IGNIS : the umbrella academy [COMPLETE]

I

     FIVE WOKE WITH A GASP, eyes snapping open, and he tried to sit up, wincing when he felt the pain in his side.

     Everything came back to him, and he lay back down, breathing heavily. He looked to the side, saw Dolores sitting on a chair, and on the floor, head resting on the edge of the bed, was Carla, a blanket covering her back.

     Her fiery hair was covering half of her face, eyelashes brushing against her cheekbones, lips slightly parted as she slept soundly.

     He had the urge to reach forward and gently tuck her hair out of her face, but he stopped himself.

     Moving slowly, careful not to wake the teen, Five reached over, gingerly taking Dolores in his arms before teleporting away. Carla didn't even flinch.

     The teen reappeared inside a familiar shop, thankful that due to the early hours of the morning it was still closed, and therefore empty.

     He looked down at his pale blue pyjamas, before carrying Dolores towards a stand with three other mannequins and setting her down.

     "I think you knew this was coming," he begun slowly, "It was only a matter of time, really. I care for you, you know that, but you also know how much I care for Carla. I think I can help her... or she can help me."

     He paused, Dolores staring at him unblinking for a moment, and he sighed, brows furrowing, "I don't know, Dolores. Telling her could never end well, I-"

     His voice cracked, breath hitching in his throat, and he looked away to try and get his emotions under control, "I can't do it. I won't."

     Dolores stared back at Five, and he smiled softly, "Thank you. I knew you'd understand. I don't regret a single moment we spent together, but I think it's time I move on. The apocalypse is coming, and I need to try my best to prevent it."

     Dolores stared at him, and he let out a low chuckle, averting his gaze to fight back tears, "Yeah, exactly. I'm glad we're in agreement. Goodbye, Dolores, and thank you again."

     He reached forward, squeezing her plastic hand gently, before teleporting away again, back into his bed.

     At this, Carla's eyes snapped open, and she let out a small yelp, falling back from the bed.

     "It's okay!" Five exclaimed, standing on the bed, hands up defensively, "It's just me!"

     "Oh," Carla shut her eyes, dragging a hand down her face, "Why are you standing on the bed?"

     "It's nothing," he said, sitting down slowly, trying to hide the pain he felt in his side.

     Carla winced, stretching her back that was incredibly stiff, "How're you feeling?"

     "Okay," he said slowly, not giving anything away.

     Carla then seemed to notice that the chair was now empty, "Where's Dolores?"

     Five averted his gaze, "I returned her to the shop. It was a mutual decision."

     "Oh," she couldn't hide the surprise from her voice, but didn't push it any further.

     There was a pause, before Five spoke up, "She wanted me to tell you she'll miss you. She really liked you."

     Carla smiled softly, "I think I'll miss her too."

     "Did you spend all night on the floor?" Five asked cautiously.

     Carla nodded, "Yeah, guess I must have fallen asleep."

     The pair were interrupted by the loud ringing of a bell, and Klaus poked his head through the door, "Good morning, kids! Family meeting in ten!"

     He left the room humming a tune, as both Carla and Five exchanged a look.

     "I'd better go shower, sleeping on the floor in my clothes hasn't done me much good," Carla commented wryly, getting to her feet, and stretching again, the ache in her back still prominent.

     "Do you have any spare clothes?" Five asked curiously.

     Carla had mostly been wearing Klaus's clothes. His jeans were much too large, but she had cuffed them several times at the ankle to make them fit, and his tops suited her well enough.

     "Nope," she said breezily, "I'll steal something from Klaus again."

     Five couldn't help but smile at her, "You two are more like siblings than the rest of us."

     She gave him a sidelong glance, "Thanks, I think."

     Carla then shot him a small smile he couldn't help but return, before walking out, heading down the hall to the bathroom, just in time to see Luther standing in the hall, one hand holding his door shut, the other clutching a blanket to his chest in order to hide his clearly naked (and hairy) body.

     He was having a discussion with a gleeful Klaus, and Carla couldn't help but wrinkle her nose in disgust at the practically naked ape-man.

     That was not what she wanted to see so early in the morning.

     "Carla!" Klaus exclaimed, "You'll never guess what Luther's gone and done-"

     "She doesn't need to know!" Luther angrily hissed.

     Carla nodded, "For once, I agree with monkey-man. I just wanted to say I'm going to use the shower."

     She pulled another face, visibly shuddering, before walking into the bathroom, shutting the door and placing a towel on the radiator.

     Stripping off her clothes, Carla then placed her gloves on the side of the sink, catching a glance of her own reflection. She wasn't looking great; her eyes shadowed from her lack of proper sleep, and she seemed to have lost a bit of weight due to a mix of stress and simply not eating proper meals.

     Then she saw Sarah staring back. She wondered how her sister would react to Harold's behaviour. If she would hate him, or try to reason that he was a good man, just troubled.

     Maybe she was trying to project her own confusion at the situation onto her twin.

     Carla got into the shower, turning it on and shuddering when it hit her skin icy cold.

     She tried adjusting the temperature, but it stayed just as freezing, and Carla let out a pained groan, "You have to be fucking kidding me!"