#Diego Hargreeves fluff

[shadowbriar]

Diego Hargreeves - Patches

Pairing : Diego Hargreeves x (she/her) Reader Word Count : 1.2k Warning : None. Notes : This might be the introduction of a story I'm working on. I cannot guarantee that I'll have the commitment to continue until it's end so don't have too much hope for this. I am open if you have any The Umbrella Academy requests at the moment, so do hit me up! If you like this story and would like to support me, please visit my kofi page and perhaps get me a coffee?☕

He got eight of them.

For the longest time in her life, she’s never understood the silly yet cruel joke life cursed upon her. To be able to heal everyone but herself, no matter the wound or injury one might have, she’ll cure it in no time, so long as it wasn’t inflicted on her.

Once, it wasn’t this pathetic nor lonely. She had her brothers and sisters to weather to storm through. There were Pogo and Mum to share cookies and stories with. It’s been years since she felt such comfort and to have to drag her feet back to the house that had turned itself from a warm home into a prison before the last days of her departure is surely weighing on her heart.

“Welcome home, dear.”

Her heart was filled with warmth once the familiar motherly voice greets her. The corners of her lips curved into a big smile as she dropped her bags, running to the dearly missed figure, “Mum.”

It took the bot a couple seconds to return the embrace. No doubt that she’s been lacking a lot of upgrades ever since she left. When the two broke the hug, she stared at the ageless caregiver with fulfilled eyes as it stared back at her with its bright smile, blank and not blinking. This might have been the most home she could feel while she’s here.

“You’re not supposed to come,” another voice echoes from the stairs.

“Diego, that’s not very nice.” Mum scolded lightly “Your sister has returned to us.”

The boy showed a thin smile to the bot, patting her lightly on the shoulder, “I think Pogo was looking for you, Mum.”

With a slight nod, the android excused herself out of the room.

Now if Grace’s presence lightened her heart, the sight of this black suited man certainly plummets it.

“You look awful,” She greets, noticing the scars that litter his face “Surely couldn’t find a better nurse than me now, can you?”

“Please,” Diego snorted “You’re more of a deadweight than a nurse, if ever.”

Ouch.

She lets out an exasperated exhale, folding her hands in front of her chest in defence, “Well, I’m not here for you and I don’t take joy either on coming back to this circus, so if you could just get yourself off that non-existent high horse—”

Before she could finish her words, Diego had already walked away as if she wasn’t there to begin with. His back becomes the abundant evidence that whatever bad blood they had years ago is still staining his skin.

It wasn’t always like this, him and her. In fact, they were the inseparable two growing up. If Luther had Allison, Diego had her. The many times she healed his wounds had led them to grow closer as the years went by. He was the one with the most injury to heal, after all. The most careless in battle out of the eight, never backing down from a close combat. Though he would always come out triumphant, a little cut here and there would be something he never escaped from.

“Don’t mind him, he’s giving us all the sour comments,” Allison said as she linked her arms to her “I’m glad to see you.”

She smiles at her sister, squeezing her hand slightly in reassurance, “As I am to see you.”

—-

“You should really learn how to dodge a punch, Diego,” She says as she runs her thumb through his bruise “One of these days you’re going to go home and I may not be able to heal you.”

“Is that a loss on your part or my part?”

Her eyebrow rose, purposely pressing on his bruise without healing it that he winces a little, “Or maybe I just won’t heal you, that’s definitely a loss on your part.”

“As if you’ll ever do that.”

“Is that a challenge?”

Diego tries his best to bite the grin but it proved to be an even harder task than to back out of a fight. He stares at her fondly, finding the jitters in his stomach to amplify the longer he stares yet it feels impossible for him to break the contact. Perhaps she casts a little of her magic everytime she heals him.

“Don’t stare at me like that.”

“Like what?” He asks.

“Like Klaus stares at a bottle of gin,” She says, now examining his other cuts “Like I stare at Mum’s cookies.”

Diego smiles.

“Like Luther stares at Allison.”

“Would it be so bad if I stare that way?”

The wake from the unintended nap hurts her head. Her bed is much smaller than she last remembered with her feet slightly dangling on the edge and how the pillows have certainly lost their fluffiness. Everything in her room stays the same yet at the same time, everything has changed.

—-

Diego defeatedly threw himself to the sofa. He sighs, his knuckles cracking as he tries to ball his fists. The tidal wave of emotions were beating him black and blue in silence. It feels as if he was swallowed by a giant blackhole with no light nor guidance to get out of.

There was no need for him to be rude to her, he knew that. He didn’t want to do it, but seeing her back in their house, hugging and talking to Grace, hurts. It took him years to try and ignore the ghost of her. She was the one force that would fuel his mornings and ease him to sleep at night. She was the one soul that he would always go to seek refuge. She was the one that he would lay his life on the line for without a second of doubt.

But he had to lose it all after one stupid night.

A night that he would never be able to grow out of, both from the horror and the guilt. Diego shut himself out for days following that terrifying night, locking his doors and skipping meals as he tries to think of all the what-if scenarios.

What if he stayed home that night?

What if he forced her to stay home that night?

What if he saved her before she saved him?

What if?

Mindlessly, he reaches for a knife on his left chest. It was a stranger to the rest of his knives collection. Compared to the polished lightweight knives he tucked in his suit, this one butter knife was rather dull. It would serve no harm to anyone, yet he kept it closest to his heart as if it was his most prized possession.

Diego stared at the knife. His brows knitted, examining the item as if it held the answer to all of his questions. Or perhaps some guidance. Anything to help him keep his sanity and not lose the plot now that she’s back in his life. Was she staying or was she leaving for the night? He wasn’t sure. But even if she is leaving, the hours he’d have to spend with her would suffocate nonetheless.

His thumb traces the engraving on the knife’s handle. A little trace of an infinite loop that had somehow become his stress outlet: the number eight.

[samdeancass]

Make It Count

Requested by @acing-dyslexia with prompt #16 from Sentence Prompts: "I'm going to beat you until you can't remember you're own name." "I'll give you one hit. You better make it good."

Pairing: Diego Hargreeves x reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Characters: Diego, Y/N

Description: Y/N is taken by an old enemy of Diego's and when he comes to their rescue, he makes the kidnapper pay.

If you were honest with yourself, you expected to be kidnapped considering who your boyfriend was and who his family were. What you didn't expect, however, is to be kidnapped by somebody you knew.

You were sat in the middle of a darkened room, the only light coming from the small window at the side of you. Your wrists were sore and slightly bleeding from the constant writhing to get out of the ropes. Hearing footsteps coming closer to the door, you sat up straight and put on a stoic expression before your kidnapper entered the room.

"Hello, Y/N. How lovely to see you again." Your eyes widened as your childhood best friend stood in front of you. "Bradley? What the actual hell?!" He chuckled as he walked towards you and knelt down in front of you. "Well, Y/N, it turns out that your boyfriend and I have a rather large rivalry with each other. He keeps beating down my illegal dealings and to be honest, I've had enough."

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. "OK, let me get this straight. Diego is doing good in this world by taking down whatever illegal shit you're doing and you've decided to take me as a way to teach him a lesson?" Bradley smiled at you and tapped your cheek. "Well done, you're catching on." "Well, I want to know something. How did my sweet best friend turn into a full-on criminal mastermind?" He smirked at you and stood up. "That's a story for another day I'm afraid. It seems as though Diego has made his arrival."

A huge smirk spread across your face. "He is going to kick your ass. It was the worst mistake taking me." Bradley made his way behind you and wound a gag tight around your head before pointing a gun at your head. A loud scuffle sounded outside the door and a pang of happiness rang through your body. You weren't scared in the slightest, you knew what Diego was capable of and you knew that he wouldn't let Bradley hurt you.

The door swung open and Diego pushed one of the guards in, ripping his knife out of their chest. Spotting you in the middle of the room, his eyes widened a little but you nodded to signal that you were alright. "You have 3 seconds to move that gun away from their head before I beat the shit out of you."

Bradley pushed the gun further into the side of your head, making you wince a little. Diego growled and Bradley chuckled at how quickly he was getting to him. "Now, now Diego. No need for violence. I just want you to stop interfering with my work. It's getting really annoying and I need to live, ya know?"

"I wouldn't have to interfere if your work was legit but what you're doing is hurting people and it needs to stop. There is no way I'm going to let it carry on." Diego gripped the base of his knife tightly in his hand as he spotted Bradley moving further beside you. "Well, then, I suppose Y/N here will have to say goodbye won't they?" You heard the click of the gun right in your ear and you closed your eyes, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

Before Bradley could shoot Diego threw the knife at the gun and knocked it out of his hand, causing Bradley to stumble back in surprise. "I'm going to beat you until you can't remember you're own name." Diego stalked towards Bradley as if he were prey, a sinister smirk on his face. "I'll give you one hit. You better make it good." "Don't worry, it will be."

Diego swung his fist back and put all of his power into the punch, knocking Bradley completely off his feet and to the ground. Diego climbed on top of him and grabbed the scruff of his shirt. "If you ever touch Y/N again, or even think about them, I won't be so easy on you. I won't just beat your ass, I'll kill you. Understand?" Bradley nodded his head, clearly scared. Diego laughed before swinging his fist back and connected it with Bradley's face, knocking him out cold.

Diego got up and ran over to you, cutting your binds from your hands. You took the gag out of your mouth and smiled at your boyfriend, who offered you his hand to help you up. "You alright? Did he hurt you?" "No, but I did know him. Turns out he was my childhood best friend." Diego raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I will never understand the things that go through these guys heads."

He kissed the side of your head, swung his arm over your shoulders, and walked you out of the building. "Wanna go for food? I'm starving." You rolled your eyes and chuckled before getting into your side of the car. "Trust you to be hungry after beating a guy."

[oscarisaacsspit]

he’s just like me fr

[ur-fav-inactive-writer]

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀 𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐩!

Request | Part Two: I Usually Hate Kids... But She's Fine

Diego Hargreeves x Daughter!Reader

WC: 1572

"Dad!!!! Pleaseee!!!!"

You were following your dad around your house as he completed multiple of his daily tasks. You were pulling at his clothing and begging.

"(Y/N)." He said sternly, in his scary dad voice, you paused instantly. "we are not getting a dog"

"What if... I come up with a whole presentation on why I should get one! Will you let me get one then?"

Diego was so done listening to his daughter beg and beg that he just huffed and agreed, not thinking much of it and just being grateful that he could get some work done without you whining in his ear about getting a dog. You absolutely adored dogs, they were your favourite animal. One time, Klaus was babysitting you and heard about your love of dogs. Then he made the decision to challenge you to name as many as you could. Bad decision. He was sat there for the next 30 minutes listening you go into detail about all the different dog breeds. So it wasn't a shock when you began to beg for a dog almost every single day.

~*~*~*~*~

Diego had forgotten that he agreed to let you give him a presentation on why you should have a dog, but you certainly didn't. Every single moment of free time that you had was spent researching, writing and putting together a presentation. After about a week of doing so, your presentation was finally ready. You dressed yourself smartly and rehearsed your speech, then you called Diego into the living room. He didn't know why you had called him downstairs until he saw a PowerPoint on the TV reading: 'Why I should have a dog, a presentation by (Y/N) (Y/M/N) Hargreeves.'

He huffed in defeat, knowing he'd now have to sit through your presentation even though he was still probably gonna say no anyway. He sat down on the sofa and you began your presentation. You explained what you would need to take proper care of the dog, how you would care for all its needs, walk it, feed it, pick up after it et cetera, et cetera. Diego sat through the presentation, beginning to feel guilty at the fact that you had prepared this whole thing just for him to probably say no. As you progressed through the rather long presentation, Diego began to consider saying yes. From the looks of it, you seemed ready to take care of a dog. Besides, it could protect you when Diego was gone. As you came to a finish on your presentation, Diego was certain he'd get you one. However, he wanted to surprise you...

"So... can I get a dog?"

"I'm sorry, no."

~*~*~*~*~

It had been a few days since Diego had listened to your little speech and since then he had been trying to find the perfect dog. He settled on a golden retriever puppy, knowing how much you loved them. As he walked out of the pet store, he went to the store to get some wrapping paper for the carrier. He wrapped up the carrier; poking holes in the paper to ensure it could breathe. The pup seemed content with being wrapped up and calmly fell alseep inside the carrier. Diego walked in, holding the wrapped-up carrier and called you into the room. Confused, you walked in and saw the present. It wasn't your birthday or Christmas, how come you had a present?

"Well c'mon kid, open it!"

Diego urged, secretly beginning to record what would be one of the happiest moments of your life. Perplexed, you tore open the wrapping paper, revealing the dog. Your face contorted into shock and then you began to cry tears of happiness while opening the carrier and holding the puppy.

"You.. you got me a dog! Oh my god, its so cute, i love it!!!!"

You sprung up from your spot on the floor, putting the dog down and running to hug your dad whilst thanking him profusely. You wrapped your arms around him and he smiled and hugged you back. Excitedly, you turned back to the dog and began playing with it. Diego watched and smiled at your happiness.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ever since Diego had gotten the dog, you were inseperable. The dog followed you around constantly and you were never seen with it. It slept in your bed, played with you, went on walks with you, it did everything with you. So, when Diego's father died and he had to go to the funeral, he knew the dog would have to come too. He got you and the dog into the car and began driving to the mansion, watching you play with the dog always made him crack a smile. You arrived to the house and you scooped the dog into your arms and walked in. It was so empty and such a large space so you put the dog down to walk around. The dog ran off towards someone and you chased it, bumping into your Uncle Luther. The dog smacked into his leg and began pawing at him. Luther just awkwardly stared at the dog and leaned down to pat it on the head.

"Oh, erm.. I'm really sorry he ran over to you, he's just excited."

"Uh, its fine, I guess... wait who even are you?!"

"I'm (Y/N), I'm Diego's daughter."

He backed away a little once he knew you were Diego's. Him and Diego had never really gotten on together very well. He didn't say anything else and just walked out of the room. You just stood there, confused at the whole conversation before the dog ran over to two new people. It was a woman and a man, Allison and Viktor, the woman began aw-ing at the dog, bending down to pat it and stroke it. Viktor was more hesitant and backed away a little. He had never been all that good with animals.

"Aren't you a sweet little thing?" Allison cooed at the puppy. You quickly ran over again, apologising for the dog scaring them. Allison assured you it was okay before quickly realising she had no clue who you were or why you were here.

"Wait.. sweetheart who are you and where are your parents?" You quickly explained how Diego was your father but you had to run off after the dog so you had no idea where he had gone. Allison was shocked at how sweet and adorable you were compared to Diego. You were dressed so sweet and innocent, which was strange considering how dark and gothic Diego's attire was.

Diego rushed into the room to find you talking to Allison and Viktor and grabbed your hand once you had once again picked up your dog. He dragged you away from them, seemingly annoyed that you were talking to them. Allison scoffed at his behaviour, she had just encountered him earlier and he had been rather cold to her and Viktor. All the siblings were told to gather in the living room to dicuss something, you were sat on a cosy chair in a corner of the room, quietly playing with the dog. Nobody had actually come to the living area yet, other than you, but that was because Diego was off somewhere investigating something. One of the adults you hadn't yet met came into the room, quickly spotting you in the corner. He looked strange, dishevelled hair, tattoos on both hands and wearing an old-fashioned skirt with no shirt and a jacket. He nervously walked over to you, kneeling down, looking at you with concern and intrigue.

"Well hi there sweetie, I'm Klaus, what are you doing here? You're not a ghost, are you?"

He said softly, his voice becoming more nervous towards the end of his sentence. You looked at him, slightly afraid, the last part of what he said had scared you slightly.

"N-no, I'm (Y- Y/N).. I'm Diego's daughter and I'm not a ghost!"

He gasped after hearing that you were Diego's daughter, he hadn't taken notice of the dog on your lap and suddenly it jumped up at him. He squaled in surprise at the dog and fell backwards. You also shrieked, caught off guard by the sudden loud noise. Your dad and uncle Luther burst into the room, alarmed at the sudden commotion, Diego being concerned about your safety. As they finally got there, all they saw was Klaus on the floor, an alarmed expression displayed on his features, with the dog licking his face and you giggling hysterically. They sighed in relief, seeing that nobody had been hurt.

They had their meeting and you began to get tired, Diego decided he'd just take you home instead of making you sit through a miserable funeral. He excused himself and drove you and the dog home. You passed out on your bed, the dog laying next to you. Diego smiled at you and shut the door.

(A/N: I really don't like this story but whatever)

Taglist: @book-place @shefollowedthestars

[lilacliquors]

pairing: diego hargreeves x reader

word count: 1155

notes: on the fifth day of ficmas, lilacliquors gave to me ... making hot cocoa for diego hargreeves!

content warnings for: mentions of blood, knives, and violence ( doesn't sound christmas-y but i promise it makes sense )

it was hard, being a vigilante. for diego, it was a thankless job, but then again, he couldn’t remember the last time he stuck around long enough to maybe hear a thank you. he was a lone wolf, with the last person he dared to get close to ending up dead in a motel room, and the guilt ate him alive. maybe that was why he was in and out as fast as he was. it was too much of a risk, especially if he had the cops called on him again.

but one cold winter night, something felt different. it was the holidays, and around this time, crime always seemed to pick up. there had been a break in nearby, and as far as he knew, the authorities hadn’t been alerted. and that wasn’t a good sign. so, donning his mask and knives, he hurried to the scene of the crime. it was in a town house complex, full of single family units. the usual targets for these late night crimes. he crept over to the home and peered in through the smashed window, but he didn’t see much. before he pulled away, however, there was a muffled scream, and the sound of more glass smashing. without a second thought, diego climbed through the broken window and landed on the ground, wincing as a few shards of glass pricked at his skin. but there was no time to waste. 

he was silent as he inched up the stairs, and he could hear stifled cries coming from behind a shut bedroom door. faint pleas could be heard on the other side, and he gripped the hilt of one of his knives tightly. he had to come up with a plan, and fast. simply opening the door could get the hostage killed, so he would have to lure the burglars out into the hall. he slipped into the hall bathroom and whistled, a sharp, high pitched sound, and then it was quiet. aside from the creaking of the shut bedroom door.

“who the fuck?” a gruff voice asked, but diego remained silent

“seeing anything?” a second person asked.

“nah, think our host is just trying to play some games with us. and i’m not the playful type,” the first man said. they both chuckled, but then, there was a whipping sound in the air, and the first man barely had time to register what had happened before he dropped to the ground, blood spilling from his neck.

“what the fuck?!” the second man yelled, and he looked to the wall to see a single knife sticking out of it. then, he felt a sharp piercing feeling in his chest, and he dropped. the blade of a second knife was lodged in his chest, right where his heart was. both men were lifeless on the ground, and inside the bedroom, you were terrified.

you could only stare at the bodies, watching as the blood stained the carpeting in the hall, and you didn’t move. you only looked up when you saw your savior in the hall, the mask obscuring the area around his eyes. he looked at you, and decided to leave the knives where they were. they would prove your innocence when you called the police, and that was the most he could offer at that moment. he turned to leave, but then you were on your feet, moving on autopilot.

“wait!” you called, and he paused. no one ever asked him to wait.

“yeah? what is it?” he asked, glancing at you over his shoulder.

“you … you saved my life,” you said softly, carefully stepping over the bodies and blood to meet him in the hall.

“just doing my job,” he replied with a shrug.

“well, i … thank you,” you whispered, tugging at the ends of your sleeves. “i don’t want to imagine what they would have taken from me if you hadn’t been here. i … here, come with me.”

you motioned for him to follow you, and to his surprise, you led him down into the kitchen. he was cautious, but watched as you took two mugs down from the cupboard, then grabbed cocoa powder, milk, whipped cream, and a larger pot from around your kitchen.

“uh … what are you doing?” he asked, his head tilting slightly.

“i, well, it’s gonna sound silly but i — it’s cold out, and i know you have to go back out there, so … i thought i’d make you a mug of hot cocoa before i have to … take care of everything,” you said, and you felt your face warm up. 

diego was taken aback. no one had ever really thanked him before, let alone offered to make him something. he was never encouraged to stay long. most of the time, people didn’t want his help anyways.

“oh, that’s … that’s really nice. thank you,” he replied, and you nodded. quietly, you set to work making the drinks. you added milk to the pot and let it boil, then added the cocoa powder to it. you mixed it for a bit, then turned off the heat and gently poured it into the mugs. you added whipped cream, then handed him one of the mugs with a small smile.

“hope you like it,” you said quietly, then sipped at your own. he did the same, and it was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. this whole moment was unlike anything he had ever experience before. this was what it felt like to be … appreciated. it was quiet as you both enjoyed your drinks, and then, in the distance, you could hear sirens.

“shit,” he mumbled, setting his now empty mug down. “i need to go.”

“guess the neighbors called someone. better late than never. but really, thank you. thank you so much. if you hadn’t gotten here when you did —”

“good thing you don’t need to worry about that. it was … nice meeting you. i’m … i’m diego,” he said, the words out of his mouth faster than he could stop them.

