Chapter Soundtrack: watch?v=nJNcBKee0K4
34 (III).
"Tell me something I still don't know about you".
"Again? Will you ever tire of this game, babe?".
"Will I ever know all there is to know about you?".
"Alright, smart-ass, point taken. I never overturn shirts: if they are turned inside out, I stick my head in from the top hole, the front part slides over my face, my hands climb from the shoulder to the cuff reversing as they go…and I find myself dressed".
"…how is it that I've never noticed?".
"Your observational skills leave something to be desired, love. It has also to be said that you've seen me undress more often than getting dressed… anyhow, it's your turn".
"I...think I'd like to learn how to shoot. I'm not sure with which weapon, but still…".
"My Father served in the Army, when he was younger. He learned how to use both the gun and the rifle".
"...thank goodness I have the most serious intentions with you, then!".
"Oh, Five, what an idiot you are!".
"For wanting to be serious with you?".
"No, for thinking my Father would ever cause you any harm!".
"Yes, fine, call me an idiot because I'm afraid of your father who was in the Army and probably would chew my head off if he only knew what I've just done to you!".
"So good, you've been sooo very good to me…".
"And you to me, Princess. I've never felt this good before, actually".
"Did it live up to your fantasies, then?".
"Which fa…oh. Oh, shit, I can't believe you still remember!".
"Of course I do, you dunce! Well?".
"It's been a thousand times better, Doll".
"YES! The real Marben beats the imaginary Marben thousand to zero! Take that!".
"Hey, it's your turn, Real-Marben-Beware-Of-Imitations! I swear, sometimes you're just such a dork…an adorable one, though, so I should probably say you're adorkable…".
"Alright, listen up, then: I don't get burned. I mean, when I burn myself I heal very quickly. Sunlight is entirely another matter because it's radioactive, but if we consider any common source of heat...I practically don't get burned".
"Wow…almost sounds like a superpower!".
"Don't say it too loud, your father might hear us! Your turn".
"…did I ever tell you that last year Klaus fell off the stairs while wearing Mom's heels and broke his jaw?".
"Heck, NO! Poor Klaus…but wait, what does it have to do with you?".
"I…I was…theonewhomadehimtrip!".
"Five, what the…".
"And nobody knows, back home, so please keep your lovey mouth shut! Your turn!".
"No, it's not! We're playing 'tell me something about you', not 'tell me something about a random relative of yours that comes to your mind'!".
"Right, so I…uh…".
"Yes?".
"I want to grow up with you. And then grow old with you, too".
"And what about growing tired of me?".
"Never. That could never happen".
"Good. Then I…I think I want it too".
"We just have to figure out how to do it".
"Come to London with me, when the school year ends".
"…what would your family say?".
"'Welcome! Kettle's boiling, fancy a cuppa?'. Obvious!".
"And…aren't you worried about what my Father would say? Or do?".
"My family has had to face pretty serious shit, during the years. I'm sure we can deal with Mister Arsegreeves too. My uncle is powerful, you know, and my other uncle is in the police".
"Excuse me, how many uncles do you have?".
"Two, Myery's parents: one is my Dad's brother and the other is his husband".
"Are they all gay, in your family?".
"Would it be a problem?".
"…if, unlike my Father, they know how to be good parents, then no".
"They love us very much...with you it would be no different".
"I guess it would be nice, to leave…".
"You…could even pick a proper name for yourself, if you wanted to. One you like!".
"A few nights ago I told you that 'Five Hargreeves' is not my real name, and I wasn't lying: I'm just Number Five, or at most I can answer to the name Mom gave me, but which I refused…and that I highly doubt even being lawful, I don't know if it's reported on my identity documents. Do you want to know what it is?".
"No. Like I told you last time we talked about it, it's of no importance how Mom decided to call you. I want to know you by the name you chose for yourself".
"I guess I'm just Five, then".
"There's no such thing as 'just'. However, I was wondering if you would you like to…look for your mother? You know, the real one".
"No. She sold me to Father...or gave me up, whatever it was between the two makes no difference. Thinking about it used to make me feel like shit when I was little, but now...I don't care anymore. She just isn't part of my life, and that's fine by me".
"…okay".
