Chapter Text
On the 12th hour of the first day of October 1989, forty-three women around the world gave birth. This was unusual only in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began. Out of these forty-three children, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, world-renowned eccentric billionaire and adventurer, was able to adopt seven of them.
These children were by no means ordinary. Much like the oddness of their births, the children were each an oddity themselves. They all had extraordinary powers, differing greatly from child to child. Hargreeves sought to teach the children to use their powers for the protection and greater good of the world as a team of heroic individuals.
They would become known as the Umbrella Academy.
...
“I want to time travel!” Number Five blurts out, ignoring his father’s annoyance over his interruption of their mealtime.
“No,” Hargeeves replies immediately, “You are nowhere near ready.”
Five stands abruptly. “But I’ve been practicing my spatial jumps just like you said!”
He clenches his fists, moving through space with a soft blip and reappearing next to his father to prove his point.
Hargreeves sighs as he reaches for his drink. “A spatial jump is trivial when compared to the unknowns of time-travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn.”
Five frowns in annoyance at the metaphor. “Well, I don’t get it.”
“Hence the reason you’re not ready.”
On the other end of the table, Vanya, or Number Seven, shakes her head vehemently at Five. She doesn’t want him to get in trouble with their father or do something he regrets.
Five catches her gaze but chooses to ignore her.
“I’m not afraid,” he says.
“Fear isn’t the issue,” Reginald counters, speaking much more quickly now. “The effects it might have on your body or even on your mind are far too unpredictable. Now I forbid you to talk about this anymore!”
By the end of his rant, Reginald is clearly irritated by Five’s dragging out of this conversation.
The simple solution would have Number Five sitting back in his seat at the table and continuing his meal, forgetting he had ever asked about time-traveling.
This is, of course, not what happens.
Anger and annoyance clear on his face, Five turns and runs out of the mansion, not even looking back as his father calls his name and tells him to get back to the table.
Vanya looks ready to run after her brother but stays seated along with her other siblings so as not to anger their father more than he already has been. She keeps eating her food even as a worrying dread fills the pit of her stomach.
Unbeknownst to them, this will be the last time any of the siblings see their brother for nearly seventeen years.
...
Outside the Academy, Five stomps down the street, anger at his father’s distrust in his abilities clear on his face. He clenches his fists and jumps using his powers. Around him, the people have switched from warmer, fall attire to colorful summer wear.
“Not ready my ass,” Five laughs as he prepares for another jump.
His surroundings change again and Five is now being pelted with snow in a cold winter. A building beside him has changed as well, FOR LEASE signs clear in its windows.
Five continues down the street, looking around, not quite believing he had actually pulled this off.
He starts off running for his next jump and finally stops dead in his tracks when he’s completed it.
The world around him is in ruins. The buildings he had just been walking past are demolished, the ones that are still standing have flames licking at their walls. Bricks and rubble cover the ground and the air is filled with ash. The sky has lost its cool blue tone and is now muddied with dark smoke.
Looking around in fear and disbelief, Five turns and runs back the way he came in search of his home.
Only the front of the Academy is still standing, the door barely hanging onto its hinges and burned to leave just the metal frame.
“Vanya?” Five yells out frantically. “Ben? Dad!?”
Five tries to peer inside his home as he continues to call out to his family, but the building has been completely destroyed and anyone who might have been inside would have died in the collapse.
Getting no response, Five lets out a final yell in hopes that at least someone will respond. “Anyone!?!”
With no sign of anyone hearing him or anyone at all, Five desperately tries to use his powers to jump back to where he belongs.
“Come on!” He shouts as his powers continue to fail him.
He finally drops his hands to his sides and turns back to the front of the Academy, dropping to his knees. Silent tears drip down his face as he realizes that he’s stuck and has no way back home, that he didn’t even say goodbye to his family.
Five quickly works his way out of his stupor. He needs to survive until he can make it back to his family.
Because he will make it back to his family.
He has no idea that it will be forty-five years before he sees his family alive again.
...
Not much changed after Five disappeared.
This is not to say that his siblings did not care about him, just that life kept going on and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
The same can’t be said of when Ben, Number Six, died.
His death hit hard because at least there was hope that Five was still alive.
After Ben’s death, most of the siblings soon realized they wanted more in their lives. They began to move on and move out, leaving only Luther, Number One, to go on missions for their father.
First Diego, Number Two, left.
Then Allison, Number Three.
And finally, Vanya and Klaus, Number Seven and Number Four.
Vanya, relieved at long last to be out from under her father’s controlling fist, pursues her passion for music with Klaus sticking to her side, if only to sleep on her couch.
His drug habit had increased since they were younger and she would do anything to make sure he at least didn’t have to stay on the streets.