“diego. it’s nice to meet you. i’m —”

the sirens were getting louder, cutting you off, and you looked at him with an apologetic gaze. you were quick to snatch his mug and wash it, then set it back in the cupboard, trying to erase any sign of him being there.

“will i see you again?” you asked, watching out the window as flashing lights began to brighten your kitchen.

“i’d like to. and, uh, i know your address …” he mumbled, and you chuckled.

“you sure do. now go, before they catch you here!”

diego nodded and headed for the back door, glancing at you as he felt a smile on his lips. you … you were someone special. and he wanted to see you again. and your kindness, and hot cocoa, kept him warm the whole way home.

[redroses07]

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Fix It Fic // Five Hargreeves x Reader Edition

WC: 3.1k

CW: Canon accurate violence, swearing, kissing, use of Y/N, Y/N is a bad ass, domestic fluff, angsty af.

Summary: A Five x Fem!Reader rewrite for the end of season four because I absolutely hated the ending. Five and Lila are not a thing in this fic, because that made me literally gag.

A/N: Hey luvs! I worked my ass off writing this fic because I needed to have a better ending for season four. In my mind this fic is canon. I hope y'all like it because I truly love how it turned out! Have an amazing day and enjoy! - Claire ♡

Five sat on the empty train, riding round in aimless circles. He had no intention of ever stopping. Perhaps he would die here, if death was even possible in this endless void. There was no reason for him to continue, they were out of options.

All he wanted to do was save his family, save you, but he couldn't even do that. At least this way he could escape having to witness the end of their lives.

He couldn't help but feel as if this was all his fault, if only he had listened to Reginald when he told him never to time travel. So much pain, so many lost lives, it never would have happened.

Five looked out the window, he didn't know what exactly for. Everything looked the same. Round and Round again, each identical station feels more hopeless than the last.

After an immeasurable amount of time, days? years? who knows. Something caught Five's eye.

He jumped up from his seat, following the dark figure out into the station.

Was that? No.

"Hey, wait!" Five shouted, chasing him down a staircase.

He rounded a corner, seeing a dimly lit cafe filled with all too familiar faces. The place was filled with several alternate versions of Five himself. It was an odd feeling for him to see himself this way.

Nonetheless, he took a seat across from the Five he had followed.

No more than ten seconds later, another Five served up two pastrami sandwiches. Five number two began to complain about the amount of sauerkraut on his sandwich, staring intently at the meal.

"What is this place?" Five asked, reaching for the cup of hot coffee next to him.

"It's a gas station. What the hell does it look like? It's a Deli." He could see that the alternate Five share his love of sarcasm.

He went on to explain how this was a place where all of the Five's from alternate timelines end up while trying to fix the "broken timeline" issue.

"Okay, so what shattered the original timeline?" Five asked.

"Not what. Who? I'll give you three guesses." Alternate Five held up three fingers.

"We did!" Another Five yelled.

Five wasn't surprised, everything always seemed to be caused by him.

"By we, do you mean my siblings?" Five asked.

"Yep, the morons."

Five rolled his eyes.

"When we come into existence, the timeline is shattered, and then we're stuck trying to save the world. How many times was it again?"

"145,412."

The number seemed almost impossible to fathom, but the more alternate realities, the more opportunity for the world to end. Alternate Five pointed at the wall, which was filled with every possible way the world had ended. Viktor's attempt at blowing up the moon was front and center. Seeing it gave Five an unpleasant sense of nostalgia.

Five came to realize that the commission was created by an alternate Five in an attempt to fix the timeline, but it was never successful since the Hargreeves siblings were the root of the problem.

"I have to get back." Five turned, rushing out the door. He heard the alternate versions of himself begin to speak, but his overwhelming thoughts drowned it out.

Five ran as fast as he could, getting back on the train and returning to his rightful place. With his family.

As Five entered the abandoned shell of his former home, the room's occupants turned to look at him.

The first person he noticed was you. You watched him with sad eyes, eyes he thought he would never have to gaze into again. Yet here he was, and undeniably, he had a plan.

You watched Five scan the room. Dark hair hung in front of his eyes, his chest heaved from running, or perhaps from anxiety.

"I didn't think you'd be back." You purse your lips, giving him a sour look. '

Facing your bitterness was the hardest part of all this for Five. Of course you had every right to feel that way, he had just up and left you. Although, in his mind that was better than having to watch you die.

"Yeah, neither did I." Five muttered.

Everyone looked at him, obviously awaiting an explanation.

"We caused this." Five began.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alison sighed.

You stared at Five intently, wondering what had changed since he decided to ditch you and everyone else.

"The marigold that infected our mothers bringing forth our births had a side effect, it fractured the timeline, bringing forth the end of the world."

Five looked from person to person, attempting to read everyone's emotions. They were unreadable.

"Extracting the marigold from our bodies is the only way to stop the cleanse, and in short, fix the timeline."

Silence settled over the room. You weren't born with marigold as the Hargreeves were, but due to Ben's antics, this now concerns you too.

"Okay, but how exactly do we do that?" Diego asked.

Five looked over to Viktor.

"Viktor, you can use your powers to extract the Marigold from our bodies. Unfortunately Ben and Jennifer are too far gone to be saved, but their sacrifice will have been for the greater good."

Viktor let out an elongated sigh, and with little to no hesitation, he agreed.

"Okay, let's get moving before it's too late." Viktor said, speeding out of the room.

You followed closely behind, trying your hardest to avoid Five's gaze.

"Y/N, I-" You cut him off, this was not the time to be talking about all the mistakes he had made. Even if those mistakes led to the answer for all your troubles, they were still mistakes.

"We can talk about this later, if there is one."

Five sighed and watched you exit the room, not even bothering to look his way. He had fucked up big time.

You watched Viktor head towards the monster that was Ben and Jennifer. The creature growled, as it hurdled towards your group.

You turned back as you felt someone grab your arm, Five was standing behind you. You saw something in him that you had only seen a few times before, fear.

"Please. If we don't make it through this I want to make sure we're okay." Five begged for your forgiveness.

In any other circumstance you would not have given in this easily, but the dire situation has just begun to settle in. This could be it.

Neither of you wanted to leave this world with so many words unsaid.

Your gaze softened, and you followed Five away from the other Hargreeve's.

"I know what I did was wrong. With every bone in my body I feel that it was wrong."

He spoke loudly enough to drown out the oncoming chaos, but softly enough to omit any sort of aggression.

Five reached for your hands, and you reluctantly let him take them.

Five paused for a moment, trying to find the words that would mean the most, considering he was dealing with limited time.

"My worst fear is to see you suffer, and at the time, running away seemed like my only escape. I feel like I've already caused so much hardship in your life, and the thought of any more terrified me." His eyes stayed glued to you.

Five was the whole reason you had joined The Commission to begin with. He helped you to believe in a cause that you otherwise wouldn't have, and the two of you hadn't left each other's side since.

You didn't regret it per say, but you couldn't deny that you often wished for a different life. You would never blame any of your circumstances on Five though, and you hated how he always chose to blame himself.

"Nothing that has happened to me, or to anyone, is your fault. I think all of us share some responsibility, but blaming yourself is just wrong." You squeezed Five's clammy hands.

Five let out a sigh of relief as he was able to recognize forgiveness in your eyes.

"I love you." He said, fighting the tears that began to form in the corners of his eyes. The phrase was reserved only for you, as it is a concept that has always been hard for five.

Growing up with Reginald as a father, and a family that could win an Olympic gold medal in dysfunctionality, Five didn't exactly have a positive outlook on love.

"I love you too. We've been through worse, we'll get through this too."

Five pulled you into a tight hug, breathing you in as if it was the last chance he would ever get to hold you. The two of you were versed in the end of the world, this was not the first final hug you had shared. Five placed a soft kiss on the top of your head, and he didn't miss the small cry that escaped your lips.

You rarely cried, and when you did it was always around Five. He was the only person you felt comfortable enough with to show vulnerability. It was the perfect moment, and the past few days had worn down your patience. You reluctantly let a few tears slip loose.

"Get your asses over here love birds, Ben is here." Diego called from the other side of the room.

You and Five exchanged a look before running over to the center of the room and rejoining your family.

Ben growled ferociously, the red goo that dripped from his body falling around the room.

"Just so you guys know, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. So if we all die, I apologize in advance." Viktor said, clenching his fists on either side.

His newly improved orange power began to swirl around his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, clearly focusing on the task at hand.

You reached for Five's hand, interlocking your fingers with his. If these were to be your last moments, you wanted to make sure he was with you.

Five gripped your hand with everything he had in him, every bit of strength was to remind you of his presence.

With each moment that passed, the colorful plume of Viktor's powers grew, encasing not only Ben and Jennifer, but all of you.

You and Five watched as the all too familiar gold marigold specks began to float through the air. It felt odd, it didn't hurt, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling. It was like your whole body was being poked by a prickly cactus.

The air turned cold, and all other sounds were overcome by the rumbling of Viktor's power.

An unbearable wave of exhaustion washed over you, and it became hard for you to keep your eyes open.

You looked over at Five, making eye contact with him one last time. He gave you his signature smirk, funny how in spite of everything he could still be himself.

The last thing you saw was Ben falling to the floor, the marigold protruding from him filling the whole room with a deep yellow glow.

And just like that, the world turned black.

· · ─────── ·☂· ─────── · ☂ · ─────── ·☂· ─────── · ·

Five opened his eyes, the bright light of day overwhelming his vision. The ground beneath him was soft, the tall grass tickling his fingertips.

Five sat up slowly, his eyes adjusting to the sun. He looked over next to him, and there you were. Just as you had always been, right by his side. Your chest rose slowly, a thankful sign that you were still alive.

Five looked beyond you, to see his siblings all scattered around the lawn. They were all exactly where they had been before the blackout. The empty patch of grass, of course, was where the Hargreeve's mansion used to stand.

Without the existence of their powers, The Umbrella Academy was never formed. It was strange, to know that what Five remembered, no one else did. It was like waking up from a strange dream.

However, one thing was missing, Ben. And of course Jennifer. Five wasn't surprised that they hadn't made it, considering how their bodies were overtaken.

Five watched as his siblings slowly began to rise from their temporary comas, their eyes heavy and glazed over.

Five nudged you slightly. Unable to wait for you to wake, wanting to share this beautiful moment with you.

You opened your eyes and felt as if you had awoken from a decades long slumber. The first thing you saw was Five next to you, a genuine smile on his face. That was something you had missed.

"Are we in heaven?" Klaus mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Well if this was heaven, I'd be awfully disappointed." Lila replied.

You laughed to yourself, and stood up on wobbly legs.

You all had done it.

"Viktor. I think you might have just saved the world." Luther announced.

Viktor smiled and looked down, maybe eventually he'd let himself take the credit.

You began to take in your surroundings. The sound of traffic in the distance, the wind stinging your cheek, the smell of spring air. It was all so normal.

"Guys, where's Ben?" Klaus asked, and your heart dropped.

"Klaus...we all knew he probably wouldn't make it.." Alison said sadly.

Just then, something caught your eye. Something yellow that stuck out in the patch of green.

"Guys, look!" You pointed at the unique plant.

"Marigolds." Five said softly, and you felt his hand close around yours.

Two beautiful yellow flowers sprouted from the earth, a reminder of what was sacrificed. A reminder of what had to happen for all of this to exist, and a symbol of hope.

~~ Two Years Later ~~

You awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside your window, a song that was often your wake-up call. You rolled over to see Five sleeping peacefully next to you. You weren't surprised. He always slept late, after all, he was an old man at heart.

It had been two years of living freely in the new timeline. You and Five now share an apartment next to Lila and Diego and their three kids.

Life wasn't without its challenges, but compared to everything else the two of you had been through this was paradise.

Viktor had started his own Cafe, a small shop on a street corner that had quickly become a local favorite.

Alison had landed a big movie role not long after everything returned to normal. Ever since it hit the big screen, she had no problem with job offers. She didn't even miss her power of persuasion.

Klaus still lives with Alison. He doesn't really do anything specific, he often refers to himself as 'self-employed'. But he was happy, and that was all that really mattered.

Luther had somehow reconnected with Sloane, who had re-appeared after the timeline was fixed. Of course she didn't remember anything, but it must've been fate because they got to fall in love all over again.

Diego decided to put his skills acquired from his power to use and now taught axe throwing classes.

Lila had decided to help people who had ended up in a mental hospital, similar to how she had. She was working on getting her degree in psychology.

As for you and Five. Five kept his CIA job, and you decided to join him in his career. As the two of you had always done everything together, why not this too?

You felt Five stir next to you, letting out a series of groans. He slowly opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face the moment he saw you.

"Good morning, beautiful." His morning voice is thick and deep.

"I love you." You whispered, pushing his messy hair out of his eyes.

Five leaned up to kiss you but you counteracted it by jumping out of bed. You pulled the blanket off of him and he whined in protest.

"Time to get up, Gramps, Lila wants us to drive the kids to school today."

Five rolled his eyes at the nickname. You snickered and kissed him on the cheek before heading to the bathroom to get ready.

After the two of you grabbed breakfast, you met Lila outside, Grace and the twins behind her.

"Thank you again for helping us out with this, I don't know how I'd ever get to work on time without you." Lila gave you a quick hug.

"Of course, whatever you need." You ushered her away, signaling that you could take it from here.

You were used to driving the kids places, and they always said you were their favorite aunt. Five however, could not surpass Klaus for favorite uncle.

"Alright guys, who's ready for school?" You said as you jumped in the driver's seat.

There was a chorus of enthusiastic cheers from the back, and you laughed.

"I was never that excited about school when I was your age." The kids had no idea how long ago that actually was for you.

You made sure to put on some kid friendly music, anything but Baby Shark. You dropped the kids off and made sure they all got inside safely.

"Anything else on the schedule for today?" Five asked you.

"Nope, we're both off today so I think the rest of our day is free."

"Great, we should do absolutely nothing." Five's eyes lit up with excitement.

You nodded in agreement and drove towards your home.

Once you arrived, the both of you threw on pajamas and cuddled up in bed. Five flung his arms around you and rested his head on your shoulder, simultaneously letting out a big sigh.

"I love you." He mumbled in your ear.

Even after all these years he still made you blush every time he said those three little words.

"I love you more." You pressed a kiss to Five's nose and he scrunched it up before responding with a chaste kiss to your lips.

After breaking apart you and Five settled into each other's arms, excited to spend a calm day together.

He reached for the remote and flicked on the TV. The small kiss he placed on your forehead didn't go unnoticed.

As Five settled into this new life, he found it hard not to expect a new life altering crisis to pop up at any moment. But it never did.

As the day dragged on, nothing out of the ordinary happened; and you could almost say that it was an ordinary day.

Taglist: @xreader-writing @dorkyfangirl24 @dinorawrss @anne-oop @ladynaviamin @i-amtrash @patchesofdreams @sarbear33 @marinalor

[moonyswoony]

A stitch in the heart

pairing: Diego hargreeves x reader

Summary: After Five’s betrayal you and Diego find unexpected comfort in each other.

Warning(s): making out, insults, humour

Your fingers trace the edge of the old, worn-out armchair, a painful reminder of all the moments you thought you once shared with him. A hollow feeling settles in your chest, and you can’t decide what hurts more—the betrayal or the fact that you actually hadn’t seen it coming.

The doorbell rings sharply, startling you from your thoughts. You hesitate before opening it, your heart sinking as you see Diego standing there. He had come straight from the Umbrella Academy’s chaotic mess, having heard about the situation from Klaus, who had filled him in on the details. Diego’s dark eyes are filled with frustration and concern as he steps into the apartment.

“I didn’t know he was that stupid,” Diego says, his voice rough with a mix of irritation and empathy. His short brown hair is slightly tousled, and his mustache gives him a rugged, determined look.

You scoff, biting back the tears that threaten to spill. “Neither did I. But hey, at least I’m not the one who’ll be dodging flying knives for a while.”

Diego’s jaw clenches, the muscles working under his skin as he processes your pain. He had always been the protector, the one to throw himself into danger without a second thought, but this was different. He couldn’t punch Five without making things worse—without hurting you even more.

“He’s an idiot,” Diego mutters, stepping closer. His presence is like a comforting weight, a reminder that not everyone in this messed-up world would abandon you. “And if he wasn’t, I’d be happy to throw him off a building for you.”

You look up at him, trying to find solace in his words, but the wound was too fresh, too deep. “You’re way too good at the ‘throwing people off buildings’ thing, Diego. I’d hate to see what you could do if you really put your mind to it.”

Diego’s jaw twitches into a reluctant smile. “Trust me, I’ve got a lot of practice. But this isn’t about me or Five or Lila. This is about you.”

“You mean it’s not about making sure Five ends up face-first in the dirt?” you ask, a hint of sarcasm in your voice.

He shakes his head, his expression serious again. “Look, I know you’re hurting. And I’m not saying Five isn’t a jerk—he is. But you don’t deserve to be dragged down by his mistakes.”

A heavy silence sits between you, filled with unspoken words and the shared history that ties you both to the people who had hurt you. Diego has his own scars, the ones Lila had left on his heart. He knew betrayal, maybe as well as you did.

“Lila…” you began, but Diego cuts you off.

“She’s not worth it,” he says sharply, his tone brooking no argument. “And neither is he.”

His words are a balm, a gentle reminder that you aren’t alone in your pain. You take a deep breath, feeling the weight of the day begin to lift, if only slightly.

Diego’s hand finally finds its way to your shoulder, a tentative touch that sends a shiver down your spine. His fingers, rough but warm, rest gently on your skin. “You don’t have to go through this alone, you know.”

You look up at him, really look at him. The scars, the bruises, the lines of worry etched into his features—Diego had always been there, in the background, watching out for you even when you didn’t realize it.

“I’m sorry about Lila,” you whisper, not really sure why you’re apologizing. Maybe because it feels like you should, because your pain is linked to his in a way you hadn’t expected.

Diego shakes his head, his expression softening. “Don’t be. That chapter’s over. Has been for a long time.”

There’s something in his eyes, something that made your heart skip a beat. He’s not lying, he had moved on. But from the way he’s looking at you, you wonder if he had been waiting for you to realize you needed to move on too.

And maybe… maybe with him.

“Diego,” you breathe, the air between you crackling with a sudden tension, a shift that makes your heart race for an entirely different reason.

His fingers tighten on your shoulder, his gaze dropping to your lips for the briefest moment before returning to your eyes. “If you ever want to forget about him,” he says, voice low and intense, “I’m right here.”

The world seemed to narrow down to the space between you, the inches that felt like miles. Your breath hitched, your heart pounding in your chest. This was the Diego you knew so well—hotheaded, stubborn, fiercely loyal Diego. The man who had been by your side through thick and thin, who was willing to pick up the pieces of your heart when they fell apart.

You take a step closer, your hand coming up to rest on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart under your palm. His eyes darken, and he leans in, his breath warm against your skin. The tension between you is palpable, like the air before a storm.

Then, as if on cue, he closes the gap between you two.

The kiss is urgent, his lips surprisingly soft as snow.It all feels like a desperate attempt to make something beautiful out of the wreckage of the day.

The kiss deepens, growing more fervent as you both lose yourselves in the heat of the moment. Diego’s hands roam to your back, pulling you impossibly closer, his embrace enveloping you completely. His lips move with a new, careful intensity, exploring your mouth with a touch of tenderness and need.

After a few moments, Diego pulls back slightly, his forehead resting against yours. His eyes sparkle with a playful glint, and he gives a light-hearted chuckle. “You know,” he smirks “Before Lila came along and turned everything upside down, I actually had a crush on you.”

You look at him, surprised and amused. “Seriously? You had a crush on me?”

Diego nods, grinning. “Yep, and I guess I was so busy trying to play the tough guy that I didn’t realize honesty might’ve worked out better. But hey, Five and Lila didn’t exactly set the bar high, did they?”

You laugh, shaking your head. “True, true. It’s not like they made the most convincing case for keeping things simple.”

Diego chuckles, pulling you closer again. “Exactly. And honestly, if I’m better at anything, it’s being upfront about my feelings.”

You smile, feeling the warmth of his words and the comfort of his embrace. “I guess that’s something I can definitely appreciate.”

Diego leans in for another kiss, his lips brushing against yours with renewed fervor and for the first time in a while, the future feels like something worth fighting for.

[hihomeghere]

Meet The Family: Part of the Tesoro Series

Five Hargreeves / F!Reader

Word Count : 3k Summary : Five finds a way to return to 2019, you both break your contract with the commission and you meet your in-laws for the first time. Aged up!Five, reader has the ability to shapeshift. Fluff with a lil bit of angst if you squint. ( I do not own the umbrella academy or any of it's characters ) Warnings : Cursing, drinking, allusions to sex, talking about death

“Do you trust me?” Five asked, both of you standing on the grassy knoll. You nodded, staring into his eyes.

“Of course I do.” He wet his lips nervously, looking around. 

“Okay,” he said, wiping his hands off on his pants. You grabbed his hand squeezing it.

