I'm still writing. Not dead. And it took a little more than a month to get this out, but it's nice and long, so hopefully you find it worth the wait.

(-)

When he woke up, it was because Vanya was picking up a piece of paper that had been next to his face. "What's up?" he asked.

She smiled down at him. "Good afternoon. I guess you were really tired. I have the gym ready for more practice. Sam and Frodo are waiting, and I bought two rabbits, both male to avoid any breeding."

He just blinked at her, brain still sluggish and trying to keep up. God, she was bad for him. Sleeping peacefully in her arms and struggling to be alert was one thing, being put to sleep by her and having similar issues was something else. And, even if he'd apparently been asleep for hours, he could swear he could feel his back tingling from her touch.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About five hours," she said. "I hope you'll be able to sleep tonight."

That drew a smile as his brain kicked into gear. "As long as I have you, I don't anticipate any issues." And that was the answer. If he had woken up alone, he would have been alert, ready for whatever unknowns were lurking. But the first thing he had sensed was Vanya, so he didn't need to be wary of anything.

And he remembered what they'd been talking about before he fell asleep. "I need to give you a backrub now."

Vanya grinned at that, and her hand in his hair didn't encourage him to get out of bed. "Maybe not right now, but it definitely sounds like something to look forward to for tonight."

Waiting until night was too long. He wanted to touch her now. "You're bad for me, Vanya."

That grin dimmed until it was gone, replaced with tentative hurt, and Five wanted to smack himself. "Why am I bad for you?"

Telling her the real reason would take the hurt away, at least. "Because I have no desire to go work on calculations and be productive. Not when I have you right here."

An even more stunning pleased expression came over her face, all traces of negative emotions gone. Vanya sat down beside him and pulled him into a kiss. It was intense enough that heat started building, but he wasn't going to give up and push her away.

"I'm going to be the downfall of all scientific achievement?" It was said in a low, teasing tone that struck him as more seductive than anything, especially when paired with her hand trailing down his side and settling on his hip.

Feeling a little breathless, he said, "All my achievements, at least."

When her lips drew close to his again, he leaned forward to kiss them, but she abruptly withdrew, standing up and smirking. "I'd better go wait for you in the gym, then. Come join me when you're ready," she said, and she left, closing the door behind her.

Just looking at the closed door, Five took a moment to appreciate what had just happened. Vanya was teasing him in an even more blatant and cruel fashion than usual.

He loved her.

(-)

Five didn't appear in the gym for a while. Vanya assumed it was because he was taking care of the issues she had caused. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd done it, only that hearing him tell her she was more appealing to him than Math and Science sent her head spinning.

If the reason she kept him in bed was because they were having sex, it would make sense. But she hadn't even been sleeping in the bed with him, just been there when he woke up and petted his head a little. Talk about making a girl feel wanted.

But as she pulled out a rabbit to pet it, hoping it would survive, she knew that she needed to assist Five, not distract him. Vanya had already teased him, now it was time to help him focus. She didn't actually want to ruin that brilliant mind. That would be a crime, and she wasn't that much of a monster.

No, Five and his brain were precious, and she needed to treat them as such. She'd help him solve the problem of shifting with her, and they'd take down the Commission. They would prove they were the most dangerous couple that anyone could dare to mess with.

When Five finally arrived, she smiled at him. "Took your time." When that got her a playful scowl, she said, "Let's get to work." There was plenty for that beautiful brain to do.

(-)

He was just intending to knock on the door of the bathroom to ask if Vanya had moved his blue notebook when she was getting things ready. But he heard a soft moan before he even raised his hand. For a split-second he worried she was hurt, but the other subdued noises that followed brought him to a different conclusion: Vanya was masturbating.

She was trying to be quiet, but right next to the door as he was, he could pick the sounds out over the noise of the shower. And it made blood rush from one head to the other so fast that he was nearly dizzy. As the noises escalated, Five debated on leaving. No part of him wasn't loving this, but the faint voice of his common sense told him that if he heard what she sounded like when she achieved orgasm, he'd never stop touching himself.

He ended up being smart and shifting to his room to take care of things in private. By the time he finished, he realized she was in her room. Which was embarrassing, because there was no way she hadn't heard him. Vanya told him she tried to keep her distance so he had some semblance of privacy when he touched himself, but this time she'd settled right next door to listen.

This whole thing was mortifying, and it was time to go to bed, time to go over there and lay in Vanya's arms and sleep. As if he'd never heard her moaning and she'd never heard him cum. There was only so much awkward that could go unspoken, and he felt like they'd surpassed that limit. But talking about it would only add to the awkwardness.

Not to mention that something had occurred to him. Vanya wasn't sexually attracted to him. So who got her so hot and bothered that she couldn't help but touch herself? That pissed him off, and he knew he'd behave badly anytime he thought about it. Which meant it was something they needed to discuss. Which meant he needed to go to her room and ask her what she thought about when she masturbated. Which brought him back to an exceeded awkwardness quota.

Eventually, he had to admit nothing would be solved by thinking himself in circles alone in his room. He was a man. He could have a conversation.

