Chapter Text
His emotions backfire on him sometimes.
All Five wanted to do was to be trusted by his father, to be thought of as the adult that his thirteen year old self practically was, and supported as he experimented with time travel.
But that’s not how the Umbrella Academy works. All he gets is a story about acorns that doesn’t even make sense.
In that moment, all Five saw was red. He was angry, hurt, and tired of being treated like he didn’t know what he was doing. It was his own goddamn power.
He looked across the table to see Vanya’s face filled with warning. Back off, her eyes told him.
He trusted Vanya, but proving Dad wrong was higher on his priority list.
So he stormed out of the house.
And it worked.
Suddenly the air was brighter. Summertime probably, judging by the humidity that suddenly whacked him in the face. It was suffocating in his itchy wool uniform but he couldn’t care less because he just time traveled.
Holy shit. Acorns be damned, he did it.
“Not ready my ass” he growled.
In his joy, he pulled on time again and was met with a snow storm. He looked around himself with glee, the scene still not feeling real. This was the most fun he’s had in his entire life, apart from the time Ben scared Klaus by placing a spider in his bed.
After looking around for a few moments, he pulled again.
And was met with nothing.
Frustrated, he pulled again. Only a blue shimmer occurred that quickly spluttered out and disappeared. Shit. He tried again and again but his arms simply got sore and his head started hurting.
This was bad. This was really really bad. Five didn’t know what year it was, and had no way of going back.
He started panicking, harsh breathes that felt even worse because of the absolutely frigid air that clung to his skin.
He’d do anything to be stuck back in the humidity because he could at least take off his blazer and vest. In this cold, snowy air his knees were exposed because Dad insisted on stupid boy shorts and skirts to make the Umbrella Academy seem even younger, therefore more humiliating to the people they defeated.
Just like his emotions, Dad’s decision was biting him in the ass as he could practically feel his legs turning blue.
Five was starting to get looks from the people around him so he shoved his panic attack down. Perhaps not the recommended way to handle it but he had more pressing matters at hand.
Alright, first item of business: find out what year it was.
He walked down the sidewalk as casually as he could. As unfortunate and gloomy as the situation was, the fact that he needed to figure out what year it was because he just time traveled was an exhilarating feeling.
Screw Dad, he knew what he was doing—mostly. It’s his first time, just haven’t smoothed out the kinks yet. This minor hiccup will be figured out in no time. Pretty soon he’ll waltz back into the mansion, not a second going by in their time but he’ll emerge covered in snow with a newspaper from the future.
Finally he found what he was looking for and snatched the top paper in the stack. His eyes scanned a boring headline about some celebrity but then he found the date.
October 16, 2006
Oh wow. He’d jumped four years into the future. His siblings have just turned seventeen. Five’s a little intimidated by that and hopes he doesn’t meet them before he figures out how to get back.
He’s able to steal a pen from a woman that dropped all her things. He’d helped gather everything up—he wasn’t a monster—but slyly pocketed a pen in the process. He grimaced at the Thank you so much honey! that she threw his way and assured her that yes, he’s not far from home and is headed there now.
Not true at all, he wouldn’t dare go there out of fear of getting caught by Dad, but his home is close, on the same street they’re currently standing on.
He eventually makes his way to the library and finds a quiet corner where no one else is.
A few hours and an equation-covered newspaper later, the building is closing. Five quickly blinks to the mother’s lounge as an employee checks the area. Soon enough the lights are off and he settles in for the night.
Thanks to Dad’s rigid schedule, his body naturally wakes up early before anyone could enter to find him asleep in the recliner.
He blinks to an empty alley and then strolls nonchalantly out, finding a run-down coffee shop open at the early hour to bunker down in while he continues to formulate a plan.
The tired high schooler on their early morning shift thankfully paid him no mind so Five was left to panic in peace.
He had time traveled, yes. But he was four years into the future and homeless in the middle of an early winter. His equations have drawn a blank and it’s not like Dad would welcome him with open arms.
By the end of the day he had switched locations about a dozen times to avoid suspicion, filled three more newspapers with math, and was so hungry he was considering begging an old grandma for food.
He really was not cut out for this. He just wanted to go back home to his thirteen year old siblings.
Five was on his way back to the library for another pitiful slumber when he overheard someone say the name of the academy. Curious, he leaned down to fake tie his shoes, straining to hear the conversation.
“-heart hurts so much for those kids. So sad, poor baby was so young”
“How did he die?”
