GIRL, APOCALYPTIC.

(     THIS IS THE HOUR I GREET MYSELF WITH THE BUCK-EYED BRAVADO OF ROADKILL, AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT ENDINGS ANYMORE, I JUST END THEM.     )

*      picrew !

vanya is not immortal,      possesses no super-durability,      but in the ice-cold thrill of moments in which she is something more than herself,      she certainly feels that nothing can hurt her.      the first-aid kit under her kitchen sink has gotten its fair amount of use,      but the whirlwind of energy that surrounds her when her powers are at their peak protects her from most injuries.      so she nods,      letting the concern of her big brother slip over her shoulders like a warm quilt.            ‘      i’m as safe as i can be.      it’s,      um,      it’s harder to hurt me when i’m all      —      you know,      ’            and she gestures to her eyes,      makes a bursting motion with her hands to indicate them glowing.            ‘      so it’s      ...      i won’t say it isn’t dangerous,      but i’m okay.      it’s something i have to do anyways.      ’            she’s had this conversation with the rest of their siblings already.      it’s a rehearsed duet.

but on their birthday everyone piles into her apartment. klaus gets there first and they have the bright idea to try and bake a cake themselves; everyone else shows up to vanya and klaus with flour all over them, desperately fanning cushions around the oven so the smoke alarm doesn’t go off and set off vanya’s powers, and she... forgets to be as nervous as she would have been. they go out and buy a cake, instead, in the end. they all sing happy birthday to each other, and allison has her voice almost all the way back, which almost makes vanya cry with relief. she gets overwhelmed halfway through, as she’s prone to when around a lot of people, and ends up sitting on the roof for a bit, but it’s still nice. eventually one or two of the others comes and sits with her, quietly, and that’s nice, too. it’s the first birthday she can remember enjoying in a really long time.

but i do think grace would make them something special, cookies or cupcakes or something of that sort, every year. and i think the kids always tried to sneak out to griddy’s the week of their birthday, to have some kind of celebration, however small. i think the birthday that grace gave them their names was the best day of vanya’s childhood, and she made a point to always use her siblings’ names rather than numbers, constantly, from then on. i think vanya always really wanted to get her siblings gifts, but didn’t have any money or access to things that would make good gifts — but once she picked up violin she taught herself how to play happy birthday on it and got very excited about playing it for all of them, regardless of whether or not they’d actually like it.