The Flood // the umbrella academy [Klaus]

t h r e e

Her room was exactly as she remembered; it was exactly as she had left it all those years ago. The off-white walls were covered in fairy lights and a variety of paintings that Bea had completed over her time at the Academy. The majority of these paintings were watercolours – the water always responded to her touch as if it were under a spell. She had always had a connection with water; she could sense it, feel it around her, and move it with merely a thought.

'You must command the element as if you are the great god Poseidon himself!' Reginald used to say to her during their training sessions. Because of the intensity of her training, Bea took up painting as a way to centre herself and relax. Her creations were a mixture of extravagant blends of colour, leaping across the pages in swirls, and more subtle artworks: portraits, landscapes and doodles born from her complicated mind.

She focused on a painting she had done of Five a month before he had disappeared. It was pinned up next to a photograph; the one she had used as reference. In both images, Five's face was scrunched up in thought, a combination of concentration and frustration. It was a candid – Bea had snuck up on her favourite brother and snapped the shot without his consent. He had been angry about it later, until he saw the painting she had made. Her raw talent had more than made up for her espionage.

As her eyes worked their way around the room, they stopped on her vanity mirror. Taped (rather crudely) to the frame were two more photographs. One was of a twelve-year-old Five and Bea, sitting next to each other by the tree in the courtyard. It had been warm that day, so both of the children had removed their blazers. Bea remembered it fondly.

*18 years ago*

Five had stormed out of the living room, calling his siblings 'idiots' as he did so. Only Bea had bothered to run after him, uncomfortable with the thought of her best friend being upset.

"Five, wait!" She called out, struggling to keep up with his advancing form. "Would you slow down please?"

"That would defeat the point of not wanting to be followed!" Five retorted, turning his head briefly just before he spatial jumped away from her.

Bea huffed as she continued to chase after him, finally catching sight of him as he stormed out into the courtyard. Once she had passed through the doorway and into the sun, she hunched over with her hands on her knees, her breathing ragged. "You can't just call them 'idiots', Five. It's not their fault they don't get it," she said. Taking in a deep breath, she added, "Phew, you're fast!"

"They are idiots! It's so simple even a monkey could understand."

Bea laughed, straightening herself up. "Of course Pogo understands; he's a professor!"

Five rolled his eyes, turning to face her. "I didn't mean Pogo."

"Who did you mean then?"

Five let out an exasperated sigh. "I just meant an ordinary monkey! Why are you putting words into my mouth?"

"Because it annoys you," Bea said with a cheeky smile.

Five paused, mouth hanging open as he uncharacteristically struggled to think of a comeback. After a beat he relaxed, face morphing into a subconscious grin. Bea lit up at this.

"Ah, I knew I could get you to smile! Pretty good for an 'idiot', huh?"

"You're not included in that, Bea. I'd never call you an idiot." He paused momentarily and pretended to think. "Unless, of course, you deserve to be called one."

Bea nodded. "Well, yeah. Then you'd just be keeping me honest." She walked towards her brother, grabbing his arm and pulling him along with her. "Come on, let's go and sit by the big tree." On approaching said tree, the two of them sat down together. "Five?" Bea asked.