1 | thrown into the future | | terra nova, the umbrella academy

seven

shannon apartment . . .

chicago, illinois . . .

october 1st, 2143 . . .

October First came on a Saturday a week later, and so did Five's fourteenth birthday, for the third time in his life. Technically, it was his 61st, but Elisabeth had said they were giving him a chance at a normal childhood, and that meant he had to celebrate birthdays according to his age. Which, to him, was weird. But honestly, the weirdest part came when Elisabeth and Jim presented him with gifts, something he'd never had before (Lila and Diego had tried, of course, but they didn't really get him).

"You got me a present?" He asked, frowning down at the wrapped box. His ribs still hurt, however his healing had sped up somewhat since he'd come to live with Jim and Elisabeth.

"Of course we did, sweetie." Elisabeth said fondly, sitting down on the couch beside him. "We get all of our children presents for their birthdays."

"Yeah Five, have you never gotten a present before?" Josh asked, lounging on his bed in the loft.

"Actually, Josh, I haven't." Five snarked back. "Reginald tended to ignore such things like birthdays, Christmas, Easter, July Fourth. Basically anything fun."

"Well, Five, you're a Shannon now. And that means gifts on your birthday and at Christmas and basically whenever we feel like getting you something you might need or want." Jim said, crossing his arms. Five nodded, a little overwhelmed.

"This one is actually from Jason and Steph. They bought you a few presents in March, but they didn't get the chance to give you them. Come on, open it." Elisabeth prompted him. So he did. Inside the box was a plex.

"They got me a plex?" Five asked, blinking. He'd been using Jim's one to do all of his work on, but he didn't think he could get his own until he got a job and he couldn't do that until he turned sixteen. "But- These are really expensive."

"Honey, these are long term investments." Elisabeth explained. "We buy them, you use them, you get your education. Parents supply these things for their children."

"But I'm not your child." He said, brows furrowed. Technically, according to the paperwork, he was their nephew, and yet from the moment Jim gave them the news that Stephanie and Jason were dead, they had done nothing but welcome Five into the family trying to make sure he knew he was family.

"Five, my brother took you into his family, we brought you into our family. That makes you one of our children." Jim said firmly. "If I could go back in time and punch that Reginald Hargreeves in the throat for making you think you don't deserve a loving, caring family, I would." Five choked out a laugh, smiling.

"Go raibh maith agat. Really. It's great." [ Irish ; Thank you ] He smiled.

"That's not the only gift, Five." Jim said, grabbing another bag from behind the sofa. Five blinked.

"This one is from all of us. Maddy noticed how you prefer softer materials than the ones our duvets are made from, so we made this for you." Five pulled out the fabric, now seeing that it was a blanket. Five ran his fingers over it, the smooth feeling of the material under his fingers soothing.

"I love it, thank you." Five smiled genuinely. He wrapped himself in the blanket, earning him fond smiles of amusement from Jim and Elisabeth. Zoe let out a cry then, but before either adult could move Five had jumped away to the bedroom, humming a tune under his breath as he picked up the two-month-old, cradling her to his chest the way he used to with his niece. It never failed to calm Zoe down, and true to that she made a happy gurgle, staring up at the young time traveller with wide, blue eyes.