Now.

Latavia's nails clicked against the counter. 

The sound of her drumming fingers filled the rather quiet doughnut shop. The television was lightly blaring the eleven o'clock news in the corner. Her boss was in the kitchen cleaning up from the morning rush—which had come and gone with ease, leaving the small business empty for the moment. 

Cars passed by, people walked to their jobs as they did. Today seemed like a normal day. 

When she was younger, a normal day meant training alongside her siblings, enduring Reginald Hargreeves' grueling drills, and anxiously waiting for the mission alarm to blare through the house. Every day was a test of strength, endurance, and control, all in pursuit of becoming the best version of herself—or rather, the most powerful version of herself; the most perfect version she could be. 

But now? 

Now, a normal day for Latavia Hargreeves consisted of waking up at four in the morning to go work at a mediocre job, serving tons of people breakfast and coffee and cleaning up after them when they ran off to work. 

It was a different life than she'd ever lived, yet, Via found her current situation much more pleasing than anything that happened in her childhood.

Despite how famous they were, how much Latavia loved the academy when she was younger....the Umbrella Academy was almost a forgotten enigma to the world. A piece of her past that she'd much rather try to move on from than ever relive.

The group that had once been hailed as heroes—children with extraordinary abilities saving the world—had become little more than a fading memory, characters in comic books that little kids read about. Their names, once splashed across headlines, were now seldom mentioned by adults in reminiscences of their childhood. A distant memory that everyone knew, but didn't know what had happened too.

Latavia doesn't like to think about what happened—not like there was a set reason everything turned bad. One day, they simply weren't little kids who could be manipulated by their father's words. One day, they weren't a team. 

Five's disappearance started it. Ben's death made it much more obvious. Reginald's behavior finished them off. Yet, from the beginning, the Umbrella Academy always seemed like something that was too good to be true.  How much could kids being used for their powers truly handle?

In the end, the Umbrella Academy slowly became nothing. Two dead, four off to try and seek normality, one who felt betrayed and failed left alone to please his father with the weight of what used to be a team sitting atop his shoulders.

Latavia wasn't sure about the rest of her siblings—she hadn't caught up with any of them in years. Luther was on the moon, Diego and her had ended in an argument, Allison was too busy, Klaus was too high and had ruined his relationship with his sister by trying to steal her money, and Vanya was more ghost than a real human—but she'd left the Umbrella Academy behind her.

Maybe its ending wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. 

Via didn't associate herself with her powers anymore. She stopped healing people, manipulating bodies, everything—it was why she worked at 'Griddy's Doughnuts', truly. She needed somewhere that wouldn't remind her of her powers; as much as working at a hospital would do the world good, she couldn't do it. 

She went by 'Via' instead of Latavia. Tried her best to ignore questions about the tattoo on her wrist. 

Tried to forget the life she once knew. 

"Via?" The Hargreeves whips around at the sound of her boss calling, thoughts halting. Agnes stands around the corner with a rag and spray bottle in hand, extending it to her employee. "Mind cleaning the counter before lunch?" 

"Sure thing," Latavia offers a light tipped smile, tightening the apron around her waist before walking over to her boss. She grabs the cleaning supplies, Agnes sending her a 'thank you' smile, and moves to the other side of the counter.

She sprays some cleaner on the counter and starts to wipe away any leftover mess, the dull chatter of the television falling behind her. Unkempt curls fell into her face from the messy bun that sat atop her head, but Via didn't care enough. 

"We reported this last night, but the breaking news continues." A reporter announces. Latavia doesn't spare the television a second glance. "Last night, police reported the death of eccentric billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves—"

What?

Latavia immediately halts in cleaning, looking up at the television with furrowed brows. She had to have misheard—her father, dead? The man that adopted her, who raised her, who was the foundation of all her tears and pain? Who gave her a family yet not a home, who treated her like a test subject, gone?

Yet, as Via looks up at the screen, she's nonetheless met with an image of Reginald Hargreeves sitting on the screen—a monocle sitting atop his pristine face, as it always had. A headline that reads the same words the reporter had just spoken trails across the bottom of the screen, deepening the news within the girls head. 

The old man did kick the bucket. 

