𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves³

7│SIBLING RIVALRY AT ITS BEST

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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ sɪʙʟɪɴɢ ʀɪᴠᴀʟʀʏ
ᴀᴛ ɪᴛs ʙᴇsᴛ ꒱


❝ I CAN TAKE YOU TO
THE MOON & BACK [ . . . ] ❞

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"This place is incredible!" Luther exclaimed as he and Sloane ran on the treadmills. The state-of-the-art facility was bright and modern unlike the rest of the house. Even though he'd had breakfast there earlier, he had been too preoccupied about being a captive to notice it. Now, he took in the widescreen TVs and large, crystal-clear windows that overlooked the street.

Sloane was more obviously out-of-breath than he was as she ran next to him. "We had the old lounge taken out and had this put in."

"You know, I thought the home theater and Zen garden were impressive but this is just next level!" Luther slowed his machine to a stop and stepped off. "I always wanted The Umbrella Academy to be like this. You guys actually do stuff together!"

The fifth Sparrow followed suit to take a breather. Together, they walked over to the refreshment table. "You don't?"

He picked up a glass and filled it with water. "Uh. . . nah, not really. So, our brother died when we were kids. Number Six— our Ben."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. And after that, nobody really gave a shit. Everyone had their own agenda and it's like pulling teeth to get anybody to actually care. Well, except for our Number Eight— Alexa. I think it's because she still feels guilty about what happened to him— Ben, I mean. She's always willing to come back and protect us if we need it."

They sat at the nearby stools as Sloane gave him a smile. "That's kind of the opposite of our Eight. I know Nira will be there for us if we need her but she's more self-serving then self-sacrificing. That's why she and our Ben get along so well."

Luther nodded. "Alexa was pretty close to Ben, too, but for different reasons. She's the only one of us who still cares but her tie is to us— her siblings. Even I didn't bother after a while. You know, about the training, the missions, about being Number One," he finished with a scoff.

"You're not what I was expecting," the blonde woman offered.

"I'm not?"

"No. Even if you don't care about being a leader I can see how well you know your family. You do love your siblings."

His expression softened, pleased that she was able to tell. Even if the actual words 'I love you' were never spoken in the Hargreeves home, it was still felt (however occasionally.) Sloane leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "I've always wanted to escape this place."

Luther gave her a concerned look. "Why would you want to escape?"

She inclined her head slightly. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Fair point."

"This house, it's all I've ever known my entire life. And I know that there are better places out there in the world and one day, I want to see them all. Nira's helped some with my wanderlust. She's wonderful, really. She can use her illusions to create scenes of the places that I want to go. She's the only person I'd take with me when I get out of here."

The larger man wasn't convinced of the eighth Sparrow's 'wonderfulness.' She seemed pretty intense and domineering— much like this version of Ben. He wondered how someone as sweet as Sloane could speak so highly of her, but then he remembered his own siblings; Alexa would probably say the same of Five. After a moment of hesitation— where he decided not to say anything negative about Deianira— he said, "you know, uh. . . I spent a little time on the moon."