Chapter 5
Sisters
For a long while, Vanya dumbfoundedly stared at her sister, half wondering if Allison was really there or if she was imagining her. However, when she heard Klaus cry out his surprise she was finally convinced that she was.
Allison blinked a couple of times, mimicking her own shocked expression. It was only a few seconds later that they both snapped out of their shock when Vanya leaped out of her stool and Allison practically ran towards her. Much like she had done with Ben, she pulled Allison into a tight hug, eyes closing tightly as she tried to convey all her regrets, and pain in one simple action. Hugging just as tightly in return, Allison seemed to deflate slightly as she pressed her nose against the top of her head.
Ever since she woke up in this strange world and even before that, she could see it in repeat in her head. Both of them standing in Leonard's cabin, Allison's revelation, her losing control, Allison attempting to use her powers, her cutting her throat with one clean slash of her violin bow, her instantly regretting what she did, wanting to apologize but never getting the opportunity. Until now.
Separating themselves, but keeping their hands connected, they both stared at each other with wide glistening eyes.
"I'm so sorry," they both said in unison.
Allison smirked, and Vanya did the same. She wanted to tell her sister that there was nothing to apologize for, that it was all her fault, but when Allison pulled her back into a hug she humph and simply sank into it.
Like before, Klaus smiled and wrapped his arms around them, butting into the hug once more.
"Aw that's so cute," he hummed, stroking Allison's hair. "Also, can I raid your closet again? I'm running out of things to wear," Klaus mumbled and Allison snorted.
With that they separated, by that point, Vanya noticed that a few of the people in the shop were glaring at them. Angrier that they were interfering with their peace and quiet than anything else.
"Please tell me you're all…" Allison stopped as she looked at them all in the eyes.
"From the other reality?" Asked Ben, and Allison nodded. "Yea."
With that revelation, Vanya watched as Allison took in a deep breath, and her eyes widened. Before anyone even realized it, Allison pulled Ben into a tight hug.
"All the time I've been here, all those times I talked to you, I never once thought it was actually you," she mumbled, her voice trembling a little at the end.
Vanya couldn't help but smile fondly as Ben hugged Allison with a vice-like grip. It was nice to see that, although she seemed to be the only one who's only just arrived, she wasn't the only one out of the loop.
"We should probably take a seat before we get kicked out guys," Vanya suggested when she noticed an older lady looking over her newspaper, glaring at Ben and Allison. By the way, she was looking at them, Vanya just knew she was close to getting up and asking them to leave.
Klaus, who hadn't joined into the hug this time, draped an arm over her shoulder and leaned on her.
"Pfft, as if!" It must have been comical how he towered over her. "No ones got the balls to kick out the great Number Seven!"
Vanya rolled her eyes, thinking that Klaus was just teasing until she noticed a few people around the shop look up from their newspaper at the mention of her old name.
She frowned.
"Keep your voice down Klaus!" Ben admonished, hitting him upside the head.
"Ouch," Klaus grumbled, stroking the back of his head even though Ben had barely even touched him.
Vanya noticed that a few people started to shift in their seats as if trying to get a good look at her but unable to, seeing as Klaus was covering most of her, something she guessed was kind of deliberate but still didn't understand why. Well, she suspected why but she still didn't want to believe it.
Allison cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention.
"Can we sit?"
Completely in agreement, not wanting to be the centre of attention, she followed the others to one of the empty booths this time.
As she lowered herself to sit on the booth, her head suddenly began to spin.
Taking in a sharp surprised breath, she pressed her palm against the table before she fell forward. When the donut and coffee began to rise up inside her, she scrunched up her face in concentration, doing her best not to vomit.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Asked Ben, steadying her by placing his hand on her arm.
For a few seconds, she just remained on the same spot, until she was able to finally settle her stomach back down after taking a deep breath.
With a half-smile, she nodded at Ben. Not thinking much of it, probably just her stomach disagreeing with the donut and the lack of protein she's given it.
"What's wrong?" Asked Allison, taking her seat across from Vanya, who was surrounded on both sides by Ben and Klaus even though there was a perfectly good spot beside Allison. Which only proved to annoy her more, seeing as Ben probably sat beside her to make sure she was fine.
Klaus leaned forward on his seat, a broad amused smile on his lips and Vanya instantly knew where this was going to go.
"Listen to this," Klaus gushed as he pointed at Vanya. "Missy here, only just arrived and she's already getting busy with a certain número Cinco!"