“Hey,” he turned to look at you, “whatever happens we face it together, okay?” You squeezed his hand again, giving him a small smile. He nodded, returning the smile. Although his didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hold onto me, okay?” He said holding your eye contact. You nodded, grabbing his bicep, gripping his gray coat sleeve. It definitely was a struggle, but slowly the blue portal opened. The wind whipped your hair in front of your face, Five’s yells grew louder. Suddenly his hands passed through the blue, with you following behind him. You felt your body warp as you pushed through. It was similar to changing, but your body wasn’t changing outwards, it felt like it was being turned in on yourself.

And then you were falling, fortunately for you, and unfortunately for Five, he broke your fall. You both groaned as you rolled off of him onto the wet pavement. You took in deep gasps of air, your hand coming to your chest as you closed your eyes. Tiny pebbles rubbed against your hands, getting stuck under your fingernails. You heard Five shuffle next to you, his feet scraping on the pavement as he stood up.

“Shit,” you snapped your eyes open, why did he sound so different? You gasped as your eyes fell on your husband. He was young, younger than when you had first met him. Early 20s, maybe? 

“Does anyone else see Number Five and some girl or is that just me?” A man’s voice said. You looked up staring at a group of people you quickly deciphered as Five’s siblings. You looked down at yourself, your hands were still scarred, but they looked fresh. Like they had looked when you first escaped the lab, you shook your head. If Five was younger, then that meant you must be too. You felt your face, the wrinkles around your eyes were gone. You were young again. 

“What’s the date? The exact date?” Five said walking around the kitchen. You felt yourself shrink under his siblings' gaze. Mainly Klaus who seemed enamored by you. You had already caught his gaze once and he had given you a strange little wave while criss crossed on the table. If he moved his knee the wrong way you were sure you would get to see a bit more than you wanted to of your new in-laws. 

“The 24th.” Vanya said, still in disbelief.

“Of what?” Five asked exasperated.

“Of March?” She said her eyes never leaving Five.

“Good.” He continued making his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. 

“So are we gonna talk about what just happened?” Luther spoke up, eyeing you warily, “And who the hell is this?” He whispered, leaning closer to Five. Five continued making his sandwich, refusing to meet Luther’s eyes.

“This is Y/n, my wife.” He said as though it was an obvious observation.

“Your wife?” Alison said, her head snapping to look at you.

“How’d you land her? Did you kidnap her?” Klaus snorted looking between you and Five. You smiled, looking down at your lap.

“We have bigger problems than Five’s girlfriend at the moment. It’s been 17 years!” Luther said standing up, Five scoffed turning to face him.

“It’s been a lot longer than that.” He said before he blinked behind him. “And she’s my wife, you’ll treat her as such, got it?” He said over his shoulder. 

“I haven’t missed that.” Luther sighed, staring forward where Five once was. You looked at all the siblings. Vanya was the closest to you, she seemed timid. Alison was next, standing up with her arms crossed. Then Klaus, and Diego, who was staring daggers at you at the moment before he turned his gaze to Five.

“Where’d you go?” Diego asked, his eyes returning to you. You gulped, returning your gaze to your hands. 

“The future. It’s shit by the way.” Five said grabbing marshmallows and blinking back to the table.

“Called it!” Klaus said, raising a finger.

“I should have listened to the old man.” Five sighed moving around the kitchen like he hadn’t been gone for more than a day. “You know jumping around space is one thing.” He opened the fridge door looking inside, “jumping through time is a toss of the dice.” He stood at the head of the table. “Nice dress.” He said, looking Klaus over.

“Oh, well danke!” Klaus smiled before Vanya cut him off.

“Wait, how did you get back?” She asked, putting her hands up, unable to comprehend Five’s nonchalant attitude.

“In the end I had to project my consciousness forward into a quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time.”

“That makes no sense.” Diego mumbled looking at the tile floor, “how did she get through.” His eyes flicked up toward you. You felt your face heat up, and you turned to look at Five.

“I opened the portal allowing her to follow, and it would make sense if you were smarter.” Diego jumped up, only being held back by Luther.

“How long were you there?” Luther asked.

“Forty five years. Give or take. Including my time spent at our old job.” The commission. You felt your blood run cold, how could you have forgotten? Did they already have a team out looking for you? Working long enough for the Handler you knew the workings of her mind. She could never get over the fact that you and Five were together. Call it jealousy, or call it the inability to completely control someone. You weren’t stupid, you saw how she looked at Five, it made your blood boil. She wouldn’t kill him, he was too valuable to her, you on the other hand were good as dead. 

“So what are you saying? You’re 58?” Luther asked, all his siblings having the same confused expression on their face.

“No, my consciousness is 58.” He said before putting a slice of bread over his sandwich monstrosity. “Apparently my body is now 20 again.”

“Wait, how does that even work?” Vanya asked, shaking her head. Five took a bite of his sandwich before turning back to you. He picked up the newspaper sitting on top of the table.

“Guess we missed the funeral.” He said, no discernible tone in his voice.

“How’d you know about that?” Luther asked his eyes never leaving Five.

“What part of the future do you not understand?” Five said furrowing his brows. You looked up, Alison was looking at you this time. She offered you a small smile which you returned. Although it felt more like a grimace.

“Heart failure, huh?”

“Yeah.” Diego said before being cut off by Luther.

“No.” Five clicked his tongue walking over to you.

“Nice to see nothings changed.” He said before turning to you. His cold fingers brushed against your arm, his brows furrowed seemingly deep in thought. He grabbed your hand leading you out of the kitchen.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Alison asked, throwing her hands up in the air. As Five pulled you after him.

“What else is there to say? The circle of life.” He said looking over his shoulder.

-

“Five come to bed.” You said leaning on the spare bedroom door. You pulled your robe tighter around your body crossing your arms. Five stood in front of his whiteboard, equation after equation covering the board. He hadn’t even changed out of his work clothes yet. His tie hung loosely around his neck, you could just imagine how he had been pulling at it. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his top two buttons were unbuttoned.

“In a minute, dearest.” He waved at you, his face never leaving the board. You sighed walking up behind him, wrapping your arms around him. You laid your head against his back, moving with him every time he leaned forward to change something. The only sound in the room was his heart against your ear and the squeak of the pen. 

“Five,” you whined. He sighed, setting his pen down. He held your hands against his stomach.

“Yes tesoro?” He turned, moving you so you were standing in front of him. 

“I’m tired.”

“Then go to bed.” He said as though talking to a small child. You rolled your eyes, giving him a look. He smiled before kissing your head. His mustache bristled against your forehead.

“Not without you.” If he wanted to treat you like a child, fine. You stared up at him through your eyelashes, your lower lip jutting out. 

“Now that’s not fair.” He scolded, a smile on his face. You laughed breaking your pout, you took his hands leading him out of the room.

“Come on Mr. Hargreeves,” you cooed a smirk on your lips. He tried to glare at you, but slowly a smile crept on his face. 

“What will you give me, Mrs. Hargreeves?” He teased his hands finding the tie to your robe.

“Guess you’ll have to find out.” You leaned forward whispering against the shell of his ear. He chuckled lowly, letting you pull him into your shared bedroom

-

He blinked you both up into his old bedroom. You sat on his bed staring at your hands. He opened up his closet, muttering under his breath.

“Well, the first meeting with the in-laws wasn’t too bad.” You said watching his back.

“Mm.” He grumbled, rifling through the closet.

“Are you okay?” You asked, sliding off his bed to your feet.

“No!” He snapped, turning to look at you, “We’re stuck in these bodies! The world is about to end and I have no idea what to do!” He yelled, running a hand through his hair.

“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll figure it out, we always do.” You soothed approaching him like a cornered animal.

“Yeah, how'd that work the last time?” He scoffed a sarcastic smile on his face. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked, crossing your arms.

“It was the decimal! If I had had time to look over my equations I would have seen it.” He seethed, you recoiled.

“Are you saying this is my fault?” You furrowed your brows.

“Yes!” He threw his hands up, “If you wouldn’t have bothered me, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” He snarled his finger in your face. You grit your teeth, trying to keep your cool. 

“Obviously you need some time by yourself.” You said coolly, walking away from him.

“Fucking finally.” He scoffed, shaking his head as you slammed the door behind you.

-

You flew down the stairs, all but running into Vanya.

“Oh,” you said as you bumped into her, almost losing your balance, “sorry.” 

“It’s ok.” She says, “Are you ok?” She asks. You bite your lip, looking behind you.

“No.” You answer honestly, crossing your arms, “Your stupid brother is the biggest asshole I know.” You huffed.

“Yeah,” She smiled, chuckling slightly, “he can be a real pain the the ass.” You smiled looking back at her. You fell into an uncomfortable silence, before she said. “But he seems to really love you.” She gives you a smile.

“Well he’s got a funny way of showing it.” You shake your head.

“Five has never been the most emotionally mature person,” she chuckles, crossing her arms, “but none of us are, you saw that earlier.” You admired her honesty. 

“I appreciate it, Vanya.” You smiled, touching her arm.

“Listen, if you want to take the edge off, dads liquor cabinet is that way.” She points towards a room off the atrium.

“Thank you, I might take you up on that offer.” You nod heading that way, “see you around.” 

She smiles and nods as you walk into the living room. 

You groan, immediately face to face with a large oil painting of your husband.

“Yeah I feel that way about my siblings more often than not.” Klaus says stretching on the couch. You jump, your hand coming to your heart. “Oh woah!” He sits up looking at you. “Your hair! How did you do that!” He smirks pointing to his own head.

You smile softly, changing your hair back to your normal color.

“I was genetically altered as a kid.” You say looking back at the smug smile of your husband.

“Dang, heavy stuff.” He says leaning back on the plush couch. “Want to get drunk?” He asks with a grin spreading across his face.

“Hell yes.” You laugh, turning to look at him. He jumps up clapping his hands together.

“Great! I was looking for an excuse to get into the old man’s alcohol.” He moves to the bar, every movement he makes is extremely fluid. Like he’s floating everywhere. You walk up to the bar, sitting on one of the stools. “Now hang on, missy,” he says, holding out a finger towards you, “are you old enough to drink? Let me see your ID.” You laugh, shaking your head.

“Technically I’m 45,” you say a grin working its way onto your face, “and I don’t have an ID.”

“No way.” Klaus says leaning forward on the bar, his hands clasped together. “You, 45? What’s your secret?”

You giggle, shaking your head, “A time traveling husband helps.” You shrug.

“Hmm, guess I need to find me one of those,” he muses as he hands you a glass. You study the glass in your hands, watching the golden liquid swirl inside.

“So how long have you been with Five?” He asks, swirling the alcohol in his glass before downing it.

“Um,” you hum looking up, “about 25 years, we’ve been married for 21.” You sip the alcohol, it’s good, maybe a brandy?

“Jeez, you stuck with that old geezer for 21 years? More than any of us.” He says, chuckling to himself. You nod, your lips forming a tight line.

“Yep.” You tense your jaw, downing whatever is left in your glass. Grimacing as the alcohol burns your throat.

“Enough about Five.” Klaus says, “Tell me about you, Mrs. Hargreeves, I mean I would be an awful brother-in-law if I didn’t know anything about my new sister.” He grins walking around the bar to sit next to you on a stool.

“I’m really not that special,” you chuckle, setting your glass down on the bar top.

“Mrs. I change my hair color when I’m surprised, isn't special?” He asks tilting his head, “What, did Five tell you that?” His brows furrowed as he recoiled.

“No, no he would never say that.” You wave him off. 

“Well what else can you do missy?” He asked, leaning forward, a smirk pulling at his lips.

“Well, I can change my appearance to look like anyone I want. As long as I know what they look like.” You shrugged.

“Ooh! Do me! Do me!” He says, patting your arm excitedly. You smile before turning to face him.

He tried to stay still but his leg continues to bounce. You look him over once before you feel your body stretch. Your hair changes to a short curly brown, tattoos adorn your skin. Klaus’s grin grows by the minute.

“Holy smokes!” He exclaims looking at you, “Am I really that good looking?” You burst out laughing, maybe it was the brandy, maybe you were just having fun for the first time in a long time. 

You change back into yourself, wincing as your head throbs slightly. 

“Can I ask you a personal question?” He leans forward lowering his voice slightly.

“Klaus, I think every question you’ve asked me so far has been personal.”

“Have you ever,” he wiggles his eyebrows, “you know, changed in the bedroom?” You pull a grin on your face.

“Klaus!” You blush, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“Well? Have you?” He pushes his voice higher than before.

“No! Never!” You say waving him off.

“Oh come on! You don’t have to lie to me!” He pleads his hand resting on your arm.

“And I’m telling you Klaus, I’ve never changed during sex!” You whisper covering his hand with your own.

“Fine! Fine.” He says pulling away, “but if I find out you’re lying there will be hell to pay young lady!” He scolds half heartedly, you shake your head, a smile on your face.

“Yes sir.” 

“Y/n?” Five stands in the doorway, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Klaus groans, throwing his head back.

“What do you want?” He asks glaring at him.

FIve ignores his brother, he adjusts his jacket looking up at you.

“Can we talk?” He pleads, walking toward you. You let out a sigh and nod. 

“Yeah I’m going, I’m going.” Klaus says waving to the air, as if someone only he could see was pestering him. Once he’s past Five he turns flipping him off. You snicker, looking down at your feet. Five sits next to you at the bar, he reaches for you, taking your hand. You don’t pull away which he takes as a good sign.

You wait for him to talk, feeling his warm hand in yours. If you were anything, you were patient. Especially when Five came crawling to you on his knees.

“I’m an asshole.” 

“Yep.” You say nonchalantly.

“I shouldn't have snapped at you, I just-“ he sighed, shaking his head, “I just screwed this whole thing up. I missed the decimal and changed our bodies forever.” He looked at your glass, avoiding your gaze.

“Hey,” you said, reaching out and turning his head to look at you, “I’m not mad at you for what happened. This-,” you motioned to yourself “I took this risk, and I’d do it all over again.” You reached up holding his face in your hands.. He leaned into your touch, his own hand coming up to caress yours.

“What did I do to deserve you?” He asked, shaking his head. 

“Beats me.” You laughed, he rolled his eyes lightly shoving you. You smirked, pulling him closer, kissing him. He hummed smiling into the kiss, his hand wrapped around your waist. You cupped his cheek, rubbing your thumb over his jaw. You weren’t lying when you said it didn’t matter what happened, as long as you had Five next to you, you would be just fine.

[ballerinarina]

LOVE ON SUBWAYS AND TAGETES

FIVE HARGREEVES X Fem!OC

Synopsis: On Christmas, Five and Lila manage to return to their timeline after seven years of living together, lost. Izabela notices that something is strange, but it is only when Diego and Five engage in a discussion with confessions that she realizes that she has been betrayed. While everyone heads to the van to prevent the end of the world, Izabela asks for a few minutes alone with Five to settle things, dot the i's and cross the t's; Word Count: 3.2k Tags: spoilers, angst, cheating, fluff, slightly canon divergence (but Lila x Five/end of S4 still happened)

Note: It's been years since I tried to write something (and I never tried to do it in English before), but I hope it worked out! You can listen to the FANFIC PLAYLIST HERE and here you can read about my OC, but it's perfectly enjoyable to read it knowing nothing about her, or imagining youself in her place! I wrote thinking that they both look ± 20 years old. Please enjoy and tell me what you think! ♡

CLICK TO PORTUGUESE VERSION

Something was off, Izabela could tell as soon as her eyes fell on Five. The boy had never been the really outgoing, smiling or affectionate type, but at that moment he didn't even seem present in Diego's living room. His unstable and lost look, the worried wrinkle on his forehead and a tense and insincere return of affection when Izabela welcomed him into the kitchen with a hug put her on alert.

It had always been easy for her to read him, but a hint of confusion seemed to be beeping in her mind now. Keeping her distance and giving him space — at least until he could organize his own thoughts —Izabela was sitting on the arm of the sofa next to her husband, without touching him, just with her senses attentive and worried as she observed him like an enigma.

A tired sigh escapes her mouth as she foresees that Five's anxious restlessness combined with Luther's comments about the apocalypse could only result in nothing good. It was Christmas Day and, from the bottom of her heart, as unlikely as it was, Izabela was wishing that the end-of-the-world problems had magically resolved themselves — or at least been paused, as the previous moments of tranquility seemed to suggest. Not unexpectedly, they were not, so sure enough: as soon as she gets up and heads to the kitchen, mentally using the excuse of taking the Brazilian mayonnaise salad out of the fridge to get away from the depressing subject, she hears Five's stressed voice picking a fight with his brothers.

Escaping the realization of the apocalypse as an existence in her mind (for the fourth time) was her goal as she grabbed the tray and the dishes, trying to distract herself from Diego and Five's argument. With the kitchen right in the next room, the attempt was naive and failed: Izabela could feel the anxiety rising up her spine. She had never seen her husband so hopeless, but not even for a second found this behavior strange among the others. She herself couldn't take it anymore and, good heavens, she hated loud noises, hated missing Christmas, hated her brothers fighting — even though she wasn't much less temperamental than them —, hated not understanding what was happening to Five, and, most of all, hated the end of the world.

She opened and closed the drawers of that house that wasn't hers on impulse, more as an outlet than really interested in finding cutlery to serve the mayonnaise, when she felt her body freeze at the sound of Diego's voice cutting through the air.

“Is something going on between you two?”

Below her, the sought-after steel spoons and forks gleamed, reflecting her pale face and no longer showed interest in any meal.

“Diego…”

“Holy shit!”

In her ears, Five's silence pierces more than any of those sharp knives could. Refusal is the modus operandi that Izabela's mind immediately activates, only retaining strength amidst the shock to slightly shake her head in denial to herself. She thinks she must have misunderstood, sharpens her ears, holds back her despair. But no.

Five and Lila were having an affair.

To Izabela's anguish, Diego and his wife's voices were the last things she wanted to hear, but they were the ones talking, talking, talking amidst the suffocating silence that settled over the house like a funeral, squeezing her chest and leaving her breathless. Five and Lila were together.

Why? Was that why Five was acting strange? How had she not noticed before? When had she lost her husband? At what point had Five stopped being the person she trusted most in the world? In what world had she stopped being the person he trusted most? Why hadn’t he told her himself? Had she done something wrong?

“Yeah. You think I’m gonna buy that bullshit?”

Not even noticing when it began a state of near hyperventilation, Izabela's breathing only catches when Five's voice finally silences her thoughts:

“She’s telling the truth, all right? We got lost. We couldn’t find our way back.”

“We were searching for seven years, Diego…”

A gasp. No. No, no, no — it is horror what gradually fills every cell of Izabela's body, like blood spreading across a carpet.

Seven years. The pieces fit together almost in slow motion in her head, with her mouth half open, wanting to cry, but unable to emit even a single sob. It is towards the open door that her body turns without even needing an order, but it is her own steps that seem to weigh a thousand tons, and it is on the threshold that she stops once again. Leaning on the doorpost, without the courage to step outside and face her husband. Her husband, from whom she had lost seven whole years.

“We were chased, attacked, shot at…”

Each of Lila's words of explanation numbs her from afar as they settle into her diaphragm like stones. As if 45 years without Five hadn't been enough. As if the imminent end of times wasn't enough. It all sets up a scenario so desperate that it turns all sadness into apathetic disgust on her tongue.

Claire’s interruption comes like a ghost that straightens her posture and wipes away the moisture that escaped as it pooled in her eyes. Pursing the lips in bitterness, the information of Ben’s location is an almost physical reminder to Izabela that, whether she likes it or not, she will have to be part of the Umbrella Academy once again, so repressing all this futile conflict is her only option at the moment.

Swallowing the feelings, however, doesn't take away the agony in her heart and, with a shaky sigh trying to regain her composure, she fails to maintain the cool when her eyes meet the back of Five's figure as she enters the room. More than ever, Izabela wants to be practical, to go prevent the end of the world once and for all while stifling any thoughts about this terrifying situation playing with her head, but she knows she would never be able to win any fight like that. In a mirror of her unconscious distress, she exchanges glances with Klaus, the only one on the couch who noticed her in the corner of the room. "I just need a few minutes. Please." he doesn't need words to understand and, with a certain pity, he doesn't hesitate to stand up and encourage the rest of the family towards the van, distracting them with some Klaus-style comment that Izabela honestly can't process.

Feeling her presence as he had for so many years in his past, Five turns around, meeting Izabela's gaze, who mentally catalogues the worst nausea she has ever been condemned to feel when looking at her husband and wondering if she finds a stranger there. The eyes trying not to run over every detail of that face only now notice how much sadder and tired it seems compared to the last time she outlined his features. The silence traps them in a trance in which she finds herself unable to think of anything to say, until she hears the living room door slam, looking away at it and noticing that it was closed. The boy sighs and purses his lips; they were alone.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Is it true? Everything Lila said?” going back to stare at him, the words slip through her mouth, almost like an escape “Did I miss seven years of you?”

