❝ You brought me seventeen years into the future! ❞

—

DECEMBER 16, 2002.

A knock at his bedroom door awoke Theodore from his slumber.

He slowly opened his eyes, instantly closing them again when he was blinded by the sunlight that crept through a gap in the curtains. Malina Davis, Theo's six-year-old foster sister, turned the doorknob and paraded through his bedroom. She jumped up and down excitedly, her feet adorned in mismatched socks—one purple with kittens, the other pink with puppies. As she jumped, her feet tapped against the hardwood floor. She lightly shook Theo in an attempt to wake him up, like she had always done.

Unaware that he was awake the entire time, Malina kept trying to get him up. It was not until Theodore wrapped his arms around Malina's small frame and pulled her into the bed. He tickled her and couldn't help but laugh alongside her as her giggles filled the room.

"Mama Laura said to wake you up," Malina told him, her voice almost a whisper. "It's time for breakfast."

Malina's voice was often quiet. She was so soft-spoken that, more often than not, it was hard to hear what she was saying. She rarely spoke to those she did not know. Sometimes she did not speak to those that she did know. But Theo was the one person that Malina could talk to with no issues whatsoever. Though she was still as quiet as a mouse, Malina could talk to Theo for hours on end.

Theo nodded. "Tell her I'll be down in a few minutes. Okay?"

Malina nodded and hopped off the bed. She skipped out of the room, closing the door behind her gently so as not to make a noise.

Theodore sat up in his bed, lifting his arms above his head to stretch. He lowered his arms and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. He stood up, making his way over to his closet. Upon opening the closet door, Theo reached for his school uniform.

He changed out of his pajamas and into his uniform before leaving his room. He walked through the hallway and down the steps, making his way into the small dining room. Malina sat in her usual chair, a plate of waffles drowning in syrup in front of her.

Theo took a seat in the chair next to her, laughing as she shoved a gigantic bite of pancake into her mouth. Theo's foster mother, Laura, placed a plate down in front of him.

Theo smiled. "Thank you."

Laura smiled back at him, ruffling his hair. "You're welcome, kiddo."

Theo began to eat, his eyes fixated on Malina as she reached for one of the small figurines that sat on the table beside her. There were six of them—each of them a member of the Umbrella Academy.

"Who's that again?" Theo asked, pointing to the figurine in her tiny hand.

"Number Three. They call her The Rumor," Malina told him. "She can make people do whatever she wants just by saying that she heard a rumor."

Theo nodded his head, pointing to another one. "And who's that?"

Malina set the Allison figurine down on the table and picked up the one Theo had pointed at. "That's Number Five. They call him The Boy."

She held the figurine out in front of Theo. He grabbed it from her, looking down at it.

Theo furrowed his eyebrows. "The Boy? That seems like a silly name. What can he do?"

"He can manipulmatate time and travel wherever he wants to go," Malina told him. "All he has to do is go blink! And he's there."

"You mean manipulate?" Theo questioned.

Malina nodded, pushing her glasses up as they fell down her face. "Yes. Manipultate."

Theo chuckled at her. "You sure do know a lot about the Umbrella Academy."

"They are real-life superheroes!" Malina exclaimed happily. "I wanna be just like them!"

Theo smiled at her and placed the Number Five figure back on the table before continuing to eat his breakfast. He watched Malina play with the figurines as he ate. When he finished, he stood up from the table.

"Are you finished?" he asked Malina.

The girl nodded, continuing to play with her action figures. Theo grabbed her plate and placed it in the sink along with his own. Theo walked back to the table and stood over Malina's shoulder.

He kissed her on top of her head. "I'll see you after school, okay?"

Malina looked up at him and nodded. "Okay, Theo. Then we can watch The Wizard of Oz like you promised?"

Theo nodded. "Yes, we can."

Malina grinned at him and then looked back down at the table, continuing to play. Theo started to walk out of the dining room, but stopped when Malina's soft voice called out his name.

"Theo, wait!" She ran up to him and held out one of the small action figures. "You can have this one!"

Theo looked down at her small hand, reaching for the figure. He held it in his hand, glancing down at the small object. It was the one that Malina had called Number Five—The Boy.

