Yes, their TV runs on black magic. By which I mean that they haven't paid for cable and presumably don't have the hookup for it, but it still works.

Also, a reviewer brought up concerns about crime-fighting. Diego is all about that and was sort of making excuses, but they're actually just deciding if they're living together and supporting each other with developing their powers. Basically "team" is becoming synonymous with "family" for them. Very little (if any) crime-fighting will occur, and most of the fights are them defending themselves against people trying to kill them.

Also, forgive any of my faulty musical terminology/acoustical knowledge. Did the best I could without making a study of it.

(-)

"Okay, Klaus, you're a genius," Vanya said. If Five was with them, he'd have taken offense, but he was outside. And they were watching him on their brand-new TV in the lounge. Their father had never let them watch television, so they'd never even owned one.

"Where have you been for seventeen years?" someone asked him.

"My old man was a dictator. I rebelled, so he locked me in a cryogenic tube in the basement and told everyone I ran away. After he died, my siblings came home and found me." It was so matter-of-fact that Vanya thought Five was so good a liar, he might be able to be a politician.

"That seems a little far-fetched," said another reporter.

"Then you tell me how I'm thirteen and they're thirty, smart guy," Five snapped. "If you're going to say stupid things, leave. I don't have time for that."

Klaus burst out laughing and the rest of them realized this might have been a bad idea. And Vanya should have known that Five would always be Five, which meant he'd never get close to any government office.

Should one of us go out there? Allison wrote.

"Who?" Diego asked. "Luther can't lie, you can't speak, Klaus is Klaus, Vanya is unstable, and I might st-st-"

"Good points," Vanya said, cutting him off. She felt bad for mentioning the stutter, because it seemed to make it resurface.

"So we just have to watch the trainwreck," Luther said, wincing.

"What about your sister?" someone asked.

"I have two, idiot, which one?" Five said.

"Good God, this is the best press conference ever," Klaus said, grinning.

"Allison. She has a bandage on her neck and seems to be communicating only through writing," the person clarified.

"She was attacked, and it injured her vocal cords." Short and simple.

"There is speculation that she's been using her powers on regular people; did one of them retaliate?"

"Regular people don't slice vocal cords. And don't spread bullshit about my sister." Five said, his glare making the man back up.

"What about your other sister, Vanya?"

"What about her?" Vanya was pretty sure they didn't take note of the slight head-tilt and more intense stare that were the signs of a predator preparing to strike.

"Her concert was attacked by a squad of men with weapons and gas masks, and the Umbrella Academy fought them off. Was she the target?"

Five rolled his eyes. "The Umbrella Academy has made a lot of enemies over the years. We don't know who sent those guys, and they attacked all of us."

"But witnesses say that she displayed a power with her violin, and that her eyes and skin turned white. What can you tell us about that?"

It was noticeable that Five took a calming breath before he started speaking. "Vanya recently learned that she was born with powers like the rest of us. She's still learning to use them."

"Why didn't she know about her powers before now?"

Five narrowed his eyes at the woman and seemed to take a vicious delight in saying, "Because Reginald Hargreeves was a sinister monster. She didn't have instant control when she was four years old, so he decided to make her take pills to suppress her powers. The fact that we all grew up in this house means that Child Services is incompetent or corrupt. Given how much money the old man had, I'm betting the latter."

"Here, here!" Klaus said, raising an imaginary glass.

"This is actually going decently now," Luther said.

"If she can't control her powers, is she dangerous?"

"We're all dangerous. But so is someone carrying a gun or a knife."

"Your brother Diego carries knives, though."

Five just stared at the man for a moment before he said, "Leave. Your ignorance is offensive."

"You jinxed it," Klaus said.

But Vanya was laughing. "It was a stupid comment."

"Does Number Seven intend to join the Umbrella Academy?"

"She's always been part of our family. But, yes, she's joining the team."

"And what do you say to the rumors that she is romantically involved with a murderer?"

Eyes narrowing, Five said, "I can't speak to that, but it definitely sounds like bullshit people like you invent to increase your viewers."

