l i t t l e l i o n m a n | t h e u m b r e l l a a c a d e m y

0 . 2

run, boy, run

✩ ° . * . ° ✩

the scene in vanya's apartment was grim. she sat in a chair holding a cold cup of coffee, eyes fixed on the two people before her.

one sat with his knees up to his chin, completely zoned out. he wore some of vanya's clothes, and there was a faint red stain on his face.

the other had a harsh glare pinned on his coffee mug, lips drawn into a tight line. he took a deep breath before continuing with his tale.

"we survived on scraps. canned food, cockroaches, anything we could find." he chuckled dryly. "you know that rumor that twinkies have an endless shelf life? total bullshit."

"i can't even imagine..." his sister trailed off, mouth agape.

"you do whatever it takes to survive, or you die. so we adapted. whatever the world threw at us, we found a way to overcome it."

"i- i'm sorry, how did sebastian survive the apocalypse?"

five sighed and glanced at him. a subtle head shake was all he needed to end the conversation. "got anything stronger?"

✩ ° . * . ° ✩

the two siblings argued in the kitchenette for a few minutes, not that sebastian was listening. he was gently rocking as his mind presented him with images of the last few hours.

he felt a burning in his throat as the iron infused taste of someone else's blood filled his mouth. he shuddered a bit and curled up even more on the couch.

he heard footsteps approaching as vanya attempted to call five back. "it's getting late," she reminded him. "i have lessons early, and i need sleep, and i'm sure both of you do, too."

vanya headed for her room, smiling softly. "we'll talk in the morning again, okay? i promise."

she received no response from her stoic brother. "night," she said anyway. sebastian signed a halfhearted response, and five mumbled one as well.

as soon as her door shut, the former dove for the blankets on the couch and began covering himself. he left one and nudged it towards five with his foot. two bright eyes peaked over layers of wool and fuzz.

five sat beside him but didn't move to get comfortable, simply taking a scrap of cloth from his pocket.

inside was a glass eye.

he flipped it over, reading the manufacturer's name several times over. five stood and walked to the door. "come on seb, time to save the world."

his partner flipped him off, but wiggled out of his cocoon nevertheless. what's a guy gotta do to get some sleep around here? he complained.

they staked out meritech prosthetics in the car until sunrise, or rather five watched the doors obsessively while sebastian dozed.

of course with sleep comes nightmares.

✩ ° . * . ° ✩

in his dreams he was back where it all started, the little cell he'd spent his childhood in. he was cuffed to his bed leg as usual, but his grandfather was nowhere to be found.