When he knocked at the door, she opened it within a second and then walked back to her desk to look through her sheet music. She hadn't looked at him, which meant she was feeling the awkwardness as well.

Five closed the door behind him, and it took him a few seconds to find his voice. But Vanya spoke before he could. "I would ask why it took you so long to come over, but I think we both know why."

Well, that was plenty direct. "Uh, yeah. I just…you said you stayed away if you heard…"

"I could hardly hang around in the hallway in a towel," Vanya said.

Oh. That made sense. But had she really not…?

"And even if I was too…distracted to notice you approach, my senses could hardly fail to notice when you shifted away." All pretense of organizing had fallen away, and she just stood with her back to him.

"Yeah…I wasn't trying to spy, just wondering if you'd seen my blue notebook. But then I heard."

Sighing, Vanya finally turned to face him. Her face was pink, and it was a challenge to meet her eyes. The fact that she was wearing a tank top tonight, not a baggy shirt, didn't help.

"Five, this is really awkward, I know. And probably not helpful considering your hormones. So we can forget about this, if you're okay with it, at least for now." Vanya's eyes had wandered around the room rather than meet his as she said all that.

But the ugly heat of jealousy boiled in him, and he knew that he'd never forget it for a few reasons, but that was the one reason he couldn't forget. "I'll let it go if you tell me who you were thinking about."

At his sharp tone, she met his eyes again, and the slight flinch made him realize he was glowering at her. And that was why he had to ask. He didn't need to be out of control and hurting her.

Vanya looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Growling slightly, he said, "Someone got you hot and bothered, and we both know it wasn't me. Was it Tarmo?" The idea made him want to follow through on the threat to skin off those tattoo sleeves.

He wasn't ready for Vanya to start laughing. It made him feel more embarrassed somehow, and he said, "What?!"

"A girl can just get horny, Five. That isn't a uniquely male phenomenon." She seemed much more relaxed now. "Sometimes I want an orgasm, and since I almost never have a sexual partner who can give me one, I usually just take care of myself." She chuckled and said, "Tarmo. You're ridiculous."

But when she crossed to him to put her fingers through his hair, everything seemed better. She said, "You're still lucky I find your jealousy attractive. A lot of women would be insulted if their partner accused them of lusting after another man."

Five just slid his arms around her and put his ear over her heart. "I can't help it. When I know I can't give you that…there are plenty of other physically adult men who would be happy to."

"Not really," Vanya said, sliding her hand through his hair again, the soothing motion making him melt into her. "I told you I've never been in high demand with the opposite sex. Anyone who noticed me lately only did so because people know I have powers now. You noticed me back when I was nothing."

Now he pulled back a little to glare at her. "You've never been nothing, Vanya. I wouldn't notice nothing. You've always been extraordinary."

That got him a kiss, something sweet and slow. When they parted, they were both breathing heavier, but Vanya just smiled and said, "I love you."

"I love you too," he said. And the closeness, the emotion, was triggering his hormones to start acting up again. Touching himself while thinking of those noises, imagining what she looked like naked and pleasuring herself…

It slipped out before he could stop it: "How do you like to be touched?"

Vanya got bright red and her eyes widened, but then she grinned and ruffled his hair with more rough affection than gentle care. "You have a few years before you get to figure that out for yourself."

Groaning, Five put his head on her chest again to hear her heart beating fast. "That isn't helpful."

Even less helpful (or more, depending on her goal) was that hand carding through his hair, nails scraping across his scalp. He shivered, and the arousal he'd barely been keeping at bay broke loose. Her other hand rubbed his back, and he let out a soft moan and pushed himself against her.

After letting out a small, surprised noise, she chuckled. "Adorably sensitive. And to think, you just finished masturbating a while ago."

She kissed him, and that coupled with the fact that she hadn't pushed him away had him burning up, so stimulated and turned on that he'd probably cum if it didn't stop. Her lips, those nails on his scalp, the gentle hand on his back…yeah, he was getting close.

When their mouths parted, he was gasping. "V-Vanya!"

"I'm not holding you here, Five. You can leave," she said, and the smug teasing tone to her voice was almost too much. Ever since she'd integrated, he knew he was in trouble, and she just kept getting worse…and better.

And he had to be honest. "I don't want to when you keep letting me…" That pressure on his arousal was amazing. He was rubbing against her, and she was letting him.

Vanya stepped back, arms pushing him away. He was whimpering, aching, and he knew he'd sort of just asked for it, but…God, she was evil.

Then she kissed his forehead and said in a much more gentle voice, "Go take care of yourself, and you're going to have an amazing sleep tonight."

Oh, lying in her arms after the incredible orgasm he felt building…she was the best.

(-)

When Five left, she smiled. It was too cute. So touch-starved and desperate and needy…and served him right for asking that. She got the feeling she'd need to reign him in as he got older. It probably hadn't been wise to let him thrust against her like that, but he'd just seemed so out of control and passionate that she let her teasing go too far.

