GHOST - Five Hargreeves X Umbrella Academy

2:8

Violet sat curled in on herself in the corner of one of the couches, Five next to her with his elbows resting on his knees sat forward. Diego and Lila were on the opposite couch and they were all in deep conversation about finding Sir Reginald all the while Violet only half listened, zoning in and out periodically.

She had been introduced to Elliot, the actual owner of the apartment, which she had been wondering about in the back of her head the whole time. He was a nervous, awkward man with a kind heart and quite peculiar interests, she found out.

He'd started to bring up how Violet looked familiar and Diego had simply told him to not question it.

Thankfully.

Violet certainly wasn't going to explain.

"Right now our priority is finding dad and getting answers because everything else depends on it."

She picked at her sleeve, her other hand resting in her lap - she really should progress and properly heal it, but she preferred focusing on her side; it definitely wasn't because the feeling of her bones resetting made her queasy.

"Which for the record, I already did." Diego said smugly.

She recalled breaking her arm once on a mission when they were ten and balling her eyes out having to fix it the day after.

"And then let him go before you could have a meaningful conversation." Five said back sarcastically.

"He stabbed me."

Violet paused, looking at her brother with raised eyebrows.

What the fuck had she missed? Five had only been in Dallas for a couple of days.

She was so tired that the more they talked she almost fell asleep, curled up like a cat in the corner, her hoodie pulled over her legs for warmth and comfort.

"Im surprised he waited this long, Diego, we've all had the urge."

Lila snickered and held her hand out for a high five, which was ignored.

Five pulled paper from his pocket. "Good thing I know where dad's going to be tonight."

Violet didn't even lean over to look at it, she was in such a daze.

They began talking about this secret organisation called the majestic twelve, and a gala where their dad would be, and she became even more uncomfortable while picking at the edges of her bandaids absentmindedly.

They discussed the idea to head to this gala to confront or follow Reginald, and she sank in on herself with anxiety.

She had been attacked not even twenty four hours ago, killed a man and maimed another, and here she was being thrown into it all - but what choice did she have? Did any of them have? They only had until Monday to fix things again.

None of them had the privilege of time, it seemed. It wasn't just her.

Five had gone from one timeline to the next, a gruelling couple of weeks without any pause like everyone else had.

She glimpsed the squaring of his jaw everytime he spoke. He did well to hide it, along with the stress behind his eyes, but she could see it.

After a while of them talking, she had zoned out so much that she didnt realise people had been and left.

Lila had gone out with Diego and Five had stood up, the only one left other than herself. He went to talk to her about their plan but found himself pausing to watch her in her own little world.

She stared blankly at the coffee table, her sleeve bundled against her mouth for comfort, this awfully tired expression on her face and he decided against it.

He let her sit in the quiet, knowing it was where she found her peace.

•°•
○
°•°

Violet stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom to Elliots apartment and adjusted the charcoal suit jacket sleeves so that they fell to her palms.

She was so unfathomably uncertain about all of this.

Lila had gone out to find a dress for the Gala with Diego and they had come back with a womens tailored suit for her - much to her shock and dread.

Violet was planning to stay behind and let them be the centres of attention; a Gala was not her scene.

But Five and Diego were strict on not leaving her alone, their overprotectiveness really shining through the cracks much to her dismay.

How they found one her size was a wonder. At least Diego knew to sway Lila against buying her a dress.

With the mess her body was in, still unhealed completely, mottled green and yellow bruises across her body, mixed with the still half broken, wrapped up fingers and patched over side - she would certainly catch some eyes and not the good kind. (Not that any eyes on her was ever welcome.) Her skin had returned to scabbed over shins and elbows, and now only a deep pink scar like line swept across both of her lips.

Now Violet stood in sharp black trousers and dress shoes, a crisp white shirt tucked into the belt and her charcoal black jacket over the top. A tie was fixed unevenly around her neck, which she had fumbled to knot with her one good hand - her muscle memory trying to kick in from their childhood uniform days, but her broken fingers hindering her in the long run.

Her long hair had been brushed and fell pretty flatly down below her hips, helping hide her from view. It was one of the main reasons she grew it out as a kid and she was thankful for it now.

Violet had stared at herself strangely for a solid twenty minutes; feeling nothing but disjointed and uncomfortable, like a fractured version of herself standing stiffly in clothes with more confidence sewn into the seams than she had in her entire body.

When Violet finally exited the bathroom shyly, the others were ready and idly waiting.

A wolf whistle made her cheeks tint red.

Lila grinned in her silky blue dress from her right, her shoulder leant against the wall. Diego shot the woman a dry look.

"Who would have thought you'd pull off a suit better than anyone here." She said playfully, grinning wider when Diego nudged her in the side. She tilted her head back and laughed at him.

"Don't hit on my sister." He pleaded. "She may be in her thirties but she still looks seventeen."

"It was just a compliment!" Lila protested, hands in the air. "Don't get so jealous. You're too sensitive."

Violet glanced at Five who rose an eyebrow, scanning her up and down shamelessly and she turned invisible quickly. His his lips quirk upwards as he looked down, hands sliding into his pockets.

Her face burned red and she was grateful for her powers hiding her from everyone.

They eventually headed to the Gala and the entire taxi ride Violets knee blunced up and down and she kept her eyes downward at the sleeve she was messing with.

When they got out she kept herself next to Five, allowing Diego and Lila to lead into the large, luscious building. She held onto the back of his blazer and leant forwards to murmur in his ear, "are you sure no one will recognise me? My face is all over the news."

He murmured back assuredly, "They won't. These people are too pretentious, they probably get their assistants to watch the news and read the paper for them."

She hoped he was right.

She also wished to borrow his confidence from time to time.