Vanya's heart had started hammering, but Five had it under control. He would protect her.

"But sources say she was-"

Glaring now, Five said, "If you people are deaf, I can just leave."

"Your old fans have been gathering here, and some seem worried that the addition of someone so plain and timid will affect-"

"Say. That. Again," Five said, his words sharp and dripping with acid.

And for the first time in history, a whole press conference fell dead silent. Even if he looked thirteen, it seemed like everyone could sense the deadly serious threat he posed.

"Luther," Diego said warningly, because it looked like Five was ready to go for the throat.

"Got him," Luther said. He got up and hurried to the entrance hall.

Moments later he came out the front door on TV. The reporters came alive with questions for him, but Luther just tugged on Five's arm, who was still virtually murdering a reporter with his stare. After a few moments, Five looked up at his brother, who nodded towards the house. With a last glare at the reporter, he shifted out.

Vanya heard him in the entrance hall but stayed long enough to see Luther ignore the questions and say, "Don't speak badly about our family; it doesn't sit well with us." Then he said, "Also, get the hell away from our house and have a nice day." And he walked back inside.

Klaus was cackling at that, and they all headed to the entrance hall. Five was growling and pacing, so Vanya went to stop him, hands holding his biceps to make him still. He was almost trembling with fury.

"Hey, it's okay. Stupid people say stupid things, right?" Vanya said. Those two words weren't anywhere near the worst she'd been called.

"Stupid people get their throats slit." It sounded worryingly earnest.

She just skipped the talking and hugged him. It was getting surprisingly easy to channel her powers to soothe him. He relaxed in her arms with a sigh.

Allison was holding up a note for Luther that said, I'm so proud of you. Klaus was slapping Luther on the back and congratulating him.

Diego was approaching Five carefully. "Way to stand up for the family, but I think we might hire a new PR guy."

Vanya laughed, and Five shook his head. They reluctantly parted. Klaus broke in. "Or he and Luther could tag team it. Five has the attitude to keep the reporters in check, and Luther has the manners and tact to smooth over Five's attitude."

Allison started scribbling and held up her notepad. Not sure anyone has enough manners and tact for that.

Five just gave them a sour look. "You're welcome for handling that shit-show so you didn't have to." And he shifted away.

"He was upset, guys," Vanya said.

"Because they insulted you," Diego said. "He didn't really lose his shit until then."

Trying not to blush, Vanya said, "He's protective."

Holding up her notepad, Allison smiled. It's okay, Vanya. Go take care of him.

"You make him sound like an old man," Luther said.

"He is an old man," Klaus pointed out.

"Our family is weird as shit," Diego said.

"And you carry knives," Klaus said with a giggle. "Obvious, right?"

Vanya just headed up the stairs to find him.

(-)

He still remembered that man's face, and he imagined it covered in blood. No one should talk about her like that, but now that she was in the spotlight with them, she would hear it all the time. She didn't need that. She'd had their father saying that shit and putting her down her whole life.

There was a quiet knock on his door before Vanya came in. "Hey. You know they didn't really mean anything by that; they're just being themselves."

She'd calmed him downstairs, putting that soothing power through him and quelling his murderous rage. Just another reason he was lucky to have her: the few times when he worked for the Commission that his blood had gotten up like that, there had been injuries at the home office, not just in the field.

And it was another reason he was starting to feel like a fraud. Vanya saw him like she always had, but he wasn't who he used to be. He was a murderer, an assassin, cold and vicious. Granted that the glimpses he had shown of that nature hadn't deterred her, but still.

"You know I'm not a good person, Vanya, right?" He was sitting on his bed, legs hanging off the side, and he looked forward at his desk, not at her, when he said it.

"What?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"I've spent years killing whoever I was told to, whether they were guilty of anything or not. I stopped counting."

She came and sat next to him on the bed, sides pressed together, making him feel warm for a few reasons. "You did what you had to in order to survive and come back to us. You grew up and lived alone in a wasteland for decades. If that doesn't bring out some moral relativism, I'm not sure what would."