"Doll? What're you do-".
"I'm kissing your tattoo, obviously. Whether we like it or not, it represents a lot of you. Of us. And for this, I'm in love with it".
"…oh, Doll…".
"I wasn't trifling, earlier: come with me to London. We will find a way".
"And then?".
"I don't know, you'll probably have to endure a very normal, very boring high school before you can access…maybe a quantum mechanics course? But at least we'll be away from your father and his blasted Umbrella Academy. We'll start from there, together".
"Yeah…together".
"Always. Because without you nothing has sense anymore, Five. It's just going on".
.oO°Oo.
Marben was awakened by slight, tickling puffs of air blown directly onto her belly. It took her a few moments to understand they were produced by Five, who, stifling his own laughter, was trying in every way not to be noisy so as not to disturb her sleep.
"Hey, what 're you laughing 'bout?" she mumbled with a smile, eyes still closed; in a rustle of sheets, she felt her boyfriend move onto the mattress to place a kiss on her naked shoulder.
"Oh no, I woke you up! I didn't meant to!".
"It's all right, gorgeous" she conceded, while blindly groping around to find his nape and stroke his ruffled hair. "What time is it?".
"Almost six. Now, look down" excitedly whispered Five. Marben reluctantly cracked an eye open to peek, then: under her gaze, Five's pointed forefinger gently poked at one of her breasts, causing it to slightly wobble like a jelly.
"Squishy!" the boy elatedly giggled; Marben's eyes shot wide open as she felt a twinge of embarrassment, a sudden and irrepressible desire to laugh and so much fondness for her idiot boyfriend rush through her all at once. All that made her abruptly realize that she yearned for an eternity of mornings like the one she was currently living, filled to the brim with intimacy, playfulness and tenderness. Without the slightest idea on how to extricate herself from that tangle of emotions, she reacted instinctively and slapped a hand on one of the boy's buttocks.
"Five, you're such an id…".
Words and laughter died in her throat as the boy jerked his head up, looking at her with flushed cheeks and eyes like saucers. Gasping, Marben felt him prominently harden against her hip, so she decided to try and smack his butt again, a moment later. Five didn't disappoint her, and choking on his breath he got even harder.
"Shit, Dimple…you like to be spanked!".
"Yeah…who would have thought?!" he breathlessly considered, with the innocence of someone who is chatting about the weather. Regardless, a moment later something had changed in his eyes, and Five had wormed his way over Marben, frantically searching for her lips.
"Five, what's gotten into you?" the girl asked in between kisses, welcoming her randy boyfriend with open arms and basking in the sensation of his naked body against her own, in the warmth and scent of his skin, in the frantic beat of his heart under her fingers.
"Into me? Nothing. Into you? Me, I hope". Marben sputtered.
"For the love of…HEY?! Where did your pants go?".
"Somewhere on the floor, they were sticky" answered Five, sounding like someone who does not wish to be troubled with trivial matters any longer. Determined to render incoherent his adorable girlfriend, as a matter of fact, the boy began to cover her neck with kisses and small bites, sucking here and there the softer skin that he knew was particularly sensitive, and slowly traveling down toward Marben's chest while his hands glided along her ribcage.
"Give me some, baby…give - Oh. MY. GOD!" Five groaned loudly when Marben answered with another sonorous spank and a squeeze, interrupting his descent.
"Some whacks, dear?" fluted the girl, delighted by the reactions she was eliciting.
"Some of everything" panted the boy. "Let's have a round two!".
"WHA…".
"A round two, Doll. What we did last night, once again!".
"But it's late!" said the blonde girl becoming anxious; she stopped Five's hands, which had grown bold and were trying to pull her knickers down, and attempted to slip away from under him. The boy tried to protest, resuming to cover her with hickeys, and Marben had to resort to batting his hands away from her body to earn his full - even if disgruntled - attention.
"No, listen babe! I'd love to, but we can't! I have to get ready to go to class and finding a free sink in which to rinse my face takes forever, in the morning…also, you can't be even more late, or you'll get into trouble! Not to mention we would both need a shower. Like hell you're going to breakfast with your family while looking so shagged!".
