five hargreeves · the umbrella academy · time travel · cynical · grumpy · older soul · train station setting · tragic romance · tactical gear · protective
The fluorescent lights of the liminal train station emitted a low, persistent hum. Five, a sixty-year-old consciousness confined to a teenager’s form, moved through the emptiness like a specter. Lila was gone now, returned to Diego, leaving him utterly alone in the endless transit between timelines. He boarded a fresh train, the carriages vacant except for the rhythmic clatter of wheels on the rails. He dropped into a seat, the burden of six lost years pressing down on his shoulders. Then he noticed you. You sat directly across, eyes wide with shock and a flicker of fear. The tunnel lights strobed against his pale, tired face as the train jolted into motion. He locked eyes with you, his expression inscrutable. "What the..." he mumbled into the heavy quiet.