CHAPTER ELEVEN
stealing yo' girl

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NADINE DID A LOT of things on her own. She'd booked a flight to America on her own, spending hours in a cramped airplane just for the possibility of meeting the Umbrella Academy, stayed in her motel alone, went to breakfast alone...

Even in France, even at the hotel, there had often been days where she barely spoke to anyone. So it should've been a given that Nadine Vidal wouldn't have minded holding down the fort while the Hargreeves siblings went off to look for their brothers and sister, right? There were plenty of things she could've done alone at the Umbrella Academy mansion, things she might've enjoyed more than going on a wild goose chase, collecting people for a family meeting she wouldn't even be involved in. But when faced with the prospect of either staying behind or going to find Vanya with Allison, Nadine Vidal, bizarrely, chose the latter.

Of course, she had good reasons for her decision. A) She didn't like the idea of being alone at the Academy when Hazel and Cha-Cha were still out there, blissfully unaware of her presence but with the potential to find her out, and B) because she wanted to see Vanya again. Nadine knew it was nonsensical, but for some reason, she felt she'd formed a real connection with Number Seven. She liked Vanya, she really did, which was why when Allison had announced she was leaving, Nadine asked if she could come with.

Allison had agreed, bewildered, and that was how the two women found themselves heading out together in search of Vanya. There was a slight late-winter chill hovering in the air, and Nadine wrapped a scarf around her neck, which doubled as a shield from the cold and as a cover to hide her scar. The wind bit at her face as she headed down the busy streets, a little on edge (every time she saw either blue or pink her heart rate would accelerate). To deal with her hands, which were fluttering nervously at her side like startled birds, she shoved them in her pockets.

At first, things were awkward between Allison and Nadine. Although they'd both apologized for their quarrel yesterday, there was still tension between them, taut as a rubber band. Allison seemed almost frigid, an ice block, but after a couple of minutes of agonizing silence, she eventually asked Nadine about herself. Nadine wove a basic image of her childhood for Allison, marveling at the way it compared to the movie star's, and then added in a few fun facts about herself, to make it interesting. Once Allison told Nadine more about her life as a parent, Nadine could feel the ice beginning to melt, revealing the warm, entertaining woman she'd become a fan of.

Even with her heart still racing and her mind still locked on her conversation with Five, Nadine did feel a little better, especially when she and Allison eventually began passionately discussing the plot to one of the latter's movies, a Groundhog Day type situation where every time the day reset, the main character woke up in a different body. They were just reaching the finer points of the film when they finally ran into Vanya, who was talking to a scruffy-looking man, her eyes bright.

Vanya turned, noticing the pair. "Allison? Nadine?"

"Hey," said Allison.

Nadine nodded politely. "Hi, Vanya."

The man, who Nadine and Allison both towered over, knitted his eyebrows together in evident confusion, his eyes flickering over to Vanya for an introduction. She obliged. "Leonard, this is my sister, Allison, and my..." she took a second to try and find a word for Nadine and Vanya's relationship, "my friend, Nadine," she settled on. Nadine hid a smile behind her hand.

The man—Leonard—blinked at the pair for a couple of seconds before pointing to Allison. "Wait a second, I know you. You were in that movie. You're in that movie, the... you were the lawyer. The tough one in the wheelchair, right?"

"Yeah." Allison chuckled modestly, looking down at her hands. "Yeah, that was me."

Leonard looked to Vanya. "You didn't tell me your sister was a movie star. Wow." After Vanya nodded, he looked back to Allison. There was a flicker of something in his eyes, gone too quickly for Nadine to really notice, but she could've sworn it was... anger? Which didn't make sense, as this Leonard had never met Allison. Maybe she was just imagining things.

Nadine, already uncomfortable, crossed her arms as Leonard said, "You were in that Umbrella thing, too, weren't you?" Allison opened her mouth to respond, but Leonard was already looking back to Vanya. "But you weren't in that, were you?"

"No," said Vanya, "uh... I was sort of the fifth Beatle of the family, so..."

"I never really did like the Beatles," said Leonard cheerfully. "More of a Stones guy, myself."

"I'm sorry," Nadine interjected, breaking up the smile Leonard was exchanging with Vanya. She was a bit peeved, if she was being honest, that he was completely ignoring her presence. Allison may have been famous, but it was rude to completely pass over the woman who was literally standing next to her. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Right," Leonard clasped his hands together. "Well, I guess I could say I'm her violin student. And friend, hopefully," he added, shooting another fond look at Vanya, who was now looking down at her feet. Nadine swallowed, an unidentified emotion boiling in the soup pot that was her stomach.

