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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙ. ʙ. ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ꒱　


❝ BOOP ❞

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Love was not an emotion Reginald Hargreeves allowed in his house and thus the members of The Umbrella Academy were unfamiliar with how to recognize the emotion. Did they (sometimes) feel strong bonds of loyalty? Yes. Did they learn how to depend on one another even during an argument? For the most part, yes. Was the word 'love' ever actually spoken aloud? No.

Whether the feelings were a brotherly bond or more-than-friendly emotions that some children shared, the actual word was never spoken verbally. Because of this, the pairs that felt this way had to make do with other methods. Allison planned a surprise night for Luther with dancing and forbidden treats (even if Reginald ruined it for them, the thought was there) and Luther gave her a golden heart necklace to show he returned these feelings.

Ben put up with everything Klaus went through (mostly) without complaint, and Klaus (very rarely) stayed quiet when Ben was feeling a particular need for peace away from his siblings. Grace sometimes snuck Diego extra cookies or paid close attention when he seemed to be feeling down and Diego stayed behind after meals to help his mother figure clean up the dishes. So, as you see, even if the words were never truly spoken the gestures were there to prove the emotions behind the strong bonds.

This was also true with Five and Alexa although not as visibly because the boy "didn't believe in such things, Lexa." That didn't deter her from showing him how she felt, though. Since Five wasn't fond of the sappy, overly-feely emotion, the blonde girl made sure her gesture was quiet but meaningful and something the others couldn't guess.

The idea came to her one day when Five was enthusiastically explaining an early development he'd found for time travel. She always loved it when he talked about something that interested him as so few things did. Her stomach fluttered and swooped whenever his eyes lit up and a genuine smile appeared on his face when this happened and warm, fuzzy feelings swept through her that made her toes curl a little, like in the stories.

She knew what this emotion was but kept it to herself, content instead to watch him happily talk about things that were way over her head. Except, she began to feel them even when he was just being her best friend and one day she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

He'd been in the middle of talking about how annoying Luther had been earlier that day when the blonde girl reached out her pointer finger and gently placed it on his nose, saying "boop" as she did so.

Five had gone cross-eyed for a second to try and watch what she was doing before he gave her a questioning look. "What was that for?" he asked as she pulled away her finger.

Obviously she couldn't tell him, but the smile she'd had and the blush on her cheeks might have given her away anyway despite her shaking her head. "Um, nothing."

He gave her an odd look that made her think he did know, but he didn't press the issue and instead moved on to continue with what he'd been talking about.

After that, any time she'd felt the overwhelming urge to tell him— even after they began their escapades in the library— she would gently poke his nose to "boop" him. Even if he was annoyed when he was talking, the gesture always brought a smile to his face. The only problem with his non-belief in such emotions meant that he never did it back.

☂☂☂

As the four Hargreeves approached Leonard's house, Allison gave the front entrance a wary look. "Be careful, okay? We don't know what Peabody's capable of."

Diego scoffed. "Yeah, he didn't seem dangerous when I first saw him. Looked kinda scrawny."

"Yeah, well, so are most serial killers and mass murderers. I mean, look at him," Alexa pointed out as she gestured towards the fifteen-year old.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

"Good point. So what's this guy want with Vanya?" Diego asked.

"I don't know. How about we ask him after we kill him?" Five answered defensively as they made their way up the stairs.

The dark-haired man held out his hands. "Whoa, whoa. Hey, look, I'm gonna burst through—"

He didn't get a chance to finish as Five disappeared in a flash of blue. "You know what? It would be nice for people just to stick to the plan—"

Allison left to look around back, which left just Alexa and Diego who turned to the blonde woman. "I'm going to go through the window and you can follow after." He told her as she was the only person left to hear.

She gestured towards the glass. "Be my guest."

Diego backed up and ran, jumping feet first through the window with a grunt as he landed on the floor in a shower of glass. Allison and Five were already inside and Alexa didn't bother to follow her brother's method as she tried the door and opened it easily. "The door was unlocked," she observed with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, my way works just fine," her brother grumbled as he stood. "Spread out. Yell if you, uh you know, you're in trouble." He sighed as no one seemed to care.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Inspiring leadership."

"One of the greats," Five agreed.

As they explored the house, Allison's voice called them together from the second floor. "Guys, you need to see this!" It turned out to be a trap door to the ceiling and after climbing it, the siblings discovered some very disturbing things. "All our faces are burnt off."

Alexa leaned down to study one of her own mini-figures and grimaced at the burnt, black plastic as Diego commented, "well, that's not creepy. This guy's got some serious issues."

"Shit," Five breathed.

"This was never about Vanya," Allison realized. "This was about us."

Alexa turned at the sound of increased breathing and leapt forward just in time to catch Five as he stumbled backwards before she gently lowered him to the ground. Her eyes scanned frantically over his small form for signs of damage but there didn't seem to be any. Her siblings cried out the boy's name in surprise at his sudden change and both of them dropped to the ground with her. It was Allison who noticed the injury and she stumbled over her words in shock: "wh-wh— blood."

Alexa's eyes focused on the spot her sister had revealed underneath the boy's vest and her hands gently cradled his head in her lap. "Jesus, Five," she breathed out, horrified at the sight of him hurt.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Diego demanded.

"You have to keep going," Five said faintly. "So close—"

"Five," Alexa said urgently as she tried to keep him awake, but his eyes closed anyway. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest as she realized she'd failed the most important person in her life.

☂☂☂

A gentle knock at the door of the makeshift hospital room brought Alexa from her thoughts. The blonde looked up to see Allison standing in the doorway with a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Anything?" Alexa asked.

Her sister shook her head. "There's no answer at Vanya's place and the receptionist at her music school said she was a no-show for her lessons today."

Concern showed itself on the blonde's face as she took in the other woman's defeated expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Allison said with a sigh. "We— Diego and I— are going to see if she's at Peabody's grandmother's place." Her brown eyes flicked to meet blue ones. "Do you want to come?"

Alexa hesitated, knowing that her siblings would probably be in more danger than Five currently was but she didn't want the boy to wake up alone, either, and eventually loyalty over responsibility won, causing her to shake her head. "We can meet up later. Maybe when he wakes Five and I can get everyone else on board."

It was a long shot and a weak excuse but Allison didn't press her; it's what she would've done if Luther was in Five's position, anyway. "Alright. Wish me luck, then."

Alexa gave her sister a small smile. "Good luck."

☂☂☂

Alexa must've fallen asleep at some point despite her uncomfortable position because the next thing she knew, there was a prickling sensation that made her feel as if she was being watched. Shifting into an upright position and blinking to get the sleep out of her eyes, she jerked in surprise to find Five's green eyes trained on her.

"Oh good," she said with relief. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

He shrugged. "I've felt worse."

Alexa didn't doubt that which made her chest ache at the thought even as she relaxed at the fact that he was okay. "Allison and Diego went to Peabody's," she explained.

He nodded. "You didn't go with them?"

The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she wondered if he'd have preferred that. "Um, no."

He didn't seem affected as he said: "that's fine. You can help me find Luther and Klaus. I can't believe I'm saying this but we're going to need their help."

She grinned. "It really must be the end of the world then."

Five rolled his eyes. "What, you didn't believe me before?" he asked, knowing very well that she had.

Alexa copied his gesture. "Yeah, yeah. You're always right, you nerd."

He gave her an amused look. "Haven't heard that one in awhile."

Alexa shrugged and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth to chew on it nervously before she seemed to come to a decision. "Five?"

"Yeah?"

She leaned forward slightly and raised her arm to do a once-familiar gesture. "Boop."