HEADACHE. || THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

ONE

"shit."

the hargreeves siblings looked up, not believing anything that they were witnessing. something was swallowing them from the inside, and it wasn't ren's small arms that was wrapped around them all. it was a crushing and twisting feeling. just being back, back at their worst nightmare, it brought them horror. they were back to the torturous days of their childhood. and they were about to experience it all again.

their little voices in their heads kept telling them to run, to get away from it all before it's too late. but being within ren's small embrace made it impossible for them to leave. her little mutterings were too sweet. her little yelps and cries for joy were too capturing. but eventually, ren's burst of happiness was pushed out by their fear and concern. it wasn't until a good five minutes when ren released them all.

"ren, what happened?" klaus asked. his face scrunched up slightly at the sound of his voice.

"you don't remember?" ren sounded heartbroken. her bright smile seemed to have faded. "we were playing hide and seek. you guys were trying to hide. but, i couldn't find any of you. i assumed you all took your chances and finally ran away from this place," she stopped and sniffled, "god, please don't ever do that again. i don't want to lose you guys. not when i'm with father." her voice started to tremble with her eyes clogging with tears.

"god, ren you know we would never do that to you sis." diego stroked her hair while giving her reassuring words. ren eventually pulled away from the rest, letting her hands drop to her sides and her eyes scan her siblings. before she made full eye contact with ben, he pushed himself through with his arms, opening them up for another hug.

he crashed into her, securing his arms around her body which was just a little bit shorter than his right now. he squeezed her, taking in every single sensation coursing through his bones, veins, muscles, and joints. the touch of her cloth. the texture of her skin. the smell of fresh dinner cooked right off the stove. the feel of her small breaths of air on his own neck. oh, how much he missed it all. how much he missed being alive.

"ren," ben looked her straight in the eyes and gripped his hands around her arms.

"benny!" she smiled with her eyes closed and squealed.

"can you see me? am i here?" ben's eyes were swelling up and he could feel the insides of his throat shake like a volcano. a volcano about to erupt with emotions and tears.

"of course, silly! what do you mean 'do i see you?' you're right here! unless you want to play another game of hide and seek." she giggled as she scrunched her little nose. how he missed seeing her nose scrunch everyday.

"oh, right." ben sighed in honest relief. the rest of the hargreeves stood around still taking in what was happening.

"ben ben! i gotta show you something cool! come on!" before anybody could take a breath, ren took ben by the arm and dashed inside. ben's head whipped back by her quickness and was for sure shocked. but, he was still as happy as ever. his heart was pumping fast. his eyes crinkled at the outside from smiling too hard. he never got his last chance to be with ren. not before he died. but now he can truly spend the quality time he never got to experience back then. he can redo it all. and he wasn't going to let anything slip by. not on his watch.

he wasn't going to leave ren again.

.......................................

"guys, i want to get out of here," diego scoffed. he looked around the area in disgust. although nobody could truly see it, he was scared. the way his body froze to the core, the way his knees locked up like sticks, how his chest felt like a void. his teeth were so clenched, so pressed together, you could swear that his jaw went through the top of his skull.