#the only one left: Luther Hargreeves

[foolinafable]

the setup

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader Synopsis: Five has a rather outrageous crush on his niece's tutor, so Lila and Diego decide to set them up by inviting her to their daughter's birthday party. Word Count: 1.7K Tags: Fluff, season 4, Crackfic, everyone knows they like each other but they are being stupid Note: sorry this took so long to come out, i had half written in august but only finished it now, not really proofread yet so mind any mistakes!

“You came!” the delighted voice of Grace Hargreeves shouted out as the girl bounded her way toward you. Enveloping you in a larger-than-life hug 

“Of course I did! I told you I would, didn’t I?” you questioned the girl, struggling to hug her back with her present in your hands. 

“Yes, but-” the girl started, not able to meet your eyes, embarrassed at her thoughts 

“But nothing!” you quickly interrupted her. “Now go play with your friends. I need to find your mom or dad and figure out where to put your present.” You shooed the girl away towards her friends. 

Luckily, you didn’t need to look far, Lila spotted you almost immediately after her daughter left you. The woman quickly made her way over to you with a large smile on her face, mirroring her daughters. She quickly pulled you into an excited hug before pulling away and taking the present off your hands. 

“So glad you could come, Grace had been asking repeatedly if her favourite tutor was coming.”  

“I’m her only tutor?” you questioned 

“That’s what I said!” The woman laughed, glee apparent in her features as she grabbed your hand with the one not carrying your present, walking you towards where all the adults were unfortunately stationed watching the children, some looking like they would rather be anywhere else. 

“Diego!” Lila called out to her husband, who quickly turned towards her, his smile widening when he noticed you stood next to her. He quickly hugged you in greeting before turning his attention to his wife. 

“Where did you put the pinata? Luther and I are going to set it up.” 

“Um,” Lila looked around, spinning around in a circle to survey the area when her gaze locked onto someone near the ball pit. “Five!” The woman called out, waiting for him to look at her before she continued, “Can you bring the pinata over? Thanks!” She quickly called out before rushing off, mumbling something about needing to get the cake.

The man in question quickly made his way over, holding a very familiar-looking piñata 

“Is that an east side piñata?” you questioned as Five handed it over to Diego, who looked at you with so much relief you thought you could've saved his life

“Yes,” he practically shouted in glee. “Yes, it is!” looking around smugly for someone, but you weren't sure who 

“You might need a bit of a heavier hand with that then. At my younger cousin's birthday last week, it took an adult to hit it for the candy to come out,” you warned the older man. He simply nodded, walking off to put it up, a large smile still present on his face, 

“Hi” the man you were left with almost whispered, believing that he would scare you off if he came on too strong. 

“Hi, Five,” you smiled in greeting, “I haven't seen you at the house recently. Been busy?” you replied. Truthfully, wanting to keep talking to the attractive man, 

“Yeah, sorry, been working overtime at the CIA, sure you understand” he smiled slightly at your attention to his lack of presence lately. Making him believe that maybe Lila and Diego were right about your reciprocation of feelings towards him

 “How has University been?” he questioned, wanting to keep the conversation going 

“Very good”, you respond. Hand on hips at his disbelief in your answer, shock evident on your face “Honestly!” you smile,

“I mean, I'm on Christmas break at the moment, so there’s not much to do other than tutoring.” You shrug your shoulders, trying to hint to the man that maybe the two of you could spend some time together. But before Five could reply, Klaus came bouldering over with Claire. 

“Five! Lovely to see you!” 

The man greets his brother, Klaus, you quickly learn from Five's reply 

“And this is?” Klaus asks, gesturing towards you when Claire whispers to him. 

Klaus “The tutor! We have heard so much about you!”

“Really?” you questioned, looking down at your feet in nervousness. “I didn't know Grace spoke about me so much.”

“Oh, not from Grace-“ Klaus began, a large cheeky smile covering his face. But he was quickly interrupted by the feeling of a hand on his gloved one, causing him to pause in alarm. When he was quickly dragged away by Claire, her eyes wide in alarm, while Five was glaring at him with such ire you could imagine Hades opening up hell for whoever was at the other end of it.

“It was lovely to meet you”, he shouted as his niece pulled him further away from you.

You smiled, a clumsy laugh tumbling out as you looked at Five, his hands covering his face in annoyance, but a clear smile was present on his face when he removed his hands, but before either of you could say anything more, a familiar head of hair came running towards you.

“How is the birthday girl doing?” you ask, ruffling her hair as she smiles widely at you.

“Amazing, but I would feel even better if you watched me go down the slide”, the girl replied cheekily, making a small scoff come out of her uncle's mouth at her words. 

“Well, we can't have the birthday girl not be at max amazingness, can we?” you teased as she led away from Five and towards the play area. An apologetic smile on your face as you left him, hoping that it wasn't the last time you would speak to him today.  

── ✧

You didn’t see the brunette again until much later, stood by the ball pit after having escaped the herd of parents asking you intrusive questions, you were sure you would’ve blown a fuse if anyone else asked why you were still single as you were ‘such a lovely girl.’ 

“Finally freed yourself from the lionesses, I see”, Five joked as he came to stand next to you, beer in hand. “It seems Klaus has not been so lucky.” You looked over to see that they had now set their sights on the boy crowding around him like paparazzi. 

“Remind me to stay clear of that side of the room,” you complained, hands rubbing at your temples in worry that they would begin to hurt “There's only so long I can handle being asked about my lack of boyfriend before I strangle one of them,” you admitted, not catching the man's smile at your words.

“Don’t worry, I'll protect you,” he proclaimed.

“Yes, I'm sure you will be much a deterrent to the herd of mamas,” you joked, laughing at his recoil, head shaking in amazement at your goading.

“You really know how to make someone feel good about themselves, don't you?” he teased 

“Clearly”, you smiled, sarcasm laced heavily in your response.

The balls in the ball pool quickly flew up as a man emerged from them, causing you to jump back in alarm as Luther popped his head up from below, a large smile on his face at catching you off guard, eyebrows raising slightly as he noticed his brother stood next to you. After a laugh, you spoke pleasantries with the man, trying to ignore Five's hard glare that he was directing at him. The younger-looking male sighed loudly, causing the two of you to look towards him, the eye contact made the man go red in embarrassment before clearing his throat, looking exacerbated. 

“I thought you were helping Diego set up the  pinata?”

“I was?” The larger man questioned, eyes wide as he looked around the party, clearly alarmed that he wasn't doing what Five had mentioned, scampering out of the ball pit when he saw Diego, but before he could make his way over, Diego called out for everyone to come over for the game so the three of you slowly made your way towards the growing group of children and adults. Five made sure to lead you over to an area with less noisy parents, making you smile in thanks as he grabbed you by the small of the back to lead you away when a parent tried to call out for you.   

To say the next few moments were a disaster would be an understatement, mirroring your earlier words as the pinata was from the east side no matter how hard Grace or her friends would hit the object, it wouldn't break. Luther, clearly wanting to make it up to Diego for missing the memo to help him, tried to use his strength to break the Pinata, and while the Pinata did break, so did the birthday cake. Bits of it went everywhere like a volcano explosion, covering all the guests, much to the children's joy and parents' horror. 

You now stood off to the side, trying to get any larger pieces of cake out of your hair, laughing at the furious faces of the other adults. When Five gave you a napkin, you smiled, letting out a quiet appreciation as you wiped at your face. Feeling that you had gotten enough off, you turned to the boy, laughing at his cake-covered face.

“Here,” you said, moving to wipe some cake off his cheek with the napkin, trying to contain your giggles, he smiled brightly as you moved away from him slightly, his own hand coming to tuck a strand of hair full of icing behind your ears and then regretfully retracting his hand

“Do you wanna get out of here? Maybe go to a coffee shop where my siblings won't interrupt us every few minutes?” he asked, fingers fidgeting with nerves. 

“Like a date?” you questioned, trying not to get your hopes up, smiling up at him, head tilting slightly to the left as you pondered his words.

“If you want” he replied pensively. 

“I do”, you quickly rebutted, smiling as the boy led you towards the door with a matching grin on his own face.

── ✧

“I told you he would ask her out tonight,” Diego spoke smugly, watching as his brother helped you put on your coat, his wife watching, annoyed beside him.

“I thought it would’ve taken him until our Christmas party.” Lila rebutted, clearly annoyed that she had lost

“But I suppose it is about time you won one of our bets”, she replied smugly, quickly lowering Diego down a peg as the two watched you and Five leave their daughters' birthday party, hands intertwined.

[helaintoloki]

Keep Your Enemies Closer

pairing: sparrow!ben x reader

warnings: language, angst, suggestive content, minor spoilers

notes: the new season has brought me back from the dead so pls send in any tua requests you have <3 also this technically could be read as a sequel to relenting

summary: attending Grace’s birthday party forces you to confront the man you’ve been trying your hardest to avoid

The scent of pizza and spilled soda invades your senses as you help continue to set up birthday decorations in Lila’s absence. You have no idea where she’s run off to now, but you hope that taking over the rest of the work load will ease some of the stress from the tired mother’s shoulders.

The party center is loud, shrill shrieks of kids and music blasting from the arcade games splitting your ears and giving you a headache, and you’d be lying if you said you wouldn’t rather be anywhere else but in some children’s play place. But, you are Grace’s favorite aunt, and you firmly believed in always showing up for family, so here you are.

Just as you finish setting the last place mat on the kid’s table an overly excited voice calls your name from the back of the room. A smile creeps upon your lips at the familiarity, but it immediately drops when you see that it’s not just Luther heading your way but also the man you loathe with your entire being.

“Hey, you made it!” Luther cheers animatedly before pulling your tense body into a tight bear hug. “It’s so nice to see you, y/n.”

“It’s nice to see you too, big guy,” you agree with a dry laugh and awkward pat to his back. You can feel the daggers being burned into your skull, so you have no choice but to acknowledge Luther’s companion for the day. “But you do know you’re supposed to leave the trash outside, right?”

“Like I haven’t heard that one before,” Ben scoffs with an indignant roll of his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be at the hospital ‘saving lives?’”

“Shouldn’t you still be in jail?” You fire back with ire, and if not for Luther keeping you both apart you’d probably be fist fighting in the middle of the ball pit right now.

“Uh, Ben got out early on probation for good behavior,” Luther explains with a nervous chuckle while attempting to keep the peace as best as he can without losing an eye in the process. “And now he’s here to spend time with us as a family.”

“Yeah, let’s see how long that lasts.”

“Hey, I technically am family,” the Sparrow boasts with a taunting smirk, formulating just the right insults to get under your skin. “You were a late addition added to the Umbrellas to pick up the slack Viktor left behind after Dad suppressed their powers. You’re not even a Hargreeves. Isn’t that right, Luther.”

“W-Well, I wouldn’t say that,” the man is quick to defend only for you to speak over him.

“Fuck. You,” you snarl through gritted teeth, palms clenched tightly at your sides as you adamantly work to not let him get the best of you. “Ben was family, and you’re not him. You’re just the shitty replacement we’re stuck with.”

“And yet when you thought the world was ending you still slept with me.”

The smug smile on Ben’s face is immediately wiped off by the impact of your open palm colliding with his cheek, and the sheer force of your hit as him tumbling back into Luther. Your assault earns a few bewildered gasps from a nearby table of parents, but you couldn’t care less about what a group of wine moms thought of you in that moment. Your chest is tight with rage, but you will yourself to walk away before the situation can escalate further and ruin the party.

“What did I miss?” A curious Five notes after arriving to the scene, but he soon finds himself forced to match your brisk pace as you grab him by the arm and drag him with you to the bar.