She let out a sigh as she climbed into bed. Five would be very sleepy and cuddly when he got back, and she loved having him so content and vulnerable in her arms before she fell asleep. Giving her something that he would show no one else: complete trust. The fact that he looked so young and innocent, despite all that she knew about him, only added to that appealing defenselessness.

To her surprise, when Five returned, he shifted right onto the bed. He immediately burrowed under the covers and molded himself against her, front to front for once, and sighed. When he was in her arms, he melted with a whimper and pressed his face into the crook of her neck.

It was only once his face was hidden there that he said, "You're so good at taking me apart, Vanya. And I like it."

That made her smile and press a kiss to his hair. "Because you know it's safe to come apart when you're with me."

"Kind of funny that you're also the thing that holds me together." She felt his lips press against her neck briefly. "You're everything."

Her heart got fluttery at that, and she held him closer. "You're everything to me too. My whole life, the thing I needed was you. As soon as I got you back, everything started falling into place. You belong with me."

"And nowhere else," he said with a sigh.

The whole thing warmed her heart, but the way it had started…she had to ask. "Does this mean you're okay with the…dominance thing?"

His face tried to press closer to her neck. "I'm…it's better. I…I like it, and…at least you know what you're doing."

With a start, it brought a revelation that wasn't a surprise, but still felt like one. It wasn't anything she couldn't have guessed, but for some reason, her mind hadn't actively gone there. Five was a virgin. For most of his life, he was the only living human on the planet, and then he was living among assassins and other bad people. He was touch-starved because he wouldn't let anyone close. Why hadn't she thought about it?

"What's wrong?" Five asked, face withdrawing to look at her. She hadn't realized she'd tensed up, but now his expression was all sweet concern.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, letting one of her hands slide through his hair over and over, making him melt against her. And did she want to have this conversation? "I just…hadn't thought about it."

"You were the one who brought it up," he said softly.

They weren't on the same page, and she needed to correct that now that she'd started the conversation. "Not dominance. I hadn't considered that you haven't done anything like this before."

That hit a nerve. She should've waited to talk about it, because Five was pulling away, rolling over so he didn't have to look at her. Hating that she upset him, she grabbed his arm and put him on his back before she pinned him down and kissed him. He was so tense that it took a minute for him to give in, to relax for her.

When they parted, she said, "It's not a bad thing, Five. I wish I'd never done anything without you."

The few relationships she'd had had been disappointing. Always reaching and trying for something that wasn't there, and her medication made sexual relations difficult, meaning she would usually just do it to please her partner and fake satisfaction with it. Being randomly horny was such a novelty since she'd been medicated since before she hit puberty. She had maybe one orgasm a year, and even that wasn't the case every year.

The best sex she'd ever had (a low bar) was with Barry, who she had only dated, she now knew, because he looked like she thought Five would at that age. In fact, she realized that every guy she dated had at least one aspect that made her think of Five. It had always been about him.

Five would only meet her eyes in brief glances. "I'm not…"

Now that she'd started this, she needed to settle it so they could go to sleep. "Five, I don't want you like that now, but once you grow up, I know you're going to satisfy me like no man ever could." He met her gaze now, eyes wide. "Every man I've dated only caught my eye because something about them reminded me of you. You set the bar of what I expect in a man, so everyone else falls so far short that all my relationships were miserable failures."

Pressing a kiss to his lips, she got off him and said, "You're everything I've ever wanted, and no matter what, you'll be amazing. So don't worry about that. I'm incredibly lucky to get to do everything with you for the first time."

Since she was trying to get them to sleep, she laid down again and pulled him back into their previous position. And she put love and calm into him as she whispered in his ear. "And the possessive, controlling psychopath in me loves that I get to have you in ways no one else ever has or ever will. You're all mine, Five, and I'll be damned if you think that's a bad thing." She wasn't trying to get him worked up, but it needed to be said.

Five seemed to cling to her, holding her tight as he said, "There aren't words for how perfect you are for me. I love you, Vanya."

"I love you, Five. Let's sleep. We'll worry about the future in the future." And it didn't take long for them to drop off after that.

(-)

The next night, Vanya woke as she felt cold drop. But it wasn't her cold. It was centered on her tattoo, and it was Klaus's cold. Ben's corresponding power was dropping too. They were in trouble. When her senses went to find them, she realized they weren't in the house. They were out at the cemetery.

"What's wrong?" Five asked, Vanya's sudden tight grip waking him.

"Klaus and Ben are in trouble at the cemetery. Tempest Cemetery. Get dressed and see what's up," Vanya said, voice urgent. She scrambled to the nearest Mission Alarm.

It had been a childhood dream to press this button. Just slightly exert her finger and all her siblings would pay attention to her. Of course, so would their father, and he would have flayed her alive for toying with it, so she never had. But she had seen their father do it once, so she knew it was simple.

Pressing the button and reveling in the lights and alarms, she held it down and said, "Klaus and Ben are in trouble at the cemetery. Get ready to go." Then she realized they had something they never did when their father hit this button: a child who needed protection from the danger and fear of their lives. Claire. "And maybe Allison and Claire could make something with Mom in the kitchen for when we get back. Don't worry, Claire, the Umbrella Academy is on it."