“Their last mission went wrong somehow. It’s all hush hush you know. He’s a billionaire, doesn’t want anyone poking around”
Five’s heart starts pounding. Dead? Who was dead? A sickening feeling started pooling in his gut. Numbness not just from the cold was seeping into his bones and the shoelaces slipped from his shaking fingers.
“Well I’ve always said that academy was wrong. From the moment it started I knew it was dangerous”
“Mm-hmm. First the little one disappeared, now another is dead. Wouldn’t be surprised if the little one died too and they covered it up”
Bile starts rising in Five’s throat. He hadn’t really processed that the time travel meant he’s been missing for years. It’s fine. It’s fine. He’ll just time travel back. He’ll get the right equation, travel back and his sibling won’t have to die. It’ll all work out. It has to.
“I forget what his power was again, didn’t really like to keep tabs on them. Hurt too much to think of those poor things being forced to fight”
“Yeah I know. His nickname was The Horror I think? The octopus monster thing from his stomach”
Five didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. Blood rushed through his ears. It felt like someone ripped out his insides and threw him off a plane.
Ben.
Ben is dead.
His vision blacked out and suddenly he was violently retching onto the pavement. It hurt, but a little pain was nothing compared to Ben who’s currently six feet underground.
Dead. Because he wasn’t there. Because he thought he was so smart and knew what he was doing.
And now he’s paying the price. A dead brother and he can’t even get the equations right to go back home. Maybe this is what Dad meant by acorns.
Suddenly Five registers a hand on his forehead. What? He tries to open his eyes but it’s so difficult and the lack of food is really getting to him. Attempting time travel on an empty stomach before he even ate his dinner was the wrong move.
He focuses on breathing for a few seconds and it starts working, more of the world is coming back to his senses.
He’s lying flat on his back in the snow. His knees are frozen, probably from leaning on them while he puked. Someone is stroking his hair and holding his hands.
“-hat’s him!” he hears as the pulsing in his ears starts to lessen.
“-one that went missing!”
Five cracks open his eyes and is met with two concerned faces directly above him. A blonde woman that had her hand in his hair is now stroking his face and cupping his cheek.
“Can you hear me sweetheart?”
Disoriented, he nods.
“Honey I’m gonna ask you something. Are you Five Hargreeves?”
The past day and a half has been so confusing and jarring and he hasn’t eaten anything, hiding everywhere to escape his father and now his brother is dead. He’s four years into the future, doesn’t know how to get back, and now strangers are surrounding him and they know who he is.
They’re gonna tell Dad.
Everything is too much and his emotions again betray him as he starts to cry.
The faces above him contort in pity but he doesn’t know what to do as he squeezes his eyes shut and big fat alligator tears slide down his temples to land in his hair and the snow below him.
He hears a lot of voices and can’t understand them. He’s probably drawn quite the crowd. Missing Umbrella Academy member shows up out of thin air, pukes, passes out, and starts bawling up a storm.
As he continues to drown in his thoughts someone lifts his upper body up and tucks him into a hug.
He doesn’t know who this person is but they’re warm and he thinks this is what the loving parent he’s never had is supposed to do so he leans into it. His hair is being stroked again and he grabs the front of their jacket in his fists and sobs more. He’s just a kid dammit, he doesn’t know what else to do.
A kiss is pressed to the top of his head and he wonders if he can stay with this person until he finally gets the right equation to go back and save Ben.
“-exactly the same as before. How is that possible?”
“I don’t know but the poor thing is terrified. He’s definitely not seventeen. What the hell happened?”
Five opens his eyes again to see that the blonde woman is holding him, he’s now fully on her lap with his knees drawn up close to his chin.
God he must look pathetic right now. He hates it but at the same time his brother is dead because of him so he doesn’t deserve to feel pity for himself. At least he’s alive to feel emotions.
The other woman is kneeling in front of him, deep sympathy covering her features.
“Five? Sweetheart can you tell me how old you are?”
He draws in a big breath but his chin is quivering so it’s all blubbery. If Dad could see him now. Five clears his throat, willing himself to calm down. “Th-thir-thirteen. I’m thirteen”
The woman’s eyebrows skyrocket and gasps of shock weave throughout the crowd.
“I time traveled. It’s the other part of my power”
The woman in front of him opens her mouth, about to say something else but is interrupted.
A tall, imposing figure steps in front of his vision, a cane shooing her out of the way. Polished black shoes, pressed black slacks and a long, thick gray trench coat greet his eyes.
Five looks up to see a well manicured mustache and monocle.
“Hello Number Five”
He gulps, and the pit in his stomach returns. Dread fills every inch of his body and he tightens his grip on the blonde woman.
“Now, how about the two of us go home?”