8 ○ Umbrella Academy

You Had to Make it Weird

I woke up before Diego had, slowly taking him in and just as slowly processing what we'd done. It changed a lot, really. He was no longer my idiot brother. Well, he was still an idiot, that didn't change; but us as whole had. Our dynamic had shifted, and from this point on there was no slipping back to what we used to be. We used to hide our closeness, especially with all the slack Klaus had given Allison and Luther over the years. But at that point they had been closer than Diego and I. Now? I almost laughed as I realized we may be closer than they'd ever be, what with how they left things when we faced the first apocalypse.

With a deep breath I kissed Diego's forehead, untangling my limbs from his and getting dressed. I was slow as I walked out of the room, almost instantly catching Lila's attention. The smirk on her face told me I'd face the same scrutiny I'd hoped to avoid. "You both enjoy yourselves?" she hummed, the humor bouncing off her in waves when I felt my cheeks grow hot. "I thought he told me you were his sister?" The burn on my cheeks grew tenfold, nervously shuffling on my feet.

"We aren't actually related, we just grew up together," I mumbled with a half-hearted shrug. "We all came from different parts of the world."

"But isn't it still weird though?" she inquired, leaning forward a tad. "I mean, even if you're adopted, you're still technically brother and sister." I held my hand up and turned slightly away from her, not needing that perspective.

"I don't wanna go there, thanks," I rushed out, needing to clear my throat. Putting on a mask would be useless, as the embarrassment was written clearly over my pale features with a blush that threatened to burn my skin. "I just wanted something to eat."

"You're in luck, Elliot has nothing edible in the fridge." I could hear him mentally groan from another room, not caring to vocalize his displeasure. "I'm going on a snack run. I'll bring you back something worth eating." Her smirk morphed to a grin as turned to leave. I didn't bother stopping her, staring after her as she left. Something was bugging me about her, but no matter how deep I looked I couldn't find anything noteworthy. That didn't mean I'd stop looking.

●

Usually Dad let me tag along for the mission, even if he made me wait in the car. However, now he was forcing me to stay behind. He'd left me at the house with Vanya, Pogo, and Mom. I usually kept the reorganizing to my own room, sometimes Diego's if he made me mad, and usually Diego handled fighting decently well.

There were a lot of usuallies that didn't apply to our current situation. 

In the time that it took my siblings and father to return, I'd upended nearly every room I could find, except for those we'd been restricted from; like Dad's office. The kitchen, the library, the longue, everyone's bedrooms save Vanya's. From books to clothes to utensils to Klaus' drug stash. All to distract me from the bombardment of pain, the strong panic in both Diego's mind and my own, and the worry for all of my siblings. If Diego was struggling, it was likely everyone else had, too.

I'd holed myself in Klaus' room, taking comfort in his lack of thoughts while everyone else was thoroughly upset about the new arrangement of their things and the inability to find what they were each looking for. All the while, Klaus kept running his hand up and down my back, soothing me in the most simple way he knew how, my knees drawn to my chest and my hand over my ears. My head was throbbing with every word, amplified due to the fact that I heard the other six of my siblings all at once.

I could tell Diego's head hurt too, due to his string of thoughts, but it's not like he was doing anything to help. They each took turns letting Mom patch them up, searching through their things before and after they visited her, likely putting everything back in the places I'd found them. While I felt bad for them and the pain they unintentionally caused because of my actions, I couldn't do much to control it. I needed a healthy distraction and instead of turning to Klaus' drug stash, I decided to give myself a physical sense of order. "I'm just talking out of my ass, but you're clearly not okay," he sighed. His hand stilled as he leaned into my side, head on mine. He was high as a kite, the space his mind should've been blissfully empty. "You can rearrange my room again if that helps."