Even as she rushed back to her room (finding it empty and hearing that Five's room was empty too) to get dressed, she felt a bit of thrill. She'd never gone on a mission before. And while she was worried, she was also aware that Klaus didn't stay dead. Still, they had one primary threat these days, and as Vanya grabbed her violin case, her more V traits had her smiling at the thought of punishing the Commission fools for thinking they could hurt those she loved.

When she went downstairs, Diego had the car keys in his hand. "Which cemetery?"

Luther was with him. "How do you know they're in trouble?"

A predictable response: one brother trusting her and ready to go, while the other one doubted her and probably resented her sounding the alarm. She held her arm out to Luther, even if the tattoo was covered. "He just had a huge power surge that woke me up. Ben too. Nothing would make Klaus use that much power if something wasn't wrong. And I felt to see where they were, and they're out at Tempest Cemetery."

At the name of their destination, Diego headed for the car. "Five already there?"

"Should be, I told him first," Vanya said, right behind him.

"Why go after the guy who doesn't stay dead?" Diego asked as they headed out the back door and got in the car.

"Five killed three and I drained the other five before Klaus resurrected. They couldn't know," Vanya said. She got in the backseat while Luther wedged himself into the front passenger seat. "Not to mention none of us have been leaving the house alone and, as far as they could tell, he was."

As Diego sped off, she got her violin out. Klaus and Ben had saved her, and there was no way she'd let them down.

(-)

Luther and Diego had the same look of horror as her when they pulled up and saw the small army in the cemetery. As they climbed out of the car, Vanya saw Ben holding off the ones near the crypt by using his tentacles while a useless hail of bullets went at him, and she saw a ghost army that had been summoned attacking the soldiers. The ghost army was made of all kinds of people, men, women, young, old, commoner, and aristocrat. Five was on top of the crypt sniping assassins before shifting away to find a new position. What she didn't see was Klaus.

Her bow was to her violin and she was playing within seconds. When considering which pieces of music might be good to weaponize, she'd thought Danse Macabre would be fun. Most of their enemies hadn't noticed their arrival, but as her skin and eyes glowed white and the sound of her white violin cut through the violence, they took note.

Diego and Luther waded right into the fray, taking cover behind tombstones from bullets (which Diego hadn't quite mastered diverting, and now wasn't the time to try), but Vanya just stepped forward as she played, directing waves of sound to knock over five or six guys at a time. The first to go down were the ones shooting at Luther and Diego, which allowed them to jump into action finally.

Vanya had expected to need a sound shield to deflect bullets. But no one shot at her. As she was about to start doing something more…sinister, she heard Ben call her name. Looking over, she saw him point at the crypt, and dread flooded her. Klaus had somehow got shut in. And she'd made him a promise.

Feeling for the frequency of that stone door, she took the energy she was about to use on the assassins to focus along those lines. Her power grew in intensity, and she saw the door shaking. Channeling some of her vicious pleasure at breaking down doors that would dare to lock them in, it finally exploded, rocks flying outward.

Klaus ran out, chest heaving, only to duck into the doorway to take cover from bullets. Then his arm stuck out as his other hand pointed at it. No, pointed at his tattoo. Vanya was an idiot. She sent a surge of power to him, noticing how the cemetery seemed to reverberate as he powered up. He shouted something and even more ghosts rose up, that deep spectral blue, and started attacking all the assassins.

Still playing, she sent tendrils to the nearest assassins, beginning to drain three of them. The life energy that rushed into her was replacing what she'd just lost, so it wasn't quite pleasurable yet. And now that she was herself, she didn't feel nearly as bad about enjoying it. If they'd done nothing to merit killing, she wouldn't be doing so. Might as well enjoy killing bad guys.

All the enemies around her were retreating to the other battles, with Ben and Klaus's army, or with Luther and Diego and Five. They knew they couldn't take her. And, she realized, they weren't allowed to. She was supposed to cause the apocalypse, which she couldn't do if she was dead.

Testing this theory, she strode toward Luther as she played, bringing up a shield even as her notes also sent individual assassins flying into others. But the shield wasn't needed, because when she was in range, they stopped shooting.

Smirking, she put power into her vocal cords, magnifying her voice as she said, "I think your bosses want you dead if they sent you up against me with orders not to kill me. Because you aren't leaving here alive otherwise."

Energy tendrils reached out to the five nearest enemies and caught them, and the level of life energy instantly turned her on. It flooded her body with pleasure, with life, and it was so quick and easy to finish them, leading to a firework show in her brain that gave her whole body a jolt of bliss. Not exactly an orgasm, but as good as. And it made her want a real one.

But all that highly enjoyable energy was for more than pleasure. She started siphoning it off to her siblings fighting around her. Five could be the shifting sniper for longer, Klaus could sustain Ben and his army, not to mention Ben could help sustain himself. Luther probably got even stronger, and she wasn't sure how Diego would be affected.

