Let it Rain (The Umbrella Academy)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: There Goes the Deal

November 16, 1963
Dallas, Texas

In a bright flash I was outside of Elliot's and Gill and I's apartment complex. I climbed the steps to Elliot's level then paused. Okay, whit happened last while Ah wis here? We were... Five 'n Ah juist brought back Klaus 'n Allision! That's it. Okay.

I took a deep shaky breath and knocked on the door but of course didn't wait for a response before I walked through.

Their eyes shot up to see me in the doorway. "Hey, guys—" Five spatial jumped over and caught me in a suffocating hug, followed by Gill who sprinted from the next room over. "You guys are squeezing me to death." I choked out through sniffles. Gill reluctantly let me loose, but Five didn't budge.

"Five," Gill warned. The boy buried his face in the crook of my neck then let go.

"Don't ever—"

"Don't ever do that again. I know. But I'm afraid I'm just visiting." I turned over my arm to let them faintly see the tracker. "This lil' do-dad is latched onto my nerve. It was a real process of dying and regenerating to get it deactivated to see you guys."

"So-So why don't you just stay?" Gill asked as he took my hands in his.

" 'Cause I'm not supposed to be here. I have a deal. One person for the world. You guys are safe. In your near future you'll be back home, but I have to work for the Handler for, well, eternity. But I had to see you guys. It's been way way too long." I pulled Five back into a hug then moved to hug Gill.

"H-How long have you been gone?" Gill asked me.

"Seven years or so." I pulled back from our hug.

"Seven years!" the two shouted in unison.

"Aye, seven years, four months, one week, and four days, and much more to go if it keeps you guys safe." I checked my watch. "I sadly can't stay too long though. They'll most definitely kill me this time if they find out my tracker was turned off."

"What if you didn't go back? We can figure this out together."

"Five, you've been working really hard at this. It's my turn to do my part."

"Bonnie—"

"Let me fix things this time."

"I'm goin' with you then," Gill told me and grabbed my hand.

My eyes widened. "As much as I'd love that, you do that and they'll know I was here. That zapper bug doesn't tickle."

Gilligan turned over my arm again to see faint scarring. He creased his eyebrows. "Ron, how many times have they zapped you?"

"Seventeen. Third, sixth, tenth, and fifteenth time they actually had to revive me. Like I said, it doesn't tickle."

Gill held me tighter and kissed my head. "Why'd they do it?" he asked in a gravelly voice into my hair.

" 'Cause I tried to see you guys." I softly brushed off his grasp and went to the window to point. "Currently, one of me is being electrocuted in our apartment. Another across the street. And one more is being revived as Five as I was about to spatial jump in here." Then I quickly moved away from the clear surface.

"You were this close the entire time?" Five growled.

"I tried a few more timelines thinking it was just this time that they were monitoring, but it clearly wasn't," I grumbled.

"Why haven't they killed us?" Five furrowed his brows.

"Part of the deal. They don't know you're at Elliot's either, but they do know I had an apartment here." I peeked out of the window again to see the Handler across the street. "Jobby... Ah gotta go. Um, A'll see you when Ah see you? ...Maybe."