"He is survived by six of his adopted children; the very same children that made up the Umbrella Academy—"

Latavia wants to laugh like a maniac. She wants to say good riddance. She wants to punch each of her siblings. She wants to cry—millions of emotions rush to her head, and she doesn't know which one to pursue. So, instead, she just stands there, staring at the screen with a blank expression. 

Reginald Hargreeves was a man she feared and resented. He was her father. He was someone who inflicted pain, reprimanded, yelled, pushed past the limit on her many times. He forced her to kill animals and small life forms. He gave her a family and a giant house. He gave her a number instead of a name—he was so many things for Latavia. 

Latavia finally lets out a scoff, trying to work out her emotions. Of course she found out through a fucking screen. 

She had five siblings, yet none of them had the balls to try and find her, to send out a message, to reach out and tell her that their dad died—though, that's what she supposes she gets for going 'no contact' on all of them. 

Setting the cleaning supplies down, Via goes back behind the counter and grabs her phone. An email sits atop her notification box and Latavia opens it to see her father's email sitting at the top, though given he was dead, she knew it was more than likely Pogo reaching out.

Miss Latavia, 

I hope you've heard the news, and I send all my regards. I understand if you would rather not return, but a funeral will be held at the house this afternoon for your father. All of the other children have been notified and invited, as well.

Consider it. But, if not, I hope you have found yourself peace, Miss Latavia.

Sincerely,

Pogo. 

Latavia purses her lips, and scans other the email again.

Funeral. This afternoon. Her siblings are invited. 

She'll be surprised if any of them show. 

Latavia stood at the front door of the Hargreeves' mansion—believe it or not, she showed.

Agnes had been more than understanding, sparing her much sympathy and telling her she would be able to take as long as she needed off—to which Via had told her she'd be back within a day. She didn't plan on staying much longer than the night.

She'd stopped at her apartment for a quick change of clothes—her waitress uniform and apron weren't too appropriate for a funeral—but had ended up back at the house rather soon. Much too soon, she realized she was ready for, as she stood awkwardly at the front door.

Via hadn't stepped inside the place in years, and when she left, she hadn't expected to be back at all. She didn't have a reason too—she cut off contact with her father when she quietly departed, and her siblings slowly but surely left, too. There was nothing for her in that mansion. 

Nothing other than shitty memories, tears, and a grieving little girl who missed her brothers; who wished to be normal after so many years of being different because being special was just too much.  

But, it wasn't just the trauma that came with walking back inside the house that was halting Via from opening the door. It was the idea of seeing all of her siblings in the flesh for the first time in years that kept her hands clenched. 

Via had cut them off, but it wasn't just her fault. They all had stopped talking to each other, really. Despite how closely knit they had been as children, one day they suddenly just started to argue and compete with one another for their father's praise; ruined the only good thing that came from being adopted by Hargreeves. 

Luther had been the last to stay, and honestly, Via isn't sure if he ever truly left. Being Number One, he'd always been kissing up to Reginald's ass. Always keeping order, trying to be the best. Last Via heard, Reginald had sent him up to the moon, but she didn't care enough to ask. He became a dick when he found out everyone was leaving the academy and that was the last Latavia spoke with him.

Diego was something of a vigilante these days, Via had heard. Being Number Two, he'd always had to prove himself, especially towards Luther. He was always trying to become better than his brother; become the one his father saw. She supposed out of all of them, Diego wanted to be the one who wanted to prove his childhood didn't mean nothing; that he was worth something, even if Reginald never saw it. He and Latavia had been in contact for a while after they left, yet, that was ruined years ago in an argument over Ben's death. 

Allison was living her best live in Hollywood, starring in all kinds of movies to fill the hole in her chest that was left when her husband divorced her and took custody of their daughter. Via hadn't necessarily ended on bad terms with Number Three, but once they left the academy, they —more so, Allison—got too busy to go get a coffee. Latavia hadn't even met her niece. Sometimes, Via saw her movies. Sometimes. 

Klaus could be dead in an alleyway for all Via knew. Reginald had always been rather hard on Number Four, and at some point, the young boy discovered how to get into the liquor cabinet, and how to sneak out his bedroom window and realized it could put his pain on hold. From that point forth, Klaus Hargreeves was never seen without a joint, a bottle of something, a bag of crushed up pills of some kind. At the academy the boy was bad, but after Ben's death, he relied on substance for everything. They had been close while young, but they ended up fighting over the things Klaus was doing to his life and Via cut him off. He said he wished she'd died instead of Ben. Via didn't know if he was wrong. 

