#fic!!!

“Like on my last high school band trip,” she was saying, diligently picking dirt out from underneath her fingernails as the two of them walked back to his place from the dog park, long before he knew what it was like to sleep with her, “the first night we - we slept on the bus to make sure that we made it to Nebraska in time for the opening ceremony and by eleven o’clock or so everyone on the bus was fast asleep, but I was wide awake, because I was going through all the fingerings on my clarinet. Being the first clarinet was very stressful, and having a solo?! I probably couldn’t have slept if I wanted to! And - actually, I-I just remembered that - I was so stressed that I found my first gray hair the morning of our performance - um, Becca plucked it out for me, though, she was not having it. And then her solo - she played triangle, she was… really good at it - was much better than mine, but not because I was tired, it was because the percussionist - not Becca, this was another song - and a different, um, percussion instrument - he didn’t know how to count ¾…”

What she didn’t tell him was that, when she was tired, she could fall asleep anywhere. He’d found her slumped over the table in the break room several times. She once fell asleep standing up at the hub, chin in her hand, drooling a little. (Dana handed him a Kleenex to wipe it away with before anyone noticed, which was good, because Whitaker recently discovered that he had a knack for drawing caricatures and Santos always dogged him into making much more mean-spirited ones than he wanted to.) And whenever the two of them went to the bar with the others after work, both drinking water, McKay drinking water, too, and giving Frank a knowing look, Mel sometimes nodded off while sitting upright in her chair with her jacket still on and her hands folded politely in her lap.

When he went out to the yard, he should’ve known that he’d find her fast asleep.

So, this AU doesn't let me go and by encouragement of @instant-bull, who is my beta now, I started a fic:

Go say thank you to Dante! Without him I'd never get courage to write it. It's my first big fic on English (which is not my first language) so be nice :)

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Umbrella Academy (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Lila Pitts Characters: Diego Hargreeves, Lila Pitts, Luther Hargreeves, Sloane Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves | Viktor Hargreeves Additional Tags: AU where they're all just idk college friends or something, don't dig too deep I didn't put any thought into the background, the idea was to write a few throwaway self-indulgent fics to get myself back in the zone, before s4 launches and scuppers all my plans, so get psyched for a few more of these over the next week or so, as and when I am not massively busy, also trufax I am basing these on porn gifs from tumblr so...consider yourselves warned Summary:

He wraps his arms around her and grins up at his stray-spark-on-dry-brush of a girlfriend. "Nah, you know Allison always gets her way. They were going for a moonlight swim, if she had to push them all off the overlook to do it." For all his confidence, he pulls her closer at the thought of not getting to hold her tonight. He'd missed her! They've barely had any sex this weekend. It's rough.

He clears his throat, wondering if maybe he ought to broach the subject of 'fessing up to everyone that—despite an explosive history between them, full of strong words and occasional violence—they're now dating.

Luisa tries to balance optimism with crush mistakes

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Ao3 Link

.o0o.

Luisa hadn’t left her room in four days. No, she stayed curled up in her bed, not even getting up to eat. Her ankle remained elevated and as well cared for as possible, and while the aching in her ankle did lessen, the ache in her soul remained the same. 

She could still see her mother’s haunted gaze. Her confusion at seeing her. Her mention of Abuelo. The blood trickling from her mouth. 

Her mamá was dying. 

Luisa had never seen a dead body, but her mamá practically counted. 

The vision haunted her every time she closed her eyes. 

Every night she prayed to a miracle that it would go away– that all this pain and suffering would just go away .

 But it never did. 

…but a sound outside her door caught her ear. 

Footsteps, familiarly light ones– Isabella’s. Of course, this was usual, her room was right next to hers. But she sounded… excited? A pace back and forth, followed by the quiet steps of none other than Dolores. Hushed whispers were exchanged right in front her door, and Luisa found herself now wanting nothing more than to get out of bed and know if something happened–

Was Mamá better? Did the fever run its course? Was it over? Was she waiting for her too? 

Suddenly, Luisa could no longer wait. She hobbled out of her room as fast as possible, swinging the door open, shocking her sister and cousin as they froze in place. Luisa looked around, her heart sinking slightly at her mother’s absence.

“L-luisa! You’re… you’re up,” Isa said, a nervous smile taking up her face. Dolores simply nodded. 

“I-i heard all the excitement and thought… it’s stupid now that I think about it,” Her heart sunk further. 

“Oh,” Isa’s smile faded. 

“Y-yeah, I think I’ll just… I’m gonna go back to bed–” 

“Isa has a plan to help Tía but we can’t let Abuela know because she said it’s a dumb idea!” Dolores spilled before covering her mouth with a gasp. Luisa blinked, not believing a word that was said, until looking at how red Isa’s face was. 

