Work Text:
PROMPT 1: Together
“Good mor-” Five started, cut off by Vanya’s high-pitched squeak of alarm.
“Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus” Vanya gasped, clutching the front of her shirt tightly. Five peered at her from the cupboard, eyes glinting in the lowlight of the kitchen. It was 2am on a Tuesday, and all Vanya wanted was a glass of cold water to wash down the nightmarish aftertaste of blood in her mouth.
“Is it funny because we were all born from immaculate and ‘holy’ conceptions, or because Five is technically Irish?” Ben asked from the kitchen sink, making Vanya yelp and a chair scrape loudly in the corner. He was lying across the granite benchtop, Kindle in hand and still dressed in his leather jacket and black hoodie. Five grumbled at the phrase, as he always was whenever someone brought up his recently discovered heritage (they’d found the files detailing their birth families in Reginald’s office, and how ironic that Vanya was Russian).
“You assholes. I thought you were raccoons” she wheezed, walking to the high cupboard to fetch a glass. Ben snorted and looked pointedly at Five, who hissed in reply. It only furthered the similarities between the teleporter and the mammal. She grabbed the cup and walked towards the sink, staring pointedly at Ben as she waited for him to move. He sighed and relocated to the dining table, still scrolling through his digital book.
“Five… what are you eating?” Ben asked, as Vanya turned and sipped on her glass of water. The Boy only hugged the large jar tighter around himself, waving his chopsticks aggressively.
“Fuck you and fuck your curiosity” he snarled. Ben turned to Vanya with a grin, eyes twinkling in the moonlight that streamed through the high windows.
“Pickled jalapeños, by themselves. Told you he’s a raccoon” he whispered, as Vanya huffed with laughter. The room went blissfully quiet, the only sounds Five’s slow chewing and their steady breathing. Vanya sat in one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen bench, deep in thought. The bloodstains that had soaked her hands in her nightmare were cleared away, but the sticky sensation lingered even as she tried to scrub away it’s feeling. It burned on the skin, like scalding water, and the dry smell of iron filled her nose.
“Vanya?” Ben asked quietly, after a few minutes of zoned out gazing at the exposed brick of the wall. She jolted at the words, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
“Y’know, even if we know about our birth parents, so what? They’re not family. They clearly didn’t want the children they raised, because they sold them to our father at the first opportunity that arose” she grumbled, reclining in her seat until her back ached painfully. Five barked out a harsh life, climbing out from the cupboard and shoving the 2 litre jar of jalapeños back into the fridge with a grunt,
“Yeah, my mother must have been real desperate to be rid of me, she handed her newborn to a Knight of the British Crown” he laughed. Where others in their complicated family lamented their removal from their birth parents, Five seemed grateful. Vanya was quietly relieved too, the conditions that she would have grown in not exactly giving her hope for apocalypse avoidance.
“I’m still not going to be thanking Reginald for shit. I traded a garbage lasagne for a trash spaghetti” Ben scoffed. Vanya raised an eyebrow at him, amusement growing. Five threw one of his wooden chopsticks at Ben, smacking him in the forehead. He didn’t look very upset at the touch though.
“What kind of dumb analogy is that?” she asked, tone ridiculing. Ben’s skin darkened slightly as he pulled his hood up, turning away and mumbling something.
“I constantly think of how much I miss food, don’t judge me for shit” he murmured. Vanya laughed at him, landing a hand on his knee and patting it lightly.
“Dumb bitch” she snorted. Five barked out another loud laugh at Ben’s shocked expression, eyebrows reaching up into his hairline.
“Who taught you that!?” Ben asked in mock indignation. Vanya played along with it, grasping his hands and squinting at him angrily, even as a grin broke out across both their faces.
“It was Klaus, that uncultured bastard” she joked. He gasped in false indignation, ignoring Vanya as her façade crumbled like brittle and she started giggling, trying to stifle her laughter despite the aching in her nose and throat.
“The little shit!” he laughed. In a few moments they were hugging, laughter slowly dying down into heavy breathing peppered with snickering.
“I missed this” she admitted, arms wrapped tightly around her brother’s chest. Five walked over resting a hand on each of their shoulders, gaze unusually warm but serious.
“It’s good to see both of you. Honestly” he said quietly, Vanya instantly wrapped him in a tight hug, pretending not to hear his weary sigh. He loosely held his hands at his side, glaring at Ben over her shoulder.
“Look, at least we’re all together again. 567?” Ben whispered, grin blinding. Five rolled his eyes and muttered out “567”, prompting Vanya to laugh and rock him side to side teasingly.
“Alright, that’s quit-” Five made a snarling noise of annoyance as the overhead light flicked on, blinding them all. Ben actually hissed, shielding his face from the lamps. Vanya scrunched her face tightly, squinting at the doorway.
“What the fuck are y’all assholes doing at 2 in the fucking morning?” Diego growled, rubbing at his face and glaring at him.
“Family bonding, fuck off” Ben huffed, as a laugh bubbled out of Vanya as Diego departed. Five sighed in annoyance and hugged Vanya back, pretending not to be glad for her surprised gasp of joy.