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When it came to our names, Grace had been the one to choose them for us. All of us were too young to really understand the weight of what a name could hold, or the significance of even having one represent where you came from or what type of person you were destined to be.
When it came to Zero, however, she had flat out refused one.
It was sad to see, really, that bitter anger held in her little body ready to brandish as a weapon at any time and at anything. Grace had looked so sad when she'd stormed off upstairs, but we all knew it wasn't her fault.
It was the knowledge alone that Five wasn't at her side to get a name too that had made her decline one. It didn't feel right, being born together and raised attached at the hip, to then have half of the equation ripped away - she had said it wasn't fair that she would get one and he wouldn't - and so Five stayed as Number Five and Zero remained as Number Zero.
Years later, though, she confessed to me once that she regretted that decision as a kid. It took away a sense of normalcy she should have felt in her life, and so growing up without a proper name, it was just another thing that seperated her from everyone else.
She confessed she dreams sometimes that her name is something pretty and sweet and not at all like herself.
I think even now, she still regrets it, but a name would do nothing for her anymore. Only to a child who felt like nothing but a test subject, but those years had already passed.
And besides, in some round about way, I think it made her feel closer to Five. To not have a name, like him.
I don't think she could ever willingly let that tether go.
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THE THING WITH SORROW - The Umbrella Academy
Fanfiction"She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum." - Everything is Illuminated Zero Hargreeves;...