“I need a drink.”

~~~

You do your best to avoid him for the rest of the night, but eventually Ben is able to corner you by the gift table where you sit nursing a spiked lemonade.

“Drinking at a kid’s party, huh?”

“Did you come here to get slapped again?” You retort with a wry chuckle before taking a quick swig of your drink.

“Actually,” he starts, hesitating as he struggles to get out the words, “I came to… apologize.”

“You? Apologize? What, is the world ending again?” You scoff in disbelief before finally settling your gaze on the shaggy haired man before you. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but you think prison might have made him hotter, and the fact irks you to no end.

Obviously annoyed by your defensiveness, Ben shakes his head and says, “I don’t even know why I bother. I only came here for Luther’s sake because he wouldn’t shut up about making ‘positive changes’ now that I’m out of jail.”

“‘Don’t even know why I bother?!’” You repeat in indignant disbelief. “I gave you so many chances to prove that you weren’t a complete asshole and every time you screwed me over! You are not the victim in the situation.”

“Oh, spare me the sob story,” Ben remarks dismissively with a roll of his eyes. “I lost someone too, you’re not the only one that has to deal with the fact that you’re stuck with a completely different version of your dead partner. At least I’m trying to make the most of what the universe has given me.”

“By getting yourself thrown in jail over some stupid crypto scheme?”

“Jesus, by trying to make something with you!” Ben cries out in frustration. “You won’t even try to just play along!”

“I already told you, I’m not your y/n. She’s dead,” you remind him harshly. “Sleeping with you was just a moment of weakness and a mistake that shouldn’t have happened.”

“Really? Because if I remember correctly you seemed to really be enjoying yourself,” he taunts with a suggestive smirk that has your face immediately growing hot.

“God, you’re so insufferable! I could just-“

“Kiss me?”

“-choke you!”

A heavy silence falls between you both as you stare at each other in bewildered shock. It takes you a moment to recover from Ben’s words as you swallow harshly and ask, “What did you say?”

“What did… you say?” He retorts in an attempt to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The tension between you now is so thick you could cut it with the knife sitting by the birthday cake, but instead you just sit and stare at each other.

“Does your car have tinted windows?” Ben asks suddenly, prompting you to raise a brow.

“Yeah, why?” You reply with an inquisitive raise of your brow, but when Ben gives you a pointed look you’re then quick to catch on. “If we go now we’ll be back in time for cake.”

“Let’s go,” he says, eagerly rising from his seat so fast it almost knocks over the presents. Anxiously taking your hand in his, you both scan the room to make sure no one’s eyes are on you before bolting towards the exit.

You know you’re going to regret this, but in the moment you couldn’t care less what consequences would come from your romp in the backseat of your car with Ben.

Because as much as you hate to admit it, you’ve really missed him.

[i-like-writing-stuff]

grateful [ five hargreeves x reader ]

“Fancy seeing you here,” You crossed your arms, trying to act natural as the boy before you eyes you curiously.

“In front of the CIA headquarters?” Five mimicked your posture, “Jee, Y/N, fork spotted in the kitchen. What are you doing at my work place?”

You sighed, trying to fight back the urge of rolling your eyes. You were lying to yourself if you wanted to say that Five’s sarcasm actually annoyed you. After all, it was one of the traits you loved about him- surprisingly. You hated to admit it, even to yourself, but even if you were actually waiting for him to talk business, you never once missed an opportunity to meet him.

Especially if you weren’t surrounded by your noisy family. The Hargreeves siblings became your family by choice, and as much as you loved each and every single one of them, you couldn’t help but appreciate deeply the one on one time you got to spend with Five.

“I just got off the phone with Luther,” You said, putting your hands in your pockets, “Viktor got kidnapped, Five.”

As soon as those words eat your lips, you saw Five’s expression go from cocky to shocked, to worried and then to shocked once again. You hated you had to be the one to break these news to him, after six years of peace where all of you managed to live normal lives. You hated that you had to see him worried again for his family’s safety, but you had no other choice.

You all had to reunite to save your loved one.

“I’ll drive,” Five nodded, already realizing that the gang would have to get back together.

You and Five met during the JFK mission in 1963, when both of you were working for the Commission. You only heard of him around the work place, but never actually worked together. The Handler assigned you both for the first time to get the assassination done, but one thing led to another and you accidentally woke up in 2019, in your teen body, alongside him.

The rest is history.

As you got into his car, you watched him as he started the engine in silence. He was deep into thought, obviously worried half to death about his brother. You were as well, since Viktor was his first sibling you warmed up to, and honestly it felt surreal that he was in danger again, after six years.

Six years where nothing, and quite literally nothing out of the ordinary happened. After your third attempt at stopping the apocalypse and the Hargreeves losing their powers, you all moved on with your lives, keeping in touch now and then. All nine of you went separate ways, rebuilding your lives. Allison was back to acting, Klaus was finally sober, Diego and Lila were a family with kids, Viktor was running a bar and Luther was working somewhat as an astronaut. Key word, somewhat.

Five became a CIA agent and you were running a marketing agency, so you really only saw the family on holidays or random gatherings. You and him kept in touch the most. You were happy to say that he was your best friend, but sad that nothing more went on. If you were supposed to be together, you would have been by now.

After all, there was this drunken kiss you shared on the night of Luther’s wedding.

“Shut the fuck up, Hargreeves!” You giggled, pointing a finger m at him, “I respect Delores, I swear I do, but I do not understand why in the world she would put up with your ding dong face, honestly.”

“Oh, spare me the reverse psychology in which your jealousy lays, Y/N,” Five smirked, softly waving away your finger in his face.

You were the only ones left on the dance floor, intoxicated over the safe limit. After the whole family went to sleep, the two of you were still left quite energized. You didn’t know if it was because you were sixty year olds back in your teen bodies, or simply too drunk to realize how hyperactive you were, but you were not about to end the night any time soon.

You couldn’t exactly pinpoint the moment you fell in love with Five, but he definitely could write an entire book of how he grew feelings for you. It all happened at such a slow pace, how could he not? When he first met you in 1963 at the Dealey Plaza, he was immediately taken aback by your quick wit and intellect. He also didn’t think someone who looked so sweet and elegant, like the grandma who would take her grandchildren all the time to fancy restaurants and then bake fresh cookies for them at home, could also be a trained assassin, ready to fight off three people at once wearing dresses and heels.

It was love at first sight for him.

Then, when you kept Delores safe from Hazel and Cha Cha, he realized just how big your heart was. He was completely blown away by the way you held onto the mannequin with one arm, while dodging attacks incoming from both of them.

There was also this moment in 1963 when you held him in your arms after he went on a spree, taking out the entire board of the Commission.

He was so infatuated with every single action of yours, so deeply and intensely in love it was actually pathetic to him, to some degree. Now, as his hands were firmly gripping your waist, swaying your hips in sync to the melody on the speakers, all he wanted to do was feel your lips on his, for a first and last time.

“What’s on your mind?” You asked, as your arms were wrapped around his neck. You didn’t know when you got so close to one another, it was all just so natural.

“Ironically enough, you,” He scoffed, making you roll your eyes;

“Only you could make such a romantic comment and at the same time make me want to stomp on your face, Five,” You said amused, shaking your head in disbelief.

Five laughed, looking into your eyes. In his drunken state, he was not thinking rationally as he usually did anymore. He didn’t know for certain if he’d make it out of the apocalypse this time, and after the two attempts at saving the world, the regret of not tasting you was finally getting to him.

He moved his hands up your sides, resting them on your cheeks at last. Rubbing your face gently, Five leaned in to capture your lips, tasting the alcohol you shared all night. You were relieved to finally feel his touch you so deeply craved over the months spent together, pulling him even closer, as if that was possible.

That led to nowhere, unfortunately, as neither of you ever mentioned it again. Like little stupid kids, all these years you both assumed that the other didn’t remember that part, since no one ever brought it up ever again.

“Viktor will be fine, Five,” You broke the silence, watching as his knuckles turned white while gripping the steering wheel, waiting for the green light.

“I just forgot how fucking stressful all this shit was,” Five sighed, letting go, but not looking at you yet, “So stupid.”

“Hey,” You placed a hand on top of his, “We will rescue him and go back to our lives before, okay? Who knows, maybe it’s not even that serious- maybe it’s just some misunderstanding or a real easy mission. We stopped the apocalypse three times, I think some amateur kidnapping will be a walk in the park, okay? Besides, maybe by the time we get there, Viktor will have already handed their asses to each other.”

Five scoffed amused. You did always manage to be the voice of reason in his life whenever the over-thinking got the best of him.

You didn’t have any idea just how grateful he was for you.

[inkspiredwriting]

Bachelor Party

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves had never been one for grand celebrations, but his brothers insisted on throwing him a bachelor party. It was a tradition, they said, a rite of passage before he tied the knot with Y/N. So, reluctantly, he agreed.

The evening started off innocently enough. Luther, Diego, Klaus, Ben, and Viktor gathered at a swanky downtown bar. Drinks flowed freely, laughter echoed, and the Hargreeves brothers enjoyed a rare moment of camaraderie.

"To Five!" Klaus shouted, raising his glass. "The smartest, most annoying brother we have!"

Five rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. "Thanks, Klaus. I think."

The night quickly escalated. Klaus, ever the instigator, suggested they visit a karaoke bar. Despite Five's protests, he soon found himself on stage, microphone in hand, belting out an off-key rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" with Klaus as his backup singer. Diego tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably, laughing so hard he nearly fell off his chair.

Ben and Viktor, meanwhile, engaged in a heated competition at the pool table.

Luther, the ever-responsible brother, attempted to keep everyone in line, but even he couldn't resist the chaos. By the time they left the karaoke bar, everyone was in high spirits—and thoroughly drunk.

Their next stop was a nightclub, where Klaus somehow managed to charm his way into the VIP section. The brothers danced, drank, and caused a general ruckus. Five, trying to maintain some semblance of control, found himself pulled into the madness despite his best efforts.

As the night wore on, things began to spiral further out of control. Diego ended up in a dance-off with a stranger, Ben and Viktor got into a debate about the merits of classic rock versus modern pop, and Klaus disappeared for a suspiciously long time, only to return with a group of new "friends" in tow.

Five, feeling overwhelmed and more than a little tipsy, finally reached his breaking point. He pulled out his phone and called Y/N.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said, trying to sound casual despite the chaos around him. "I was wondering if I could come home now."

Y/N laughed on the other end of the line. "Five, it's your bachelor party! You're supposed to have fun. Enjoy it, okay?"

Five sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. "I miss you. This isn't really my scene."

"I know," Y/N replied gently. "But you're only going to do this once. Make some memories with your brothers. I'll be here when you get back."

Encouraged by her words, Five hung up and rejoined his brothers. As the night continued, he let go of his reservations and embraced the chaos. He danced with Klaus, cheered on Diego, and even challenged Ben and Viktor to a game of darts.

By the time the sun began to rise, the Hargreeves brothers were a disheveled, exhausted mess, but they were also closer than ever. Stumbling out of the nightclub, they laughed and recounted the night's events, supporting each other as they made their way home.

When Five finally returned to the mansion, he found Y/N waiting for him, a knowing smile on her face. "Have fun?" she asked.

Five nodded, pulling her into a hug. "It was insane. But yeah, I did."

"I'm glad," Y/N said, kissing his cheek. "Now let's get you some sleep, future husband."

As they walked up to their room, Five reflected on the night. It had been chaotic, overwhelming, and completely out of his comfort zone. But it had also been a night of bonding and laughter, a celebration of family and love. And as he drifted off to sleep, Five knew that he was grateful for each and every one of his brothers.

[catoslvt]

Ben Hargreeves x Reader

I would've married you if you'd stuck around🐙

sorta s4 spoilers? but nobody takes the Marigold and lived their life.

plus I'm changing things because... yeah.

I walk into the birthday party for little Grace, who is one of Diego and Lila's children with her birthday present in my hand. It's just a silly child's keyboard because what the fuck do you get a six year old?

I make my way through the swarm of running and screaming children, the part of me that never grew up hurting because that's the childhood I always wished to have, yknow, running about, screaming my head off with all my friends but no, at the age of six I was learning how to disarm gunmen and learning how to control my powers.

God my life has gotten so much better without them.

Once I'm out the swarm of children, my eyes instantly fall on Sloane, Luther, and Ben, and I feel a slight shiver go down my spine at the sight of ben, I mean it's weird to think he has the face of the boy I used to love when we were like thirteen, but he's not the boy I love, I think anyway, I mean okay I sorta have feelings for this Ben, but I don't want him to think it's because he has the face of my old Ben, its confusing isn't it?

"y/n hi!" Sloane exclaims, waving me over with her hands, and I put on a wide smile as I make my way over to her, setting my present for Grace on the table beside her before she wraps me into a tight hug, which I return with an awkward laugh.

"I heard you're a firefighter now? that's sick." I say, turning to Luther with a smile and he just nods.

"we brought the Umbrella Academy, we're currently renovating it, I'd love for you to come stay some time." He tells me, and I widen my eyes, pretending to be interested as I make small 'oo' noises.

I hate when our family gather together, I mean Luther is married with a child, Diego is married with kids, I don't know what the fuck is going on with Allison, weve hardly spoken since we got to this time line and its not exactly that i dont want to talk to her, i just dont know what id say, Klaus doesn't need love, Five is technically married to a piece of plastic, Ben's just out of prison, Viktor has basically dated every girl in his town and I'm just.. there, I end up feeling extremely left out at the family gatherings when they start talking about issues with their kids or relationship problems because the only relationship problem was the fact Ben died on me.

"How was prison?" I ask ben, my eyes lighting up slightly as I turn to face him, all my attention now on him.

"I can't exactly say I enjoyed it." He tells me, raising a bottle of beer to his lips and taking a sip, and I just know his parole officer is gonna be pissed so I just let out a quiet laugh.

"So where are you staying then? I can't imagine your parole officer would let you live far." I then go onto ask, and he groans slightly, pointing at Luther and Sloane who are now talking to Diego.

"but I'm seriously debating robbing a bank just to get thrown back in." He then adds, looking around and I can't help but laugh a little louder.

"You're staying with them?" I scoff, turning to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"hardly by choice, I just needed a permanent address." He sighs, and I laugh again.

"Fresh out prison, and you're gonna be turned into a painter, electrician, plumber and babysitter. good luck." I tell him and he lets out a small chuckle before taking another drink from his beer.

"How have you been then?" Ben asks, and I shrug slightly.

"I mean, yeah, I've been.. living." I answer with a laugh, and he nods in agreement.

"Why don't we go get you a drink, we can sit at a table at the very back, and you can let it all out." He offers and I rapidly nod.

I sit at the table with Ben, taking a small sip from my beer before clearing my throat.

"I'm a child psychologist now." I tell him, and he nods slightly.

"I mean, it just felt right, yknow? I want to help kids so they don't end up with a childhood that we had. Well, I mean, without the powers, the robotic mom, the alien dad, you get what I mean." I tell him with a small wave of my hand, and he continues to nod, a small smile on his face.

"I get it." He tells me, and we both fall into a comfortable silence before he breaks it right as I take a mouthful of beer.

"don't you miss your powers?"

that question almost makes me spit my beer everywhere, my eyes widening as I stare at him.

"God, no, I don't miss them in this time line Nobody knows who I am, nobody takes a double take or gawks at me waiting to see my powers in use, I can be whatever I want to be in this timeline and I plan on using that to my hearts content." I tell him, and he just looks at me.

"You don't miss them? not even a little bit?" He asks, and I shake my head, which causes him to shrug slightly.

"I miss my powers, I feel.. ordinary without them." He tells me, and I furrow my eyebrows slightly.

"No offence, but I'm glad you don't have your powers. You died because of them in my original timeline, and it's good to see what my ben would've looked like grown up." I tell him, and he gives me a sad smile before we fall quiet yet again.

"and i think it's good to feel ordinary, I spent my whole childhood wanting to be normal to fit in, and now I do." I then add, and he scoffs.

"There's nothing ordinary about us y/n. Apart from the Umbrella Academy and the Sparrow Academy, nobody in the world has gone through even a fraction of what we have, and you've technically went through more than me because the Umbrellas ended the world in 2019, just to then go and do it again back in the 60s, to come back for it to end in 2019 again.." Ben says, and I just scoff, but I can't help but laugh and nod.

"and both times was technically Viktors fault." I argue, and we both smile before Five appears from under a slide somewhere and nods, a bottle of beer in his hand.

"it was Viktors fault both times. Actually, she's not making that up." He tells ben as he makes his way over to our table, dragging a chair along behind him, and ben just raised his eyebrows slightly, clearly pissed off our conversation had been distributed by Five, who still looks like a kid.

"Well, isn't this just a sad table of losers who feel out of place at their nieces birthday party with all the married couples and kids." Five says as he sits his beer down on our table with a large clink.

"I don't feel out of place, I could easily find someone I could marry and have kids with. you couldn't because you look like you're 18." I argue, and five leans back in his seat and crosses his arms slightly, mouthing ben so subtly so that ben can't see.

"Wait, y/n, did you ever even move on after your ben died?" My other Ben asks, and I look at him, my eyes wide as I try to muster an answer.

I try to muster up and answer, but none suitable come to my mind because the truth is I didn't even try to move on, I felt like there was no point, my whole childhood my heart was set on the fact that I'd be marrying Ben, I wanted to at the time despite how young we were and the fact we didn't fully understand the whole concept of marrige and he said he wanted to aswell. when he died I just blamed myself, I thought it was my fault he had died and I convinced myself everyone I love will die because of me, as a sort of reminder that my powers were a curse. obviously, that fact was proven false because my powers are gone. but even now, I'm still cautious to open myself back up to love, but when I'm with this ben, I feel myself slowly opening up again.

"I tried, but nobody stuck around." I lie, and Five shoots me a knowing glare, and Ben just nods, yet another comfortable silence falling over us as I take a large drink from my beer, staring down at my hands before Five starts a conversation with Ben and I can't help but sigh a sigh of relief.

somehow, Luther and Sloane have convinced me to come to theirs to stay the night.

"I think it'll have beneficial effects on releasing your childhood trauma y/n." Luther tells me as I sit in the back of his car, ben at the other side as sloane sits in the front and stares out the window.

"I'm the child psychologist Luther. You just stick to putting out fires." I state, crossing my arms slightly as I stare out the car window, watching the world go by the single frame of glass, trying to hide my smile as I hear Ben laugh at my comment.

"Do you ever sit and look at people and just laugh to yourself because you've saved their asses from the end of the world three times now?" I ask to Luther mainly due to the fact the Sparrow Academy have only had to save the world once, which ended up in all but two of them dying and he just shrugs as he continues to drive.

"Imagine how Viktor feels, knowing he almost killed them twice." Ben says, and that causes me to laugh, slapping a hand over my mouth as I try to stop it.

"That's nasty! the first time wasn't fully his fault. He just discovered his powers and didn't know how to stop them." I tell him, leaning over to gently slap his arm, but I'm still laughing.

"Plus, it's also semi Luther fault for locking him in this weird, safe thing." I add, and Luther groans, muttering something under his breath, leaving me to smile proudly.

"Let's just sit in silence till we get home." Luther suggests, and nobody says a single word to protest and I guess it would be sorta rude if I did seeing as I'm staying at his house tonight.

I sit in my old room, looking around at how empty it is because the Umbrella Academy doesn't exist in this timeline, meaning this room is just a room where I just so happened to share all of my good childhood memories, or atleast the handful I can call good.

"Why would you actually agree to come back here?" Ben asks with a laugh as he stands at the doorframe, staring down at me with questioning eyes.

"I think it's actually partly to do with what Luther said, I think it's good for myself to come see the place and realise that everything that happened back in my time line is just memories now, I dont know I guess I'm trying to give myself some closure." I answer with a shrug as ben walks further into the room, now sitting beside me on the bed.

"What were we like? in your timeline anyway?" ben asks, and I feel my heart stop for a second as I look at him for a brief moment.

"Really young but you -" I cut myself off. Is it wrong to address this ben as my Ben? because it is the same person, but it's not at the same time.

"we understood each other, he- *you* were one of the only people at the Umbrella Academy who showed me love despite our age. if we were doing paired work, we'd always be together, at meals we'd always pass notes, during training we always went easy on each other, during missions we always had a close eye on each other, we'd always spend time in my room. yeah, we were really young, but we still loved each other." I tell him, and he just looks at me, a sad smile on his face.

"we were convinced we were gonna get married, and in all honesty, I would've married you if you stuck around." I then add, looking away as I get an unbearable feeling of sadness.

"I would've married you if you came to the Sparrow Academy timeline earlier." Ben tells me, and I almost choke on my spit as I look at him, my eyes wide.

"What?" I ask, shaking my head slightly.

"I felt myself changing slightly the minute I looked at you when our academies met, but I was too.." He trails off trying to find the words.

