Latavia had never been in a more awkward pool of silence. 

After the siblings had all greeted at least one of the other in some shape or form— Via still hadn't spoken to Number One at all—Luther called them all downstairs to the living room for a family meeting.

Via knew this moment would be coming the moment she stepped foot into the house, yet, it was more awkward than she pictured. Though, throw six people who haven't seen or spoken to each other in at least a decade back into their childhood home for the funeral of their shitty father, what was supposed to happen? Aimless chatter? Laughter and smiles? 

Number One sat tensely on the couch facing everyone. Number Two and Number Three were sitting in chairs to the side, the latter quietly sipping a drink. Number Four clinked and clattered bottles around from the bar in the back. Number Seven sat on the other couch, fiddling with her hands, and Number Eight sat beside her, preparing herself for the conversation; which, knowing her siblings, would end in some sort of pointless argument or fight. 

The Hargreeves were all a bunch of big children. Not mature enough to have a single conversation without childish disagreement. 

Everyone was in a tense silence, no sibling making eye contact with the other. They all waited for someone to just start talking. 

Taking the leading position, Luther finally clears his throat after what feels like forever. "Um....I guess we should get this started."

"Probably." Via nods, eyes locked on her brother. Luther stands up to his full height and Number Eight has to stop herself from commenting. She hadn't seen him since she left the academy, but he'd filled out. Not only did he easily tower over all his siblings, but his broad shoulders seemed to overpower everything in the room. His muscles seemed like they were barely being contained by the coat he was wearing. 

"So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown." Luther states, "Say a few words, just at Dad's favorite spot."

Allison tilts her head. "Dad had a favorite spot?" 

"Yeah, you know, under the oak tree." Luther continues, glancing at each of his siblings. They all share similar expressions and he furrows his brows—Dad took him there all the time. How didn't they know about it? "We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?"

Latavia crosses her legs, offering him a fake smile. "Not all of us knew how to kiss ass like you did, Luther."

The bigger man opens his mouth to reply but Klaus cuts him off, treading into the room. "Will there be refreshments?"  He's changed his entire outfit, now sporting an unbuttoned jacket and a skirt. In between two fingers is a lighted cigarette while the other hand holds a nearly full drink and a trophy. "Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner." 

"What? No." Luther shakes his head, staring at his brother with an unimpressed look at the boys appearance. "And put that out. You know Dad didn't allow smoking in here." 

Latavia leans her head back and groans, "He's dead. Who cares." 

Allison's voice cuts through like a knife as she exclaims, "Is that my skirt?"

"What?" Number Four sets down the trophy before realizing she was talking about him. Cigarette in between his lips, he crosses into the center of the room. "Oh, yeah, this! I found it in your room. It's a little dated, I know, but, it's very breathy on the....bits." He bluntly waves his hand downwards. 

Starting to get irritated, Luther tries to get the conversation back to something more serious. They were here because their father had died, not to fuck around. "Listen up. There's still some important things we need to discuss, alright?"

Diego scoffs, "Like what?"

"Like the way he died."

"And here we go....." 

Via leans forward, interested in what her brother had to say. Klaus plops down next to her, leaning backwards.

"I don't understand." Vanya admits quietly, "I thought they said it was a heart attack."

Luther nods, "Yeah, according to the coroner."

"Well, wouldn't they know?"

"Theoretically." 

Allison guffaws, "Theoretically?" 

"I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened." 

Latavia knows Luther was always closest to their father and was probably taking his death differently, but could he not just accept that the old man simply died? This wasn't a mission; there was nothing for them to solve. 

"Luther, he was old. Old people die." Latavia comments dryly. She doesn't see a point in this conversation. "It's called the circle of life."

"No, no, the last time that I talked to dad, he sounded strange." Number One admitted, as if it were life changing information. 

Nothing Reginald Hargreeves ever did or said made sense—the Umbrella Academy was the prime example of that. Who adopted eight children and turned them into a superhero team? Who had a friend named Pogo that was a talking chimpanzee? Who created a robot to mother kids because he was too busy and uncaring to do it himself? Who gave kids a number instead of a name? 

Gurgling his drink, Klaus replies, "Oh, quelle surprise." 

"Strange how?" Allison questioned, setting her drink down.

"He sounded on edge." Luther replied, recalling the memory. "Told me I should be careful of who to trust." 

Diego stands up out of his chair, "Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles."

