Chapter Soundtrack: watch?v=vGxrFWBQoQ0
17.
"I've got to take you to the hospital, love: you're in need of care".
"No…no, no hospital. We never go to the hospital".
"And how do you do when you get hurt?".
"Mom".
"Alright…I'll take you to Mom, then".
"Don't wanna".
"I know…but I'm not equipped nor competent enough to tend to your injuries. Besides, your family will be wondering where you are, and worrying…".
Five had tried to resist with some other feebly muttered protest, but Marben had been irremovable.
"Please, Five. Let me get you help".
And so Marben had walked him back to the Academy. Late at night, without a coat, getting her uniform stained with blood and soot, physically keeping her boyfriend upright for his injuries were making him limp heavily, and exhaustion was starting to take its toll on him.
Luck must had been on their side, in spite of everything, since Klaus saw them from a window and opened the door to let them sneak in; Marben had never stepped inside the (in)famous Umbrella Academy before, but then and there the vast mansion didn't arouse the least interest in her. Five was the priority, making him feel better was her urgency, everything else didn't count.
"This way" Klaus said, leading them to a room in which a blonde lady impeccably dressed in elegant retro clothing was neatly rearranging medical equipment while humming softly, despite being surrounded by blood and gore.
"Please, Madam!" Marben called for her with more distress than she had intended to let transpire, "Don't put anything away, Five needs help!". In that moment, several things happened at the same time: Klaus shushed them noisily and then dragged himself to quickly close the door, while the woman turned abruptly toward Marben, showing a delicate, beautiful face completely devoid of expression. When her blue eyes landed on Five, instead, her features immediately transfigured in a mask of concern.
"Five, dear. I'm so disappointed in you, young man!" she scolded, reaching out with a delicate hand and practically hauling him from Marben's grasp like he weighted nothing; Marben fought for a moment between the impulse to reach for Five and prevent the lady from manhandling him like if he were a rag doll (maybe even reprimanding her for her lack of bedside manner), and the fear she was going to see Five get mortified about the failed mission at the factory. Hopeless, she frantically looked for Klaus and found him slouched over an armchair, stretching out a splinted leg and pressing dry ice on his brow: he did detected something in her eyes, and found the force to shake his head.
"Mom, please, be gentle with Five: his pretty girlfriend, here, is worried sick you'll traumatize him for life!".
"Ugh, screw you, Klaus! And don't look at my girlfriend, face the other way!" grunted Five from the strange armchair he had been laid on (it looked halfway between an old-fashioned dentist's chair and a hospital bed); the woman gave him an eloquent look, pointedly ignoring Klaus.
"Sorry, Mother" uttered Five, still pained, and Marben's heart cracked a bit.
"Now, there's no need to be vulgar" said the woman - Mom - in a firm yet gentle tone, snapping a pair of latex gloves on her perfect hands. "I was simply going to express my disappointment and deepest worry for not finding you amongst your siblings to get medicated. You know how much I get upset, Five dear". She gently peeled some fabric from a burn, causing Five to hiss and Marben to internally scream, and then assessed the worst wounds on the boy's hands and legs.
"I'm not going to lie, my dear: your Father is getting very annoyed by your coming and going unsupervised" Mom said, giving Marben a brief side glance. Five tightened his jaw, his eyes reduced to two exhausted, furious slits.
"He was the one who told me to train in spacial jumping. As long as I do it, is none of his business when I do it or where I land". Marben couldn't help herself to feel guilty hearing how much trouble her presence in Five's life was causing him: she searched for his eyes and tried to say sorry with all the force of her glance, to which Five answered with a light shake of his head and the most cocky grin he managed in his pained, tired state. "And anyway we all sneak out. If it's not a problem when the others do it, I don't see why it should be when it's my turn".
Oblivious to all of this, Mom sighed a puff of air that didn't inflate either her chest nor her cheeks; picking up a pair of big scissors from a tray, she then started to cut Five's uniform off to assess the real extent of his wounds; despite herself, Marben gasped, flushing bright red and lowering her gaze.
"Oooooookay, I think it's closing time, little princess!" guffawed Klaus, hauling himself up from the chair and motioning for Marben to follow him.
"HEY, DON'T CALL HER PRINCESS, YOU SHITHEAD!" bellowed an already half naked Five from his bedrest.
"Five, what do we just said about being vulgar?" Mom retorted readily. Everything else, though, was cut off by Klaus' hand gently cupping Marben's elbow and leading her willy-nilly toward the door.
"Seriously, Marben, it's better if you leave now. I know you're worried for your beau but trust me, you don't want our Father to know you're here. And you've already caused quite the commotion". He then looked to his side from under the bag of dry ice, causing Marben to follow his gaze: peeking in from the hallway, there was a girl with a chestnut fringe and dressed in a pajama that looked stolen from an old man's closet. She had clearly just risen from bed, so Klaus had to be right. It was time to go.
Turning to Five she found him already looking at her, with a reassuring hint of a smile and warm, tired eyes: too anguished to speak, Marben mouthed an 'I love you' and the boy's smile sweetened. 'Me too' he mouthed back, and then laid down his head, making himself obedient to Mom's medical fervor.
"Come, Marben. There will be Vanya with him, don't worry". Marben nodded to the girl with the fringe - Vanya, apparently - and quickly left the room. Klaus made to follow her down the dark corridor, but his leg was giving him hell and he stayed behind a bit.
"Wait, are you gonna walk home all alone in the middle of the night?" he called after Marben, who suddenly had all the hurry in the world to go - otherwise she would have never found the force to leave Five's side. The girl threw him a glance over her shoulder, without stopping.
"Don't worry, I know my way. And besides I'll be with Fulvius, the redhead boy you saw with me a few weeks ago". Klaus stopped abruptly.
"You…you're seriously gonna make that child escort you home by night?".
"Yeah, and I'll be fine. Fulv is a lot more though than he looks...and the School is just a few streets away". Surprisingly, Marben stopped for a moment too and turned halfway to look at the strange boy.
"Thanks, Klaus. Take care of yourself…smoke some weed before you lay down, if you have it, it'll help with the pain and…all the other stuff".
Without another world, Marben resumed her brisk walking across the darkened halls of the Umbrella Academy, oblivious of a stern, cold and blue pair of eyes that followed her from above until she had closed the front door after herself with a soft click.
A/N: Poor Five. And poor Klaus. Poor Marben too. Poor everyone! Lots of love for Mom, though: she's awesome!
