"Well, I'd say we successfully averted another crisis!" Klaus cheered as he and Dusk settled in the living room for the rest of the night. And true to her word, Dusk left the porch light on for Five and Victoria. It may have been a long day full of screaming kids and cheering crowds, but as Dusk settled in with a warm bath and some cozy Christmas PJs, it felt like heaven.

The aroma of chocolate filled the air as Dusk walked to the couch where Klaus snuggled with one of the plastic-covered pillows. But as she was about to set the cups of hot cocoa on the table, Klaus gasped like she had just murdered someone in front of his eyes. "The coasters! Don't forget the coasters!" He insisted, gesturing to the small stack in the center of the table. First, an extreme germaphobe, and now he's concerned about me ruining the furniture. Dusk bit her tongue as she caved into his insistence. 

He reached over to the arm of the couch, grabbed the remote, and handed it to her. But as Dusk flipped through the channels, nothing interesting caught her eye. Nothing but the same old new stations, reruns of children's shows, and the occasional comedy that barely got a chuckle out of her. Eventually, she stopped on a classic Christmas movie. It felt like ages since she last saw it, but in actuality, it must've been at least a week. As the Peanuts gang flashed onto the screen, showcasing them skating around on the frozen lake, Dusk tucked her legs underneath her, slowly laying her head near Klaus's shoulder. Unlike all the other times, Klaus didn't flinch upon feeling her touch. He peeled his eyes away from the screen to take in how peaceful and content she looked.

The way her eyes fluttered as she tried to pay attention to the movie but also get some rest. How she'd snuggled her head deeper into the pillow, and her soft sighs and coos could turn his heart into a puddle of goo. I guess... a couple minutes of proper snuggles never hurt anyone. Klaus slightly leaned forward as he slipped the plastic poncho over his head and set his medical gloves to the side. "Come here, baby..." Klaus whispered into her ear. The brown blonde's eyes fluttered open with a hint of surprise. As her vision adjusted and Klaus patted his thigh, she knew she wasn't imagining things. Klaus shed his protective armor just for her.