"No, he must have known something was going to happen." Luther stood strong in his argument that their father hadn't died of just a heart attack. He spares a sharp glare at Diego before looking forward at Klaus. "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad."

Allison scoffs. Via draws her lips into a thin line and almost mutters 'Good luck with that'.  

Klaus gestures to himself, almost as if he couldn't believe Luther was talking to that. "I can't just call dad in the afterlife and be like, 'Dad, could you just....stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call.' "

"Since when? That's your thing." 

"I'm not in the right....frame of mind!"

Allison translates his words all too quickly, "You're high?"

"When is he not high?" Latavia challenges, before glancing at Luther. "You should have expected this, honestly."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Number Four smiles innocently, "I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?"

 "Well, sober up, this is important." Number One orders, his tone firm. He then lists off yet another topic he'd wanted to discuss with his siblings. "Then there's the issue with the missing monocle."

Diego looks to the side to mutter, "Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?" 

"The monocle is missing?" Latavia questions. That was news to her, not like she particularly cared, though. 

"Yes, it is." Luther nods, "And just like Diego said, it's just a monocle. It's worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal." He pauses, glancing at all of his siblings. "Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge." 

The implication hung in the air, thick with suspicion. It doesn't take Latavia long to figure out what he's trying to say, and once she does, her eyes narrow at her brother. "Are you kidding me, Luther?" 

Did Luther seriously think one of them killed Reginald? 

Of course, the missing monocle was a problem among itself, but Luther was just using it as evidence that someone within the family did the deed. No random person would care to take a monocle after killing a man, not like the kids would if they killed the man who'd caused them all trauma and pain galore. They would take it as a reward, as good riddance. 

It surely didn't help that they all had abilities that could do the act. Or motivation.

Diego could have easily gotten a knife somewhere in him. Allison could have rumored him to stop breathing. Klaus could have drugged his drink. Vanya had been discarded since she was a child.  Latavia could literally have stopped his heart with a snap of her fingers.

Klaus didn't seem to get the message and asked, "Where are you going with this?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious, Klaus?" Diego steps towards his brother, a sour expression on his face. "He thinks one of us killed Dad." 

Luther grunts softly, glancing around at his siblings. He didn't want to believe one of his siblings killed their father, nor was he planning on having it said aloud, but Diego wasn't wrong. His silence rubs the group the wrong way and they all start to grow upset at the realization that Diego wasn't just trying to annoy Luther with his comment. 

Klaus cries out, "You do!"

Vanya almost looked a little betrayed. As much as her childhood was bad, she'd never kill someone for it. "How could you think that?" 

"We're not here for a funeral." Latavia stands up, crossing her arms defensively as she glares at the tall man. Despite the height difference, she doesn't feel intimidated. "We're here so you can find someone to blame for Daddy's death like this is a mission you need to complete." She finishes, "News flash, Luther; not everything has something sinister behind it. Some things just happen."  

 "Great job, Luther." Diego looks at Number One before beginning to walk away, "Way to lead." 

Luther tries, "That's not what I'm saying—"

"You're crazy, man!" Klaus exclaims, standing up. "You're crazy. Crazy." 

Luther calls out, "I'm not finished!"

"Okay, well, sorry." Klaus grabs their drink and starts to follow Diego out of the room. "I'm just gonna go murder Mom. Be right back." 

"That's not what I was saying. I didn't—"

Vanya gets up and leaves without another word. Allison stares at him unimpressed as she follows after.

"Allison—jeez." 

"No contact for years, and the first thing you do is accuse us of murder." Via looks at the boy, letting him see the anger and hurt in her eyes. God, she was hating Luther more and more by the second. "Welcome-fucking-home, am I right?"

"Via, I didn't...." The Hargreeves' sighs, unsure how to get his words out. Latavia could kill so easily if she wanted too—how was he not supposed to become suspicious? "It's just....you could—"

"Could what?" Latavia snapped, cutting him off before he could finish. "Kill him? Hurt him? You think just because I have these powers, that I'd use them on my own father?" Her voice dripped with bitterness, the weight of his accusation settling heavily on her chest. "He was a an asshole, but he was still dad." 

Luther looked down, his resolve faltering. "I'm not saying you would, but...out of anyone, you could make it look like a heart attack."

"You don't know a damn thing about me, Luther. I'm not the little girl who didn't care who she killed. I've changed." At least, Via hopes she has. She stares daggers at the taller man, who stays quiet as she seethes. "I hate the old man as much as everyone else here, but killing him would just prove I was the monster he always tried to get me to be. But, hey, thanks for the vote of confidence, Number One."