Number Five and Number Six were gone, which left Vanya. Number Seven had always been rather forgotten about by her siblings, which wasn't exactly their fault. Reginald kept her hidden away, out of missions, alone. She was powerless and truly didn't compare to anyone else in the Academy. She was quiet and reserved; someone who didn't use the space they took up. Latavia never hated Vanya, though. She didn't end on bad terms with the girl, it just so happened, Vanya left the house without a word and practically disappeared from the world before Via could try and find her. 

It sucked that the two siblings Via wouldn't loathe to see were dead. 

Five disappeared when they were around thirteen. One morning, Number Five disobeyed their father and stormed out of the house. He didn't come home that night, or the next, or the next.  At some point, the siblings stopped hoping he would. It's been seventeen years and Via just tries to forget all of it. 

Ben died. The innocent Number Six was killed in a mission, an incident that no one was responsible for yet everyone was guilty of. They failed Ben as a team, by not being a team. Via doesn't like to think back on it. She was a mess when he died. A self blaming mess. 

The biggest problem about seeing her siblings after years of no contact? She almost missed them. 

She doesn't regret cutting everyone off, but.....they were her best friends at one point. The only people who understood what she was going through, the people who knew her best, the people who were suffering the same abuse. As much as that household was toxic, she always had her siblings. 

Via sighed. She couldn't just stand at the front door. She either sucked it up and went in, or acted like a coward and walked away with her hands shoved in her pockets. 

Before she could hesitate, she chose the first option. Via's hand clenches into a fist and she raises it towards the door before stopping herself. This was her house, why was she knocking? She quickly wraps her fingers around the handle and hears it click as it opens. 

Here went nothing.

Latavia stepped through the doorway, shutting the door behind her. The house was eerily quiet. The wood was just as polished as it had been when Via turned her back on the Hargreeves name. Everything was kept the same, nothing out of place. Always neat, as Reginald liked. 

"Miss Latavia." 

Via looks forward, slightly smiling as she sees Pogo standing in front of her. The chimpanzee has aged, but he's just as dressed up as always. A pair of glasses sit's atop his flattened nose and he has a cane in his hands.

"Hey, Pogo." Latavia softly greets, stepping towards the chimpanzee. Sometimes, Pogo felt more of a father to her than Reginald ever did, despite being an ape. The curly haired girl crouches down, wrapping her arms around Pogo, who embraces her back with a warm expression.

At least Pogo didn't hate her. 

"How wonderful it is to see you again." 

Via pulls away with a firm nod, "You too."

"Everyone is scattered around." Pogo announces. Latavia nods again; she can't hear any of her siblings, but they were here. "Come on in. Hang your coat up."

Via does as the chimpanzee asks, taking off her overcoat and hanging it up on the coat rack. Her outfit wasn't entirely formal—a black puff sleeve shirt a pair of nice jeans—but it was better than her work uniform. At least she was wearing black. 

She passed by Pogo, Doc Martens pacing through the polished floors of the Hargreeves home.  The house felt colder than she remembered, the silence more oppressive. Every room she passed seemed frozen in time, untouched since the last time she'd walked these halls. Memories clung to the walls like cobwebs, but she pushed them away, refusing to let the past overwhelm her.

As she neared the living room, a familiar voice cut through the silence, startling her. "Via?"

Latavia whips her head around, feeling herself freeze when she sees Klaus cautiously approaching—not dead. Their curls are an unruly mess, as is his entire outfit—a lacy top that was too small, a black fur coat, low rise leather pants with slits in the sides that barely covered anything. He hadn't seemed to have changed much.

"Via!" Klaus exclaims, voice rising an octave. Before Via can even try to process what she wants to say to the boy whom she didn't know how to feel about, or how she felt in general, their arms are wrapped around her waist and she's dragged into an embrace. 

"Klaus," Latavia stammers, cautiously wrapping her arms around the boy in almost instinct because, as much as she wanted to hate Klaus Hargreeves for what he'd said to her that day—for how he'd tried to steal her money—she missed this.

