, Thea spotted Luther who was accompanied by Vanya. With a mixture of trepidation and excitement, Thea waited for her siblings to ascend the stairway to meet them with a hopeful smile.
Vanya, who had seemed calm, if not a little dazed so far, caught Thea's stare with her own and brown eyes softened into a fondness that set the blonde's anxieties to rest.
"Hello," the brunette said softly.
"Hi, sis," Thea greeted back just as soft. Realising her sister was unlikely to take the initiative, Thea opened her arms, biting her lip as she waited for Vanya to make the next move.
She was relieved when Vanya moved forward with an easy smile to accept her embrace, the two sisters hugging with matching smiles on their faces.
"I'm so happy to see you again," she said, genuine adoration in her tone and she felt Vanya's arms tighten around her waist.
"Me too," Vanya said quietly. She pulled back and Thea did too, ignoring the brief disappointment. She wanted to squeeze Vanya so tightly that her sister would never be allowed to leave again.
"I'm sorry for the way we left things," the brunette said slowly, choosing the right words. "I was very overwhelmed and worried about Sissy and Harlan..." the two names were said softer, a little quietly.
Thea didn't push for answers, too elated that Vanya was back to really care about the reasons anymore. She smiled brightly, pulling her in for another quick hug rather than spew out all of her budding feelings.
"Welcome back, Vanya."
The two girls moved their way towards one of the sofas, sitting down. Thea was enjoying the close contact after being deprived for so long, the smile on her face never leaving even when Elliott began rambling about some nonsense she wasn't listening to.
For the next ten minutes, the four siblings sat around Elliott, listening to his never-ending spiel about the disgusting slop that he had brought out and placed centre upon the coffee table. Thea had taken one look at the colourful jelly-like substance and gagged – promptly turning away from the sight, worried that she'd throw up if she was forced to look at it, or even smell it any longer.
Instead, she had been playing with the ends of Vanya's hair. The girl didn't seem to mind the attention, which Thea had wondered about. Her sister's memory loss was very obvious from the way she would sometimes frown at something one of them said or pause and stare at their features every now and then.
However, she wondered if Vanya retained some semblance of instinctual comfort at her proximity, as she seemed calm and relaxed at Thea's actions – something that a complete stranger would find uncomfortable.
The brunette was lounging back against the sofa, part of her body also leant against Thea's. Luther, who had been watching Elliott with a disgusted expression, turned to face them both with a soft look.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, directing his question to Vanya.
"Kinda shitty, in general," Vanya answered honestly, but a small smile curled her lips. "But I'm working on it," she said, glancing towards Thea who grinned back encouragingly.
"On a scale of one to...ending all life on this planet, where would you say you sit?" Diego asked. He was flipping a dagger in his hand with a casual grace while he stared directly at Vanya.
Luther made a choked sound in his throat at the blunt question. "Diego, put the knife away, you idiot. She's fine," he reprimanded.
Diego's eyes only narrowed further. "The last time I saw her she had us all suspended mid-air, sucking the life out of us with energy tentacles." He caught the dagger in his hand and pointed it Luther's way. "I think I'm allowed a little time to process."
Thea opened her mouth to stick up for her sister but surprisingly, Vanya took the initiative herself.
"I'm sorry for whatever I did to you all...but I really don't remember," she said sincerely, glancing at Diego, Luther and Thea. "If my apology even means anything..."
"Of course it does," Thea said comfortingly, smiling at her. "We're very grateful you apologised but we wouldn't hold something you don't remember against you," she said, looking pointedly at Diego with narrow eyes.
"Even if you did, you're family. We'll always forgive you." She placed a hand on Vanya's, softly. "Family is what's most important."
Vanya nodded, a vulnerable smile at her lips.
"Thea's right," Diego said, looking at Vanya like he'd realised the change she'd been through since seeing her last. "It does matter. Thanks."
Happy that both of her siblings were finally getting along – it had been such a long time coming, too. Even before Five had returned the first time, Diego and Vanya hadn't been able to see eye to eye.
Content, Thea went back to her previous actions, twisting the ends of Vanya's hair and braiding it into little plaits. Thea's attention was focused wholly on nimble fingers but she listened as Diego opened up a little more.
"It's just been a difficult time lately," he explained, fiddling with the dagger in his hands. "There's...this girl I like. I thought she liked me, but it turns out that she's-"
Diego's speech was cut off by the sound of the bell on the door ringing and Luther springing up from his seat, muttering 'thank god' under his breath. Thea's hands paused and she let the hair fall from her hands as she turned to catch Diego's face fall briefly at being ignored so easily.
Biting her lip, Thea followed Luther and Vanya in standing from their seats but before she went to greet Five and Allison, she moved towards her brother and lightly brushed back one of the wavy strands of hair from his face.
Diego looked up at the touch and Thea smiled down at him, sympathetic. "Can you tell me about this girl once we've greeted Allison?"
He blinked, surprised before cracking a lop-sided grin. "Sure, sis. We'll exchange sob stories," he joked.
Thea chuckled, tucking the wayward hair behind his ear. "Sounds good. Come on, let's go see Ally."