She saw that Diego was wrapped in a shield of his power, and even as he threw a knife at one gunman, another tried to shoot him and had a ricochet that went through his head. Holy crap.

Still, she needed to keep contributing to the fight. It took some concentration, but she singled out her siblings' frequencies and held them safe as she sent a shockwave of sound through the cemetery, knocking down everyone who wasn't her family or a ghost. And, boy, did the ghosts pounce on their prone enemies. Vanya got the impression they didn't appreciate the Commission thugs turning their resting place into a battleground.

There wasn't a lot to do after that, with ghosts swarming everyone but them. So Vanya stopped playing and ran to Klaus, who was far away from the crypt now. "I promised," she said immediately.

Klaus grinned and hugged her. "You delivered." When his mouth was near her ear, he said, "I think I nearly died again in there. Even without the screaming ghosts. The walls started closing in."

"That place makes you claustrophobic," Vanya said. When they parted, she looked at the spot where the door had been. The outer metal gate could be closed, but not locked. Not to mention it was more decorative than anything and low enough to climb over. "And this time we can be sure you aren't getting locked in there again."

Ben was a pale blue as he approached them. "I knew it would work."

"Knew what would work?" Five asked, shifting beside them.

Klaus said, "Ben told me to conjure him and do the same with the ghosts hanging around after all those guys showed up and tried to shoot me. He said if I could drain a lot of my power quickly, it would get your attention." He nodded at Vanya.

"It did," she said. "It woke me up."

"So you sent Five ahead and came riding in with the rest of the cavalry. Knew we could count on you," Ben said.

Diego and Luther joined them, and Diego said, "Vanya, you are freaking terrifying and absolutely awesome. That burst of power let me finally throw up that projectile shield I've been trying."

"It was impressive," Luther agreed. He eyed Vanya with caution. "That was the life-draining thing you do?"

She shivered at the memory, still a little tingly inside. Five took her hand and smiled. She said, "Yeah, that was it." Looking around, she asked, "What are we going to do with them? Eight mummies and twenty-something others. Some in suits, some in gas masks and gear, all armed…it's a little hard to imagine getting them all home and into the incinerator."

"No need," Five said. "If a force this large fails, the Commission will send in clean-up to keep from contaminating the timeline. I doubt they'll show up while we're still here, but I guarantee they won't leave over thirty employees lying around to be found by authorities."

Something else occurred to her. She looked at Klaus. "How did you get shut in there?"

"Uh, I was standing next to it when Five showed up. There was a burst of gunfire and he tackled me through the door. After he shifted out, I panicked when I was trying to leave and…locked myself in." Klaus shivered. Then he looked at his brother. "Wait, didn't you get shot?"

A cold that had nothing to do with her power raced through her along with panic as she turned to Five, looking him over. And there was a bloodstain on his left arm that was somewhat masked by his dark blazer and the low light from a half moon. "Five!"

"It's fine, just a graze," he said, voice maddeningly calm and nonchalant.

A quick feel of his beautiful frequency revealed a disturbing anomaly in his upper arm. "Liar, you have a bullet in you!"

"Okay, it's still in there, but you don't have to worry-" Five was cut off as Vanya pulled him close using his right arm.

She knew her eyes were white as she said, "You're going home now, and if you aren't already being treated by Mom by the time we get there, you'll regret it."

No one else was in a position to see his eyes light up a little at her tone. But she was serious. "I mean it. You have your own bed, Five, so I know you have somewhere to sleep if I kick you out."

The mild panic in his expression was a little amusing. Threatening him vaguely excited him, but the specific threat that he would sleep alone was motivating. And he was suddenly gone, that burst of energy assaulting her senses.

Whimpering because she knew she couldn't follow up with him, she bit her lip and closed her eyes until her brain was clear. When she opened them, all her brothers were watching her. "What?"

"What was that?" Diego asked.

Five's analogy was the best. "He's like…catnip when he shifts when he's touching me. It makes my brain fuzzy and his frequency feels amazing while it calms down after a shift."

Klaus was grinning, and Ben said, "So that's why he did that in the lounge. It seemed unnecessary, but it drew a strong reaction from you."

"Sexual or not, you two are kinky and weird," Diego said.

"Imagine a few years from now," Klaus said. Diego and Luther both made faces while he and Ben laughed.

"If we're not worried about clean-up, we should probably go," Vanya said. And Diego retrieved a couple of knives that were visible nearby before they headed to the car.

The ghosts had disappeared after the assassins were dead, but Klaus looked around and waved. "Thanks, guys! I'll try to visit again soon!"

When she reached for his frequency, she felt the echoes surrounding them. He'd raised the whole graveyard, or nearly so. It was still a little unreal to realize that Klaus had his own army. She asked, "Why did you guys come out here alone?"

"Uh…" Klaus seemed reluctant to answer, but Ben had no trouble.

"We've been coming out here for a while now," Ben said as they got into the car. They waited for Vanya to put her violin away before she and Klaus piled into the backseat with Ben between them. "There's actually some nice people out here, and they were pretty happy we cleared out that crypt. Turns out that even the dead dislike noisy neighbors."

