Run. That's all he'd been doing for the last forty-three years. It began when he ran away from the Academy, his father, and most regrettable of all, Vanya. He should have listened to her advice, heeded that little shake of her head. He should have been smarter. But he hadn't, and now they were back to where it all started.

The Umbrella Academy.

Five tilted his head to study his now younger bodied siblings, still standing in a circle and staring at each other in confusion. Allison put a hand to her neck, feeling for the white cotton bandage and ugly jagged scar that was now gone while Luther watched her every move with hawklike vigilance. A younger and less drug-addled Klaus was touching the face of a shell shocked Ben, no doubt trying to figure out if he was alive or not.

"Are you high or am I?"

"Maybe both?" Ben replied, his hair sticking up in every direction as Klaus ruffled his fingers through it for good measure.

"What the hell did you do Five?"

Five would have laughed at the absurd picture of Diego trying to look intimidating in his oversized clothing except he fully understood the terrible situation they now found themselves in. He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. "It was the only way. I'm not any happier about it than you are, but if we want to stop the apocalypse we had to go back to the source."

"Vanya?" Allison was hugging herself, her voice a little shaky. "She said that Dad was giving her pills to keep her powers contained. How are we going to get around that?"

"I have no idea."

"And now our father is alive, and we get to relive the worst years of our lives together."

"There are worse things than being together and having to go through puberty again Diego," Five sneered. "We just escaped a fiery death in the apocalypse, try and get a little perspective will you?"

Diego's retort was cut short by Mom's sing song voice. "What are you all still doing downstairs?"

They turned in unison to see her standing at the foot of the stairs, holding a tray of tea things and wearing her familiar guileless smile. "It's almost time for bed and you know how much your father dislikes it when you don't keep to the schedule."

Allison was the first to respond. "Of course mom, we were just about to go up."

"Well then, I'll be upstairs in a few minutes to check on you all." She smiled fondly at them before continuing on her way, humming as she went.

The silence left in her wake was cut short by Klaus. "Are we really… I mean, I'm not seeing things right? We're all little again? And we have little Ben here with us?"

"It looks like it," Ben answered, staring down at his hands.

"It's nice to have you here with us again, officially speaking," Five said.

Ben jumped. He was obviously unused to being addressed by any sibling other than Klaus. "It's good to be back… I think."

Klaus' stopped fiddling with is dog-tags momentarily to hug Ben to his side. "Of course you're happy to be back. You don't have to watch me eat waffles alone anymore. We can finally eat them together, like old times."

"Mm, waffles."

"Like we're thirteen again." Allison sighed as Diego stood off to the side, brooding. He was obviously fighting the urge to throw one of his knives at something. Or someone.

"We should probably get ready for bed before dad leaves the study." Luther said, stating the obvious.

Five resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Luther was great at pretending to have control over any situation. He was still trying to be Number One, even after all this time.

Although he did have a point. They were kids again, and they knew what would happen if they didn't follow the rules. Their punishments would be severe. But looking at Vanya hanging comatose in Luther's arms, Five realized he was past caring. He'd been through the apocalypse and back twice, and he was still alive and kicking. He was fairly confident he could take whatever the Old Man threw at him. Besides, they were here for one reason and one reason only: fix Vanya and prevent the apocalypse.

She stirred in Luther's arms. His sister seemed so peaceful in her sleep, a picture that was so at odds with the powerful figure that had obliterated the moon only moments before. Five's eyes narrowed as he saw Luther look towards Sir Reginald's office. He felt an unexpected surge of protectiveness well up inside of him. He refused to let Luther feed her to the wolves within minutes of coming home.

"Luther's right. We should go to bed, get some sleep and regroup in the morning."

Five took Vanya's still form from Luther before he could balk, and used what remained of his energy to jump to Vanya's room. It was a familiar action, one that he could remember doing often when they were young. He set her down on top of the covers, pulling off her shoes before draping a nearby blanket over the top of her. Vanya's brow furrowed, and she whimpered in her sleep. After a moment's hesitation, he sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. His touch seemed to soothe her and she released a small sigh.

He'd been with Delores for so long, he'd forgotten what it felt to be close to another human being. To feel the warmth of a hand in his. He looked over her face with a critical eye. Her pale cheeks and fine features weren't beautiful by any means, but they were as comforting and familiar to him as his own face.

He liked to think that there had been a special connection between the two of them over the years. She was the only one in the house that showed that she cared about him as an individual. She had always been a quiet girl, but when they were alone she was caring and passionate. And there were times when he would catch glimpses of rebellion in those usually soft eyes. A fire burning deep inside that colored her face with resolve.

That fire was what he liked most about her. But now he realized that it was a fire that could burn the whole world alive.

He flexed his jaw in frustration.

What he wouldn't give for a good cup of coffee right now. Maybe even something a little stronger. If only he could jump, go somewhere to clear his head, but he knew he just didn't have anything left in him. He was stuck, for the time being. And besides, he had nowhere to run to. The apocalypse was postponed, and although there was a lot of work to do, he didn't have a clue where to start.

At least they had time... Maybe. The Commission could be hot on his ass for all he knew, but that was clearly a problem for another day. What he had to focus on was here and now, trying to fix Vanya and hope against all hope that the bunch of dysfunctional assholes that called themselves the Hargreeves would somehow come out on top this time. Maybe even one day resemble something that looked like a real family.

Her fingers slowly tightened around his, bringing his thoughts back to the present. As they held hands in the silence, he felt his face relax. He smiled down at her with the first genuine smile he'd given anyone in years.

Maybe after all this time and effort, the future would still be shit, but at least he didn't have to run anymore. He didn't have to be on his own. Because now he had Vanya. And for now, that was enough.