#which. actually might fix me a little. just to get suuuuper fucked up and talk about all my brain shit.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

I think my problem is that everything always comes back to danny phantom with me

[bringitspielberg]

Knives and Kisses Series~ Chapter 4: And then I saw her face

Series Summary:  Sometimes a kiss is nothing, sometimes a kiss is something, and sometimes a kiss is everything. And Diego Hargreeves may have finally found someone who can not only keep up with him but teach him exactly that.

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Chapter Summary:

You find yourself at the Umbrella Academy looking for someone. The truth comes out and Diego finally gets to learn something about you.

Pairing: Diego x (fem) reader

Warnings: Some cuss words? Klaus? I think that’s it.

Author’s Note: This is a chapter from the reader’s perspective instead of Diego’s like the previous ones. It was originally longer but I split it into two chapters. Yes, Klaus is in this chapter and I love him very much. He’s gonna be a big part of this, so you will be seeing him again after this chapter quite a bit. And the other siblings are coming into play real soon. Not gonna lie though, you’re about to learn some VERY important things about the reader, a few hints towards other characters I’m introducing later, and I really like how this chapter turned out. Enjoy! :)

Word Count: 3.3k +

Series Masterlist

Y/N=Your name

Y/L/N=Your last name

Reginald Hargeeves is dead. The words from the news ran through your head again and again.

You never met the man, didn’t even know that much about him. You came close to meeting him a few times, almost met him a few months ago but a woman answered the door instead. You weren’t the biggest fan from everything your dad told you, but the guy was a big part of your life in a strange way.

He created the Umbrella Academy, your childhood heroes, the kids who used their powers to help people which made you decide to help people too. The man had inadvertently shaped your life with his kids, or rather, his kids had shaped your life in a way. Hell, the only reason you were in town was The Umbrella Academy, you were looking for one of them. So, Reginald Hargreeves was vaguely important to you.

But the truth was that he WAS dead. You might not have cared about him, but his death changed everything.

Which, is how you found yourself in front of the famous Umbrella Academy carrying a homemade batch of brownies as you debated whether or not you should knock on the door. Frankly, it might not be the best time if the Umbrella Academy was grieving. From what Diego had said about his family, you honestly weren’t sure what their reactions would be.

Diego. You liked knowing his name, it was better than just thinking of him as handsome—which he was, he was an attractive man—but Diego suited him better. He was something else, that much you were sure of.

You honestly missed him, he was cute and funny and you and him had this weird kind of understanding. Ever since he was shot, he had gone quiet. Sure, it had only been two weeks, but you had kept tabs on him and given him your—well, sort of yours—number (which he had yet to use), it was strange for him to just go silent.

Physically he was fine, you had checked up on him in secret a few times to make sure of that. He had been spending a lot of time in the gym killing some punching bags with a bit more aggression than his usual fighting. You even went to his boxing match the other night, not that he knew that, of course. You had gone without the mask, no way could he pick out your face in a crowd. After the match when he was heading back to his place, his eyes had briefly met yours and you worried he would recognize you, but he kind of just angrily shook his head then walked off and kicked a chair on the way to his place.

Things like that made you worry. You respected that he needed space because he wasn’t sure about you. You respected that he needed time to figure out the truth, that was completely fine; you didn’t want to push him. But you cared about him and if something was bothering him, you wanted to help. And if something was bothering him before, you couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling now. Which is why you knew you had to go to the Umbrella Academy today because Diego might need someone to be there for him. Yes, you had something you had to do there, but first and foremost you were Diego’s friend—despite your sister’s various protests that you should focus only on what you came to town to do.

With that in mind, you fixed your button-up and skirt, took in a breath, and knocked on the front door of the mansion. You tried to prepare yourself for anything, having no idea who might answer the door; could be the woman who answered last time, could be Diego, could be one his siblings. You tried to prepare yourself for whoever answered the door, what you would say and the things you wouldn’t. You felt like you were prepared for anyone who opened it.

You were not prepared for a chimpanzee dressed like a grandpa.

“May I help you, miss?” It said.

Talking chimpanzee? That threw you off for a second. Just a second though, you had seen stranger things; heck, you knew for a fact that you had stranger friends--about 15 exactly came to mind. A talking chimpanzee wasn’t something that would phase you.

