the ms. valentine
welcome to fan fiction Friday where every Friday I post something from my drafts
to kick it off here is a prologue to a five hargreeves fic
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Diego slumped in his chair at the dimly lit restaurant, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. The exhaustion was evident on his face as he let out another dramatic groan. "We've been at this for months," he muttered, pushing away his untouched plate of food. "How hard can it be to find ONE reality-bending witch?"
Around the table, his siblings weren't faring much better. Five was on his eighth cup of coffee, dark circles under his eyes as he obsessively reviewed their leads. Allison had her head in her hands, while Luther anxiously drummed his massive fingers on the table.
"If we don't find them soon..." Klaus trailed off, unusually serious for once. He was sprawled across two chairs, staring at the ceiling. "I mean, we all know what happens if we don't, right? Boom. End of everything. Again."
Viktor sat quietly, fidgeting with his silverware. "Maybe we're looking in the wrong places," she suggested softly. "Someone with that kind of power... they might not want to be found."
"Well, they better start wanting to be found," Diego snapped, before immediately regretting his harsh tone. "Sorry, I just... I can't do another apocalypse. We need this person. They're the only one who can actually fix things for good."
The waitress approached their table with concerned looks, probably wondering why a group of adults looked like they were attending a funeral rather than having dinner. None of them had the energy to explain that they were literally trying to prevent the end of the world.
Five pulled out a worn manila folder, spreading grainy photographs across the table. "Look at these. Reginald's old surveillance photos. He was tracking her for years before he even started collecting us." He pointed to a black and white image of a woman in 1960s attire. "Same face, different decades. He thought she was dangerous - a nexus being who could alter reality itself."
"And he wanted to eliminate her," Luther added grimly, examining another photo showing the same woman in the 1980s, completely unchanged. "Before she could become too powerful."
Klaus picked up a particularly old photograph, squinting at it. "Well, daddy dearest failed spectacularly at that, didn't he? She's still out there somewhere, probably laughing at our pathetic attempts to find her."
"These sightings are all over the timeline," Allison noted, arranging the photos chronologically. "1920s, 1940s, 1960s, 1990s... she doesn't seem to age at all. How are we supposed to track someone who can literally be anywhere in time?"
Viktor studied the woman's face in each photo - serene, knowing, with eyes that seemed to hold centuries of secrets. "Maybe that's why Reginald was so afraid of her. She's not just powerful... she's completely outside the normal rules of time and space."
Luther shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his attention drawn to the steady stream of newcomers filtering into the restaurant. "Uh, guys..." he said, but everyone was too engrossed in their theories to notice.
The new arrivals were... unusual, to say the least. A woman with iridescent scales covering half her face dragged two tables together. A man whose skin seemed to phase between solid and transparent arranged chairs. In the corner, someone with multiple sets of arms was efficiently stacking menus.
"Guys," Luther tried again, his voice tighter. "I really think we should—"
"Not now, Luther," Diego cut him off, still focused on the photographs. "We're trying to figure out her pattern here."
More people kept coming in. A group with unnaturally bright, glowing eyes. Someone who appeared to be made entirely of shifting shadows. Two teenagers who floated several inches above the ground as they moved through the room. They were all moving with purpose, rearranging the restaurant's layout as if preparing for some kind of gathering.
"GUYS!" Luther finally raised his voice, causing his siblings to look up in annoyance – until they too noticed what was happening around them.
"Is there like... a circus in town or something?" Diego muttered, watching as a person with butterfly wings gracefully adjusted a string of heart-shaped lights across the ceiling.
"Oh honey, these are just your average Valentine's Day weirdos looking for love," Klaus drawled, suddenly perking up with interest. "Which, speaking of - did any of you even realize what day it is?"
Five nearly choked on his coffee. The rest of the siblings exchanged blank looks as realization slowly dawned on their faces.
"February 14th," Allison groaned, dropping her head to the table. "We picked a Valentine's Day hotspot for our apocalypse planning session."
"Hey, supernatural beings need love too!" Klaus declared, waving cheerfully at a group of what appeared to be sirens arranging flowers at a nearby table. "Maybe we should stick around. Could be fun!"
"We are NOT here to play matchmaker," Diego growled, though he couldn't help but watch with fascination as more otherworldly patrons filed in.
"Look, we need to focus," Five insisted, spreading the photos wider. "These patterns could be crucial. If we analyze the timestamps and locations, maybe we can predict—"
"Why do you have pictures of my sister?" a soft voice asked from directly behind Luther.
The entire table jumped, drinks spilling and chairs scraping against the floor. Luther nearly fell backwards, which was quite a feat given his size. Standing there, peering over his shoulder with mild curiosity, was a young woman none of them had noticed approach. She had the same serene expression as the woman in the photographs, though her fashion choices were decidedly more modern.
"Your... sister?" Viktor managed to ask, while Diego subtly reached for one of his knives.