Allison tried to get them all back on track. "Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but, uh... could you come back to the house? We're having a family meeting."

"And you guys want me there?" Vanya asked skeptically.

"Of course." Allison swallowed, looking down at her feet. "It's about Mom."

Vanya looked to Leonard. "I'm so sorry. I—"

"Oh, don't be," Leonard reassured her. Then he smiled. "We'll do a rain check on dinner."

Nadine's eyes widened.

On what?

He began to walk off. "Bye."

"Thanks," Vanya called after him.

"Yeah."

Then he was gone, leaving just Nadine, Allison and Vanya behind. "Who's the guy?" Allison asked immediately, staring at his retreating form. Nadine was about to ask the same thing. For some reason, dislike had poured right into her upon seeing him, though she wasn't sure why. He seemed like an amiable kind of man, definitely someone Vanya wanted to be around after the loneliness that had made up her childhood.

"Like I said, he's a... just a friend," Vanya replied quietly.

"Friend?" Allison repeated, raising her eyebrows. A bolt of anger shot through Nadine at the implication, and suddenly, she was craving a glass of wine.

"No, it's not..." Vanya's voice trailed off. She clenched her jaw. "Maybe I'm just trying to not separate myself from everything and everyone."

Allison's eyes found her feet again. "I'm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you yesterday. I was angry with Patrick, and I... I took it out on you. I'm really sorry. I'm, uh... I'm not good at this whole sister thing."

"I hadn't noticed."

"Ouch. Tell me how you really feel."

"Maybe I will."

Allison let out a laugh. "Okay!"

"So, uh..." Vanya's eyes finally found Nadine. "What are you still doing here? I thought you'd have wanted to go home by now. I mean... you can tell we're not the most nuclear of families."

"Klaus invited me," Nadine replied, her tone light. "And I was going to stay here in America longer, anyway. My English has gotten way better, and I have only been here for three days! Soon I'll be speaking it like a native."

"You practically are already," said Vanya, grinning at her. Her smile had the same brightness as Camille's beams had, radiating sunshine back at Nadine. Her bad mood dissolved immediately, and she found herself grinning back as Vanya continued, "So, are you going to be at the family meeting, then?"

"Well, probably not, given that I'm not actually a part of the family."

"If they're inviting me, they're inviting everyone. You should come."

Allison winced a little at that comment, but Nadine didn't let her own smile fall. It was the glow of bioluminescent organisms that lived deep under the ocean, the reflection of moonshine off water, neon lights mirrored in puddles after a rainstorm. Camille's smiles had always been rays of sun shining down on your bare back, the warm embers of a fire flickering on your face, streetlights at night. Vanya's had the taste of sunlight, but they were also rainbows peeking out from behind clouds after it rains and the way your eyes light up when you get a new idea.

"Okay, I'll come," Nadine said eventually, trying to bask in this moment for as long as possible. She wanted to weave a Sanctuary around it, a place where time just came to a pause, turning the three of them into Tableaus, ice sculptures, statues lining palaces, and live here forever. Fuck Leonard. Nadine was months away from her thirties and she was feeling like a teenager again.

But as all moments do, this one eventually came to an end.

WHEN NADINE WAS born, she was a doll; a little chubby-cheeked carving of porcelain that was supposed to sit on shelves. She was fragile, delicate, capable of shattering into glass with one wrong move. Louise dressed her up in vintage outfits, parading her around like she really was a doll, letting strangers ogle at her painted cheeks and prerecorded laughter. Because that was what Louise Vidal thought a child was supposed to be; a frozen memory captured in a picture frame, a marionette to perch on the counter. For that was how she saw other parents act—that day at the beach, with the little girl laughing as her father tossed her in the water, the day that had inspired Louise and Beau to attempt to make a child, was exactly that. A picture-perfect moment.

She never saw what didn't go in photo albums. The messy bits of parenthood. Dirty diapers, screaming tantrums, a fancy china plate broken during a tea party. Which was why, when perfect, angelic, miracle doll Nadine began acting less like that image of perfection Louise so dearly sought, when she began showcasing her power and letting it thread through the air, Louise realized parenthood wasn't so great after all.