Tossing the pillow to the side, Dusk inched closer to him, laying her head on his lap as he stroked her hair. His rough yet gentle touch felt so foreign yet so familiar. But it served as a reminder that while the Klaus she married did have a few protective boundaries, the gentle and loving man she fell in love with all those years ago was right where she left him. "I feel like I don't tell you often enough how much I love you," Klaus whispered. "You don't have to tell me. I know you still do," Dusk assured. Klaus took her hand in his, his fingertips brushing against her ring. Against the soft glow of the TV, the tiny diamonds shined against his hand, and he remembered that fateful day all too well.

~~~~~~~~~

Three Years Earlier...

The sterile white walls of the hospital room were a cold and familiar greeting as Klaus shifted in the bed, gasping as if he had spent a lifetime underwater. The EKG beeped louder than ever before as Klaus could still feel the pounding in his head from the fall. "What the hell happened?" He muttered to himself. "You big dummy..." A sob-filled voice broke the silence and before he could fully turn around, Dusk came rushing towards the bed, hugging him as tightly as humanly possible.

"Dusk," Klaus patted her back, and she pulled away, her eyes crimson and wet with sadness and worry. "I-I'm so sorry..."  He mumbled. The relief in Dusk's eyes quickly faded into anger, and no matter how hard she tried to remain calm and composed, seeing him tied to machines and tubes only fueled her disappointment. "Sorry? That's all you have to say?! You scared the shit out of me, Klaus!" She shouted. "Do you have any idea what it felt like to get a call from Five, telling me that you were OD-ing in the bathtub?!"

As the monitor continued beeping, Dusk swore her heart stopped as she remembered walking inside the house, watching as the paramedics performed CPR and lifted Klaus onto the stretcher. The mention of his weak pulse made her feel like her stomach did a double cartwheel, and this time, she really thought this was the end. Klaus was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. All he could do was shake his head in sadness and self-disgust. "I know, I know I messed up! I didn't mean to scare you..." He muttered. Dusk took a shaky breath as she sat at the edge of the bed, grabbing his hand.

"After everything we've been through, everything we've lost, the thought of losing you too... it tears me apart," Dusk grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "I can't go through this again, Klausy. It's too much! Losing you the first time was bad enough! If you die and don't come back..." Dusk trailed off, not being able to imagine what'd she do after that. At that moment, for the first time since his downward spiral, he was fully present, listening to every word. "I'm so sorry, Dusky," He leaned in to hug her. "I know saying it over and over again won't make things better. But I really do want to get clean. For you... for us,"

"You tell me this all the time, Klaus. How can I believe you won't relapse again?" Dusk asked. Klaus's gaze shifted to the chair just across the room. His clothes and shoes were folded on top of each other. The raven followed his gaze and glanced back at him curiously, wondering what could be so important. "What are you staring at?" Dusk inquired. "This is important, Klaus!" But Klaus didn't respond, still focusing on the stack. "Dusk, I need you to grab something for me," He finally turned back to her. Dusk exhaled sharply, once again having gone down this road one too many times. "I'm not gonna tell the nurse to give you more pain meds again!" She spoke firmly.

"No, no. I promise, it's not that," Klaus reassured. "Please, just grab my jacket," He gestured. With a silent sigh, Dusk walked to the chair and started rummaging through the pockets. "What am I looking for exactly?" Dusk questioned. But Klaus didn't answer, just waiting for her to finally reach the right one. And as Dusk dug her fingers inside, she was greeted with a bulky black box. The raven's eyes widened as she slowly turned back to her boyfriend, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Wha... what is this?" Dusk stuttered. "Open it," Klaus instructed. With shaking hands, Dusk opened the box, and her jaw nearly hit the floor upon finding a tiny, yet shimmering diamond ring nestled within the black satin.

"No way... This better not be some sick joke!" Dusk trembled. Klaus gripped the edge of the hospital bed, trying to keep his balance as he stood up. "It's real, darling," he grinned. "Obviously, I wasn't planning to ask you this way. But after everything that's happened, now's a better time than any," As Dusk was about to open her mouth, Klaus interrupted. "Please, let me finish," He took a few steps towards her, taking her free hand in his. "You and me, we've been through everything. Apocalypses, doomsdays, weird floating orange balls. We've gone through personal battles and struggles, but we've come out of them stronger. You especially,"

He continued, going on to tell her how safe and secure she made him feel. How whenever he reached his lowest, she was his reason to keep fighting. Dusk could feel the tears start to roll down her cheeks. Remembering those late-night cuddles as teenagers, raiding the pantry with Ben while everyone else was asleep, but especially the first time she said she loved him; even if he was a pain in the ass sometimes, she still did. Klaus slowly bent onto one knee, taking the ring box from her hands.

"Dusky... I love you, more than anyone and any drug in this world. And I want to wake up every morning with you by my side, to struggle alongside you, to grow with you, and share my life with you until we're old and gray," Klaus's voice trembled with emotion as Dusk's hand went to her mouth in shock. "Dusky, my songbird, my moonlit rose, w- will you marry me?" Dusk wiped at the tears slipping down her cheeks, seeing nothing but the pure love and affection in his eyes. "So... what do you say, love?" Klaus inquired as the silence continued to linger in the room.

"Yes! Oh my god, yes!" Dusk sniffed, pulling him off the ground and into her arms. "Just please, promise me you'll go back to rehab as soon as you get out of here," Dusk muffled into his shoulder. "I promise. I'll prove it to you!" Klaus assured, slipping the ring onto her finger. "Thank you for giving me a second chance,"

~~~~~~~~~

Just as it was approaching midnight, and Dusk and Klaus were starting to fall asleep on the couch, the house phone rang, and they both sat up, wondering who could be calling them so late in the night. On the third ring, Dusk finally picked up and answered. "Hello?" She grumbled, wiping at her eyes. "Dusk! It's Luther! I need you and Klaus to get over here right now!" Luther sounded worried. "What? What's going on? Where are you?" She questioned. "At the old academy. The school for Wayward Boys?" Luther clarified. Dusk looked over her shoulder back to where Klaus sat on the couch, just as confused as she was.