How could she just take it in stride like that? How could she forgive him without hesitation? He leaned into her with a sigh. "I don't deserve you, Vanya."

To his irritation, she snorted, then started laughing. Five said, "I'm serious!"

"You're ridiculous," she said. "You're brilliant and amazing and caring, and you always have been. You think ten steps ahead and act with the best logical plan you can think of."

"Do you think I was feeling logical earlier?" he asked. The way she talked about him was making him blush, and all the heat that was gathering was going to cause trouble.

"You've always had a bad temper," Vanya said. "Remember that time you attacked Luther because he made me cry?"

He'd forgotten until her playing had brought it back, actually, but she clearly remembered it after all these years. "Jerk deserved it."

Her side nudged into his as she said, "See? Especially when it comes to me, you're a little bit…overprotective. I don't mind."

An arm slid around him, making him breathe faster. "Vanya," he said warningly.

"It's okay," she said, and that power flowed into him and made him relax. "I know you're a man, Five; that you aren't just this body. And I like this so…is it okay to do this? I realize that I've been using my power to…manipulate you without thinking about it or getting your permission. I don't want to be like-" She didn't finish her sentence, but they both knew who she meant.

Sighing, he melted into her. "You don't need any special abilities to control me, Vanya. And I like this too."

"Want to take a nap?" she asked.

"God yes," he said, tone lustful even after his physical lust was calmed. After a lifetime of bad sleep, falling asleep in her arms was like a drug. He wasn't sure what he'd do when she got her own room. Although that reminded him of something he needed to do later.

They curled up together, content and drowsiness humming through him. But he took note of something and his pride made him say, "When I get older, I'm going to be the big spoon." And he loved how he could feel her laughter.

(-)

Five went out in the afternoon, promising he'd be back. She wandered down the stairs to the hallway with their bedrooms and saw Allison packing. It gave her a pang as she realized she was losing her sister again.

She leaned in the doorway, and Allison looked up. She picked up her notepad and wrote: What's up? before tossing it on the bed and shoving more things in her suitcase.

Vanya frowned. "Why the hurry?"

Somewhat impatient, Allison scribbled: Patrick already threatened to revoke visitation rights if I miss another therapy session, and I have one tomorrow.

"Shit," Vanya said, and moved to pile the rest of the clothes in, stuffing until it all fit. When Allison looked at her with surprise, she said, "You may have made mistakes, but I know you're still a good mother who loves her daughter. And if he cuts you out completely, you know that we'll all head to LA and do something about it. We have your back. Claire is our family too."

Allison was hugging her and crying into her shoulder before she realized it was happening. It felt good to be there for Allison after all the support and understanding (and forgiveness) that she had shown through Vanya's ordeal. Knowing she was too upset to write anything, Vanya said, "I'm not sure what we'd do, and we're crazy enough that it could get worse, but eventually you're going to get custody of Claire, with or without us."

Pulling back, her sister grabbed her notepad and wrote: I love you, Vanya.

"I love you too, Allison," Vanya said, warmth blooming in her chest. "Do you need help getting to the airport?"

Shaking her head, Allison wrote: I have a cab waiting down the block.

"Want me to carry your suitcase to the secret exit?" Vanya asked.

Allison shook her head again. When she tucked her notepad into her purse and picked up her suitcase herself, Vanya knew it was goodbye. "I would say to call if you need us, but I guess you'll have to write." Her sister nodded and kissed her cheek before rushing out the door.

(-)

Hours later, Five still hadn't returned. It made her nervous. She headed up to his room to wait for him, only to hear noises down the hall. Creeping in that direction, she noticed it was coming from the room next to his. When she heard a thud and Five curse, she rushed in. "Five, are you okay?"

That was all she could say, because she'd been struck dumb. First, all the personal belongings from her apartment seemed to be in various stages of being moved in. Second, and most importantly, a drawer from the dresser had been removed and was sitting upside down on the floor, and Five was standing there covered in her underwear and bras.