The woman nodded, picking up one of the black and white photos with delicate fingers. "Mm-hmm. Though this is a terrible photo of her. Dad always did have awful timing with that camera of his." She wrinkled her nose.
The siblings stared at each other in stunned silence, while Klaus let out a delighted laugh. "Oh, this is going to be good."
"Wait, wait—" Five held up a hand, his analytical mind already racing. "You're her biological sister? That's impossible. We have documentation of her appearing across multiple decades, unchanged."
The woman shrugged, pulling up a chair and making herself comfortable at their table. "Believe whatever theory makes you happy. Time travel, immortality, reincarnation... people always want some big dramatic explanation." She stirred sugar into a cup of tea that none of them had seen her order. "The truth is way more boring, and I honestly have no idea how she does half the stuff she does."
"But you must know something," Diego pressed, leaning forward intensely. "Where is she now? We need to find her."
"Oh, she's around," the sister said vaguely, watching with mild amusement as more supernatural creatures continued filing into the restaurant. "Probably organizing this whole thing, actually. She loves playing matchmaker for the metaphysically-challenged."
Five's eye twitched. "You're telling me the reality-bending witch we've been hunting for months... is running a supernatural dating service?"
"Among other things," she nodded cheerfully. "Want me to put in a good word for any of you? The shadow person in the corner keeps checking out your brother."
Klaus preened. "Really? Which one?"
"We're not here for dates!" Five snapped, though Viktor noticed he was now eyeing the shadow person with consideration.
"By the way," the sister added, stirring her tea with an amused smile, "it's actually her birthday today. That's why all her... unique friends are gathering. So maybe when she does show up, you could skip the whole 'diving at her with urgent apocalypse business' thing? She gets cranky about that sort of thing on her birthday."
"Her birthday is on Valentine's Day?" Allison asked skeptically.
"Oh, of course it is," the sister laughed, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Where do you think all those cupids got their inspiration from? The hearts, the matchmaking, the love magic..." She waved her hand at the decorated restaurant. "My sister's always had a flair for the dramatic. The mortals just took her whole aesthetic and ran with it."
"You're saying your sister... inspired Valentine's Day?" Luther asked incredulously.
"More like she became so synonymous with it that the holiday sort of... shaped itself around her over time," she explained, watching a cupid-like being adjust their bow nearby. "Reality has a way of conforming to her preferences. It's kind of her thing."
The restaurant's door chimed open, letting in a gust of chilly February air. In strode a woman who commanded attention without trying - her black combat boots clicking confidently against the floor, red cropped top perfectly matching her bold lipstick. The leather mini skirt added an edge that was immediately softened by an oversized pink cardigan that looked impossibly soft, floating around her like a cozy cloud as she moved.
"And there she is," the sister said with fond exasperation. "Always has to make an entrance."
The supernatural patrons immediately perked up, a ripple of excited whispers spreading through the room. The woman paused in the doorway, surveying her gathered guests with obvious delight, either oblivious to or deliberately ignoring the slack-jawed stares of the Umbrella Academy siblings.
"And that's my cue," the sister said, rising gracefully from her seat. She practically danced across the room, enveloping the newcomer in a warm hug. "Happy birthday, sis! Come meet your admirers."
The woman laughed, allowing herself to be guided through the crowd of supernatural beings, each of whom seemed to glow a little brighter in her presence. But instead of approaching the Umbrella Academy's table, her sister steered her toward a cozy corner booth where several ethereal figures were already waiting.
"We have to talk to her," Five hissed, already calculating the quickest path through the crowd. "The fate of reality itself depends on it!"
"She's right there," Diego agreed, tensing like a coiled spring. "We might not get another chance."
"Guys," Luther interrupted, his voice surprisingly gentle. "It's her birthday. Maybe we could... I don't know, wait until tomorrow to ambush her with apocalypse stuff?"
"Since when are you the voice of reason?" Klaus asked, genuinely impressed.
"Since I watched her casually reorganize reality just by walking into a room," Luther replied, nodding toward the way the very air seemed to shimmer around the woman as she laughed with her supernatural guests. "Something tells me pushing her on her birthday isn't the best strategy."
Allison nodded slowly. "He's right. We've waited months. We can wait one more day."
"Fine," Five grumbled, slumping back in his chair. "But first thing tomorrow, we're having a very long conversation about the end of the world."
"Oh, the end of the world? Now that could be fun," a playful voice chimed from directly behind them.
The siblings whirled around to find the woman perched casually on the counter behind their table, her combat boots swinging idly in the air. Her smile was equal parts mischievous and knowing as she locked eyes with Five.
Five's mouth opened and closed several times, his usual sharp wit failing him completely. "What do you mean 'fun'?" he finally managed to sputter.
She tilted her head, regarding him with amusement. "Well, that depends entirely on your definition of 'end,' doesn't it?" Her fingers traced patterns in the air, leaving shimmering trails of light. "Sometimes endings are just beginnings in disguise, so who wants to celebrate?"
