As the spare of the Umbrella Academy, Vanya was sent to do any number of useless tasks. One of which was to get the mail. It was usually fan mail or things for dad but today for whatever reason the one on top was addressed to them. They believe it was addressed to them. The name on the card was Vanka Smirnoff. They opened the letter to see if it was in fact for them. It was a letter from their birth mother.
To my dearest Vanka,
I do not believe you are getting my letters but if this one does fall into your hands I hope you know that we never wanted to give you away. Your father and I have moved to the City to try and get you back but the man will not speak with us.
We sent him his money back and have been trying to get you back from the moment we turned 18. My dear Vanka, if you know nothing else, know that we love you. We want to know that you are well and that you are safe.
We live over a shop we own on west third street. It sells things like food and nicknacks from the home land. If you do get this letter and want to see us please come. If you are happy with the man please write to us and let us know. We just want what's best for you.
Love your parents
Tatiana and Dmitri Smirnoff
Vanya quickly hid the letter in their pocket and made their way to where Reginald was with their ‘siblings’. Reginald was watching over their training with judgmental eyes. He would bark out criticisms at them every now and again as Vanya made their way over to him.
“Number Seven if you can not get the post to me in ample time you will no longer be able to fetch it,” Reginald barked out, snatching the mail from them.
“Sorry the postman was looking for a letter he dropped,” Vanya said softly stepping away from their ‘father’. It wasn’t even a lie. He had dropped the letter from Vanya’s mother. It was the only reason they saw the letter at all.
“Excuses, I will not hear them. Go do your studies. I will see if you deserve lunch today after the others get through with their training,” he dismissed them before yelling something at Klaus that Vanya didn’t care to stick around for.
They didn’t receive lunch that day. They were in their room rereading the letter when Diego came in and collapsed on their bed. This was something they have grown used to. Over the two years of dating the boy it became a routine. Training would end and he would come to them. They would spend their limited free time with each other.
“I have us a way out,” they said softly. Their boyfriend’s head popped up and they stared at them. They quickly signed everything they had learned from the letter and the plan that had been forming.
‘We could go check it out tonight. Reginald is going on a business trip,’ Diego signed after he digested everything. ‘If it’s a trap I’ll get us out.’
Vanya nodded and kissed the boy’s cheek. They were going to get out of this horrid house. They were going to live life how they wanted. They cuddled into his side and laid in the comfort that his arms brought listening to the sound of his heart beating.
It was well into the night when they made their way down the fire escape with duffle bags. If the Smirnoff’s were a trap they would just run. They were tired of the constant abuse they suffered at the hands of the man who stole them.
Vanya had never been to West Third Street but even at this late hour it was bustling. There were many different cultures living together and growing their communities. It took them a few minutes to find the little Russian store that was still open but looked ready to close for the night. The two of them slipped in quietly and Vanya held the letter in front of themself as a sort of shield.
Tatiana came out from the back and gasped. Vanya’s eyes widened as she looked at her mother. They had their mother’s eyes. The two of them inched closer to each other. One slow and unsteady step after another until they were standing right infront of each other.
“My малыш,” Tatiana whispered out reaching a hand out to cup the child’s face.
“I got your letter,” Vanya whispered, leaning their face into their mother’s hand. The both of them had tears running down their faces as they embraced. Dmitri came around the corner at the sounds of his wife’s tears and stood rooted in his spot at the sight of his child. His focus turned from his wife and child to the boy shuffling with two duffle bags at the entrance.
“May I help you?” he asked the boy softly. His eyes got big but pointed toward Vanya. So they came here together? Interesting.
“This is Diego. He is very special to me,” Vanya said, stepping back and taking the boy's hand. Diego shuffled his feet slightly and waved.
“It’s n-nice to me-meet you,” Diego said as he signed along with his words. His stutter was always worse when he was nervous and right now he was terrified. Meeting your partner’s parents was usually stressful but when it's the first time your partner is meeting their parents too it was extra stressful.
“Welcome to our business. Let us close quickly and we can go upstairs. We have so much to talk about,” Dmitri said as he hugged his child for the first time. Tatiana moved and flipped the sign and ushered the teens up the stairs. The two sat on the couch as the adults made them some food and something to drink. Diego turned to his lover with a worried expression.
‘Are you okay?’ He signed. His partner shrugged before turning to face him.
‘It’s just a lot you know. I also forgot my pills at the academy,’ they signed back with a sigh.
‘Do you want me to go back for them?’ he asked. Vanya shook their head violently.
‘You are never going back there my Atlantis,’ they signed quickly. ‘I’ll be fine as long as I have you.’ Diego smiled and hugged the person in front of him. He would die, kill, and live for them.
“Okay kids we have some Pelmeni and Syrniki because we didn’t know how hungry you were,” Dmitri said as they sat food in front of them. Vanya quickly grabbed some of the syrniki from the plate and ate them. This was their first time eating proper Russian cuisine. Of course Grace had made stroganoff but it never sat right with Vanya like there was something missing from the dish.
