#also timeline that sketchbook spread was done after i got home from work at like 3 am n then i did britney spears cobbi the next day

[greatgoddyke]

watch it all go by

[armandyke]

And then I heard them mentioning my name

Summary: Vanya finds Diego reading through old interviews she did, and they have a long overdue conversation about that book. 

Word Count: 1302

Square Filled: Interview

Characters: Vanya Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: The fifth of nine entries for @tuacreatorsbingo!

You can read it here, or on my AO3

It had been an interesting two weeks, to say the least. One minute Vanya had been working as a nanny on a farm, the next she and her incredibly dysfunctional siblings were trying to save the world and accidentally wiped themselves out of their own timeline. But that was all behind them, and now they were all busy trying to settle back into their normal lives. Allison was away visiting Claire, and Vanya was at home, with all but one of her brothers camping out in her front room. 

None of them had been keen on the idea of staying at the house any longer, and, as it turned out, none of them really had anywhere else to go. Luther had only ever lived at home, Klaus had been couch surfing since he was seventeen, Five, legally, didn’t exist, and Diego… Diego hadn’t actually given a reason, just showed up silently with the others and dumped a backpack full of clothes in the corner of her room. It was cramped, to say the least. Her apartment had barely had enough space for her. But it was nice, after so many years alone, having them all there, bickering about stupid things and squashing onto the couch together to watch old movies. 

It was late in the afternoon, and Vanya was just getting back from a violin recital. The apartment was empty, not unusual for that time of day, but there were still tell-tale signs of life that comforted her. The empty coffee cup Five always left in the same spot on the table, dishes in the sink from the huge breakfast Luther had cooked for them all, the sketchbook Klaus had left open on the armchair, and the multicoloured chalky fingerprints he’d left on the armrest. Smiling to herself, she hung her scarf up and padded across the room to make a coffee, stopping midway when she heard the sound of movement coming from her bedroom. 

“Five?” She called as she pushed the door open, used to him dropping in unannounced. 

There was a mess of papers and magazines scattered across the floor, and she was so distracted by the mess that it took her a moment to spot Diego, sat in the furthest corner of the room with his eyebrows knitted together in concentration as he studied the magazine he was holding. 

“Diego?” 

His head snapped up, squaring his shoulders and then relaxing again when he spotted her. 

“You’re back early,” He observed, glancing around at the mess he’d made and giving her an apologetic look. “I’m gonna clean this up after.” 

“What is all this stuff?” She asked as she walked over to him, crouching down to examine the papers. There were newspaper clippings, magazine articles, posters, all about them. Well, about the Umbrella Academy anyway. She picked up one of the newspaper articles, scanning over the story about one of her siblings’ earlier missions. “Where did you get these?”

“Dad’s study.”

Frowning, she scooted across the floor to sit next to him. “Why would you go back there?”

“You sound like Doctor Moncton.”

“Who?” 

“I was looking for this.” He said abruptly, handing her a thick notebook, bound in red leather with “RH” embossed on gold on the cover. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what it was. 

“Figured we should destroy it,” He mumbled. “Before it ends up in the wrong hands again and triggers round three of doomsday.”

“Yeah, that was probably a good call.” She nodded, running her thumb along the spine and looking back up at him. “Did you read any of it?” 

He shook his head. “I started to. Made it as far as ‘insolent brat’ and decided maybe it wasn’t a good idea.” Chuckling, he tossed the book across the room and slumped back against the wall. “Can’t believe he kept all this shit.” 

Vanya hummed thoughtfully, leafing through the fuzzy photos of her siblings in their masks. It stirred up a strange mixture of emotions, but mostly she just felt sad. Sad for herself, sad for her siblings, sad that their father seemed to have put more effort into collecting news articles than he had caring for his children. 

“I guess he just wanted to boost his ego,” She said quietly as her eyes fell on their dad’s photo on a front page spread. “I mean, the Academy was his real baby, right? He didn’t care about anything beyond that.”

“Yeah, I thought that too,” Diego murmured, looking up at her. “But he also kept stuff about you.”

He handed her the magazine he’d been reading, folded open on an interview she’d done a few weeks after her book release. She cringed at the photo, looking almost in pain as she forced a smile for the photographer. Seeming to pick up on her exact train of thought, Diego leaned in closer to look at the page. 

“That’s a terrible photo of you.” 

“Thanks,” She said sarcastically, biting back a laugh as a small smile crept across his face. 

She started reading through the interview, and the smile faded from her face again. Almost half her answers were just thinly veiled attacks on her siblings. Attacks that, at the time, had felt so justified. But now, after everything they’d been through together in the last few weeks, she couldn’t even bring herself to read the whole thing, tossing the magazine aside and tucking her knees up under her chin. 

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, and Vanya could feel her brother’s eyes boring into her. When she looked back up at him, there wasn’t the same burning, angry look in his eyes that she’d grown accustomed to after their first reunion. He was just… observing her, trying to gauge her reaction to her own words. 

“I…” She paused, struggling to find the right words to try and justify the things she’d said. “I was in a really bad place back then and… I know I said a lot of shitty things about you guys but-”

“I don’t care about that,” He interrupted and she frowned. 

“You don’t?” 

“No. Christ.” He made a face, shaking his head. “I wasn’t exactly nice to you when we were kids. Actually I was... a colossal asshole.”

“We were all assholes,” she pointed out. “I think it’s just a Hargreeves thing.”

“Yeah.” He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah you’re right.”

He was quiet for a moment, chewing on his lip before he spoke again. 

“I had nightmares,” He said quietly, looking down at his hands. “Every night after I left home, for almost five years. I’d close my eyes and it was like I was right back in academy training with dad barking bullshit orders at me. And I was just starting to get better when you wrote that book, and then it was right back to square one.” 

Vanya shuffled closer to him. Part of her expected him to move away from her, but he stayed, letting her press up against his arm. 

“I’m really sorry,” She said softly. “I mean… I was angry at you guys, but I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“I know you weren’t.” He leant his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. “Still sucked though.” 

She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, and a moment later she felt his arm winding around her and hugging her closer.

“You tell anyone about any of this and I’ll kill you in your sleep,” He mumbled and she laughed, sitting upright again. 

“Message received.”

He grinned at her, possibly the first genuine smile she’d seen from him since they were kids, and got to his feet. 

“Wanna set fire to dad’s journal?” He asked, holding his hand out to help her up. 

“Fuck yeah.”