“Why would you tell Luisa that?! It was supposed to be our secret, Lola,” Isa whispered harshly. 

“I-i don’t know. I think Luisa deserves to know, you know– it’s her mama too,” Dolores glanced at her little cousin.

Isa glanced back at her sister, clearly contemplating. Luisa did her best to not feel betrayed. 

“I… guess. I don’t know– are you able to walk into town?” Isa asked. Luisa chewed her lip.

“Maybe if I had a cane?” Luisa shrugged. 

“I think Abuela keeps one by the–” Before Dolores could finish her sentence, Casita’s tiles rolled along in such a way that a cane was quickly presented to Luisa, who took it with a grateful pat on the wall. 

“Well… I guess all that’s left now is to go see Mariano in town and hope that message actually worked, haha,” Isa said, eyes dropping to the ground as she tucked hair behind her ear. Dolores quickly grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“Don’t worry. Even if he doesn’t, we can just look in the library ourselves. And you’ve got help, right Luisa,” Dolores motioned for her to support. 

“Y-yeah of course!” Luisa hobbled over to the other side, Abuela’s cane acting more like a crutch. “We’re the cousins Madrigal– if anyone can save mami it’s us, right?” Luisa forced herself to believe what she said. Isa nodded, seeming to share the same falsely positive feeling. 

“Of course,” She said, gripping her sister’s shoulder, her trembling hand confirming Luisa’s suspicions. 

Together, the three of them made their way to the stairs, Casita making them move for Luisa’s sake, until they were down and almost out the door until–

“Luisa! You’re out of your room–! And– Dolores? Isa? Where are the three of you going? And is that Mamá’s cane?” Pepa stood by a boiling pot of breakfast stew, her red curls in an even messier braid than usual, with deeper bags under her eyes too. 

“Oh, I just wanted some company while I did my morning flower run,” Isa bluffed. 

“Oh? Well, don’t let me stop you. It’s good for you girls to get your fresh air– especially you Luisa. I’ll be sure to tell Agustín you’re up,” Pepa smiled, a soft rainbow overhead, making Luisa feel a little embarrassed, but a little proud of herself too. 

“Yes, yes, do that Mamá– we’ll be back soon enough,” Dolores practically pushed them towards Casita’s doors. 

“Um– alright. Be careful then!” Pepa called back, but by then they were already out of the doors. 

“Dios mío– did you really need to push us? My lie was perfectly fine on its own,” Isa huffed, brushing off her dress. 

“Can’t keep Mariano waiting,” Dolores gave a big shrug, before urging them on once more. Isabella quickly, though Luisa struggled to keep up. Determined not to distract though, she remained silent as she hobbled behind. 

Soon enough the girls made it to the village, which remained… oddly quiet. What day was it? Luisa hadn’t been out in so long– perhaps the people of the village were just as sick as mami was, so if she wasn’t fixed then no one would be and then the village would become a ghost town and then–

“You’re breathing really fast– are you okay?” Dolores was suddenly right in front of Luisa. The nine-year-old blinked, shaking her head to rid herself of the thought. 

“Just… catching up,” Luisa grimaced. 

“Well, we’re at my starting point so we can go slower from here,” Isa said, going to a light post and revitalizing the withering vines. 

Dolores stayed by Luisa’s side as Isa worked more hurriedly just ahead, placing a soft hand on her back. 

“Has… has the village usually been this empty?” Luisa asked. 

“Things have been slowing a bit since tía got sick,” Dolores had to think about it. “But it is still early, I wouldn’t worry too much.” 

Right, Luisa was just being a baby, worrying about nothing. 

Everything was fine. mami was fine, the village was fine, Luisa was fine.

Everything was fine. 

…her eye twitched. 

Dolores noticed, but said nothing.

And so they marched on. 

.o0o. 

After what felt like a silent eternity, they eventually reached the bench Isa said Mariano and her had met on the previous day, and lo and behold the boy was running towards it too, a flower petal in hand, as well as a heavy bag. 

“Hola Mariano,” Dolores smiled sheepishly. 

“Oh– Hola, Dolores; Isabella–” He paused. “Lu…isa?” 

She nodded. 

“Right– Luisa,” He gave an apologetic smile. 

“Did you get the book?” Isa asked.

“Well– I did check the library, but it turns out quite a few fit that description, so I just borrowed them all and threw them in this bag Señor Sánches let me borrow,” he said, setting it down on the bench. 

“Wow, those books look big,” Luisa cringed at the sight. She liked reading, but it looked like… a lot. 