Vanya tensed as her cheeks began to burn, as well as other parts of her face.
Klaus leaned back on the booth.
"And I thought I was the sexual deviant of the family!"
That was the last straw.
"Klaus!" Vanya admonished, glaring at him but Klaus didn't seem to notice, having way too much fun at her expense.
"I mean, who would have thought that little, innocent Vanya would bang and get knocked up by one of her brothers before you, eh?!"
That had done it for Allison, who had seemed a little amused but now looked at Klaus adamantly.
"Hey!"
Klaus simply chuckled while Allison and Vanya glared at him.
Giving out a long sigh, Ben facepalmed and shook his head.
"Honestly if you kill him at this point I wouldn't blame you, I'll even help you hide the body in fact."
Klaus suddenly turned on the booth and leaned forward so he could look and face Ben, puffing out his chest.
"Haha, good luck cause you can't hide shit!" Klaus huffed with faked anger. "You couldn't even hide your porn s-"
With that, the last bit of Ben's patience flew out the window as he too leaned forward on his seat, his face red from embarrassment.
"I was fifteen! And it's not like it was.."
Vanya had to take a deep breath and clench the table as both Ben and Klaus began to squeeze her between them as they argued.
Seeming to notice her discomfort, Allison growled and shook her head.
"I heard a rumour that neither of you said a word for the next ten minutes!"
Instantly both their brothers shut their mouths closed, but continued to face each other as they attempted to speak but couldn't. Vanya would have found it a little amusing at how Klaus scrunched up his face in frustration, but given the situation, she didn't find it as amusing.
Unable to continue arguing, they both slumped back on their seats but continued to glare at each other.
"I wish you'd have used that more often when we were kids," Vanya smiled when Klaus and Ben looked at her like she had betrayed them.
Allison smirked and nodded.
"Yea, but dad was adamant about not using our powers on each other."
'I heard a rumour, you think you're ordinary."
Vanya instantly tensed, and she wasn't the only one, Allison too seemed to realize what she just said.
Taking a deep breath, Allison gave her a soft smile.
"So is what Klaus said true?" Allison asked, changing the topic before it got into dangerous territory, and it did the trick as Vanya tensed further but for a different reason.
"About what?"
Allison's brows furrowed.
"Are you pregnant?"
All previous thoughts and memories forgotten, Vanya looked at the ceiling, begging whatever god there was to give her strength. It was bad enough with her brothers, but now her too?
"Not this again!" She shifted her eyes back down. "I'm not pregnant, I'm just dizzy because I haven't eaten a proper meal all day, not to mention being dumped into a completely different reality."
Thankfully Allison accepted her explanation, while Ben and Klaus couldn't do much but frown.
"Yea, that can be very disorienting," Allison agreed, no doubt of experience.
curiosity peaked, Vanya leaned forward.
"So when did you get here?" She asked.
Allison took a deep breath.
"Well…"
April 3rd, 2012
Allison woke up slowly, giving out a soft groan when she felt the pain in her body that had not been there before, as well as exhaustion.
Eyelids drifting open, she took in her surroundings, and instantly frowned when she saw the machines in the sterile-looking room. Close to said machines, there were rows upon rows of flowers, and small plush toys, as well as other gifts. Eyes drifting down, she tensed when she noticed that she was wearing a hospital gown, with an IV drip injected onto her arm.
Her breathing began to quicken.
Where on earth was she? Obviously she was in a hospital, but how did she end up here? One moment she's at the Icarus theatre, waiting for Five to activate the machine to send them all back, and now she's in a hospital? Was there something she missed?
Deciding that she wasn't just going to lie there and be confused, she shifted to her side so she could get out of the hospital bed when her breath hitched and she froze.
Beside her bed there stood a small bassinet, and now everything made sense. She knew exactly where she was.
The date is April third two-thousand and twelve, the day Claire was born.
'We may end up scattered around the timeline.'
Blinking a couple of times, Allison groaned and slumped back on her bed.
So Five's device worked. She was back in time, but to a moment she hadn't expected to end up. For some reason, she thought they would be transported a few months or weeks before the apocalypse, not seven years in the past!
Allison shook her head and rubbed her eyes.
What was she supposed to do now? How was she supposed to put an end to the apocalypse? About her family, about...oh god, what was she supposed to do about Patrick? The asshole she's currently still married to, what was she-
A soft gurgle suddenly came from the bassinet, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.