“All this time I tried to come back, Izabela…”

A quick shake of her head, Izabela crosses her arms in a tic. What he tries to justify, with such a cautious voice, had never been the question for her.

“I believe you.” pause “And… even if it’s not true, Five. It’s been seven years.”

“Yeah.”

That wasn't the tightness in her chest. She knows Five well, she knows her brother and husband well, and knows how he had spent decades trying to return to his family before. Even if, at any time in these seven years, he had hesitated, Izabela would never have the arrogance to judge his willpower in the face of emptiness. No, her cholera is another. Trying to keep her voice serious, she feels that what she wants is not to fight, that unlike her brother Diego, her anger is not against Five but against everything in essence. She finds herself unable to rid herself of a deep desire to slit her throat, she bites her lip.

“Do you love her?”

“Bela…”

“Please.”

After so many years of the tradition of emotional constipation that has branched out in the family with half-truths and poorly spoken subjects, when Five holds his wife's gaze, he already knows that she would not accept him doing the same thing that Lila did to Diego. Avoiding the subject is the easiest thing to do, but Izabela, so emotional, has also always been the most logical Hargreeves in dealing with emotion, so he knows very well that she, while staring at his green irises so dejected and hesitant, prays for an honest answer.

“I do. I love her a lot, Bela.”

It is no less painful to hear what she already imagined she would hear: the mind seems to be in standby mode, slowly assimilating what so quickly pierced her heart. Trying hard to accept the new reality rationally, the only disturbance on her face is her eyebrows furrowing for just a second, struggling to suppress the urge to cry that rises in her throat, her gaze scanning the wall in the background and then turning back down.

“So you don’t love me anymore?”

Five perceives more of a statement than a question. He opens his mouth to try to answer, but then closes it, his face saddened and his voice not found before himself. It is when she does not hear a response that the so-called new reality hits Izabela, surrounding her in fear, making her look at him with a neutral voice and expression contrasting with her trembling pupils.

“Five… you don’t love me anymore?”

“That’s not fair to you…”

“No… Look.” her voice is dually firm, but by a thread, shivering him “Don't lie, but don't let me die without having that answer.”

If before the tension between the two could be described as funereal, it becomes even more so. The prospect of an imminent death coming out of Izabela's mouth is so strange to Five's ears that it hurts as if he were the one who lost seven years of his wife. Even in the midst of all the daily hopelessness in her life, when finding herself facing the end of times Izabela used to at least pretend to have faith. The lack of such works as a disillusionment for him. Despite having lost his own a few years ago, he only embodies this in himself when he realizes that not even Izabela thinks it is worth believing that she will have another chance to say what was not said.

“I couldn't.” the answer simply comes out of him due to the disturbance of perception “I couldn't stop loving you, even if it were a centenary, Bella. I've never stopped thinking about you, not for a single minute of these seven years.” Five shakes his head, lowering it, scared to finally verbalize anything at all about the subject, especially to the person he was most afraid of doing. He barely feels room to hate how he stutters, lost like just a boy. How he hesitates. “But… when…. when my heart started loving Lila… I had so much fear of coming back to you, precisely because not even for a moment I stopped loving you too.” his cheeks begin to get wet with the tears that throughout his life he has always repressed, but that only ever escaped in the presence of the girl in front of him “Coming back to you meant concretize it, and that's not fair to you, you... you know I'd rather rip my heart out with my own hands than hurt you. But I couldn't help myself…”

His greenish eyes, now so moist, return to Izabela and are surprised to notice what Five identifies as tenderness amidst the restrained and painful crying that accompanied his. Not that his wife wasn't towards him the most tender human being he had ever had the fortune to live with, but precisely because he had failed her so much, he knew he deserved her anger. What he receives, however, is the anguish in his chest intensifying when Izabela approaches and puts her forehead to his, cupping Five's cheeks in her hands and sighing a lament:

“Please. Tell me you still wanna stay with me.”

Silence, he gasps in agony.

“I don’t mind, Five.” Izabela feels as if she is short of breath, so much she longs for confirmation of her request. Any attempted neutrality was lost when the words of the husband, who's always so strong, made it clear how exhausted he seemed in the face of his own feelings. Five had been her weak point for as long as she could remember, and, knowing every comma of what once shaped his pain, being able to see it now makes her desperate, above all and any problem. “I lost seven years of you, Five, I… I almost lost you forever… Please. Maybe the world will end today, but if it doesn’t… Stay with me.

It shouldn’t be Izabela the one asking for anything in this scenario. But if Five still loves her — and, God, she can see that he does —, she finds herself willing to fight the feeling of humiliation tingling in every part of her body. More than anyone, she knows how much the boy believes in his core that he doesn’t deserve any mercy or love as payment for his countless past sins. Izabela sees his affliction before her and, as she has done all her life, she could never give up on her husband like that. He gasps with his brows furrowed, trying to hold back his tears, when a sudden flash illuminates the girl’s mind, that finally sees the edge of the inevitable abyss in which she finds herself.

“Even if… even if you stay with her too… Just… don’t leave me…”

Such insensate words being uttered set up the exact moment when Five breaks, nodding his head in despair and wrapping Izabela's waist in a frightening fragility — which she herself would never have expected to witness in him on a day and in a mood like the one they were experiencing —, marking the beginning of a salty, bereft and hasty kiss, with neither having any idea on who did it.

The bodies of each spouse, once accustomed to kissing for hours on end, this time witnessed an emotional suffocation that soon left them short of breath. Five finds his reason trapped in Izabela's incongruity, who even facing a scenario like the apocalypse and the most logical devastation of what she should feel for him, still thinks and utters such an altruistic and utopian possibility. It is uncomfortable. Hiding his wet face in the girl's shoulder, he hugs her tightly and she immediately clings to him, wrapping her arms around his nape and trying to find in the fingers that intertwine in his locks any physical difference that would mark the years that have passed in him.

“I shouldn't do this to you.”

“No. No. Five.”

“Izabela, it's not fair” he tries to repeat it for the third time, but she interrupts him and repeats herself too:

“And I don’t mind. Damn, Five... You survived. You came back to me. And if loving her kept you alive... That’s… that’s okay with me.” If Izabela is honest with herself, she admits how every word she utters never fails to sound absurd to her. Jealous since she was a child, she deeply hates finding herself in this scenario and, yes, she wants to at least scream in rage. The truth, however, is still intrinsic to every sentence she is saying, no matter how strange it may sound to herself. Faced with this situation, greater than all the rage she feels is the memory of her husband alone for 45 years with the only trace of what he believed to be love coming from deliriums about a broken mannequin — this is what makes her sicker than any unusual situation of infidelity. The realization that Five saw himself once again in front of the horror that has endured his entire life fades any absurdity in the impulsive words she has been speaking, because it is replaced with the relief that at least this time he was not alone. He, in reflex, hugs her tighter, fearing this being a lie. It is with the man she loves most so fragile in her arms that she reaches the certainty that, if in order to survive in the midst of despondment, Five needed to find love — human, real —, her love for him can indeed overcome any other feeling she may feel in the face of it. Izabela pulls away from the hug, connecting her eyes with his and guiding her hand from his hair to his cheek, in a sweet caress accompanied by the melancholy of a weak smile. “When we save the world… Tell me about her. Tell me about you both.” in immediate reaction he frowns, a slight protest as if he assumes that this would only hurt her, but she continues “Five, I love your heart. And this… is part of it now… Let me know. We'll find a way.”

Five hesitates. Izabela is very good to him, always has been. He sees in the affectionate look she gives him the pain his wife is feeling, but he also sees how genuine she is in everything she says. The suffocating dilemma makes him want to die, hating to cause such displeasure to someone he loves so much, but it also makes him wonder if he has gone mad and is just trapped in a dream, so Kafkaesque was the dread he has felt of this moment for the last few years. He kisses her, briefly, leaning in with a sigh and praying in gratitude before joining their foreheads, nodding in agreement, agonized.

“Fuck, I missed you so much…”

“Good to have you back, Five.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Like the misfortune of flowers burning in a fire, Izabela, however, never gets to have Five lying with his head on her lap in a moment of affection, reciting about how much he loved her even from a distance. She also doesn't hear her husband's cautious voice telling her about the dangers that left his life hanging by a thread countless times during those years away, or about the unplanned feelings he experienced. She never had to get used to how their marriage would adapt when he sorted out his pending love with Lila, because such plans never came to fruition, just like the ones to sort out with his brother Diego.

The existence of this love, — of these loves — intertwined by the knots that constituted its universe, was eternally erased in two marigolds that, I like to believe, only survived the rebirth, the wind and the storm due to the hope and lull watered shortly before the end on the vestige of cherish that fought in the hearts of the two lovers.

Five and Izabela Hargreeves.

N/A: What do you think? I'd love to read your opinion!

[shadowbriar]

Diego Hargreeves — If the World was Ending

Pairing : Diego Hargreeves x (she/her) Reader Word Count : 5k Warning : Smut, MDNI! Angst but it ends with fluff. Season 4 references. Synopsis : After the Cleanse, Diego wasn't sure why he was brought back to the original timeline. Notes : Inspired by JP Saxe, Julia Michaels - If the World was Ending. If you like this story and would like to support me, please visit my kofi page and perhaps get me a coffee?☕

Diego wasn’t sure how he suddenly found himself standing in front of the Academy once again. He tried to look around, noticing the panic in the eyes of the passersby and how there were cars crashing by the road. Some of the buildings were ruined, rubbles and debris decorating them. An alarming view that raises his vigilance, especially since he couldn’t find any of his other siblings in sight.

Rushing inside, Diego tries to call for the names of his siblings. He runs around the hallway, calling for anyone in hope that they could regroup and think about what’s going on. Make a new plan to figure out the strange timeline they’re in, but the Academy was eerily quiet. No other soul was present— not even Pogo nor Grace.

He wasn’t sure if this was supposed to happen. If the Cleanse was supposed to kick him back to this timeline or if they’ve succeeded in stopping the Apocalypse at all. The uncertainty was daunting. He desperately needed to see someone, someone familiar who he could take refuge to, but as the only sound echoing through the house was his own, Diego understands that he’s left all alone.

“Think, Diego, Think,” He mutters to himself as he runs back to the living room.

He tries to make sense of the unfamiliar setting. Studying the Academy as he tries to find any piece of clue that would be useful to help ease his anxiety. Spotting some newspaper by the table, Diego ran his desperate hand through his hair and grabbed it. His blood ran even colder as he read the date: April 1, 2019. The day of the Apocalypse.

Just as he tries to compute the new information, an earthquake shakes the ground. It was powerful enough to make the chandelier rattles, threatening to fall from the weak bolts that were loose from the tremble. The books by the cabinets were falling, vases broken and furniture displaced. If this was the start of the Apocalypse, with none of his siblings around, Diego was sure that there would be no way he could escape nor stop it.

And so he runs back to his room, grabbing his car keys that he hasn’t seen for far too long. He’s lived one too many lifetimes coming in and out of foreign timelines. Perhaps it has only been a few days in this one since he was gone, but it certainly wasn’t the case for him. Still, the sight of the item patiently waiting for its master to return brought a short-lived sense of comfort in his heart.

The road was in chaos by the time Diego drove the car out. People were trying to flee the city. Sirens blaring, children crying as their parents try to keep them collected. Diego’s palms were wet. He’s got no idea of what’s happening nor what to do. He doesn’t know how to help, how to save anyone from this terror. For once, Diego felt entirely helpless.

Another quake was felt as he got to the main road. His heart was beating erratically, distracted by thoughts of her safety. Is she home? Is she out drinking? Is she in the living room, chilling and watching television?

It’s been far too long. Perhaps in this timeline it might only have been a year since they last saw each other, but for Diego, it would be an understatement to say that it felt like forever.

He wasn’t even sure why he felt like he needed to see her now. The thought of her hasn’t entered his mind as intensely, given how the task at hand was much more demanding, but she lingers still. In the split moments where he realised that the plan was spoiled or that they would need to figure out a way to escape to another timeline, he would always wonder if there would be a time where he could see her again.

A part of himself was grateful that they ended their relationship before the whole Apocalypse thing started to play. He wouldn’t have the heart nor strength to call it quits with her, knowing that the world was ending and that he couldn’t be with her to share their last moments. He was shamefully grateful that his inability to truly show her what he felt fueled the arguments that ultimately led to their separation. For once, Diego was glad that his flaws have done him more good than harm.

The sky was dark by the time he reached her place. He let out a breath of relief when he spotted her car outside, parked neatly in front of the house that he used to call home. There wasn’t much damage done to this neighbourhood, despite the bins and trees that now litter the road. Her house was in good shape too. Knowing that she’s safe was like a breath of fresh air after being suffocated by such an aggravating situation.

Wasting no other second, Diego runs to her door. He presses the bell a little too impatiently, desperately in need to see her in person.

“I said, I’m coming!” She yells as she opens the door, clearly disturbed by the uninvited guest but all anger evaporates once she recognises the man on the other side of the door “Diego?”

—-

By the third quake, she knew that something wrong was happening. They’ve never had this many earthquakes before, let alone ones that happened one after the other within a short period of time. The worry in her heart starts to bloom as more things in her house fall and shatter, wondering if there’s anything she should do in such a situation.

How long should she wait until someone instructs them to evacuate? Where should she go? What should she do?

Diego would’ve known what to do, she thought. She tried to imagine his reaction, the way his alert eyes would be all wide and the rigidness of his shoulders. He wouldn’t be afraid of what’s to come. He would try and save her, even when she wasn’t sure she needed saving. He would be busy rushing her under the tables while he stood and watched the post.

An involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. Yes, that would be Diego alright. Always too busy trying to save the world without giving himself the chance to register the danger he’s putting himself into.

It wasn’t that she was scared of the earthquakes. No, it was something she could weather through still. But it surely got her thinking about the time she had with him. How, through the many times he saved her, made her realise that she’s gotten a little too attached to the safety net he’s set around her. How he would always put everyone else before him, never one to complain about getting bruised or scratched when it comes to saving someone.

She remembers that one night clearly, when they went drinking and stumbled in the house. How she landed on top of him without making it past the kitchen, giggling like they were on the clouds of nine. She would always remember the gentle touch he would always reserved for her, the way his frown turns into a smile every time their eyes met, and how he would bring the warmest laughter to the house.

But such bliss was short-lived once she realised Diego wasn’t ready for forever. There’s still so many things he needed to do, so many people he needed to prove, that the words she showered him with felt like a passing buzz with no lasting meaning. She knew that it wasn’t his fault. Diego has got too many scars and wounds to heal before she could ever place the weight of guilt on his shoulders, but she too couldn’t wait forever. Perhaps forever isn’t for everyone, afterall.

When the eighth earthquake happened, she gave it a good twenty minutes before finally coming out of the kitchen table. The television was broken, plates and mugs smashed on the floor, and her carpet is now stained with wine that she was supposed to enjoy. The house was a real mess but given the harrowing nightmare, coming out without a single scratch is something she could feel triumphant of.

She lets out a sigh. The phone lines were down, no internet through her cells. It was practically impossible for her to get any information about her friends and family, about Diego if she wanted to drop a text and ask if he’s alright, unless she got out of the house and drove herself down to the gym. That is, if he still lives in the gym. But with everything that’s happened, how they haven’t talked ever since the split, and the chaos the road must’ve been in right now, she figures to just wait and perhaps send him a voice message in the morning.

Her train of thoughts were abruptly broken when someone rang her bell. They were pressing without a pause, making an everlasting ring that only amplifies the headache in her head.

“I said, I’m coming!” She yells as she opens the door, clearly disturbed by the uninvited guest but all anger evaporates once she recognises the man on the other side of the door “Diego?”

Diego blinked. He too was appalled the moment his eyes met hers. Looking surprised to find her there as if he didn’t drive himself in a disastrous traffic for hours down to her house, “I— Are you— I was just—”

Neither of the two have the words to express their emotions right now. Relieved, yet baffled. Supposed, given the calamity, it would make sense for them to try and see each other. But how was he supposed to explain that the world was ending? And what was she supposed to say when she was just thinking about him?

“Are you alright?” Diego asked.

“Yeah,” She nods, taking a step closer to him “Are you?”

Diego flashes a smile, “I— I meant to come earlier, but the traffic—And there were so many car crash— And the trees—”

“You drove here? Why?”

“I wanted to see you,” He confessed, a long sigh escaping his chest “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Without a thought, she pulled him for a tight embrace. She clung onto his neck, burying her nose to the crook of his neck as she stood on her tippy toes. He smelled different. Perhaps he’s changed his cologne, no longer wearing the one she gifted him a couple of years back, but she wasn’t in any place to complain right now. Having him by her side, having the warmth of his body pressed to hers once again, was more than she could ever ask for.

Diego was frozen when she first hugged him. It took a couple of seconds for his brain to register that it was real, that it wasn’t just some cruel mindgame his brain was tricking him into. He rests his hands on her waist, slightly lifting her so she wouldn’t be so sore from the tippy toes cause he wasn’t about to let go anytime soon.

“I’ve missed you,” She whispers.

“I’m sorry.”

She pulls away a little, standing on her feet as she tries to study his face. There were a few new scars that she’s unfamiliar with. The moustache was something new and the way he styled his hair was different. It feels as if she’s staring into a different Diego than the one she knew before.

“What a year, huh?” She says, tracing one of the new scars that was on his left cheek “Still couldn’t keep yourself out of trouble, I assume?”

Diego flashes a small smile, looking slightly embarrassed from the commentary.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just really tired,” He answers truthfully, feeling the ache in his bones slowly settling in “Do you think I can lay down for a minute?”

She nods, the concern in her eyes magnified, “Of course.”

And so she led him into her bedroom. The one place where they once called ours. Diego lays gently on the bed as she busies herself with cleaning up the mess that was scattered around. The quake wasn’t giving her any kindness, especially now that she’s got a guest to crash.

“I’ll go and make you some tea.”

“No,” Diego says fast, taking her hand before she could leave the room “Could you just lay down with me? Please?”

“I don’t think that would be a great idea, Diego.”

“Please? I promise you won’t regret it.”

She hesitated, knowing granting his wish might mean a different thing for the both of them, but seeing how desperate he looks, the way his eyes were filled with plea and the fragility of his voice, she couldn’t help but to nod and give in.

Diego scooted to make room for her on his right side. He places his arm under her head, pulling her close as he tries to be a comfortable makeshift pillow. Her right hand instinctively found itself resting on his chest. There was a sense of contentment filling his heart. Like the missing puzzle piece he wasn’t aware he’s lost was finally found. He plays with the strands of her hair, listening to the steady sound of her breathing.

“If the world was ending, you’d come over, right?”

Her brows furrow, looking up to face Diego that looks as if he’s got a million questions running in his head, “What are you talking about?”

“If you knew that the world was ending, you’d come over and stay the night, wouldn’t you?”

“Don’t say such things, we just had eight earthquakes, Diego.” She answers, trying to dismiss his questions “The world isn’t ending.”

“But if it was, would you?” He persists “Would you love me for the hell of it?”

She propped herself on her elbow now, looking closer into him. Diego still looks conflicted. He looks as if he’s holding a secret, something so terrible that he couldn’t even let it escape his lips even if he wanted to. His eyes were radiating despair, lips tucked into a droopy smile. She’s never seen him looking this strained, but she knew that he was trying to save her once again, from whatever it is she might never know, but she was surely glad he’s here to be her knight.

Answering his question, she places a soft kiss on his lips, “The sky could fall upon us and I’d be holding you tight, Diego.”

All hell broke loose the moment those words escaped her lips. Diego was quick to turn her on her back, now pinning her down as he kissed her desperately. He sneaks a hand under her shirt. The warmth of his palm was startling, making her gasp between the kisses. His hand rests just below the clasp of her bra. A tease for the poor unexpecting woman.

But she wasn’t one to be a passive rival for such a game. Her legs found themselves encircling his waist, in her own way trapping the man in her grasp. Her fingers tugged on the strands of his hair. Satisfied moans escaping his lips. The taste of ecstasy was brewing in their stomach.

“Wait, Diego—,” She called, panting as she tried to pull away “We need to talk.”

Diego stopped his doings, looking into her with confusion and alarm, “Okay.”

“I just— I need to know that it will be different this time. I need to know that you want what I want. I need to know that you’re ready to settle with me. Forever, not just for a month or two,” She explains “Otherwise, we’ll only repeat the same mistake.”

It stings to hear her call their past a mistake, but Diego understands where she’s coming from. He’s ready for her. All the fights and running, trying to save the world from one timeline to another, made him realise that he’ll never be more ready to be with her than now, but to promise her forever? When he wasn’t even sure if there would even be a tomorrow? Would the remaining hours of April 1, 2019 be enough to be called forever?

Gently, Diego removes the hand that was under her shirt and cups her face instead. He smiles softly, staring into her with the most loving eyes she’s ever seen, “After everything I’ve been through, settling in with you feels like a pass to heaven.”