The sounds of their voices were muffled and feeling excited at seeing Allison after so long, Thea ran toward the balcony with eager steps, calling out her sister's name cheerfully.
"Allison!" she shouted in greeting and leant over the railing to look down at the people stood below. "I missed yo-" she paused however when her vision narrowed and all she could see was the man stood beside her.
Thea's world came to a halt, her heart pausing in its rhythmic beating and for a moment, she felt like there was no air in the room to fill her lungs, only to realise with a start that it was because she wasn't breathing.
Taking in a lungful of air, the whoosh of her breath as her heart kick-started itself. Like a roaring ocean, Thea felt the sounds rush into her ears all at once and her body jolted as though struck by lightning. Like she'd been revived on the brink of death.
Shaggy long hair that fell in soft waves and adorned in the same type of tacky jewellery she'd rolled her eyes over too many times to count – and most importantly, those goddamn tattoos on his palms.
"Klaus..." she breathed out, her voice barely a whisper.
The room around them had turned silent, the other siblings watching them both in a mixture of fondness and empathy.
"Thea..." her twin whispered back with a voice thick with emotion and it was at that moment, that Thea's body moved on its own.
With a total disregard for her own safety and a dramatic flair she'd later cringe over, Thea pushed herself forward, wanting to reach Klaus faster than her mind could register the fact that she was currently on a balcony.
Predictably, her body succumbed to gravity's fall as she almost launched herself over the railing and with the startled call of her name as nothing but background noise, Thea fell, down and down and down-
-and right into awaiting arms that had moved the second she'd begun falling, to catch her.
She was embraced tightly, the hug so crushing that Thea was sure the words hello and goodbye engraved upon his palms were searing themselves into her skin.
"You're here, you found me- fuck," she cried into his neck, trying to burrow herself further into his embrace, taking comfort from the familiar scent.
"Do I finally win the best brother award after that magnificent catch?" Klaus laughed into her hair, where his face was pressed into the golden locks.
She could feel the humming of his laughter against her skin, sending goosebumps up her arms and it was such a reassuring feeling that it made her chest ache.
His lips pressed against the crown of her head in a kiss. "I found you," he whispered so quietly, it was barely a whisper.
As much as she didn't want to be even a centimetre apart from him, Thea reluctantly pulled back, only enough that their faces were inches apart and she stared at him, enchanted.
"You're really here..." she whispered, cupping his face and squishing his cheeks together, pinching them as though she'd wake up at any moment. "I'm not dreaming."
"Pwetty swur your swposed to pwinch yuwself..." Klaus tried to mumble from between her hands, his face comically squished, making it hard for him to speak.
Finally, Thea removed her hands and Klaus let out a puff of air, his cheeks now red and blotchy from her attack. She was still held in his arms like a princess and as the twins just continued to look at one another, in a world of their own, a cough finally interrupted their reunion.
Five's arms were crossed and he was wearing an amused smile that softened his face. He looked pointedly at Thea as he spoke next, raising a brow like he was a scolding parent and she was a child.
"While I'm thrilled you're reunited at last, can I point out that the next time you launch yourself off a balcony, I'll save you the hassle and kill you myself."
Thea chuckled sheepishly at his reprimand, rubbing the back of her head as her actions finally sank in. She bit her lip and glanced up at where she'd fallen from, her cheeks red in embarrassment.
"Oops," she giggled, feeling a little high from the euphoria and unable to get rid of the shit-eating grin on her face.
Five rolled his eyes, trying to seem stern but the curl of his lip belied his fondness. Diego, Luther and Vanya were wearing similar expressions and Thea realised all of a sudden that the person she'd originally intended to greet had been ignored so far!
"Ally!" Thea said and looked at her sister with bright, sparkling blue eyes.
Allison smiled widely back, showing off pearly white teeth that complimented her new look so well. Her hair was softened and curled in a sophisticated manner, truly looking the part of their period. The black hair was glossy and complimented her mature outfit beautifully.
Overall, Allison was a vision and Thea smiled even wider – if such a thing was possible.
"You look gorgeous!" she exclaimed honestly, startling Allison into a surprised blush.
Thea was about to move to hug her but realised she was still clutching Klaus like a lifeline. She blinked and looked between both Allison and Klaus, dumbfounded.
"Nooo, I don't want to let go of Klausy but I want to give you a hug!" she whined, ignoring just how childish she was acting.
She felt like a little kid all over again, finally surrounded by the people she loved more than anything in the entire world.
Allison laughed, as well as Klaus, who lifted her even higher and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.
"I won't be going anywhere," he promised with unusual seriousness and when Thea met his stare, she saw in his eyes the sincerity behind his words.
She could easily recognise the mixed emotions mirrored in his eyes – the relief, love and adoration that she was feeling so intensely, but also the fear and anxiety and the thought of being split up again.
I found you. You found me. I knew we couldn't last apart for long.
This time, it was she who pressed a kiss to his forehead, smiling as her mind finally cleared itself of all the turbulence and strife weighing her down.
We're together again and I refuse to ever let go.
Klaus let her onto her feet slowly and his hand quickly took her hand in his own with an easy-going grin. Thea swung their joined hands back and forth happily, giggling at absolutely nothing and just soaking in the positive atmosphere.