Turning on the spot once again, she looked over the hospital bed railing and inside the bassinet. As if that was all she needed, her breathing instantly returned to a normal rhythm, and her body lost some of its tension as she smiled fondly at Claire, her eyes moistening.
Fast asleep, Claire's little hands were closed into a soft fist, her tiny little chest rising up and down as she breathed. Allison had forgotten how small she was as a newborn, how fragile.
"Hi Claire," she said softly, not wanting to wake her up.
All the response she got was the faint wrinkle of her nose as she continued to sleep.
Turning her gaze away from Claire, Allison looked at the empty chair next to her bed and scoffed, her mood instantly souring once more.
It was exactly as she had remembered it, Patrick was nowhere to be seen.
The day Claire was born, this very day, he was called into work, and instead of saying no as any proper husband and father would, he assured them he'd be there. In the end, Patrick had only been present during the birthing but quickly left, leaving her all alone. She didn't even have any of her friends or siblings with her, no one to share the most important moment in her life. At the time she hadn't blamed Patrick, she was much too helplessly in love and foolish to see his shortcomings, but now that she's got another chance at this part of her life, she was sure not to make the same mistake.
Turning her attention away from the chair to the bassinet, her eyes suddenly caught on something on her nightstand. It was a regular, every day newspaper, but what caught her eyes wasn't that, it was the picture on the front.
Grabbing the newspaper from the nightstand, having a bit of trouble due to the IV and the hospital bed railing, she took the paper between both hands and her eyes bulged. This couldn't be right.
Number Five and Number Seven help put out a local warehouse fire.
What?
With wide, confused eyes, she looked at the picture under the headline.
The picture had been taken far away from a half-destroyed warehouse, yet her eyes instantly caught on Vanya. She was standing close to the warehouse, talking to a couple of soot-covered firefighters. Even stranger was the strangely familiar man who was standing behind her, his brows knit together, utterly exasperated by the elderly woman holding onto his arm for dear life, her eyes wide from shock,
Mouth falling open, thinking that she was seeing things, Allison read and re-read the headline, and then looked at the picture, trying to see if it was fake or some sort of prank. However, when she saw the date, the day before today in fact, and how real the newspaper was, she couldn't deny the truth. Somehow she didn't just end up being transported back in time but to an alternate reality.
Letting out a shaky breath, she stared at the wall ahead of her as a million questions rushed to her head.
How could this have happened? What could it mean? How can Vanya know about her powers? Is this even her life? Could it somehow be different in this reality? What on earth had gone wrong? Five never said anything about an alternate reality.
Breathing hard, she reached for the tv controller on the bedside table and clicked the button. Instantly the TV came to life, the channel was the news, exactly the channel she wanted. She hoped that somehow it would answer at least some of her questions.
Allison tapped her finger impatiently as the anchorman went over local, everyday news until finally, it changed to the news from yesterday.
As the image on the Tv changed from the studio to the blazing warehouse, Allison completely tuned out the anchorman's voice as she stared at the video.
The footage wasn't the best seeing as the cameraman had to stand a few feet away and the impressive amount of black smoke covering everything. But despite all that, the single person standing calmly in front of the warehouse was like a beacon amongst all the chaos and Allison could not believe her eyes.
It was one thing seeing it in the newspaper, but it was another thing to see it on TV.
The cameraman who had filmed the whole thing, zoomed in as Vanya lifted herself off the ground until she was hovering mid-air like it was the most natural thing to do. Vanya spread her arms slightly away from her body, and Allison guessed she was using her powers because as soon as she did that the warehouse seemed to freeze in place. Of course, the flames kept blazing, but the half-destroyed warehouse stopped crumbling to pieces. Vanya didn't stop there, however, as large black clouds began to gather above the warehouse and rain began to fall, helping the firefighters put out the fire.
Much like the people gathered around the cameraman, she was in awe as she stared at Vanya. However, when a flash of blue caught her eyes at the edge of the screen, she turned her attention to it. Thankfully, the cameraman had done the same as he turned the camera away from Vanya and towards the crowd of paramedics gathered near the warehouse. For a few seconds, Allison looked at the screen confused, not seeing the source of what that flash of blue had come from, until the man from the newspaper picture suddenly appeared out of thin air, supporting a man. Of course, Allison knew right away who the man was and why he had seemed so familiar.
The video wasn't the best quality, and he was covered in soot from head to toe but she could still make out some of the facial details of the man that was somehow Five.
