4Allison loved her brothers. She truly did. But dear lord did she want to strangle them sometimes. Idiots.
Emotionally stunted idiots, the lot of them. All everybody had done since coming back was tip-toe around Vanya, treating her like a fragile and alien entity. And they all were to emotionally constipated to see how much their hesitation was slowly driving Vanya further and further away.
Unfortunately, fratricide was frowned upon in the past just as it was in the future. So putting aside her homicidal urge to reenact Cain and Abel, Allison settled for her next best weapon: her words. And how she loved being able to talk again. Having her voice taken away, for however brief it lasted, had really shaken her. Her voice had always been her greatest weapon and to have it suddenly gone was...horrible. A real, living nightmare that still has her waking in a cold sweat in her bed, her little hands clawing at her neck to keep her from bleeding out. But Allison had been raised to be a soldier and she'd hunted down a notepad and sharpie and made do.
(And wasn't it ironic that she, who had played a hand in taking away Vanya's powers, would have hers taken from by that person.)
But now here she was—more than a decade into the past, all of them so young and her voice restored. They'd been given a second chance and Allison would not waste it. She couldn't, not when so many— ClaireClaireohgodClaire —would never get theirs.
So Allison had sharpened her words till they sliced truer and deeper than Diego's best dagger. Allison was relieved when it did trick, her brothers finally picking up their feet and striding forward to make contact with their smallest sister.
In fact, it had worked better than she ever thought it would.
Allison quietly opened Ben's door and practically melted at the sight that met her. They were so adorable, Ben and Vanya snuggled up together in their matching pajamas. Allison quickly snuck a photo of the two with the camera she had 'salvaged' from the convenience store they'd stopped a robbery at last week after her other camera was confiscated. Which worked out fine since with her new camera she didn't have to wait for the pictures to develop.
Allison darted out of the room and to hers the second she was sure the camera had caught the utterly adorable moment. She grinned to herself and hummed lightly under her breath as she made her way back to her bedroom. Once in the safety of her closed bedroom, Allison pulled out the developed photo. Her grin shifted into a soft smile.
Unlike the photos paparazzi that had stalked her all of her adolescent and adult years, these photos would never see the light of day. Only the yellow bulb of her room or the gentle sunshine of her open window.
It was probably a little weird to be taking photos of her siblings without their knowledge. Five and Diego would probably burn down the whole mansion to ensure the destruction of said photos if they ever found out.
However, Allison liked the raw tenderness she managed to capture in these moments. And Vanya seemed to like them, so long as Allison made it look like Vanya wasn't her sole creative influence. Her sister never did well when in the limelight, but Vanya deserved to feel important and she was truly such an expressive muse, her emotions free and unhindered when she let go. Allison couldn't remember Vanya ever being this open and it hurt to know that Allison played a part in keeping her sister caged.
Not wanting to upset her sister or make her uncomfortable, Allison made sure to take plenty of artsy pictures around the mansion. Some of the art pieces were actually nice with the right light and setting, though a fair majority of their father's collection would always be eternally gloomy no matter how much sunlight Allison let filter through.
"I like this one," Vanya said quietly. Allison looked up from where she painting Vanya's toenails and over to the photo she was pointing to.
Ah, that one. She'd nearly been caught taking that one. Diego was an incredibly light sleeper and Allison had been forced to hide underneath his bed, becoming privy to a very intimate conversation that she still felt bad about overhearing, but the captured moment was definitely worth the guilt.
Allison's eyes widened. What if Vanya asked her how she'd gotten that photo? Would she even remember, put two-and-two together? Allison chanced a glance at Vanya but instead seeing the anger or embarrassment she expected all she saw was the gentle curve of Vanya's mouth, her brown eyes soft like milk chocolate as she gazed down fondly at the picture.
"I like it too," Allison replied quietly, unwilling to break the peaceful atmosphere that had settled down upon the two like a warm blanket. Vanya looked at her and her lips curled into a soft smile. Allison returned the smile before returning her attention back to Vanya's nails and applying the second coat of nail polish.
These kinds of moments were her favorites and Allison cursed her younger self for all the times she'd made excuses or just flat-out shut the door in Vanya's face whenever her sister had mustered to courage to ask Allison if they could 'just hang out'.
Allison greatly enjoyed the time she spent with Vanya. She was a good companion if quiet and a little awkward at times. Vanya seemed more content to listen to her talk and Allison sensed it had to do more with what had happened in the other timeline than Allison having anything particularly interesting to say. Which was okay with Allison.
Baby steps , she reminded herself. No use trying to run from the get-go only to face-plant and end up with a mouthful of dirt and disappointment. So Allison did most of the talking, keeping the conversation light and about the various shenanigans their brothers had gotten into that week. Boys will be boys, as their mom was fond of saying.
It was rare and required a lot of prep but sometimes Allison could get Vanya to open and oh boy did Allison love it. The sheer amount of information Vanya had observed and collected over a childhood spent watching them was unrivaled. Those trashy tabloid magazines that lived and breathed gossip had nothing on Vanya. The things she'd shyly shared with Allison while complaining about their brothers was, frankly, terrifying and made Allison realize that Vanya's book could have been so much worse and that she actually held back a lot of, omitting the more intimate details of their personal lives.
"Diego can dance ?" Allison asked, eyes wide in disbelief. Don't get her wrong, Diego was agile and surprisingly flexible but... dancing?!
Vanya licked her lips nervously and nodded.
Huh.
"Is he any good?" Allison couldn't help but ask.
Vanya's lips twitched in a smile.
"Very."
"Wait. Really?" Allison asked, incredulous. She didn't take Vanya for a liar, she was and has always been a horrible liar, but still...
Vanya nodded and Allison kept her composure for a total of five seconds before she collapsed into a fit of giggles. Vanya cracked a small grin next to her.
Allison figured she'd be more worried about what other dirty little secrets Vanya knew if they weren't so funny. That and Allison trusted her sister. Something she was determined to prove no matter how long it took. Vanya was worth that and more. She was her sister, after all.
It was late, way past their bedtime—they had bedtimes again, oh the humiliation—but Vanya and Allison were wide awake. Allison was painting her toenails while Vanya had tucked herself into her side like a small rabbit in its burrow. Allison's photo album was open in her hands, Vanya flipping through it.
"...are we...why are me and Five wearing sunglasses in this?" Vanya asked, breaking the silence. Allison didn't look away from where she was carefully painting a small flower with a toothpick on her little toe.
"Klaus thought it would be hilarious."
"...oh." Allison frowned when her hand slipped. She used the edge of her sleeve to wipe away the small mistake. "...but why sunglasses?" Vanya asked.
"Well, originally he wanted a full makeover but unlike some people, I'm not immortal—"God, was that still so weird."—and would like to live to see tomorrow." Allison nodded in satisfaction as she finished the flower's stem. "So we settled for sunglasses."
Vanya giggled quietly, "Good idea."
Allison put away the paints and hugged Vanya to her side.
"Yeah, it was." She beamed down at her sister. Vanya returned it, her smile like gentle moonlight.