Not to say it always worked but she did try.
Vanya went through college, eventually graduating with a BA in music and found herself a nice little apartment not too far from either the theatre an orchestra played in or from her childhood home.
Her love of the violin hadn’t changed since her father had first let her play it.
She started seeing a lot less of Klaus after moving, sometimes catching a glance of him in an alleyway but that was about it. She hadn’t seen her other two brothers or her sister since she moved out.
By this time, Vanya had a boyfriend.
They had gone to school together and he worked as a composer. Vanya had been working at a music shop and was trying to start music lessons for people who wanted to learn the violin.
Money wasn’t something any of the Hargreeves children had to worry much about since their father, even the asshole that he was, wouldn’t ever let them sully his name by living on the streets, so Vanya always had enough for her rent, especially with her own job as well.
Only Klaus was the exception to this since he couldn’t save money if he tried because of his drug habit. Vanya always tried to get him something to eat when she saw him and always offered him a place to stay if he needed it. She hated seeing him on the streets.
It had been a calm time for Vanya, nothing too exciting interrupting her life.
This would soon change very quickly.
...
Therapy had never been something Vanya had wanted to be a part of.
She knew she had been taking pills ever since she was a kid for her anxiety, but she hadn’t realized how much her childhood messed her up.
Well, that’s not completely true. It was more that Vanya hadn’t wanted to acknowledge how much it had messed her up.
Vanya sighs as she pulls the door of her therapist’s office closed, her session finally ending. Recently, Dr. Glassview had been trying to get her to let go of what happened to her in the past and move on. She had recommended that writing might help her.
Honestly, Vanya wasn’t sure how that would help but it wouldn’t hurt to try.
She left the building, walking out into the cool spring air to catch a taxi.
She had to head to an appointment with her doctor before she could head home. Vanya had been feeling off lately and wanted to make sure she wasn’t catching something before she was able to make it to her audition for the Icarus Theatre Orchestra. Her boyfriend, Carl, had told her she shouldn’t worry about it but she hadn’t had a physical in a while so she made an appointment anyway.
Little did she know that this one visit to the doctor would flip her life upside down.
...
“Miss Hargreeves? Are you alright?”
Vanya ran a hand down her face.
This can’t be true, She thinks. How can this be true?
“Are you positive the test is correct?” Vanya asks, staring into her lap.
“Yes, dear,” The nurse replies. “You are indeed pregnant.”
Vanya lets out a soft sigh, a tear escaping her eye. The nurse sees this and quickly grabs her a tissue. “We can talk about options if you don’t wa-”
“No,” Vanya interrupts quickly, a small smile making its way onto her face as she looks up. “I want to keep it.”
The nurse smiles, rubbing her arm in comfort and then gives her some papers to fill out before she can leave.
Vanya rubs her eyes to clear her blurry vision, quickly working through the questionnaires so she could tell Carl the news.
She and Carl had never discussed having children before so this really was a surprise for her.
Vanya hadn’t really thought about being a parent before. Because of her own childhood, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to provide a kid with a good childhood, since she never had one. But now, thinking about the baby growing inside her, there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for them.
Passing the sheets over to the nurse’s station, Vanya leaves the building and quickly makes her way back to her apartment.
Vanya contemplates calling Carl before she arrives home, even pulling her phone out at one point, but decides against it.
This is something they need to talk about in person.
...
The talk does not go as she expected.
This should hardly surprise her. Nothing in her life goes as expected.
Vanya had arrived at the apartment to a nice spaghetti dinner that Carl had prepared for them. It was a sweet gesture since he didn’t often cook.
He kissed her on the cheek and asked her how her day had been. She said it had been good, he said the same about his own.
She could tell he had something on his mind and he could tell she had something weighing on her as well.
“I have something to tell you,” Vanya says.
Carl looks up from the pasta he’s serving onto his plate. “I have something to say as well,” Carl replies. “I think I should go first, too.”
Carl isn’t meeting her eye as he serves her as well.
“What’s wrong?” Vanya is worried now.
“I think we should break up,” Carl mumbles as he stuffs some pasta in his mouth.
Vanya stares at him. “What?” She falters.
“I think we should break up,” he repeats, louder this time. “I just don’t think we’re meant for each other.”
Vanya feels herself gaping at him but she can’t help it.
“I’m pregnant!” She blurts out.
Carl jerks his head up. “What?!” He exclaims. “Since when?”
“I just found out today.”
He sighs and puts his head in his hands, rubbing his face before looking at her again. “This doesn’t change what I said.”
Vanya visibly crumples.
“I never wanted kids anyway,” Carl adds, as if to provide justification. “I’m guessing you’re keeping it, right?”