"stuck up? full of yourself?" I begin listing and he rolls his eyes but he smiles slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, I was too stuck up to actually allow myself to change for you, and also, I was too scared because I know im nothing like your ben so I didn't want to cause a disappointment as though you lost him again." Ben admits, and I just stare at him.

"Ben, you are my ben." I state, my eyes not leaving his face, not even when his eyes light up slightly, not even when he turns to look at me.

"I didn't want to tell you in case you thought I'm just using you because of what happened with Umbrella Ben, but I promise you that is not the case. You are my ben." I then add, and I see his eyes softening as a small smile appears on the edge of his lips.

"so it's safe to say we like each other then?" He asks after a moment of us just staring at each other.

"I guess so." I jokingly groan, but I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a hug, just savouring the feeling of ben in my arms, my ben as one of his arms wrap around my waist, the other one coming up to reach into my hair, pressing the back of my head closer into him.

"I can't believe you went to prison, you asshole! I was gonna tell you I had feelings for you once we all settled into the new timeline, and then you went to prison."I scoff, and he pulls away from the embrace slightly and looks at me.

"You could've always written a letter or something." He tells me, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I would've been better using a carrier pigeon. No chance was I gonna have a prison pen pal." I scoff, rolling my eyes, but I did write, and then I wrote again, and again, and guess what? I wrote again.

"I did write to you, over and over again, I just never had the courage to send them, because imagine you got one of the letters, wrote back but it didn't send to me?" I ask, a shiver going down my spine at the thought of never knowing if he felt the same way.

"Well, I would've rewrote the same letter every day and sent it to you until you got it." Ben says, a slight hint of promise in his words, and with that, I press a kiss to his lips, and he instantly returns it, his hand on my waist tightening, gently pushing my head closer to his as he depends the kiss and we continue in our kissing embrace got a few moments, before we hear a:

"When I said coming here would help to release your childhood trauma, I didn't mean by doing.. this." Luther says, and I just pull away laughing.

[gudfornuthin]

All I’ve Ever Wanted pt2

Season 4!Five Hargreeves x fem!reader

Summary: after saving the world (again), the Hargreeves decide to have a proper celebration. Five should be happy, but there’s only one person on his mind, and he’s unsure if he’ll ever see her again. After being questioned by his loud mouth brother, there’s a chance he won’t have to wonder much longer.

Word count: 4k

A/N: the amount of support I received for part one of this was insane, and truly overwhelming. Thank you all for sharing the love and as requested I now have the idea for part two. Just like the last part, I’ve changed the story so no one ceases to exist and they all live happily ever after. This is also heavy on the Klaus and Lila content but I absolutely loved writing them and characterising them as I wish we had had more interaction between the pair. Hope you all enjoy, feedback is greatly appreciated :)

Read part one here!

“To saving the world. Again and again.”

“Hear! Hear!”

Glasses clink together as the Hargreeves family stand in a circle, celebrating their hero status. What had once felt like a long, gruelling journey, now at last was finished. The siblings weren’t sure if the world would need saving again someday, but at least for the time being, they could relax.

Diego and Luther were already wasted, Klaus and Alison were fussing over Claire, Victor and Ben were surprisingly having a heart to heart, Lila was hugging her children for what seemed like the 30th time that evening, and Five was sat in the corner moping. He wanted nothing more than to celebrate, to be in the moment with the people he loved the most. The only issue being, something was missing. Someone was missing.

When Five returned to his timeline, nobody held back their questioning. The only thing he could tell them was that it had been a long six years, and he was glad to see their faces. He couldn’t bring himself to mention her name. It would’ve just been too complicated. And he hated the thought of appearing soft and sweet. But that’s what she had done to him. And he knows he’ll never get that back.

“There’s my favourite sibling!” Klaus’ voice grates against Five’s ears, not in the mood to hold a conversation.

Five looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Favourite?”

“Yeah,” Klaus nods. “Right after Alison, Viktor and Ben.”

Five rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his lukewarm drink and sinking deeper into his seat. Unfortunately, his brother like always doesn’t read the room, and decides to sit down, slinging an arm around his shoulder. Five quickly shrugs it off.

“What’s got you so glum, chum?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

If Five was going to open up to anyone, Klaus would have to be the last person on earth before he even considered telling him anything. He’d turn it into one big innuendo and completely ruin his already shitty mood. No, he’s planning on keeping his mouth shut.

Klaus props his elbow on the table, his chin in his hand and looking at Five with big puppy eyes. Five glares back.

“I’ve been told I’m great at giving advice. I help Claire bear all the time!”

“I don’t think I need the same advice as a teenage girl,” Five says, crossing his arms. “And hasn’t she been suspended from school?”

Klaus raises his hands in defence. “The advice doesn’t always go according to plan.”

Five shakes his head, any ounce of energy left in him draining away. He stands up, much to his brothers dismay.

“Great chatting to you as always Klaus, but I um, I think I’m gonna take a walk and clear my head.” He starts to slowly walk away. “Hopefully get hit by a car,” He mumbles under his breath.

Klaus watches him leave the room, pouting slightly. He knows his not the first person any of his siblings come to for help, and usually the last one to know anything that’s going on. Most of the time he can be gone for days and no one seems to notice. Even so, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. Seeing his brother this down pains him, and if he’s able to help in any way, he will. He also knows he can’t do this alone.

He glances around, the party still going strong and most of his siblings smashed out of their minds. One person who still appears spritely and aware of her surroundings, is Lila. She’s always down for a challenge, Klaus thinks to himself, stumbling out of his chair and making his way over to her. She spots him coming closer, shooing her kids away in case he’s too drunk to control his inappropriate thoughts.

“There’s my favourite sister in law!”

Lila looks at Klaus, squinting her eyes and choosing not to bite back a snide remark. “Having fun?”

He nods a little too enthusiastically. “Oh the best, just swell. Us Hargreeves sure know how to throw a shindig.”

Lila finally decides she’s had enough of the pleasantries. “Alright, what’s going on?”

Klaus takes her by the arm, pulling her further away from the rest of the family out of earshot. He also chooses to take it slow, giving himself more time to figure out what he’s going to say to Lila and how he’ll convince her to agree to whatever he comes up with.

“Has Five seemed,” Klaus pauses for a breath, “moody to you?”

Lila raises an eyebrow. “As apposed to his regular sunny disposition and positive attitude?”

“Okay, I know he’s not the most happy, go lucky guy.”

“He’s a twat.”

This isn’t how Klaus wanted the conversation to go, but he pushes on through, ignoring Lila’s harsh words.

“The only thing he’s opened up about is that he traveled through a weird subway system and was gone for what, to him, felt like a long time.”

Lila shrugs her shoulders, having already lost most of her interest in the conversation. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Klaus leans somehow closer to her, lowing his voice. “With your brains and my,” he falters slightly, “can do attitude, we could find out what happened to him when he disappeared!”

“And how is this going to benefit me?” Lila asks, her interest yet to be piqued.

“You get to possibly find something embarrassing to use against Five,” Klaus responds, “and you can take a break away from babysitting those two.”

As Klaus says this, he points over to Diego and Luther, the former smashing champagne bottles against the latter’s bare chest.

“See,” Luther exclaims with a smile on his face. “Can’t feel a thing.”

Lila groans, turning away from the man children. “Fine, I guess I have no issue snooping into Five’s private life.”

“There she is!” Klaus jumps up and down. “Now step one: infiltrate the boys personal quarters.”

Lila grimaces. “Please, don’t say that ever again.”

- - -

The pair move away from the party and head towards Five’s room. After the apocalypse fiasco, the family all agreed to spend the next week or so staying at the Umbrella Academy mansion while they figure out more permanent arrangements. The siblings stuck to their childhood rooms, with Lila’s family bunking in Reginald’s quarters. Not like the old man needed it anymore.

“What are we looking for exactly?” Lila asks, walking into Five’s room and looking around.

Klaus walks in after her, immediately heading for one of the drawers and haphazardly pulling it open. “I don’t know! Clues, notes, maybe he bought something back from wherever he disappeared to.”

Lila huffs, scuffing her shoes against the ratty carpet. She chooses to go along with the scavenger hunt, moving to the bed and poking her head underneath. A box catches her eye as she reaches for it, dragging it into the light. She sits cross legged on the ground and begins rummaging through it.

“So,” Klaus starts. “You watched any good shows recently?”

“I’m not doing small talk with you.”

The continue searching, finding nothing of significance other than some random calculations for something Lila can’t figure out, and Klaus doesn’t even try to understand what any of it means.

Just before the two decide to give their searching a rest, Klaus finds a sealed envelope under a pile of paper. He scatters the parchment across the desk and holds the envelope close to his face. A name is written on the front.

“Jackpot.”

Lila notices Klaus holding something of interest and walks over to him. “Who’s Y/N?”

“Hell if I know,” he replies, beginning to tear open the top of the envelope.

Lila quickly stops him, wide eyes piercing into the side of Klaus’s face. “Is your name Y/N? You can’t just open something not addressed to you.”

Klaus scoffs. “Come on! This could help us figure out what’s wrong with Five.”

He rips it open and pulls out the contents, much to Lila’s dismay. Two pieces of paper. One with random scribbles etched across it in messy writing. The other a blueprint of sorts, almost like a mapped out plan of a subway system.

“So,” Klaus starts after a beat of silence. “Any of this making sense to you?”

Lila doesn’t respond immediately, her eyes glancing back and forth over the blueprint and the words she can decipher on the paper. It looks familiar. She’s certain she’s seen something similar before, not just any ordinary subway plan. Suddenly it hits her.

“I’ve been here.”

Klaus gives her a blank look, forcing her to continue. “When we went on our little ‘road trip’ and got ambushed in that town. I blinked, hoping to get away from the gunfire for a moment and all of a sudden I was in what looked like an abandoned subway station.”

She pokes urgently at the blueprint. “This is that subway. Or a certain part of it.”

Klaus finally catches on, nodding slowly. “Okay, this doesn’t explain why it was sealed in an envelope addressed to some person we’ve never heard of before.”

Lila looks down at the paper again, moving her finger along the drawn on lines. They go so far, then stop, then start again on a different part of the blueprint. She slowly starts to make sense of it all.

“These parts here,” she shows Klaus where the lines stop and start. “It looks like he blinks across multiple stations.” She sees a big dot and a circle furiously drawn around it. “And maybe this is where he stops permanently.”

“You think that permanent stop might have something there of interest to us?”

Lila shrugs. “It definitely seems like it had some interest to Five. We may as well try.”

- - -

It’s a cold, autumn’s day, and Y/N stands in her greenhouse, clearing out some of the plants that had wilted away due to the change of climate. She’s wrapped in a warm cardigan, sniffling slightly as a chill runs up her spine. She didn’t mind the weather, but always preferred the warmer temperatures. It was the best time to grow her favourite fruits and vegetables. Either way, she’s hoping to grow pumpkins soon.

Since the events of the mysterious stranger landing in her back garden, and the whirlwind of emotions he put her through, she hadn’t left the comfort of her home other than to buy groceries. She busied herself with a lot of baking, crocheting, and practicing more of her combat skills. She hadn’t had to use them yet, but still she likes to remind herself of the moves she’d been taught. She filled her time well, but there was always something missing.

Y/N shakes her head, rubbing her nose against the back of her hand. She grabs a plastic bag and heads outside into the cool air, scooping up handfuls of leaves and shoving them into it. Maybe she’ll make some artwork out of them, the reds, greens and oranges complimenting each other well.

A tickle runs up her nose and she sneezes into her palm.

“Bless you.”

“Thank you,” Y/N replies, then freezes, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

She turns to look in the direction the voice came from, coming face to face with a man with shaggy hair and a wide smile. Y/N yelps and, without much thought, punches him in the face. As he lets out a cry and stumbles back, she swipes his legs from under him, forcing him on the ground. She kneels on top of him, pulling his arms behind his back. ‘Guess the moves Five taught me came in handy’ she thought.

“I’m all for a bit of foreplay,” the stranger groans from under her. “But the punch felt unwarranted.”

“Who are you?” She interrogates.

“I must say,” a new voice sounds from behind the two on the wet grass. “If I knew you were this good at subduing Klaus, I would’ve come for you sooner.”

She whips around, spotting a woman standing not far away with her arms crossed and an amused expression donning her face.

Y/N looks back and forth between the two, confusion and adrenaline running through her body and mind. Was a quiet life too much to ask for these days?

Still on top of who she now assumes is “Klaus”, she glares at the woman. “Is it a trend now for people to show up in my back garden out of thin air?”

The woman smiles. “You must be Y/N.”

Hearing her name come from the stranger shocks her at first, but as the thought of Five runs through her mind, she has a strong feeling this has something to do with him.

“Sorry for scaring you,” the woman continues. “But I promise we’re only here with good intentions. Just here to help our brother.”

“I would also love to be apart of this conversation,” Klaus pipes up, still lying on the floor under Y/N’s weight.

She pauses for a second, then decides to trust the pair, standing up and holding a hand out to Klaus, the man happily accepting it.

“Alright,” she nods at them. “I’m listening.”

The three of them make their way into the home and sit in the kitchen. Lila takes the wheel, properly introducing herself and explaining the reasoning behind their unexpected visit. While the mention of Five doesn’t shock Y/N, her heart breaks hearing how miserable he’s been since leaving her and the life they’d built. She brews them all some coffee, listening intently to Lila’s explanation of their family and what’s gone on since Five returned. He’d obviously told Y/N about saving the world, but it was still hard to fully comprehend. She was used to a boring life, doing mundane tasks and basking in the quiet. His life sounded stressful and never ending. She begins to understand why he wanted to stay with her.

“And then we found an envelope in his room with your name on the front,” Lila finishes, taking a sip of her drink. “We thought finding you might be exactly what Five needs.”

Y/N eventually breaks her silence, trying to comprehend all the information thrown at her. “If he knew how to get back to me, why didn’t he?”

Klaus shrugs, grabbing for one of the home baked cookies on display in the centre of the table. “I don’t know, Five’s pride overshadows his emotions sometimes. Maybe he didn’t wanna seem desperate, or a burden. Maybe he was scared you’d moved on?”

She huffs at that. “No chance. The past few weeks my mind has been consumed by Five. I’ve tried my best to distract myself, but all I think about is him.”

Lila and Klaus look at each other, neither of them realising how much this woman must mean to Five. While this had initially been a way of teasing their brother and finding out something personal to use against him, it had now become much more serious. This woman was in love with him. And they don’t need to imagine that he’s in love with her too.

“Look,” Lila talks directly to Y/N. “We don’t expect you to give up your life here. I certainly wouldn’t with a home like this.”

Y/N smiles shyly, taking pride in her house and hearing the acknowledgment from someone else.

Lila continues. “But for the sake of helping two love sick puppies reunite with each other, we’d love to take you with us to see Five.”

At first, Y/N isn’t sure how to respond. The shock of meeting some of Five’s family, finding out how down he’s been since leaving her, and now getting the chance to see him again. She’s nervous as her stomach does flips. Even if it’s just one last time, she doesn’t want to spend a moment longer thinking it over.

“Okay,” she replies. “I’ll come with you.”

- - -

Five sits in the kitchen, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter on the table in front of him. He’s looking straight ahead, grabbing a slice and slathering it with the nutty spread. He doesn’t care if he’s making a mess. He won’t be living here much longer anyways.

Footsteps sound from the hall, as an out of breath Klaus enters the room. He spots his brother and, straightening himself out, he casually walks over to the table. He nods at him even though Five has yet to acknowledge his presence.

Klaus sees the sprawled out food. “Hungry?”

“Not really,” Five responds, as he grabs a peanut butter covered slice of bread and throws it at the opposite wall. It sticks for a second then slides down.

Klaus watches as it slowly lands on the floor, then looks at his brother. “Well enough moping around, why don’t you come back up to the party?”

“I’m not in the mood to mingle.”

Klaus bounces slightly on the back of his heels. “You sure? I think there’s someone here who’d love to see you.”

“If the Handler’s somehow come back from the dead, tell her I’m not interested,” Five grabs a towel, wiping off the stickiness on his fingers. “She always gave me the creeps.”

“Oh I think it’s someone much better than the Handler,” Klaus replies before skipping away and out of the room.

Five waits for a few moments, letting out a giant huff and moving away from the table. He’s in no mood to socialise, but his brother’s weird behaviour has him curious. He leaves the kitchen, slowly making his way towards the sound of the ongoing celebrations.

“Come on just one more drink, I can beat you this time!” Luther’s voice is heard slurring from around the corner where Five walking.

“No way,” he can hear Diego pipe up. “She’s too good for someone who’s never played before.”

Five quickly catches on that they must be playing some dumb drinking game. Whoever they’ve challenged must be kicking their asses.

“I dunno, I’m just not as drunk as you guys.”

Five freezes, his heart picking up speed. That voice. The soft tone followed by a melodic laugh. It can’t be her. What the hell is she doing here? How the hell did she get here?

He absentmindedly runs a hand through his hair, hoping he doesn’t look as much of a mess as he feels. He turns the corner, the sight before him filling his insides with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Y/N is standing in between Luther and Diego, cups in front of them most likely full of alcohol. The three of them pick one up and chug as quickly as possible. They slam them down, Y/N much faster than both of them, and start flipping them. After only a few seconds, she flips her cup and lands it, earning a cheer from her and a groan from the two brothers.

Luther shakes his head incessantly. “Alright, again. Let’s go again.”

“Luther, you sound like you’re about to pass out,” Diego argues, his words slurring no less than his brothers.

Y/N laughs at the pair, admiring their competitive spirit. Her eyes glance away from them for a brief moment, and she spots Five. They both look at each other for what seems like an eternity, waiting for the other to make the first move.

“Hey Five!” Luther’s loud voice echoes throughout the room. “Your girlfriend’s awesome! Way cooler than you.”

Five shuts his eyes, groaning inwardly at his brother’s inability to sensor some of his thoughts. Y/N continues looking at him, a shy smile gracing her lips. She excuses herself from the drunk duo, trying not to appear too eager as she walks over to the love she thought she’d lost. Finally, she stands before him, trying to ignore the not so subtle looks from the partygoers.

���Hi.”

“What’re you-,” Five is breathless, spluttering over his words. “I mean, how? How’re you here, how’d you get here?”

“Uh,” from not too far away, Klaus pipes up. “I think you’ll find I am the one you can thank for that.”

Lila, standing next to him, smacks the back of his head, eliciting a small yelp from the man. “I was the one who figured the blueprint out you prick. She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my ability to blink.”

They carry on bickering back and forth. All the while Five watches them, unsure if he should thank them or curse them out. Maybe both.

A soft touch takes hold of Five’s hand, pulling his attention away from his family and back to the woman in front of him. For the first time in a while, he smiles wide, matching her own.

“Do you wanna maybe go for a walk?” Y/N asks. “Your family seems lovely, but I’d really like some time just the two of us.”

Five breathes a sigh of relief. “Nothing would make me happier.”

- - -

The pair walk around the grounds of the mansion, holding hands and talking, as if nothing had changed. While Five knew he’d missed her company, he didn’t realise how her presence changed his mindset completely. He felt content, at peace. His thoughts weren’t consumed by the apocalypse and the world possibly ending again. How he’d spent the past several years moving from one place to the next, making sure his family was safe, and never having a second to stop. It was draining.

But with her? He can finally relax. He doesn’t feel the need to put on a facade and lie that he’s okay. She makes him feel seen, feel vulnerable in the best way possible. She’s not here to judge. She’s not here to ask for his help. She’s just here. And in that moment, that was the only thing Five cared about. It was the only thing he wanted.

They find a bench and decide to sit down for a bit, basking in the soft glow from the moon. Y/N rests her head on his shoulder and leans in close. Five can’t help but lay a small kiss on her hairline.

Y/N sighs. “I could stay like this forever.”

Five hums in agreement. “So could I.”

After saying those words, it dawns on Five what they truly mean. He could do this forever. Not just sitting on a wet bench in the moonlight, but spending the rest of his life with her. Living that quiet life they’d built together before he had to leave. He can’t bear to say goodbye again. So maybe this time, he doesn’t have to.

Five moves slightly, forcing Y/N to take her head off his shoulder and sit up properly. She looks at him confused.

“Why don’t we?” He asks.

“Why don’t we what?”

Five stands up. “Do this forever. You and I. Me and you. Live the life we both want. We both deserve.”

She stands up too, looking deeply into his eyes. “We talked about this last time. I can’t give up what I’ve made for myself. I can’t stay here.”

Five falters for a second, scared of what he’s about to propose. But there’s no point in living without taking a few risks.

“What if I come with you?”

Y/N is shaking her head before Five finishes the sentence. “I don’t want to be the reason you leave your family. I know now why they mean so much to you. I can’t live with that guilt.”

Five raises his hands to rest gently on the sides of her face. “And I can’t live without you.”

Tears threaten to spill from Y/N’s eyes, as he carries on talking. “I wouldn’t be saying goodbye to them forever. I know how to get back. Lila clearly knows how to get there too.”

Five rolls his eyes at that as Y/N laughs, her mind wandering to the shocking but wonderful introduction of his brother and sister-in-law.