Latavia walks out of the room, leaving Luther by himself.

He sighs. "That went well."

Latavia sat at the living room bar in silence.

After leaving Luther, she had departed up to her old room. The room was like a ghost from the past, unchanged and untouched since the day she left. Everything was exactly where she had left it—the bed neatly made, the books still lined up on the shelf, and her childhood knickknacks gathering dust. Even the old posters she'd tacked onto the walls were still there, yellowed at the edges from years of neglect.

If Reginald let them have anything, it was a bedroom. The one place she was free to express herself, be a teenage girl, be Via instead of Number Eight.

It doesn't surprise her that nothing's changed. Reginald had no reason to touch any of her things, and their mother wouldn't have moved anything around without their permission. Therefore, it just sat collecting dust. Her room was forever frozen around teenage Latavia. 

Via didn't stay long, though. It had honestly gotten rather sad, just sitting in her old bedroom. It felt so empty, so odd. It felt like it didn't belong to her, despite everything in it being hers. This room belonged to Number Eight—a girl who'd disappeared  a while ago. 

So, Via maneuvered back into the empty living room and went to the bar to pour herself a—in her opinion, much needed—drink. 

Reginald had never let them touch the bar as children, given they were that. But, the Hargreeves' had been a rebellious bunch when they grew older. Late at night after they were put to bed, they'd sneak past Pogo and go up to the roof—sneak a few drinks and share the joints and cigarettes they managed to come across. Just talk. 

Those are the memories that Latavia likes to think back on when she thinks of her siblings. Before Luther and Diego always tried competing for top dog; before Five disappeared and Ben died; before Klaus started to turn for the worse. Before they all looked at each other like people whom they used to know. 

Those were some of the only good times in the Umbrella Academy.

Via sat in silence, swirling her glass around. The ice clinked within the amber liquid. Once more, the house was utterly silent. She wasn't sure where any of her siblings had ended up, but she didn't care. It was better that way.

Latavia took a slow sip, letting the warmth of the alcohol spread through her. It was easier to focus on the burn than on the gnawing emptiness that had settled in her chest since she'd walked through the door. The family she once knew was fractured, held together only by the thin threads of shared trauma and unresolved grudges. 

She was lost in her thoughts, the familiar warmth of the whiskey settling into her bones, when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She glances up, swallowing as Diego enters the living room, his expression unreadable as he walked past her without a word and made his way to the couch.

He collapsed onto it with a heavy sigh, lying back as if the weight of the world had finally caught up with him. Diego closes his eyes and pulls out one of his knives. 

"Is it nap time for little Number Two?" Via quipped, taking another sip of her drink.

"Funny." Diego commented. 

Latavia watched him for a moment, the brief levity fading as the weight of their situation settled back in. She hesitated, then decided to break the silence. "Do you agree with Luther?"

"I think Luther has his head up his ass." Number Two replies bitterly.

"He thought I killed him." 

"Doesn't surprise me."

Latavia suddenly blurts, "Are we gonna talk about it?" 

Diego's hand paused knife mid-twirl, the knife stopping between his fingers as he looked up at her. "Talk about what?"

"You know what," Latavia snapped, her voice firm but tinged with uncertainty.

Diego let out a long breath as he asks, "I don't know what you want me to say." 

"Maybe, an apology?" Latavia sets down her drink and crosses her arms, gripping her sleeves as if trying to hold herself together. "You took your anger out on me. You blamed me."

Diego remembered what he'd said. He remembers that he blamed Latavia for Ben being gone because why couldn't she bring him back? She could manipulate bodies, she could stop hearts. Why couldn't she start one back up?

"It's been years, Latavia." Number Two scoffs. Via narrows her eyes at the use of her full name. "We were nineteen. I didn't mean it."

"That doesn't make up for how much I hated myself because of how much I thought you all blamed me." Via shoots back defensively. 

She doesn't like to think back to the year after Ben died. The year she thought her siblings hated her because she couldn't bring Number Six back. To when she hated herself for not being able to. To when Klaus told her he wished she'd died instead. To when Diego screamed at her that she was at blame for his death because she could have revived him if she cared enough. 

Diego looked away, the weight of her words settling between them like a heavy fog. "I was angry, okay? We all were." He pauses. "But if you want an apology, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault Ben died. It was everyone's, like Dad said." 

