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Allison didn't know the meaning of "want". Not in material possessions, anyways. As soon as she had discovered her powers, she tested them to the limit.
Could she make Diego streak through the house in their underwear? Could she get an extra cookie at dinner? Could she persuade Ben to give her his allowance?
With each success, Allison grew in confidence with her abilities.
She also discovered limits. For example, their mother couldn't be manipulated by her abilities, though that was something that their father was more curious about than herself.
Her father though… it was difficult to tell whether or not her abilities affected him. She suspected that they did, but she couldn't tell if he was humoring her or if she had actually succeeded.
So when their father asked them to pick one thing that they wanted for their twelfth birthday, she drew a blank at first. She had risen to minor fame since her family's debut as The Umbrella Academy, her whispered rumors finding the ears of casting and modeling agencies, and her father really couldn't further her opportunities on that front. She frowned to herself slightly. What her father was offering was more test than gift and she had to choose carefully.
Luther chose a tailored suit which wasn't the least bit surprising. Diego chose a weighted training vest, probably in some misguided attempt to beat Luther in their sparring sessions.
"Number Three?" their father prompted in a bored voice.
"Singing lessons," she responded smugly. Her father would interpret it as bettering control of her voice and she would have an additional marketable skill.
Their father nodded gravely, not a hint of emotion on his face as he said, "You will have your singing lessons."
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Allison sighed heavily as she shucked off her coat, a bubble of chilled air following her inside. The paparrazi had followed her the entire afternoon, snapping stills of her perusing the local boutique and getting an iced caramel latte. One of them even tried to tail her into the bathroom, only stopping when Allison stared them in the eye as she closed the door behind her.
She groaned, unwrapping her scarf and dropped it on top of her coat. Her shoes were disposed of next, heels clacking dully as she kicked them off.
She needed a massage. God, she needed a drink . She ran her fingers through her curls, tugging at the snags. She had taken her brief anonymity in her hometown for granted as they had gallavanted around after Five, first as skeptical but concerned siblings and then alarmed and concerned.
But they had done it in the end. Although Five was constantly muttering about how they shouldn't assume all the threats were gone and to maintain constant vigilance. Allison didn't know how he slept at night with that amount of stress. Judging by the constant black bruises under his eyes, she suspected he didn't.
It was hard not to mother him. Allison had never considered herself the mothering type, not even after Claire was born. Clearly she hadn't been. Allison wasn't even able to see Claire on her own birthday.
At that thought, Allison bit back the immense sadness that welled up inside of her. It didn't do any good to dwell on such things that she couldn't do anything about.
She groaned again, surveying her tiny apartment. She had gotten it when they had all decided to work on their relationship with one another. It didn't seem wise to try and mend relationships without any space to simply get away.
What her apartment possessed in privacy, it lacked in literally everything else, including drinks.
She briefly entertained the idea of going out again, but dismissed it quickly. She had already taken off her heels and there was no way she would put them back on.
An idea struck her. Heading over to her phone, she called the one person she knew could remedy her situation.
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Thirty minutes later, a timid knock sounded at her door. Grinning, Allison hurried over and swung it wide.
Vanya stood there, bundled up tightly against the cold night, cheeks flushed with the chill. Clutched in her hands were two large brown grocery bags. She looked startled at Allison's sudden appearance.
"You're here!" Allison squealed, ushering her smaller sister into the inviting warmth of her apartment. Vanya followed her in cautiously, a slightly confused and wary expression on her face.
"Yes," Vanya agreed, hovering awkwardly just inside the door.
"Oh! Let me take those!" Allison took the bags as Vanya took in her sparse decorations. "You can just hang your coat on the doorknob. I haven't actually invested in any furniture yet."
"I can see that," Vanya replied wryly as she carefully began to unbundle herself.
Allison let out a small laugh as she lay the contents of the bag on the singular table in the whole apartment. Vanya had gotten more than Allison had asked her too. Several bottles of chardonnay were placed next to a platter sporting an array of colorful cheeses and fruit. A mountain of junk food, all the kinds they used to sneak as children and more still, rounded out their stash.
She turned around and beamed at her sister who was still hovering near the door.
"You look like you're about to bolt," Allison grinned, walking towards Vanya. "Come on, over here." She tugged her sister to the living room where she had set up a blanket fort in front of her small television.
"You didn't," Vanya let out a small gasp before a laugh of delight bubbled out of her.
"I totally did," Allison gave her sister an evil grin before gently pushing her down onto the bed of pillows she had created. "Make yourself comfortable."
She pulled two wine glasses from her tiny kitchenette and poured them both generous portions before grabbing some of the junk food and making her way back to her sister.
"Cheese Wizards or Pickled Puffs?"
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Allison brushed some crumbs off of her lap as she leaned back next to Vanya. A soap opera played on the television, illuminating her sister's face in a blue glow. Vanya still looked fidgety, not entirely relaxing even after she had downed half her glass of wine.
"Do you want me to paint your nails?" Allison asked, reaching for her box of nail polish she had placed inside their fort.
"Oh," Vanya looked at her startled, like she wasn't expecting Allison to speak to her. "Sure, I guess. I just thought…"
Allison furrowed her eyebrows. "You thought…?"
"Well," Vanya played with a loose string on the cuff of her shirt. "I just figured you invited me over here so I could bring the food."
