𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves¹

18│MIND OVER MATTER

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

❛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙ. ʙ. ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ꒱　


❝ BOOP ❞

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Love was not an emotion Reginald Hargreeves allowed in his house and thus the members of The Umbrella Academy were unfamiliar with how to recognize the emotion. Did they (sometimes) feel strong bonds of loyalty? Yes. Did they learn how to depend on one another even during an argument? For the most part, yes. Was the word 'love' ever actually spoken aloud? No.

Whether the feelings were a brotherly bond or more-than-friendly emotions that some children shared, the actual word was never spoken verbally. Because of this, the pairs that felt this way had to make do with other methods. Allison planned a surprise night for Luther with dancing and forbidden treats (even if Reginald ruined it for them, the thought was there) and Luther gave her a golden heart necklace to show he returned these feelings.

Ben put up with everything Klaus went through (mostly) without complaint, and Klaus (very rarely) stayed quiet when Ben was feeling a particular need for peace away from his siblings. Grace sometimes snuck Diego extra cookies or paid close attention when he seemed to be feeling down and Diego stayed behind after meals to help his mother figure clean up the dishes. So, as you see, even if the words were never truly spoken the gestures were there to prove the emotions behind the strong bonds.

This was also true with Five and Alexa although not as visibly because the boy "didn't believe in such things, Lexa." That didn't deter her from showing him how she felt, though. Since Five wasn't fond of the sappy, overly-feely emotion, the blonde girl made sure her gesture was quiet but meaningful and something the others couldn't guess.

The idea came to her one day when Five was enthusiastically explaining an early development he'd found for time travel. She always loved it when he talked about something that interested him as so few things did. Her stomach fluttered and swooped whenever his eyes lit up and a genuine smile appeared on his face when this happened and warm, fuzzy feelings swept through her that made her toes curl a little, like in the stories.

She knew what this emotion was but kept it to herself, content instead to watch him happily talk about things that were way over her head. Except, she began to feel them even when he was just being her best friend and one day she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

He'd been in the middle of talking about how annoying Luther had been earlier that day when the blonde girl reached out her pointer finger and gently placed it on his nose, saying "boop" as she did so.

Five had gone cross-eyed for a second to try and watch what she was doing before he gave her a questioning look. "What was that for?" he asked as she pulled away her finger.

Obviously she couldn't tell him, but the smile she'd had and the blush on her cheeks might have given her away anyway despite her shaking her head. "Um, nothing."

He gave her an odd look that made her think he did know, but he didn't press the issue and instead moved on to continue with what he'd been talking about.

After that, any time she'd felt the overwhelming urge to tell him— even after they began their escapades in the library— she would gently poke his nose to "boop" him. Even if he was annoyed when he was talking, the gesture always brought a smile to his face. The only problem with his non-belief in such emotions meant that he never did it back.