He turned bright red as she stared, and he said, "This isn't what it looks like!"

And Vanya died laughing. She sat down in the doorway, tears quickly gathering in her eyes. Her power was doing something, she knew, but she couldn't control herself. He was rapidly shedding her undergarments to the point of flinging them around the room (which was almost funnier), but she couldn't shake that original image of his wide eyes when she walked in.

Surprisingly, Five started laughing too, sitting on the floor next to her. It took them a few minutes to calm. "How did that happen?" she asked, breathing unevenly.

"The drawer got stuck when I was trying to close it. So I yanked it back and forth until it came flying out," Five said. His amusement was dimming and his face growing red again. "I just tossed all that stuff in a bag and dumped it in the drawer; I wasn't doing anything weird."

"I know," she said, and looked around at the room. "You moved me in."

"Well, your neighbors won't handle your power surges as well as we do, not to mention you don't have locks on your windows or other reasonable security precautions." He didn't look at her as he said, "And I like having you close." He cleared his throat and stood up. "After all, we'll need to train you. And since you weren't going back into that closet you used to call a room, I thought one of these guest rooms would do."

"The one next to yours?" Vanya asked, standing up.

"Next closest to the stairs. Convenient," he said.

Before she could call him on that evasion, their brothers were at the door, looking in. Diego said, "We didn't have to ask who caused the laugh riot, but we did wonder why."

She saw Five reddening and said, "Five was helping me unpack my stuff. That drawer got stuck, and when I finally got it loose, my underwear went flying everywhere."

"And that was that funny?" Luther asked.

"It was all over me," Vanya said, smiling with a shrug. Then she frowned. "I affected you guys?"

Luther said, "If I hadn't been laughing too, I would have thought Klaus and Diego were having a tickle fight."

That wasn't funny. She sighed. "You guys are never going to get any peace with me around."

Surprisingly, Luther was the one to say, "Once you start training it, you'll get better. You might remember I threw a lot of things when we were younger."

Frowning, Vanya said, "I thought you were angry."

"Nope. Big guy couldn't judge how much strength he needed to do regular stuff. We had a bunch of bent silverware too," Klaus said.

"I didn't know that," Vanya said. She'd been in some life-threatening situations when Diego was trying out his powers until their father reprimanded him and told him never to throw knives outside of missions or the training areas. She didn't know Luther had problems.

"It's…" Luther paused, then met her eyes and said, "It's not easy, being who we are. And it's hard to figure out how to do things no one else can, and hone that skill. I should have remembered that from the start. I'm sorry."

Vanya wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't forgiven him, not yet. But she could tell he was making a sincere effort to fix his mistake. "Thanks for telling me that," she said, since she couldn't think of anything better.

After an awkward pause, Diego said, "They're going to replay that press conference at six. If we head down now we can catch it."

"Why would we want to watch it?" Luther asked. Diego steered him away.

"Because it was a spectacular train-wreck, and you and Five were amazing," Klaus said with a grin. He didn't follow immediately though, just watched until Vanya could hear the others on the stairs before he turned to them and said with a sly look, "You missed one, Five." Then he left.

They looked to see a pair of underwear, almost the same navy as his blazer clinging to his back with a small part lying on his shoulder. He turned bright red again and flailed to get it off him like it was a huge insect or something. "I'm going to my room," he said before immediately shifting away.

Vanya just started picking up her undergarments, looking around. Her own room. Well-furnished and spacious and right next to Five's. This…was really starting to feel like home.

(-)

Since he'd been back, he'd never felt as much of an awkward teenager as he just had in that incident. He was just lucky Vanya believed him. "Pervert" wasn't a word he wanted her to associate him with any more than "kid" was.

Willing away any inappropriate thoughts (or bodily responses), Five sighed. Growing up would take way too damn long. Although Vanya wasn't wrong when she pointed out this second chance meant he would be healthier this time around. He'd built muscles in the wasteland that he probably wouldn't have if he had stayed here. Did Vanya like a lot of muscles? Or would she prefer him in his more natural skinny-scholar form?