“I can help you three scan through them if you’d like. I may not be the smartest, but I can read well,” Mariano smiled earnestly. 

“Of course! A-and it shouldn’t be too hard, we can just check the indexes to see if they might have anything we need,” Dolores immediately spoke. Isa glanced at her cousin a moment before verbally agreeing. 

“Yeah, it shouldn't take too long. Hopefully they have a picture too,” Isa said, tucking her hair back once more. 

“Let’s get to it then,” Mariano beamed, taking a book and plopping onto the ground, Dolores sitting next to him, Isa across and Luisa on the bench. 

Page after page, Luisa flipped through, carefully not to tear any pages on accident, scanning through index after index for any hint of a…

“Wait, what am I looking for?” Luisa asked. 

“Something on the Verbena or Yellow Fever or maybe Mosquitoes. Mamá said that the flower held a cure,” Isa didn’t look up from her reading. 

Verbena or Yellow Fever… Verbena or Yellow Fever…

No, this book was about animal diseases. No, this one only talked about malaria, geez– how many red books with white letters could there be? Not this page, not that page– wait-!

Luisa spotted something– a chapter on “Yellow Fever and Other Mosquito-Borne Illnesses”! 

Verbena, verbena, verbena… Ah ha! Verbena!

“Isa! I found something!” Luisa proudly proclaimed. Isa perked up, rushing to her sister’s side and taking the book from her. 

“The Verbena is a flower native to Venezuela, known for its healing properties!” Isa grinned wide, pink flowers appearing in her hair, catching the attention of the other two. “Often used to fight sore throat and heart related diseases, it’s uncertain whether or not this yellow flower can cure yellow… fever,” Isa slowed. 

An uneasy wave washed through the children, but Isa read on. “Studies have been done but never has a cure ever been proven for yellow fever, and there… There might never be…” 

“Let me see that,” Dolores didn’t believe what she was hearing. Quickly she grabbed the book and read over it, but the look in her eyes confirmed what Isa read was true. A tidal wave of guilt crashed over Luisa’s body as she saw Isa begin to cry. 

“I-i should’ve just listened to Abuela– why did I think I could ever fix this? That my job could ever be anything outside of making stupid flowers!” She did her best not to choke. 

“N-no, It’s my fault for not reading it before getting all excited,” Luisa argued. 

“But isn’t it still worth a try? If Señora Julieta believes in it, then I know I do,” Mariano suggested, placing a hand on Isa that she shook off. 

“ Mamá is dying ! She’s hallucinating, just like Abuela said. Sh-she probably was just imagining things,” Isa shouted, thorny vines wrapping around her arms. “And that book doesn’t even have a stupid picture!” 

“Isa–” Dolores tried to comfort her too, but Isa stormed off. Without much thought, Mariano and Dolores gave chase, tossing the book aside and leaving Luisa to her lonesome. 

…needless to say, it didn’t take long before Luisa too felt the sting of tears. 

All she wanted to do was help, but it seemed like all it did was get others hurt, including herself. She should’ve just stayed out of it– let grown ups handle it. 

But– but she was supposed to be useful. She was the strong one. She had to do something , right? 

Luisa looked at the books around her. She picked up the one Dolores discarded and once again flipped to the page from before. What Isa read did turn out in fact, true, but Luisa couldn’t accept it. She picked up a different book and flipped through that– nothing. Another one– nothing. Another one– yellow fever! –possible cures! 

A yellow cluster flower– maybe the verbena! A picture too! Isa just needs to see it! 

Luisa jumped up in excitement to run to her sister, but fell over in pain from her ankle. Silently she cursed her foolishness, as she now also had a bruise to match her father’s. Head and ankle throbbing, Luisa couldn’t help but still feel a sense of nervous excitement. Was she wrong about the other book, yes. Were all the others useless? Also yes. But this one at least suggested something, and while she wasn’t certain if it was the verbena, it was something – and listed under possibilities. If Luisa could just get up and find Isabella to tell her the news–

Wait a minute, she had heard a rip– the page was now torn clean off (Señor Sánches wasn’t going to be happy). Luisa struggled to get herself back on the bench, resting her ankle up on it too, bending for the page when suddenly a very, very poorly timed gust of wind blew by, taking the page and sending it away. 

“Wait-! No– come back!” Luisa scrambled to get up, remembering the cane this time and tried to ignore all the pain as she followed it. 

“Luisa? Luisa! Where are you going?” She heard Isabella, who finally returned with her cousin and Mariano. 