Which was why Nadine's childhood with Louise had been sub-par. She'd always longed for a mother she would be close with, who'd brush and braid her hair and take her out for picnics in the park, the yearning for it filling her up in a desperate, constant ache. Her papa, Beau, was the best father Nadine could ask for—he was always there for her when Louise wasn't—but Nadine wanted two parents that she knew loved her. Not just one. She wanted a mother she could count on.

Which was why, sitting here, beside Klaus (who was sharing chips with her he claimed he'd stolen) watching the grainy tape of Sir Reginald Hargreeves convulsing while Grace stood idly by, Nadine was beginning to feel a little bitter.

Although the robot had acted out of the ordinary this morning, according to Allison and Luther, the implication that she could behind the mysterious death of the sour old man rubbed Nadine the wrong way. Grace had always been the mother Nadine had craved—she remembered poring through Vanya's book for the mention of the robot, her fingers tracing over the text when Vanya mentioned Grace making them eggs or singing them to sleep—the one that, in a way, she'd always deserved. Grace was simply perfect (never mind the whole robot thing), and now the Hargreeves were considering... well, Nadine didn't know what they'd do if they believed she'd killed Old Reggie.

After watching the old man convulse again, his entire body rattling like a macarena, Vanya finally spoke up. Nadine was glad she did. She was getting uncomfortable, sitting here in this thick silence, occasionally being shot awkward looks (Luther) or harsher glares (Diego) by the family. In fact, Diego had tried to weasel her out of the meeting, but Vanya, appearing to have grown a spine for once, jumped up and told him that Nadine was her guest.

Nadine almost wished Vanya hadn't said anything, though. She knew that her friend's relationship with Diego was already considerably rocky based upon the snide comments he'd snarked at her back at the funeral, and she didn't want to worsen the bond. She knew it wasn't all her fault—there had to be some harsh feelings based on the book (Vanya had written about Diego and Luther's rivalry, and how they'd always butted heads in their bid to become the true leader, the real Number One)—but guilt flooded through her anyway. And besides, she really didn't belong here. But it seemed that after three days of butting into family meetings, it was practically a given that she'd get a nose in whatever family drama was occurring.

"I mean, do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?" Vanya asked now.

"You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya," Luther said. "Maybe you don't know Grace anymore."

Nadine found this comment unfair. Vanya wasn't the only one who hadn't been home for years; in fact, all of the Hargreeves siblings with the exception of Luther had been gone since they were seventeen. She opened her mouth to tell him this, but Diego was already talking, immediately leaping to the defence of his mother.

"If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner's report."

"Yeah, well, I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes."

Diego's face hardened. "Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your vision." He clicked a button. "Look closer. Dad has his monocle. Mom stands up. Monocle's gone."

Klaus let out a chuckle and passed his chip bag to Nadine again, who took a couple and popped them into her mouth. They were too salty, as was the American way, but she chewed through them anyway, feeling only slightly guilty for her indulgence. But she hadn't worked out the entire time she'd been here, either. If she was splurging, she might as well splurge big.

"She wasn't poisoning him," Diego said. "She was... taking it. To clean it."

"Then where is it?" Luther asked. "No, I've searched the house, including all her things. She doesn't have it."

"That's because I took it from her," Diego admitted after a tense pause. "After the funeral."

Everyone turned to face him, their eyes narrowing. "You've had the monocle this whole time?" Allison, who'd been leaning against a pillar, snapped. "What the hell, Diego?"

Luther extended a hand. "Give it to me."

"I threw it away," said Diego, eyeing his brother, who was looking mutinous. Nadine stared after them, still wondering why she was here. Not that this wasn't entertaining, but she wasn't involved in this issue at all. She let out a sigh, leaning back as Luther snapped back with a, "You what?" and Vanya shot her a comforting look.

"Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you'd lose your shit, just like you're doing right now," said Diego, pointing at Luther with his throwing knife as he spoke.

Luther took a step towards Diego, his voice getting gravelly. "Diego, you son of a bitch." Diego immediately threw up his fists, preparing for a repeat of the funeral brawl.

"Hey. No. Calm down," Vanya cut in. "Look, I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but... also as a protector."

"What does that mean?" Allison asked.

"She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy."

"Well, if her hardware is degrading, then... we need to turn her off," said Luther.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait," Diego snapped, before anyone else had time to react, including Nadine, who only had time for her eyes to widen. "She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I've seen it!"