"Thanks, Lina-Bear." Theo smiled at her.

Malina wrapped her arms around his waist, embracing him in a hug. "Keep it safe, okay?"

Theo nodded, hugging her back. "I will."

"Promise?" Malina questioned, pulling away from the guy and holding out her pinky finger.

Theo interlocked his pinky with hers. "I promise."

Malina smiled at him brightly before she turned on her heels and skipped away. She took a seat at the table and continued to play.

Theo walked into the living room and slipped on his shoes. He grabbed his backpack and gently dropped the action figure Malina had given him inside. He placed the straps on his shoulders, bid goodbye to Laura, and opened the front door. The cold winter air blew on his face as he stepped out onto the porch. He closed the door behind him and began to trudge through the snow.

He walked down the sidewalk, careful not to slip on any pieces of ice. The snow crunched underneath his feet. The walk to school was not far—only a few blocks away—something that Theodore was grateful for. One thing about Theodore Rosen was that he did not, under any circumstances, like the snow. It had very little reason to do with the fact that he didn't like the cold—though that factor certainly heightened his hatred—and every reason to do with the fact that he had a tendency to be very uncoordinated.

Theo passed the large mansion that had become known as the Umbrella Academy, as he did every day on his way to school. It was not much of a walk after that, with his school just a few streets over.

As he approached his school and entered the brick building, Theodore looked down at his shoes as he walked down the hallway. Theo didn't dare make eye contact with anyone, preferring to fly under the radar. Most of his peers ignored him anyway, not wanting to befriend the strange foster kid. Theodore didn't mind it at all—not in the slightest bit.

Theo walked to his classroom, keeping his head hanging low as he entered the doorway. He walked to the very back of the class, sitting in his usual seat by the window that overlooked the city. Theo often liked to watch the people strolling by on the sidewalk or the cars that drove on the streets. He liked to watch the birds that flew in the sky, though during the winter they seemed to be very few.

Autumn was without a doubt his favorite time of year. He loved to watch the multicolored leaves fall from the trees, forming piles on the ground. Not to mention, he thought the weather was perfect. Not too cold. Not too hot. But that had long passed, with a snow-covered city taking its place.

At the start of class, Theo turned his head to the front of the classroom. Theo rested his elbow on the desk and placed his chin in his hand as he tried to pay attention to what his teacher was saying. But he found himself gazing out the window, watching a fresh dusting of snow fall from the sky. He might have hated the snow, but he could not deny that there was something beautiful about it.

Theo had zoned out in the majority of his classes. Since it was the last day before winter break, there was not much learning going on. When his last class of the day rolled around, his eyes were glued to the clock as he watched the minutes tick by.

The bell finally chimed, signaling the end of class. The moment of winter break had finally arrived, and Theo could not have been more excited. He shoved his notebook in his backpack and tossed the pen he had been tapping on his desk along with it. After putting his jacket back on, Theo slung one of the straps onto his shoulder and walked out of the classroom.

Pushing through the crowds of students in the halls, Theodore finally reached the doors leading outside to the sidewalk. He exited the school and began the journey back to his foster home. He shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged through the snow. Snowflakes fell on his head and clothes. The cold winter air bit his cheeks and his nose, turning them red.

Theo couldn't wait to watch The Wizard of Oz with Malina. It was her favorite movie, and although she had seen it a million times, her reactions were always the same. Theo spent more time watching Malina than he did the actual movie.

Theodore rounded the block, walking past the Umbrella Academy. As he passed the Deli-Grocery, where he often accompanied Mama Laura, Theo felt someone bump into him from behind. He fell to the ground with a thud, expecting to land face first into the snow.

What Theo fell into instead was not snow at all but rather a pile of ash and rubble. Theo's eyebrows knitted together as he looked down at his hands, now scraped from the rough landing. Theo lifted himself up from the ground and looked around.

From the very instant that Theo scanned his surroundings, he began to panic. His heart was racing in his chest faster than he had ever felt before. Every building that had once surrounded him was gone—burned to a crisp and turned into ash. Flames still burned, rising into the air.