“But if you still want me,” Five now speaks in a whispered tone. “I’m ready to finish building that life with you. However long it may take.”

Y/N nods, her heart beating fast. “I wouldn’t want anyone else.”

Y/N moves her arms up to wrap around his neck, pulling him close and kissing him deeply. They both sigh, Five tasting the alcohol she had been drinking earlier, as well as a hint of strawberries. Some things never change.

//

(Additional A/N: I’m not planning on doing any more parts following after this, HOWEVER, because I’ve loved writing Five and reader so much, I might do some one shots diving deeper into their time together before Five left. eg. Five teaching her fighting skills and reader teaching him how to bake. If you wanna see that please let me know and also if you have any suggestions for those kind of ideas I’d love to hear them.)

Taglist:

@indestructeible @reijixia13 @busy-buzzing @jshxng @krazyk99 @lxkeeeeee @inkspiredwriting @redbunny03 @philoslostfiles

(I tagged anyone who said they wanted pt2 but some tags didn’t work so apologies to anyone I couldn’t tag)

[lookingforhappy]

Five should never have been with the CIA, he should have been with the Keepers

the CIA is incredibly reminiscent of the Commission, the thing that Five has been trying to escape since s1, and that has repeatedly dehumanised, manipulated and hurt him.

not only is it a secret organisation that aids in the manpiluatation of the lives of others by a higher power but he is also constantly monitored, with and without his knowledge -

he has to report to his boss, he is constantly followed/attended to by Derek (who is lightly implied to also be a keeper), and the keepers are undoubtedly reporting back to his boss to keep him in line without his knowledge.

(just look at how many are keepers.. thats insane for Five not to have noticed anything after spending so long in the commission on high alert - what happened to him always checking the surroundings first??)

sounds similar to him having to report the handler, constantly being followed by her (into the bathroom, the tube room, etc) and always being watched by the infinite switchboard and his tracker.

there's also the "Five is one of the top agents at this secret and shady org. and Diego is the butt of the joke because he wants what Five has and Five won't give it to him & when he does get it it's a comedy scene" thing.

which is honestly just another nail in the "cia is too similar to the commission to be comfortable for five" coffin for me..

he is also constantly referred to as "Mr. Five" a name that is only ever seen used by the Commission,

and which is supposed to show the Commission's false respect for Five by tacking a "Mr." onto his name while also refusing to add on a surname (Hargreeves) - or in the circumstance that Five doesn't accept a last name, then addressing him by his full name "Number Five" or "00.05" or just "5" - which dehumanises and detaches him from his family aka his reason for leaving.

Five also calling his boss "sir" is incredibly out of character as at no point in the series has he called anyone by a honorific, not the Handler, not his father, and especially not someone younger than him.

and also that he calls the cia director (lance ribbons) "boss"

like not even "my boss" or "the boss"... just "boss". it just feels like such a young mans word, which Five decidedly is not. if i had to pick how he would address ribbons id have him say "ribbons", "director" or maybe "director ribbons" if he was in a formal situation. never "sir" or "boss"

There's Five adapting to the timeline/circumstance and then theres Five's entire personality changing.

and honestly, if this is a survival technique for Five in this timeline, to play into his apparent youth, then why not show that?? or even explore it in a more interesting way like how the comics had him disguise as a kid with a backpack, bike and binoculars???

instead they kept giving him stupid little props that only served to further hammer in the obvious "hey! five works for the cia now!"

all it does is make him look ridiculous, and i know that five is holding the gun and torch in the correct way but god it makes him look like such a cop. and after hes been fighting authority for his entire life it feels so fucking weird.

what's interesting though, is that he would have fit in fine with the Keepers! and we see this demonstrated perfectly in their first scene

just.. the way that perfectly sums up Five.. plus our concerns that he wouldn't have anything to do after the apocalypses are solved and aidan's comments that Five was feeling like he had nothing left/suicidal.. for there to be a group of other people that not only believe him but support him unconditionally?

(aaand im out of pictures... great)

for Five to be able to say this to other people? and to not be thought of as insane?? thats big.

and then for Five to be hinted at not keeping up with his siblings aside from Diego - the deleted scene with Klaus at the party shows that Five doesn't know how long Klaus' been sober for, he also asks Luther where Viktor is, clearly hasn't seen Allison or Ben in a while.. it's all such a perfect set up for Five to join the keepers.

and not only does this set him up with other people, in a support group setting. but it also perfectly sets up his arc to have conflict with his siblings without losing their trust (sorry fivela stans but i cant get on board bc it destroys his relationships with the family).

while Viktor was negotiating with Ben, the others could have been negotiating with Five. which would have brought us full circle, of five disappearing and fighting like hell to get back home, to returning but not feeling like he belongs, to being brought back into the fold. this is also the perfect opportunity to bring Lila in, as she would have the best understanding of where he stands after being manipulated by the commission.

it's also the perfect opportunity to have Five cause the apocalypse, instead of save it. people have talked about Five being set up to cause the next one since forever, and Klaus has a perfect set up for it too.

I personally think that each season should have rotated who causes the apocalypse instead of randomly making it Viktor's fault. this way we could explore the siblings individually and their trauma and recovery. give them all a seasons worth of focus.

season 1 gave us Viktor's apocalypse.

season 2 should have given us Diego's via JFK's survival causing the apocalypse (exploring his hero complex and how his ignoring his family in favour of pursuing his own ego/comfort isn't good for anyone etc)

season 3 should have been Allison's via her desperation to get Claire back - the kugelblitz shouldn't exist (because it doesnt work with the established laws of space time) but instead her deal with Reginald should have caused the apocalypse maybe as a way to motivate the others like Five into finding a solution.

season 4 can still be Ben's but ultimately for the final season it should have been a joint effort or at least come full circle and actually been impactful with more connections to Ben's death instead of the 2 second reveal of him getting shot in the most anticlimatic and confusing reveal i have ever seen. Ben has literally haunted the narrative for 4 seasons, between his death being the reason they disband, to his ghost being the reason they survive at the end of s1 and s2, and his alternate reality self in s3 and s4. he didn't get the send off he deserved for someone who has influenced near everything in the show.

there should have been 8 seasons - 7 to deal with the issues of the individuals, and 1 to deal with their recovery as a group, almost acting as an epilogue.

instead we got 4 poorly planned and incomplete seasons..

anyway, thats what i think Five should have been doing this season, not joining the CIA

[air--so--sweet]

I found out from the production designer's website and an interview he did that the basement kitchen is actually the 'kid's lounge', a space the siblings created for themselves.

And I've been obsessed with it ever since because I feel it gives us more of an idea about what the umbrellas childhoods were like.

Because, okay there's the slightly extravagant things like the pool table and foozball table, but most of it is very simple. A hifi system and a collection of cassettes and CDs (I bet Luther was only allowed have a record collection as part of his special treatment as Number One), what looks like board games and some toys in what used to be the butcher shops fridges and there's another toy next to the hifi system that looks similar to some of the ones we see in Five's room.

And in the scene where Allison and Diego fight Cha Cha we see art supplies as well.

These are just basic things most kids would grow up with but the umbrellas had to create a secret place, away from their father, to have them. It's just desperately sad.

But I also find it kind of beautiful that they worked together to make a place for themselves and I like to imagine the process of it coming together. Them scavenging furniture from the unused academy rooms. One of them finds the table in storage room, or the attic maybe, and then over the next few weeks they manage to take chairs from different rooms until they can all sit at the table together. Coming home from Griddy's one night (sneaking out became a lot easier once they had a separate entrance that their dad didn't know about) they spot an armchair and a sofa left out on the sidewalk and they don't look in too bad a condition so Five jumps back with the armchair while the others carry the sofa home (Five was still getting the hang of jumping with objects, the sofa was still a bit too big for him to manage). Grace catches them stealing food to take downstairs one day and she mentions it to Pogo (who knows about the room since it's right next to his own room, but he chooses to turn a blind eye) and suddenly there's a fridge in the room and Grace makes sure it and the cupboards are always fully stocked, even after the kids are gone (we see Five make a sandwich here when he comes back from the apocalypse). Hargreeves never interacts with Grace much and doesn't pay much attention to the food orders she makes as long as she stays in budget so some extra loaves of bread or jars of peanut butter won't catch his attention.

And Hargreeves never found out about the room because There's no reason for him to go to the basement, the only things in the basement are Pogo's room (so telling that there are 42 bedrooms in the academy but Pogo is relegated to the basement) and a utilitiy room. Viktor's cell is also in the basement but it's accessed by a separate elevator so Hargreeves wouldn't pass the kid's lounge to get to it.

You can tell how important the space was to the siblings as well because of how they use it in adulthood.

It's where they all go when Five returns and where they hangout when in the academy (we see them in the living room too but mostly for family meetings).

When Viktor comes to invite the others to his concert he comes through the butcher shop entrance.

It's where Klaus gathers his brothers when he tells them that he spoke to Reginald the night before.

And, even when he was the only one left living in the academy, Luther ate breakfast there.

It's the only part of the academy they feel is truly theirs and theirs alone. It's their safe place.

[miniy00ng1]

Not Yours pt.2

Five Hargreeves x Female!Reader

wc: 2239 (not proofread yet!)

warnings: swearing, fighting, lmk if i missed anything

find part one here my masterlist here

Hi lovelies! While writing I realized that this was going to be more than two parts like i had originally thought it would be. but regardless i hope you enjoy and don't forget to give me feedback! pls ignore and grammar errors! thank you <3

-------------------------------

“Welcome mi familia to my home away from home. My dearest Hotel Obsidian.” Klaus introduces, arms spread wide and breathing in the musty glory of the hotel. “Oh how I’ve missed her. Lookie who’s here! Mon frère Chet! How are you? We need your finest rooms good sir!” Chet places a sign on the table cash up front. The group of super siblings empty their pockets managing to gather enough for two rooms. 

“So what’s our next move you guys? Because the Sparrows can attack at any given moment. I know I would.” Diego asks, anxious to kick some more ass. Luther turns towards Diego, placing his hands on his shoulders, “Diego, just relax man. They’re not coming, they’re going to need a couple of days to recover with the way we left them.” “You really think so?” Diego asks hopefully, at this moment you peek around Luther’s body into Diego’s view and shake you head, sliding you thumb slowly across your neck. Five notices you trying to rile Diego up and drags you to the elevator.

“First, I get kidnapped. And now I have to bunk in the boys room. Just kill me now.” Y/N complains as she is forced into the room being shared between four men. “You can complain all you want Y/N, but I have to keep an eye on you, so deal with it.” Five huffs taking a seat on the lower bunk bed. You roll your eyes, “There are only four beds in here dipshit and five of us. Where the hell am I supposed to sleep?” Five smirks at you, putting his hands behind his head and fully reclining on the bed as you make a gagging sound.

The other three brothers enter the room shortly after and begin to discuss how there are now other versions of themselves out in the world. Your curiosity gets the best of you, “What was you guys’ version of me like? Everyone seems to like her so much better, she couldn’t have been that great.” The men all speak at once listing all of the good qualities other you had such as her kindness, or her mindfulness, or her hopefulness. You jokingly smile extra big and say, “Doesn’t she just sound like a ray of sunshine.” The rest of the night is uneventful as everyone is exhausted from the events that occurred earlier. 

That night, you end up taking the bottom bunk and Five sleeps on the floor next to it. The morning sun shines directly into eyes, disturbing your slumber. As you wake up and try to adjust your eyes, you feel a pressure on your hand. Lifting your head from the pillow, you glance over the edge of the bed and see a slumbering Five holding your hand–warmth spreads across your face. You quickly snatch your hand out of his grip, startling Five awake, he immediately scans the room for any threats. Five furrows his eyebrows once he makes eyes contact with you. No words are exchanged between the two of you as you get out of the bed and head towards the bathroom down the hall.

While freshening up in the bathroom, Y/N takes note of everyone in the restroom. There’s an elderly lady, a woman in her late 40s that looks like she’s done every drug on planet earth–twice, and a tan woman with a young boy standing behind her. The woman stares at you as if you’re familiar with one another. “What the hell are you looking at lady?” You says while drying your hands. The woman laughs in disbelief, “No fucking way.” You raise your eyebrows at the lady and exit the communal bathroom, startled to find Five dressed in a suit and waiting for you. “This entire hotel is full of freaks.”

The two of you take a seat at the table joining Klaus and Diego. The table covered in boxes of Chinese takeout, Five hands you a container and chopsticks, “Eat up, you must be starving.” You nod your head as a thank you and dig into the noodles. The siblings discuss their next course of action, if they have to fight the Sparrows to get the briefcase back or stay in the timeline. Across from you, something has caught Diego’s eye as he abruptly drops his food and rushes away from the table. You turn your body to see where he’s run off to and see Diego chasing the woman from the bathroom.

Diego returns to his seat five minutes later wih a young boy who claims to be his son. Not a single one of the Hargreeves at the table question the legitimacy of the relation. “So if you’re his dad..Is that blonde lady his mom?” You question, not seeing the resemblance at all. Diego nods in confirmation, “She claims he’s my son and that lady, is Lila. You two have met, she tried to murder us like two days ago.” “Two things Buddy. One, I am not your Y/N. And two, you’re an idiot. No wonder she tried to kill you.” You say, piecing the missing information together.

A short haired Vanya approaches the siblings. “Wow Vanya! I am loving the haircut! It really suits you!” Klaus calls out, admiring the new style. “Oh, it’s actually Viktor.” Viktor says awkwardly. The brothers glance at each other before Diego speaks up, “Who is?” “I am, always have been.” Viktor confirms. “Does anybody have a problem with that?” Everyone at the table shakes their head no and congratulates Viktor. “Look, I met with Marcus last night he agreed to give us the briefcase in exchange for Y/N. He says he doesn’t want to start a war.” You sit up straight at the mention of the trade.

Five’s face hardens at Viktor’s statement, “Absolutely not Viktor. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but this timeline in perfectly acceptable, there are no apocalypses or psychopaths coming after us. And last time I checked, you don’t speak for this family. There won’t be any unnecessary trades. Especially not if they include Y/N.” “You’re wrong Five. We don’t belong here. Allison is miserable, her own daughter doesn’t exist and you’re holding Y/N hostage just because she looks like your Y/N!” Viktor argues back. Five seethes in Viktor’s face, “I said no.” Five drags you off the chair forcing you to follow him. You hear footsteps chase after the two of you, “Five! Five wait up!” Five stops, still holding onto your wrist as Klaus catches up. “You two sure move quick for such little legs. Anywho…how would you two like to join me on a little roadtrip? We can relax and cruise the open road, it’ll be a grand ole time!” Five agrees to go with Klaus against your wishes.

Leaning against the car, you scan Five’s figure, “Like what you see?” Five says cockily, smiling at you. “That is the ugliest outfit I have ever seen. Genuinely, you should burn that for the sake of everyone else. And take that stupid hat off, you’re embarassing me. What did I ever see in you.” Five’s smile drops but before he can make a rebuttal Klaus skips over towards the car, “Let’s go bitches! This is going to be so much fun!” It was not fun by any means. Thirty minutes into the drive, Klaus and Five start arguing due to the fact that Klaus tricked Five into coming to meet his birth mother because he was scared to do it alone. 

“You were scared? So you brought me along like an emotional support schnauzer?” “I would say you’re more like a little cute, feisty chihuahua.” You say mindlessly. Five turns and glares at you, you’re certain he’s picturing murdering you in his mind. The fighting goes on for a little longer before the boys make up at the big ball of twine. Soon enough, you guys arrive at a farm where Klaus’ mother is supposedly living. Five tells Klaus that this is something he has to face alone and that he’ll stay with the car. 

Five moves the car to the side of the road and turns on a radio station playing songs from the 60s. He then exits the car just to open the rear door, “Scoot over, I want to stretch out my legs and do my crossword.” “You are such an old man. I don’t know how I could be into that.” You say while scooting over to make room for the teen. Five slides in next to you ensuring that his body is facing yours, “I’ll have you know that I have a lot of redeeming qualities that you loved. Not to mention, I’m a sweet talker Darling.” Five brushes his hand against your cheek, holding eye contact with you. Five’s green eyes are intense as you stare back noting the specks of blue in them. “I know, it’s hard to look away from them right?” Five winks at you finally breaking eye contact and sitting back, attention back on his newspaper. You blink rapidly trying to process what had occurred between the two of you.

Suddenly, a pulse rushes through the car shaking it as it passes. Five immediately sits up, hand gripping yours as he scans the area for signs of danger. You two exit the car, still holding hands. “Five? Where’d the cows go?” You question pointing towards the previously filled farmland which was now completely vacant. “Damnit can’t I get just one day off?” Five sighs throwing his hands in the air. The teenage boy gets to working on equations trying to figure out what he and his siblings fucked up now. In the distance, you hear a faint yell. A few seconds later comes Klaus with an angry Amish mob chasing after him, “Start the car! We’ve got to go now!” The three of you clamber into the car and speed off.

Klaus tells Five his findings and experience with the Amish and how his mother died before he was born. Five stomps on the breaks, causing you to fly forward, “We are so fucked. We’ve created the Grandfather Paradox.”

Once back at Hotel Obsidian Five takes you with him to find Lila. Her son, Stanley, tells you that she’s in the women’s restroom. Five is about to enter before you stop him, “Hey perv, this is the ladies room. Let me go.” You spot Lila in the bath and wave at her, “Y/N! Long time no see. Well actually, I guess you’ve never met me before but…I know you. And I can’t stand you just as much as I hate your husband.” Lila throws a knife in your direction and you are about to move out of the way when you feel a rush of air as you are blinked across the room.

You pull out of Five’s grip, “I can handle myself Five. And he is not my husband!” Lila approaches the two of you fully nude, “If you lovebirds are done with your couples quarrel. I’d love to get this over with.” Five and Lila fight and blink around the bathroom–you never knew two people could have the same powers. Lila manages to knock Five off of his feet, she then blinks to you and punches. You duck down, narrowly avoiding her fist. You sweep your leg at her feet aiming to knock her down. Lila lands on her back and you use your powers to transform into Luther in order to have an advantage, size and strength-wise. You swing your arms up in the air readying to pummel the woman into the ground. Lila mimics your power also transforming into Luther–your eyes widen as you realize what her powers are. Lila pulls her legs to her stomach before kicking them out, launching her legs into your stomach. You fly back, groaning as you land on a sink and breaking it off the wall. Curse Luther and his stupidly big monkey body.

Five has recovered and catches Lila off guard by slamming his body into hers. While distracted he squirts her in the face with soap, “Okay! Fuck! That’s enough!” Lila calls out, wiping the soap out of her stinging eyes. Five blinks over to you as Luther, “Y/N? Are you okay?” You transform back into your teenage self, accepting Five’s outstretched hand, “Never been better.” After making sure you were okay, Five grabs the briefcases from Lila’s possession. They were of course broken and the two decided that they would use their powers to travel to the Commision.

“We can’t bring her, we barely have enough power to bring ourselves.” Lila states motioning towards you. Five looks at you trying to figure out where to put you for the time being. Five walks you to his brother Diego, “I need you to watch her. I’ve got things to do and she can’t come with.” “What the hell? No! I’ve already got one little shit to take care of. I don’t need another.” You scoff at the conversation between the men, “I can hear you guys, you know?” They both ignore you. “Just make them watch each other, I don’t know. Figure it out, I’ve got to go.” Five walks off quickly with his hands in his pocket. Diego looks at you and rubs his face, “Stanley! Get your ass over here and come meet your Auntie!”

part three

taglist:

@ohmyitsfaith

[thistleh0use]

Jealous Five thoughts just because, well, I feel like Five wouldn't be into public displays of affection under normal circumstances. He's perfectly content to walk side by side with you at a farmers market, nothing but your shoulders occasionally brushing. Or resting against the trunk of a tree, half eaten picnic forgotten while reading your respective books, only point of contact your knees knocking every time one of you shifts. Or while cramped in a restaurant booth, surrounded by the Hargreeves family, sides pressed flush together as Klaus crowds into Five's other side to discuss the appetisers. Sure, when you reach for his hand or lean in to kiss him before running off somewhere it makes him happy, but it isn't really necessary. Five is always right there, never straying, comfortable watching you from a short distance. But at the end of the day, he's just a man. So when you two show up to the twins birthday party and a group of dads are whispering none too quietly about making you a mother? Five moodily crosses the chaotic room to wrap you up from behind, scowl firmly in place for the rest of the event. And Luther is so sweet! But perhaps too sweet to you on a day where Five is already annoyed, so naturally he snaps. Number one won't take it seriously because he's literally so sweet, will shrug off the aggressive threat his brother made and excuse himself with a smile, and you'll be left to scold your man for his misplaced anger. It's all a big f you from the universe because up until you came along, Five thought himself above emotions like jealousy, he's never had reason to feel envy or fear of losing someone because he's not enough. Now its instinct to compare himself to all the other men who fawn over you, even though you pay them no mind, and tries tirelessly to hide his newfound insecurities.

