recklessthings | ᶾ allison hargreeves

Five expected more arguing. More trying to convince her that he wasn't crazy, if he found the patience for it, which wasn't likely. So for one of his siblings to sound reasonable catches him so unexpectedly that he needs moment to switch gears. He's been too used to being questioned that it's a bigger relief than it probably should be.

"Ten days." After a while, he finally nods. "Okay."

Sure, he'd like to spend more time with his family in the event they all don't die horribly, but if they manage to avert to apocalypse he's not going to ask for more. And he does... get it. Wanting to have a relationship with her daughter that's better than what they grew up with. Besides, Five will probably need a break from all of them by then. -- Look at him, getting ahead of himself.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He sounds sincere for once, and he holds her gaze up until he remembers what he came here to do. So he starts to fiddle with the buttons around the top, in case she needed an excuse to look away from him. For whatever reason, the bloodstains seem to bother him more than they did initially, and he's eager to get rid of them.

All of his shirts have to be white.

She doesn't think that he would have gone through all he says he has, wrestling dealing with a much younger body, if there weren't something to what he's saying. Their father knew something, was always preparing them for some kind of grand event.

Maybe this is it. He just didn't live to see it.

But there's only so far she can be pushed, so she's relieved when he agrees. "Okay."

Allison returns his smile in kind, before shrugging. "You were always the most intense of all of us. That much hasn't changed. But it meant that you usually got what you were looking for. Whoever's trying to start the end of the world ... I almost feel bad for them."

Because they're about to have seven very scary people coming down on their front door, with Five leading the charge.

The most intense, huh? He looks up from the bloodied shirt he's unbuttoning and has to agree, smiling a little more at the compliment she suddenly decides to pay him. Likely because she's grateful that he isn't a totally unreasonable asshole at all times. He's focused, sure, but sometimes he thinks they forget how much he cares about them.

Maybe just a hair more than he cares about the end of the world. You kind of need one to have the other, so that simplifies his priorities.

"As long as I've waited, you should." Despite all outwards signs, he's not immune to doubt, and none of this has been easy for him. Given their timeframe, every setback could be potentially devastating. So hearing that from her actually makes it sound a little more possible. It's also kind of nice to be recognized without the implications that he's some psychopath killer. This is what it was all for.

"The full force of the Umbrella Academy, right? I think we're overdue for a comeback."

"And, we can do it our way, not the old man's."

Which honestly they might be better off. She knows Luther's going to try and run this like a mission, and true, that could have some efficacy. But they were always a little better when they improvised. They understood each other's strengths and weaknesses a little better too.

"The world might be better off."

He watches Allison for a measured moment, considering what she said. The pep talk is a welcome change. Actually managing to focus on what's important for more than a minute. It makes him think he should have spoken to her one-on-one sooner. He probably couldn't talk her into rumoring their siblings into cooperating, but it'd help to have someone to focus on keeping everyone out of trouble while he works.

She is wrong about one thing though.

"We'll do it my way." That's an important distinction. Luther doesn't get to play leader this go around, and as the oldest and most experienced, that's part of the deal. "As much as I appreciate the input, need I remind you what happened the first time. Whatever you all came up with, it didn't make a difference. I will."

That statement only loses a little of its weight when he finishes unbuttoning. He glances to the bed where the clean shirt is waiting. Suddenly it feels awkward to undress in front of his sister while stuck in a thirteen-year-old body. Like showing off his scrawny muscles is going to spoil the point he was making.

"Do you want to... turn around or something?"

... Oh.

Allison will do that, turning to face the doorway, while her eyes drift up to the ceiling. She also is amused at the idea that Luther and Diego are just going to step down and let Five lead.

"You'll have to take that up with Luther and Diego and see if they can stop measuring their dicks long enough to make that happen."

But she'll do her best to stay in Five's corner.

He's grateful that she doesn't make a fuss and does what he asks. More than his modesty, with her back turned she doesn't have to see how carefully he shrugs off the shirt to keep from aggravating the wound on his side and bleeding right through the fresh bandage. He considers what she says while he discards the soiled shirt and pulls on the new one. Already feeling better for it.

"Actually, that sounds like a good argument to only tell them what they need to know." He doesn't mean to say that he really wants to do everything himself. In fact, there's nothing he'd like more than having them all come together as a team to stop the apocalypse. He'd just prefer that they have their best chance... and aside from that, maybe leave dealing with the Commission to him.

