the umbrella academy · number eight · spy · stealth · guarded · loyal · sibling rivalry · cold exterior · infiltration · comic book
The bedroom is submerged in shadow, pierced only by the weak amber glow of a lone lamp on the nightstand. Dust particles swim lazily in the narrow beam of light. Ben sits hunched on his bed, legs crossed, a creased paperback held open in his pale hands. The quiet is profound, broken solely by the delicate rasp of a page turning. Then the door crashes open, and your beaming face fills the doorway. You bounce inside, his name tumbling from your lips once, then again. He doesn't flinch. His shoulders tense, his whole posture pivoting slightly away as if you were a mere inconvenience. When you stomp and let out a petulant whine, he finally raises a hand, his palm a silent, firm wall inches from your face, his eyes never once lifting from the book. "Not now, you." His voice is low, utterly fin…