For a moment, she allows herself to sink into the embrace, holding onto the brother she thought she'd truly lost. But, as soon as she smells the lingering scent of alcohol on his figure, Latavia suddenly recalls their final interaction and quickly pulls away, bringing her hand up to lightly slap his face without much hesitation. The hurt still lingered whether or not Klaus even remembered the damn event. 

Klaus winces slightly, but a sheepish smile grows on their lips. He mutters a more subdued, "I deserved that."

"Yeah, you did." Via spits. She wants to tell her brother how shitty he made her feel that day, but she holds her tongue. Crossing her arms defensively over her chest, she waits a moment for the Hargreeves boy to speak. However, once she notices the white bracelet on his wrist reading 'Patient: Hargreeves, Klaus', she can't help but state, "Just out of rehab, huh?" 

She supposes she can maybe try and lose some of that grudge over Klaus if he did try and get himself help. 

"Don't think so low of me, Via. I'm done with all that." Klaus dramatically shakes his head, pulling his sleeve down to cover the bracelet. Latavia rolls her eyes—she didn't believe him at all. Not when he still smelled like booze. "I made this with my bracelet kit, if you must know." 

Via raises a brow. "Sure. That's why it reads 'Patient: Hargreeves, Klaus'."

"Well, it has been so nice catching up with you, sissy. But I must be on my way." Klaus claps his hands together, crossing past her to start walking away. "I have some errands I must attend too."

Was he seriously going to run off without even trying to talk about it? Then again, Latavia doesn't want to. Klaus didn't seem to hate her for what she'd done. 

"If by errands, you mean going to steal shit, be my guest." Latavia shakes her head. Klaus really hadn't changed. 

"You know me inside and out, sis." the Hargreeves walked backwards, putting a hand to his heart as if they were deeply touched. "It's almost like we're siblings."

Latavia rolled her eyes again. "Almost." 

Klaus turned around and walked a few steps before facing his sister again, "And for the record....I'm sorry." 

The words hung in the air between them for a moment, heavy with unspoken regrets and years of unresolved tension. Via's heart tightened at the sight of Klaus standing there, stripped of their usual bravado—Klaus didn't apologize often. 

Latavia opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, she simply nodded, letting the apology settle. She wasn't sure if one 'sorry' would fix the hurt he caused her, but it was better than no apology at all. 

And honestly? Via isn't sure she can stay mad at Klaus forever. 

The Hargreeves boy walks off and Number Eight trails further into the room. She scuffs her boots against the floor, walking until she stands in front of the mantel. A giant portrait of Number Five hangs over the fireplace—Reginald had it put up after a year of his disappearance when they all started to realize he wasn't coming back.

Via still remembers the day he left. As a child, she'd been close with Five, and he'd pulled her aside to tell her that today was the day—he was going to try and get their father to let him time travel. She'd tried to tell him it was stupid, but he'd followed through anyway. Not surprisingly, Reginald said no, but Five disobeyed and ran right out of the house. 

That was the last day anyone saw him. 

The Hargreeves all saw him the same way they saw Ben; dead. Via tried to push the memory of him back in her mind because it simply hurt thinking about her brother. But, a small part of her, little thirteen Via, believed that maybe he was still alive. That maybe he hadn't died, but he'd simply run away. Started some kind of live away from the Hargreeves name.

She wouldn't blame him if he did. But it was a silly thought; Five was dead. He'd been dead for sixteen years. 

"How long has it been?" 

Via purses her lips at the voice; Diego. 

"Hello, Diego." Via doesn't take her eyes off the portrait, crossing her arms over her chest. If she could talk with Klaus, she could talk with Diego. "And to answer your question, sixteen years, four months—"

"—and fourteen days." the Hargreeves boy comes beside her, shrugging with a hint of sarcasm. "But who's counting?"

Latavia finally turns and looks at him, her expression unreadable. It had been ten years since she last saw her brother, but there was still a hint of tension. Their last encounter had ended badly—an argument over Ben's death. God, why was Ben the stem of all the arguments? 

"So..." Diego speaks up again, "Where's life got you at now?"

Via replies, "I'm still at Griddy's." 

"Still at that shitty shop? I would have thought you would have gotten a degree in medical shit or something." the Hargreeves boy says. Latavia was smart, she could have done it if she wanted to—and as a kid, she'd always loved healing people with her powers as much as Reginald didn't let her use it. "With your powers and everything." 