Her grin grows once more. This time pushing Diego down to the bed, flipping their position until she’s sitting on his waist. She kisses him once again, only parting their lips as she pulls his black jumper off of him. Her fingers wander around his chest. Multiple new bumps and scars were raising her brows that she had to sit up and take a proper look at his body.

“Are those.. Bullet wounds?” She asks as she spots the scar on his arm “What happened to you?”

“Long story. Tell you another time,” He says in a hurry, sitting up and kissing her neck “There’s so much talking in this, my balls are getting blue down there.”

She lets out a chuckle, “Always so impatient.”

“Only for you, babe,” Diego answers fast “Only for you.”

It took no time for Diego’s lips to travel back to her's from her neck. His kisses were getting more vigorous, more desperate as the pants he’s wearing feel much tighter. The movement of her hips on top of him wasn’t doing him much good. He was slowly turning blue, indeed.

With no difficulties, Diego slides her shirt over her head. He kisses the exposed skin of her shoulder, leaving a wet trail of love as he explores the skin he’s been deprived of. The smell of her skin was intoxicating. It gives him a great swell of pride as her sultry moans echo in his ear. He still knows his ways with her sweet spots, afterall.

Still with his lips busy on her skin, Diego’s hand swiftly unclasped her bra. The sudden exposure of her breasts were making her timid, instinctively trying to cover herself with her hands, but Diego knew her a little too well, proving her attempt to be futile as he led her hands to rest around his neck instead as his lips moved south. Loud gasp escaped her lips as Diego’s mouth found itself sucking on her throbbing bud. Her hands pulled his head closer in reflex, making Diego to mentally bite a smirk.

“I’ve missed you,” He says, looking up to see her in between her tits “All of you.”

She pulls his face closer, kissing him. Diego took this chance to switch their position, laying her gently on the bed without breaking their contact. Their bare chests were pressed against each other. Only separated by the thin layer of sweat that was forming on their skin.

Diego tugged harshly on the seam of her shorts. There’s just too many barriers, too much fabric that came between them. He grunted in annoyance when his fingers failed to undo her button without breaking the kiss. Diego pulled away curtly, frowning as he looked down to her shorts and unbuttoning it in a disapproving manner.

“Don’t ever wear those shorts again,” He grumbles, chucking the piece of garment carelessly.

“I like those shorts.”

“Well, I don’t,” He retorts “We’re throwing them out first thing in the morning.”

She chuckles at his frivolous whine, watching as he shimmied her underwear down, “You’re pathetic.”

“Pathetic, huh?” 

Diego’s calloused thumb runs through her fold without a warning, making her squeeze her thighs from the sudden jolt of arousal. A cheeky grin spreads on his face, satisfied with the shriek she lets out. His other hand now rests on her thigh, giving the most gentle form of encouragement for her to widen his opening.

Her eyes were locked on his as her leg follows his lead. The smile on Diego’s face returns, looking a little too satisfied with her obedience, “Good girl.”

She burrowed the back of her head into the pillows once his fingers found its way back to her heated mound. Her hands desperately gripped on the sheets, trying to suppress her moans as his movement turned rudely.

Diego watches with pride the way her back arched with each circular motion he does to her sensitive area. His mouth went back to her tit, sucking on the other breast that he’s yet to taste. His other arm slides under her back, pressing her chest to his mouth as if there were still space for them to eliminate.

Feeling his fingers to get slicker, Diego gave her clit a crude squeeze before aligning his fingers to her folds. The sudden intrusion left her gasping, her fingers unintendedly scratching on his arm from the tension.

“Shh, it’s just me,” He whispers, now kissing his way up from her chest, to her jaws, and ultimately her lips “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” She breathes, pulling him close by his shoulder blades “Just kiss me while you do it.”

Not having to be told twice, Diego wasted no time and kissed her. He repositioned himself, having his passive forearm as support as his other hand busied itself with her. Her moans were uncontainable as his fingers reached the deeper, warmer depth of her. He increased the pace of his thrusts, curling his fingers as he felt her walls tightening. The knot in her stomach was threatening to burst. It was clear to see with the way her head fell back in bliss with each strike, but Diego was in no mood to stop. He wanted her to reach that extent of pleasure.

Her fingers clawed on his back as she reached her peak, leaving moon shaped marks on his skin. Diego groans from the slight sting but pays not much mind to it. He loves a little scratch from a good sex, a little bruise to look at in the morning that he wears like a badge of honour.

There wasn’t even a split second for her to breath before Diego’s lips travelled back down. He moves further south, locking eyes with her as his lips slowly find themselves in front of her folds. His hot breath was making her shy once again, almost closing her legs in reflex before he could pin them with his arms.

Diego clicks his tongue in disapproval, “Let’s not play any more games, shall we?”

Not waiting for an answer, Diego lifted her legs and rested them on his shoulders. With no warning, he runs his hot tongue across her fold, making her moan in undeniable pleasure. His moustache was giving a burning feeling in her inner thigh but before it could settle, Diego would erase it with his wet tongue.

The hot and wet sensation was driving her to cloud nine. With each swirl of tongue and cruel sucking that Diego does, she could feel herself losing the last strands of sanity. Her grip on the sheets have now moved to his head, tugging a little mean to the roots of his hair. Involuntarily pressing him a little closer every time he hits that one sweet spot.

Those throaty moans have slowly turned into needy, piteous whimpers. Clearly overstimulated from all the torture Diego was putting her through. His hands were pinning her hip in place. Not letting her buck away from his brutal assault. With a sinful moan, she finally came for the second time.

She tries to sit up, gathering the few will power she has left in her body to reach Diego’s waistband, “My turn.”

“No,” He says, pushing her hands away gently as he kisses her in apology “I’m literally two seconds away from bursting. You can pleasure me another time.”

“Are you sure?”

“No,” Diego frowns “But I’m not taking risks. I want you.”

“Well, let me at least help you get out of these pants.”

Diego watches as her dainty fingers unbuckle his belt, slowly undoing his pants and pushing it down his legs. He swallows a low groan as her hand palms his shaft. He pulls her for another kiss, passionately devouring her lips and tasting every corner of her mouth. He leads her back to lay on the bed, positioning himself on top of her as he leans on his forearms for support. He guides himself to her entrance, fingers dancing around the area to help redistribute enough slick before he slowly inserts himself.

Her claws find themselves back to his back, creating new scratches the moment she feels his length enters in a slow and controlled ease. Diego was grunting from the blissful restrain. A low sinful prayer escaped his lips. The warmth of her walls were drowning him, feeling as if they were swallowing him whole.

“You okay?” He asked, ever the gentleman.

She nods, eyes closed and mouth quivering in bliss.

Diego started his movement at a steady pace, letting her body adjust to the size of him that has been absent for a little too long. He kept the speed for a good few minutes before hastening his movement in a steadfast thrust.

“Fuck, Diego,” She breathes, biting on his shoulder from the overwhelming sensation.

There were no words that Diego could utter. Too busy trying to find the best angle where he could reach the desired depth. His thrusts were getting more vigorous with each retreat and return of his length within her, finding her moans to be the very fuel to boost his movements.

Deep, hearty grunts were all he could make now. Diego places his hands under her head, using his fingers as cushion so that the crown of her head won’t hit the headboard with each ferocious thrust. He nips on her neck, kissing and licking the spot before the pain could sink. Neither of them cared which of the sounds were louder— their moans or the creak of the bed.

“Diego—”

“I know,” He cuts, feeling the walls around him contracting “I’m right behind you.”

She pulls him for a kiss. Her hand guides one of his to rest on her neck, encircling his fingers around. Diego pulls himself away, watching as she closes her eyes when he squeezes her neck a little.

“Always so beautiful for me,” He praises between his pants, diving right back to kiss her “Mine. All mine.”

With one last thrust, Diego struck her core with all the pressure it needed to implode. He followed right after, just as he promised. The kisses he gives her slowly turn into soft and gentle ones as they begin to wane from their highs. His body tenderly loitered on top of hers, careful not to put too much weight that might suffocate her.

She runs her hand through his hair. Gently combing through it with her fingers. She kisses his forehead softly, brushing her thumb over the scar on his right side before planting a kiss there too. Diego always looked most charming laying on top of her like this.

“Did I do good? Was that enough to repent for my past sins?”

A crips chuckle escaped her lips, “For now, yes.”

“Great,” He says as he repositions himself, now laying on his side to face her “Now we can forget the past and focus on the future.”

She smiles, gazing into the beautiful man in front of her before giving him a sweet kiss. Something has changed in him. Something that made him look a lot more reliable. Like the past year they’ve spent without each other has finally knocked some sense into his head. Perhaps he really did go through something that changed him for the better. Perhaps the bullet wounds on his arm hold a bigger story than just another vigilante act he pulled. Perhaps the world really needed to end for him to finally understand how some people in our lives matter more than most, even if we felt like we needed to prove something to everyone.

Diego pulls her close to his chest, letting her hear the beating of his heart that has now gone to a steady pace. The clock by the bedside table haunts him. A couple more hours until the day ends and he’s still unsure if the Apocalypse was still happening. But even if the world was to end in their sleep, even if she was to be stripped away from his arms, at least he’s tried to show her just how much he loves her.

Even if it was done in borrowed time.

—-

Diego’s eyes flutter open. The brightness of the sun was hurting his eyes but he’d rather go blind than to move a muscle. The blinds of her bedroom were broken, making the light from outside reflect harshly on his face.

He looks down to see her still fast asleep on his chest. The events of last night play blissfully in his mind, recollecting their joyous reunion with a satisfied smile. He plants a soft kiss on the crown of her head, silently confessing his vow that he’d never leave her again, Apocalypse or not.

And that’s when he realises it. The day has come. It is officially April 2, 2019. The Apocalypse should’ve happened yesterday, yet it didn’t. There were only earthquakes that indeed have caused quite the damage but far too weak to be called the Apocalypse.

Eight earthquakes, she said. Perhaps the quakes were the signs of him and his siblings finding their own timelines. He only felt six quakes, maybe because he was the second to land on his timeline. If that was the case, then they’ve not only successfully stopped the Apocalypse from happening, but have also gotten the chance to rebuild their life, wherever they might be now.

She stirs a little as her slumber finally comes to an end. She looks up to see Diego with a smile, stealing a peck from him like a drunken woman, “Good morning.”

“Buenos días, mi amor.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Much,” He answers, kissing her lips once again “All thanks to you.”

She smiles, basking in the love that he’s showering her with.

“Everything is going to change from now on,” He whispers to her softly, pulling her closer “It’s only gonna get better, I promise.”

[samdeancass]

Diego Hargreeves Masterlist

Make It Count

[oscarisaacsspit]

i like shiny things but i’d marry you with…💕

[d1ana-m0nd]

╭─► ❝The Servant: Umbrella Academy's Servant❞

Five Hargreeves × Female! Reader || Written by Diana (d1ana-m0nd)

➢ Description : It's a well known fact that Sir. Reginald Hargreeves adopted 7 children to save the world from it's impending doom. Though, the number of children will change from 7 to 8 once a close friend of his, Rita Rossweisse was on her death bed and requested him to take in her child, who fortunately was born on October 1st 1989.

➢ Word Count : 11,660

➢ Links : Masterlist && Character Profile

➢ Content Warning : In this chapter, triggering content are present: self harm (bitting yourself), panic attack, and gore, skip the triggering parts if necessary. Please read this chapter at your own discretion.

Chapter 5: Number 5

When the boy in school shorts finally woke up, Luther cornered him into spitting out the truth: why he was running around the city like a headless chicken, evading the other numbers, and why he had caused so much destruction ever since he arrived from the future. Five reluctantly admitted to Luther that the end of the world was nearing.

“When's it supposed to happen? This... apocalypse.” Luther asked — the first person in the family who showed concern for the apocalypse.

The young male looked down as he fidgeted with his fingers, “I can't give you the exact hour, but... from what I could gather, we have four days left.”

“Why didn't you say something sooner?”

“It wouldn't have mattered.” Five replied; his tone sounded like he had lost hope.

The way he acted… It concerned you, but you didn't want to butt in. You couldn't help but wonder, were you the one to blame for his state? If you hadn't stopped him or had used your intuition beforehand, you could have helped him avoid the worst-case scenario.

The larger male furrowed his brows and interjected, “Of course it would! We could've banded together and helped you try to stop this thing.”

“For the record, you already tried.” Five corrected his brother, which took Luther by surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I found all of you. Your bodies.” The brunette kept his gaze downward. You found this state of his rather unusual. He always had his chin up, and he always looked people in the eye, regardless of the size difference. Right now… he looked so small and meek compared to the front he usually puts up.

“We die?” The dirty blonde was in disbelief, refusing to believe what he just heard.

For a brief moment, Five was taken back to the time he discovered their bodies. The day he never thought he would witness; the way their lifeless bodies were lying on the ground, unmoving, and either hidden underneath the rubble or stabbed by a reinforcing bar. The hazel-eyed boy glanced at you for a brief moment, but you didn't catch his gaze.

“Horribly. You were together, trying to stop whoever it was that ended the world.” He added, not having the strength to look at his brother's devastated expression.

Number One asked, “Wait, how do you know that?”

Five took out a cloth and revealed the glass eyeball to his brother, “This was clutched in your dead hand when I found you. Must've ripped it out of their head right before you went down,” He then passed it over to Spaceboy, silently hoping that he would recognize the glass eyeball.

“Whose head?”

The boy sighed, disappointed but not surprised that this was the result. His brother knew nothing about the eye. “Like I said, I don't know.”

“Well, there's a serial number on the back. Think maybe you could try…” The dirty blonde tried to suggest that, only for Five to interrupt him. “No, that's a dead end. It's just another hunk of glass.” He glances at you, making you flinch at your spot, then looks away immediately, which raises suspicion in Luther's eyes.

Luther then returned the eyeball to Five.

Just in time, the man in black-clad arrived and then slammed the door open to the boiler room. He marched towards where Five sat with an angry expression etched onto his facial features, as bloodlust and rage seeped through his aura.

“Piece of shit! Do you have any idea what you just did?” Number Two shouted, marching right over to his ‘little’ brother.

Spaceboy stands up, alarmed by Diego's hostility. The same could be said about the boy, though he seems calm. You drew your staff and made Diego trip, causing Luther to catch him and then lift him to prevent him from touching a hair on Five's head. It seemed like Diego had no way out, but you decided to keep your staff in hand just in case things got too out of hand.

The Latino grunted as he tried to fight back against the larger man's hold on him, “Let me... Get your ape hands off of me!”

“I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down.”

Reluctantly, the male being held up inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. Once he stopped resisting his brother, he was released from air jail. “Fine.”

“Now, wanna tell us what you're talkin' about?”

Number Two scoffed, “Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back. He was in the middle of that shootout at Griddy's, and then at Gimble Brothers, after the guys in masks attacked the academy, looking for him.” He said whilst jabbing a finger at Five's direction, as though telling him everything was his fault.

“None of which is any of your concern.” The younger male hissed.

In Five's mind, he couldn't help but agree with his brother’s statement. This was precisely why he didn't want to get anyone involved, but seeing as Cha-cha and Hazel plan to get their whole family involved… He had no choice but to work with them.

“It is now,” Diego declared as he panted, "They just killed my friend.”

“As for you, Rossweisse.” The knife-wielding vigilante glared at you, making you gulp, "Why didn't you say anything about Five running amuck the city?”

You were about to say something, but your lips shifted into a straight line. You didn't want to say something out of impulsivity. The last thing you wanted to do was mess up, so you had to think of a reasonable lie…

"Because I told her too.” Five lied on your behalf, "I didn't want you all to get involved.”

You were shocked that he lied on your behalf, though you were internally grateful. However, you were too shocked to process what you just witnessed. You were warned not to interfere with him, yet he was now trying to help you? If that was the case, the world was truly ending.

Everyone went silent due to the ‘younger’ male's words, though they didn't seem to doubt it; they were just shocked over the fact that he stood up for you. Luther then turned to Five and asked, “Who are they, Five?”

“They work for my former employer. A woman called The Handler. She sent them... to stop me. Then, as soon as Diego's friend got in their way, well, fair game.”

The Latino scoffed, “And now they're my fair game. And I'm gonna see to it they pay,” Then he headed out of the boiler room with a huff, bloodlust still seething through his body.

“That would be a mistake, Diego. They've killed people far more dangerous than you.” The younger brunette tried to discourage him.

“Yeah, we'll see about that.” Diego slammed the door closed on the way out.

Luther turned to Five with a confused look, “Former employer? What's this really about, Five? And don't give me any of this ‘It's none of your business’ crap, all right?"

"Well, it's a long story.”

The small brunette paused and looked up at Luther, silently asking him if he wanted to hear the whole thing. The larger male sat down and gestured for his ‘younger’ brother to continue with his story.

The boy started with a sigh and briefly explained what he went through with “The Commission” and what he went through as he worked for them: The Commission ensured the preservation of the time continuum by manipulating events and eliminating threats. The Handler arrived in the future to recruit Five as a hitman for the Commission, though she was unaware that Five was brewing up a plan to return to the past and prevent an impending apocalypse while biding his time.

The two of the numbers remaining in the boiler room listened to Five's story and explanation of the commission. As he spoke, you began to slightly understand why Five was avoiding getting the others involved because they would get involved in his mess. Ultimately, his efforts were in vain due to how the whole academy was now involved.

“Hopefully, Vanya was not roped into this. ” You silently pleaded. Though you kind of doubted it considering how she has stopped coming by the academy, since the intruders barged into their house and her siblings hurt her feelings.

As he explained, you got up and grabbed a glass of water for the boy while Spaceboy gave him some aspirin from Diego's cabinet. Once finished, the loyal duo sat down in their respective seats.

“So... you were a hitman?”

“Yes.”

Luther's eyes widened, “Uh... I mean, you had a code, right? You didn't kill just anybody.”

“No code. We took out anyone who messed with the timeline.” Five answered briefly, his tone was monotone, but you could tell he didn't particularly enjoy the thrill of the job.

“What about innocent people?” The larger man shot back.

“It was the only way I could get back here.”

Luther was appalled by his ‘little’ brother's response. How could he treat death so lightly? “But that's murder.”

The brunette looked away, then let out a ‘tsk’ till he looked Luther in the eye again, irritation laced his gaze. “Jesus, Luther, grow up. We're not kids anymore. There's no such thing as good guys or bad guys. There's just people, goin' about their lives. But when the world ends, all those people die, including our family.”

Everyone in the room went silent. It was true, after all. People are driven by desires - as others would say, selfishness. It's rare to find people who do things out of compassion. This statement can be applied to the individualistic society they lived in; Everyone wanted to stand out in their own way, and it was rare for someone in this day and age to do things out of compassion without something in return. Nowadays, people grow up looking out for themselves just to live their lives.

As the silence reigned, Five sighed and remarked, “Time changes everything.”

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

Klaus just returned from the past. Not only was he more brittle than he already was, but he was bloody, as his clothes were torn up, barely holding onto his body as he had just crawled out of hell. His brain was an orchestra playing an insane melody, making his head pound and his heart weigh heavier. With a heavy heart, he returned to the place he called ‘home', the Umbrella Academy.

Number Four rushed, but instead, he made a slow beeline to the bathroom. He undressed and slowly prepared himself to take a bath. Despite the eeriness of the room, he let himself indulge in the atmosphere; The darkness mirroring the absence of light in his heart. It felt oddly homely to him. It made him reminisce about the nights he'd shared his love, with his beloved Dave in each other’s embrace. He closed his eyes and wept, feeling the overwhelming sorrow and grief of losing his lover wash over him.

Although the brown-haired male was sluggish, he started himself a bath. Once the tub was filled, he sat at the bottom and let the water run. Even though the tub was overflowing with water and bubbles, it was nothing compared to his emotional state.

The seance sighed, then wore a pair of headphones to distract himself, his way of escaping his hell. However, the more he indulged in his escapism, the more the music in his ears was swelling and distorting per second as the sounds of the past were added into the mix, bringing him back to the day he dreaded the most.

Sounds of a helicopter whirring and gunshots overlapping as he shook Dave’s torso. “Dave!”

“Dave!”

“Dave!” In an attempt to keep his lover alive, Klaus kept screaming his lover's name over and over again in anguish and desperation. However, he failed as he slowly felt his significant other's pulse fade.

That was enough to sober Klaus from his immersion. He sat up straight and wiped away the bubbles from his face in an attempt to wake himself up. As he washed away the soap suds, neither his mind nor his heart wouldn’t stop reminding him of his loss. As he scrubbed away the dirt and blood, he couldn’t help but wonder why he had to be the one who survived.

Would Dave be in the same state as he was if he lost Klaus in war?

Would he just pretend not to be in pain and forever hide his true self from the world to protect himself from their judgment?

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

Once Five finished filling in the missing pieces for you and Luther, you three quickly returned to the academy to do what you needed to do. However, as you were about to return to your room to digest the information you had just received from Five, you saw bloodied footprints that led to Klaus' room. Worried for the seance, you headed to his room and lightly knocked on the door that he didn’t bother to close.

“Master Klaus?"

“Oh… thank God, it was just you, Rosey…” A sense of relief washed over him, which was odd coming for him. He was usually the relaxed one, so why was he so tense?

"Is everything-” You hold back your tongue, recalling that Klaus was not fond of opening up. Instead, you chose different words, “- Do you need anything? It seems like you had a rough night."

Number Four chuckles, “Sure. I know Pogo probably told you not to get me any more alcohol, but can you get me some?"

You nod and leave him to his devices as another set of footsteps approaches his doorway. Unbeknownst to you and Klaus, someone else saw the trail of blood leading to his room and followed the trail to the seance's room. The lanky man was scratching his back as he picked up a random shirt and threw it on.

Feeling a familiar sharp gaze on his figure, the curly-haired male muttered, “Oh, boy…” Klaus sighed to himself. He did not want to deal with Five right now, though he knew he would have to face the little guy. He was persistent when it came to something he needed.

The boy in school shorts knocked on the door, “You okay?”

“Hey.” Klaus turned to the small brunette and paused, "Yeah, I just... long night."

“More than one, from the looks of it.” His eyes narrowed, most likely looking for any details that pertain to Klaus’ rough shape.

“Yeah.” The jittery man nodded along as he fixed his appearance.

The boy noticed his jittering and silently took note of it, then pointed at the jiggling accessories that danced along Klaus’ neck as he moved, “Don't remember the dog tags.”

The lanky man grunted and then looked down at his chest, “Yeah, they belonged to a friend.” He tried his best to keep his lips in a straight line, whilst the dog tags jingled again as he reexamined them.

You grabbed some random alcohol from the bar and then headed back to Klaus' room. On the way there, you saw a familiar small brunette male in the hallway; instead of proceeding further, you chose to keep your distance from him and listened in on the two siblings' conversation. The servant leaned against the nearest wall and hid your presence as best as you could.

“How about that new tattoo?” Five gestured to the inked drawing engraved onto his adoptive brother's body.

The taller male stiffened then tried to shrug it off by acting nonchalantly, “You know, I don't totally remember even getting it. Like I said, it was a long night.”

“You did it, didn't you?” Five smiled as he saw that hope was finally within his reach.

Although the younger brunette didn't mean to come off weird, Klaus felt unnerved that someone like Five was smiling. “What are you talkin' about?”

“You know, I can recognize the symptoms, Klaus.”

“Symptoms of what?”

“The jet lag. Full body itch.”

The seance ended up sighing in defeat. He hated how Five practically knew everything and became more of an asshole than he remembered. Weirdly enough, it felt comforting to him that Five never changed; He was still the same person he knew, despite the shit he went through.

“The headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You gonna tell me about it?” The younger male smirked as he slowly approached his rarely sober brother. With each step, his eyes glinted with a hint of hope that he could finally prevent the apocalypse.

The lanky male finally gave in, “Your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn't find you, they took me hostage instead.”

“And in return, you stole their briefcase.” Five added as he paced around the room, tapping his chin as he began mentally laying down a plan.

“Yeah.” The Seance confirmed, his thoughts swirling from recalling the night. He seemed fine but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Even if he wore a smile and carelessly taunted his kidnappers, he was still scared. However, the loss of Dave hurt more than the physical torture he went through. “I thought there was money in it, or I could pawn it, you know, whatever.”

Number Four sighed, "And then I opened it."

“And the next thing you knew, you were... where? Or should I say when?” The Boy turned his head to Klaus, his eyes glinting as he felt that he was nearing what he was looking for, the very thing that would serve as the salvation of mankind, the briefcase.

“What difference does it make?”

“What diff-” Five stopped walking, his shoulder slumped at his brothers. He was caught off guard by his pessimism but he continued anyway. “Okay, how long were you gone?”

The curly-haired male breathed out a breezy yet tired reply, “Almost a year.”

“A year? Do you know what this means?”

“Yeah, I'm ten months older now.”

The younger male quickly interrupted, “No, this isn't any sort of joke, Klaus. Hazel and Cha-Cha will do whatever they can to get the briefcase. Where is it now?” He turned his head and began looking for the briefcase, eager that he finally had something to work with, though it quickly dissipated.

“Gone. I destroyed it. Poof.” He mockingly imitated the explosion with his hand.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“What do you care?”

“What do I care? I needed it, you moron! So I could get back, I could start over-” The smaller brunette angrily rambled, then paused as Number Four began standing up. “Just... Just... Where are you going?”

“Interrogation is over, just... leave.” The Seance said, but he is the one who ended up leaving the room instead of Five.

Number Five was left by himself to ponder about his situation, the mess was unbearably stressful, putting him under a lot of pressure. He ended up sitting on his adoptive brother’s bed as he fidgeted with his fingers or played with his hair to help calm himself down. Comically, the room he - unwarrantedly - chose to settle himself in reflected his mental condition, the same could be said for the whole family, even Rossweisse herself. It was an unspoken mess that everyone became used to and chose to accept, thus causing them to end up the people they are now.

You noticed Klaus leave his bedroom, and you left your hiding spot as you hurriedly ran up to his side with the alcohol in hand, ready to give it to him. The ‘physically’ younger brother noticed your figure ran past him and called out to you, “Oi, Y/N gimme that bottle.”

At first, the servant was caught off guard but nodded, and gave the bottle of alcohol to Five. After doing so, she hurried to Klaus' side to try and make sure he was doing alright, not wanting his - seemingly - deteriorating state to get worse than it already was. Inaudible words were whispered under the young man's breath when he was left alone. The boy then began scribbling down something on the memo pad, and once Five finished, he harshly ripped it.

The curly-haired male headed downstairs with you in tow. The once shell-shocked man began gaining awareness of his surroundings. The whole academy was a mess, he just caught a glimpse of Pogo fixing Grace, whilst the chandelier from the center of the house became a centerpiece for the floor instead.

He stopped his tracks, as he examined the aftermath of what he missed out on. “What happened here?”

“A lot happened while you were gone…” You replied as you anxiously tapped on your arm, “In short, it's those masked people's fault.” The seance nodded along as he observed the damage that was left by the intruders.

“You look like shit.” A fully equipped Diego pointed out as he walked past his brother.

The lanky male mindlessly nodded, used to his siblings' assholery, “Why, thank you.”

“Where are you going, Master Diego?” You quipped, making Diego jump a little since he didn’t notice you were in the same room.

“Can I-?” The Latino cut in before Klaus finished his question. "Nope."

“What?”

“I'm not giving you a ride.”

“Oh, come on, man. You know I can't drive.” Klaus whined and slightly shook his brother’s shoulders in a weak attempt to convince him.

The Kraken tried to dismiss it but, as his stutters took over, “I don't c…”

“Okay, great.” The Seance pats Diego's back while the Latino groans. “I'll just get my things. Two minutes.”

"You're stuck babysitting him this time, aren't you?" The clad in black groaned and threw the ‘younger’ girl a questioning look.

"I wouldn't say I'm babysitting him.” She shook her head, dismissing Diego’s statement, “No one's ordered me to look after Klaus. I'm doing this out of concern, he's been acting odd since he returned.”

Number Two shook his head in acknowledgment, but he didn’t buy it. You have always been the honest type, but ever since a certain old man’s death, you have been acting weird, and not the usual weird that he was used to.

Amidst the discussion of his father’s funeral, you were the only one who was on guard and taking Luther’s words seriously. Albeit, he understands why Luther would pin you as the suspect. He knows you are more likely to kill the old geezer since you were the only number left behind, and the only number who stayed by their father’s side like the loyal dog you were. However, the Latino believed you didn’t kill their old man, but you had to know something about his death at most; Diego believed you didn’t have a motive unless you were ordered to do so. For now, he will keep you within arm's length.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

Throughout the car ride, Klaus was unusually silent, which worried Number Two and Number Zero. He was downing the alcohol he swiped from home, quicker than the drugs he purchased. Diego glanced at his brother to check on him, as he silently gestured for you to talk for Klaus.

“Master Klaus, are you alright?” You tilted her head, hoping for a response, but Klaus took a swig of his drink, refusing to let out a word about his sorrows.

“Wow.” The Latino let out an empty laugh, “This is a first, my brother Klaus is silent. Last time you were this quiet, we were 12; Ran down the stairs wearing Grace's heels, tripped over, and broke your jaw.”

The lanky man kept drinking, which prompted Diego to play dumb as he shot a question. “How long was it wired shut again?”

“Eight weeks.” The servant replied.

Diego wore a pleased smile and nodded along, “Eight glorious weeks of bliss.”

“Hey, just... just drop me off here.” The curly-haired man sat up straight and gestured at a veteran bar that was close by.

His brother glanced at the bar and furrowed his brows. Despite the number of questions that were going through his head, he pulled up causing the car to screech, “You sure you okay, man?”

Unfortunately for Diego, Klaus didn’t reply because he was quick to sigh and exit the car with the drink in hand. You were about to follow him into the bar but, the man clad in black stopped you from taking another step.

“Don’t, they won’t let you in because of your powers.” You silently nodded, understanding your own powers' drawbacks.

The servant anxiously waited for her masters to return; You did your best to keep yourself distracted but, even with every distraction you did. You could not help but let your eyes drift to the veteran bar out of concern. When they came out of the bar with bruises littered across their skin, she wore a relieved smile and let out a grateful sigh. For the duration of the car ride, you did your best to pick up the pieces from Klaus and Diego’s conversation to fill in what you had missed.

“You got a big mouth, you know that?” The Kraken grunted, side-eyeing his brother.

The curly-haired brunette was chuckling to himself, “Oh, wow. What a truly shocking revelation, Diego.”

“Everything's a big joke to you, right?”

The lanky man did his best to quickly take out the drug from its packaging, despite his sluggish state. An angry brother glared at him and yanked the drug from his brother's hands. “Would you stop it? Why are you putting this shit in your body?”

You silently agreed with Diego but didn't express your thoughts about it. Everyone has always known Klaus was the type to use something to escape rather than live life as it is; he can’t bring to help himself, no matter how many times he has been sent to a drug rehabilitation center or arrested for his shenanigans. It became tiresome, but the best they could do was put a house over his roof and not enable him till he decided it was time to stop.

Though, now that you thought about it… was it a good idea to bring alcohol to Klaus earlier? Or did Five see your mistake and decide to take away the bottle to help Klaus?

Begrudgingly, Number Four looked away and blew a raspberry.

“Check this out. Hm?” The Latino proudly showed off his well-built torso, “My body is a temple. All that shit you do, it's just weakness.”

“Oh. Well, weakness feels so good.” The seance took out another drug he was hiding and tried to consume it but, his brother hit the back of his head. “What's goin' on with you? Huh?”

“Don't hit me, asshоlе!”

Diego angrily ruffled his hair, then jabbed a finger in Klaus’ direction, “Don't tell me everything's alright! Because I saw you in there, you were crying like a baby!”

“Because I lost someone!”

You and the man dressed in black were taken aback, seeing this side of Klaus was not a normal occurrence since he usually hid his emotions through escapism. Even at Ben’s funeral, he didn’t grieve as hard as he was right now… He cried, yes, but he didn’t look like the death of his brother impacted him as much as the lover he lost.

“I lost someone. The only…” He paused, then looked away, sorrow glazing his orbs. “The only person I've ever truly loved more than myself.”

“When did Klaus settle down with someone? ” You asked yourself, trying to recall when that happened.

The curly-haired man dug through his pockets and took out another stash he hid, “Cheers.” then swallowed it this time without any interruptions from Diego.

“Well, you're luckier than most. When you lose someone, at least you can... see them whenever you want.”

Number Two adjusted the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, “That's our man.”

You perked up, followed Diego’s gaze, and saw a familiar man who wore the same suit that caused the fire at the prosthetics building. Klaus glanced at the side mirror out of curiosity as his eyes widened, “Hey, I know that guy…”

“How could you possibly know that-”

“He and a really angry lady tortured me. I barely got out with my life.”

The well-dressed man went into his car and started the engine. Once the hitman began driving away, Diego immediately started the car to tail him. Fueled by his anger in his veins; He did his best to maintain both his wits and his anger, to give Detective Patch’s murderers the taste of their own medicine. Whilst you and Klaus were just there for the ride.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

In Five’s bedroom, fast chalk tapping against the wall could be heard, reminiscent of a teacher jotting down important points against the chalkboard. At the moment, the boy was in his bedroom, busy scribbling down equations and solving them at his own pace. Unknowingly, this led to him vandalizing his whole room. He was standing on his knees on top of his bed whilst he was busy solving his final equation. Delores sat on a nearby chair, sometimes chipping in if needed.

“Oh, I think I’ve got something Delores. It's tenuous, but promising.” The small brunette turned to Delores.

If the mannequin could move, it would have shaken her head and wore a concerned gaze. “No offense dear, but do you think this’ll just… work?”

“It won’t ‘just work’, it has to work. This is the only solution I have that doesn’t involve the others getting endangered.”

“Well, it seems that I have to remind you then.” The mannequin’s vacant look is replaced by a (non-existent) smug expression, “You messed up your time travel, twice, thus resulting in you going too far into the future and messing up your body.” She gestured to Five’s fifteenth-year-old body.

He clicked his tongue and averted his gaze as the color red and embarrassment took over his cheeks. “Numbers have never failed me.”

“They did fail you once, which ended up with you getting this body and little time to stop the apocalypse. You sure you want to mess up - possibly - your second and last chance to fix things?”

This time, the young man was struck with reality once again. Delores was right yet again, and he hated it, this was his last chance and he couldn’t mess up. He wanted to face it head-on, which made him forget he needed time to stop and think, or things could fall apart based on one mistake. Out of instinct, he clicked his tongue with an irritated look thrown in Delores’ direction, making the imaginary woman laugh.

An uninvited guest walked into the room, taking in the mess of numbers and letters all over the room, thus making the bedroom look like scratch paper. “Who you talkin' to? What is all this?”

“It's a probability map.”

“Probability of what?”

“Of whose death could save the world.” Number Five turned to the dirty blond-haired brother and added, “I've narrowed it down to four.”

Luther approached the list of names and gestured to it. “Are you saying one of these four people caused the apocalypse?”

“No, I'm saying that their death might prevent it.”

“Oh.” Spaceboy stared at the equations littering the room with amazement, though it seemed like he was not registering what Five explained. The sound of chalk scratching on walls continued till Luther disrupted it, “I'm not following.”

“Time is fickle, Luther. The slightest alteration in events can lead to massively different outcomes in the time continuum. The butterfly effect. So all I have to do is find the people with the greatest probability of impacting the timeline, wherever they may be, and kill them.” Five explained as the gears in Luther’s head spun. Once he was able to digest the information, his eyebrows shot up as he finally understood what Five meant.

“Oh, yeah... “

The dirty blond-haired man read one of the names and asked loudly, “Milton Greene. So who's he, a terrorist or something?”

“I believe he is a gardener.” In haste, the Five got off the bed and jotted down the names on a copy of Vanya’s autobiography.

Number One whips his attention to Five, “You can't be serious. Wait, this is madness, Five!”

The boy in schoolboy shorts brought out a sniper case under the bed and opened it to reveal a sniper. Catching Luther by surprise, “You... Wh... Where'd you get that?”

“In Dad's room. I think he used it to shoot a rhinoceros.” He took out the sniper from the case and carefully examined the weapon’s build, “It's similar to the model I used at work. Nice shoulder fit and highly reliable.”

“But you can't... This guy Milton is just an innocent man.” The ape hybrid man argued.

The small brunette furrowed his brows, “It's basic math. His death could potentially save the lives of billions. If I did nothing, he'd be dead in four days anyway. The apocalypse won't spare anyone.”

“We don't do this kind of thing.”

“We are not doing anything. I am.” Five corrected.

Which prompted the dirty blond man to be more assertive. “I can't let you go kill innocent people. No matter how many lives you'll save.”

“Well, good luck stopping me.” The boy turned his back and was about to walk away.

“You're not going anywhere.” Luther grabbed Delores and provoked Five more by hanging the top half of the mannequin outside the window. Five’s eyes widened and he immediately swerved as he positioned himself and pointed the sniper at Luther.

“Put… her... down.” He used the tip of his gun to gesture to Luther to place the mannequin down.

“Put the gun down. You're not killing anyone today. I know she's important to you, so don't make me do this.” The large man insisted, gesturing to his brother to lower the weapon down. Though Five scoffed at his words, his actions were betraying him as his hands were trembling from the thought of hurting his brother or losing his ‘lover’.

“It's either her or the gun. You decide.”

Seeing his brother’s silence and hesitation, Number One quickly took the window of opportunity - literally - and threw the mannequin out the window. Five reacted swiftly and teleported to Delores’ side to save her. Meanwhile, Luther ran to the sniper and pointed it downward to avoid shooting anyone by accident.

The young man cradled his imaginary lover in his arms and double-checked if she had gotten hurt. “Phew.”

“I can keep doin' this all day.” Luther looked down at the weapon and then at Five, “I know you're still a good person, Five. Otherwise, you wouldn't have risked everything coming back here to save us all. But you're not on your own anymore.”

The young brunette sighed, then turned to his brother, “There is one way. But it's just impossible.”

“More impossible than what brought you back here?”

Five sighed as he held onto Delores tighter and looked into the matte eyes that looked back into his hazel orbs, a smile - that he was imagining - present on Delores’ face. The conversation he had with his ‘wife’ earlier rang throughout his head as he couldn’t stop second-guessing himself and his choices. He won’t say it out loud, but he was just as lost as the others; he knew what he wanted but he was not sure what he was supposed to do. With every plan he created, he felt like he was straying farther from his goal, and he didn’t want things to get worse or get his family involved, and now that they were.

He couldn’t help but question if this was a fruitless endeavor. But then again, he can’t just stand around and do nothing.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

A short-haired woman in a dark navy suit walked into the motel they just checked into then walked away. As for the man who wore a matching uniform, he stared down at the room in contempt as he irritatedly breathed through his nose.

“Singles instead of doubles. What's next, futons on the floor?” He whined as he lazily placed the donuts that he purchased from Agnes’ donut shop on a nearby round table.

Cha-cha sat on the edge of the TV stand, “What difference does it make? We're only here another night.”

“Well, that's easy for you to say. I've been in every pawn shop all over town, lookin' for our briefcase.” Hazel picked a bed and gently put down his suit jacket on the bedside cabinet then turned on the lamp attached above the bed. “You've been relaxing in the library.”

“Well, at least we know somethin' on the family that can help.” The woman held up Vanya's autobiography that she had borrowed to show to her partner, “It's like a Hargreeves family handbook.”

“Let me tell you, they're a real freakin' mess.”

Meanwhile, the Latino parked outside the inn. You and Klaus watched Diego do his thing. He lowered himself as he attached something at the bottom of the hitmen’s car then connected the device to the object he attached to the car. You weren’t sure what he attached to the car but, you assumed it was a tracking device.

“I’m surprised Diego has a tracking device but can’t purchase his place.” You silently giggle, though you presume he didn’t buy it but swiped it from the academy and brought it along for this mission.

“Number Five can time travel without a briefcase, but not that well. The big oaf lived on the moon for a few years. The little girl you fought with is a 31-year-old but she stopped growing up when she turned 15; while her blood can accelerate the recovery process of injuries. The junkie can conjure the dead, which explains why he knew about the dead Russian yesterday. And the idiot in the mask can curve anything he throws, usually knives.”

Whilst Cha-cha was summarizing the information she gathered from her intel gathering, Hazel found himself zoning out. He walked towards the window to peek in case someone was listening in to their conversation or someone was having a stake out nearby. Fortunately for him, he did discover that someone did tail them, so he can stop listening to Cha-cha ramble. Unfortunately for him, Cha-cha was going to scold him later for not being careful and they would be forced to move to a different motel now.

“Well, he's the one we need to worry about right now.”

“Why?”

The hitman gestured to the window with his head tilting in the same direction, “Cause he's in the parking lot, hiding behind an ice cream truck.”

Hurriedly, the hitwoman hurried to the window to check if her partner was telling the truth. Her brown gaze noticed a green car and a slightly banged-up car. She narrowed her eyes a little to try and figure out if the person sitting in the driver's seat was someone from the academy then, they made eye contact with Diego.

“Bingo.” The one clothed in black smirked when he made eye contact with the ones he was tailing and mentally took note of the room they stayed in. When the well-dressed woman took notice of his smirk, she took the curtains from Hazel’s hold and hastily closed the curtains.

Number Four chimed in before he took a short sip of his alcohol, “You do know that killing these people is not gonna make you feel any better.”

“Yeah, but when it's done…” The Latino turned to his brother, with a small smile as Klaus was chugging his drink, “...I'm gonna sleep like a baby.”

“Sure you will.” The drunk man’s lips curled up a little, his tone doubtful.

“I feel like Diego is just here to look for a punching bag.” You internally commented knowing that neither of your masters asked for you to speak nor for your opinion.

On the temps commission side, they were preparing themselves for their getaway just in case another mess occurred. Cha-cha was double-checking her handgun: if her magazine still had bullets, and if she lubricated her gun well. Whilst Hazel sat on his bed ready to open up the donuts he purchased, someone knocked on the door catching both hitmen’s attention. They both stealthy neared the door while Hazel peeked who was at the door through the window.

“Motel clerk.” The man said in a low volume, not wanting to be overheard by the clerk.

Cha-cha opened the door a little and took the note from the motel clerk then read the note. “It's from Five.”

“How'd he find us?”

“Well, he was us. He knows all the protocols. He says he has the briefcase. He wants to set up a meeting. Come on, we're late already.”

“What about our friends outside?” Hazel gestured to the window, “Last thing we need's a tail. Manila, 1902.”

Cha-cha pointed at the ice bucket, “Let's just go with the ice bucket.”

The hitman let out a reluctant groan. Nonetheless, he grabbed the ice bucket and robotically made his way out of their motel room and went to ‘grab’ more ice then left the room. Diego was intently observing the other hitman then quickly prepared himself before heading out to the motel room the hitmen were staying at.

He eyed you and his brother, “You two stay in the car.”

“What are you talkin' about? This guy tortured me.”

“I have a plan.” The knife wielder asserted and left the car in you and Klaus’ care, as he made his way to the cartoon-masked hitmen’s room.

The lanky man spoke with a drunken smile that did not make you feel reassured, “Rosie, stay here, ‘kay?”

“Master Klaus you should really listen to Master Diego-” You tried to discourage Klaus but got shot down, “I’ll do fine.”

“Master Klaus you said it yourself, they tortured you and you aren’t in the right state of mind. We wouldn’t want you to endanger yourself in another crossfire.”

“I’m fine Y/N, trust me but, you can come along with me if you want to keep me in check?” The servant reluctantly sighed and tagged along with Klaus… again.

Number Four and Number Zero followed the direction Diego went. They saw a familiar physique at the top of the stairs ready to tackle the door down. Well, he was planning on tackling it down, till you and Klaus walked up to him.

“So, what exactly is the plan here, big guy?”

“I told you both to wait in the car.” The Kraken glared at you and Klaus, though it felt like the glare was mostly directed at you since he did expect you to keep Klaus in check.

The curly-haired male drank his alcohol and then pointed out, “Yeah, but you also told me that licking a nine-volt battery would give me pubes.”

Number Two looked mildly amused but the look was quickly wiped off as he donned a serious one then whispered. “We were eight.”

“Sorry, Master Klaus insisted we come along. I didn’t want to leave him in your care while you fight, so I decided to come along.” You said shamefully as you looked at your feet, and pushed your thumbs against the other anxiously.

As expected of the drunk man, he brazenly took a step forward ready to charge forward but you and Diego grabbed onto him before he could do anything brash.

“Uh-uh, uh-uh…” The man dressed in black grabbed his brother’s arm and dragged him back to the bottom of the stairs and pushed him in the direction of the car, as you followed their trail like a lost puppy following its owners.

“What? Come on.”

“For once in your life, I need you to listen to me, okay? Now, go back to the car. If I don't come out in two minutes, that means I'm probably dead.” The Latino placed his calloused hands on Klaus’ shoulders, despite the rough texture of his hands the gesture was gentle and warm. “So... That happens, go get help. Okay?”

The seance let out his breath hesitantly but, weakly shook his head in agreement, as he placed his hand on Diego’s forearm. “Yeah, okay, okay, okay, okay. Okay.”

One last time, Diego patted his brother’s shoulders and then headed upstairs. As for you and Klaus, this time you took the lead and guided him back to the car. The anger that was building up within Diego was nearing its explosive stage. With every step he took he couldn’t help but recall his ex-girlfriend’s smile and seeing her lifeless expression as she laid on the floor. Once he came face to face with the door, he didn’t hold back and took out all his anger on the door, wanting this whole thing to end as swiftly as possible, not caring whether he would die in the process or not.

As his foot made contact with the door, it was surprisingly easy to open. Diego looked around the room that the hitmen checked in and it was empty, the hitwoman was not there. He scanned the room and noticed that neither of their belongings were present, only the sound of horse neighing, the sound of gunfire, and the sound of a crowd screaming on television occupied their room.

Out of nowhere, he heard an engine revving from the outside. The knife wielder lowered his guard a little as he was curious as to the source of the sound, and then he approached the railing. The vehicle that the masked hitmen used ran past the motel and shot up the place. The bullets flew out from different directions hitting everything they came across, one of the stray bullets was in the course to hit Diego, till you showed up and used yourself as a shield.

Adrenaline rushed through your veins as you stood in front of your master, willing to die in his stead. The fear of pain and the fear of death were quickly discarded as the life of the pupils of Umbrella Academy mattered more than yours, that’s what the patriarch of the household reminded you every day, so you would remember your purpose. The bullet went through your shoulder, the crimson liquid trickled down your shoulder blade as the color red bloomed onto your clothes and the searing pain followed.

For a brief moment, the pain was sharp and severe but the pain dulled down as the adrenaline took over you, making the servant dismiss the injury. However, every time you moved you couldn’t prevent your body from wincing as the sensation of the foreign object was poking in your shoulder. While Klaus came in clutch and grabbed his brother and you out of the way. The gunshots eventually died down, allowing the three to relax as you leaned against Diego’s side for support.

“Oh, man. See? You used to think I was an idiot.” Klaus giggled to himself, which prompted a small smile on your face. You were glad he lightened up a little.

Diego rolled his eyes, “I still think you're an idiot.”

The sound of tires screeching alerted Diego to the car speeding up to leave the three Numbers behind. The Latino straightened himself and placed his knives back into their rightful place as he ran down the stairs. “They're getting away!”

“You're welcome by the way!” The lanky man carefully cradled you in his arms and carried you downstairs as fast as he could without hurting your injured side.

The man clad in black groaned as he did his best to run up to the car, “Shit! Get in the car.”

The curly-haired man did his best to catch up but when he saw the flat tire he slowed down. “Oh…” You and Klaus said in unison.

Out of frustration, the Kraken kicked the wheel and groaned in frustration. He began pacing back and forth as he fidgeted with his knife by throwing it in the air and spinning it before repeating the pattern.

“Was this all part of your master plan? Hm?” His drunk brother cheekily asked, even though the look on his face said that he knew what the answer was to his question.

The frustrated male shot him a glare as warmth crept up his cheeks, “Shut up.”

The servant and the seance laughed together as the other man turned his attention to you, “For now, we need to apply first aid on Rosie, okay? She took a bullet for you.”

Diego silently agreed and went to get his first aid kit in his trunk. As he was preparing the required materials, he couldn’t help but question himself for his initial suspicion regarding Number Zero. He always knew you were loyal to the academy, though he didn’t understand if you could do things on your own accord or have to follow orders. Earlier, you protected him even though their father didn’t order you, nor did he tell you to protect him. Don’t get him wrong, he is thankful that you stepped in but, he still didn’t understand what prompted you to do that.

However, if their father had something to do with how you could easily throw away your life, then all he can say is that his ‘father’ deserved his death.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

Spaceboy drove one of their father’s cars into an isolated place. While Five sat in the passenger seat with the ‘time travel machine’ briefcase seated on his lap. Luther stopped the car in the middle of the barren area. It was the perfect meeting place; The location was isolated from society, and there were more electric posts compared to the number of buildings, trees, and civilians. Through this they could avoid getting more people hurt, so Five chose a fairly good spot.

The small brunette looked out the window, an indescribable look that Luther was familiar with, yet something he couldn’t decipher so quickly. Said boy sighed then finally spoke, “You know, I never enjoyed it.”

“What?” The larger male turned to the young man.

“The killing.” Five clarified in a hushed tone, his gaze on the road. “I mean, I was... I was good at my work, and I... I took pride in it. But it never gave me pleasure.” He let out an irritated sigh, “I think it was all those years alone. Solitude can do funny things to the mind.”

“Yeah, well, you were gone for such a long time.” Luther agreed with a slight nod as his fingers drummed on the steering wheel. “I only spent four years on the moon, but that was more than enough. It's the being alone that breaks you.”

In spite of the one-sided rivalry, they put it aside to agree on one thing they shared in common. Isolation drives people insane. Wanting to change the subject, the dirty blond-haired male eyes the fake time machine. “You think they'll buy it?”

The young man shrugged and tried to sit comfortably, “Well, what I do know is that they're desperate. It's like a cop losing his gun. If the Commission finds out, they'll be in deep shit. Oh, not to mention the fact that they'll be stuck here until they get it back.”

“Well, I should hold onto it.” The ape hybrid man suggested to which Five raised an eyebrow, “Hm?”

“In case they make a move on you.”

“Okay, Luther, but be careful. I mean, I've... I've lived a long life, but... you're still a young man. You got your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it.”

Number One wore an expression that was akin to confusion and gratitude. He did appreciate receiving advice from an elder, someone like Five who cared for him… who showed it weirdly. However, his younger brother- er- brother’s appearance does not match the wisdom he withholds. It felt and looked contradicting in his eyes, even his heart and mind did not know how to take in the advice, nor disassociate Five’s appearance from the wisdom he accumulated over the years.

In the distance, a light blue car was approaching the meeting spot. Both Numbers came out of the car and stood by each other’s side. Said car stopped a few feet away from the other car, the familiar masked hitmen came out of the car with their guns, then they slowly approached the middle of the road with Five meeting them there halfway.

The hitman carried a handgun that was pointed at Five though, the boy seemed bothered by something else. Since he merely raised a brow at the guns and gestured to the masks that the two wore. “Are the masks really necessary?”

The duo quickly discarded the masks but Hazel still kept his gun pointed at Five. Then Cha-cha finally spoke, “So, where is it, kid?”

“Wow, that's how you're gonna start.” The small brunette feigned an amused expression, he clicked his tongue then, turned to the car that Luther stood by. “You know, we can get right back in our car and call it a day.”

The well-dressed man lightly pressed his finger on the trigger, an obvious threat that anyone could pick up on. “You won't even make it halfway there.”

“Maybe.” The boy in school shorts gestured to his stronger brother, “But as I'm sure you found out in your previous foray, my brother is not your average giant.”

“He's right. You dropped a chandelier on him, got right back up.”

“By the time you took him out, he'd smash your precious briefcase to a pulp.”

Hazel quipped, “Probably us too, right?”

Discovering that they were at a stalemate, Cha-cha raised a question with a displeased look on her face. “So, how do we help each other?”

“I need you to get in contact with your superior so I can have a chat with her. Face-to-face.”

“About what?” She narrowed her eyes at the boy, suspicious of his proposition.

“Well, I don't believe that's any of your concern.”

The woman was hesitant to trust the ‘traitor’ of the commission but she shrugged it off. “Just don't tell her about the briefcase.”

“Fair enough.” Number Five nodded as he backed away slowly and returned to Luther’s side.

The woman in a bob cut headed to the nearest phone booth and began dialing down their superior’s number, while the larger brunette still had his gun directed at Five as he slowly walked backward and to his partner’s side. From time to time, the dark-skinned woman would look over her shoulder to check if Five or Luther were doing anything dubious.

“What happens now?” Number One asked.

The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Now we wait.”

Only the sound of the wind whistling was heard, till an inaudible chime at the distance could be heard thus catching four people’s attention. Even if they had different goals, they all had the same question, “What the fuck is that? ”; They all kept their eyes on a bright vehicle that was heading in their direction with the music at full blast, it was playing the orchestra tune of ‘Ride of the Valkyries’.

“Is that her?” The dirty blond-haired male asked but, the brunette didn’t have an answer to his brother’s question because he was just as confused as he was.

As the ice cream truck passed by the Boy and Spaceboy, they incidentally caught a glimpse of the culprits: Y/N, Diego, and Klaus. The curly-haired man waved at his brothers as he was carelessly steering the wheel, while Diego and you were holding on for your dear lives. Ironically, the one who looked like he was the most scared - Diego - is the same person who was screaming at Klaus to go faster, and the only sane one - you - was discouraging your masters from becoming more reckless. At this point, Five and Luther were not surprised, just confused at the abrupt appearance.

The short brown-haired boy thought aloud, “What the hell are they doing here?”

Diego shouted as he closed his eyes and held onto his seat, “Go faster!”

“With pleasure!” The seance laughed maniacally as he stomped on the gas pedal resulting in the ice cream truck accelerating.

“I beg of you Master Klaus please don’t!” You pleaded as you finally understood why his driver’s license was taken away.

“It's a setup!” The hitmen began shooting up the ice cream truck and the defenseless numbers, the sound of their bullets echoing as they landed a hit on the truck. Swiftly, Luther used himself as a shield for Five as his brother hid behind him.

The colorful truck hit the assassins, they were supposed to be thrown backward and then rolled on the floor, yet they were frozen in mid-air the truck collided with their torsos but the after-effect never happened. The other stray bullets that were headed to both the ice cream truck and the two numbers were slowing down and then stopped altogether. Confused, Five came out of his hiding spot, whilst you were busy trying to process why everything froze, you tried to shake Klaus and Diego’s sides but neither of them responded. You were about to go outside the ice cream truck and check out what was going on when a new voice spoke up.

“Neat trick, isn't it?” Before Five there stood a tall sophisticated woman with silver hair: She wore a dark coat, sunglasses, and a small hat with a small veil attached to it, while carrying a briefcase in her other hand. With her free hand, she removed her veil and glasses to reveal her devilish expression that neither the sunglasses nor the veil could hide.

You froze up in your spot, your hand withdrawing from the car door. Even though you have never fought with villains by the Umbrella Academy’s side, this woman gave off the same air as the villains that the other Numbers spoke about as children.

“Hello, Five. You look good, all things considered.”

“It's good to see you again.”

You peeked from the car window, trying to hide your presence from both of them. You couldn’t help but be in awe of the small brunette. He stood before the mystery woman with his hands in his pocket, as though she was not a big threat. Though, knowing him, he was probably holding a weapon hidden in his pockets ready to charge at the woman when the opportunity came.

“Feels like we met just yesterday. Course, you were a little bit older then.” She joked then added. “Congratulations on the age regression, by the way. Very clever. Threw us all off the scent.”

The former assassin of the Commission merely rolled his eyes. “Ah, well, I wish I could take credit. I just miscalculated the time dilation projections, and... Well, you know. Here I am.”

“You realize your efforts are futile.” Five’s former superior faux a smile, “So why don't you tell me what you really want?”

The young man said, “I want you to put a stop to it.”

You felt a drop of sweat drip down your forehead as your face shifted into a look of disappointment; you expected more from Five, and that’s why you didn’t think he would resort to this. Though, you suppose you couldn’t blame him since at this point a lot of people were getting involved: the academy, Diego’s ex-girlfriend, and civilians. He probably assumed compromising with the enemy is the best solution for now.

“You realize what you're asking for is next to impossible, even for me. What's meant to be is meant to be. That's our raison d'être.”

The boy pulled out a gun and angled it to Handler’s head, “Yeah? Well, how about survival as a raison? ”

“I'll just be replaced.” The tall woman shrugged, her fake smile not faltering. “I'm but a... small cog in a machine. This fantasy you've been nurturing about summoning up your family to stop the apocalypse... is just that. A fantasy.”

Her heels clicked as she took steps to close in the distance between her and Five “I must say, though, we're all quite impressed with your initiative, your... stick-to-itiveness, really quite… quite something. Which is why we want to offer you a new position back at the Commission, in management.”

“Sorry, what's that now?” He chuckled in disbelief as he lowered his gun a little, obviously intrigued by the proposition.

“Why would they offer a job after his betrayal? ” You asked yourself, your brows furrowed at the mysterious woman.

“Come back to work for us again. You know it's where you belong.”

“Well, it didn't work out too well the last time.”

The silver-haired woman shook her head as she corrected him, “But you wouldn't be in the correction division any longer. I'm talking about... the home office. You'd have the best health and pension, and an end to this ceaseless travel.”

“You're a distinguished professional in-” The Handler looks down at Five’s uniform with a strained smile that was tempted to chuckle, “-schoolboy shorts. We have the technology to reverse the process. If Rossweisse came along with you, her blood could be of use to speed up the reversal process, and I heard she’s a good fighter, yes? She could be of use to the correctional division.”

The servant’s eyes widened as you straightened up a little, you were tempted to speak up and accept the offer so you could finally redeem yourself. But, Five’s words brought you back to reality.

The angry boy replied, venom seething through his words. “I’m the one you are offering the deal to, not her so leave her name out of your mouth.”

You slouched in your hiding spot and averted your gaze to your master. This was confusing… Why didn’t he just accept the offer? This way you could redeem yourself for your past mistakes and he would return to his proper age. It was practically killing two birds with one stone yet, he chose to discard a tempting offer. However, now that you think about it, there is a chance the commission would use that offer to their advantage but, if this was about not getting others involved anymore, it’s kinda pointless now… They need as much help as they can get to arise victorious from this apocalypse.

“I mean, you... you can't be happy like this.” The woman pointed out in a soft tone as she casually pushed the gun down.

Number Five insisted, his grip on the gun tight but the weapon was pointed downwards. “I'm not looking for happy.”

“Master Five please don’t lower your guard! ” You silently cried as you readied your retractable staff ready to intervene. Though, you were hesitating because every time you tried to help or obey an order it seemed like you always messed things up. The thought of not being of any use to the academy but, being the cause of chaos resulted in a tear running down your cheeks then another.

Tears began streaming down your eyes followed by your nose sniffling uncontrollably, you did your best to wipe your tears away with your sleeves. The irrational fear of the Monocle or the other Numbers seeing you like this was at the back of your head, you didn’t want to get caught- No, you can’t get caught. Not right now. The familiar wave of panic washed over you, more irrational thoughts flooding your mind as your rationality and sense of reality slipped. Your breaths came in short, desperate gasps that you struggled to quiet down but, it only grew louder. The feeling of your head pounding and your head spinning overwhelmed your senses that you couldn’t process what was going on anymore in the outside world; The only thing you could think of was that you had to stop, you were a mess. This is not how a servant should be acting, this is not what the patriarch of the household expected from you. Out of desperation, you dug your fingers into your skin to wake you up from your despair, whilst you used your free hand to bite on to muffle your cries.

Whilst you were spiraling in your misery, the high-ranking commission individual and the traitor were busy conversing.

“We're all looking for happy.” The cheeky woman’s smirk widened slightly, noticing that her target was faltering, and then she caressed Five’s cheek. “We can make that happen. We can make you... yourself again.”

The small brunette sighed and gestured to his siblings who were frozen in time, “And what about my family?”

“What about them?”

“I want them to survive.”

The silver-haired woman turned her head to check on Five’s siblings, “All of them?”

“Yes, all of them.” He confirmed with a firm tone.

“Even Y/N Rossweisse?” The woman wore a Cheshire grin as she tilted her head a little as though she was recalling something. “From what I recall in Vanya Hargreeves’ autobiography, she’s deemed like a servant and an outsider of the family. And the book even states you dislike her, you sure you don’t want to use the opportunity to get rid of her?”

The boy clicked his tongue, “Dislike is different from hate.”

“She may not be a Hargreeves but there are people out there who will cry for her. Heck, the others might get mad at me if they find out I abandoned her. ” He internally remarked.

Five may act like he does not care about anyone but, he is observant. He knows how close Diego is with you for your shared fear of needles, how close you were with Vanya because you always followed her around, how you always did your best to stop Klaus from causing any more trouble for himself and others, and probably Allison since she grew a soft spot for children ever since she became a mother.

“Well…” The Handler retrieved her glasses from her coat pocket and equipped them again, “I'll see what I can do.” She brought out her hand to Five, “Do we have a deal?”

“One thing.”

While time was still frozen, the brown-haired boy hurriedly grabbed the gun that Hazel dropped and removed the magazine then threw both of them in different directions. He then turned his attention to the bullet heading towards Luther’s direction then adjusted its course. Once he was satisfied with his work, he finally shook the Handler’s hand. For a brief moment there was a bright light and the sound of electricity zapping, when they disappeared time took its course.

You were so busy trying to calm yourself down that you didn’t notice that everything went back to normal. The orchestra tune of ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ continued its chime and the ice cream truck continued moving forward then, the truck collided with the assassins’ torsos, thus they were thrown a few feet away whilst groaning in pain. The stray bullets that were shot earlier finally penetrated the truck and missed Luther. The colorful truck kept moving till it crashed against the masked men’s car, resulting in Klaus and Diego being thrown back in their seats but, due to your position you were thrown forward consequently your head crashed against the dashboard which led you to pass out.

“Good God, Rosie!” Klaus hurried to your side. He carefully examined your state. You were bleeding, a large gash on your forehead as brittles of glass were lodged onto your skin with remnants of tears still present across your skin.

Panicked, Luther looked around because one of his siblings who had common sense just vanished. “Five?”

“Oh! Ow!” The man dressed in black cried out in pain.

Spaceboy frantically screamed, “Five!”

The dirty blond-haired man kept looking around for Five but, when he saw the hitmen began shakily gathering themselves despite being recently run over and getting hit in the torso. He turned his gaze to his family who were still in the ice cream truck, he noticed that they had not left the vehicle yet. They probably needed a distraction.

