𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Forty ~

"The nerve of that man!" Allison scoffed, taking a swig from one of the nearby bottles of alcohol as she vented her frustrations about Ray to her siblings. "One thing goes wrong and it sets him off on a warpath. I mean, doesn't he know who I am? No no, Ray! You know exactly who I am," She continued venting as she worked on Klaus's hair while Dusk and Vanya sat around the hair salon, finishing off the last of their tacos. "He just can't handle it! I'm trying to protect him, and he's making my life harder!"

"Protect him from what?" Klaus asked. "The end of the world, for one," she answered, biting a sigh. Vanya sat in one of the chairs, pretending to shoot nearby bottles and catching a glimpse of her adopted siblings conversing. "Is the world really gonna end in six days?" She spoke up, making the siblings turn around and look at her. "Well, it did last time, and we did everything Five could think of to stop it," Dusk explained, hoping not to scare Vanya too much. "Hey, wouldn't it be weird if Five grew up hot?" Klaus blurted out as he grabbed a cigarette.

"Eww!" Allison scrunched up her nose in disgust, brushing away the thought as Klaus walked off and sat about three feet from Dusk's chair. "You're so weird, Klausy," she playfully rolled her eyes. "Well, not to toot my own horn, but I'm a funny guy, songbird!" He chuckled before making jokes about Allison and Luther being lovers when they were younger. Growing up, the siblings knew that Allison had hidden feelings for Luther, just like Dusk had hidden feelings for Klaus.

"We have never even kissed!" Allison denied as Klaus made kissing sounds and made Dusk and Vanya laugh so hard their stomachs began to hurt. "You guys were making moon-dog eyes at each other all through puberty and breakfasts and all that," Klaus egged on before taking a sip from his flask. "Come on Alli, you can't deny it. I saw it too! You were also wearing a golden locket around your neck. No doubt it was from him!" Dusk joined in on the teasing too. "You're not helping, Dusk!" she sighed.

"I'm just trying to tell the truth!" The raven smirked before propping her feet up on a nearby chair. "Wait... Aren't we all like brothers and sisters?" Vanya questioned. Klaus and Allison looked at each other, having no idea why their sister was acting like she didn't remember anything. "She has amnesia. Go easy on her," Dusk whispered to Klaus, his mouth slightly opened with surprise before he nodded understandingly.

"Well technically, we are..." Allison trailed off, slumping back in her seat. "Ah-ah! Technically? If you have to use the word technically, you're already in enough trouble," Klaus smirked, looking at Dusk for a moment as she held back a wheeze. "Can we focus, please? I mean, we're clearly not saving the world tonight. But maybe we can try to at least save my marriage!" Allison pleaded. "No! It's like asking a nun how to hump someone's leg. I mean, who in this room knows shit about relationships?" Klaus looked in Vanya's direction, pointing at her as he took another sip from his flask of overflowing liquor.

"This one is in secret love with some farm Frau, which is an improvement from her previous love interest, the serial killer," He then looked over at the raven with a look that said, "Sorry, Not Sorry."  "Dusk had a douchebag fiancé who fucked another girl in their bed. Meanwhile, I'm carrying a torch for a soldier who I technically haven't met yet, and Luther is in love with his sister," "Okay again, we are not biological!" Allison spoke up. "Come on, let's face it. The healthiest long-term relationship in this family was when Five was banging that mannequin,"

Vanya slightly squinted at that comment, trying not to let that image enter her mind. Allison had the same look as she watched out of the corner of her eye as Dusk tried not to laugh out loud. "The only thing the Umbrella Academy knows about love... is how to screw it up!" Klaus announced, raising his flask in the air before taking another swig. "Cheers to that, I guess," Dusk chuckled, finally regaining her composure and raising her bottle of brandy before letting the taste linger on her tongue.

She never indulged in alcohol too often, only if she had a rough night and nothing could make it better, but this time it was different. This time, she was surrounded by people she loved and couldn't be happier. Well, besides the thought of her and Klaus holding each other close again. "How do you guys deal with all this? The time travel, seeing the dead, the end of the world," Vanya asked.

"Well, I get really high. Allison..." Klaus looked over at her as she rolled her eyes into the back of her head. "...Lies to herself," Number Three became agitated and pushed a rolling stool in Klaus's direction, stopping inches away from his thigh. "Dusk unleashes her inner demon of fire and burns things. And you suppress all your emotions deep down until you eventually blow shit up," Klaus finished, letting out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. "Yeah, I'd like not to do that anymore," Vanya sighed.

"Well, you've got six days. That should hopefully be enough," Dusk said, giving her a comforting smile. "What are we gonna do with six days?" Allison questioned. Dusk suddenly remembered something. She had never been able to confess her feelings to Klaus when they were younger. Even though they kissed, cuddled, and made out once before, they had never officially become a couple. She had hoped to leave the past behind when she left the academy, but now a part of it had returned, and she realized what she wanted to do with her last six days.

She wanted to finally tell Klaus that she loved him.

 The raven was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Vanya mention that she was going to tell her secret love Sissy, that she was in love with her. "I don't want there to be any secrets between us," Vanya explained. A realization crossed over Allison, making her stand up from her seat, one of the bottles of liquor still in hand. "Your right! If it's gonna go all tits-up, the least I can do is be honest with my husband," Allison said, silently hoping that Ray wouldn't run away from her like Patrick did when he found out about her powers.

"Does this mean I have to face my cult? Man, I hate group breakups. This is why I stopped dating twins," Klaus sighed at the thought of going through with it. Vanya threw her hands up in the air, smiling as she said her family was amazing. Everyone started chuckling at the comment, and for once, it felt like they were a normal family. "Come here, Vanya! Come here, Dusky!" Klaus smiled, pulling Allison into a side hug and opening his arms for his other sisters.

While in the embrace, Dusk could feel Klaus's heart pounding as she laid her ear on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat had always been so comforting, and for a moment, she felt at peace. The radio started blasting a new song, making everyone look in that direction. "Guys! I love this song!" Dusk smiled, rushing towards the radio and slightly turning the dial. The four siblings started dancing around the salon, twisting and twirling together as the music continued playing.

Halfway through the song, Dusk and Klaus spun each other around. He pulled her close to him with a strong tug, almost making her fly into his chest. The two locked eyes and smiled for a second before getting back to dancing. A few minutes went by, and the song finally ended, and they collapsed in their seats, having exhausted all their energy. As she stared at the ceiling, Dusk couldn't help but imagine being with Klaus and recreating all the special moments they shared when they were younger.