After depositing the man to one of the paramedics, Five turned his attention back on the warehouse and disappeared, only to reappear again with yet another person.
As if Vanya somehow knowing about her powers, and having full control of them wasn't enough, Five also had to be present, and not as his thirteen-year-old self, but as a full-grown man and working with Vanya no less. The whole thing was just utterly confusing. One moment Vanya had lost control and destroyed the moon, and now there she was, saving a warehouse alongside Five.
When the video changed from the warehouse to a field reporter, holding a microphone to Vanya, Allison concentrated on the screen once more. Once again, Allison wasn't listening to the interview, far too busy looking at Vanya in shock.
Her sister was smiling broadly at the field reporter, not a speck of dust or debris or anything on her. The oddest thing for Allison however, was when she noticed the leather black Umbrella academy uniform she was wearing, not the school one, the one they wore on missions. Thankfully she wasn't wearing the whole uniform, her eyes weren't covered by a domino mask, allowing her to notice that she was wearing makeup, something the Vanya she knew rarely did.
Staring wide-eyed at the Tv, Allison could not believe she was looking at her sister.
Suddenly interested to know what was being said, Allison turned up the volume, and finally paid attention to what the field reporter was saying.
"Some people are questioning the fire department's inability to stop the fire before it spread out of control, what do you think?"
Vanya cocked her head a little, and answered with a smile.
"As always, we support and have full confidence in the local fire department, who are very capable of carrying out their jobs, and the real heroes of their communities."
Allison's mouth fell open.
"However, sometimes accidents like this happen, and it's nobody's fault. Fires get out of control, it happens."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Today, they needed a helping hand and we were glad to give it to them."
Vanya, or whoever that was, didn't look, nor sound like her sister. It was like looking at a completely different person, and yet she couldn't deny it, the person there was Vanya.
Slumping back on the headboard, she looked at the Tv in disbelief. Where on earth is she?
Desperate for answers, Allison grabbed her phone from the nightstand and began to type. She knew she shouldn't be doing anything too extraneous, not after giving birth. But she needed to know.
Vanya Hargreeves
She typed into the search bar and tapped enter.
For a few seconds, she was overwhelmed by the number of results she got. From recent articles to countless videos of her doing impossible things with her powers to even memes, there was just too much information on her.
Eyes landing on a special TIMES magazine with Vanya in the front cover, looking at the camera with a confident smile she had never seen before, with a familiar domino mask held between her fingers, she frowned.
Number Seven, the face behind the mask.
After paying for the magazine, she began to read.
Number Seven, otherwise known as Vanya Hargreeves, was the seventh member of the Umbrella Academy, a young superhero team….
For an entire two hours, she read the magazine from cover to cover, and though she was certain she hadn't missed a thing, she was even more confused and shocked than before.
Beginning with the fact that this Vanya never had her powers hidden from her, and thus became a member of the Umbrella Academy. Yet, oddly enough, she only got to join the team at age fifteen rather than age thirteen. She had been confused as to why, until she read that Vanya had waited two years to join because she needed more time to fully master her powers. That was probably dad's doing, but Allison supposed that made sense, however, the rest didn't.
After joining the academy, she quickly became a media sensation when the public learned how powerful she was. The magazine even went as far as to say that, with Vanya in the team, the others were no longer needed seeing as she could complete almost every mission on her own. How the public started to focus less on the Umbrella Academy team, and more on the illustrious Number Seven, a confident, friendly, and caring girl the media couldn't get enough of. How, after the team disbanded she continued her hero work alongside another member of the academy, Five. Who she was very shocked to hear, has had a steady relationship with since the age of eighteen, or so the magazine speculated.
Taking in a deep breath, Allison put her phone down, her mouth slightly open. There were so many other things she didn't understand from the magazine, but she was far too overwhelmed to even think about all the other details. It just didn't make sense. Five said their conscience was going to be sent back in time, not that they were going to end up in a different reality altogether. Because this is what this was, another reality, one she was very unfamiliar with.
Before she could think further on the matter, to try to make some sense of things, a knock came from the door.
Head snapping to the door, she looked at it wide-eyed as it slowly opened and through the crack poked the head of a nurse.
"Mrs. Henderson," The nurse greeted with a smile, and Allison had to do everything in her power to stop herself from cringing when she heard the last name. "You have visitors."
Before Allison could ask what visitors, the nurse stepped to the side and through the door walked in the very person she had been reading about.
