Autism Acceptance Month Daily Prompts 2023

Prompt 5 : Crowds

Prompt : Write a fic about an Autistic character and either them IN a crowd or being crowded, and how they take that
Fandom : The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
Pairing(s) : Five & Viktor
Headcanon(s) : Autistic!Five

Back when they were all still kids, the press conferences were always Five's least favorite part of being a superhero. He didn't like the bright, flashing lights or the overwhelming sound of people talking over each other but, more than anything, he hated how crowded it was.

When he'd jumped into the future, while obviously it came with its own rabbit hole of stressors, one of the few silver linings was that he didn't have to worry about that anymore. He was the only person left- He couldn't be crowded.

The Commission was a shock to his system, but it was fine because, once again, he just adapted and took as many solo missions as he could. Once he was back with his family, that was fine because he was usually only crowded by people he knew.

However, when they got into the new timeline after resetting the universe, he quickly remembered how loud and crowded and inescapable the hustle and bustle of the city could be. Thankfully, Viktor was nearby when this all came crashing down on him.

See, him and Viktor were walking through the busiest part of town to get to the Hotel Obsidian where Klaus was staying so they could discuss life now that they all lost their powers, but Five's mind quickly wandered away from their objective as the pair kept bumping into more and more people.

Eventually, it became too much and Five got a very specific look in his eye that clued Viktor into what was going on. It was a look Harlan would get whenever he was about to have a meltdown, and an almost parental instinct took over Viktor as he grabbed Five and pulled him into an alleyway.

Once Five processed that he was, in fact, no longer in a crowd full of people, he sank to the ground, the back of his jacket scratching up on the brick of the wall he slid against, though he hardly cared at that point. He let out a low whine, unable to form any sort of verbal explanation for what was happening, though Viktor wasn't demanding one.

"It's okay" Viktor assured him. "You don't need to explain or justify anything. Just... Do whatever you need to do"

With that, Five began to cry, which was a very startling sight, since Five hardly ever let a tear fall, but Viktor didn't comment on it, nor did he comment when Five began to rock back and forth, a low hum emitting from the older Hargreeves.

It took a few minutes but, eventually, Five managed to calm down, exhausting himself enough to where he didn't have the energy to be freaked out by all the chaos. He opened his mouth to apologize but nothing would come out, so he just gave up and leaned against Viktor.

"Are you ready to finish the walk?" Viktor asked, patient as ever. After a moment, Five just nodded weakly and the two slowly exited the alley to finish their venture back to the hotel.