“Hi, this is the Umbrella Academy, right?” You asked.

“It is.” The chimpanzee said. “Sorry to be rude, but we have the death of one of our own on our hands, so if you could please state your business. We aren’t very open to guests today.”

“No, of course not, I know. I uh…that’s actually why I’m here. I heard what happened and I wanted to offer my condolences.” You held your brownies up a little higher like you were presenting them. “I’m…I’m a friend of Diego’s and I wanted to make sure he was alright. I also wanted to check on his siblings, this can’t be the easiest thing for any of them. And I um, I…” You trailed off, feeling awkward.

The chimpanzee hummed to himself then opened the door further, ushering you inside.

“Do come in,” The chimpanzee said, “I’ll take your…”

He pointed to the pan in your hands covered with tin foil.

“Brownies.” You said, holding them out to him as he took them. “I didn’t know how many of everyone there was, so I hoped one batch would be enough. Help yourself if you’d like, I assume this whole thing isn’t very easy on you either, Mister…?”

He raised an eyebrow at you—if chimpanzees even had eyebrows, that is, you weren’t sure—and sent you a polite nod.

“Pogo, miss.” He said. “And thank you, that’s very kind. I believe master Diego is on the second floor, third door on the left.”

“Thanks.” You answered as he left to where you assume the kitchen was.

You turned and found yourself speechless as you finally got a look at the inside of the famous Umbrella Academy, the place that you could have grown up in if things had been different. It was huge, bigger than any place you had lived your entire life. Not that you were surprised, it was a mansion afterall.

“Jeez,” You said to no one in particular, “this place is huge.”

“Yeah,” a voice said from your right. “I’m telling ya, dear old dad was compensating for something.”

A puff of amused air left your lips as you turned to the right where the voice came from.

Walking towards you—or rather, strutting towards you—was a guy in a long feathery coat, skintight leather pants, a see-through midriff shirt, and probably the best disheveled eyeliner you had ever seen. He seemed familiar, like one of the addicts you had healed in the street maybe; you met so many of those that you weren’t sure if you had met this one or not. But he radiated chaotic energy, you could feel it, which meant he would probably be right up your alley.

“But enough about my dead dad’s dick.” He said. “Do tell, who is this lovely lady I find before me? Did Pogo finally start letting strays in? I love meeting strays!”

You laughed. “Love your coat.”

“Thank you!” He gushed. “I love your skirt! Where’d you get it? I want one.”

“Oh, I’m not sure, actually. It was a gift. Maybe I’ll lend it to you sometime, it would look so amazing on you.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Darling, everything looks amazing on me.”

“Yeah, but that goes without saying.”

He held his hands to his heart and beamed at you. “Well, now that we’ve become best friends; what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” He winked at you, but you could tell he was just being playful, he wasn’t trying to flirt.

“I came to offer my condolences.”

“What for?”

“For your dad dying? You’re a Hargreeves, aren’t you?”

He started cracking up but tried to hide it. “Oh right, right, we’re all suuuuper sad.”

You eyed him up and down with a smile. “I was going to say I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m gonna take a wild guess that you didn’t like your dad much.”

“What on earth might have given you that idea?”

“Honestly? From what I know about the guy, that’s not at all surprising.”

“…Damn. Coming to a guy’s funeral and dragging him? I like you. I’m Klaus.”

Klaus held out his hand for you to shake and a knife suddenly grazed his knuckle and imbedded itself in the wall behind you. Klaus briefly cursed and waved his hand back and forth. You and Klaus looked from the knife to the direction of the stairs where Diego was stepping down the last few steps.

He tossed a knife up as he stepped and caught it. He raised his eyebrows at you—not in your direction, definitely at you specifically, you could tell—and kept walking towards you as he tossed up the knife. 

“Hey Baby.” Diego stated. “Didn’t think I’d find you here.”

“Diego!” Klaus chastised. “That’s no way to greet—"

“How’d you know it was me, handsome?” You cut him off and crossed your arms.

Klaus pulled up his now slightly bleeding knuckle to examine his new cut with a frown, ignoring you and Diego for the most part.

“I’d know those lips anywhere.” Diego said, stopping right in front of you and crossing his arms.