Vanya laughed. Diego, however, didn't. "Sneaking out in the middle of the night without telling anyone is stupid, even for you, Klaus!"

The car got quiet as Diego pulled away. "Uh, I wasn't doing drugs," Klaus said. "Ben is able to be my sober-buddy and kick my ass if I get out of line."

"That doesn't matter! You got shot in the head while I was gone," Diego said, voice tight with barely restrained rage.

"I came back," Klaus said, voice getting quieter.

"That isn't the damn point!" Diego's fist hit the steering wheel as they screeched to a halt. Luckily at three in the morning, traffic was practically non-existent. "We have people after us who want us dead to piss off Vanya." He put the car in park and turned to glare at Klaus. "And can you guarantee that you're never going to stay dead? Look me in the eye and promise that there's no chance that one of these times you go down, you won't get back up."

Klaus flinched under that rage-filled gaze. "Diego…"

Vanya slid her hand onto Diego's shoulder and pushed some calm into him. His muscles loosened and he was panting, shaking as the rage and adrenaline receded. Diego turned back to the wheel just as Vanya saw his eyes get a little shinier. He drove home without saying anything else.

When they got home, Diego tried to storm into the house, but Klaus chased him down to hug him. Vanya saw Diego's shoulders shake as his face pressed into Klaus's coat. And her ears could make out the stifled sobs and whispered words between her brothers.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Klaus said. "And I can't promise for sure, but I have a good track record of getting back up."

"Do you have any idea how terrified I was to hear that damn Mission Alarm go off for the first time in years and have Vanya tell us that you and Ben are out at some cemetery in trouble?"

"She used the alarm?" Klaus asked. Then he seemed to set that aside. "For the record, I leave a note on my bed in case someone comes to check. It's just that no one has had a reason to."

"I thought it would be weird," Diego said in an even quieter whisper.

Klaus sounded amused as he said, "You want to check in on me at night?"

"Don't laugh!" Diego said, trying to pull away but Klaus held him tight. "I have nightmares sometimes, okay. Where I wake up alone again. No siblings, no Mom. No family."

That made Vanya's heart squeeze, because she'd woken up once or twice after being trapped alone in the bunker again, but no one came to save her. Cracking the bunker open with her power, letting all her rage and sorrow consume her as she went around destroying the house until it crumbled into pieces behind her. Five had been the only thing that kept her from shaking the house and waking everyone.

"I'd invite you to check anytime you like, but…" Klaus looked over at Ben where he stood next to Vanya. Luther had immediately headed inside to update Allison. "There may be times you'd rather stay away."

Ben chuckled as Diego looked their way, eyes wide. He seemed to realize he had an audience to his breakdown. But, in the past, she would have expected him to push Klaus away immediately. Instead, Diego let him go and wiped any tears lingering on his face. Vanya was pretty sure it depended on who his audience was. And it made her warm inside to know he trusted her the same way he trusted Ben and Klaus.

"I don't want to interrupt ghost sex," Diego said. "But tell me before we head to bed if you plan on going out."

"Why, so you can wait up and worry about us?" Klaus asked.

"Yes," Diego said, giving him a firm look.

"He should come along," Ben said. When his brothers looked at him, he said, "We considered it originally but figured you needed your sleep."

"I'm going to check on Five," Vanya said. She headed for the back door.

"And kick him out of your bed if he isn't getting proper medical treatment?" Ben asked, grinning.

"Knew he liked being dominated," Klaus said.

"Wait, that wasn't a joke?" Diego asked, looking between them. "That's a thing for him?"

Pausing at the open door, Vanya gave them a sweet smile and said, "If you start teasing him, I'll establish a different kind of dominance with you." Because Five didn't need anything else stressing him about his size and age and perceived inferiority to physical adults.

It was rewarding to see all their faces grow fearful, Ben included, and she went inside. When the door closed behind her, she heard Diego say, "Talk about standing by your man."

Klaus said, "When he gets older, they're going to be a terrifying couple."

"But she'll still be in charge," Diego said.

"Of course she will," Klaus said. "Have you met her?"

"You realize she can still hear you, right?" Ben asked just as she got to the stairs.

"What?!" Diego and Klaus said in unison.

She let go of her focus on them and looked for Five. And he was in the infirmary. Good. She really didn't want to sleep alone either.

(-)

Five knew Vanya would be coming eventually, but it was taking a while. It made him worry she had gotten into some other trouble after he left. And, while it was never fun to get a bullet pulled out of you, he'd done it before. But none of those doctors were as gentle or caring as Mom. Especially at his age, he felt a little silly for still thinking of a robot as his mother, but he couldn't help it. She always had been.

And all the care and attention she gave him while tending to his wound was…nice. Nothing he'd ever had before. A kiss to the forehead and a gentle tousling of his hair when she was finished made him feel like an actual kid again. Not that he'd ever been shot as a kid.