"We'll be right over," Dusk replied before hanging up and grabbing her coat. "What's going on now?" Klaus asked. "It's Luther. He needs to come over to the academy," Dusk explained. "Did something happen?" Klaus took a sip from his lukewarm cocoa. "I don't know, but he sounds worried," Dusk shrugged. "You might want to bring your mask and gloves," "Oh trust me, I never leave home without them!" Klaus nodded. I know you don't! Dusk slightly smiled. Piling into their car, Dusk and Klaus sped off into the night, and the brown blonde couldn't help but wonder why it was so urgent for them to meet up so late in the night. Whatever the issue was, it had to be a life-or-death matter.

Pulling up to the front of the condemned building, Dusk and Klaus quickly rushed inside and were greeted by the cawing of ravens and what was left of their former home. Hearing those birds taunting them was enough to send shivers down her spine. Since encountering the Sparrows, she couldn't shake off the feeling she was being watched, even if Fei was not a part of this timeline. Dusk and Klaus entered the living room, all their siblings, including Five and Victoria, had gathered as Luther paced around the room, clutching a note. "Okay, Luther, we're here. What is it?" Dusk asked, stopping him in his tracks. "It says, 'Your brother Viktor has been kidnapped. Follow my exact instructions and no harm will come to him,"

Luther passed the note to Allison, whose eyes scanned the paper furiously as the siblings tried to speculate who could be behind the kidnapping. "Any idea who might've done this?" Five asked the group. "My money's on you-know-who," Luther responded. "Dad? Come on, Dad didn't kidnap Viktor, he doesn't give a shit about us," Klaus shook his head. "Why would he kidnap Viktor? What could we possibly have that he doesn't already?" Dusk nodded in agreement.

"It just really hurts when family stabs you in the back," Diego muttered, glaring sharply at Victoria. The redhead glared back at him, having no idea why he was being so salty towards her. But two could play at that game. "Five, Vic, can't you just call your CIA buddies?" Allison asked. "The CIA doesn't investigate kidnappings, that's the FBI," Victoria shook her head. "Wait. Hey, hey, no. We don't need anyone. We can handle this," Diego spoke. "Yeah," Luther piped up in agreement. "We're not exactly a team anymore, Diego," Dahlia reminded. "I don't ever remember you being a part of the team!" Diego pointed at the blonde. "You're just excess baggage,"

"Excuse me? I was there in Oblivion fighting with you all! " Dahlia snarled. "Excess baggage my ass..." "Not to mention, there's the whole "no powers" thing," Lila added, trying to de-escalate the situation. "No! I don't care, if Viktor's in trouble, I'm in, right?" Luther said. "I'm in too," Dusk nodded. Diego slowly turned his head to Lila, who gave him a weird look and reminded him she wasn't his mother. "I'm in," Diego agreed. "Good luck with that," Lila scoffed. "You can't even run up stairs without getting a coronary,"

"Are you kidding? I'm in the best shape of my life," Diego insisted. "Jesus. Okay, anyway, now what?" Allison asked, handing Luther back the ransom letter. "It says we're supposed to meet at Sy's Dry Cleaning on 5th Avenue," Luther read. "Perfect, let's roll!" Diego grabbed Lila's hand and they and the rest of the siblings piled into their van, cramping together like sardines in a can. "Allison, get your elbow out of my ribcage!" Victoria smacked her arm, trying to get some air. "I can't! This is the farthest I can go!" Allison insisted. The bickering in the back seat continued as Diego drove to the location, pulling to stop at the other side of the street.