Vanya nods, not daring to say a word lest it come out a sob.
“Don’t bother putting me down as the father,” he says, standing up from the table. “I’ll make sure all my stuff is out of here by tomorrow night.”
After saying this, Carl abruptly ends their conversation by grabbing his coat and leaving, the door slamming loudly behind him.
He didn’t even finish his food.
Vanya clears the table on autopilot, trying not to focus too hard on the fact that her boyfriend just left her. If she does, she knows she’ll break down in tears. Best leave that until the food is put away.
It isn’t until after putting the remaining spaghetti in the fridge and after a hot shower that she lets out a sob.
And at the sight of a mug no less.
He got it for her as a graduation present.
It says Music Queen on it.
It’s an odd thing to cry over, but she really loves that mug and she really loved Carl.
She really thought he had loved her too.
Vanya sinks down to the kitchen floor, clutching the mug to her chest as she let out heart-wrenching sob after heart-wrenching sob.
A loud knocking at her door pulls Vanya out of her hole of pain.
Vanya glances out the window as she wipes the tears from her cheeks and tries to steady her breathing, forcing down her remaining sobs for the moment.
It’s dark out now, although she isn’t sure how late it is. Even so, it’s odd for her to have anyone knocking at her door after dark unless it’s Carl and she kinda doubts it’s him.
Vanya pulls herself off the floor, sets the mug down, and heads over to the door. The knocking only stops when she pulls open the door to see who is there.
“Klaus?”
Standing in the hall is indeed her brother Klaus, the Number Four of their family, who she did not expect to see at all.
“Hey, Vanya. Long time no see!” Klaus greets, a big smile on his face. “Do ya mind if I crash here, Ben won’t get off my back about sleeping somewhere safe.”
Vanya nods, motioning him into the apartment, not even registering the fact that he said Ben told him to come to her. It’s not the most outrageous thing she’s heard him say, he can see ghosts after all. What’s stopping him from seeing Ben?
After closing the door, Vanya notices Klaus’ gaze on her face and immediately scrubs at her eyes in an attempt to hide their puffiness.
Klaus grabs her wrists to stop. “What happened? Are you okay? Why were you crying?”
He carefully moves them to sit on the couch before letting go of her wrists.
Vanya smiles sadly at him before speaking.
“Bad breakup.”
Klaus immediately pulls her into a hug. “I’ll break his kneecaps for you,” he whispers.
Vanya huffs out a laugh at this. “No, no don’t. I just don’t want to have to think about him anymore,”
“What happened?”
Vanya lets out a long sigh before recounting the events of the evening. Klaus is hooked on her every word like it’s a dramatic reading, but she knows he means well. When she gets to the part where she told Carl about her pregnancy Klaus interrupts her with a quiet gasp.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah,” Vanya nods. “Just found out about it today, too.”
Klaus puts both his hand over his mouth, letting out a laugh of glee. “Oh my god! That’s terrific! Not the whole breakup thing, Ben! That guy is an asshole! But you’re gonna be a mom!”
Vanya smiles a real smile when he pulls her into another hug.
The two siblings spend the rest of the night talking about Vanya’s horrible day until they drift off to sleep, leaning on each other.
Ben smiles at his sister and brother, happy that they have one another for comfort.
...
It’s late in the morning by the time Vanya manages to force her eyes open. Next to her Klaus, sprawled across the rest of the couch, is still sleeping. She carefully removes herself from beside him and goes to make a cup of tea.
She doesn’t have work today, only a therapy appointment, so she’s in no rush.
While the kettle is boiling, Vanya changes into some clean clothes and pulls her pill bottle out of her pocket. The nurse had recommended she try not to take her anxiety pills, or at least not that often during her pregnancy just to lower any risks that it might involve. Vanya was told to talk to her therapist about it as well.
It was kinda the perfect luck that she had one today.
The kettle whistles causing Klaus to wake with a start and fall of the couch, which Vanya hears as she enters the kitchen.
“You okay?” She calls over to Klaus.
Klaus groans. “Yeah, just peachy. This nice hardwood floor cushioned my fall,” he says as he stands up, rubbing his back.
Vanya smiles at his comment as she pours the boiling water into two mugs, neither of which are ones Carl got her. She places them on the table and puts some bread in the toaster as Klaus sits at the table, stirring one of the mugs of tea with a spoon.
“I take it you’re feeling better,” Klaus yawns, taking a sip of the tea after a minute.
“Yeah, I guess I am.” Vanya hadn’t even realized how much talking about her situation with Carl had helped relieve the pain of it. It still hurt like hell, it had only happened last night after all, but she didn’t feel like her grief was controlling her.
“That’s good, I didn’t want to catch your sorrow, dear sister,” Klaus replies with a smile.