Vanya arrived just in time to catch him leaving. "Sorry it took so long. Family drama."

Five sighed. "Luther and Diego fighting?"

"No, Diego having a minor meltdown at Klaus being in danger. And I thought that the Mission Alarm was the best way to handle things, but now I'm worried I overreacted, because it caused panic." Vanya shook her head.

Five took her hand with his good one and pulled her away. "That's what it was for: getting us together in a hurry when we needed to respond to danger. The only difference now is that none of us were ready for it to go off."

Speaking of panic, he'd found Mom in the kitchen with Allison and Claire, making a fruit salad, of all things. He hoped the widening red stain on his arm hadn't been too visible when he peeked into ask Mom to come to the infirmary with him. But he was pretty sure Claire's eyes had gotten wide.

Speaking of Claire, she and Allison caught up to them outside their rooms, mother and daughter clearly waiting for them. "Are you okay, Uncle Five?" Claire asked, looking at his bandage anxiously.

"I'm fine," he told the girl. "Grandma is really good at fixing people, and I'll be as good as new in no time."

"Good," she said. "When I saw your arm was all bloody…it was scary. I…can't…"

Claire started crying and ran into his arms, startling the hell out of him. So he just pretended it was a young Vanya, and how he'd comfort her. He saw Allison holding up her notepad, looking grim. Patrick.

Of course. She'd just lost her father to violence; losing more of her new family the same way would be terrifying. No child wants to believe their life can follow that pattern. So Five leaned down to whisper to the girl in his arms. "Wanna know a secret?"

The little girl nodded even as her face was buried in his shoulder. "We're stronger and better than we've ever been, and Uncle Klaus is practically invincible. You don't have to worry."

"Invincible?" Claire asked, finally showing her face.

Five patted her head. "He always gets back up. He might not look sturdy, but he's tough. And the rest of us are powerful enough to protect ourselves and each other."

"Promise?" Claire asked.

"I promise we are the best team we've ever been. And we look out for each other, which makes all of us safer."

Vanya stepped in and crouched down. "Pinkie promise. We'll protect each other, and we'll always protect you."

Claire linked pinkies with her, and Five just kept wanting to see her be the mother of his children. She was an amazing aunt for Claire; their children would have a mother like no other. Five years was going to take a few centuries at this rate. Because he'd decided to marry Vanya as soon as he was legally old enough to do so. He couldn't wait any longer than that.

We've had a snack, but it's back to bed now. Allison wrote.

"Will you sleep with me, Momma?" Claire asked, putting her best innocent pleading eyes behind the request. Allison just smiled and nodded. After saying goodnight, they left.

"It's nice to have someone to sleep with," Vanya said.

"Would you really have made me sleep in my room?" he asked. It was an alarming threat, because he wasn't sure he could sleep without her anymore. Which wouldn't do wonders for his temper, which would lead to more bad behavior.

Pulling him to her room, Vanya said, "Five, if I make threats I'm not willing to back up, how will anyone take me seriously?" Eyeing him, she said, "I'm not sure exactly what my first threat would have involved, but I guarantee you wouldn't be smiling."

Okay, he liked a strong woman. And admitting he liked being submissive to Vanya made him all the more impatient to grow up. When he was a man, they'd be able to do all kinds of things together. Their sex life would be adventurous, to say the least. Especially given their powers. So many possibilities.

"You're considering something other than math, I take it?" Vanya said as she opened the door to her room.

Damn, he'd let himself get carried away, and now it was showing. His damn hormones were inconvenient. "Not at all, definitely math."

Vanya smirked and pushed him onto the bed. "Liar. Although lying about this is far more acceptable than lying about how hurt you are."

She was careful of his arm, but he was suddenly pinned down with her over him, a scowl and glare firmly in place. "You don't try to brush that off or pretend it doesn't matter. You tell me and we get help. Agreed?"

This was more exciting than intimidating, given how turned on he already was. But he also knew she was serious. Still… "Only if you kiss it better afterward."

A grin split her face open, and she giggled. His blazer had been discarded and shirt sleeve ripped off to get to his wound. She looked at the bandage wrapped around his bicep. "The bandage can't feel a kiss." So she pressed her lips to his shoulder above the bandage and his arm below. It was swift and matter-of-fact, but the feel of her lips had him aching. "Better?"

"Everything's better with you," he said. And now he was thinking of something else that would flood him with chemicals that made everything feel better. "But I need to go."

"Why would that be?" Vanya asked playfully, and he felt her holding him in place, keeping him from shifting. Uh-oh.

"Because you're a ridiculously attractive and powerful woman whose lips are either fever-inducing or causing a different kind of heat, so I need to do some tests." He had a feeling that if he could amuse her without having to tease him, she might let him go. Because he loved when she teased him, but he was also ready now.

Vanya laughed at that, and she gave him a soft kiss, lingering and sweet. And he thought he'd burn up. She just gave him a sly grin and said, "I love to advance your scientific studies." Then her hold was gone and so was he.

