a mannequin and a boy • the umbrella academy ON HOLD

volume three, issue 2

(A/N there's a bit of dialogue from the show in here which might be boring but I tried to spice it up with flashbacks and thoughts bc who cares about what we've already watched, so make sure to not give up on this chapter!)

The first thing Five noticed about this new Dolores was that it wasn't quite Dolores.

Her demeanor was fairly similar, in all honesty. She still had the same elegant and mature expression in her eyes, though they didn't hold such an old age as before. Although when they made eye contact, her eyes didn't hold a sincere connection or fondness of him. Her dark eyes only dimmed with a growing animosity that he was unfamiliar was. 

Five could've been told this was a cousin or one of her friends from back home and he would've believed it, if it weren't for the instant connection he felt to her upon the first gaze. Everything, even her unfamiliar ginger hair or the red Sparrow academy clothes she had on, reminded him of the Dolores he grew to love.

Plus, her vest was lined with sequins, and Dolores always liked sequins.

But it wasn't actually her, and he knew that, especially as she kicked him down the stairs after he imagined her as a mannequin with blonde hair. 

The morning sun and the chirping birds outside surrounding a beautiful, glittering lake was not enough to heal Five from that embarrassing moment. His pride was definitely more hurt than his actual stomach or bad, which were also healing from the tumble down floors.

He moved on from his thoughts about Dolores, and knew it was time to find a way out of this mess, including his mess of siblings who were discussing their dad, or the man who was once Dad.

"I think you're all missing the big picture here. If Dad didn't adopt us as kids, he changed the timeline. So who knows what else is different now," Five said, the giant gash on his head dripping blood into his eyebrows that were surprisingly well-manicured.

"Shouldn't you know?" Allison asked, her also perfect eyebrows narrowing in an accusatory tone.

"I'm sorry, Allison, but it might take me more than 20 minutes and a traumatic brain injury to figure this all out. Is that okay with you?"

"No, actually, it's not." 

And, of course, Five had to explain time travel to his siblings, for what felt like the fiftieth time.

He could still remember the first time he tried to explain it to a mannequin-- a mannequin that ended up being real-- all those years ago, post-apocalypse. 

"Dolores, have I ever told you about how I got here?" Five asked the head next to him, perching himself on a rough sofa that was lined with tatters and in shreds.

Of course, there was no response, but Five appreciated how good of a listener she was. He needed that after years of not being heard in that stupid academy.

He took a swig of the drink in his hand. The only thing keeping him tethered to his own body was the pain after the sweet sensation of being able to feel nothing. 

"Well, it was time travel. A lot of years, actually. I don't know how many, I was like thirteen and all of a sudden it was, like, 2018? Maybe 2017? I don't know. The years kind of fly by, y'know?"

She didn't seem to know, but once again, Five was just happy to have a listener.

"Anyways, I have a lot of regrets about it. First off, I didn't want to leave my siblings behind with my dad. Well, maybe One, he was annoying. Real Daddy's boy. Or Mommy's Boy-- no, that was Two, I think?" His memory was becoming more faded as he took sips of the murky liquid in his cup.

"Anyways," he repeated, gulping. "I loved Seven. Seven was normal, unlike any of us. Four was really weird. I think Dad hated him the most, because he was constantly walking in like he was happy after spending hours with Four. I didn't even know what they were doing, but by the look of Four at the end, it wasn't good.

"Oh, and Three. She's okay, I guess. Her power is very scary though. NOT SCARY, dangerous. None of them ever scared me. Except for Six, I guess. His power was creepy. Who am I missing? Myself. Time travel. That's my thing. And teleporting. I don't really time travel much anymore. It's scary. Time travel is really what scares me.

"That's why I'm here. You know that, I just said that. Well, anyways, I made a mistake. The biggest mistake. I maybe could've prevented the end of the world and everything if I was there. Maybe. Maybe it was just supposed to happen. But I wasn't supposed to survive. It was just supposed to be over.

"But I do know one thing, Dolores, and that I was supposed to meet you. I have so many regrets about that day. But I never regretted meeting you. And I wouldn't go back and change anything out of fear of losing you. Because losing you... scares me the most."

By then, Five had began to fall asleep on the sofa, the glass slipping from his unevenly tanned hands from the beating sun that hit his hands in only certain areas. And the mannequin stayed in the same place, unmoving, as always. 

By now, back in the modern time, back in the body of a teenager, Five's memory was stronger, somehow. He had a lot of years worth of memories, but the ones he remembered the most were the ones that involved Dolores. The two weeks, which have been fleeting, he has been able to spend with her were engraved in his brain, repeating over and over as he walked with his siblings, trying to find whatever place Klaus was dragging them to.

The truth was, he couldn't care less about restoring the timeline. He never belonged to one. He just belonged to her, and he only wanted her back.

The Obsidian Hotel. That didn't sound ominous to Five at all. Klaus seemed to love it, though, and if all these celebrities stayed there, then maybe it wasn't too bad.

"This place is weird," Viktor remarked, starting a stroll around the lobby. Luther's watch managed to get them two rooms, and so the planning began.

The planning being Five taking a nice, well-deserved break on an uncomfortable bunk bed, ordering a Scotch and laying back because at least he had a bed he could do all of his deep thinking on. That was better than he could say for the last couple days, or decades he spent on an old, worn out sofa. 

Those decades were worth it, though, because he was next to Dolores. Now, he didn't know when he'd be next to her again.

authors note

sorry for the long wait! I went to summer camp and really didn't have much time to write anything. plus, I wanted this to be less about the actual show and more about the connection between five and Dolores. 

question of the chapter: who is your favorite sparrow academy member?

my answer: I really liked fayre for her spunk and her power, but then she... died... so I moved on to Sloane, because I liked how positive she was even as her life was being turned upside down. Ben was a total jerk, but I really hope he turns around, because I feel bad for him-- sure, he was a jerk, but then he lost all of his siblings within a very short time period! I would be mad, and lonely, too! and then they completely excluded him from his own sister's wedding? ouch. I feel bad for him. 

thanks for reading! love you!!