One is the Sickliest Number (Umbrella Academy, Luther) (2 parts)

[Bee]

Kind of a sequel to "Spacey" but EVERYONE is involved once again and it is maxiumum Luther whump.

More focused on plot than snz, and there isn't any snz in the first chapter (but ohhhh boy there will be in the second so stay tuned). 

TW: Hallucinations, ANGST/guilt, references to (canon) character death, implied PTSD

 

 

 

Two through Seven stood in a line in the doorway to the infirmary. For once, they were all silent, staring at the operating table where Number One, finally asleep, lay shivering violently under a thin sheet.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Vanya was the first to speak up. Klaus reached through the space where Ben was standing to put a gentle hand on her shoulder when he heard the break in her voice. 

“Fever’s on the way down!” Grace was at the sink washing the thermometer. She turned around and flashed Vanya a sympathetic smile. “It should break within the next two hours. He’s also got a bit of sinus infection, but it doesn’t sound as bad as last time, and we caught it early. He’ll be just fine.”

Ben walked through Klaus’ outstretched ard past the series of monitors Luther was hooked up to. As he reached out to “hold” Luther’s hand, Grace turned the sink off and stripped off her rubber gloves. She walked over to Vanya and putting a cold, yet still somehow warm hand on her face, then turned to face the rest of them.

“Your brother needs his rest. Why don’t you kids all go into the living room and I’ll make you some lunch?”

None of her “kids” made any effort to move. They stared silently again at their sick brother for a good thirty seconds before Diego finally spoke up.

“Klaus, you should really go.” He glanced up at the screen displaying Luther’s body temperature, which read 105.9 degrees, down from the 106.3 that had sent him rushing out of Luther’s room and calling for Mom just ten minutes ago. He looked back at his frail brother, who was shooting him a pleading look. “We can’t have you catching this.”

“It’s not contagious anymore.” Grace assured as she glided across the room to adjust Luther’s sheets. “He’s been sick for three days.”

“Wait, you said he was only sick for one day!” Diego hissed at Five.

“That’s what he said!”

“And you believed him?”

“Boys, that’s enough,” Grace used her stern tone, then quickly softened again as she pulled the sheet up to Luther’s chin. “You need to let your brother rest.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Klaus shot her a genuinely grateful look, then looked up at the monitor himself, which beeped as Luther’s fever dropped to 105.8. “Are you sure there won’t be any permanent side effects? Ben says that’s a really high fever.”

“It shouldn’t stay up long enough for that.” Grace insisted. She tucked the sheets up to Luther’s chin and turned around to smile at Klaus. “Tell Ben I said hello!”

“Ben?” Luther called out from the operating table. Before anyone could respond, Luther was screaming bloody murder. Pale blue eyes flashed wide open as he clutched his arms to his chest, knocking over the table to his side in the process. “Oh my god.” He stared down at the empty space in his arms and started shaking his hands up and down violently, as if he was holding something. “Get some help!”

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the room as Luther continued to thrash about and Klaus, Allison and Diego looked at one with a tension so thick it could be cut with a cheese knife. Even Grace seemed to key into the painful, communal understanding. 

Vanya and Five apparently didn’t get the memo.

“You’re okay, Luther,” Five soothed, and blinked over to his brother to touch his arm, which did nothing to stop Luther from curling in on himself further. Vanya crossed over to his other side.

“Shhh, you’re just having a nightmare, it’s not real,” she soothed, gently touching his other arm. “Should we wake him up?”

“It’s not just a nightmare, Van.” Klaus swallowed a lump in his throat. “That’s what he said when… when Ben-”

“Holy shit.” Five blinked back to the doorway and Vanya followed suit, though she had to physically back up to her place. Neither of them had been present during Ben’s death, the one being off in the apocalypse, and the other being excluded from missions.

“I’m so sorry, we didn’t–”

“Wait, guys,” Allison cut Vanya off, “why are his eyes open?”

“He might be having some hallucinations.” Grace’s tone was still calm and sweet. “It’s not uncommon with a fever this high.” She gently touched Luther’s arm; it didn’t go unnoticed when he flinched away from her and put his hands over his eyes. “Best you leave me alone with him. You kids shouldn’t have to see him like this.”

Once again, they all ignored her instructions, and stood watching as Luther whispered to the empty space he held cradled in his arms.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay, Ben, I’ve got you.”

Allison turned to Five, and pointed a finger at him, eyes narrowed into slits.

“You should have called us!” she hissed.

“Well you should have been there!” Five defended, pointing his finger at Allison. “He didn’t want me to call you because it would ruin your precious night out.”

“And you listened to him, knowing the shit he pulled last time,” Diego barked. He’d unconsciously put a hand on Luther’s arm when he’d tensed away from Grace, which had settled his brother down a little bit.

