They were tucked under the covers, Five keeping Vanya awake with kisses pressed to her neck while she tried to settle down to sleep, reminding him how early they had to get up so he could sneak back to his room.

"Five, go to sleep. It's late."

He snorted into her skin, thinking of their ridiculously early bedtimes. "It's ten o'clock, it's not like I'm keeping you awake until three in the morning. We'll be fine."

The next area he kissed made her break out in goose bumps so he paid more attention to it.

Shifting slightly in his hold, Vanya tried to distract him from his sudden determination. "Allison seemed excited about Valentine's Day?"

Five groaned in derision but kept at his task. It was a good thing the Academy uniforms had high collars.

"Do you think your fans will throw you gifts again? You got a fair few last year, didn't you?"

Moving away from her neck, he leaned over to inspect her expression, wondering if that was yet another jab at the annoying girls who made up most of his fan club – not that he would be stupid enough to tell her there was an actual club, something he had only found out the other month when they all made t-shirts with the club's title emblazoned in large pink font across the front. Looking at them had made his temples pulsate but, with Reginald behind him, he had to pretend to be flattered.

Luckily Vanya had never seen them, but she had heard Diego teasing him about his 'fangirls' when they arrived home. A dig not helped by Klaus' follow-up question; asking if any of them had caught his fancy.

While she had said nothing outright against them, he had noticed a certain gleam after that which appeared in her eye when any mention of Umbrella Academy fans was made by the team upon returning home from a mission, followed by probing questions once they were alone. It was quite adorable at first, but Five started to realise how much it could hurt her. He had once mistakenly mentioned a girl who had helpfully passed him a band-aid when he'd come out of a mission with a scrape on his cheek. The resulting pain that flashed across Vanya's face had made him resolve to never mentioned such things again and to torment any teammate who told her. He knew Vanya liked to patch him up when things weren't too severe; it made her feel helpful, even if in his book her presence alone was the biggest help of all.

He also recognised the frustration, a frustration he also shared, that no one could know of their relationship; not their siblings, definitely not their father, and not his fans who liked to hold up posters asking to be his girlfriend. They could only snatch moments together on an evening, which was the reason Five was always so reluctant to spend that time sleeping. Especially when they could do other things.

"Are you jealous? That's so adorable." He teased, trying to stop her from feeling insecure. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink, visible even in the dim bedroom.

"No," Vanya said, her tone a little too high to be believable.

Smirking, Five kissed her lips before returning to her neck, pulling her tightly against his chest and quietly chuckling as she sighed happily.

"You know I think Valentine's Day gifts are pointless. Besides, why would I want a gift from some random stranger when I could have a kiss from my Valentine? Speaking of which, are you actually going to ask me to be yours this year or are you going to back down again?" He teased, referencing the first Conversation Heart she had given him last year.

Her blush magnified but as he had settled back down behind her he couldn't see it.

"I don't have any candy left." She mumbled. "And I didn't back down."

"Hmm?" He asked absently, tucking her long hair behind her ear.

"I gave you a second heart," Vanya admitted. "You just never looked at it."

"You did? Do you remember what it said?" Five probed, his curiosity piqued.

She shuffled again, muttering something into his arm which rested beneath her head. Gently nudging her with his free hand, he asked her to repeat herself.

"Still didn't quite get that." Five said when she murmured again.

With a heavy sigh, Vanya tilted her face toward him, still not meeting his eyes, and said: "I'm Yours."

Five absently started running his hand through her hair again, thinking about that.

"You didn't see it though. You just stared at me like I was being ridiculous and ate it." She said, trying to make herself sound amused.

He was surprised by the admission; it sounded like a bold move for Vanya. To think, if he'd just looked down at the sweet instead of trying to bore a pathway into her mind – so he could somehow communicate his feelings without having to resort to actual words – they could have saved themselves the trouble of those subsequent eleven months and have been in their current position far sooner.

"Five?"

"Yeah?"

He realised a beat after giving his answer that she was just checking he was still awake.

"I was just thinking what an idiot I was not to look at it."

"I could have said something." Vanya immediately excused.

"So could I."

"You did though." She chuckled, turning around so she could wrap an arm around his waist. "We wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Well, we would. But not like this." Five said, underlying his prompt by giving her a fleeting kiss, too busy thinking to seek anything deeper. His mind had already turned to the holiday, now just a few days away.

Something was tickling the end of Vanya's nose. Expecting to find one of her or Five's errant hairs brushing her face, upon cracking open an eye she was surprised to find a leaf. Sitting up abruptly, wondering if they had left the window open, she realised it was a petal, white with a tinge of pink to its edges; Five had taken it from the greenhouse, off a rose Vanya had often admired when the children were allowed inside. It had been left on her pillow in the spot Five would usually occupy when they shared her bed.

Realising he must have left it for her as a token for the holiday, Vanya reached into her bedside table and found a book to hide it in, pressing the pages tightly over it to preserve the delicate flower.

Heading downstairs, she and Five were typically dispassionate towards one another in front of the adults and restrained before the other children as they followed their respective schedules. They never had to talk about their act; they both knew no one could find out. It was frustrating, but it was only temporary. As Five often said, it would only be a few more years then they could leave and never hide again.