"She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die."

"I'm with Luther," Allison piped up, nursing at the drink in her hand. Diego turned to shoot her a glare.

"Surprise, surprise."

"Shut up."

The crank on Nadine's back that had been slowly winding throughout this entire meeting seemed to have finally finished, filling the entirety of her body with anger until she was breathing it instead of oxygen. Her hands curled into fists and her eyes burst into flames. She couldn't believe what Luther and Allison were saying. Insinuating that their mother was a possession that could be turned off and stowed away? When she'd obviously loved them and been there for them? It was too much. And so, even though this meeting wasn't about her family, she couldn't help but open her mouth.

"You can't be fucking serious."

Luther glowered. "You're not a part of this meeting, Nadine, and you know it."

"I don't care if I'm a fucking Hargreeves, I'm a decent human being, Luther. You can't just throw your mother away, no matter what she's done. Who cares if she isn't human? She's obviously treated you better than my own mother did. It's fucking..." she took a sharp pause, her brain straining for the word in English, "it's fucking immoral to lock her away like she never existed. Even if she did kill your father, you can't do that to her. You can help her, instead. Look at what's wrong. Instead of treating her like an inanimate object or a... or a faulty mechanism."

Diego's glare at her, which had been simmering like a pot at a boil, suddenly slid off his face at Nadine's comment. For once, he didn't look at her like she was some kind of vermin that had crawled her way into his living room, but with a begrudging kind of respect. It wasn't friendliness, but it wasn't loathing, and Nadine could work with not being hated.

Everyone went quiet at her rant, and Nadine noticed Luther and Allison exchanging looks with what looked a little like guilt glittering in their eyes. Or maybe she'd imagined it, because it was gone after a moment, and everyone was now staring at Vanya for her input.

The woman balked under all of this newfound pressure. "I—I don't—"

"Yeah, she shouldn't get a vote," said Diego, and the flicker of respect Nadine had been nursing for him after he'd defended his mother vanished in an instant.

"I was gonna say that I agree with you," Vanya snapped, hurt.

"Okay. She should get a vote."

Nadine clenched her jaw. This is a disaster.

Diego then moved on to torment Klaus. "What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?"

Klaus blinked like he was emerging from a trance. "Oh, so, what? You need my help now? Oh, 'Get out of the van, Klaus!' 'Well, welcome back to the van.'"

"What van?" Allison asked. Nadine was wondering the same thing.

Luther just scoffed. "What's it gonna be, Klaus?"

"I'm with Diego, because screw you!" Klaus cried. "And if Ben were here, he'd agree with me."

"So that's three?" Diego asked, holding up three fingers (obviously, Nadine wasn't counted, though she wasn't salty about that—she really wasn't a part of the family). "To two." He held up two fingers almost tantalizingly in front of Luther.

"Vote's not final yet," said Allison.

"What?"

"Five's not here. The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that."

Where was Five, anyway? Klaus and Luther had gone out to find him, but they'd returned empty-handed. Nadine thought back to his apocalyptic predictions (which made a jolt of anxiety flow through her—she'd almost forgotten about all of that) and wondered if he was trying to locate the owner of the eye again. Or maybe he was eating an entire box of doughnuts. Or drinking. Anything seemed to go with the arrogant old boy.

"Right," said Luther now.

"No, we should wait," said Vanya. And, apparently, that was the cue for everyone to disperse, as that was exactly what they did. Nadine looked to Vanya, thinking about staying behind and talking to her, but then she remembered Leonard, the man, who, somehow, had managed to dig his way under her skin. There was something about the way he looked at Vanya that made her itch, and a feeling blooming in the pit of her gut that told her there was something off about him.

So, instead of staying behind, Nadine followed the others out.

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HAVEN: nadine is starting the leonard peabody hate club and i'm here for it!!!! leonard/harold doesn't deserve rights!!!!

anyway. the announcement of the sparrow academy cast has sort of made me become interested in writing the sequel to this fic again?? i mean, i don't know if it'll actually end up working, but i might try again :) i literally have so many ideas for it that i honestly don't want to go to waste, and umbrella academy season two is literally AMAZING, so we'll see :)

next chapter... oh i am so excited. it's home invasion time!!!! fight scenes are literally SO FUN to write, and this one was GREAT. no spoilers, though :)

thank you for reading!!! <3