[5five5five5five5five5five]

Grace / the nannies / pogo somehow managing to get Reginald to rent out a children's museum for the evening just once when the kids are like 5-6 (maybe for their birthday). They needed something to get all their energy out.

Five and Viktor in a big plastic fake tree reading books and then going to the fake supermarket, where Luther and Allison are playing house and forced Ben to be their kid. Ben wants to go to the theater where Klaus has put on a one kid retelling of the ugly duckling with no audience.

Baby Diego is either clinging to grace for dear life and not knowing what to do........or has made it his mission to sneak around and throw something at each sibling without getting caught. Five and Viktor are the hardest targets bc they have cooped themselves up in the tree.

Diego also sneaking off because he wants to play in the water zone but the adults told him not to. He comes back sopping wet but very happy. An adult has to get him changed.

Klaus comes out of the theater costume zone dressed to the nines and proclaims himself mayor of hargreeves-ville. No one listens. Five will be the only one to call him mayor for the rest of the evening. But not respect said title.

Luther ends up playing in the"boring" science kid zone for a while well Allison and Ben join Klaus in the theater.

Diego ends up in the tree but he very dangerously climbed up on it. He's stuck. No one notices till Klaus screams, causing everyone to try and get him down.

Five and Viktor end up in the theater. Viktor plays with the instruments well five becomes a butthole director to everyone. Klaus isn't having fun anymore and runs to the supermarket.

Most of them end up in the fake supermarket and have a big group play, assigning jobs and trying to actually get along. It goes as well as u would think. Klaus can't stop beep scanning things and annoying everyone with it. Five ends up enjoying fake arguing like a Karen too much and it genuinely starts to get on Allison's nerves along with the beeping. "I heard a rumor everyone was quiet!!" Then dead silence. Allison feels bad but let's it stay for a few seconds longer before "I heard a rumor that you guys could talk again~" she gives five a weak smile, hoping he doesn't explode. five gives her the biggest scowl and maybe even some tears. I think five HATES being rumored. Ends up running away from the whole thing.

Viktor has a bit too much fun going "should I get this one....ooor this one" it's two of the same toy steaks. He asks five witch one then ben. Both say the left. He gets the right.

Ben is the "manager" and is hating his existence. He ends up enjoying stocking the shelves and ignoring everything around him. Probably took a audio book cassette player from the reading tree and has been blocking everything out. Also him using his tentacles to sort things.

Luther was still in the science zone and bumps into a very upset five. ever the number 1 caring bro , Luther tries his best to comfort him. They end up away from everyone to play in a big fake rocket ship. Viktor eventually joins, holding a shopping bag with his lone toy steak in it.

Diego and Klaus end up doing arts and crafts and get covered in glitter.

They all end the day covered in glitter, wet, probably covered in stickers and marker. They need to be sneaked into the house so hargreeves doesn't see and quick to the baths (the security got it and the nannies and pogo got a ear full later) they were clean as a whistle by the time dinner rolls around.

They never have an outing like that again and barely remember it.

[morbidapples]

you're an asshole

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗌𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗈𝗐!𝖻𝖾𝗇 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗌 𝗑 𝖿𝖾𝗆!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗂𝗇 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝗇. 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗌𝖾, 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾'𝗌 𝖺 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗌𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝗁𝗂𝗆𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗆𝗇 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝗂𝗌 𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀. 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖽, 𝗀𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖿𝗎𝖼𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽𝗇'𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗌𝗈 𝖻𝖺𝖽, 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍?

𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 𝟣,𝟩𝟫𝟩 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗌; 𝟫,𝟨𝟥𝟥 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌.

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗎𝗇𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗉𝖾𝗇𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗏𝖺𝗀𝗂𝗇𝖺 𝗌𝖾𝗑 (𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗌𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗒, 𝗐𝗋𝖺𝗉 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗒) 𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗐𝗃𝗈𝖻𝗌, 𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗄 𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗉𝗈𝖼𝖺𝗅𝗒𝗉𝗍𝗂𝖼 𝖿𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾, 𝖻𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗅𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝖻𝖺𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝖽𝗆𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗍, 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗇, 𝖻𝗈𝗍𝗁 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗅𝖾𝗌, 𝖽𝖾𝗀𝗋𝖺𝖽𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗌𝖾𝗑 (𝗂𝗌𝗁). 𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗌𝗅𝗎𝗍, 𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗐𝗁𝗈𝗋𝖾.

𝗮/𝗻: 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝗋𝖾𝗊𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖺 𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝖻𝗂𝗍𝖼𝗁, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗋𝖾. 𝖻𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖻𝖺𝖻𝗅𝗒 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋, 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗂 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾𝗇'𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗁𝗂𝗆, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗂𝗍'𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀. 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖻𝖺𝖻𝖾𝗌 <𝟥 @echo-mars0

"I don't need friends." Ben admitted. He sat across from you at the wedding reception for Luther and Sloane. You didn't know the bride all that well, but it was hard trying not to feel the warmth and joy in the room, although it was with underlying fear. After all, the end of the world was only days away.

You wanted to experience this supposed warmth, this love, just once more before the end of the world. And then, Ben Hargreeves, the alternate version of the original, was sitting across from you.

You were trying to get over the original Ben, the 'real' one, so it was strange talking to his alternative counterpart, who seemed much more of an asshole. But it was easy to talk to him, even if he was a bit rude.

He wasn't as handsome as the original Ben, (regardless of having the same face, you thought) but his eyes were beautiful, and the way he talked to you...

You couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Yeah," you replied. "It's just, like, I always liked being alone, and having people around can be exhausting."

Ben nodded. "I'm not good at making friends, and honestly, the others were pretty annoying. I guess I had a few people I liked, like Fei. She was always really fun, and could kick ass. But, when everyone dies, and it's just me, I guess I'll be a little bored."

"That sounds really sad," you said. "Yeah, it is. But it's the path I've chosen."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Ben said. "I'm sure we've all done some shit we regret, right? Things that makes us question if we deserve to be alive, or to be happy. Maybe it's time for me to pay for all the terrible things I've done. And the other guys, I'm sure they've done some shit. Luther, he's done plenty of bad stuff, I've heard about it. But, maybe they can be happy. At least for the time we all have left."

"It's hard to tell whether someone deserves happiness or not," you said. "Sometimes I think, nobody does. We're all just these miserable, ugly, terrible creatures. But then I look at someone, and they smile, and I just think, 'they're a good person. They deserve to be happy'."

You and Ben look at each other for a second before bursting out laughing. "That is such a load of shit."

There's another moment of silence.

"Do you think I deserve to be happy?" Ben asked. You paused. "You're an asshole, but maybe."

Ben smiled. "You're kind of an asshole, too." You laughed. "I mean, that's just how we are. It's just human nature. Humans are so terrible."

"We are, aren't we?" Ben asked. You stared into his eyes, and for a moment, it was as if you were falling in love with him. Your heart fluttered, and you hesitantly leaned forward and kissed him.

For some reason, he didn't hesitate to kiss back. You felt your entire body melt. You felt his arms wrap around you. You felt his tongue.

It was so perfect.

But then, you stopped. You looked at him, and he was still there. He was still Ben. But not your Ben.

"You alright?" Ben asked.

"I can't do this."

"What? Why?"

"You're not him. You're not my Ben. He died, and you're an asshole."

"Yeah, I'm not him," Ben said, shrugging. "But I am him. He's inside me, and a part of him is still here."

"I'm sorry," you said. "It's not you. I can't do this."

Ben sighed. "It's fine."

You felt guilty. "Look," Ben started. "I'm not going to force you. If you want, I'll go. I'll leave you alone, and stay the hell away. But... I could stay with you? If you don't care."

You paused. "Stay," you said. He looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Just... don't say anything."

"Okay."

You both sat in silence. It was a nice silence, a peaceful silence. You thought about everything. About life. About death.

And then, you realized something.

"Do you want to have sex?"

Ben's eyes widened as he blinked a few times. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

"But you don't want to be with me. You said I'm not him."

"Yeah, but I need something."

"Something?"

"Something to help me feel alive," you said. "We're all gonna die soon, so why not? Besides, you're an asshole, but I can deal with that."

"I am an asshole," Ben said nonchalantly. "I know," you said. "But if you keep your mouth shut, we can have some fun."

Ben smirked. "Deal."

The two of you got up, and went to your hotel room. You walked up to the door, and opened it. You entered, and Ben followed. You closed the door behind him.

You walked to the bed, and began taking off your clothes. Ben watched you. You could see his eyes widen as you stripped. You removed your underwear, and tossed it to the floor. You turned around and lay on the bed. You looked at Ben.

"Well?"

"Oh, yeah," Ben said. "How do you want me?"

"Just fuck me," you said. "And try not to talk."

"Bossy, much?" Ben said, coming over to the bed.He walked over to the bed, and climbed on top of you. You felt his hands squeezing your breasts. You moaned softly.

"You have such nice tits," he purred, latching his mouth onto a nipple.

You glared at him, although it's hard to keep a straight face when his teeth graze the hardened bud.

"Right, not talking," he said.

He bent down, and kissed your neck. You felt his tongue on your skin. You wrapped your legs around his waist. You felt his cock rubbing against your entrance. You moaned needily.

He grabbed his cock, and guided it inside of you. You moaned loudly as he entered you. You felt his cock sliding in and out of you. You felt his weight pressing down on you. You moaned and whimpered, relishing in the feeling of being so full.

"F-fuck," you moaned. "You're so fucking big."

Ben smirked. He grabbed your ass, and began pounding you harder. You felt his balls slapping against your ass. You felt his cock rubbing against your pussy.

"O-oh god," you moaned.

"You like that?" Ben asked. "You like my cock fucking your tight little pussy?"

You didn't respond.

Ben grabbed your hair, and pulled your head back. You cried out in pain. He began fucking you harder and faster. You felt his cock hitting your g-spot. You felt your body quiver. You felt your pussy tightening around his cock. You felt his balls slapping against your skin. You felt your juices coating his cock. You felt him hitting your g-spot over and over again.

"You like that?" he asked. "You like my fat dick fucking your tight little pussy?"

You were about to respond, but Ben cut you off.

"Don't answer me," he said. "You're mine. You belong to me. Say it."

"I'm yours," you moaned, not even caring about what you had said earlier, too lost in the feeling of his cock pounding into you.

"Say it again," he ordered.

"I'm yours," you groaned.

Ben continued pounding you. You felt your body shaking. You felt your orgasm building inside you.

"Fuck," you moaned. "I'm gonna cum!"

Ben grinned. "Yeah, I bet you are," he said. "Go ahead and cum."

You moaned loudly as you came. Your pussy convulsed around his cock. Your juices flowed down his cock and onto his balls.

"Fuck," he moaned. "That's right, you little slut. Cum for me."

Ben began thrusting faster. You felt his cock slamming into your cervix. You felt his balls slapping against your ass.

"Ah, fuck," he moaned. "That's right. You like that, don't you?"

"Mmm, yes," you moaned. "Yes, I do."

Ben smirked. "You're such a good little slut," he said. "Now, get on your hands and knees."

You obeyed.

"You know what to do," he said.

You crawled toward him, and positioned yourself between his legs. You looked up at him. He grabbed your head, and pulled it toward his cock. You took him in your mouth.

You sucked on his cock.

"Mmm, yeah," he moaned. "That's a good girl."

You sucked harder. You licked the tip of his cock.

"Ah, yeah," he groaned. "Keep going."

You felt his hand grab your hair. You felt him push your head further down his cock. You felt him force his entire cock down your throat. You felt him hit the back of your throat.

"Oh, yeah," he moaned. "Suck my cock."

You moaned as you sucked him.

He thrust his hips upward, forcing his cock further down your throat. You choked and gagged on his cock.

He pulled his cock out of your mouth.

"On the bed," he said.

You did as he commanded. You got on the bed, and spread your legs. He got between your legs, and grabbed your thighs.

He slammed his cock into your pussy.

"Oh, fuck," you moaned.

He fucked you hard and fast. He gripped your thighs tightly. He pushed your legs up toward your chest. He fucked you harder and deeper.

"Ah, fuck," he moaned. "Your pussy is so fucking tight."

"Yes," you moaned.

He grabbed your wrists, and pinned them above your head. He held them down with one hand. He pounded your pussy.

"You like that, you little slut?" he asked.

"Mmm, yes," you moaned.

"Good," he said.

He let go of your wrists, and grabbed your ass. He squeezed it.

"Mmm, your ass is so tight," he said.

"Please, fuck me harder," you moaned.

He obliged. He fucked you hard and fast. He held your legs apart. He pounded your pussy.

"Ah, fuck, I'm gonna cum," he moaned.

"Yes," you moaned. "Cum inside me."

He slammed his cock deep into your pussy. He filled you with his cum. He kept thrusting, shooting his seed deep into your womb.

"Mmm, fuck," he moaned.

He kept fucking you.

"Mmm, your pussy feels so good," he said.

"Y-yeah, m-me too," you moaned.

He thrust a few more times, then pulled out.

"Shit," he said.

He collapsed next to you.

"Wow," you said.

"Yeah," he said.

You turned toward him. You stared into his eyes.

"That was incredible," you said.

"You were incredible," he said.

You kissed him. He wrapped his arms around you. You felt his warm breath on your skin.

You pulled away from the kiss.

"Are you sure you don't want to date me?"

"No," you said.

"Okay," he said.

You lay back down, and closed your eyes.

"I'm sorry," you said.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "It's cool."

"I just don't want to have any feelings for you."

"Why not?"

"Because, you're an asshole," you said.

[mangoshorthand]

A Hargreeves Christmas Carol | Five Hargreeves/ F Reader | Ch5 Final Chapter!

SUMMARY: Luther is the sort of idiot who goes around with a 'Merry Christmas' and a goofy smile on his lips. In your opinion, he should be roasted with his own turkey and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. Who better to teach you the error of your ways than Luther's brother, the man who holds the power of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come in the palm of his hand? Info/Announcement Post

<< Read Chapter Four

Chapter Five (Rated E, 4.9k words)

The End of It

You awoke on Christmas day with a feeling of unreality. Was any of it real? Was this real?

Yet the bedsheets were your own, the bed was your own, the bedroom was your own. And, as what happened solidified in your mind, you realised that, best and happiest of all, all the time ahead of you was your own. 

Time to make amends, time to build some bridges, time to live your life. 

Today, you had three things to do. As you jumped in the shower, you imagined each of them with a smile. The first was so simple, the second so overdue, and the last so needed. 

The first two could be completed almost immediately so, fresh out of the shower, you immediately set about choosing a nice outfit for the day. 

As the wardrobe door creaked open, you smiled again. It was a beautiful wardrobe, big enough for a grown man to hide in before taking you on the trip of a lifetime. For that, you’d love it as long as you lived.

Dressed, you cantered into the living room intent on another piece of furniture. The old bureau had been left virtually untouched since the apartment passed into your name. You laid hands on it, smile trembling with emotion, and felt beneath your palms before you unlocked it.  

There it all was: keepsakes and framed photographs stacked or stowed away in inner drawers. Your hand went automatically to the topmost drawer, where you knew you’d find what you were seeking. You remembered carrying it numbly back from the hospital and locking it up tight; locking away the fact she was gone.

You picked up her necklace and held it to the light. The silver encrusted with rhinestones still looked like diamonds to your eyes. It sat on her collarbone, twinkling in the light day after day. The pendant was one snowflake-delicate flower hanging from another, leaf detailing leading off them to form Y shape up each side of the chain. 

It was her all over, and you kissed the pendant in your hand. 

“I love you, Grandma.”

Your heart fluttered with the small moment of feeling, and then soared as you fastened it around your own neck. It was like a talisman: with its comforting weight against your chest, you could honour the past, live for the present, and look with new eyes towards the future. 

The first of your three tasks done, you set about the second, pulling out your phone and sitting down to compose a message to Robbie.

When you rang their doorbell later that morning, intent on your third task, you bounced nervously on the balls of your feet, bottles clinking in the stuffed-full bags by your sides. 

Sloane answered, and you faltered, remembering what you heard her say yesterday, but when you looked at her face, she seemed more surprised than anything.

“Happy Christmas,” you said, smiling a little awkwardly.

She returned your greeting with a slightly cold smile. 

“Is Luther in?” you asked, “He invited me today, but I was pretty rude to him so…”

You tailed off, and her expression softened slightly.

“I brought booze.” you joked tentatively, “A peace offering.”

Sloane smiled then.

“Come in, it’s cold out there. He’s in the kitchen.”

“Cooking since five AM I bet?”

She gave a surprised chuckle.

“Yes actually. They’re been working their asses off. Just let me go get him.”

You gave her brief thumbs up and she walked briskly towards the kitchen.

You looked around affectionately at the Academy’s entrance hall. Far from being intimidating, it now felt like an old friend. 

Only a few seconds later, hurried footsteps announced Luther’s arrival.

“You came!” he cheered, bounding towards you. 

He was wearing an expression of pure, unbridled joy on his face and a comically tiny apron embroidered with poinsettias and adorned with frills. You held out your arms and hugged him.

“Happy Holidays. I’m so sorry about yesterday,” you said fervently, “I was such an asshole.”

“Forget it,” Luther replied, sounding as if life could afford no greater promise for the day than to have you here, “water under the bridge.”

“I don’t deserve you.” you said, hugging him harder, “Thank you so much for putting up with me.”

“I don’t put up with you, I like you.”

When you broke apart, you briefly hugged Sloane too.

“You’ll stay all day, right?” she asked, “And sleep over. We have so many spare rooms.”

Apparently her dislike of you wasn’t so deep that a decent apology couldn’t undo it all, and you were glad for that fact. You knew from Luther that Sloane was his perfect match, and you hoped to find a friend in her too.

“If you’ll have me, I’d love to stay.”

“Gladly,” said Five’s voice.

You broke apart from Sloane to find Five standing in the doorway, clad in his own frilly apron tied over his new sweater and drying his hands on a dishtowel. 

Though you said goodbye to him only a few hours ago, it felt like much longer. You felt renewed, joyful, and invigorated, and with it came a new perspective. Every person was a fellow passenger onwards through time, but only you and Five were united in having seen the destination and decided to change it.

Luther and Sloane exchanged a significant look as you and Five moved towards each other.

“Happy Christmas,” you said. 

The consciousness of what passed the previous night crackled between you, and you exchanged conscious, conspiratorial smiles.  

“Happy Christmas.” he replied, tucking the distowel in his apron pocket, “Nice necklace.” 

“Thanks. Nice apron.”

He gave a self conscious smile, and his arms gave a strange sort of twitch outwards, hands hovering uncertainly at his sides as if he wasn’t sure what to do with them.  

You took pity on him and hugged him, which he gladly returned. 

So far, most of your touches had been unconscious, unconsidered, or instinctive. This time, you made a conscious decision to kiss him on the cheek. It was platonic enough, but that didn’t stop Five’s grip almost imperceptibly tightening around your upper arm as shivers ran down his spine. 

The four of you entered the living room, where you were finally introduced to the people you’d seen last night. Viktor and his girlfriend Annabelle, visiting for Christmas for the first time; Klaus all smiles in his sequins; and Lila and Diego, joined at the hip. 

“You’ve been cooking with him?” you said to Five in an undertone the moment you got an opportunity, “That’s sweet.”

One corner of Five’s mouth rose in his lopsided smile.

“He’s a surprisingly good cook, actually. Taught me a thing or two.”

“I’m glad for you.”

“What are you two whispering about?” asked Lila, honing in on an interesting dynamic with the precision of a sniper. 

Five turned to her with the air of a father holding his patience with a bratty child. 

“Just making a pact to grin and bear it when one of you idiots inevitably suggests Charades after dinner.”

“Ooh! Charades!” Lila said, boisterously, “Yeah, great idea!”

“Uh. Charades?” grumbled Diego.

“Shut up, Diego,” she scolded, slapping him on the arm, “don’t be a killjoy.”

The day progressed as most family Christmases do: there was Christmas meal in which the potatoes were slightly overcooked (Five’s fault), little squabbles breaking out over the gravy, (Diego and Luther’s fault), and one serving platter broken in the production-line of dishwashing (a mortified Annabelle’s fault).

Afterwards you all retired back to the living room and, while Viktor piled up the fire and the family began to chat, someone mentioned drinks.

“I brought some stuff with me from Maggie’s,” you said, eagerly, “I thought I could say thank you for inviting me by making a few cocktails, if you’d like that?”

“You sure?” asked Luther, looking at you doubtfully, “I don’t want you to feel like you’re at work.”

“I’d love to actually,” you said, earnestly, “mixology never feels like work to me.”

You caught Five’s eye, but continued speaking as if to Luther.

“And I’m taking a step back in the New Year anyway. I’ve asked Robbie to manage the place for me.”

“Really?” Sloane asked, surprised, as you went to grab your supplies from the entrance hall. 

“Mm-hm,” you said, re-entering the room, “It’s long overdue. Robbie’s always wanted to manage, and I need to reevaluate what I want in life.”

“Good for you,” said Five, quietly.

You couldn’t help but look at him then. His approval felt good. Very good. 

“I wanted to try out a recipe idea I had.” you said, again deliberately addressing anyone but Five, “Tell me what you think: it’s whisky, cinnamon, maple syrup, egg white, and a dash of lemon.” 