"Everyone, stay behind Five and Victoria. They've got the guns," Lila instructed. "I'd rather use my staff," Victoria mumbled. Stepping through the front door, the bright neon lights bordering the windows were the only things that lit their path into the building. Five and Victoria grabbed their flashlights as they walked towards the back of the building, past the revolving conveyor belts of hanging clothes. "Guys, can't you smell that? This place is a chemical wasteland!" Klaus gagged from behind his gas mask. "It's just steam and laundry freshener, Klaus. Hardly anything to worry about," Dusk whispered, pulling back a few of the hanging bags, only to be greeted with more of them.

Pushing open the door leading to the back room, Five and Victoria shined their flashlights around the room. And the further they walked, the more they could hear the sounds of muffled and heavy breathing. With a cock of her head, the redhead and former time traveler stepped closer, and standing in the middle of the room, was someone bound to a chair with a black hood over their head. And as the couple kept a lookout, Luther pulled the hood off the person's head, and sure enough, it was Viktor.

"Hey, there he is!" Luther smiled as Viktor tiredly blinked his eyes and looked up at him. "Looking good, buddy," Ben nodded. "Thank god! What's up, Vik?" Klaus said as he struggled to take his mask off, but with another tug from Dusk he was able to free himself. "Couldn't make it to your niece's birthday?" Diego questioned. "Well, I was on my way, and then I got kidnapped, so..." Viktor answered. "Yeah, nice excuse," Diego rolled his eyes, immediately being met with Victoria elbowing him in the side.

"Do you guys wanna untie me, or..." Viktor gestured to his restraints. And without a second thought, Dusk and Luther started working on freeing him. "Who did this to you? Was it Hargreeves and his goons?" Dusk inquired. "No way, this is amateur hour," Five answered. As Dusk untied the last rope around Viktor's right leg, a loud rustle came from one of the racks, gathering everyone's attention. "I apologize if my methods are a little crude, but this is my first kidnapping," A man's voice spoke from behind the clothes. "And hopefully my last. But I need your help!" The man stepped into the light, revealing to be a middle-aged man with glasses and a brown beard holding a loaded revolver.

"Well, kidnapping our brother and pointing a gun at us, isn't gonna buy you much goodwill," Victoria scoffed. "It was the only way I could make sure you came here. All of you," The man reasoned. "I couldn't leave anything to chance. Especially when it comes to... The Umbrella Academy," The Hargreeves siblings blinked upon hearing that name, nobody had called them that in years. "Sorry pal, but the Umbrella Academy doesn't exist," Five stated. The man's hand started trembling the longer he kept eye contact with the CIA couple, and he slowly lowered his weapon. "Um, okay but, can you explain this, then?" He set his gun to the side and reached for a small cardboard box, pulling out an old news article.

Umbrella Academy Saves Eiffel Tower, Receives Key to the City of Paris the headline read, just above it was a photo of them standing in front of the tall structure. "When the hell did we save the Eiffel Tower?" Klaus looked confused, squinting as he tried to read the article in the dim light. "Where did you get that?" Viktor asked. "It was in this box of things in the trunk of my daughter's car. Her name's Jennifer," The man answered. "Where did she get that?" Lila inquired. "I don't know," He replied. The Hargreeves started to dig through the box, and more and more artifacts from their adventures were tucked away, each one bringing back a shred of what their lives used to be.

Cha-Cha the assassin's pink mask, comic books with them all on the cover, and even Dave's dog tags. Dusk could feel her husband's pain upon him touching the metal and she patted his shoulder comfortingly. "About a year ago, Jennifer met these new friends, and they started going to these strange meetings. They're very strange people, they call themselves The Keepers, and then over time, she stopped talking to me. Just stopped," The man continued. "And that was about three months ago, and I haven't seen her since. I believe something terrible has happened,"

"No offense, but maybe she just wants nothing to do with you," Diego replied snarkily, still scanning the Eiffel Tower article. "No, no! My daughter and I are very close. She would never do this to me," the man insisted. "Hold on, how did you find us?" Luther inquired. "I saw you on TV, Toss N' Wash," the man answered. "Ha! See? No small parts!" Klaus grinned triumphantly at Allison, but she just rolled her eyes and acted like she didn't hear him. "I've actually been watching you for quite a while now," The man admitted.

