Chapter Soundtrack: watch?v=mAY9jV_uNGg


21 (I).

"I'VE GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU!", "LET'S GO OUT TONIGHT!" both teens spoke at the same time as soon as Marben had opened the window and come face to face with her boyfriend; then they realized it and exchanged a confused look.

"Me first" said Five with a grin. "Let's go out tonight! Come with me" he said, holding out a hand.

"What? I can't, I'm…".

"In a skimpy camisole, pink knickers and nothing else, which is absolutely my favorite attire on you, so far…".

"Hey you, stop looking at me like that".

"Like what?" murmured the boy, shamelessly eyeing her up.

"Like you're trying to see through my clothes".

"Mmmh, that sure as hell would be a useful power…". Five took her gently by a wrist and lifted it. "Would you turn around for me, bab…".

"Five, don't piss me off!" snapped Marben, snatching her hand back and stomping a foot on the floor. Her boyfriend erupted in a loud fit of laughter, lifting his hands in surrender.

"Sorry Doll, I couldn't resist!".

"Yeah, you always find it so amusing when I'm annoyed" Marben replied crossly, glowering at him; Five's smile then sweetened, and his tone and eyes became soft.

"You certainly look adorable when annoyed…but that's not what I cannot resist to. It's your…uh, body".

Marben's face slackened by sudden in an incredulous expression: a flustered Five wasn't what she had been expecting, but she still recognized it for the rare, precious and lovely thing that it was. So she stood up on her toes, caressed gently his red face and murmured "I can't resist yours too, gorgeous", before giving him a lingering kiss that took their breath away. It didn't last, though, for Five broke it quite soon - even if reluctantly.

"Come on, love, put on the first thing you find and let's go!".

"Where are you taking me?". Five snickered impatiently.

"Not far…to some place I care little about, but that I know you want to see. Go change, now, I'll be waiting on the fire escape". And just like that, he closed the window after himself and went hiding in the dark. Marben shook her head fondly; she threw on some comfy jeans, a black crop top, a pair of red Chucks and her father's oversized checked flannel shirt - hoping it would be enough against the chill of the autumn night - then turned the light off and climbed out of the window. Five was still there, as promised, arms crossed over his chest and back against the brick wall, staring up at the stars. When he turned, he looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time.

"Ready" she said with a small shrug and an excited smile. He came over, eyes boring into her own, wrapped an arm around her waist and without breaking the eye-contact, he jumped.

With a yelp from Marben and a snicker from Five, they landed somewhere warm and dry, nice smelling and softly lit: it took the blonde girl just a glance to get an idea of where they were.

"You…took me to your house?". The boy shrugged.

"I thought showing you my day-to-day reality would have answered many of your questions…and so, here we are. Welcome to the wolf's lair!". Marben gave him a bewildered smile. "Wait me here for a minute, 'k? I'll just go check if the old man's already gone and I'll be right back". With a kiss on her cheek, Five dissolved in a flash of blue.

At that point, Marben didn't know what to do with herself: the mere mention of Sir Hargreeves had made her suddenly uneasy, and she certainly was not used to big mansions or servitude. Who knew what else she had yet to see in there, mechanical maid excluded!

She was wavering on the verge of a panic attack when the sound of heavy and hurried steps forced her to forget for a moment all her insecurities: someone was cussing its way down a corridor, rapidly approaching. Marben didn't have to wait long to see that it was a boy with dark, well combed hair who she immediately recognized like Number Two, or Diego. When he saw her too, he stared back with a mix of distrust and familiarity, like he didn't know if they've ever met or she just looked familiar for some reason. What she saw, instead, was so much anger she almost feared she would get scorched by his gaze alone.

"Hey. What's up?" said the girl somehow finding the guts to approach a stranger that looked like a wounded rabid dog. Diego scrunched up his nose, but otherwise didn't show other signs of hostility.

"My-my father's a d-d-dick" he stuttered, and Marben could see it was making him even more furious. "I ha-te my b-bro-ther an-d m-m-my life su-uh-ks".

"Why don't you become a rapper? It would be a good way to release all that hate bottled up inside…". Instantly, all of Diego's rage was gone, leaving only incredulity in its wake.

"I stuh-tter".