Vanya walked inside the room, followed closely behind by Five, the older version of him she saw on the tv and the magazine.
Much like the Vanya in the magazine and Tv, this Vanya didn't seem at all like her sister. This Vanya wasn't wearing a bottomed up shirt with black jeans. This Vanya was wearing khaki pants, with a formal navy blue top, and strangely enough, wore heels, something Allison never got her to do no matter how much she tried. However, despite the change in style, this Vanya, while she carried herself with more confidence, Allison noticed that there was something about her that still reminded her of the Vanya she knew. She couldn't quite place what it was.
"Allison!" She said softly, but with excitement, careful to keep her voice down seeing as Claire was sleeping.
For a few seconds, Allison was unsure as to how to respond, what to say to this woman that looked like her sister. However, when Five's words came back to her she inhaled deeply through her nose.
'No one can know you're from the future or you might end up altering the timeline.'
"Vanya!" She greeted, giving out a soft huff when her sister leaped and pulled her into a hug.
Tension falling from her shoulders, she let out a deep breath as she hugged her back. She kept remembering what happened in the theatre, how it had all been her fault. That she had been the one to push her, the one to destroy her life, something this version of Allison never did.
When she pulled away from her, but still held onto her shoulders, Vanya smiled broadly at her.
"How are you? How are you feeling? The doctors said everything went perfectly smooth but-"
Allison's brows shot up, unable to keep up with all the questions Vanya was bombarding her.
"You know, she might be able to tell us how everything went if you so much as give her a second to speak," Five mused, his voice sounding a little like before but much deeper, with none of the whining behind it.
Eyes going from Vanya, Allison looked behind her at Five.
She was a little shocked to see how much he changed, especially with his height. No longer stuck in his thirteen-year-old body, he was nearly Diego's height which compared to Vanya, was pretty tall. However, although his height changed his hair remained more or less the same, with bangs flopping to the side. As for his clothes, he wasn't obviously wearing his Umbrella uniform but a pair of navy blue pants, a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a navy blue tie.
Vanya's lips thinned as she looked up at Five and glared at him, no real malice behind it. Five simply shrugged, and gave her a lopsided smile, almost like a challenge as he slipped his hands inside his pant pockets. However, his attention didn't stay on Vanya for too long as he turned to look at her.
"Allison." he tilted his head slightly in greeting, his smile falling. "Congratulations on the baby."
"Ugh," Vanya drawled.
"You might as well be congratulating her for sealing a business deal or something with all that enthusiasm!" Vanya huffed, rolling her eyes.
Waking up from all the racket, Claire gave out a soft gurgling sound.
Eyes going to the bassinet, Vanya smiled from ear to ear.
"Hello," she cooed, her voice a slightly higher pitch.
Turning to look at Claire, Allison cocked her head and smiled when she saw her daughter's baby brown eyes, looking at Vanya with wonder. Allison didn't know much about newborns, Claire being her only daughter, but she knew Claire was responding to her environment with a little more interest than most newborns.
"Can I hold her?" Vanya asked tentatively.
Allison tensed.
The memory of Vanya destroying the moon suddenly flashed in her mind, how she killed Pogo without any hesitation and she nearly shuddered.
Feeling a set of eyes on her, Allison looked up and noticed that Five was eyeing her. She was a little confused by it but decided not to dwell on it too long as she answered with a smile.
"Sure."
Vanya didn't have to be told twice as she beamed and grabbed Claire from her bassinet.
"Hello…" Vanya stopped, as she no doubt realized she didn't know the name yet, but still kept her eyes on Claire.
"Claire," Allison said and Vanya's smile broadened.
"Hi there Claire!"
Claire made a soft cooing sound as she looked up at Vanya with wide, wondrous eyes, no doubt unsure as to what to make of the new stranger. But seemed to become more interested as Vanya rocked her in her hands, and started talking softly to her.
"I'm your aunt, Vanya."
Behind Vanya, Five simply glanced down at Claire briefly with one cocked brow, not seeming at all impressed, before walking to the other side of the room, more interested in the piles of presents. Stopping in front of a large bouquet of flowers, with a large clear balloon tied to it and a plush bunny inside, he spoke.
"So." Allison frowned when she heard the sharpness in his voice. "Where is he then?"
Allison didn't need any further clarification to know he was asking about Patrick. It was after all, strange that after giving birth to her daughter her father was nowhere to be seen.
