Sarcasm | Five Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

19 | late night drives and early morning investigations

"Where's Diego?" Y/N asked as she buckled up, looking back at the entrance of the academy in curiosity,

"He said he wasn't coming. His friend from the police ratted him out. He's in jail," Allison replied, her tone flat with frustration.

Y/N sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat as Allison started the car. They pulled out of the city and headed into the countryside. Rain pattered against the windows, creating a rhythmic backdrop to the otherwise silent drive. The comfortable silence enveloped them like a cocoon, providing a brief respite from the chaos of their lives.

Currently, the sisters were on a small expedition, hoping they could track Vanya down before Harold could even think of hurting her. The Umbrella Academy was not in a good place, with Five on bed rest, Diego in prison, Luther crying in his room, and Klaus doing whatever Klaus does. In a time where the most desperately needed to be working together, they were barely functioning on their own.

"So, uh, how was life back at the Academy after we all left?" Allison asked, breaking the silence.

Y/N gave her an unamused side-glance at the question, wondering where it had came from. She answered, nonetheless.  "It was normal. Even after all the chaos with Five's disappearance and Ben's death...it's kind of what I thought would happen," Y/N answered, playing with her hands. The memories of those turbulent times were still fresh, gnawing at the edges of her thoughts.

"You still miss Ben, right?" Allison's voice softened, her eyes flickering with a mix of nostalgia and sorrow.

"Always," Y/N pursed her lips, looking out the side window at the memory. "He was my friend."

Allison's eyes softened even more at the sight of her sibling. She looked away, fighting back tears. Sure, she hadn't been closest with Y/N during their days at the Academy. In all honesty, she had believed Y/N was a cold-hearted and kept to herself, uncaring what happened to the rest of them.

However, hearing Y/N speak about Ben with such genuine emotion made her rethink her long-held beliefs. She knew Y/N loved Ben, but she hadn't realized just how deeply that love ran.

Allison bit back a sigh as she pondered the sudden partnership between Y/N and Five. Even though the girl didn't admit it after he left the academy, everyone was aware Y/N had a soft spot for her rivalry with Five. Now that Ben's gone, Allison hoped that whatever the new bond Five and Y/N had began to build consisted of, that it would replace the part of her sister that she lost when her brother passed.

"Ben was always there, you know?" Y/N continued, her voice tinged with a rare vulnerability. "Even when it felt like everything was falling apart, he was the one who kept me grounded. Losing him...it felt like losing a part of myself."

Allison nodded, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. "I get that. Ben had this way of making everything seem...okay. Even when it wasn't."

The rain intensified, drumming harder against the car, mirroring the tumultuous emotions swirling inside. The familiar scenery of the countryside blurred past them, a stark contrast to the vivid memories being dredged up.

"Do you ever think about what could have been?" Y/N asked suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper. "If things had been different, if we had all stayed together?"

"All the time," Allison admitted. "But we can't change the past. We can only try to do better now."

Y/N nodded, her gaze distant. "Yeah, I guess so. It's just...hard. Knowing we had something so special and lost it."

Allison reached over, giving Y/N's hand a reassuring squeeze. "We still have a chance to make things right. To be the family Ben always believed we could be."