𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲

CW: pseudo-incest//vanya and diego

this is sponsored by my friend anya who I had in mind the entire time because she keeps wanting more

also, this is 25% angst and 75% fluff and its an au type thing where there is no end of the world situation and five never left ty

If Vanya had to think about who she would inevitably end up with, ever, at all, it shouldn't be that hard. it made sense from the beginning. Since the very beginning. They were just kids then but through everything, they always found their way back to each other. Even when they had fought, screamed, yelled, cried, begged — with a passion that would wreck them.

It was very clear to her that it should be a no brainer. But in the end there would always be that doubt. It was as if she had been injected with a venom so strong yet so subtle it destroyed all of her relationships. It was the medication Reginald forced upon her, of course, but neither of them knew that.

But even though all of her relationships ended before they could really begin, there was one that always seemed to pop up when least expected. Even if the two of them weren't together, they would still end up looking into the familiar eyes of home, knowing they could never actually live there because it just wasn't meant to be.

But fate, or the universe, or a higher power seemed to always want to bring them together, one event after another. Time and time again. Allison's wedding, after the book, Reginald's funeral, her recital that he had decided to show up to. Each time they got closer and closer to the true depth of their feelings.

At Allison's wedding they dogged and weaved, ignoring what they both knew. They weren't "the wedding type" but it would be nice.

After the book he was so angry, he wanted to hate her, desperately, but no matter how hard he tried, when he looked into those deep brown eyes that didn't even seem a little bit sorry, he still couldn't hate her. Sure, he could be pissed and yell accusations at her and punch her paper back face tapped to the punching bag, but he knew it wasn't really her he was mad at, it wasn't really her he was hitting. It was the situation, the cause of the situation.

Somehow it would all tie back to Reginald. He brought them together with money and manipulation, and then he preceded to tear them apart. College, missions, threats.

The fear factor.

At his funeral they got a tiny bit closer to the truth. Each time they looked at each other, Each time they spoke to or about the other, they got closer to each other. Yes, they were still hurt and angry, but at the end of the day they still unconsciously knew that it wasn't the other that fueled their hatred.

And then at her recital, that's when it really happened. When things changed. He told her he was proud of her and she smiled, her heart warm. It was the first nice thing he had said to her in a while, but it wasn't the first thought. He caught himself over the years thinking, reminiscing about her. He noticed the changes in her hair and her posture, how the light in her eyes had dimmed and she was only ever herself when she was lost. Lost in the music, lost in the background, lost in the world.

The only times he saw her truly passionate as an adult was when they were fighting. It's when she most resembled who she was when they were teenagers. They were both very angry then. He soon realized that the real her, though hidden under many layers, wasn't some outraged kid. The real Vanya was the girl who stood out on the balcony of their apartment, her eyes closed, a small smile on her face as the wind ran through her hair. The real Vanya was the girl who was just short enough to jump on their bed without bumping her head on the popcorn ceiling. The real Vanya was the girl who had a million small attributes that contributed to her truth. She couldn't be described and defined by small adjectives because despite her height, she was no small being.