You turned to catch Five’s eye as you finished, eyes practically sparkling with mischief: 

“I call it the Ebenezer Splooge.”

There was a polite chuckle around the room, and Five’s face worked very hard not to draw attention to himself. There was a blush high on his cheek, and his mouth gave a violent twitch.

“Hence the egg white?” he asked, careful to keep his voice steady.

“You’re a quick learner,” you replied.

Five bit his lip, the line bringing back the memories you’d deliberately evoked; that night back in March when you turned his drunk ass down. It hit something inside him. 

Up until last night, he’d been content with masochism: drinking in your little touches whenever he could get them, enjoying the flirting and quietly dying inside every time you so much as poured a drink with that elegant poise of yours. 

He couldn’t do it anymore, not when he knew what it was to hold you in his arms, to feel your lips on his skin, to be party to your grief and revelations. It was better to look to love that he could have rather than pining after yours. It felt so near sometimes, yet, whenever he reached for it, it was inaccessible. 

The promised game of charades came and went. The booze flowed, and the atmosphere got livelier. It was all a whirl of caterwauled Christmas songs, champagne, and late-night turkey sandwiches. 

They were a friendly group, and it felt good to be among them. This was what Christmas was supposed to be, spending time with people who made you feel loved and welcome.  

By this stage, all of you had been dancing, and you flopped down on the couch beside Five, a stitch in your side. 

“I’m going to have to go to bed,” you said, grinning at him, “Klaus is going to tire me out!”

“He has that effect.” Five remarked, glancing fondly at his brother, “Want me to show you to a guest room?”

“Yes please.”

You said your goodnights, and when you were both out of earshot in the entrance hall, Luther turned to Sloane:

“I bet you fifty dollars Five doesn’t come back downstairs.” 

“It’s about time,” Sloane replied, grinning, “he’s been hung up on her for months.”

“How about you and I go upstairs?” he said, with a sly smile. 

“Soon, sugarplum,” she promised, and kissed him gently.

“So you’re taking a step back from Maggie’s?” Five said, as you mounted the stairs together.

“Yeah,” you said, with a gentle smile, “I woke up this morning and I just knew. I don’t want to sell the bar, but I don’t want to spend my life chained to it either.”

“So what’s your plan now?”

“The plan is no plan,” you beamed, “I’m just going to build my bridges, follow my heart, have some fun, and see where it leads. I’ve got some catching up to do.”

Five was silent for a few moments. 

“And where’s your heart leading you now?” he asked, uncertainly. 

“No idea. I guess we’ll see.”

He stopped and opened a nearby door.

“Does this room work for you?” he asked, casting an eye around to check its suitability. 

“Are you in love with me?”

He blinked once at the unexpected question, and then answered without hesitation or preamble, as if he was simply giving you the time.

“Yes.”

Your arms, legs and sex tingled with the admission.

This was it. You were done with self denial and done with pushing people away. Five was everything you wanted right now, and you wanted to pull him as close as two people could be.

“Then spend the night with me.”

His mouth fell open, and he let out one or two disbelieving breaths. You took each of his elbows and pulled him closer to you.

“This is…unexpected,” he said, and swallowed. 

Your eyes immediately flew appreciatively to his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat, and when you raised your hand to touch his face, you were surprised to see a hard expression there. 

“I don’t want to be a one night thing for you.”

“You won’t be.”

“I don’t believe you.” he replied, resentfully, “You just said that your plan is ‘no plan’. You’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. I’m not going to-”

You silenced him with a kiss, pulling him to you by the collar. It was one you’d been holding back for as long as he had, and when your lips connected with his, you felt your body wanting to melt, permeate his skin and sink into him.

You could taste his last scotch on his lips, you could smell that maddening cologne. 

But he took you by the upper arms and pushed you away, firmly. 

“Five,” you pleaded, “Five, please. Please.”

“No. I’m not going to be some experiment for you. I’ve wanted you for too long to just be some no strings fuck. I’m done.”

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted you?” you pleaded, shaking him slightly by the front of his sweater, “Pretty much since you first came into Maggie’s!”

There was a needy, beseeching tone in your voice. It would have embarrassed you before, but now it just felt good to wear your heart on your sleeve. He opened his mouth to object, but you spoke over him:

“I’ve been hiding from my feelings for years: hiding from Grandma dying, hiding from how I feel about you, and I’m done hiding!”

Five looked down at you, at your pleading face. 

To think you were literally begging him for sex - the stuff of his wildest fantasies - and he was turning you down.

He bit his lip again and looked up at the ceiling, away from you, and tried to think. 

This didn’t help quell your desire, finally released from its bounds after years of repression and cold showers. His neck looked unbelievable, all stretched and arched that way, and it took some restraint not to dive forward and taste his skin. 

“God, Five. I need you.”

He let out a little growl of frustration. 

“No. I need to know we have a chance at a future!”

The fragile note in his voice broke through your fever. Guiltily, you loosed your hold on his sweater and backed off. 

You closed your eyes for a second or two, and then spoke again:

“Okay. I understand. I’m sorry I kissed you like that.”

“It’s fine,” he croaked, sounding far away.

You put a hand on the spare bedroom door frame, signalling your intent to leave him alone. 

“I’m going to go to bed, but let’s talk in a few days, okay?”

He nodded, opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

“Maybe we’ll go for dinner?” you added, tentatively, “We can take it slow. You’re worth the wait.”

He flushed at this, and his fingers moved restlessly at his sides.

You gave him an understanding smile, and then, echoing his leavetaking of the previous evening, you took one of his hands, raised it to your lips, and gave two delicate kisses to the backs of those fingers. 

“Goodnight,” you said, tenderly, “Thanks for today. And last night. Thanks for everything.”

With that, you retreated into the bedroom. 

But before you could close the door, he was over the threshold.

“I won’t last long,” he said, voice low. 

And, before you could process what he meant, he kicked the door closed behind him with a bang, pulled his sweater over his head and cast it away from him. 

If his voice smoldered, his eyes were aflame; being the object that gaze felt like being scalded by hot honey. It seared your skin. 

With a rush from your toes upwards, you threw yourself at him, sending him falling back against the door with another loud bang.  

His tongue was in your mouth: plunging, searching, tasting; teeth clashing against yours with the urgency of desire. You moaned into his mouth and sagged, weak with the feel of it, and he grunted in displeasure. His hand came to the back of your head and held you fast, pressing your face harder against his. 

Though you initiated the kiss, though it was you pressing him against the door, though it was you begging for this only a few moments prior, it was his passion that won out, leaving you wilting in his arms, eyes helplessly closed. 

At last he came up for air, loosening his hold on you and breathing hard.

He looked too full of lust for words, eyes were darting all over you, teeth exposed. You could relate, your pussy aching like a tuning fork struck too hard. 

You dropped immediately to your knees, hands coming up to fumble at his waistband.

He groaned in anticipation, head hitting the door as he slumped back against it, the mere prospect of being sucked almost undoing him. 

“You shouldn’t -” he gasped, sounding a little embarrassed, even through the lust-induced haze. “I’ll come. It’s been a long time, I’m already-”

But he gasped again when you took him, hard and heavy, into your hand. It was clear that he hadn’t been exaggerating; his white underwear and pink cockhead were already moist with leaked arousal.

His cock was thick, uncut, and long enough to exceed your grip by half. His shaft was curved and sculptural like his forearms; veins standing out attractively. It twitched invitingly in your hand and, as a little more precome dripped from the slit, you felt yourself gush into your panties.

“I want to taste you,” you said, looking up at him.

“And I want to give you a good time,” he said, fretfully.

“You will.” you smirked, lips an inch away from his tip. 

He answered only with another sound, and when you tasted him, he hissed, and bucked his hips immediately into your mouth.

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered, “it’s hard to control.”

You only smiled and took him back into your mouth, tasting the salt of his arousal, the delicate musk of his cock, and yet drinking in his whines more greedily than either. 

“Oh fuck,” he choked. 

He was perfect: sensitive and desperate. He writhed, cursed, tensed, and whimpered: one fist contracting in your hair and the other against the door handle as he fought fiercely against the need to come.

You took pity on him then, content with having had him in your mouth for the few moments he could manage.

“You’re going to kill me,” he said, breathlessly.

You grinned up at him. 

“Then eat my pussy and calm down.”

His cock twitched, and he gave another small cry. 

“That didn’t help!” he yelped, agonized. 

You chuckled mischievously and stood, just he started to unbutton his shirt, kicking the pants and underwear off from around his ankles. 

Even this momentary delay to getting some part of your body back on some part of his was too much, and you cast your dress away as roughly as Five had his sweater. Meanwhile, he was wriggling out of his shirt, swearing as his wrists caught in the cuffs. Your fingers shook as you unclasped your bra and, as you struggled, his eyes fed on you.

“Can I take off your panties?” he asked. 

No sooner had you answered in the affirmative, finally succeeding in removing the cursed bra, Five was on his own knees, shimmying your panties down your legs, and helping you to step out of them.

“Against the wall,” he growled, cock protruding invitingly between his legs and bobbing with his movement. 

No sooner had you obeyed than his mouth was inches away from your pussy, helping one leg up onto his shoulder to give him better access.

He looked at you for a moment, fascinated.

“Holy shit,” he said, awed, “you’re so wet.”

“I’ve been wet since the hallway!” you breathed.

With that same expression of fascination, he dragged a single finger between your labia, from your hole all the way to your clit, collecting your juices, and then put it in his mouth. 

He let out a low moan as he sucked his finger clean, one hand darting lower to gently roll his foreskin back and forth. 

He looked up at you with a cocky grin at the effect he’d already had on you, the appearance of even more thick fluid evidence enough that you liked what you saw. 

He leaned forward, nose less than an inch away from you, and lingered there.

“Please!” you said, desperately. 

“Call this payback for the Ebenezer Splooge,” he said, playfully.

“No! Please!”

He took another, momentary pause, and then mused:

“You do sound good when you beg.”

His tongue protruded, his breath hot and torturous against your inflamed, excited pussy… and then he paused there, tongue tip millimeters from your clit.

Just as one of your hands came to urge him forward by means of his hair, he gave your clit two or three experimental licks. 

You squeaked, hand finding a grip in his hair anyway, and he dragged his tongue deliberately up and down. 

“Oh fff-fuck.”

He hummed delightedly against you, and started to eat you out in earnest, kissing your labia, slipping his tongue inside you, and alternating between nudging your clit and sucking on it. 

You urged him on, trying hard not to moan too loudly, stroking his thick hair, and trying hard not to surrender too much of your weight to the wall as your supporting leg went weak. 

His face wormed its way further between your thighs, and his mouth closed around your clit, lips and tongue at work against you, eating you like a ripe fig; sucking your juices down his throat with a snarling, feral sound. 

As it turned out, Five didn’t need to worry about his lack of stamina: he might not last long, but neither did you. With only a few minutes of concerted licking, tongue swiping side to side, he only had to introduce a finger for you to keen, shout, and then come. 

You flailed and cursed as the pleasure slammed through you like a wave smashing you against the rocks. It floored you, and then that hot-honey was back, engulfing all your senses in a thick, shimmering molasses haze. 

As the feeling subsided, Five slowed his licks, kissing your pussy lips and easing you out of the orgasm with increasingly gentle attentions, mercifully avoiding your over-sensitive clit. 

When your breathing was back to normal, you unhooked your leg from his shoulder, and he looked up at you, face wet with your juices. 

“Good?”

You didn’t need to answer him, your fucked-out haze of an expression was enough. 

He smirked and stood so that you were on a level once more. He kissed you deeply, hands coming to cup and fondle each of your asscheeks and holding you up as you slumped bonelessly against him. 

“We need a condom.” you said, breathlessly. 

“Right,” he agreed, distractedly, setting you on your feet and bending to locate his wallet from his pants pocket. 

“Still in date,” he said, sounding slightly surprised as his trembling fingers located the rubber and opened the package, “I haven’t needed one in a while.”

“You can’t get STDs from the cable porn ladies,” you quipped.

“Shut up,” he smiled, rolling the condom down his shaft and leading you to the bed.

He sat down on its edge and looked up at you. 

Ride me,” he said huskily, “I promise I won’t take long.”

Though already exhausted from your orgasm, the need to have him inside you overwhelmed it, and you nodded. He guided you onto his lap facing him, your thighs around his waist and his arms around your own.

As wet as you were, it was still a slow, tight slide down onto his cock. Five buried his head between your breasts with a strangled moan at the sensation, intense even through the condom. When you started to ride him, he was beside himself in no time at all, feet planting on the floor and pushing helplessly up and into you. 

It felt good; full and intimate with your arms wrapped around each other, eyes and mouths occasionally locked as you thrust into one another, meeting the other’s body and pushing as deep as you could go. 

It was his face that made your nipples harden, the feel of his strong, lithe body between your thighs that made you bite your lip, and his pelvis moving against yours that made you bend to finally taste his neck. 

“Fuck,” he said, roughly, “Gonna come already. Been too long - thinking about you - can’t believe we’re - oh sh-iii-t!”

He came with a yell, surging upwards in the grip of his orgasm, head thrashing and arms tightening reflexively around you. His thrusts became disorganised, messy and uncontrolled, eyes screwed up, teeth gnashing against the air, and neck once more arching in that delicious way. 

He collapsed onto the bed, panting, and you leaned forward to give him a final kiss before climbing off him and wriggling into bed beside him.

You stroked his hair idly as he came down from the high, regaining his breath and dealing with the condom. For a few moments afterwards, he just stared at the ceiling. 

“That was amazing,” you said.

“Yeah,” he replied, distractedly.

“All okay?”

“Yes,” he said, sitting up but not turning to face you, “I’m gonna go get cleaned up, but I’ll be back, okay?”

Sitting in his pajamas on his own bed, Five plucked another hair and inserted it into the briefcase on his lap. 

He’d get over you. If that really was a quick fuck while you rediscovered yourself, then that would suck, but he could face it and survive. What he couldn’t face was becoming that lonely man with the child-molester mustache. 

He had to know that it wasn’t inevitable. Because if that wasn’t inevitable, then it proved that the power really was still in his hands.

And maybe it even proved that he had a chance to make you love him back.

He set the briefcase to the same date as last night, braced through the static of time travel, and then immediately regretted not putting on shoes.

Snow was soaking through his socks. 

“Great,” he grumbled.

He was standing in the front yard of a little house, alone on a snowy country road, and a quick glance at the briefcase proved to him that it was the same night as before: Christmas Eve, ten years from the present. 

It was different, that was for sure.

He hurried as quickly as possible off the snow and onto its covered doorstep, where the light from the front window drew him to it. With a strange sense of deja vu (shouldn't he be standing beside an azelea?), he looked through. 

There was a small but cozy living room, a lit wood fire, a Christmas tree with wrapped gifts beneath, and himself. 

He was wearing the same sweater Klaus got him for this Christmas, his socked feet up on the coffee table and a book in his hand, reading contentedly. Instead of the pedo ’stache, he sported only a little scruff around his jaw. 

It was all he needed to see, and Five let out a deep sigh of relief. 

Alone he might be, but with that many presents beneath the tree, he at least had family coming.

It was almost perfect, he thought, as he set up the briefcase for the return journey.

But then something caught the periphery of his vision.

There you were, entering the room and handing him what had to be a glass of Ebenezer Splooge, garnished with a twist of orange zest. 

“Hi,” he whispered, climbing back into the guest bed beside you.

“Hey,” you replied, sleepily, shuffling up beside him and laying your head on his shoulder. 

For a few moments, he just enjoyed the warmth from inside and out. 

“Thank you for tonight,” he whispered, “that was amazing.”

“It was a long time coming,” you mumbled, “and when we wake up, we’re doing it again.”

“Good,” he said, breathing in the smell of your hair.

His future was all here in the here and now: his family downstairs, you held here in his arms, and his resolution to deserve it all by being good to you all.

And he’d do it too. He’d be better than his word. He’d be as good a friend, as good a brother, and as good a man as he could. Perhaps his siblings might laugh to see the change in him - all loved up and cheerful for once -  but he found he didn’t care. His heart sang: and that was quite enough for him. 

As he drifted off to sleep, the woman he loved in his arms, he barely heard your sweet voice as it observed:

“Your feet are fucking freezing!” 

The End

A/N: Did you think I was ending this without smut? Have you met me? Thank you for all your lovely comments and reblogs throughout this fic and all my others this year. They really do make the difference and constitute roughly 80% of my self esteem. Happy Christmas to all who celebrate, and here's to a better 2025, (slim hope, but bring on the revolution etc etc).

Scrooge and Bob Cratchit, or The Christmas Bowl by John Leech, 1843 in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, first edition (1843).

Dickens' A Christmas Carol full text available here.

Read it! It's a much better than this, and you can see how many lines I stole verbatim or clumsily referenced.

Dividers used in this series by @bernardsbendystraws (garland) and @strangergraphics (lights)

Taglist: @nevbrooke-555, @fiannee, @abeeabee6969, @chalametabingbong, @lolawassad, @icantpickanamefromonefandom @thebearmage @kaybreezy3000, @starlitflora (comment to be added or removed)

Megalist

Request info + rules

I take Five requests, I'm fairly versatile in what I write (fluff, smut, angst, psychological character study- I'll try it all) but I will consider them on a case by case basis. See request info + rules for request status and more.

[myboipracticallyimagines]

Scarlet - Five Hargreeves x Reader

Prompt: You were a Sparrow dragging into a new timeline with your singular surviving sibling and a family who claimed he was theirs. In this new world, your powers of youth were ripped away, forcing you to age in five years what should have been twenty. Though you were the same age as the rest of the Sparrows, you were now perpetually in the aging body of a twenty-year-old. Unlike the rest of the Hargreeves, you needed to get back.

So did Five.

(A/N: Spoilers for Season 4 if any of y'all care. I wouldn't. Hopefully this will make the ending a tiny shred better for you guys.)

It had been five years in this timeline. This broken, hellscape of a timeline in which Ben was all that was left of your family and your powers didn’t exist. Your power of youth did nothing here but make you perpetually younger than the rest of the Hargreeves. They wouldn't let you forget it, either. Though you were the same age as them, down to the minute, they seemed to regard you as their innocent, no-blood-on-your-hands, little sister that they were stuck looking out for. Save, Five, of course, who apparently was older than each of you but stuck in a younger version of himself. You would've been thrown off by the coincidence if everything about your world wasn't already fucked. The worst part, by far, was that you couldn’t even buy a fucking drink in this apocalypse.

Luther was the main, if not only, force keeping the family together - you and Ben included. Even though you apparently didn’t exist in his timeline, he tried his best to include you in the family functions. Even though you would've rather drowned yourself in your sorrows, you were grateful for him. Sometimes when he looked at you, you could see a hint of his own grief in them. It should've been Sloane who made it to this world with him, not you. Nothing tied you to this family except for Ben.

Not that he was much help. By year one he had built a Ponzi scheme empire and by year two he was in a low security federal prison. You couldn't help but think that he was better off there sometimes. He at least had a fresh start. He wasn't forced to assimilate to a different version of the family whose bodies were still fresh in your own timeline. He didn't have to push down his grief to save face, nor did he have to forge his own 'fresh start' in an utterly unfulfilling career.

Everyone else had their own vices in this timeline - bubble wrap, a bar, a family. They all seemed to assimilate fine to mundane life. Diego and Lila were seemingly never happier. They welcomed three children into this world in five years. Lila even had her birth family here. You were probably most jealous of her. Or maybe Allison, whose husband and daughter were both waiting for her as soon as she crossed over. You had never been lucky enough to love someone like that.

Or be loved like that.

Of course, none of the Hargreeves knew the full extent of what this world was doing to you. None of them felt the weight of time pulling them as you did. None of them felt themselves age in five years what should’ve been twenty. You needed to find a way back. Quickly.

Thus entered the Keepers. They weren’t hard to find by any means. You were introduced to them via flyer on your apartment building’s bulletin board. For a secret society, they had a fuckton of marketing. In your reality, you would’ve easily spilled the information to your sisters. In this one, you kept that shit to yourself.

Five began attending a month after you did.

You could tell by looking at him that he didn’t believe a word of what Jean and Gene were saying. It annoyed you at first - he’d been stuck in the future for 40 years, but a cleanse was where he drew the line? It didn’t take a genius to realize that the cleanse was just a fancy remarketing of an apocalypse, of which he had now allegedly survived four of.

While Five hovered near you for the duration of the meeting, he didn't speak to you until you were out of the building. "Need a ride?" "I only live a few blocks away," you shrugged. "And it's dark now. Can I give you a ride?" You rolled your eyes. "Sure. Thanks."

After opening and closing your door for you, Five got into the driver seat, though he made no effort to start the engine. He exhaled deeply. “It won’t work.” “What won’t work?” “The cleanse. It has every workings of an apocalypse. It’s not a magical reset button on the timeline. At least not for humanity.” “And how are you so sure of that?” “I’d been running from apocalypses for forty years before I met you. The people who died stayed dead. You can only watch the ones you love die so many times before you get a little cynical.” He turned towards you, eyes set on yours. “These timelines, as fleeting as they may be, are the only way for my family to be alive.” “No chance this one is just a magic reset button?” He pulled his lips into a tight smile. “Not a fucking chance.”

