Burning Up ~*~ [ THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 2 ] [ FIVE x OC ]

E I G H T

~1961~

     Ivy sat in the familiar living room, looking at the mantle over the fireplace. There wasn't a portrait of Five, in fact there wasn't a painting at all. Reginald walked around the chair and gave Ivy a drink, making her give him a curt nod. She took a sip of it, glad that there wasn't a hint of alcohol in it. She'd been under so much stress for two years that she was so close to drinking an entire liquor store. 

     "What was it that brought you to my doorstep, Ivy?" Reginald asked, Ivy nodding slowly as she set down the drink that was confirmed to just be apple juice. She didn't want to know why he had it. 

     "That's a long story," Ivy said, pumping her eyebrows up. "For now, I have a problem and I need your help fixing it." 

     "I assume the problem is you control fire?" he asked. 

     "No, actually, I want to keep that one. The problem is I'm thirty-two," Ivy confessed to him. "And I'm stuck in my teenage body." Reginald stared at her as silence took over the room. He didn't know if he should believe her, but he couldn't do much considering she could light him on fire. "To summarize, when I was fifteen, my dear old dad stopped my aging process. Now it doesn't matter who he is, it only matters to me that you reverse the effects of his tests. Unless, of course, you can't do it." Ivy had to fight back a smile as she knew testing Reginald's knowledge was the thing he hated most. 

     "I can do it," he said immediately. "As long as you allow me to ask more questions about your... gift." 

     "Gift, curse, call it what you want. But we have a deal," Ivy said. She extended a hand to him, Reginald staring at it. "It won't burn." He then shook her hand, the two nodding at each other. What had they just done? 

~Valhalla~

     Ivy sat across from Reginald in the bar, the two silent as they were staring at each other. Ivy was leaning back in her chair while Reginald was leaning forward and staring at her. Grace was pouring them both drinks, looking between the stone cold looks on both their faces. 

     "You two need to grow up and talk," Grace spat. 

     "He kidnapped me!" Ivy argued. 

     "You didn't take the serum," Reginald argued back. 

     "Actually, I did! I took it three days ago," Ivy told him. 

     "But you didn't take it at the suggested time, did you?" he asked her. 

    "Why do you think I'm stupid? I'm not. I took it on the right day, at the right time. I am already growing, my legs hurt and I have shin splints for the first time in my life. I had to take Ibuprofen yesterday," Ivy told him, leaning towards Reginald. 

   "Who was that boy on the yard?" Reginald asked. Ivy clenched her jaw, clenching her fist as she didn't want to answer that one. "You two both knew Ancient Greek, the same one-" 

     "You read to Pogo, I know," Ivy interrupted. "You know how you have a deep hatred for children?" 

      "Yes, I do. But I still... adopted you for some odd reason," Reginald said, rolling his eyes.

     "Yeah, well, I was the one who wasn't stupid," Ivy snapped. "Anyways, he's another child from the future that you adopted. Except he's fifty-eight trapped in his fourteen year old body. There, you got your answer. Can I leave now?" 

     "No," Reginald told her. 

      "Look, we want the same thing, Reggie!" Ivy told him, standing from her chair. "You have your detailed notes about me for the future, I got the drugs you provided to make me taller. But now I need you to do something and you can't tell my siblings about it in any way whatsoever." Reginald looked up at her, Ivy grabbing a chair and sitting next to him. "If you let me go, I will make sure my brother doesn't save JFK from getting assassinated."