"He went home to get a few things," she lied, not really sure why she was lying.
Five hummed, not sounding at all like he believed her as he turned to face her. Strangely enough, she noticed Five's jaw clenched slightly, but that quickly passed and he looked at her indifferently. Making her wonder if she had imagined it until he spoke.
"So, the asshole-"
Before Five could finish his sentence, Vanya quickly walked towards him, Claire still in her arms.
"Do you want to hold her?" She asked, giving him a toothy smile, changing the topic which worked flawlessly.
In her life, Allison had never seen Five's expression change so quickly.
Anger quickly drained out of him, as his brows wrinkled and his nose flared in panic as he looked from Claire to Vanya, his mouth opening and closing. When he finally re-gathered himself, his jaw clenched and he shook his head.
"I don't think-"
Before he could say no, Vanya stepped forward and Five's eyes widened when she placed Claire on his arms, unable to argue as he was forced to bring his arms up when Vanya tucked Claire's head on the crook of his arm.
For a long few seconds, both Allison and Vanya smiled in amusement as Five completely froze and frowned as he looked at Claire, looking completely out of his element, and they weren't the only ones to notice.
Seeming to sense Five's hesitation, Claire wasn't at all happy as she shifted on the spot, and made soft gurgling sounds newborns make, not quite a cry yet. Five tensed further. However, before it could turn into a cry, Vanya wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his arm as she looked down at Claire.
"Don't worry Claire, this is you uncle Five," Vanya assured her softly, stroking Claire's head with featherlight fingers.
For a few seconds, Claire continued to make the same angry, gurgling sounds but then she calmed down and twisted slightly in Five's arms, and touched his tie, more interested in it than them.
Vanya grinned and continued to stroke Claire's head, while Five lost some of the tension in his shoulder.
All the while, Allison stared at them. She never would have guessed that Vanya and Five would ever end up together.
In her childhood, Five and Vanya were close, always seeking each other's company. However, she always saw that as a friendly bond more than anything. Of course, they weren't really siblings. In the academy, they weren't raised to be siblings, more like teammates than anything else. The only reason they called each other brothers and sisters is that, as young children, it seemed only natural. What else were you supposed to call six other children that shared the same birthday and last name as you? However, their father never encouraged any family bond between them or any bond for that matter. In fact, the only reason Reginal was their father is because it was the only way he could acquire them, the only legal way to keep seven children that weren't his. Still, Vanya and Five were close, and it seems that if Five hadn't left that bond would have changed into something more, which is what clearly happened in this reality. Sure, when she first read about their relationship she couldn't really see it. Five, the cocky, smug, prick that he was, with timid, too good for her own good Vanya, but now that she thought about it, it made perfect sense,
As Five began to rock Claire after Vanya taught him how he started to calm down until Claire's nose wrinkled and Allison knew what was coming before it did.
All of a sudden, Claire gave out a tiny wail as she began to cry.
Instantly, Five tensed and looked at her like she was some sort of bomb ready to go off. Allison couldn't help but chuckle, she had never seen Five so out of his element, he was usually so cocky and confident.
"She's probably just hungry," Allison explained, waving him towards her.
Five didn't have to be told twice as he stepped towards Allison and placed the child in her arms, quickly stepping back, almost as if relieved that she was no longer in his arms.
As Allison adjusted Claire in her arms, a soft smile on her lips as she looked down at her daughter, Five-pointed to the door, still looking a little awkward.
"I'm gonna go get a coffee," he announced, walking around the bed and towards the door. However, before he left he turned to face Vanya. "Do you want anything?"
Vanya gave him a tight lip smile and shook her head.
"No thank you."
With that Five nodded and spatial jumped out of the room, giving Allison a little privacy as Claire continued to wail in her arms, furious that they weren't paying her attention.
Allison rolled her eyes at her daughter and quickly got to feed her. After she was done, Vanya helped her put Claire back in her bassinet. Turning on the bed, Allison gazed at Claire as she stroked her head until her eyes slowly drifted close. Once she was asleep, Allison smiled fondly and turned to look at Vanya, a little surprised by the look of longing in her eyes as she looked at Claire. A look she had seen briefly in her sister's face when Five had been holding her daughter.
"So you and Five?" Allison asked, deciding to bite the bullet. "Will there be any wedding bells any time soon?"