"I didn't expect everyone to get so set in their ways at age thirteen." Luther and Diego still arguing the same as they did the day he left the first time, like they never figured out it was all a part of dad's mind games. It'd feel nostalgic if the stakes weren't so high. "I guess they just got taller."

"Dad didn't really give us a lot of room to grow."

He wanted robots he could program, not children who were trying to become their own people. In a lot of ways, the fact that they managed to form personalities at even that age is a feat that's likely attributed to the fact that Grace was there to provide something softer.

"Luther kept trying to prove his worth and Diego was determined to prove that he could do it better."

That only gets a huff of a sigh. They won't catch him defending dad, no matter what he thinks about Luther and Diego's perpetual childish rivalry. He can't tell if it makes him feel any better that he hasn't missed that much. At least he knows what to expect out of them.

For the most part.

It occurs to him that Allison is still hanging around after they'd come to their agreement. Still telling him things about their family when she could have slipped out when he'd given her an opening. He thinks about that as he finishes getting dressed and starts fiddling with getting the tie back around his neck.

"You can turn around." He's decent. Or at least, improved upon, since he hasn't taken a look in the mirror to see if he missed anything telling. He'll wash up properly later. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. They're not going to grown into functional adults in a few days time, I just need them not to kill each other until then."

He finally pulls the tie tight and adjusts his jacket, preparing to get back to what he was doing before he took this little detour. But instead he stands there, debating as he turns his focus back on Allison. His curiosity will bother him later if he doesn't ask.

"Why are you still here?" He knows he's not that great of company. "Something else you need to tell me, or are you just sore you didn't get to tell the old man off before he kicked it?"

She shrugs. She could go to talk to Luther, with all their baggage, or fight with Diego or Vanya or get high with Klaus. As much as Five might not be the greatest company, he's the sibling she happens to have the least baggage with at the moment.

And part of her still doesn't believe it's real. He was her brother and he was gone, but now he's back. But is it really that easy? Nothing for them ever is.

"I guess in a weird way, I missed you." Maybe part of her is worried that if she takes her eyes off him, he'll disappear again, stuck in another part of the time stream with no way to find his way home this time.

Somehow he didn't expect that to come out. In a weird way. He gets stuck on the phrasing, at a loss for how to interpret it. On the one hand, he never gave her time to say anything before when he suddenly appeared. Taking advantage of their shock so they would listen to what he had to tell them. On the other, he spent a lifetime trying to find a way back to his family. He had nothing else. Nobody except Dolores to keep him company. The rest of his family is a different story. They grew distant from themselves, let alone the brother who went missing when they were kids.

After an uncomfortable stretch of silence, he decides he can't be hurt by her sincerity. So what if she didn't rush to embrace him? It's not so bad of a thing to be surprised that she cares.

"I missed you too." He says it quietly. Unsure of how to express himself, but compelled to get something on the record. While he doesn't regret the words, it twists at something painful in him, and he can only repeat them in a careful monotone. "I missed all of you."

She nods with a small smile, because it makes sense. Even with all the trouble and grief they've brought each other over the years, they're still family. If Reginald Hargreeves did nothing else for them, he gave them each other.

"Well, you have us back now. You just have to make sure the world doesn't end."

If anything, he's grateful that she doesn't question it. Most siblings might have said it before now, or assumed they didn't have to. He figures Allison can go ahead and let the others know, because he doesn't have the time. Yes, he has them back, but it's all temporary unless he changes history. He's the anomaly in the timeline. It's all on him.

"At least one of you can stay on task." Even when that task is 'don't get into trouble and wait patiently for him to tell them what to do.' It sounds simple, but with his family, it's obviously extremely difficult.

Still. He's glad he had a moment with Allison. He does better at handling them one at a time, he decides. Easier to be understood, even if they can't really. His gaze travels to the window. He's already exhausted, but he can rest when all this is over with. Permanently or otherwise.

"You should get some sleep." It's more of a goodbye than he usually offers. Maybe he's just buying himself a few extra seconds. "One of us should."

Allison nods, before moving to step out of the room. She knows an I want to be alone when she hears one. But one last time, before she goes for now:

"You should too. At least ... try."

It'll help him heal, if nothing else. But with that, she'll head back to her room and do her best to get a few hours.

ᶾ allison hargreeves | the umbrella academy

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