"Rappers pretend to do that, sometimes!" laughed Marben "They even make a lot of ugly sounds and fill their songs with gibberish, raspberries or belches when they feel like being satyrical!". Diego started to look mildly puzzled (and maybe a bit discomfited too), at this point; Marben caught him fidgeting with one of his daggers and seized even that last opportunity to prove her point.

"You even have the air of the boy who grew up on the streets! Throwing knives, fighting your battles…a bit scarred…" she gave him a conspiratorial smile. "You should just…leave short-sleeved shirts and school uniform vests behind, they…don't look the part at all, I'm afraid". Diego furrowed his brow for a moment, but then leaned forward and started laughing so hard he had to grab his belly. Marben chuckled too, a bit at the mental image of a big, bad rapper in a white shirt and checked vest, but above all at the vision of Diego, who had barged in furious and now was wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"What is it, Diego?". With his usual frizzing crackle and blue gleam, Five was back. "Is Luther going to jail for something you did?".

"F-Fu-ck you" snickered Diego, starting to laugh all over again; Five turned his gaze on Marben and lifted an eyebrow, but his girlfriend just shrugged with a smile.

"Whatever. Let's go, babe". Clinging to her waist, Five left Marben only the time to send a quick wink to Diego - to which he waved back, still laughing - and then jumped.

In the kitchen, Marben felt the need to sit for a moment, so she grabbed the nearest chair and practically fell on it.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Five, immediately crouching to her side; feeling slightly better, she nodded.

"Yes. Sorry, honey, apparently space jumping upsets me a little". Five gave her a guilty smile and made to say something, but Marben stroked his cheek, shaking her head. "Really, Five. I'm fine, don't worry".

"Oh! Would you two dearies like something to eat?" chirped Mom from the door, out of the blue; both the teens jumped, turning to look at her radiant smile.

"Damn!" murmured Five; Mom didn't miss it and shot him a reproachful look.

"Yes, yes, language. Sorry Mother!". From a door on the other side of the vast room, Klaus stormed in like a fury, went to rummage through a cupboard - the cooking pots one, judging by the racket - and when he found what he came looking for, turned and marched out without saying a single word to anyone. Just a few seconds later, from the outside came the sounds of tin lids slammed together and bloodcurdling shouts.

"Five, dear, would you please take your brother back in?" asked Mom looking fixedly at the backdoor, while Marben wondered how a machine could look exasperated. Her boyfriend, on his part, snorted and went after his brother.

"And we even watched him arrange whatever he's doing without saying anything!".

The door slammed after Five and Marben chuckled a bit, shuffling nervously on the chair: she could hear Mom's clicking heels approach, and she hadn't the slightest idea on how to react or what to say. The idea alone of being near to Momma-Bot made her feel on the edge. Luckily she didn't have to do anything, for a plate of cookies was gently offered to her. Looking up at the machine-maid, she found Mom smiling kindly at her, with her striking features lit with something akin to human emotion.

"Spacial jumping can be troublesome, the first couple of times" she said, hinting to the plate. "Have a sweet, dear, it'll settle your upset stomach. They're ginger flavored".

"Like…the ones for gravid, nauseated women?" asked Marben, timidly and a little amused, despite herself. Surprisingly, Mom bursted in the most delightful and musical fit of laughter Marben had ever heard.

"I guess so" confessed Mom when the bout of hilarity had passed; sharing a a comradely smile with her, Marben took a cookie and bit into it. It was good, and as she ate it she could actually feel her stomach settle a bit.

"It really works! Thanks, Mom" she said, thinking about how strange and yet pleasant the world felt on her tongue. Suddenly Mom's hand was on her cheek, and the machine was looking at her with an emotion-like light in her eyes once again.

"Thank you, Marben, for taking my dear boy back home the night of the fire" said Mom, and it sounded so heartfelt the girl had to put her hand on the one that was caressing her cheek; Mom felt good, to the touch, but clearly wasn't made of skin. Marben wondered if the machine-maid could feel her touch at all.

"You're good to him, and I'm glad he found you". Feeling or not, Marben decided to give the mechanic hand a squeeze anyway.

"I'm glad I found him too" she confessed softly, and right then felt happy to have found someone like she had never felt in her whole life.


A/N: Have I already said that Mom is too precious for this world? I'll repeat, if it is not clear enough!

This will be a long chapter, divided in three parts: what will Marben see on her journey inside the Umbrella Academy? Wanna try and guess? :)

I hope you are all well. Love.