Well, that's kinda creepy. Dusk's eyes slightly widened. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I do apologize. But she's all I have left, and..." The man trailed off, finally seeming to stop his incessant ramblings. "What do you need us for? Call a cop," Five advised. "I did! They didn't do anything!" The man sighed. "Listen, we'd like to help. But we're not the same people in that picture anymore," Viktor sympathized. "We don't even have powers now," Dahlia added. "We're not special," Diego grumbled, folding up the article. "Speak for yourself, tubby," Ben muttered. But as the former Kraken was about to make a smart-aleck remark, Dahlia shook her head at both of them.

"Give us 24 hours," Five spoke, making everyone immediately turn their heads in surprise. What did he just say? Dusk could've sworn she misheard him. "Five, what are you doing?" Allison glared. "24 hours, and we'll find your daughter," Five repeated, slipping the top over the cardboard box. "Yes, thank you!" the man sighed with relief. "Thank you very much, Umbrella Academy! I think you're special!" Five picked up the box and the rest of the Umbrellas followed him back onto the street, demanding to know why he blindly accepted the offer.

"Why are you even considering helping that guy?" Dusk asked. Five set the box down on the concrete and reached inside it as more questions were fired his way. "Because... of this!" He pulled out a jar containing a familiar glowing substance. No... fucking... way... "Is that?" Dusk trailed off, already knowing the answer to that question.

And with a single nod, Five confirmed exactly what they all suspected. The key to getting the powers back was now in the palm of their hands.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What I'd like to know is how the daughter of some random dry cleaner ends up with a jar of marigold in the trunk of her car," Five waved it around as the Hargreeves sat in the empty Chinese restaurant. "Not to mention, Dad was the one who extracted our powers back in Oblivion. Shouldn't he be the one holding this hostage?" Dusk theorized. "How do we know that's not just a jar of glow stick juice?" Diego questioned. "Why don't you take a sip and find out, tough guy?" Ben smirked. "I will if you will," Diego challenged.

Before either brother could get the bright idea, Dusk snatched the Marigold jar away from either of their grasp. "No one is going to dare anyone to drink this!" She squinted. "Anyways, for the sake of discussion, let's say this is legit. Does anyone here want their power back?" Five questioned. Ben raised his hand and said he did, while the majority of the Hargreeves were heavily against having their power back. "Nope! For the first time in my life, I'm sober, I've got a beautiful wife, and I'm happy," Klaus answered.

"Aww!" Lila and Victoria smiled as Dusk's cheeks turned pink with flattery. "But most importantly, 100% poltergeist-free," Klaus added. "The downside is, you don't leave the house that much. Not to say I don't love seeing you cleaning, but you really should go out, hon. Or at least come to one of my shows," Dusk persuaded. "At least at home, I'm in control, Dusky," Klaus reasoned. Before the discussion could go any further, the chef walked out of the kitchen, and Five quickly hid the Marigold back in the box as the chef started preparing their food in front of them.

"Look at this chump," Diego whispered to Lila, closely watching the chef performing some knife tricks. "Angles wrong, sloppy form," Just hearing his complaining was starting to get on Victoria's nerves. "Do you ever stop complaining?" She hissed before turning back to the show. As the chef finished performing, everyone save for the stickler knife enthusiast, cheered and clapped for him. "Look guys, it's a hard no for me too. I've got a bar to run, friends, like a real life," Viktor took a sip from his drink. "Me too, I can't record my next album without worrying about accidentally setting the studio on fire," Dusk agreed.