Vanya wondered, as she left her last lesson, if, in the future, she might convince Five to have a more positive attitude towards Valentine's Day. With a snort, she dispelled the idea. As much as she loved him, Vanya wasn't blind to his cynicism. There was no doubt Five had only taken part in all their holiday celebrations to pander to her wishes and make her happy.

Still, one day she might get an entire bouquet instead of one petal that she immediately had to hide. Like Allison had got this year and last.

While Vanya had been studying the other children had gone off on another mission – nothing unusual, they were called out nearly every day now – and had returned shortly before Vanya headed to her French class.

Diego had a cut on his arm and Pogo had hurried him off to Grace while Luther went to give a full debrief to Reginald. Lingering behind the two were the rest of the Academy, again clutching gifts their legions of fans had thrown at their feet. Allison clutched a bunch of vividly pink roses in her hands, a teddy bear tucked under her arm and a heart-shaped box of chocolates under the other. Vanya had also noticed at breakfast that her sister seemed to be toying with a necklace that was now hidden beneath her uniform collar. Whether that had also come from a fan or from someone inside the Academy – most likely Luther – she couldn't be sure.

Klaus had picked up another teddy too, but Ben and Five had nothing she could see at a glance – perhaps pocketing some sweets again.

She cleaned up for dinner, hurrying back downstairs to take her seat opposite Reginald and trying her hardest not to look in Five's direction throughout the meal. They were able to relax a bit when they queued for the bathrooms before bed, Grace leaving them to the task before her pre-lights-out inspection of the children's corridor.

"How was it today?" She murmured as he joined her in line, not wanting to attract the other's attention.

"Fine." He assured.

"Diego got stabbed." Vanya pointed out.

"It was barely a scratch." He scoffed. "He just wanted to get out of the debrief so he played it up like it was worse than it was."

The queue moved forward a little as Allison and Klaus left the bathrooms; Diego and Luther replacing them.

Ben had been listening in. "It really wasn't that bad, Vanya. Like Five said, it was barely a scratch."

"Oh, that's good." She said, though her heart remained tight at the ever-constant reality of her family putting themselves in such danger.

"At least we got presents out of it." Ben continued. "I got a box of these sweets, they're all different colours and have hearts on them...I can't remember what they're called..."

"Conversation Hearts." Vanya supplied thoughtlessly.

"Yeah, that's it. Wait," he added suspiciously, "how did you know that?"

"I gave her mine last year." Five said. Vanya gave him a smile at the memory which he easily returned.

"Don't let Dad catch you doing that." Ben quickly warned, watching their expressions closely.

"Yeah, well I would have been a terrible Valentine if I didn't get her anything, wouldn't?" Five shrugged. "I'll have to do better this year though, that candy really does taste like shit."

"Are you saying? You two?" Ben realised, casting his eyes about nervously to ensure no one else was listening to their confession.

Five nodded, looking pleased with himself.

Luther left the bathroom then, hurrying off to his room without a backwards glance at the others – planning to try and meet Allison later – and Five pushed Ben forward to replace him. Once the door was shut, Ben's boggling eyes lingering on them until it was closed, Vanya waited for a moment, checking they were alone, before asking Five why he did that.

"Don't worry about it. We can trust Ben. Besides, it'll be nice to have one person we don't have to lie to. I want someone to know you're mine."

Vanya worried her lip but said nothing; it was hard to feel sure of anything in the Academy. Ben was the most trustworthy of them all. They all had their own favourites however, and it wasn't unheard of for the siblings to throw each other to the sharks in order to protect themselves or someone else.

Diego headed back to his room and Five nudged Vanya forward even though she was meant to go last.

She didn't see Five after that until he appeared in her room, not long after lights out. Pulling back the covers, he got in beside her, something hidden behind his back. He urged her to sit up and flicked on the bedside light.

"Five," Vanya hissed, "don't – what if Mom walks past, she'll see it."

"I'll only keep it on for a second." He assured. "But I want you to be able to see your Valentine's present."

"Oh, Five. I didn't...I couldn't get..." She worried, feeling a flash of shame that she hadn't thought to put something together for him. He'd gotten her a gift last year, she should have returned the favour.

"I have more opportunities than you to get stuff. Now, hold out your hand."

With a sad sigh, still guilty, Vanya outstretched her palm. Five placed a small spray of flowers there, their little purple heads delicate and soft against her skin.

She smiled up at him.

Pulling back a little, he fished for a second present which he'd kept in his pocket. A box of Conversation Hearts joined the flowers.

Kissing him quickly, always a little self-conscious to do so, Vanya leaned around him to put the flowers on her bedside table and quickly opened the packet.

"Open your hands."

Quirking an eyebrow, Five did as she asked despite finding it odd, cupping both palms together.

Pouring the box's contents into his hands, Vanya sifted around until she found the one she wanted. Holding it up to his face to let him read the message, she smiled when she finally got the answer she wanted when she asked: "Be mine?"

"Always." Five promised.

Beaming, Vanya pressed the candy to his lips to eat, followed by a kiss so she could share in the sweetness.

I know Valentine's Day was two weeks ago but having the flu threw me off schedule! As with all the stories in my Paper Chain series, this story is dedicated to one of my lovely readers - this time jandjsalmon. Sweethearts, by the by, are what we call Conversation Hearts in the UK. I feel like this is a bit of a mess, but I had a weird week and this was the best I could do. I hope you all liked this fluff bomb, syrupy sweet as it was. Now I will get back to the angst I've left Newton's Apple in!