From what she read in the magazine, Vanya and Five have been dating for five years, so it made her wonder how they haven't gotten married yet. Of course, they're only twenty-three, and while she didn't think it when she was that age, they're still very young, practically children. Still, from what she could tell, they both clearly love each other, something that could be easily seen in the ways he looks at her. His eyes just lost that usual cockiness, and arrogance he looks at everything. There was also the fact that they apparently moved in together, something she found out from an online article rather than the magazine.
Vanya didn't answer right away as she sighed, and sat on the chair beside the bed and crossed her legs. Instead of looking at Allison, she looked at the large pink teddy bear amongst the other presents and flowers.
Nearly giving out a startled yelp when the teddy bear suddenly lifted up into the air and floated across the room, Allison stared at Vanya as she grabbed the teddy bear and smiled fondly at it, not at all noticing her startled expression. Not at all shocked that she had made something levitate across the room as if it was no big deal and something everyone can do.
Grabbing the gift tag, Vanya cocked her head and smiled.
"From Ben," Vanya read, and Allison nearly choked. Did Vanya just say, Ben? "Too bad he couldn't make it, he was looking forward to seeing Claire."
Allison barely heard a thing Vanya said, her brain still trying to process the name, Ben.
Obviously it seems that Ben is alive, but how could he be? What else is different in this reality?
Before her mind started to unravel the news that Ben is alive, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the moment. She couldn't let Vanya know something was off, seeing as she clearly had no idea she was from another reality.
"So...wedding?" She asked, forcing a smile.
Vanya didn't seem to notice the fake smile as she sighed and leaned back on her seat, the teddy bear still in her hand as she stared at it.
"Very unlikely, at least at the moment," Vanya mumbled, clearly displeased.
"Oh?" Allison shifted on the spot so she could face Vanya.
"Yea," Vanya sighed, stroking the teddy bear's ear between her fingers. "I mean, Five hasn't brought it up, or even talked about a life together. t's like he's completely avoiding the topic."
"But you do?" Allison gestured with her hand and clarified. "I mean, you do want to marry him?"
For several long seconds, Vanya kept staring at the teddy bear, looking at it with longing, her lips formed into a tight line.
"Yes," Vanya sighed, and she finally looked up at her. "I think I'm ready for that next stage in our relationship." Vanya gestured at her. "I mean, you and Patrick have only been together for a little over a year and you guys are already married, and have a child. Meanwhile, Five and I have been together for seven years and the most we've achieved in our relationship is moving in together"
Seven years? So definitely longer than what the magazines said. Still, Vanya and Five were still young and had their lives ahead of them. She shouldn't be worried about marriage and children yet, not to mention that she and Patrick are not good role models of what a marriage should be.
Allison shook her head.
"You shouldn't use my relationship with Patrick as a good example."
Vanya frowned and cocked her head.
"Why? Did something happen?" She asked, confused. "I mean I noticed there was something up when I didn't see him, but I didn't want to assume…"
"No, it's just that…" she didn't want to unravel the whole issue with Patrick right there and then. Though, if she was getting another shot at this part of her life, there were definitely a few things she was going to change, despite what her reality's Five had said.
"We took things too fast, got married too soon, and had a kid when we should have taken the time to get to know each other."
Vanya looked down at the teddy bear as if she didn't agree with her. She guessed she would have been the same, after all, a lot of her friends warned her that she was taking things a little too fast with Patrick and she never listened to them. Even Luther had called her the day her engagement got out into the public, and though he hadn't told her she was taking things too fast, he had voiced his concerns. Concerns Allison had scoffed at and simply hung up the phone. At the time she thought Luther had simply been jealous, but she had been wrong... well mostly.
Allison leaned forward and placed a reassuring hand on her sister's shoulder.
"Live a little Vanya, go on vacations, enjoy each other's company, you have your whole life ahead of you to get married."
That made Vanya look up from the teddy bear and back at her, a bit of a smile on her lips but she still didn't seem convinced, so Allison continued.
"Besides, I think you should also be mindful of what Five wants as well. From what it seems, he's not ready for marriage and that's alright, you just need to be patient with him. I'm sure that when he's ready, he'll ask you."
Vanya sighed.
"But we're already living together, getting married wouldn't change much," she argued.
Allison shrugged.
"Sure your current living conditions won't change, but that doesn't mean other things won't," she explained, cocking her head. "Marriage generally means settling down and making a family and I think Five's having a little bit more trouble with the whole, having a family side of it. Maybe Five's not ready for that yet."