Latavia swallowed hard, the apology she'd waited years to hear finally spoken aloud. It didn't erase the years of hurt, the guilt she'd carried, the self-loathing that had gnawed at her every day, but it was something.

"Children behave

That's what they say when we're together."

The sudden music fills the silence between the two siblings. Latavia's brows furrow, and Diego narrows his eyes at a Wildebeest head mounted on the wall, just as confused. 

"And watch how you play

They don't understand."

"What the fuck is that?" Via uncrosses her arms. The walls seem to vibrate with the familiar tune, the music infecting every room.  "Who the hell is blasting Tiffany?"

"And so we're...

Running just as fast as we can

Holdin' on to one another's hand."

Number Two throws his knife into the mounted head with a dull thud and gets off of the couch. He paces towards the doors to the room and closes them suspiciously, causing Via to furrow her brows even harder. "Diego, what are you doing?" 

"Tryin' to get away into the night

And the you put your arms around me

And we tumble to the ground

And then you say,

"I think we're alone now." Diego sang as he turned towards his sister, moving in her direction. 

Latavia has no clue what's happening but she can't help the giggle that falls from her lips. She stares at the boy as if he has three heads. "Diego—"

"There doesn't seem to be anyone around." 

"Oh my God, stop singing—"

 She's cut off as the boy grabs her hand, slowly spinning her around as the music continues to play around them. 

"I think we're alone now

The beating of our hearts is the only sound."

Latavia isn't sure what's going on. Tiffany was blasting, Diego was singing, and it felt like all their tension was momentarily forgotten about as the woman's voice echoed. However, Via wasn't complaining. In fact, she smiles as Diego spins her and follows him to the center of the living room.

The boy drops her hand and does the wave with his arms, Via laughing at his cringey moves. She jumps around like a little girl, waving her hands around. 

"Look at the way

We gotta hide what we're doin'

'Cause what would they say

If they ever knew

And so we're,"

Diego does the fishing rod. Latavia shakes her head with amusement. "Oh, that is terrible." 

"You need to loosen up," the Hargreeves boy argues, shimmying up and down towards her.  

Latavia thinks this is the first time today where she's actually felt at home. Dancing with her brother, as if they were little children. Just being brother and sister.

"Running just as fast as we can

Holdin' on to one another's hand

Tryin' to get away into the night

And then you put your arms around me

And we tumble to the ground

And then you say,"

Diego and Via hum and sing along to the words, dancing around like children. Fingers wave in the air and feet shuffle on the floor. A smile coexists between the two. For a moment, they aren't Number Two and Number Eight; for a moment, their tension seems to disappear. They just two siblings having fun. 

"I think we're alone now 

There doesn't seem to be anyone around

I think we're alone now

The beating of our hearts is the only sound."

Via misses this. She wishes her and her siblings never had to change.

"I think we're alone now

There doesn't seem to be anyone around

I think we're alone now

The beating of our hearts is the only sound."

Diego's playfully dipping Latavia when the music comes to a sudden halt. The lights in the room flicker out and everything turns dim. The sun that had been shining outside seems to have disappeared, replaced by harsh thunder and gray clouds.

The fuck? 

Latavia's brows furrow as clatters and crashes are heard from within the house. Lightning flashes in from the windows, but nothing about it screams a normal rainstorm—no, this was something odd. Different. 

Before she can speak, she's discarded on the floor by Diego—legitimately dropped. Latavia lands on her ass cringing, and Number Two quickly runs towards the doors and opens them to leave. Number Eight rolls her eyes and stands up, rushing after with him a snip, "Okay, fuck you." 

The two file out the back doors of the academy. Vanya, Allison, and Luther all follow with the same concerned yet curious expressions.

Diego is the first outside. "Oh—"

Via's hair is immediately whipped back by a strong blow of force. She looks up to see an odd blue  portal of sorts in the sky, warping and rippling. Goosebumps pop up on her bare arms as she stares up at it, eyes slightly widened.

That wasn't something you saw every day. 

Luther and Diego step in front of their other siblings. Latavia stands behind them, shaking her head. "I should have gone back to work."

Vanya roughly exclaims, "What is it?"

Blue coat blowing in the wind, Allison comes forward to put a hand in front of Luther, retracting it to rest on his bulky shoulder. "Don't get too close!" 

Diego retorts, "Yeah, no, shit!"

"Looks like some sort of temporal anomaly." Luther explains, as if Via understands. All she saw was some wonky blue thing that most certainly wasn't normal. "Either that or a miniature black hole. One of the two." 