He blinked a few times, trying to process what was happening. He had no idea where he was or how he ended up there. He looked up, seeing the remnants of what were once the signs belonging to Redchurch and Deli-Grocery. Theo felt like he couldn't breathe. For a moment, he thought that he had somehow fallen asleep in class and that this was all some kind of cruel dream.

Theo continued to look around, noticing the boy behind him. Their eyes connected, fixated on each other. The boy wore a school uniform similar to that of Theo's own, except shorts covered the mystery boy's legs and a decal was patched onto his jacket.

Theo's breath hitched, a realization hitting him. He pulled his backpack off his back and zipped it open. He rummaged through it, looking for the action figure that Malina had given him. Once he had it in his hand, Theo held it up. He glanced back and forth between the boy in front of him and the small figurine.

"That's Number Five. They call him The Boy."

"The Boy? That seems like a silly name. What can he do?"

"He can manipulmatate time and travel wherever he wants to go. All he has to do is go blink! And he's there."

"You mean manipulate?"

"Yes. Manipultate."

Theo dropped the figurine to the ground and started running in the direction of his foster home.

"Malina!" Theo screamed. "Malina! Lina-Bear!"

He looked around, trying to see past the pile of rubble that used to be his home. The once intact townhouse was now nothing more than a mere pile of bricks, with only one wall left standing.

"Laura!" Theo shouted. "Mama Laura!"

There was no sign of Malina or Laura anywhere.

"Vanya! Ben! Dad! Anyone!"

Theo turned his head, seeing the boy standing a little ways down the street, standing in front of the destroyed Umbrella Academy. Theo stormed over to Number Five, his jaw clenched. When he reached him, the boy's hands were glowing a light blue.

"Come on!" the boy shouted in frustration. "Shit."

Number Five lowered his hands and sighed in defeat. Out of anger, Theo shoved the boy, knocking him to the ground. Number Five stared up at him, his chest rising up and down.

"What the hell did you do?" Theo shouted at him.

"I'm sorry," he replied as he stood up. "I didn't mean to!"

"Why don't you do your time manipulation, teleportation, whatever you want to call it, and get me the hell out of here?" Theo said, poking the boy in the chest with every word.

Number Five shook his head. "I tried. I—I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Theo questioned.

"It's not working," Number Five responded.

Theo inhaled a deep breath, trying to keep himself from panicking. Number Five continued looking around, walking up to a nearby newspaper rack and grabbing a paper. Theo stepped next to him, looking down at the date on the paper.

April 1, 2019.

"Great. That's just great!" Theo threw his hands in the air and then let them fall to his sides. "You brought me seventeen years into the future! To the end of the world!"

"I'm sorry..." Number Five mumbled. "I'm so sorry."

Theo glanced around, tears starting to well up in his eyes. He started walking away from Five. He reached down and grabbed his backpack. Next to it lay the small action figure. Theodore picked it up and held it in his hand. He stared down at it, trying not to cry.

"Theo, wait! You can have this one!"

"Thanks, Lina-Bear,"

"Keep it safe, okay?"

"I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

A single tear streamed down Theodore's left cheek, unleashing a waterfall of tears. Theo dropped to the ground, clutching the action figure tightly in his palm.

"I really am sorry."

Theo glanced up, seeing Number Five looking down at him. Theo rose to his feet, staring the boy directly in the eyes.

"Good," Theo replied, his jaw clenched. "You should be."

Number Five's face fell.

Theo looked away from him and  tossed Malina's action figure into his backpack before he zipped it closed.

Although he knew that it wasn't, part of Theo still hoped that this was all a dream.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

hey! so here's the first chapter! what do we think?? i'm so in love with it.

so the first few chapters are going to be a sort of "through the years" thing to show how their relationship progress during the apocalypse before we get into the main plot.

also i will be writing vanya instead of viktor for seasons 1 & 2, but will be trying to avoid any gender specific terms when referring to the character out of respect for elliot's transition. when we reach season 3, then i will use he/him pronouns.

please vote and comment! i love reading all of your thoughts and comments!!

thank you so much for reading!