You blinked and darted your eyes to Klaus, who slowly looked up from his hand and gave Diego the most obvious ‘what the fuck’ face you have ever seen. Your eyes darted back to Diego and you couldn’t help but smirk because Diego didn’t even seem to realize what he said, he was playing the game and didn’t even know it. This would be fun.

“I didn’t realize you were that obsessed with my lips.” You flirted.

“What? What are you—” Diego paled as his words dawned on him. “Oh, oh no! I meant to say voice, I swear. I’d know your voice anywhere. I did not recognize you by just your lips, I-I swear!”

You watched him curiously; Diego wasn’t acting like his usual flirty self, he seemed almost unsure when you flirted with him. You brushed it off, blaming it on his surprise at seeing you without a mask.

Klaus, however, looked almost giddy with excitement, which you noticed. You hoped that he wouldn’t say anything like—

“Ooo, Diego’s got a girlfriend and he wants to kiss her!” Klaus said in a teasing voice.

—Like that. You were hoping he wouldn’t say anything like that. But, of course, he did. And, of course, Diego looked like he was stabbing Klaus repeatedly in his head. You knew that look, you saw it a few times when on patrol with him, it meant Diego had to punch someone and it never ended well. Which meant you had to find a way to defuse the situation since you didn’t think Diego should be pummeling his—well, you weren’t sure exactly, but you assumed brother—right now.

“Well, I’m not his girlfriend, Klaus.” You said, getting Klaus’ attention off of Diego. “But he does wanna kiss me, I mean, wouldn’t you?”

You winked at Klaus and he laughed. Diego visibly calmed down a bit, and it looked like he was trying not to smile.

“Oh, I like her.” Klaus said. “If you don’t keep this one, I will. What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t.” You said. Your eyes darted down to his hand and you motioned to it. “Does that sting?”

“What?” Klaus looked down at his slightly bleeding hand. “Oh, right! I’m used to it, it’s barely a scratch. I think that’s just how Diego says hello, as long as it doesn’t hurt too bad, I know it’s just like a brotherly hug.”

He clapped Diego on the back affectionately. Diego awkwardly looked at his feet like he wasn’t sure what was happening. You smiled at the interaction, your heart warming a bit at the sight.

“Brothers, huh?” You said. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, then. I’m a friend of Diego’s. May I?”

You held out your hand and nodded towards his injured hand, indicating that you wanted him to give it to you.

“Uh, okay?” Klaus said and held out his injured hand.

You took it and let your powers feel him out.

A wave of fear and pain swept over you, and not from the cut on his hand. He was on drugs, that you could feel, but you could also feel everything he was trying to bury with the drugs. There was fear, trauma, regret, pain, and a kind of screaming in his thoughts. You could tell immediately which of The Umbrella Academy you were talking to: Number 4, The Séance. And he might not have been 100% stable. 

But, you knew the feeling of insanity and pain that came with seeing the kind of things he did; you had learned to cope yourself but your sister…well, you had seen firsthand what seeing that kind of thing can do to a person.

You leaned down and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, the cut immediately closed and healed.

Klaus had his eyes on you but they looked up and he took in a deep breath. It almost looked like he had tears in his eyes, but he wasn’t sad. He smiled just a little, almost serenely, and you could tell that you had healed more than just his hand.

As you pulled back, you could feel that you had taken some of his pain and gave him some peace. It wasn’t permanent, but it was something. It was less pain that he had to deal with today. And that meant it was worth doing.

“There,” You said, releasing his hand. “All better.”

Diego was gaping at you, not that you were surprised. Klaus closed his eyes then opened them to bring himself back to reality.

“How…how did you do that?” Klaus said.

You held your hand up in front of your face and wiggled your fingers, feeling a slight tingling in them for a moment.

“Well,” You said, “All of us were all born with gifts. Mine happen to heal people.”

“What the hell is that supposed…” Diego grumbled, then trailed off. He shook his head, clearly realizing something. “Wait, 43…you’re one of the 43. How the hell did I not get that?”

“Wait,” Klaus said, suddenly excited, “You’re like us? Like a weird second cousin kind of deal?”

“I am.” You said. “Not like a cousin, though, I have no idea where that comparison came from, but sure if that’s how you wanna see it.”

“That’s so cool!” Klaus giddily said. “I’ve never met someone like us before! So, what can you do then? Can you shoot lasers out of your eyes? Or turn water into vodka? Ooo, I wish I got that one.”