"I like looking shagged by you…and anyway you're being cruel!" grumbled Five, heavily pouting and terribly cute while, naked as the day he was born, he hid his erection behind cupped hands, resenting having to go home instead of spending the whole day in bed with her. Seeing him like that, Marben couldn't resist the temptation to put reason aside for a second and reach out to catch his lips in a short but passionate kiss.
"Go home, Dimple. Take a shower, have some breakfast...and tonight we'll have our round two" she whispered with a smile, directly on his lips. Five looked back at her, with dreamy eyes.
"For real?".
"Oh, you can bet on it, I can't wait to sprawl you naked on my bed and do to you all the lovely things you did to me last night!".
Giggling like the two enamored, euphoric youngsters they were, Marben and Five jumped out of bed and began sorting the clothes that laid scattered on the floor; those of Marben ended up in a corner, ready to be sent to the laundry, while the Umbrella Academy uniform, instead, gradually returned to cover Five's slim and lithe body. Marben wasn't happy with that, not one bit. But she helped him in picking it up all the same, and even in putting it on.
They managed to turn the moment into a playful exchange of endearments all the same. Marben kissed the marks left on Five's skin by the burns of that horrendous night when he had tried to save innocent men from a fire, before putting on his horrendous tank top. Later, the boy squeaked in a high-pitched voice, when she pinched one of his bare buttocks which was peeking out from under the hem of his shirt, and retaliated by turning abruptly to blow a damp raspberry on her cheek, making her laugh out loud.
"Five, what the fuck?! Were you born with those feet the size of two boats or did puberty give them to you for Christmas?" the girl joked, running a hand over her cheek to dry it; her boyfriend looked at her with an impertinent smile and wide eyes, filled with amused outrage.
"Well, at least mine have grown and I don't have to buy shoes from the kids ward!" he countered, before starting a small war fought between bare feet - big and small - trying to step on each other. When they found themselves breathless, partly because they had never stopped laughing and partly due to the convulsive hopping, they decided to stop getting distracted, so Five hurried to get dressed and let Marben put his soiled briefs from the previous day in his jacket pocket (thinking about the face that Arsegreeves would have made if only he had found his son with a pair of pants in the pocket caused them another attack of hilarity, while Marben was straightening his tie).
After that, the blonde girl fetched her father's flannel shirt and put it on to escort her beloved to the window. Once he had climbed over the windowsill, standing on the fire escape's landing, Five turned to look at her with a peaceful, fulfilled and intimate expression that Marben had never seen on his face, before, but that immediately made her feel privileged, because she knew it was exclusively for her.
"Hey, love…listen, I'm so-" she said shyly, but Five cut her off with an unexpected kiss and sweet words directly whispered on her mouth.
"You're sorry, I know. You were hurt, you needed your time to heal…or to give yourself some explanations. And anyway you weren't wrong, we should have helped the guy from the parade...but we acted like assholes. You were right, although maybe you could have told me without insulting me".
"I'm so glad you decided to forgive me…".
"Don't be silly, my precious. How could I ever not forgive you? You're probably the only person in the world who really cares about my interest, and...and I came to realize you're even making me a better person, since we got together, even if sometimes it's a painful process".
"Do you really think that?" Marben hopefully asked; if possible, Five's face softened even more.
"Of course! But...since you're sorry, and I am as well...let's not talk about it anymore, ok? No more unpleasant thoughts, just ones about us. You agree?" sweetly asked the boy, leaning his forehead against his girlfriend's. Feeling her eyes tingling, Marben hurried to nod with enthusiasm.
They exchanged a kiss in the pink light of dawn, and then, with a radiant grin, Five jumped. Left behind, Marben smiled, wrapping herself tightly in the flannel shirt; she was missing him already.
With a sigh, the girl turned to climb over the windowsill and go back to the dorm. The day she had ahead of her seemed too long, and yet already over, if she kept in mind that by nightfall Five would have been back to look for her. She felt him close, like a tangible presence at the short distance she could have covered by extending an arm, and accompanied by that pleasant thought, Marben hurried to pick a fresh uniform from her closet and to take a quick shower.
Unfortunately, however, that night Five didn't come.
A/N: ...did you like the fluff? From here on everything is gonna be angsty. My best wishes to all of you.