"I don't use them anymore." Latavia replies stiffly, finally looking at her brother. He was wearing all black spandex, knives hanging off of his body. She wanted to roll her eyes at his choice of fit—this was a funeral, not a superhero camp. "I heard you were something of a vigilante now?" 

Diego scoffs, "Something like that." 

The two just look at each other for a moment. Via waits for an apology. 

No one says anything before Number Three's voice echoes, "Vanya?" 

Huh. She showed. 

Out of everyone, Latavia wouldn't have been surprised if Vanya was the one who didn't make an appearance. After writing her book—which Via did read—that revealed secrets about Reginald and the entire Hargreeves family, showing her face could spark something in her siblings; if any of them were irritated over the book.

Via certainly wasn't. But Diego seemed to be the opposite. 

As soon as the knife thrower heard the name of his sister, he stormed away from Via and down the hall towards the stairs. With an irritated huff, Latavia paces right after him, not wanting him to start anything with Number Seven—not today. 

The two walk into the next room, where Vanya and Allison both stand in an embrace. Via smiles at the sight of her two sisters—the two people she wasn't on bad terms with. 

"Ah." Diego, however, interrupts the peaceful interaction and brushes past the taller girl. "What is she doing here?" 

Latavia stops next to her sisters, sending her brother an unimpressed glance. "We're just reuniting, and you already want to start shit?" 

"She doesn't belong here." Diego replies casually,  not even glancing back at his sister as he moves towards the stairs. He doesn't need to look at Vanya for the girl to hear his irritation. "Not after what she did." 

Allison has to stop herself from giving an eye roll at Diego. Once a pain in the ass, always a pain. She too didn't see a point in trying to start arguments today. "You're seriously gonna do this today?" 

Diego doesn't reply, walking up the stairs. Latavia scoffs, "You're a dick." 

"Nice to see you too, Via." the Hargreeves boy hums.

Allison shoves her hands in her pockets, eyes raking over the boy's spandex. She can't help but call out, "Way to dress for the occasion, by the way." 

"At least I'm wearing black." Diego retorts, referring to the blue shirt the curly haired girl was sporting. Allison glares at the boys back as he disappears. She didn't miss that. 

Vanya grows a frown on her face, shaking her head. She was stupid for thinking her siblings wanted her here, they never did—she should have known better. "You know what? I....Maybe he's right. I shouldn't—"

"Forget about him." Allison cuts her off, voice soft. "I'm glad you're here."

"I read your book, for all that it matters. There's no reason for Diego to have a stick up his ass over it." Via speaks up—Number Seven deserved to write that book. Vanya looks at her sister and Latavia gives a weak smile, crossing over to wrap her arms around the shorter girl. "It's really good to see you again, Vanya." 

Vanya doesn't lean into the embrace that much, but she loses a small bit of weight off her shoulders. Her sisters didn't hate her. "You too, Via."

Latavia pulls away and looks to the tall girl across from Vanya, who was smiling over the embrace. "My apologies if I'm wrong, but are you the Allison Hargreeves?" 

Allison's face deadpans, "Seriously, Via?" 

"Do you think I could get an autograph?" 

"How about a hug instead?" Allison chuckles, leaning down to wrap her arms around her sister. Latavia warmly smiles, savoring the embrace of her sister for a few moments. Despite having not spoken to one another in over a decade, it seemed like there was no tension between the siblings. Just a sense of 'I wish things had been different'. 

Maybe in a different life, the Hargreeves siblings stayed close. 

Via doesn't want to ponder it. They're all being friendly today, but by tomorrow night they'll all be out of the house and back to their normal lives without each other in it. 

mara's misc!

lol guys i'm a whore for comments so here you go

my classes low-key suck ass this year but it's literally day two i can't complain. my spanish teacher speaks 99% of the class in spanish (i didn't do my duolingo) and my honors math teacher gave us a fake test that made me want to kill him so yeah!!! fun times :D (i hate my school!!!)

anywho, i will be writing what did happen between klaus and via, and with her and diego!! two of my top hargreeves' so i had to put some drama in there. klaus and via's COULD hurt a bit tho...

also i just wanna say writing the little intro paragraphs for each of the hargreeves siblings was VERY fun 

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 2!!