~~~

New Grumpson was perfect. It was the town out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, down to the hot chocolate stall and ice-skating rink. You would've started a new life there if everyone didn't immediately start shooting at you.

Every single one of you would have died if you hadn't just gotten your powers back. They were stronger here. You no longer had to touch your assailant to steal their youth. Instead, you could draw in youth from a crowd, watching their skin wrinkle and bones brittle from yards away. "What the fuck was that!" Diego shouted as the men before you fell to their knees, taking shaky last breaths as their lungs shriveled within their aging chests. "That's youth, baby!" you shouted back, spryer than you'd been in years. "Watch out!" Lila yells. In a split second you see the spray of bullets heading towards you - far too quickly to avoid. Just before they hit you, Five grabbed onto your shoulder and blinked

You had never felt his power before, and the sensation ripped the air out of your lungs. "Calm down, calm down," he spoke calmly, hands resting on your back as you doubled over. “Holy shit,” you whimpered, the rest of your body still vibrating from the trip. “What the fuck, Five?” “You’re welcome. Your cute little aging shit would’ve done nothing against a hundred bullet holes, sweetheart.”

With a deep breath, you steadied yourself and finally took a moment to look at your surroundings. While at first it just appeared to be a subway station, it was eerily dilapidated, and all the normal writing had been replaced by strange ciphers. “What is this place?” “This is my new power. Every time I blink, I land here. The trains go to the exact moment and place in time I blinked from in a different timeline. I’ve explored three so far. When I walked out of this station, minutes had passed - not the days I’d been away.” “What- Why-,” you stuttered through your question, your mind latching onto a million ideas as you replayed his words. “Why didn’t you tell us?” “Why would I?” “Because my family could be in one! There could be one where the world isn’t about to be fucking ripped apart! There could be one where I could be fucking happy!” “Not the ones I’ve seen. This place is a paradise compared to what I’ve walked through.”

A low squealing of metal alerted you to a train on approach. “Show me.” “Show you?” “Please, Five. I need to see it. I will never be content here if I knew something better could be waiting.” He let out a low groan. “Fine. One timeline. And then we’re going back, and I will hear no more of this station.” You nodded fiercely. “Not a word.”

He took you to the first new timeline he came across. He promised to play fair and avoid the few that he'd already seen. Four stops down and you were at your destination - a train station almost identical to the one you'd boarded. Five took note of the few differentials - different symbols on the signs, a murky looking puddle, and so on.

"Done journaling?" you finally asked as he placed his notebook back in his pocket. A look of distaste crossed his lips. "This journaling is what is going to keep you alive. In our timeline at least. Who's to say in this one." "Lovely," you smiled back. "Just stay behind me."

You obliged, following him up the stairs of the station and into the sunlight of the wide open. The heat was the first thing that hit you - it was brutal. Not only was your skin burning, but so were your lungs. It felt like stepping into a blazing fire. "What is this place?" you coughed. When no response immediately came, you turned to Five. He seemed transfixed, eyes shifting around quickly to try and take in as much information as he could. "Five, are you okay?" "This is my apocalypse," he breathed. "This is where I was stuck for forty years." "Fuck." Your voice barely carried above the wind. "Let's get out of here."

Five was still frozen in place when the rain of bullets began. You hit the ground, pushing yourself behind what used to be a car. "Who's shooting at us?" you screamed at Five, who had dropped just after you did. "I am!" he yelled back. He repositioned himself to kneel beside you. The moment his hand hit yours, you were back in the station.

"I am so sorry," you choked out the moment your lungs refilled with air. "I didn't even consider we could end up there." "I knew the risk. I just didn't think we'd end up there so soon." He didn't look at you when he spoke. "I am sorry, Five. I shouldn't have made you show me." "But you did," he sighed. "Let's just get home and forget this ever happened.

You didn't speak to him as you waited for the next train, or as you boarded the car, nor as you stopped at three stations. You did, however, let out a quick gasp when you passed station four at full speed and traveled onto the next. "Did that happen last time?" Five grit his teeth. "It did not." Apprehensively, you spoke again. "We can just get off at the next one and go northbound instead."