Vanya responds in kind, spreading jam on a piece of toast for Klaus and peanut butter on one for her. She sets Klaus’ in front of him, telling him to eat when he complains, and sits down next to him.
“I have to go to my therapist in a little while,” Vanya starts, sipping her own tea. “and Carl’s gonna come by at some point to collect all his stuff. Are you gonna stay here for a while?”
Klaus sighs and puts down his piece of toast, chewing thoughtfully. “If you’ll have me, I’ll stay but I don’t know for how long,” he responds. “You know me, always on the move, can’t stay in one place too long, gets boring, ya know?”
Vanya nods, telling him that it’s fine, just not to kill Carl if he’s here when her ex-boyfriend comes around.
“No promises,” he grins. “I can’t just let the man who broke my dear sister’s heart get away unscathed. ‘Cause I know you’d never yell at him, so one of us has to.”
“Just don’t be too hard on him, alright?” Vanya insists. “I don’t want him calling the cops on you or something.”
Klaus stuffs the rest of his toast into his mouth before making a Scout’s honor sign with his right hand and giggling. “I’ll make sure to hide the body if I have to Miss Hargreeves.”
Shaking her head in exasperation, Vanya continues to eat her breakfast as Klaus flops back onto her couch.
After a few minutes, Vanya goes out and grabs her newspaper from her mailbox, glancing over the headline in disinterest as she returns to the apartment.
Nothing notable there.
Glancing at the clock on her microwave, Vanya decides that she should head over to her therapist about now. She grabs her jacket and keys and makes sure her wallet is in her pocket before telling Klaus she’s leaving out. He makes a small noise of affirmation before she walks out of her apartment.
...
Vanya lets out a tired sigh as she exits her therapist’s building. Her appointment had gone fine, but she was particularly exhausted after this session.
Dr. Glassview had given her a lot of congratulations over her pregnancy, which Vanya imagined she would have to get used to pretty soon if that’s how everyone would react to hearing the news.
The doctor had agreed that Vanya should try to limit herself when it came to taking her pills but shouldn’t be afraid to take one if she needed to. It was just as important for Vanya to stay healthy as well as her baby.
She had also been happy to hear that Vanya was realizing how important getting an issue out from inside her is, whether it be through talking or writing, which she still thinks Vanya should try.
They talked somewhat about Vanya and her breakup with Carl, but Vanya didn’t want to dwell on it too much. She had more important things to worry about than a man who had already decided he didn’t want her in his life.
Vanya decided to walk back to her apartment rather than get a taxi. The weather is nice today, the sun high in the sky, and not a cloud in sight. The sidewalk isn’t crowded, but there is a decent amount of people walking around in the cool spring afternoon.
As she passes by the stores and restaurants, one of the shop windows catches her eye in particular.
Two issues of the Umbrella Academy comic are sitting inside the shop, above them is a red typewriter.
If that isn’t a sign then Vanya is making it one.
She goes into the shop and asks to buy the item.
Looks like Vanya’s going to be writing a book.
...
On the 12th hour of the first day of October 2012, one Vanya Hargreeves gave birth to her first child. The time of this child’s birth could be considered a coincidence, and is by Vanya herself at this point, but when is anything really a coincidence when concerning the Hargreeves.
To say that Vanya was expecting to have her child on this specific date would be an overstatement. She had actually expected to have him the following week, as predicted, but the little one decided to come early.
Vanya had been at her apartment, typing away at her autobiography late into the night, her brother Klaus asleep on her couch, when her water broke. And when she woke her brother up, all hell had broken loose.
Who knew Klaus would be even more anxious than Vanya, who was to one who was actually pregnant.
Once he’d calmed down a bit, Klaus managed to get them a cab to the hospital and it was smooth sailing from there.
Vanya was lucky, with very little complication in her child’s arrival. She might have broken a couple of Klaus’ fingers while pushing out the little devil, but he would have done it all over again for his dear sister.
Ben was, of course, in the room as well, although only Klaus could hear his quiet comfort and reassurance for their sister.
Even if she couldn’t have the kid’s father here didn’t mean she had to be alone.
After what felt like forever, the baby finally popped out, their cries spilling through the room.
After a few minutes and one umbilical cord cut later, Vanya is holding her newborn son in her arms, her two brothers, one ghostly, the other completely alive, looking at him from over her shoulders. She had chosen not to know the sex of her child before their birth, not wanting to sway her name choice in any way, but seeing his big blue eyes, that gaze so utterly familiar, there was only one name on her mind.
“Miss Hargreeves?” One of the nurses asks. “Have you thought of a name?”
“Yeah,” Vanya nods. “Five. Five Hargreeves.”