That seemed to do the trick as Vanya sighed again and nodded, giving Allison a genuine smile. However, before she could say anything Five suddenly spatial jumped back into the room and Allison nearly jumped out of her skin, while Vanya didn't seem at all shocked, probably far too used to Five suddenly appearing and disappearing out of nowhere.
"We need to go," Five grumbled, clearly not at all happy.
Looking away from Allison to him, Vanya cocked her head and Allison looked at Five, confused by his urgency.
"The chief of police just called, there's been a shootout and someone's been taken hostage," he explained.
Oh, right, the whole superhero thing, she nearly forgot.
Vanya deflated and groaned.
"Seriously? Another one?"
Five simply nodded and Vanya huffed as she stood up and looked back at Allison.
"We best get going," Vanya grumbled, not at all happy that she needed to leave. "But we'll be back as soon as we're done." She assured her.
Turning her attention from Allison to the bassinet, Vanya smiled down at Claire.
"Goodbye Claire," she said softly.
Five, who was standing beside her impatiently looking down at his watch, quickly grabbed her arm as soon as she said her goodbyes and spatial jumped them out of the room.
Allison was left all alone in the room, staring at the spot Vanya and Five had occupied.
Frozen on the spot, Vanya couldn't believe all that Allison just said, there was just too much to process.
She was a celebrity? A superhero? She could control her powers? And not just that, but pull off incredible feats with them. The media is obsessed with her? She and Five have been together for fourteen years? The longest she's been with anyone has been a couple of months, much less think about marriage as this version of Vanya had. This was all just so strange.
Feeling sick again, Vanya took a deep breath to steady herself.
"You're telling me I'm a superhero?" She asked tentatively, her voice soft.
It was Ben who nodded and seeing as the ten minutes had long passed, he was the one to answer.
"That's why everyone recognizes you."
Vanya groaned and stroked her temple. Despite what Diego and the other may have thought in the other reality, she never wanted any fame. Sure, she wanted some recognition, but she never wanted fame, didn't want to be in the spotlight. What was she supposed to do now?
"But how about you? You're still a movie star, right?" She asked Allison.
"Yea she is, but let's be honest, she's usually in chick flicks and there's no way in hell any of these fossils have ever watched any of them," Klaus was the one to answer. "But you? Who doesn't know Number Seven? Guardian of the weak, champion of the people! The-"
"Getting ahead of yourself again, Klaus" Allison warned but Klaus simply waved her away.
"Nah but seriously, you should honestly read the comic's they've made about you. Just smoke some of the good stuff and you'll be laughing for hours, especially with how they've drawn Five!"
"Yea, Five hates those things," Ben agreed with a smirk.
"I know! But don't worry, even if he somehow managed to burn every copy on the planet, I still have a few stashed in my room, I'm su-"
"Guys, please,' Allison huffed and Klaus shut his mouth.
Allison sighed and looked at Vanya, who was looking at them like she was close to having a panic attack.
"Look, I know it's a lot to take in. When I woke up nothing made sense, and my life was more or less unaffected, I can only imagine what you're going through," Allison said, placing a hand on top of hers. "But it'll be alright, in time the memories of this reality's Vanya will come back to you, Y-"
"What?!" Vanya asked, shocked.
She was going to get this Vanya's memories? Why had nobody mentioned that?!
Ben stroked the back of his neck, as he realized their mistake.
"Yea, it's kind of odd and off-putting, but as time goes by you'll get her memories. It's kind of like this reality's you and," Ben gestured at her. "you, will fuse together, but I'm guessing for you it'll be a little more impactful since both your lives are so different."
"Yea, it's kind of a bummer. Instead of having wet dreams every night like always, I had to dream what small little Klaus of this reality got up to," Klaus grumbled.
Despite their assurance, Vanya wasn't sure how to feel about getting this Vanya's memories. On one hand, it might make the process of getting used to this reality easier, but at the same time, it scared her. She had no idea who this Vanya was, the one the public looked up to.
She sighed and nodded, and managed to calm herself a bit. That was of course when she heard a very familiar electrical pop coming from outside the donut shop, followed by a blue flash and she instantly froze.
She didn't need to look to know who had just arrived.
"Well shit, the reckoning is upon me," Klaus grumbled.
Hey guys, sorry I'm a day behind on my update, this chapter was just too long! Anyways, finally, we got a few answers and Five's finally back in the picture! So that's gonna be exciting!
Anyway, thank you again for all your support! I'm really happy you all love this story!