"You're all nuts, all right? We should be mainlining this shit right now," Ben scoffed, turning towards Dahlia. "Babe, come on. Don't tell me you don't miss those fire and ice battles between you and the Dragon Lady," But as Dahlia looked over to Dusk, remembering their battles and their conversation from earlier in the night, all she could do was stay silent. Whatever happened in the past, was meant to stay in the past. Her lack of answer was not satisfying for her boyfriend, as he turned to the other siblings, trying to convince Luther that he wanted to be in his Ape form again. "I mean, that's a tough one," Luther awkwardly chuckled. "Come on. You don't need that, Luther. Your life is fantastic!" Klaus persuaded.

"I don't know about fantastic, but you know, I'm... I'm managing," Luther watered it down. "Is that where the bar is set these days? Managing?" Ben pried. "You know what, I'll do whatever the group decides," Luther sighed. "I agree with Luther, majority rules," Diego said. "Me too, whichever decision wins, we do it together," Victoria nodded. "You're not actually considering wanting your powers back, are you Alli?" Klaus gagged as the smell of cooked onions filled the air. "N-no! No, my life is great. I have everything I need," Allison shook her head. "Yup, me too," Lila responded from the other end of the table. "Same goes for us," Klaus placed a gloved hand on Dusk's shoulder.

"Alright then, motion fails. We don't drink the mystery juice, so we don't get our powers back," Five finalized. Klaus let out a sigh of relief, as well as Dusk. "I tried! You're all morons!" Ben tossed his napkin on the table and stood up. "Where do you think you're going?" Dahlia tightly gripped his wrist. "Where are you going?" She asked him, the look in her eyes sending a clear message, 'Quit acting like a baby,' "To take a piss! Is that okay with you or do you and Luther need to run that by my parole officer as well?" Ben rolled his eyes before pulling his hand away and storming off.

"Shit! We were supposed to call him at 6:00!" As the chef continued prepping their food, the chef pulled out a bottle in the shape of a grotesque doll, shooting out more flammable liquid onto the grill. "Is that what I think it is?" Luther pointed to it, and Viktor confirmed it was definitely suggestive. "Well, that's disgusting," Luther blinked, desperately trying to get the image out of his head. "Alright, I gotta hit the road, actually," Viktor wiped his mouth and set down his napkin. "No, so soon?" Klaus asked. "Come on, Vik. Stay a little longer!" Dusk tried to convince him.

"It's just a long drive, so yeah," Viktor sadly smiled. "But it was nice to see you guys again," "I should go too, I have my audition tomorrow," Allison also stood up. "Like a big, important audition, and we have to boot camp the lines!" Klaus exaggerated, gaining a small chuckle from Dahlia, Victoria, and Lila. "Who's we?" Dusk questioned, turning towards him. "I thought we were gonna help her run lines!" Klaus responded. "You can help her with that, but I'm going home," Dusk clarified. "But babe-" Allison put a hand on Klaus's shoulder, pausing him. "It's fine, Klaus," She whispered.

Just as the Hargreeves were gathering their stuff and getting ready to leave, Ben finally emerged from the bathroom just as Viktor was about to walk out to the parking lot. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, where's everybody going? We haven't even gotten to the steak yet!" Ben asked. "Party's over, Benny," Dusk slipped on her coat. "No! No! Okay. One last shot, on me for old times' sake," Ben offered, just as a waiter walked out, setting a tray of shot glasses on the counter. "Come on, Klaus!"

Everyone immediately started telling Klaus to not listen to Ben, but especially Five, Victoria, and Dusk. "Well, sake doesn't count," Klaus reasoned. "It doesn't?" Diego questioned as Ben handed the glasses to Dusk and Klaus. "Are you sure about this?" Dusk whispered to her husband, offering to take the second shot when Ben wasn't looking. "It'll be fine, babe. Like I said, it doesn't count," Klaus assured. As they all grabbed their glasses and lifted them in the air in a toast. "Here's to the nonexistent Umbrella Academy! Kanpai!" "Kanpai!" The others cheered before taking their shots.