“I found it! But the page fell out!” Luisa pointed. Immediately the three of them sprang into action, trying to beat the wind and try to catch it before it hit any puddles or got stuck somewhere. Eventually, Isa decided to use her powers, and rode a gigantic flower up to the paper where she quickly clutched it, showing it off proudly. Luisa cheered loudly, forgetting Dolores was near, but even she let out a cheer of her own. 

“Isabella Madrigal! What is the meaning of this?!” 

Abuela had found them. 

“N-nothing, Abuela, it’s just– well, I know you said we shouldn’t go looking for cures, but we found it! We found the flower Mamá suggested and–” Isa glossed over the page before pausing. 

“It… it doesn’t say…” She looked down at Luisa. 

“It matches the description of the other book perfectly though!” Luisa contested, heart pounding. 

“I warned you, Isabella. We already tried searching every book, I didn’t want you to get your hopes up…” Abuela clutched her black shawl as Isa’s flower withered and she sank back to the ground. 

“Isa, you have to believe me– for Mamá,” Luisa pleaded. 

Isabella looked over the page again, then at Luisa, then at the page again. 

Carefully, she created the flower in her palm, looking at Abuela. 

“Isn’t it worth a shot?” 

Abuela looked conflicted. All Luisa felt she could do was hobble over to Isabella and hold her other hand, which Isabella squeezed. 

“...Alright, we can try,” the old woman sighed. Isabella squeezed her sister’s hand once more. 

“Thank you, Abuela,” Isa said, and they all began walking, save Mariano, who decided to go back and return the books. 

After a bit, Isa whispered, “I really, really hope you’re right Luisa.” 

Luisa could feel herself trembling as she whispered,

“Me too.” 

.o0o. 

It didn’t occur to Luisa how much time had passed until she noticed breakfast had been completely put away, with Camillo and Mirabel running around the foyer, playing with Casita while Félix watched. In the distance, Luisa could hear her papa playing piano. 

None of that ultimately mattered, as when Abuela’s presence was noticed, all came to a stop, minus the piano. 

“Back so soon?” Félix joked. 

“Isabella?” Alma held out her hand for the flower, which Isa handed, creating five more in the process. 

“Abuela is going to make some tea,” Dolores told her father, going to sit next to him. 

“Tea for Julieta?” Félix asked. Luisa and Isabella nodded. 

“I see,” He nodded seriously. “I should get Agustín.” 

“No, I can get Papá,” Isa said, heading off to the piano. 

Luisa decided to take her place on the steps, watching as Mirabel and Camillo played with blocks. Mirabel eventually noticed her sister watching, and made her way over, plopping down next to her, which Camillo copied. 

“Do you have an owie?” She pointed to Luisa’s ankle. Luisa nodded. 

“It’s okay, Mamá will fix it,” She gave a toothy grin. Luisa couldn’t help but smile. 

“She will… hopefully soon,” she couldn’t help but look at Abuela, who huffed. 

“It’s rude for you all to stare,” She said. 

“Sorry Abuela!” Everyone apologized, quickly looking away. Mirabel and Camillo giggled at that, which made even Alma laugh a little too. 

Suddenly, hope was in the air of La Casita Madrigal. Everyone was dying to know if it would work, and how quickly they could know too. After all, tomorrow was the triplet’s 40th birthday– celebrations would be in order– if Julieta was alright. If not, well… it simply wouldn’t be their birthday without all three of them, now would it? 

Abuela finished brewing the tea right as Agustín and Isabella returned, and she carefully crafted a tray and began taking it up the stairs, allowing only Agustín, Mirabel in his arms, Isabella, Luisa to follow. 

“Pepa, sit Julieta up,” She said as she entered the room. Mirabel gasped at the sight of her mother, clutching her father’s collar, but not looking away. Luisa held onto Isabella. 

Pepa quickly shot up from her chair and obeyed, carefully arranging her sister’s pillows and her to an upright position. 

“Is that a new tea?” She asked. 

“It’s a special one,” Luisa explained.

“Let’s just hope my magic’s enough,” Isa whispered, squeezing her sister’s hand once more, watching as Abuela sat on the bed and poured the tea in her mouth and forced her to swallow. Julieta winced weakly, but didn’t move more than that. Abuela continued to give her the tea until the cup was empty, leaving the tray with the pot on her bedside table. 

“And now… we wait. Dios tenga piedad de su alma.”

♡  Days 18 to 21 of Filming History3: Trapped

Note: These are my translations! Please do not repost anywhere else. I’ve added the photos but I couldn’t scan HQ versions because I didn’t want to damage the book haha sorry about that guys!

Highlights:

Jiang Chang Hui (Steven Chiang), the guy who plays the teacher in History2: Right or Wrong, makes a cameo

This is all I need to say: