PYROMANIAC - (Umbrella Academy) X Five Hargreeves

1:13

By the time the two made it to Gimbel Brothers, it was getting late in the evening and the department store was closed. She knew that it wasn't going to stop Five, so he observed the outside carpark to check no one was around, and then both jumped to the inside of the store.

Her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness, only the occasional stream of light coming in from the glass windows from street lamps surrounding the parking lot.

Five immediately went to the nearest rack of bags.

"Here," he handed her a black duffel bag. "Grab some things. I'll meet you back here."

The world was going to end soon if they couldn't put a stop to it. Fuck if she cared about stealing.

She allowed the silence of the store to calm her, allowed the sudden downpour of rain pattering on the windows to be all that she could hear, save for her own feint footsteps as she trailed the isles of clothes.

She didn't know what it was, but the sound of rain drops hitting the windows was something so indescribable in its beauty; the sound and the sight was peaceful. That was the only word she could use to describe it. Peaceful.

Something neither of them had the luxury of keeping in their chaotic lives. Perhaps that was why she valued it so much.

A flash of lightning lit up the row of hoodies in front of her for a second, and she grabbed one and tossed it into the bag. She already had a few random black tops, a few pairs of socks (because socks were a necessity), a red jacket, some black pants and shorts, and now she just needed a pair of decent, durable shoes.

Lena casually stripped herself of the torn shirt she had borrowed from Five and changed right in the middle of the aisle; she put on a large red and orange mottled hoodie and some black mens cargo shorts. Now more of her tattoos were on show, not covered by her socks or long blazer. She felt more like herself just seeing them.

She continued searching the isles for random things, coming across a section for knives. Pulling one from it's casing, she melted the plastic around it and shoved it into the side of the bag securely.

Despite being a weapon herself, having another one on her was a great comfort.

When she got to the racks of shoes she sized down and grabbed some white vans, putting them on and burning through the price tag around the laces.

Turning back, she walked past the juniors clothes and spotted Five standing in the middle of the display section and her eyes narrowed.

"Really? Were doing this?" Her disapproving voice cut through the silence and made him look over his shoulder at her. In the light of a torch he had found, he was looking at a set of mannequins stood on a white panel.

He looked away, scratching the back of his neck.

Lena approached. "No, go ahead. She was your girlfriend for two years, let's just forget your wife of thirty six."

He faced her, hands up defensively. "It"s not like that-"

She hummed, cutting him off. "Sure it's not."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms to match her stance. "Lena."

The girl in front of him was half teasing, half serious and a lot of the time, it was hard to tell.

"Is this why you brought us here?"

"No, we're here because you needed clothes."

"Right," she stepped so she was toe to toe with him, their faces inches away and he didn't back down, the light from the torch on the side illuminating her bemused face. "This is just a coincidence."