Diego grabbed some as well, trying them cautiously. No matter how nice the people in front of were and how genuine they may seem there was always a possibility for a trap. The woman just kept staring at Vayna with tearful eyes. The would flicker between pain, sadness, relief, happiness, and love so quickly that it was throwing Diego off kilter a bit. He wasn’t aware that emotions could change that rapidly.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions for us and we will be happy to answer any you have,” Tatiana said in a soft voice. She did not want to spook her only child away.
“I just have two really: why did you give me up and can we stay?” Vanya asked in a similarly soft voice to their mother.
“We never wanted to give you up but when we were blessed with you we were only sixteen. My mother contacted Reginald and it’s something I never forgave her for,” Tatiana said passionately. “My mother thought because your cries shook Moscow that you were a demon but it was just a part of how you were born. There were 43 children born like you were and they all have special abilities,” Tatiana explained.
“I don’t have powers,” they said softly.
“You definitely do моя сладкая детка,” Dmitri said with a soft chuckle. “Your cries broke windows and shook building Vanka.”
“I knew those pills were bu-bullshit!” Diego said with murder in his eyes. He had noticed that whenever Van didn’t take those pills that they were more themself. They were a suppressant. A trick that Reginald used to keep control.
“So can we stay?” Van asked after a bit of silence.
“Of course you can,” Tatiana said quickly, taking Vanya’s hands in her own.
“I mean both of us. I won’t stay without him,” they said rather passionately.
“You can both stay,” Dmitri said, moving to a desk in the corner of the room. He pulled out a folder from one of the drawers. “We’ve been tracking down the families who had children like we had you and we found six that sold theirs to Reginald Hargreeves either by force or of their own free will. One of those women is named Elena Pérez. Her husband at the time forced her to sell her youngest son to the man. She sent the check back after the divorce and has been trying to get her son back ever since.”
He handed Diego the files and let go through it. He held on to Vanya’s hand tightly as he read about his family. He was the youngest of five. He has three sisters and one brother. His brother was only a year older than him. His sisters range in ages from 16 to 20. His mother owns a bakery in a small town just outside Mexico City. They put his baby photo on their Ofrenda every year because they don’t know what happened to him. There was a phone number at the bottom as well as an address.
“Can I call them?” He asked softly. Dmitri nodded and led him to the phone. Vanya stood next to him and held his hand.
“Hola, habla Elena, ¿en qué te puedo ayudar?” The voice on the other end asked politely. Diego felt like crying. He had spent so long insisting that he didn’t need to know and that he had a mother but this woman’s voice undid him. It sounded like a home he didn’t know he longed for.
“Hola, mi nombre es Diego Hargreeves. Estoy con los Smirnoff y creemos que eres mi madre,” he said softly. He heard the woman let out a gasp and then a broken sob and started to fidget with Vanya’s hand.
“¡Mi hijo está vivo! ¡Gracias a Dios! ¡Te extrañé todos los días que estuviste lejos de mí!” the woman shouted through her tears. Her son was alive and God has given him back to her. She could hear her son start to cry and hand the phone to someone else.
“Hola Sra. Pérez, mi nombre es Vanya. Soy socio de Diego. Se sintió un poco abrumado y necesitó un segundo para recuperarse. Está a salvo ahora y con mis padres si les das permiso para cuidarlo,” Vanya said softly as they held their crying boyfriend in one arm. They rubbed up and down Diego’s back to try and sooth him. This experience has been a lot for both of them and they were quickly running out of spoons to handle everything.
“¡Sí! ¡Sí, por favor mantenlo alejado de ese hombre! ¡Haré lo que sea necesario para mantenerlo a salvo!” Elena said quickly as her eldest daughter entered the room. “¡Encontraron a tu hermano! ¡Está bien y a salvo! La familia rusa lo está mirando.”
“¡Eso es increíble! ¡No puedo esperar para conocerlo! Iré a decirle a los demás,” she said before running off and shouting the news to her siblings.
“Necesitaremos una carta que diga que das tu permiso para que él esté aquí bajo el cuidado de mis padres. Estaremos allí para encontrarnos con usted tan pronto como podamos,” Vanya said as Diego stood up to take the phone again.
“Mamá es muy tarde aquí. ¿Está bien si te devuelvo la llamada mañana? Prometo que lo hare. Estoy cansado de entrenar,” Diego asked his mother softly. He needed sleep and so did Vanya. This was big for the both of them and it has taken more energy than they had to give.
“Sí, descansa un poco, por favor. Hablaré contigo mañana y me podrás contar todo. Buenas noches mi dulce niño,” Elena said softly. “Dale el teléfono a una de las adultas por favor.”
Diego handed the phone to Dmitri as Vanya pulled him back to the couch. They sat him down and turned back to their mother. The woman held a look of concern for the boy as her child took a deep breath about to speak.
“Мама, есть место, где мы могли бы принять душ и поспать? We’ve had a very long day,” they said softly to the older woman.
“Of course dear. Let me show you,” she said as she led the two to a medium size bedroom with a full size bed in the middle. “We didn’t want to decorate it too much because we wanted it to be all yours.”
“Thank you мать. I appreciated all of this. Спокойной ночи,” they said as they moved with Diego further into the room.