But then he remembered one thing he hadn't gotten into Vanya's room. He reached under his bed, making sure the briefcase was pushed as far back as possible, and grabbed her violin case. They'd gotten into an argument when the cops wanted it as evidence, but Five had talked sense into them. With minimal subtle threats.

He took it over to her room, already relishing how close she was, when he heard her humming. It was something he didn't think he'd heard her do before. Anything musical out of her was from her violin. He couldn't place the song, probably something that came out in the last seventeen years, but he liked that she was happy enough to hum.

The door was still open, and he knocked on the doorframe. She was struggling to get the drawer back in. "I'm tempted to offer help, but I really don't want anything to do with it," Five said, smiling.

Vanya saw what was in his hands and her face lit up, making her set the drawer down. "You have it! I figured the cops must have taken it."

"Like we'd let that happen," Five said. "It's yours, Vanya. No one is taking it away from you."

"Where did you put my sheet music?" she asked excitedly.

"In the desk," he said, retrieving her folder stuffed with pages. While he was doing that, she had got out her music stand he'd placed in the corner.

"I've been practicing a new piece," she said, taking the folder and fishing out the pages she needed. She put them on the music stand, but hesitated when she went to open her violin case. "Um, is it okay to play?

That hurt. Vanya and her violin were inseparable since she'd gotten it, and now she felt like she shouldn't play. "It'll be fine, Vanya. I'm right here, and the guys know what's happening if they hear it." They shouldn't though. Her room was far enough from the lounge that it wouldn't carry that far. From what he'd seen, she couldn't amplify the sound to make it louder than it could naturally be. The waves, the vibrations, yes, she could send those out wide. But the volume was normal, at least so far.

She put her violin to rest on her shoulder, tucking her chin against it, then paused. "Should I be trying to do something?"

Five smiled. "You can play because you want to, Vanya. It doesn't have to be about your power." He never wanted her to feel constrained by training schedules or obligations or whatever. Vanya's love of music was one of the things he loved about her, and he wanted her to feel free.

"But I want to train," she said. "I don't want to be out of control all the time."

"Fair enough," he said. "You seem to be evening out pretty well. We at least aren't getting explosions of rage anymore. So it's probably safe to experiment."

"What should I do?"

He thought about it. "Okay, you know that all objects vibrate on their own unique frequency, right?"

She shook her head. He smiled at her. "Well, they do. And the way you manipulate sound makes me think you can tap into those vibrations too. I'm curious to see if you can manipulate the object itself using that."

"I can try," she said.

(-)

More purposeful application of her violin beyond just emotional communication was surprisingly difficult without sinking into that white-skinned, white-eyed version of herself. Five theorized that happened when she grew in tune with her powers on an instinctual level, which she found hard to do while she was actually trying to and with no threat on her life. He also said that he might have just started at too high a challenge level.

Either way, they had to give it a rest when Mom rang the dinner bell. They'd decided to eat in the kitchen, since sitting at the dining room table brought back too much childhood PTSD, especially for Five, who would fixate on the last meal he hadn't eaten there.

When they met their brothers for dinner, Klaus was grinning. "That press conference will never stop being amazing. Don't listen to what anyone tells you, Five; you did a great job at keeping it real in a way that those reporters aren't used to."

"Not used to fearing for their lives, either," Diego said with a smirk.

"Well, how many are still out there?" Five asked. He picked up his fork and started eating some green beans.

Luther said, "Only a couple, but we still have some die-hard fans lurking around."

"What's a polite way to say, 'Hey, thanks for your support, but you're super-creepy so get away from me'?" Klaus asked. He stuffed some mashed potatoes into his mouth and looked at the empty seat beside him that they had designated for Ben and said, mouth full, "That doesn't sound polite either."

On the other side (Diego had insisted that Ben sit between him and Klaus), Diego looked at the space and asked, "What did he say?"

"He said, 'Thanks for your support, but you need a life of your own instead of glomming onto us because we have superpowers'," Klaus said after he had swallowed his mouthful.