Allison gaped. "What? No! I mean, yes, it was very nice of you to bring snacks, but I didn't just invite you over because I was too lazy to go and get my own food. I…" Allison cleared her throat. "missed seeing you. I haven't really had a chance to talk, you know with the 'end of the world' and all that." Allison finished with air quotes, shooting her sister a knowing look.
Vanya looked unconvinced, a flash of guilt flitting across her face with the mention of the apocalypse.
"None of that," Allison patted her sister's knee. "It is girl time. No guilt, no calories, no topic un-gossiped." She grinned and proffered her nail polish collection. "Now, pick a color."
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Vanya had ended up picking an electric purple. As Allison carefully applied it to her toenails, Vanya had begun to dish on her recent outing with Diego.
"-and he took the coffee and honest to God winked at the barista!" Vanya said conspiratorially.
Allison cackled with delight. "No, he didn't! Tell me he didn't do that!"
Vanya nodded solemnly, mirth dancing in her eyes. "Klaus was so delighted, whenever anyone passed us at the mall, he took a handful of glitter out of his pocket and showered Diego with it. He looked like a unicorn had exploded all over him after the third person passed."
Allison had to pause mid stroke as she howled with laughter. The image of her scowling brother covered in sparkling rainbow glitter was just too much.
"Please, tell me you got a picture!" Allison crowed between fits of laughter.
"Well…" Vanya put a slender finger to her chin as if in thought. "Klaus might have insisted we go into a photo booth before Diego realized how bad it really was…"
"Gimme. Right now. I can't believe you kept this from me!" Allison smacked Vanya lightly on the shoulder. Vanya grinned in response, rummaging in her purse. She plucked the small film reel and offered it to Allison, a proud smile on her face.
Allison snatched it from her, peering at the small photos. In the first, Klaus sat in between Vanya and Diego, a huge shit-eating grin on his face. Vanya's face was turned towards Diego, apprehension mixed with mirth. In the second, Diego had clearly seen his appearance on the screen and he looked to be mid-curse, pulling away from Klaus as Vanya had her eyes closed and her hands up, caught in mid-laughter, Klaus still looking like the cat who caught the canary. In the last, Diego had Klaus in a stranglehold, glitter raining all over both of them while Vanya ducked out of the way, her face still angled towards the camera with a sunny smile on her face.
Allison loved the candid expressions the camera caught. She hadn't seen Vanya smile that openly in, well… forever. She traced the pictures lightly with her finger, tears full of happiness and sorrow welling inside of her. Her family, denied happiness for so long. Vanya, whose smile had been locked away, partly because of her and her damned powers…
A hand lightly touched her cheek. Allison looked up to see Vanya looking at her with concern, a tear clinging to the tip of her finger.
Allison's hand flew up to her face, wiping away tears she hadn't realized had been falling.
"Is everything…"
"Ah, no, I'm fine!" Allison gave a wet laugh, brushing the tears from her face. "It's nothing."
Vanya frowned. "It didn't look like nothing," she said quietly, a worried look in her eyes.
Allison swallowed, biting back any other tears that may try to fall. "It's just… you look so happy here and I've been an awful sister. You were absolutely miserable our entire childhood! And I helped make it that way! I used my powers to make my life the way I wanted it to get everything I could ever dream of and it all ended up sabotaging me in the end." She sniffed, brushing her hand over her face like she could banish her misery. "I'm sorry. It's selfish of me to even talk about this, it's supposed to be a girl's night."
Vanya watched her with a quiet intensity. Allison couldn't meet her eyes, so she busied herself finishing her toe nails.
"I don't blame you," Vanya said finally, voice even and compassionate.
Allison just gave her a disbelieving look.
"Anymore," Vanya amended.
Allison sighed. "Well, you should. I did exactly what Dad wanted and you suffered for it. I'm a monster. It's no wonder Patrick won't even let me see Claire for my birthday." She laughed bitterly.
"Dad was an ass," Vanya nodded, grabbing some tissues. "But you were a kid. What else were you supposed to do? And yeah, you definitely weren't the most supportive sibling as we were growing up, but you had your fair share of suffering too. You aren't a monster."
"What kind of sick person uses their powers on their own daughter? Yeah, I was a kid when I Rumored you. But I didn't stop there, did I?" Allison snorted with derision.
"No, you didn't," Vanya agreed, offering the tissues to Allison. "But you've learned from it. You're trying to be better. And I think that's what really matters in the end, don't you?"
Allison looked at Vanya, meeting her eyes. There was no blame or shame there, only quiet understanding. Vanya, who had grown up ridiculed and an outcast. Vanya, who had taken all her hurt and anger and spilled their family's secrets, her secrets, to the world just so she could feel like she had some control over her life. Vanya, who had nearly ended the world when the powers she had always had became too much. Her sweet, empathetic sister who deserved more than the world had given her.
Allison wrapped her arms around Vanya, surprising a squeak out of her sister, before Vanya gently but warmly returned the hug. She didn't let go, even though Allison had soaked her overshirt through with the tears that didn't seem to have an end. She sat and held Allison close, stroking her back firmly, and didn't let go until Allison pulled away.
"I'm a mess," Allison sighed, wiping the last of her tears away.
"Yes, but I am too," Vanya smiled, patting Allison's hand. "That's what sisters are for, right?"