Luther shook the briefcase to catch the enemy’s attention, “Come get it!” Then he quickly threw it as far as he could.

The ape-man hybrid ran for the ice cream truck to assist his siblings, while Cha-cha ran for the briefcase and Hazel ran for the discarded gun. Once he arrived, he quickly scooped up your passed-out form in his arms as Klaus aided Diego to the other car. Oddly enough, they managed to assist the injured ones, while they were screaming their lungs at each other as they retreated to the car.

“No!” Hazel got a hold of the gun and tried shooting at them but there was no magazine, “Shit!” he grunted and threw away the gun out of frustration.

“Get in the car,” Luther ordered as he placed the knocked-out H/C maid in Klaus’ arms and Diego hurriedly scooted over to give you and Klaus more space.

The larger male went to the driver’s seat and hastily started the car, as his brother anxiously screamed. “Luther, go! Go! Let's go!”

When Number One finally managed to get the car working, the engines revved its excitement for their escape. When he pressed the gas pedal the tires began screeching and they finally left their perpetrators in the dust. From the back of the car, Klaus flipped off the hitman with two middle fingers, “Woo!”

“Damn it!” The man approached Cha-cha’s side to check on the briefcase but all they saw was random junk in the briefcase. The woman threw the decoy and kicked a random junk as she screamed, “Shit!”

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[itstheghostofmypast]

Five: Emotional connections bring weakness.

Y/N: *tearing up*

Five: And put you and everyone else in danger.

Y/N: *whispers* Five...

Five: A weakness that'll prove fruitless if death approaches.

Y/N *full on sobbing and hugging him*

Klaus *awkward* :You may now kiss the bride?¿

Diego: wtf, is going on?

*Everyone else shrugs*

Lila *wiping a tear* : Beautiful.

[waitingandwishing]

you know a fic is good when ur voice sounds like mickey mous

[donnalawliet]

Coffee or Tea? (addition to my previous Derek x Five oneshot)

Well, you all enjoyed that first chapter https://www.tumblr.com/donnalawliet/759443098831110144/coffee-or-tea-five-x-derek-oneshot so much, so here's a second chapter! Thank you for all the kind words, comments and likes, it really encouraged me to keep writing. I did my best to include some of your suggestions.

In this second chapter, Derek meets Five's family.

———————————

Slowly, unable to believe his own eyes, Five began to take in his surroundings. Where tall buildings had once stood…only remained ruins. Melted and bent metal littered the broken streets, burning trees barely resembled trees anymore. So much was burning, yet there was no noise.

That was the worst thing. There were no screams of panic, no sirens, no sounds of attempts to extinguish the fire that was trying to swallow the city. Instead, there was silence.

Five broke that silence as he began to cough, the falling ash invading his lungs and taking root somewhere deep inside. Panic overwhelmed his mind to the point that normal thoughts were pushed out and he started running, in the hope that he would reach a safer place. Instead, it only got worse.

“No…“, he whispered breathlessly as he spotted the ruins of the Umbrella Academy, burning like the rest of the city. There they were. His siblings, all of them unmoving and pale. He was back in the apocalypse, in the hell that he had landed himself in. Yet when he tried to teleport, not even one blue spark came up.

With all of his options exhausted, Five started to cry and scream. In the back of his mind he thought that he could hear something, but he was too busy giving his frustrations and fears a voice. Until he was suddenly pulled back.

———————————

“Five!“, Derek exclaimed as he shook his shoulder to wake him up. He had at first tried to only use his voice, but that hadn’t worked. In one moment, they had both been sleeping peacefully in seperate beds, because Five still wasn’t comfortable with so much touching, because their mattress preferences were different and because Five was a blanket hoarder. Then all of the sudden, his partner had screamed as if someone was attempting to rip his heart out.

Rather abruptly, Five’s eyes opened again and he sat up, gasping for air. His eyes were wide with panic, pupils dilated to the point that the green was barely visible and his heart was beating so quickly with adrenaline that it resembled the wings of a hummingbird. For a few moments, it seemed like he didn’t even know where he was. Then suddenly, his expression softened.

“Derek?“, he whispered and Five couldn’t help but sound like a small child, scared of the lightening outside. If he was there, that meant the apocalypse wasn’t.

Derek nodded in response, shifting slightly. He was practically kneeling on the bed next to Five, one leg on the mattress and one on the floor.

“Yeah, I’m here. It was just a dream, I-hmpf!“, he was cut off by Five practically falling into his chest, like a marionette with its strings cut. In that moment, Derek knew that asking questions would result in nothing. Five was obviously exhausted. And even though it was quite unusual for him to want to cuddle, he didn’t stop him.

Only after a few seconds did Derek realise that Five was falling asleep listening to his heartbeat. To make sure he was still alive and would stay that way.

“Goodnight, Mr.Five“, Derek whispered before he closed his eyes again, despite the awkward position he found himself in.

———————————

The next morning, Derek woke up alone. That wasn’t unusual by any means, sometimes Five headed off to work early to get some preparations done. And after that eventful night, talking about feelings was out of the question. They never talked about nightmares or trauma, Five argued that they had their respective therapists for that.

During his morning routine however, he could detect the faint scent of coffee and tea wafting through the appartment. A sign that Five hadn’t left, but had simply gotten up early to prepare breakfast. The thought of that alone was enough to make Derek smile. Instead of taking his time with styling his hair and picking out his outfit, he decided to walk into the kitchen, tying his tie in the process.

“Morning“, Five yawned without looking up from his coffee. He wasn’t really in the mood for talking in the morning, at least not until he had reached his ideal caffeine levels. Which he still hadn’t reached by a long shot.

“Good morning, Mr.Five“, Derek replied with a soft smile and began to look through their mail. The entire atmosphere was deeply comforting. It was lazy, natural and painfully domestic. And it gave his partner a sense of retirement, something that he deeply desired, but could never quite reach.

Five cleared his throat when Derek picked up a letter with really chaotic handwriting. The older man recognised it, but not many other people would.

“It’s an invitation from my idiot brother“, he explained, though there was no real malice, “He wants to have a family dinner or something. With all the kids and partners…it’s stupid.“

His words were a deflection, nothing more. Five couldn’t imagine that his siblings, who he had spent years protecting, really wanted him there. He was just another name on the list, the one everyone hoped wouldn’t show up. At least that was what he told himself. Sometimes his old mind couldn’t comprehend the thought of his family caring about him, not the same way he did.

Derek hummed quietly as he read the words, then looked up at Five. And there it was again, that calm smile of his.

“I think we should go. I would love to meet your family.“

For a few seconds, Five stared at him as if he had just suggested that they should do the hula. It was the same look he had given Luther whenever he had mentioned the moon in relation to the apocalypse…before it had actually caused the apocalypse.

“My family consists of a bunch of lunatics. They’re not…like you. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with all of their collective issues“, Five snorted and took another sip from his coffee. In truth, he was scared of Derek wanting to leave.

Because if he did, he would be alone…again. Five‘s breath hitched slightly when their hands made contact, but he didn’t pull away.

Derek smiled at him, reassuringly, despite the way his heart pounded with excitement. And for just a few moments, they were alone. There was no CIA, no Reginald Hargreeves, no annoying siblings. Just them, peaceful and happy.

“You spend so much time making sure these…lunatics…are safe. It makes me a bit curious of what they’re actually like. Unless you don’t want me there“, he explained, though a hint of fear was present as he uttered the last sentence.

Almost immediately, Five shook his head, which indirectly sealed their fate. But he didn’t care, in the worst case scenario they would just leave shortly after arriving.

“Of course I want you there. Now, could you get me another coffee? I can’t deal with this without caffeine or I will kill someone.“

Derek actually laughed and stood up. This was as close as he would get to Five declaring his love for him and he would take it. His older partner wasn’t really the traditional romantic, but he was fine with that. He wasn’t one either.

“I think the murder look in your eyes does something for me“, Derek teased him lightly while Five finished up his cup. That little attempt at flirting was enough for Five to almost choke on his coffee, all while trying to control the colour of his face.

In a matter of seconds, it turned a flattering shade of burgundy. Five rarely blushed, but whenever he did, Derek was the cause for it.

“Shut up“, he mumbled, though he clearly couldn’t hold back a shy smile.

———————————

A few days later, they made their way to the announced family dinner. Though it was far less formal than what most people would have in mind. The Hargreeves siblings were not the best at picking one specific meal, so takeout dining was the way to go. Which basically meant that the dining room table held everything from pizza to pasta to fried rice. It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing dinner, but it did the job and Diego’s kids loved it.

However, that wasn’t the thing that everyone focused on that night.

“Wait…did Five not come alone?“, Luther asked Diego while both of their wives were busy sitting on the couch. They were in charge of plating, with Luther having insisted on it so Sloane could relax. And Lila had then basically pressured Diego into being a gentleman, so he did the same.

Diego slowly shook his head as he watched Five and Derek take each other’s coats off, in complete disbelief.

Klaus was the one that ended up greeting them though.

“Good evening Fivey“, he grinned widely and looked his older brother over, “Mein Bruder, you really look amazing. Love the longer hair.“

Instead of telling Klaus to get lost or shut up, Five brushed his hair behind his ears and straightened up.

“Thank you. Still not sure how I feel about it yet. I prefer you with your shorter hair“ he commented while Derek was busy with redoing his tie, then turned towards him once he was done, “Come on, let’s get some mulled wine.“

Klaus stared at them, speechless until he ran over towards Diego like an excited child. Already, there was something extraordinary for the Hargreeves siblings to focus on and they attacked it like starving wolves.

“Did you see that? Five took a compliment from me and didn’t tell me off!“, he whisper yelled so the aforementioned brother wouldn’t hear.

Diego nodded slowly, not taking his eye off the couple as they sat down on the couch next to Sloane and Lila. It was very strange for Five to be so civil during a family outing.

“Do you think his buddy is another secret serial killer or something? It would explain why he and Five get along so well“, Diego began to theorise, “Or he’s from the Commission. He has shady office guy written all over him.“

In truth, he didn’t think that Derek looked particularly threatening. He seemed like a perfectly nice person that he would pass by in the grocery store without thinking twice. But that didn’t mean anything.

Viktor took that moment to walk into the kitchen, one glass of wine in his hand. He had previously watched the scene from the stairs, but now he was curious.

“Guys, is Five okay? He just laughed at one of Ray’s jokes, even though they’re absolutely terrible.“

They had seen their brother smile before, but this amount was definitely a cause for concern in their books.

———————————

Five was feeling quite comfortable, both due to Derek and the mulled wine by his side. So much so that he actually laughed when Lila commented on his pasty knees that he had shown in the past.

“Those shorts were a crime against humanity more severe than the apocalypse“, Five commented and crossed his legs. He and Derek weren’t holding hands, as that would make him quite uncomfortable, but they were close enough for their shoulder’s to touch.

———————————

Meanwhile, Five’s siblings were still stuck trying to figure the situation out.

“Well, he seems happy, so why don’t we just leave it?“, Viktor asked eventually while helping Luther with the cutlery arrangement.

Diego rubbed his eyes hard. While he appreciated Five not insulting any of them, he was also concerned for him. And maybe part of him was naturally suspicious. Everything in this family was weird and unusual, but never like this.

“The guy seems nice, polite and like a really good friend to Five“, Diego told them quietly and grabbed the nearby Dora the Explorer napkins, “But what if he’s like Leonard? We can’t have that happen again.“

The Leonard and later the Lila incident had been enough to make the entire family wary of new additions. Especially ones that seemed too friendly at first sight. And after some of them had seen how soft Five could be, they wanted him to be truly happy.

———————————

Derek sipped his mulled wine while he and Five listened to Sloane talk about her Italy honeymoon with Luther. He was surprised by how relatively normal the conversations seemed to be.

Sure, Lila was by no means completely normal, but she seemed more occupied with complimenting her daughter’s drawings than with the adult conversations.

“I loved our trip to the mausoleum“, Sloane ranted excitedly, “It was just everything I ever wanted and more. Luther liked the fountain in front of it, we made a wish there every single day.“

“Truly happy for you, Sloane“, Derek smiled, his tone showing that he meant it, “My job makes travelling a bit difficult, but it sounds exciting.“

He looked up when the rest of the family sat down. So far he had only talked to Klaus and the in-laws, but now he would be confronted with the rest of Five’s actual family. Soon enough, he would realise why Five had warned him.

“What do you do for work then, Mister…?“, Diego asked, clearly wanting his name. The way he asked was by no means polite, which visibly annoyed Five. It was a bit reminiscent of a cop in a noir movie leading an interrogation and not in the nice way.

“His name is Derek and he works with me, Diego.“

Five’s tone seemed a bit sharp, he was slightly drunk and wanted to have a good time, without anyone interrupting it. However, his siblings seemed focused on doing exactly that. He didn’t seem to realise that they were doing what he had been doing all those years, just on a much smaller scale. Making sure he was safe and doing well.

“Five, it’s okay. It’s a valid question“, Derek carefully reassured him. He was slowly starting to understand what exactly his partner meant. Five’s siblings were by no means normal. Though he hadn’t grasped the full extent of it just yet.

“Me and Five share a desk. I do a lot  of the paper work, he does a lot of field work, though we do switch sometimes“, he began to explain in an effort to lighten up the mood, “Does that answer your question, Diego?“

Diego hummed, seemingly satisfied for a moment before he frowned.

“Wait…you know my name. Five, what did you tell him about all of us?!“, he sounded a bit panicked when he said that. A good informed potential enemy was a dangerous one, Reginald Hargreeves had always said that.

———————————

While Derek was starting to look a bit uncomfortable with the interrogation, shifting back and forth, his partner was mainly annoyed. Five had wanted a relatively normal evening, nothing more.

But of course, he couldn’t have that. In moments like these, he honestly wondered why he went through all the trouble of protecting his family.

“He had every right of knowing everything that I told him. Derek is more capable than most of you combined, Diego, hence why I live with him, not with you“, Five replied rather sharply, one hand planted firmly on the table. He barely noticed that he had taken a protective stance, ready to defend Derek from his own brother.

———————————

Klaus was the first one to break the silence that came afterwards. He had been looking Derek over, starting at his goofy glasses and ending at the way he did his tie. And even though his siblings often ignored him, he wasn’t stupid. He could see the way that Derek and Five looked at each other, the small invisible gestures that barely registered.

Klaus recognised it, he had once been the same way with Dave when they had started dating. And even though they were past that honeymoon phase now, he still found himself falling into those same patterns when he was around his love. It was a shame that Dave had to stay at home with the cat. A wide grin began to form on his face, one that Five recognised and was a bit afraid of.

“Are you two an item?“, he asked and his grin widened even more, to the point that Klaus resembled the cat from Alice in Wonderland.

“What are you, from the 1940s?!“, Five shot right back, but it didn’t have the desired effect. Instead of making everyone ignore Klaus, everyone stared at them. Inlcuding Allison and Claire, who had just come back from soccer practice. Viktor’s expression softened a bit.

“Five, it’s okay if you are“, Viktor sounded a bit awkward, but he kept pushing forward, “I’m glad that you’re happy.“

For a few seconds, Five was speechless. He was a bit frustrated because of his siblings and that was putting it mildly. But at the same time, he felt relieved by the fact that they knew now. Part of him had been scared that either Derek or his siblings would leave. However, that didn’t seem to be happening. His partner was still sitting next to him and his siblings seemed surprised, but not disgusted. To be expected when they had  a sibling like Klaus. Five coming out of the closet when he was an old man didn’t seem as shocking in comparison.

Derek smiled a bit at the kind words, daring to touch Five’s knee as his partner answered the question with a nod. While he was definitely overwhelmed by the situation, he didn’t feel as though he needed to be afraid.

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Diego cleared his throat a bit. He didn’t seem as aggressive as before, but still a bit worried. So he gestured towards Luther to ask the question that they had formulated together in the kitchen.

Luther frowned, then blushed darkly as he realised how dumb it would sound out loud.

“We just need to make sure…Do you promise that you’re not a sick serial killer or Commission employee sent to assassinate one of us?“

For a few moments, the question hung out in the open like an awkward marriage proposal. Derek glanced at Five, as if to confirm that it was not a joke, then looked at Luther.

“I…I promise.“

He was utterly dumbfounded, unable to form a sarcastic remark this time. So Derek just went for the blunt truth. Five had told him about the Commission once, but hadn’t gone into much detail. And he most definitely didn’t work for them.

“Good“, Lila smirked and stood up, her sleeping eldest daughter in her arms, “Because I’m starving and I really wasn’t in the mood for murder. I’ll just get this little munchkin to bed so we can eat.“

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The rest of the evening went off without any major problems. Slowly but surely, Five was starting to relax again. Because despite his family’s rather chaotic behaviour, Derek seemed to be enjoying himself. He engaged in their conversations, answered questions and overall was just having a good time.

“Did you two meet at work?“, Allison asked curiously while she reached for the fortune cookies. She was half leaning against her husband, who was holding her free hand.

“Yeah, my boss assigned me to him on his first day“, Derek leaned back, not really in the mood for more food, “I started just about a year prior. My former colleague ended up retiring.“

His partner shifted a bit and went to say more, but their conversation was interrupted by one of the twins crying. And naturally, when one began to cry, the other wasn’t far behind. Lila groaned quietly, having just relaxed against Diego’s shoulder. Her husband seemed equally tired and exhausted, because otherwise he wouldn’t have said the following: “Five, could you maybe get that? You’re the only one that Coco tolerates.“

Five blinked slowly, looking at his brother, then at Derek. To his surprise, Derek stood up with him, a small smile on his cheek. He liked children, despite not having any of his own. And even though he and Five had never talked about the possibility of adopting them one day, he certainly didn’t mind looking after Five’s nieces and nephews.

“Okay, I’ll look after your stupid kid“, Five mumbled, but his tone held no real malice. His siblings seemed to notice that as well, because Viktor and Allison looked at him in genuine surprise, while Lila grinned and pinched his cheek.

“Thank you, mate“, she smiled, her accent getting a bit thicker.

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Derek chuckled quietly, which earned him a playful glare from Five as he pulled him along by his sleeve. By checking on Diego’s kids, they would also have the opportunity to talk amongst themselves for the first time in hours.

“I told you they were morons“, Five mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his eyes hard, though he couldn’t hold back a small laugh. He had been so worried that this dinner would ruin everything, so he was overwhelmed with relief.

“They’re…definitely chaotic“, Derek readjusted his glasses slightly before opening the door, “But I don’t mind it. They’re your family. And we’re with the CIA, we’ve had much worse, Mr.Five.“

Five nodded slowly before he decided to focus on the task at hand. It was what he did best after all, his entire job consisted of focussing on small jobs like his life depended on it. Though this time, no one would die if he messed up. Except for his ears maybe.

“Hey Coco, hey Stanley“, he whispered and his voice turned quite soft. Derek had rarely heard Five talk in such a caring way, it took him a bit by surprise.

“Could you tell me what’s going on? I’m your uncle, I’m here to help“, Five reassured the twins as they looked up at him with wide eyes. They looked like they were on the brink of crying again. Instead of a verbal answer, both of them extended their arms towards him. The universal sign of Pick me up.

By no means was Five a toddler expert. But even an idiot would understand what they would have to do next, it wasn‘t exactly complicated. Back when he had met his nieces and nephew for the first time, he had been a bit of a mess. At least he knew the basics now.

Five sighed heavily, realising that he had a problem.

“I can’t carry you both“, he said quietly, then looked over at Derek, “You take Stan, I’m taking Coco, okay?“

Derek nodded immediately. He recognised the tone, it was the same one Five used when they were talking about the execution of a mission plan. And that didn’t leave much time for debate. So in less than a minute, they sat next to each other on the couch, holding one toddler each in their arms. Just like that, the crying stopped. Five let out a deep sigh of relief while one hand rubbed over his niece’s back.

“Sorry for dragging you into this mess“, Five told him in a hushed tone, though he was smiling a bit, “You don’t seem to mind though, do you?“

In the dimmed light of the room, he could see the way Derek held the toddler like he was the most precious thing he had ever come across. That question almost caused him to laugh out loud, but he caught himself.

“No, I don’t mind“, Derek carefully brushed Stan’s hair into place while leaning back to get comfortable, “But I think we’re going to be here for quite a while.“

In a situation like this, standing up became practically impossible. All that was left to do was to accept their fate. A few minutes into silence, Five carefully extended his free hand until he found Derek’s next to him. The three magic words remained unspoken, but Derek heard them nonetheless. He could hear them in the way Five looked at him, in the way their fingers brushed against each other, in the way they made each other coffee or tea.

In their own way, they loved each other.

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If you liked it, leave a like or a comment. It really makes my day and encourages me to keep going. Also, I would have an idea for another smaller additional chapter, set during Season 4. It could also have some angst if that‘s what you want. Would you be interested in that?

If you are, let me know!

Until next time,

-Donna Lawliet