"No, he didn't," Vanya said, smiling. "Ben would not say 'glomming' unless he had head trauma." Then she frowned. "And if you're the only voice he has, lying about what he's saying is really mean."

"She's right," Five said. "If we can't trust you to speak for him, you'll have to put your ectoplasm where his mouth is anytime we want his accurate input."

"Ectoplasm?" Klaus asked.

Five rolled his eyes. "Did you really never look into any of the reading material Dad gave you about your powers?"

Klaus held up a hand. "Hi, I'm Klaus, and I never do my homework."

Sighing, he said, "It's a theoretical substance that is said to be what ghosts are made of when they are able to interact with things. A sort of medium between our world and the spiritual one you have an innate connection to."

"So that glowing blue Ben is made of ectoplasm?" Luther asked.

Shrugging, Five said, "It's only theory, but it explains why something that is normally completely invisible and insubstantial can be seen and interact with the world. Klaus can conjure a substance for Ben to inhabit and use. His tentacles get huge, so it explains why he's more drained when Ben uses them."

"You're amazing," Vanya said. "How did they function without you?"

"We didn't," Luther, Klaus, and Diego (and she suspected Ben), said at the same time.

"I hate to say it, but he was really useful when we were planning our missions," Luther said. He'd already cleared most of his plate.

"Except his annoying condescending attitude would inevitably lead to an argument, which wasn't useful," Diego said.

Klaus leaned forward since he was across from Five and said, "You know, I saw a T-shirt that said, 'Does not play well with others' in a store the other day. We could see if they have it in your size."

Five was just glaring at them. "Any other shitty things you want to say to me before I stop helping you figure out your powers?"

"Hey!" Vanya said, and a pulse left her that rattled all the dishes and knocked her brothers back in their seats. When she had their attention, she said, "Do you want to be the Umbrella Academy that Dad made? The divisive one that was at each other's throats because he was afraid of what you could do if you ever worked together against him? The one that was happy to let me be drugged and ignored? Or do you want to be the Umbrella Academy that we've made? The family that can actually function and support each other, the team that can fight off a death squad and stop me from accidentally ending the world?"

They all stared at her for a moment before Diego said, "When did she become team leader?" He sounded impressed, though, not sarcastic.

"When she realized she could kick all our asses," Klaus said with a grin.

"I'm not team leader," Vanya said. "I just…I have a real family for the first time in my life. And if I'm joining the team, I don't want it to be like it was. You must have functioned better on missions than you did at home, in training, but it always felt like you were just…six people fighting the same people in the same space, managing to not hurt each other. Not a real team."

"She's not wrong," Luther said with a sigh. "Especially since Ben was the one who would stop the arguments when they got out of hand." He looked at the empty space. "Sorry we took you for granted."

Klaus said, "He says, 'Better to be appreciated late than never.'"

"You know, if you want to practice with your new powers, you could try summoning Ben at times like this," Five said. "It's possible you could figure out how to use less energy by making him visible, but still insubstantial. As long as it doesn't feel like it's hurting him, it would be a good experiment."

Looking thoughtful, Klaus closed his eyes. His hands were fists on the table, and after a minute, they glowed a pale blue and Ben was sitting with them at dinner. Klaus opened his eyes to see his success and laughed. He was taking deep breaths, but he wasn't gasping or falling over.

Ben looked amazed, waving at Vanya. "Can you see this?"

"I see it," she said. "I hear you." She laughed a little wetly as she said, "It's still so good to have you with us again." Looking at Klaus, she said, "This is amazing."

Diego had gone for a hug and gone right through Ben. He sat back in his chair, looking embarrassed. "Right. Just see him."

They had mostly finished eating, and their mother came to clean up the dishes. She smiled at Ben and said, "Ben! You've missed so many dinners. I'm glad to see you finally made it to the table."

The ghost bit his lip, and Vanya saw him holding back tears. "Thanks, Mom. I'm really glad to be here."