Your eyes trailed to Diego, a million emotions flashed through his eyes as he watched you and waited for your answer. A part of you felt compelled to reach out, find out what he was thinking, but you knew that you shouldn’t.

“I can heal people.” You said. “At least, that’s what I use it for. I can reshape or reform cells.”

“That’s so cool!” Klaus said with a clap of his hands. “How does it work?”

“It’s pretty simple, actually.” You said, preparing yourself for where you knew this conversation was going. “It comes from my lips and can spread through my fingertips. So, if I kiss someone, I can heal their cuts, bruises, or wounds as long as my lips or fingers are near that area. It’s pretty cool, makes my reflexes faster for a bit after I do it.”

Diego frowned and turned his attention to the ground. Almost like he knew you were watching him and hoping you wouldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

“That’s awesome!” Klaus said. “You can make-out with someone to be a doctor! I’m pretty sure I saw that in a porno once.”

You blinked, unsure how to respond to that, that was definitely a new one. “No, I uh, I don’t do that. I try not to kiss anyone on the mouth.”

“Can you do anything else?” Diego asked, keeping his tone emotionless and eyes down.

And there it was, the exact thing you were dreading. You could lie, say no, but the longer you waited to tell him, the more hurt he would be. Everything always changed when you told someone what else you could do, more often than not for the worse.

“Actually,” You said, “I uh…I do have another ability.”

“Sweet! What is it?” Klaus said.

You swallowed hard, hoping that they would be willing to look past it. “I can read minds.”

Diego immediately looked up and it seemed like he was almost angry or confused, but you weren’t sure. He wasn’t wearing his domino mask, but as far as you could tell, he was definitely wearing a metaphorical mask instead.

“Wait, seriously?” Klaus said, not believing you.

You nodded. “It’s easier to do if I touch someone but if I lose control, I can hear thoughts from across the room. I can see memories or feelings or anything else swimming around someone’s head.”

“Does that mean you know what I’m thinking?” Klaus asked.

You laughed slightly, trying to keep the mood light. “At the moment? No. But I did see your thoughts briefly, that head of yours is a very strange place. You should be proud, not many people can surprise me. I love meeting someone I can’t figure out.”

Klaus beamed at you; clearly happy to be complimented—even if it sounded like it wasn’t, to him, it was.

“I like you.” Klaus said. “We’re gonna be besties. What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t.” You said, your eyes searching Diego’s for some kind of reaction.

You sighed and thought about it, the only reason you didn’t is because you wanted to find who you were looking for first. But, you had already found the person you were looking for…what was holding you back?

“Y/N,” You said. “I’m Y/N Y/L/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

You noticed Diego’s hands clench into fists, which didn’t surprise you, you knew he wouldn’t be too happy about this whole thing. He had fought and fought for you to tell him since you two had met, you knew it would probably turn into something when this day came. And you could see from the way he grit his teeth that if you didn’t pull him away soon, this would get explosive.

“Hey Klaus,” You said. “I made brownies for everyone. Would you like one?”

“Brownies?” Klaus said.

“Yeah, brownies.” You answered. “I think Pogo took them into the kitchen if you want one.”

Klaus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Are you trying to bribe me so you can play doctor with Diego?”

You smirked at him. “That depends. Would it work if I was?”

You could hear Diego pop his knuckles, meaning he did not like that comment. But, you knew how to speak to chaos, you weren’t saying it for Diego.

Klaus grinned and chuckled at you. “Oh, clever one! If those brownies are any good, I’m totally keeping you!”

On that, he skipped off in the direction Pogo had as he admired your handiwork on this hand, and then it was just you and Diego.

“…I uh—” You started but were immediately cut off by Diego.

“Come with me.” He said, grabbing your arm and pulling you.

You fell silent and let him pull you. It wasn’t aggressive, and he wasn’t hurting your arm, it was more like he was directing you. You knew what it was like if a man was about to get violent and that you could handle it if they did, but that’s not what Diego was doing. You trusted him completely, if he wanted to pull you somewhere so you could talk, you were okay with that. You felt a slight urge to listen to his thoughts, but you kept your powers off on principle.

Diego pulled you into a kind of parlor and shut the door behind you. You hoped to God that the conversation you were about to have wouldn’t end with him hating you.