Finally able to move, she quickly rushed over to greet Allison properly, dragging Klaus along beside her and laughing as her sister crushed her tightly. When they pulled apart, Thea stepped back into Klaus' space and turned to point towards Vanya.
"Ally, look! Vanya's here!" she said in a cheerful tone, wanting her two sisters to feel the same euphoria she was currently experiencing.
She needed all of her family to re-connect. To forgive and move on with each other. To let themselves love again.
Vanya had been stood to the side awkwardly while Thea performed her dramatics – something she was pushing to the furthest recesses of her mind and refusing to ever remember – but at the sudden attention, she met Allison's stare with an apprehensive smile.
Giving them both some privacy as they reunited – or in Vanya's case, met for the first time – Thea turned back to face Klaus and leant her chin against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and staring up at him with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Is it just me, or did we both get hotter?" Klaus said to lighten the mood and Thea's grin brightened, almost blinding her twin.
"You do look handsome," she complimented, raising a hand to touch his hair.
It was as soft as it looked and her eyes crinkled in the corners as she took in his face. He looked good – well, as healthy as possible for someone with a destructive personality like Klaus. "I love your hair like this," she said, twisting the ends around her fingers.
Klaus copied her actions, grabbing a hold of her long ponytail that swung behind her and lifting it above her head. "Have you not cut your hair since you arrived?" he chuckled, twisting the hair around his hand and yanking playfully.
She yelped and swatted his hands away, yanking on his own long hair in retaliation. Klaus laughed alongside her and grabbed both of her wrists in his grip, smiling down at her with smug satisfaction at her sulking face.
"Don't pout, sis, you'll get wrinkles," he laughed, pressing his thumb against the crease between her brows.
Thea's eyes caught sight of her two sisters sharing a hug and she felt so happy she was probably emitting visible sparkles. Dragging Klaus alongside her, she moved to join them both.
"Group hug!" she celebrated and jumped onto a surprised Allison and Vanya, wrapping her arms as much around them as she could.
Klaus, naturally following her lead did the same and the four of them were soon embraced in a four-way giant hug.
"I can't breathe..." Vanya wheezed out from the bottom of the hug and Thea cackled. "Hang in there, sis! I need to release all my pent-up emotions!"
Allison laughed before patting Thea and Klaus' arms. "Okay, okay. I think we need to stop before Vanya runs out of air."
"Fine~" she sighed in good nature, letting her hand slide back into Klaus' like they had some kind of magnetic pull and bounced on the soles of her feet.
She looked around at them all; Luther's soft smile as he looked at Allison, Diego's easy-going posture at the happy atmosphere, the way Five's usual frown was replaced instead with a curl of the lips, his eyes staring right back at her.
They held eye contact for a couple of seconds and when Thea wondered if the boy had something on his mind - tilting her head to the side - he spoke up, his question directed towards her twin.
"Klaus, is Ben here?"
The simple words almost had the pleasant, buzzing atmosphere come crashing down as every single pair of eyes shot towards Thea.
The girl herself, however, had perked up considerably at the sound of Ben's name and she turned to look up at her twin with a dazzling grin; blue eyes wide and her face pink with a delighted flush.
Klaus parted his lips, his eyes blinking fast but it wasn't his own voice that spoke and instead, Thea heard the familiar voice she loved so much. The voice her body ached for and her heart yearned to listen to all day long.
"I'm here. Just beside you."
"Ben!" Thea cried out in joy, spinning in circles as she wasn't quite sure where he was but knew that he was standing somewhere close.
She heard the sound of his laugh – like bells ringing in a church, her favourite sound – and she clutched Klaus' shirt tightly.
She was beaming.
"You're both back with me!" Thea turned to Five, repeating her words as though the boy hadn't heard her the first time. "Five, Klaus and Ben are back!"
Five quirked a smirk, evidently entertained by the sudden regression in her maturity. The single addition of Klaus had softened her personality and the years she seemed to have gained during her loneliness stuck in time had been wiped away in an instant.
"I can see that, Z," he teased, chuckling lowly. "I did bring them here."
"Ahh! I love my family!" she said with a cheer, raising her hands in the air to let out all of her energy.
"The Terrific Twins are back in business!" Klaus joined in on her cheering and the rest of the siblings watched on in exasperation as the twins started chanting 'terrific twins, terrific twins', doing a silly dance around the atrium.
Thea paused, Klaus following suit and the two stared at one another as she had a sudden realisation.
"But if Ben is here, then wouldn't that make us the Terrific Trio...?"
Klaus laughed, snapping his fingers at her clever thinking. "Very true, dear sister of mine!"
They went back to their chanting, only this time celebrating the newly named 'Terrific Trio', the two of them able to hear Ben's laughter and him eventually joining in with their antics.
It was, by far, the best family reunion the Hargreeves children had experienced.
So, the reunion has finally happened! Yay! I hope it lived up to expectations...
p.s. if you check out the wattpad version of this story, I uploaded some fanart of Thea and Klaus at the beginning of the chapter...feel free to have a look!