(-)

Draining those men still had her worked up, but they needed to get to sleep. She put her pajamas back on. Five was in the habit of knocking when he first came to her room in case she was changing, but once he knew she was in her pajamas, he'd shift directly in, so she couldn't risk even a little stimulation, since it was possible that the disruption of their normal routine might have him shift in automatically without thinking.

It was slightly frustrating, because actually having a sex drive was incredible, and she was pretty sure she'd be taking longer showers until Five grew up. Also unsatisfying was the fact that Vanya had nothing to fantasize about. Five was thirteen and had no sexual appeal, and she had trouble envisioning an older version of him.

But, unlike Five, her hormones weren't going crazy and ruling her. She was an adult, and she'd spent most of her life without much sexual pleasure. She could handle some frustration. But the first thing she was doing after breakfast was taking a long, hot shower.

She heard him shift into his room and change into his pajamas again. Then, as she figured, he immediately appeared in her room. He frowned as he met her eyes, though. "What's wrong?"

This was not a conversation she was having with him, and definitely not now. They needed to get some sleep, because either of them being cranky was dangerous. "Nothing to worry about."

"Too bad, because I do. Tell me," Five said, face serious as he pushed her onto the bed.

That got a grin as she climbed under the covers. And he was frowning more, likely because he was hoping to pin her down and interrogate her, which was harder when she was curled up and lifting the covers in invitation.

Grumbling, he climbed in and allowed her to pull him close to be her little spoon. "You'll have to tell me eventually, Vanya."

Shaking her head, she smiled. And she knew what to say to make him back off. "I'll tell you when you're old enough to do something about it."

"Okay, now I need to know what you're thinking about. You can't say something like that and expect it to make me less curious."

Well, she had miscalculated. Now what? "We just got back into bed, Five. I'm not starting a conversation that will make you need to leave me again. Just let me keep you and we can sleep."

Five was reluctant to give up. "So you'll tell me in the morning?"

Groaning in exasperation, Vanya said, "It's not something I want to discuss with a hormonal thirteen-year-old, even if he is fifty-eight."

She heard the smile in his voice as he said, "You're only making me more curious."

His persistence was frustrating. Although part of her saw it as unfair that she was privy to all kinds of things regarding his sexual needs while she wouldn't let him know as much about her. But she did those things to him, turned him on while the reverse wasn't true. She was just sexually frustrated in general. She finally had a sex drive and the man she loved, but until he was an actual man, she was on her own.

"I can go sleep in your bed," she said, hoping he'd drop it.

He looked over his shoulder at her and frowned. "Then so will I. It's my bed. And you can't use that threat all the time, Vanya. It isn't fair."

Sighing, she knew he was right, but she did not want to discuss this. It wouldn't make either of them feel better, and it definitely wouldn't help them get to sleep. So she slid the sleeve of his t-shirt up to kiss his shoulder above the bandage. "Let it go, Five. I'm not talking about it, and we need our sleep. Please."

That frown deepened as serious eyes searched her expression. Then he turned around enough to give her a quick kiss on the lips before he faced forward and settled into her embrace again. "Fine. For now. But just because I like to…I'm not going to go along with everything you say. I'm not a weakling."

She smiled at the stubborn, sullen tone it was said in. "You're a beautiful predator, Five. I'm just lucky that you trust me enough to show me your belly, so to speak."

Even in the dark room, she could see him blush. "That isn't…I don't do that."

Letting her hand stroke up and down his stomach, she was careful to also channel love and calm so she didn't work him up. "Clearly not. Now that that's settled, can we sleep? I'm going to get cranky, and no one needs that."

A hum that was partially a moan escaped Five before he said, "Keep doing that and I won't have a choice."

"Do you like when I touch you there?" It was out of her mouth before she realized how suggestive it sounded. But she was still calming him.

Yawning, Five said, "I told you: you can touch me however you like and I'll love it."

"I love you, Five," she said, still gently stroking.

"Love…you…" Five was asleep, and it didn't take long for her to follow.

(-)

So, we're getting into Vanya's frustrations now. Hopefully this chapter hasn't taken us over the edge to weird and creepy. I still think it's sweet, so I hope you do too.

I've actually been on medication since before puberty that messes with my sex drive, so I don't think any of Vanya's sexual issues are too unbelievable. It didn't seem like a big deal when she slept with Harold, so I assume she'd done it before. And downtrodden, medicated Vanya seems exactly like the type of person who would have sex with their partner even if she didn't want to, because she wants them to like her and not leave. So, yes, Five will please her more than anyone ever has or could.

I have their first time written, but it's actually set after this story ends, in the next part of the series, which will likely be more like one-shots of their life afterward. So I really need to finish this story.

Oh, and the testing was just further fine-tuning his equations. No exploding bunnies, nothing overly interesting. And trying to make something happen so I would write that scene was holding things up. So I moved on.

This is probably the last chapter for a good while, unless my muse intervenes. I have scenes written and ideas, but they aren't flowing well. Just a warning.

Well, let me know what you think, if it so pleases you. Especially if this is still hitting the spot when it comes to Fiveya fluff. Thanks for reading!