Number Two's eyes don't leave the sky. "Pretty big difference there, Paul Bunyan."

"Which one's better?" Latavia inquires. 

"Out of the way!"

Klaus is suddenly mad dashing through his siblings, shoving Via to the side. Her small stature stumbles slightly and she whips around to look at what her brother was doing. Number Four pushes past Diego and Luther to stand right in front of the portal, a fire extinguisher tightly clasped in their hands.

Luther yells, "What are you—"

Klaus sprays the extinguisher with no avail before mindlessly chucking the item right into the portal. As if that was doing something. 

Allison cries in frustration, "What is that gonna do?!"

"I don't know." Klaus whines with shrugs, "Do you have a better idea?"

Before anyone can come up with an idea, electricity crackles loudly. Klaus' eyes widen and Luther quickly lunges forward, shoving the boy behind him. Latavia's eyes are locked on the portal, face stuck in confusion as what appears to be an old man tries to come through it. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—"

"What the actual fuck is that?!" Via voices, watching the old man.

Luther outstretches a hand, "Everyone get behind me." 

"Yeah, get behind us." Diego repeats, morphing his words slightly. He always needed to be the top dog with Luther. Latavia does as she's told, staying firmly still behind her brothers. 

Klaus grabs on to his sister's hand, trying to drag her back inside of the house with an, "I vote for running! C'mon!"

"No, Klaus—" Via's brows furrow even further as the old man morphs between his current figure and a younger boy, though the face is so morphed by the blue light she can't even see his features.

The siblings all stare at the portal, expressions unreadable.

Suddenly, it disappears and a young boy falls onto the ground with an audible thump.

The siblings all start to slowly pace towards the young boy, cautious. He gets back on to his feet and Latavia feels her heart clench in her chest when she does a once-over on his face, immediately recognizing him.  

No. 

Her mouth fell ajar. Standing in front of her was—a noticeably younger—Five Hargreeves. Number Five. Her long lost brother. A boy she hadn't seen in sixteen years and never expected to see again. 

He's wearing an over-sized suit and, unlike the rest of his siblings who appear to be grown adults, looks to be merely a pre-teen. But, nonetheless, it's Five. 

"Does anyone else see little Number Five or...." Klaus slowly drawls, blinking at the young boy. Was he that high? Had he summoned Five's ghost somehow by mistake? "....is that just me?" 

Latavia finally finds her voice. "Oh my God."

Five looks at each of her siblings. 

"Oh my God !" Via exclaims even louder, unable to hide her excitement and utter shock. Five was here! He was alive! He'd just fallen from the fucking sky!

Five looks down at himself. "Shit."

mara's misc! 

hey hey hey!!

this week has been low-key wild for me, and i feel like updating bc why not???

for starters, this past weekend and this week have been full of auditions!!! my normal theater does an 8-18 show every fall, and i've continuously done them for the past four years so of course i auditioned!!! the show was little mermaid btw.

little did i know that it would turn into smth so exciting for me...

i have the worst stage anxiety like it's stupid but singing auditions are my worst fear genuinely. so i'm always going in so nervous and my voice never sounds right bc i'm so scared (somehow i've gotten cast each year *shrugs*)

BUT SOMEHOW I GOT A FUCKING CALLBACK FOR ARIEL. FUCKING ARIEL.

i was shocked, not only because ariel is the freaking lead but bc all the good singers/my older friends got callbacks for scuttle, sebastian, etc.....LIKE WHAT. i've never been a lead before i was so bewildered but i ended up accepting the callback and it was such a good and fun experience. like this cast is SO talented and the girl who ended up getting ariel (a good friend of mine) deserves it sm and there's no beef. personally, i didn't even want the role.

i ended up getting one of ariel's sisters, arista and i'm VERY excited. listen to "she's in love" from the little mermaid show and you'll get my hype bc WHY IS IT SUCH A BANGER AND WDYM IMMA BE SINGING/DANCING IT????? i'm happy to be getting a named character w/ lines && singing solo opportunities. 

will be updating more on this show as it goes on (show isn't till november so expect ALL the details) 

anywho, back to this book. 

this chapter was fun to write!!! 

i know you JUST met via but honestly drop shit ya'll wanna see happen with her relationship growth with any of the siblings. this is a rewrite so i'm very up to adding cute details and just things you guys want. OR drop some headcannons about her and her siblings *shrugs* 

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