It was a great idea, in theory. In reality, the track had shifted, leading you to an entirely new station that held an extremist military regime topside. You got out of that one pretty quickly. Five studied the map some more and went seven stops southbound, leading you directly into the mouth of an active volcano. You tried eleven more south, six more north, two more south, and nineteen more north before you had to rest. "We've been down here for three days," Five finally spoke as the two of you sat around a small fire he had made. "It's been a few minutes now back home. My whole family could be dead." "They're not dead, Five. They have their powers back. They're strong." He rolled his eyes. "You were seconds from death when I brought you here." "And I'm still alive. They have each other, too, Five. When we get back, they'll have every soldier wiped out." "I think you are severely underestimating how much those people wanted to kill us." "And you are severely underestimating your siblings' power. They can handle themselves until you get back." Five sighed. "We'll see."

That conversation had taken place approximately six years, five months, and two days ago.

You had eaten more subway rats in that time than anyone should have to see in their entire lives. The two of you had been shot at, stabbed, burnt, and bitten enough for several lifetimes over, and were somehow still alive. On the bright side, it had gotten much easier to set up camp in the station. The process was almost flawless, with Five tending to a fire and updating his journal as you captured your dinner. Dinner was almost always rats. Some days you got really lucky and found a stray bird. Other days there was no life at all. Today was just average, with you scavenging two healthy sized rats for Five to cook over the fire. "Tonight, I present to you a lovely appetizer of subway rat, following by a delicious main of rat from a subway," you said, pulling the two rodents from behind your back. "Ah, a true delicacy," he smiled up at you. You smiled back, "I aim to please."

You sank to the ground beside him, completely spent from days of running from apocalypse to apocalypse. Five took care of the actually gross part of the meal preparation, and today you watched him work in silence. When he finally leaned back beside you, you spoke. "I'm tired, Five. I don't know how much longer I have in me." "I know," he said softly. Neither of you spoke for a long time. Crackles and sparks from the fire were the only noises that greeted you tonight. No trains ran by either direction, solidifying you were staying just where you were tonight. "Do you remember the greenhouse we found a few weeks ago?" You smiled. "How could I forget? Those strawberries were the highlight of my year." Five let out a small laugh before tightening his lips. "What if we went back there? Just to regroup and regain some strength?" Everything in you wanted nothing more than to go back there - to live whatever time you had left in the warm sun and safety that the timeline had offered. "We can't." "Why not?" "Because I won't be able to leave, Five. I am exhausted to the very core my being, but I would never forgive myself if we gave up. I'm the reason you're here. I can't be the reason you stay here." "Don't say that," Five said softly. "You are not the reason we got stuck. And we aren't giving up. We're just taking a pause." "Fine," you finally give in. "But I'm following you up there. You have to be the one to pull us back to reality." "Kicking and screaming," he smiled.

Train station eighteen north brought you up to the most beautiful place you had ever seen with your own eyes. The grass was green and lush and spread as far as the eye could see. Below your feet, the ground was cool and sturdy, and before you, the path led to a quaint cottage with an attached greenhouse. The sun hit it at all hours of the day and the gardens were overgrown with berries. Wildlife was still abundant here, the deer and rabbits unafraid of the two intruders on their land. It was a paradise.

"Home sweet home," you smiled, opening the door to the most homely abandoned house you'd ever encountered. Technology was different in every timeline, but this one seemed to be similar to a few decades ago in yours. There was a working shower, sinks, and refrigerator, but you also had lamps for light and a wood stove for warmth. Though you loved your family with all your heart, the house you had grown up in had never been a home. This was a home. And it was somehow yours. You were still taking it in when Five rushed past you. "I call first shower." "No fair!" you shouted back, but he was already in the bathroom with the door locked behind him.

While Five showered, you picked your first of many crates of strawberries. They were perfectly ripened and easily the best thing you'd tasted in six and a half years. With shaky hands, you sat down at the table and brought the fruit to your lips. "Thank you," you whispered, unable to stop the flow of tears running from the corner of your eyes unto your collarbones. They were unrelenting and unstoppable once they began. It had been eleven years since you felt this level of peace. And you feared you would never feel it again. Even if you made it back, you knew death was only a step behind you, hot on your heels.

"Alright, I'm-" Five said before crossing the threshold into the living room. With a shaky hand, you wiped your eyes, but Five had already seen your tears. "What's wrong?" "It's nothing," you pushed away, trying to calm your still shaky breaths. "No, it's not. I've known you for twelve years and I have never seen you cry." "I said it was nothing, Five," you said sharply, storming into the greenhouse. He caught up quickly, pulling you swiftly back into his arms. He held you closely, wrapping one arm around your waist and using the other to grab the back of your neck, holding you in place. You could've gotten away easily if you wanted to. But you didn't want to. Your snap was immediate, and this time the tears weren't silent. They were accompanied by sobs that raked through your body and crawled forcefully from your lips. They were uncontainable, uncontrollable, and unrelenting. When your legs became weak, Five lowered to the floor with you, still holding you tightly to his chest. It could've been hours, days, or merely seconds before you were finally able to calm yourself down. Your body had collapsed against Five and you couldn't bring yourself to pull away. You didn't apologize for your breakdown, nor did you make any effort to pull yourself away from him. When you finally mustered the strength to look at him, he was staring down at you.

"What's wrong?" he asked once more. You shake your head slightly, trying to prevent another wave of tears. "It's just so nice here." "It is. Why did that make you cry?" he asked, wiping your matted hair from your face. It took you a moment to find your voice again, your throat still trying to close in on itself. "I haven't felt this peaceful in eleven years. Maybe even then. I don't know if I'll ever experience it again." Five didn't immediately speak, so the words kept coming. "I know I shouldn't feel happy that I'm here, but I do. The world is crashing on almost every single person I have left and I'm here, eating fucking strawberries." "You're stuck here eating strawberries," Five corrected. "You did not choose to abandon the rest of the world; you were forced to. There is no reason you can't find a glimmer of comfort in your own apocalypse." His usual temper was gone, replaced with a softness you'd never seen from him before.

You wanted to kiss him.

You wanted to reach up and pull his lips to yours and disappear into him completely. To hold onto him as the world fell apart around you. To become his.

He kissed you first.

He moved slowly at first, apprehension forcing him to pull his punches. His hands didn't wander as he drank you in, as if he were afraid that one rash movement would snap you back to reality. You pushed further into him, wrapping your arms around him, digging your nails into his scarred skin. That spurred him on. One hand tangling itself into your hair while the other cupped your face against his. Each movement, each scratch and pull and moan pulled him further in, until he was all you could see or feel or think. He was yours. And you were his.

Months passed in domestic tranquility. By day you ate strawberries and game, and by night you drank in each other. The world fell around you, but you remained safe in the haven of your own creation. While this world took care of you, you took care of it. Each morning you turned your attention to the cottage, repairing every last item in disarray. You mended clothing and quilts while Five fixed pipes and floorboards. Not a soul interrupted you during your stay. It seemed you might have been the only souls left - the sole inhabitants of an apocalyptic after. You were the first breath of life after it was wiped from existence.

And from your two lives, came another.

You had suspected you were pregnant for weeks, but your second missed period finally fully convinced you. In a few months, you were going to bring a baby into this world. A perfect child born into an apocalypse. The future, which had finally been palatable, now terrified you. Would this universe collapse again? Did it even matter? Your child would know nothing but the two of you. They would have no friends, no life or love outside of you and Five. Even if you found a way home, how could you bring them into an apocalypse on the verge of collapse?

Five broke you out of your trance. He was flushed and breathing heavily - he had run back from the train station. "I have to tell you something," he said quickly. "So do I." "You go first," you said in sync. You rolled your eyes, though a smile pulled at your lips. He smiled too, before closing the distance between you and pulling you into a deep kiss. He paused as he pulled away. "You go first," he whispered. He remained a breath away from you, holding you tight to him. "I'm pregnant, Five." He drew a sharp breath. "You're sure?" You nodded. "It's been two months. I think I've known for a while now but didn't want it to be true. I've condemned them to death even before their birth." "They won't die here," Five spoke calmly, though his eyes glistened with the ghost of a tear. "I found a cipher. I know the way out."

You refused to believe him until he showed you. Within his hands, Five held the guide to a million universes, with yours at the center. The one which held the rest of your family sat only seven stops away.

"They've been so close all this time," you said as your throat threatened to close in on itself. "They were within our reach all this time." "This knowledge doesn't affect our past. We could've looked for them for years and still not found them. Either of us could've died in the next apocalypse we found. We did what we could to survive this." You shook your head. "We weren't surviving, Five. We were thriving. We found the cushiest apocalypse we could and started playing house." "Is that what this is to you? Playing house?" His tone hardened but his voice didn't rise against you. "What else is it, then?" "I think you know." Your heart stopped beating within your chest the moment the worlds left his mouth. "I don't." "Yes, you do." "Say it then." You refused to pull the words out of him. The three words that you had kept deep within you for the past two years.

"I love you."

Your world stopped. The only things left in existence were you, Five, and the flutter within your stomach.

"I love you, too."

A minute passed. Then two.

"I can't bring our baby back there, Five."

Another minute.

"I know."

The two of you stood in the greenhouse for ages, just staring at the other. No more words were shared. They didn't need to be. Both of you knew what you were asking of the other.

“I’ll age here,” Five spoke softly. “So will I.” You drew in a deep breath. “I age the same as you do without a fight. There’s nothing to keep me young here.” “Maybe that’s a good thing. We can grow old together without the threat of another apocalypse. Raise our child in a world that isn't always on the edge of extinction.” “What about your family?” you ask. "They've mourned me once before. They'll survive a second time." "You'd give them up to stay here. With me?" "For you, my love, I would give up the universe."

Seven months later, you brought your daughter into the world, kicking and screaming. She was as stubborn as her father and caused you to labor for 27 hours before she finally made her debut. Five didn't breathe until she let out her first cry, followed immediately by his. He pushed her onto your chest, holding both of you against his. His tears mixed into yours as he showered you in kisses and praises.

You named her Scarlet, after the shade of the perfect strawberries that had pulled you into this timeline. As much as you could possibly love her, Five loved her more. He hated to be away from her in the hours he needed to hunt or scavenge. He found any way to cut his outings short, pulling her into his arms as soon as he returned. When she was six months old, you sewed him a wrap to carry her with him. She was a far better hunting partner than you were. For however many hours the two were out, both returned happy.

Upon return from metal scavenging one morning when Scarlet was almost one, she returned with a folded-up piece of cloth within her tiny first. "What do you have there, baby girl?" you asked, pulling her from her father's grasp into yours. You unfolded the cloth to find a silver ring. Your fingers traced the intricate patterns adorning the jewelry. "Where did you get this?" you turned to Five, who was knelt before you. "Scarlet and I made it for you." He took the ring back and placed it gingerly onto your left ring finger. "Will you marry me?" "Yes," you exclaimed tenderly, pulling Five up to kiss you. The two of you shared tears of happiness, only interrupted by Scarlet's occasional coo.

Scarlet was four when you stood at the top of the train station, bundled up tightly in the winter air. "Are you sure about this?" Five asked. "As I'll ever be," you said, holding Scarlet tightly at your side. With one hand around you and the other around his daughter, Five led you into the station.

[inkspiredwriting]

Love, Hate, and the Hargreeves

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves had always been known for his sharp mind and sharper tongue. Y/N, his girlfriend, was no different. Their relationship was a fiery mix of love and playful antagonism, a dynamic that often left the rest of the Hargreeves family in stitches. Today was no exception.

The siblings had gathered in the living room of the Umbrella Academy, the air filled with the scent of popcorn and the sound of laughter. Klaus had found an old box of family videos and insisted on a movie night, much to everyone’s amusement.

Y/N and Five sat on the couch, bickering over which movie to watch.

“I’m telling you, Five, ‘The Princess Bride’ is a classic!” Y/N argued, holding the DVD case up for emphasis.

“And I’m telling you, Y/N, if I have to hear ‘As you wish’ one more time, I might throw myself into a time vortex,” Five retorted, rolling his eyes.

Diego snickered from his spot on the floor. “Ah, the sweet sound of true love.”

“Viktor,” Y/N pleaded, turning to him for support. “Back me up here. ‘The Princess Bride’ is timeless, right?”

Viktor smiled, enjoying the show. “It is, but watching you two argue is better entertainment.”

Luther, munching on a handful of popcorn, chimed in. “You know, Five, for a guy who’s been through the apocalypse, you’re surprisingly bad at picking battles.”

Five shot him a glare. “And for a guy who’s part gorilla, you’re surprisingly bad at shutting up.”

Klaus, sprawled out on the other couch, giggled. “Oh, leave them alone, Luther. This is their foreplay.”

Y/N and Five both turned a shade of red, but neither was willing to back down.

“Fine,” Five said, crossing his arms. “We’ll watch ‘The Princess Bride’. But if I start quoting it sarcastically, you have only yourself to blame.”

Y/N grinned triumphantly. “Deal. And for the record, if you don’t cry when Inigo Montoya gets his revenge, you’re heartless.”

Five smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. My heart’s in perfect working order. Unlike some people’s taste in movies.”

As the opening credits rolled, the siblings settled in, occasionally glancing at Five and Y/N, who were now sitting unusually close, sharing a bowl of popcorn. The movie played on, and true to his word, Five couldn’t resist a few sarcastic comments.

“‘My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.’ Classic line,” Five deadpanned. “Really hits you in the feels.”

Y/N nudged him playfully. “Shut up and watch, smartass.”

Halfway through the movie, during the iconic fire swamp scene, Klaus leaned over to Diego, whispering loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Do you think they’re actually fighting, or is this some weird foreplay we don’t understand?”

Diego chuckled. “Given how they are, it’s probably both.”

Y/N threw a piece of popcorn at Klaus. “We can hear you, you know!”

Klaus caught it and popped it into his mouth. “Just saying, you two have the sexual tension of a rom-com.”

Five rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide a smirk. “And you have the brain of a goldfish, but we still keep you around.”

Laughter erupted, and even Y/N couldn’t help but join in. The teasing was relentless, but it was also filled with affection. The Hargreeves were a dysfunctional family, but they were a family nonetheless.

As the movie reached its climax, Five found himself genuinely engrossed. He glanced at Y/N, who was watching with a look of pure joy on her face. Despite their constant bickering, he loved seeing her happy.

The final scene played out, and as the credits rolled, Viktor turned to them, grinning. “So, how was it, Five? Are you a ‘Princess Bride’ fan now?”

Five shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

Y/N beamed. “I’ll take that as a win.”

Klaus jumped up, stretching dramatically. “Well, this was fun. Let’s do it again sometime. Preferably with more popcorn and less bickering.”

Diego smirked. “Less bickering? With these two? Not a chance.”

Five stood, pulling Y/N up with him. “Come on, Y/N. Let’s leave these amateurs to their popcorn.”

Y/N laughed, following him out of the room. “As you wish.”

The siblings burst into laughter again, and Five couldn’t help but smile. Their love/hate relationship might be a source of endless teasing, but it was also what made them, well, them.

As they walked down the hallway, Y/N slipped her hand into Five’s. “Thanks for watching the movie with me, Five.”

He squeezed her hand, his usual sarcasm softened by genuine affection. “Anytime, Y/N. Just don’t expect me to quote it back to you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it,” she teased.

And with that, they continued down the hall, ready for whatever adventures and arguments lay ahead, knowing that as long as they had each other—and the Hargreeves’ relentless teasing—they could handle anything.

[fivesmannequinwife]

I hate how reggie was so easily left out the hook. His last escene is him peacefully accepting death along with his wife, as they watch together the destruction around them and he calmly accepts he was wrong, and that's it. He dies after living many happy years with his wife in a big nice house and being filthy rich. He got to have his love interest the whole damn season even if the show didn't make much emphasis on jt. And sure, Abigail had her issues with Reggie, but Reggie didn't know this so we can assume he thought he was having a perfect marriage. He lived HAPPILY in this universe, no struggle at all, no difficulties at all, with his love interest, and calmly accepted death by her side.

How could he have a better ending than the Brellies?

Five and Diego died hating each other.

Diego died after just finding out he had been cheated on by his wife with his 18-yo-looking brother that's actually a fucking senior citizen. He had just had to say goodbye to his children forever.

Luther had to die never having found his wife, being stuck as a mediocre stripper, with his body disfigured, and being the butt of the joke the whole season. He never got the family he evidently wanted to have with Sloane.

Klaus died a drug addict after bekng sober for so long. He was trafficked as SAed, buried alive, and all for a plot that had basically no impact on the main story. He never got to see Dave again.

Ben died a monster, even though we knew that Ben, at least Og timeline Ben, felt like a monster because of his powers and always hated using them. He died having separated from the Brellies, and being a crypto criminal for some fucking reason.

Five died never achiving his only goal of stopping the apocalypse, hating Diego, (who btw was the ONE sinling he shook and tried to wake up when he found his body in S1), and heartbroken. He never got to save his family.

Lila died with unresolved issues with Diego and Five, torn between the two, away from her children.

Allison never got to be happy with her whole family and died with a stranded career and away from her child that she missed for 3 whole seasons.

Viktor died with commitment issues, never having seen Sissy again, still pretty away from his siblings.

And they all died thinking that they were a mistake and everything would be better without them. They all died with so much tension still. They all died full of sadness and missing people.

EXCEPT REGINALD FUCKING HARGREEVES. The man who, oh, you know, MESSED THE BRELLIES UP?

And sure, it's not HIM, really, but the fact that he admits throughout the season that he would have done the same things don't help at all.

I hate it so much. Why should he have the best ending? Why...?