“I had it under control!”

“This is your definition of under control?” Klaus cried, gesticulating wildly towards Luther. “You should have at least told Mom when his fever spiked!”

“It didn’t spike! It was only 102.”

“That’s still a fever!”

“He was probably drunk.” Vanya put a hand on Five’s shoulder. “He wasn’t in the right frame of mind, right Five?”

“That’s no excuse!” Diego cut in. “Klaus is drunk all the time. Hell, we’re all hungover right now. Yet I had the common sense to call Mom when-”

“Guys, stop!” Everyone whipped their heads over to the operating table where Ben stood, glowing in blue light emanating from Klaus’ fists. He pointed down at Luther. “Look at him!”

Luther had his hands over his ears. He was curled up on his side, silently sobbing, as shivers wracked his body. Diego retracted his hand from his arm and slinked away to the doorway.

“I’m sorry,” Luther mumbled. “Please stop yelling at me.”

Two through Five let out the tension in their chests in a collective sigh. Seven, who was already calm, crossed back over to One.

“We’re not yelling at you, Spacey,” Vanya reached out her hand to gently wipe the tears away from his clammy, burning cheek. Luther’s eyes shot open at her cold touch.

“Vanya,” He seemed shocked to see her, almost scared. “I’m so sorry, I never should have–”

“Hey hey hey, that’s in the past, okay? We’ve been over this, all is forgiven.”

“Luther, look who’s here to cheer you up!” Klaus brought his hands together once again in a burst of blue light, and Ben appeared at his brother’s bedside. 

“Hey buddy. Not feeling too good, huh?”

“Ben,” Luther’s eyes flashed wide, and he let out a sigh of relief, sinking back onto the operating table as all the tension in his body seemed to dissipate.  “Oh my god, I thought we lost you!”

“Can’t get rid of me that easy, Big Guy.” Ben smiled down at Luther, and ruffled his brother’s hair. “Someone’s gotta be here to annoy you!”

“Hey, that’s my job!” Klaus bent over to wrap himself around Luther’s waist. Allison followed, coming around from the other side and holding gently onto her sick brother’s hand. Diego stood watching 

“Kids!” They all turned to Grace, who was speaking in her serious voice now. But the smile quickly returned to her face. “I understand that you’re all concerned for your brother, but he needs to sleep now, or his fever might spike again.”

That was enough to send Five blinking out of the room. Vanya kissed her brother’s clammy forehead once (and wiped the sweat off her lips) before leaving too. Klaus squeezed Luther’s hand and similarly wiped his hand on his pants before leaving, Ben following after him like always.

Diego still lingered silently in the doorway, watching as Allison whispered something in Luther’s ear. Was she rumoring him? He tensed as he watched. That didn’t seem to be the case though, as Luther didn’t seem to move or react at all. That is, until she tried to leave, in response to which he abruptly grabbed her by the wrist, much to Diego’s surprise. 

“Luther, what’s wrong?” She tried to break free of his grasp but it was impossible, his strength was unmatched even in his weakened state. In response to which, he tightened his grip. Allison looked up at the monitors, but she couldn’t decipher anything except the fact that his fever now sat at 105.5. She turned to Grace, who gently put her hand on Luther’s other arm to soothe him. Allison noticed how he tensed away from her touch a second time. “Mom, I think something’s wrong. Can you-”

“Don’t leave me,” Luther pleaded, shooting her a pitiful look. Allison’s own expression softened and she stopped struggling in his grasp, instead bending over to kiss his forehead.

“Luther you have to rest so your fever can go down,” Allison whispered against his clammy skin. “Mom’s gonna stay with you, okay?”

“Please don’t leave me alone with her,” Luther whispered, loud enough only for Allison to hear.

“Oh.” Allison turned back to look at Grace, who was still smiling at her. And then it clicked. “Oh.” Luther had mentioned to her in passing that Grace had been in the infirmary with him when Reginald administered the serum. She cleared her throat.

“Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Why don’t you go rest and I’ll look after Luther.”

“Allison, you know I don’t need to rest! I’ll stay here with–”

“I want to stay here with him,” Allison said decisively.

It took a few moments for Grace to register that, her expression blank as she blinked multiple times. But then she looked at the monitor, which now read 105.3, and turned back with a thousand-watt little smile finally crossed her face.

“Okay! I’m hooked up to the monitors in case anything goes wrong. Let me know if he needs anything else!”

And then she left the room. Diego slid away from the door so she wouldn’t see him, and waited for the sound of her heels clicking down the hallway to fade away before he peeked into the room again.

[starpollen]

I've decided I like Luther-whumpage.   Happy to read more!