"Thanks for dinner, Mom," Vanya said.

"It was really delicious," Diego said, also gathering plates and utensils. Vanya always thought it was cute how helpful he was. No one could argue he wasn't a Momma's Boy.

Klaus sighed and Ben faded. "That wasn't as bad; you were right."

"You should keep practicing. If this is like a metaphysical muscle, you might be able to build your endurance," Five said.

"Speaking of muscle, you should do some physical training. I mean, you have your assassin skills and reflexes, but that body doesn't have the same amount of power your adult one did, right?" Diego said.

"Of course not," Five said. "Post-apocalyptic living gave me a lot of muscles I wouldn't have had otherwise, and that came in handy on my job too. I never really 'worked out' before, though. I just worked."

Luther said, "Diego and I have been saying we'd start doing morning training and work outs tomorrow. You're welcome to join us, or you, Klaus."

"If Five can drag himself away from bed," Diego said with a knowing grin. He took the dishes to the sink, earning a smile from Mom.

"Klaus is the one who can never wake up early," Luther said with a frown.

"Ah, but now Five has a cuddle-buddy. When you find one of those, you hang onto them," Klaus said.

Eyebrows going up, Luther looked between Vanya and Five, and she felt herself blush a little. "Five moved me into my own room today, though."

"Ooh, tough luck," Diego said, patting Five on the shoulder.

Five, who had been looking increasingly annoyed, grabbed the hand and twisted. Diego cried out in pain and Vanya said, "Five!"

"Don't touch me if you intend on provoking me," Five said, voice tight.

"What the hell, man?" Diego demanded.

"Five, you can't just attack our brothers when they make you mad," Vanya said.

Scowling, he said, "Why not? You do."

And the wave of anger that sent through her just proved his point, as her other brothers were knocked back from the periphery of the attack, but Five, who was the focus, had his chair tip and fall back to hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Breathing heavily and blinking wet eyes, she said, "Not on purpose." And she left.

When she got back to her room, she wiped at her eyes and sighed. She had been hoping Five would shift to her and apologize, but apparently that wasn't happening. Frustrated, she debated on playing. On one hand, it was what she always did when aggravated, because it relaxed her. On the other, she was destructive and out of control, just like he said.

To hell with it, she was calling this practice. She did some deep breathing as she picked up her violin and started to play. And she controlled what she was putting out, paying attention to her effect on her environment. Like before, she seemed to need no music; it flowed out as her feelings did.

She'd didn't let loose the wave of rage Five had caused. Instead, she let it out in smaller bursts: faster tempos followed by slow, low notes. The way he made her blood quicken and her muscles tighten; the way he made her heart squeeze and her eyes burn.

It would have been different if it had been one of the others. She would have been mad, but she wouldn't have felt this betrayed. Because Five was the one who had been encouraging her, just before dinner, that she could control her power, that she was capable of great things, good things, once she'd gotten the hang of it.

Breathing deeply as more anger rose inside her, she forced herself to keep a reasonable tempo. She was pretty sure, at the concert, that she caused more damage the faster she played. But she let the hurt flow out at a controlled pace, this feeling that even Five didn't really think she could do this. But she could. She was.

Vanya was going to control her power, not the other way around. She was going to harness her wild emotions and use them to feed and shape her abilities. And it brought a small smile to her face as she remembered showing Mom the violin Dad had just let her use. She told her mother that she was going to learn to play it, and she would be extraordinary. The same feeling went through her now.

She'd show Five and everyone else who doubted her that she was more than some destructive weapon. Vanya would find a way to build something with this power, whatever kind of thing it was. Something good and constructive that only she could do. She was extraordinary.

(-)

I actually didn't plan for that fight at the end, but I think, like with the concert, we'll get an opposing look by getting his POV for some of this next chapter.

And once the idea for the underwear incident came to me, I couldn't leave it out. Poor Five bears the brunt of my love of awkward situations.

Well, another chapter. Let me know what you think, if it pleases you. I often let out audible squees when I read them. Thanks for reading, and look forward to more!